#Kakashi doesn't have to become Sakura and Sakura doesn't have to become Kakashi they love each other for who they are

[team7-headquarter]

I need a fanfic where Obito marries Rin and Sasuke and Naruto get together, so Kakashi and Sakura start platonically living together.

It's mostly a character study??? Maybe?? On how Kakashi already devoted himself to protecting her if Sasuke and Naruto weren't around, on how they are so similar, how it feels to be left behind even if your team doesn't realize it.

If you think about it?

Well, imagine Sakura and Kakashi both fell for an Uchiha and had a jinchuriki be in love with them, only for the Uchiha to be interested only in your jinchuriki friend. Soon they get together and you start to feel like you're in the middle of something you are not part of. You still know they love you a lot, but it's not like you can erase the romance you were waiting for from your dreams.

And then you can add the fact that Gai and Rock Lee are kinda obsessed (in the good sense!) with Sakura and Kakashi. Neither Sakura nor Kakashi find them annoying, since Rock Lee and Gai were a source of strength when their team couldn't be there for them. Gai and Lee are their inspiration in so many senses. It's just another relationship they share, weirdly, funnily.

Of course they have their unique bonds, like the one Sakura shares with Ino, or the one Kakashi has with Tenzo. It doesn't mean that the themes are not shared: You see, Tenzo's wood release and Ino's whole deal with flowers are all about bloom and growth. Tenzo is that solid surface Kakashi can rely on when he feels he can't keep standing, the scarecrow that needs something to keep him upright. Ino is that force urging Sakura to open up to the world, to stop hiding who Sakura is for the sake of others; Ino is the gardener and Sakura is the flower.

There's the issue with their parents, who were not bad people, but who weren't there for Kakashi and Sakura while they grew up. Even when they love their parents, there's a void there, a tension, some distance that resonates and makes the absence loud and clear. Who Kakashi and Sakura are is not a product of some parenting: it's personal effort and being obstinate to no end.

Kakashi and Sakura greatly value each other. The proof is in the way they refuse to let each other carry alone their burdens. It's never as clear as it is when Sasuke is involved: in the Land of Iron, they tried to kill Sasuke to take the burden of killing a friend from Naruto's shoulders, but also because Kakashi didn't want that for Sakura either and she didn't want Kakashi to deal with it alone. Later, in the fight with Kaguya, Sasuke compares Kakashi to Sakura in how useless they were because they were mere humans in a fight with (basically) some goddess.

Kakashi and Sakura both suffer for not being able to free their teammates from the hurt. There's no doubt they would if they could. Not being strong enough, not being fast or skilled enough, being "useless" is their greatest nightmare. There isn't a day that Kakashi and Sakura don't hate their own weaknesses, there's not a night that they don't hate themselves for not being able to do more.

I don't know... It'd be interesting to study Kakashi in a more romantic light while Sakura is able to have more of a platonic centric growth. It would be entertaining, at least. What if Kakashi finally confesses out loud that he was in love, but he can only do it because he knows Sakura might be the only other person alive who understands what it is like to love an Uchiha? What if it is Kakashi who helps Sakura realize how many friends are there for her? How she can find fulfilment outside of the promises and dreams that are no more?

I also like a lot to see serious platonic relationships with age gaps, where the adult doesn't take any advantage given the difference in their experience and shows they can learn from the younger one.

A relationship that can't be described with nuclear family roles (father & daughter), the type where hierarchical roles are part of the drama because they see each other as equals, but even then they can't shake their responsibilities for the sake of their bond (Kakashi forced to send Sakura on a dangerous mission because he's the Hokage and she's a kunoichi, or Kakashi very openly refusing to use his status as her former sensei to force her to do something she doesn't want to do).

They are friends, just not the typical one... They're two different types of mirrors, reflecting broken images. And if they find in each other a bit of all the things they've lost and missed and they have hoped for, not enough to replace the originals but enough to lessen the hurt? Then, it's only natural they find easy companionship in each other.

[the-isekai-ninja]

Kakashi "Doesn't Know Why He Likes Your Personal Space" Hatake

He's so aware of everyone else around him and when they get too close but for some reason he doesn't seem to notice how close he gets to you.

He'll want to ask about how your latest mission went and won't realize that the arm he propped up against the wall and how he leans in over your form makes you stutter and blush behind your report.

His bedroll always seems to end up next to yours, he thinks he sleeps better when you're around, probably because he knows you can hold your own so he can trust you'll spring into action if someone attacks you at night. Definitely.

At the bar, your arms will brush and his thigh will press against yours and he'll excuse the fuzzy feeling in his gut as one too many drinks but even long after he stops drinking the fuzzy feeling remains as you have an arm around him as you help him get home.

And when he wakes up and there's water and pills and a note telling him to eat the fuzzy feeling comes back and he swears it's just the hangover.

He stands so close to you that the slightest movement could have your bodies touching when you're getting debriefed for a mission; Lady Fifth will ask Kakashi to give you some personal space and when Sakura and Naruto snicker and your face turns red Kakashi wonders what joke he missed and he won't move because he doesn't think he's that close anyways.

He'll inch his way closer and closer and closer to you as some random Shinobi whose name he doesn't care to remember makes you giggle, and if Kakashi glares at him and he runs away he'll swear it was an accident and he's not sure why the guy fled but you could do better anyways.

He watches you spar with Gai and later when you're out of earshot he'll ask Gai why he was so handsy with you and Gai will laugh at him, put an arm around his shoulder that he tries to get away from, and Gai will tell him he's a smart Shinobi but not a smart man and Kakashi will only get offended because that didn't answer his question.

He sees you sitting on a bench reading and he'll decide to join you, an arm thrown over your shoulders, bodies pressed against each other as he holds his book with one hand and wonders if you're cold as you seem to have stiffened next to him.

It finally dawns on him that he HAS been invading your personal space when someone asks if you two are dating. As you blush and hide behind your book you stutter out that no you aren't dating, Kakashi is just like this. But no, he isn't like this with anyone but you. He lets very few people get away with touching him but he never initiates anything except with you.

The realization leaves him laying in bed wondering when he fell for you, when you became so comforting to him. He doesn't even care any more he just knows you've probably been dealing with his touchiness for years and you've never said anything. Maybe that's a good sign.

Kakashi "emotionally stunted king" Hatake, who now has to deal with new emotions like love and affection and rereading any romance book he can get his hands on to try and figure out how to ask you out.

He finally works up the nerve and he fumbles hard. He traps you against a wall with both of his arms at the side of your head, trying to mimic something he read about. He's blushing and stuttering and your wide eyes and intense blush aren't helping him get out his confession. And he can feel people trying to sneakily watch this go down and it's all so embarrassing until you have a hand on his cheek and all his thoughts fly out of his head.

He manages out the quietest "will you go out with me" and he can hear Naruto and Sakura celebrating behind a door and sighs of relief from other hushed bodies but he doesn't care because you're smiling and nodding. He has a date with you.

And if you thought he was bad when he wasn't aware of how close he was, you weren't prepared for how touchy he becomes once you're finally together.

He wants to hold your hand all the time, he leans up against you whenever he can, placing his head on top of yours when you two are waiting for things. In private he wants you as close to him as possible. Sitting in his lap, laying on his chest, bodies touching for any reason he can think of.

The nail in the coffin for him is when you reciprocate. He's making dinner for you two and you slip in to hug him from behind. He almost burns himself with how excited and warm he feels at the action.

When he's reading on the couch and you come home tired from a mission and you flop your head in his lap and fall asleep his heart pounds faster and his legs fall asleep as he doesn't dare move.

When you stay the night for the first time and you curl up next to him, arms and legs wrapping around him and your body flush against him he's practically vibrating with how much he loves you. So much so that he blurts it out without any thought. Your grip on him tightens and he feels you smile against his chest and you say you love him too. He rolls over to cage you beneath him and he peppers you with kisses and he's smiling like an idiot as you giggle through the onslaught.

He doesn't know when he started liking your personal space, but he's glad you like him in your personal space too.

[skyahri]

Unplanned |Naruto Men X Reader| HC

Characters: Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara, and Kakashi Hatake

Summary: Pregnancy scenarios 'cause I can.

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy. Bad words. All fluff.

Masterlist Ko-fi

- - - - -

Sasuke Uchiha

He isn't the kind of guy to outwardly dote on you.

He's never been good with words or physical touch, more so preferring quality time together. You sleep in the same bed, eat meals together when it's convenient, and lounge around together when time allows.

When you come home from a last minute doctor's appointment with some big news, none of that really changes.

He assures you that he's happy, that he loves you, and this is all wonderful, but that's about all you're going to get out the emotionally constipated man.

However, while words may not be his strong suit, actions certainly are.

It's become painfully obvious that you are never allowed to go anywhere alone ever again.

He's like a shadow, following you everywhere and anywhere you decide to go. It doesn't matter that you're just running to the market- he's coming with. Ino invited the girls over for a dinner party? Cool, he'll walk you there, hang around in the shadows outside, then walk you home.

When questioned, Sasuke only says that he doesn't trust other people. Already knowing how he is, you don't push him any further. (Not that he'd entertain you if you did.)

People notice pretty quickly. He's not subtle and it's not exactly common for the Uchiha to be so openly clingy.

You wanted to keep the pregnancy a secret for a little while longer. You knew that his status would make the whole thing bigger than you'd like and it was still so early, only about eight weeks in. But people were becoming more and more insistent with their questions.

"Seriously, did something happen? He's been watching you like a Hawk for the past month."

"It was cute at first, but now it's straight up creepy."

Sakura and Ino dramatically shiver at the notion. You laugh, imagining how unsettling this all must look from the outside.

"It's fine, I promise. He's just been a little overprotective since he found out I was pregnant."

They don't register it at first. They just nod in understanding and move to sip their tea. You can almost see it click in their heads before they slam down their cups and start freaking out.

"Wait, WHAT?"

Naruto Uzumaki

"Congratulations! Based on the ultrasound, I'd say you're about five weeks along. It's still early, but you can see a tiny sac right here-"

Your mind is going a thousand miles a minute, thinking of everything and nothing as the doctor points out the tiny, centimeter-long blob in the picture.

Naruto had been bugging you for the past three weeks about a smell. He swears it's nothing bad, just that Kurama is insisting that your scent has changed and- blah, blah, blah. You never could get any more information out of him, which just left you to eventually cave and visit the doctor. Animals have instincts for a reason and who were you to ignore them?

Turns out, that damn fox was right.

After a half-hour lecture on what you can and can't do anymore, you were handed a goodie bag of essentials and sent on your way.

You barely remember the walk home. Your mind was completely blank as it tried to process the news. It wasn't until Naruto was standing in front of you in the doorway to your home that you finally snapped out of the trance.

You stared up at him. His eyebrows were knit together and he was asking if everything was alright. He pulled everything out of your hands and not-so-gently set them on the floor.

"I'm pregnant."

His eyes blew wide and not even a second later he was smiling, pulling you into him and spinning you around. It's over just as quickly as it started. He's setting you back down on your feet and looking you over, mumbling a few hollow apologies for manhandling you. He takes a deep breath, that lopsided grin on his face never leaving.

"You're pregnant."

Just those two words have all the fog clearing from your head. Reality is forced onto you in an instant. In any other situation, it might have made you dizzy, but right now you couldn't be happier.

"I'm pregnant."

Shikamaru Nara

He really should've seen this coming.

Honestly, with how careless he is with protection, it's a wonder how you hadn't gotten pregnant sooner. A year and some change of not bothering with condoms and lazy, half-assed pullouts had finally come to bite him in the ass.

Although he knows this is all going to be horrifically bothersome, he can't find it in himself to be all that bothered. No, not when you're standing in front of him so nervously, little tears gathering on your waterline as you hold out a slip of paper for him to take.

He pulls you into a hug- a very tight, very intimate hug. One of his hands is on your lower back, pressing you into him, and the other is in your hair to cup the back of your head. He can feel the stress start to melt from your body as you relax into him, your arms moving to loosely hold him back.

"I'm sorry. I know this wasn't exactly planned..."

It definitely wasn't planned. He didn't like to think about things too hard. The only talk about the future he'd engaged in was a brief confirmation that you were both interested in pursuing each other exclusively and that neither were against marriage and kids.

But even though this was sudden and unprompted and definitely not what he was expecting when you asked to talk with him privately, he just couldn't find it in himself to be anything other than pleased. Sure, he would've liked to wait a few years and it preferably be after he'd properly proposed and married you, but none of that is deterring him.

He loved you. He didn't say it as often as he probably should, but that didn't make it any less true. You were easygoing and passive and fit into his life with no resistance. His friends liked you, possibly more than they did him. You liked to cook and he never had to worry about you causing trouble.

This was fine.

Not troublesome in the least.

"No, this is... good."

Kakashi Hatake

He was positive he was sterile. He'd have to be after all the injuries and trauma he's sustained, right? Four years and not a single scare, yet here you were, apparently three months pregnant, handing him a report from the OB's office.

He couldn't even form a sentence. He just sighed and sat back onto the couch with his eyes closed. It's only eight in the morning, it's too early for this, not that there'd ever be a great time.

"I knew you weren't going to be thrilled, but now I'm starting to get nervous. Can you please say something?"

He held his arm up and gestured for you to come towards him. When he could feel you brush against him, he grabbed your wrist and carefully yanked you onto his lap. You let out a relieved, albeit hesitant, chuckle as he slowly wrapped himself around you, his head finding solace in the crook of your neck.

The two of you stayed like that for a little while until he let out the loudest, most dramatic groan you'd ever heard leave his mouth, followed by a mumbled 'are you sure?', to which you rolled your eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure. Here, you can see for yourself."

You unfold the paper and pulled out a few pictures. He shifts you around so you're at a better angle before he takes them into his hands. It's obvious that he has no idea what he's looking at- just that the blob is already baby-shaped and very, very intimidating.

You point out some of the obvious things, the head and feet and such, before moving down to the very last photo at the bottom.

"And that little spot right there means that we're having a boy."

"I thought they couldn't tell the gender until later."

"It is later, Kashi. Fourteen weeks."

He lets you take the pictures from him so he can set his hand on your stomach. You'd mentioned gaining a little weight recently, which he honestly hadn't noticed, but now he's wondering how he could've missed it as he brushes his fingers over the slightest most obvious bump in your usually flat stomach.

He must've been zoned out for too long, because you're calling his name and setting your hand over his. He hums, a slight acknowledgment that he's heard you, but you know he's not actually listening.

He's too busy thinking about diapers and bottles and late nights and early mornings. How his son is going to be in the same class as his student's kids. How Gai is going to be a hundred times more annoying in the coming years.

But then a single thought completely derails his spiraling. He wonders what your baby will look like. If he'll be a morning person like you or like to take naps like him. If they'll accel in genjutsu or not, because while he certainly does, you most certainly don't.

He's spent time with Kurenai and Mirai. While raising a person definitely seemed difficult, he couldn't deny that Kurenai was happy. Actually, despite Asuma's untimely death, she's the happiest he'd ever seen her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just... thinking about how annoying it'll be to tell everyone we're expecting."

"Seemed more like panicking to me."

"... shut up."

[brighteuphony]

Got a bunch of Sasuke-centric asks, so here we are!

Sakura has some complicated feelings about Sasuke.

In my AU, Sakura was born to civilian parents who didn't really want her to become shinobi, even though that had been her dream for as long as she could remember- and it was no secret in the Haruno household that they were hoping she'd drop out, or at the very most, be career genin.

So Sakura never really had anyone to believe in her and had to go into the academy (late!) as a civilian-born, meaning she was automatically behind in development (and status) compared to the clan kids. (I headcanon that until the Academy, Sakura didn't ever spar with anyone, versus clan kids who had probably learned how to wield kunai before they knew how to walk).

So Sakura worked hard and did her absolute best to get the barest minimum that clan kids were afforded by default. Unfortunately, her best, without the resources/opportunities, just wasn't good enough. And Sakura knew it. Academically, she was brilliant, but that's not enough to be a good shinobi. And somewhere deep down, Sakura (at the very least Inner Sakura) knew it.

It's why I headcanon that she developed such a violent temper. People who are secure in themselves don't have such explosive, uncontrolled outbursts- it's why she picked on people like Naruto, who was probably the only person below her in the pecking order (maybe Tenten? But they're equals I guess). It's why she's so quick to anger and usually has those responses OUT of combat- it's because that's the only place her violence is actually effective.

It's also why she's such a teacher's pet- she needs validation from others to try and fill the gaping void.

So when Sasuke appeared on the radar, and everyone wanted him, so did Sakura. Because if she got him, she would do something that no one else- clan-privileged and better- could do. In fact, she staked most of her identity (her hair, her diet, her clothing) on it.

None of this was conscious. She really did have a crush on Sasuke, but the seed of it was born from a very misguided desire to prove herself on an even playing field.

After all, she didn't have a clan upbringing/resources to teach her how to find self-worth and actualization through her skills (she went home, and her civilian parents praised her for things that absolutely didn't matter in shinobi reality, amazement that she could throw a kunai! how good her grades were! and how cool it was that she could jump high!)

(and Kakashi absolutely didn't help, lol), so she defaulted to what she knew- which was being a regular girl with a regular crush.

Now, as an ~adult, she's come to the painful realization that her love for Sasuke was just a goalpost. Ironically, she set her sights on someone who would inadvertently feed into all of those insecurities, and because Sakura didn't love/believe in herself, she accepted Sasuke's abuse.

She also understands that she ran into the Chidori/Rasengan deathmatch of her own stupidity, but she just can't forgive Sasuke for leaving. For never owning up. 'Cause that's just coward behavior..

Basically, Sasuke's cruelty was just a reflection of her own self-loathing, and unfortunately, Sakura just wallowed in denial and ended up paying a hefty-ass price.

So if she ever sees Sasuke again? Honestly, she doesn't know whether she wants justice or revenge. It's complicated.

Whew- that was a text dump....

Once again, thank you so much to everyone for all the interest and asks! I'm so happy we can all share Naruto rotbrain together.

[tossawary]

This is a very niche fic idea that I have no solid intention of actually writing, but... "Naruto" has more than a few self-insert fics and some of them are transmigrations into canon characters. Some of them are about OCs who do not want to be a ninja and are desperately trying to get out of it. There's usually some deliciously frustrating tragedy and horror about the brutal and inescapable military system of Konoha.

So, I thought that it would be kind of interesting to do an OC-insert into Sasuke, probably ultimately more comedic than angsty, as the OC tries to fail out of having to become a ninja, but then has to struggle against the fact that a civilian Sasuke would probably be expected to start a new Uchiha clan ASAP. (They probably have to concede to at least becoming a genin for the benefits of legal adulthood of some kind at 12 years old, even if it means being a part of the damn military.)

But even if the OC would personally love to be a parent someday, they cannot condone participating in what's essentially a breeding program for a new generation of Sharingan-wielding super-soldiers. Children who are probably going to be chewed up and spat out by Konoha someday too.

I think it would be neat to have a character treat the Sharingan like a genetic disorder that they don't want a child to suffer. I think it would have been interesting if canon Sasuke had also wrestled with the idea of letting the Sharingan die out. Fuck it, he'll adopt if he wants to be a dad someday. I also think it would be funny to have an OC-insert whose goal is to get a secret vasectomy (body autonomy!) without the leadership of Konoha finding out.

Sasuke, as soon as Sakura becomes a medical nin: "I need you to do me a huge secret favor and NOT be weird about it."

Sakura, also still currently a teenager: "You're asking me to CASTRATE YOU, AT HOME, IN SECRET, HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO NOT BE WEIRD ABOUT THIS?!"

(And there's the whole fucking issue of the "Naruto" universe having cloning, so, no, a vasectomy isn't a solid guarantee of getting out of this. But it might buy Sasuke a few years to figure out how to avoid the mad science route too if anyone tries to force marriage on him at any point.)

Even throwing aside the issue of children, even in an AU where the OC-Insert is cool with having bio children, I think it would be really funny to have a Transmigrator Sasuke announcing outright in the first Team 7 meeting that his dream is to retire super early and become a shinobi tradwife to a super strong ninja.

Kakashi: "...What?"

Sasuke, possibly talking out of his ass to troll his team and because he's already spitefully exhausted: "I said what I said. I'm the only Uchiha left to pass on my clan's techniques, so my dream is to be a stay-at-home ninja, supported by a super strong spouse who can protect my family."

I think this would break Naruto and Sakura's brains. ("Marry Hokage Naruto" is not the worst plan that a transmigrator could come up with, probably.) I think that this would be a super funny start to a Team 7 OT3 in which Naruto and Sakura become rivals for the position of Sasuke's shinobi sugar daddy/mommy. (Naruto doesn't consciously realize that he's competing for Sasuke's hand in marriage at first, but he gets it after a few years or so.)

Kakashi is... So Tired. Obito, are you seeing this shit??? What the fuck.

I know some OC-insert / SI-insert into Sasuke fics exist, I just think the funniest plot direction for a transmigrator in this situation would be to completely bail on both the "take revenge on Itachi" and "rebuild the Uchiha clan" dreams in the least macho ways available.

Also, what WOULD Itachi think of Sasuke abruptly deciding to give up on revenge and to become a house husband instead?

[animereaderinsertwriter]

had some thoughts about Naruto characters and the question, "would you love me if I was a worm?", coming to you live from my roommate's text thread

Sasuke: would you love me if I was a worm

Sakura: you ARE a worm, deadbeat. come pick up your kid from school

Sasuke:

Sakura:

Sasuke: do you. love me. then?

Sakura: yes. please go get sarada.

Sai: I do not understand this. Why have you not asked me this yet?

Ino: asked you what?

Sai: if I would love you if you were a worm. Do you not want me to love you if you were a worm?

Ino: what-- no? I mean, yes! I mean--

Sai, calculating: so.... you want me to love you as a worm?

Ino: uh yeah ig?

Sai: I would not.

Ino: oh...

Sai: worms are not beautiful. or smart. they are only worms.

Ino: 🥺🥺

Temari: You would love me if I was a worm. I'd be the best worm ever, and you'd be a sucker just like you are now.

Shikamaru: Yes I would. You're already the best worm and you're not even a worm.

Temari: Good. Just making sure we're on the same page.

Shikamaru, visibly shaking: yep.

Iruka: this is a dumb question.

Kakashi: I love dumb questions. You look hot asking them.

Iruka: ..... would....would you love me if I was a worm?

Kakashi, without hesitation: of course. you'd still be you, and besides--- I've never had sex with a worm before

Iruka: Kakashi no.

Kakashi: seriously, I think it could work.

Iruka: Kakashi--

Kakashi, eyes glazed over: I'm pretty sure there's got to be a worm jutsu that would allow us to experiment....

Neji, trying and failing to be nonchalant: Hey Tenten?

Tenten, looking up from her training: Yeah?

Neji: I would love you if you were a worm.

Tenten: ?????

Neji: You know. Just in case you were wondering.

Neji *blushing*: I would.

Tenten, not understanding, but pleased nonetheless: Thanks babe ❤️

(bonus)

Sakura: Hey Naruto, earlier Sasuke asked me if I'd love him if he were a worm.

Naruto: but he IS a worm.

Sakura: That's what I said!! But... It got me thinking.

Naruto: that you would love me if I was a worm too?

Sakura: no! I mean, yes I would-- but, I was thinking more if I was a worm. Like. Would you still love me?

Naruto: uh, sure!

Sakura:..... That doesn't sound very confident.

Naruto: listen, I just --

Sakura: no I get it, you just don't love me

Naruto: THATS NOT WHAT I SAID

Sakura: no it's okay, you've always liked Sasuke more--

Naruto: SAKURA-CHAN, NOOOOOOOOO

BONUS bonus

Later:

Sasuke gets home. Naruto is in his room, sobbing. He's holding a tiny worm.

Sasuke: what the fuck are you doing?

Naruto, tears streaming down his face: ITS SAKURA-CHAN

Sasuke: what did she do????????? Is she okay?

Naruto: NO, SHES A WORM

Sasuke: WHAT

Naruto, becoming increasingly more hysterical: TODAY SHE ASKED ME IF I WOULD LOVE HER IF SHE WERE A WORM AND I CHOKED AND DIDNT ANSWER FAST ENOUGH SO NOW SHE THINKS I DONT LOVE HER SO SHE TURNED HERSELF INTO A WORM AND SHE WONT TURN BACK NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TELL HER I LOVE HER WHAT IF SHES STUCK THIS IS ALL MY FAULT--

Sasuke, visibly panicking: okay. Let's not panic. She's a sannin-level shinobi. She just wants us to feel bad. She'll change back when she's ready.

Naruto: BUT WHAT IF SHES STUCK

Sakura, who has been outside the window the whole time and watched Naruto find the worm in the kitchen: I love those morons so much-

[carmenserenity123456]

I actually think it's kinda funny how Naruto's behavior toward Sarada in Gaiden points to how little she actually resembles Sasuke in any way besides her having the sharingan. The same way Sasuke is heavily involved in Boruto's life because he's Naruto's son, I believe Naruto would be, as well. Yet, Sarada didn't know her parents were on the same team with Naruto and calls him "Lord Seventh," implying there's little personal relationship between them. Sure, Naruto knows Sarada is an Uchiha, so Sasuke's kid, but his actions show that he doesn't actually see much connection between the two. Sarada doesn't even think similarly to Sasuke and is completely disconnected from their culture as Uchiha (which is itself sad. The first Uchiha hokage likely being the one who is the least connected to their history, memory, and culture is really bleak and cynical imo). MK just had to get his last laugh in with this pairing 😂

Hi, Gaiden confirms that Sakura did not tell Sarada anything about Sasuke's past with Naruto, she only told Sarada shallow things like Sasuke being the most handsome and every girl wanted him even Ino. She did not tell Sarada anything about them because firstly she does not know anything about Sasuke's feelings, what was his past and how much Naruto changed him but also she sees Naruto as a threat. If a 32 year old woman still feels insecure about Ino and Karin, I cannot even imagine what she thinks about Naruto. She knows that Sasuke will always choose him which means Naruto is more important in Sasuke's eyes than she can ever be. Look at her face when Naruto propose to Sasuke that he will go with him but Sasuke turned it down in a petty way which is very interesting to say the least. Sakura is nervous and starts to sweat. Kishi drew her there on purpose and this scene has a deeper meaning that is why Boruto anime changed it.

Also Sakura did not contact Naruto and Kakashi at all. Shizune confirms it when Sakura faints. Sakura did not have anyone to help her and also Shizune took care of the situation with her house. Sakura does not contact them because she got what she wanted. As I mentioned before, Naruto and Sakura's friendship was always fake. Sakura used Naruto to get Sasuke and Naruto used Sakura to hide his affection for a boy. There was also a competition between them for Sasuke's attention. Typical love triangle.

When it comes to Naruto, he just was not interested at all with Sakura and her child. Would you be if your whole relationship was fake? I don't think so. Naruto only become interested because Sarada's situation revolved around Sasuke. The same was with Sasuke, he only started to accept Sarada thanks to Naruto's involvement. Moreover, Sasuke is so interested in Boruto because he looks like Naruto and his behaviour is a mix of Naruto and Sasuke. Basically Sasuke sees Naruto in Boruto.

[stu-dyingstudent]

Sakura Haruno fic recs: ANBU

AHHHH!!!! I love ANBU fics, especially when they involve Sakura. It was such a cool concept, which was unfortunately never fully expanded upon. However, our lack of knowledge regarding the shadow corps allows for some really cool fic ideas since authors can take creative liberty on the structure and workings of the division.

In my opinion, Sakura had the most potential out of team 7 to join ANBU (at least more than Naruto). It's all about being discreet and efficient and although she wasn't strong during og, she possessed abilities that would be valuable for this. Her clever mind, chakra control, and genjutsu potential would've made her a good fit. Naruto was too flamboyant and Sasuke was too reckless and cocky, but this is just my take. However, with her new skill set from her training with Tsunade, I don't think she would be able to go down that path anymore.

Also, try out my ANBU ROOT list (some overlap).

Started: 2024.08.06

Last Updated: 2024.08.29

note: feel free to check out my master list which has a bunch of Sakura Haruno fic recs (all organized)!

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Masks by mads999 || ao3 || kakasaku || E || canon divergent || complete

1. Sakura's Inner is far more diabolical than anyone ever expected 2. Crows prove to be cruel mentors 3. Sakura comes to learn exactly how much she hates Kakashi (as well as how alike they are, in the most terrible of ways)

Kakashi is a hateful turd and Sakura is spiteful! I hate this ship and I'm not a big fan of Kakashi here, but boy is this fic good. One of the best character developments I've read for Sakura and she certainly becomes of force to be reconned with. The ANBU lore in Masks is absolutely phenomenal and I love the whole system that is put into place as it adds for some drama (lol). Also, can we talk about how awesome crow summons are????

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Five Kingdoms for the Dead - Evil Is A Relative Term || ffn || M || canon divergence || complete

After the Forest of Death, Sakura comes to realize that being weak is no longer an option. However, she finds that change is sometimes painful and that truth doesn't always come easy. Luckily, she'll have some help along the way.

It's been a while since I've read Five Kingdoms for the Dead, but I just remember it being absolutely great! I'll be honest, I found a lot of the mind stuff pretty confusing at times, but it was still enjoyable. Also, some great characters are utilized in this fic such as Neji, Sai, and Itachi. Makes me really wish that we saw more of Sakura and Neji working together in Naruto since I think they compliment each other quite well.

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Trials of Change - Espoiretreves || ao3 || gen || time travel AU || complete

Haruno Sakura made a promise. Looking in the eyes of her Shisou and the reanimated Hokage, she took on the most important mission of her life. Go back in time and try to prevent the 4th Shinobi War. Now, Sakura is back to her 5-year-old body, with all the knowledge and haunting memories of the future. She vows to keep her precious people safe and stop certain events from happening, without altering the timeline too much. The trials her emotions and logic put her through have her questioning her very existence, but for the sake of peace, she has to push forward. No matter what.

Trials of Change is actually apart of a time travel series and I have to say that it is probably one of the best of the genre! Now, Sakura is not in ANBU here, but she works very closely with team Ro (Kakashi's ANBU team) and it's a huge part of the story, so I'm choosing to count it anyway. I really adore all of the worldbuilding and backstories going on here in addition to the fact that there are breaks. Yes, the story keeps moving, but there are other things going on, like playdates, and not just Sakura trying to save the world. Also, if you love Shisui then definitely check this out since he has a huge role and his and Sakura's friendship is just so precious.

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bite me and see, said the fly to the spider - MirrorImage003 || ao3 || itasaku || T || non-massacre AU || ongoing

In which Sakura is not initially a part of Team 7. In which she wears her failures like armor and brandishes her fears like her most trusted weapons. In which I do what hundreds of other authors have done before me, and rewrite Sakura's story. Non-massacre AU. Canon Divergent. Slow-burn.

After Sakura's first team, consisting of the graduating class's "expendables," dies, she joins team 7 and faces backlash along her shinobi journey. Sakura doesn't join ANBU until the later chapters so fair warning that there isn't too much content in that regards (unless it updates). Nonetheless, Sakura views ANBU as vital to her career as it offers her the highest clearance she can get. Gaining her opportunities for information her civilian-born status didn't allow her privy to.

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The Sixth Shadow - thinknicht || ao3 || kakasaku || M || canon divergent - eventual time travel AU || ongoing

No one seemed to find it odd when little Haruno Sakura threw herself smack dab in front of a Chidori and Rasengan. Not even Kakashi stopped to wonder.(He really should have.)

The story of how Sakura came to be the sixth hogake despite all of the challenges thrown her way. I especially love Sakura's drive in addition to the political aspects. However, be warned that Kakashi is an absolute HATER (in the beginning), but he gets better! The Sixth Shadow is extremely long and I only just recently got to Sakura's introduction to ANBU, so I can't say too much in that regard.

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Daughter of Fire - justjstuff || ao3 || kakasaku || E || canon divergence || incomplete (maybe ongoing)

Sakura got up and didn’t bother brushing the dirt from her dress. She had a feeling she was about to get even dirtier.She looked at the memorial stone one last time, memorizing the characters without even realizing she was doing it. It would serve from that moment on as a reminder of her determination. She wouldn’t let Naruto and Sasuke join the names carved on that stone.That was her nindo.

Sakura's growth throughout Daughter of Fire is great and realistic all while pointing out aspects from the original series which were flawed and dare I say misogynistic. I struggled a bit in the beginning to justify her abilities, but overall the story is really well done and the ANBU aspects are quite intriguing.

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cut the head off the snake - itsthechocopuff || ao3 || T || time travel AU || complete

when eighteen-year-old, post-war Sakura is thrown back into her tiny, pre-Academy body, she makes a decision. she'd had a childhood once already, and this time, she's more interested in Not Dying when the inevitable shit hits the proverbial fan. so she will work harder, care less, kill more, and smile when she's done.and hey, if she ends up reviving an extinct nature transformation to attract the most corrupt, power-hungry man from her timeline, all the better for her, right?

Such a unique take on a time travel AU and Cut the Head Off the Snake executes it perfectly. Sakura decides that her first order of business is to infiltrate ROOT and that's exactly what she does. Sai, Shin, and Shisui are all great characters and team Ro is present as well. Very good!

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Flowers - Idunmy || ao3 || E || kakasaku || canon divergence || ongoing

Flowers only bloom just before they wilt When Sakura loses her fight against Ino in her Chuunin exams, she questions her ability to ever become a kunoichi, too weak to protect herself, let alone her village One wrongful promotion later and Sakura gets a second chance in the shape of a mysterious new teacher who against all odds is willing to put her faith in a young girl with potential and a willingness to fight. Or- a fix-it inspired fic where Sakura grows to be the powerhouse she was destined to become.

Flowers is a newer series (which has recent updates) and I love it! Critiques are made towards the medical ninja training, which I believe needed to be discussed and it's refreshing to see. In most ANBU fics I've read, Sakura is immediately put onto the strongest team, but here it's a bit different. She begins on a demolition squad, which not only suits her skill set quite well, but is a realistic approach to how she would be introduced to the corps. Anyway, it's one of my favorite reads at the moment and I really like where the story is going.

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names. - waterpllar || ao3 || T || gen || canon divergence || complete

There are no names or faces in ANBU. Everything is designed to be strictly formal, efficient and professional. A recently orphaned Sakura, however, learns that some regulations aren't meant to be followed, and finds a place in Team Ro after being shunned from her former teammates. (fic prompt from anon on tumblr: orphaned sakura in anbu with yamato, genma, and team ro.)

AHHHH poor Sakura. After her parents' death Sakura seeks Tsunade's help out of desperation to become useful. Under recommendation, Sakura's new goal is to make it into ANBU.

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Equinox - FM_White || ao3 || itasaku || M || anbu AU || complete

ItaSaku (Post Uchiha Massacre) AU: Climbing through the ranks of Konoha, Sakura finds herself with the invitation to join ANBU and a chance to learn from one of the most renowned and legendary ninja in the world. Despite her efforts to grow stronger however, she finds the world isn't as black and white as it looks and that some truths are easier to hide than others.

I don't remember Equinox very well, but I love most works by this author sooo. Anyway, Itachi stays in Konoha and instead it's Sasuke that goes rougue. Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru are newly joined ANBU members and all placed on a team with Itachi and things go from there.

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stars in our eyes as we dream of the heavens (the gods walk among us, sweet child, do not forget) - snickiebear || ao3 || kakasaku || T || age-swap AU || oneshot complete

“Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto whispered, staring at his teacher, horror plain on his face. “You’re married?” Lazily, Kakashi looked down at his gloveless hand where his ring rested, “It would appear so.”

Sakura is born in the same generation as Kakashi and turns out as a badass ANBU married to him. This is super wholesome as it's a lot of the two of them bonding with Kakashi's genin team (Sai makes three) in an effort to help them out. It's a series so you can read more of the events taking place prior to the fic.

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Anachronistic Drift  - Elesrea  || ffn || gen || T || time travel AU || incomplete

Her plan was flawless. Save Shisui. Save the world. Time-travel, Sakura-centric AU

Sakura spends years training to be sent back in time and save the world from Sasuke. She isn't in ANBU, but rather poses as one in order to keep an anonymous status on her doings both in and out of the village.

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Sakura - lilac haze || ffn/ao3 || M || minasaku || time travel AU || complete

AU. Non-Canon. Time Travel. Please see inside for full warnings. Cross posted on Ao3. On his deathbed he was granted eternal peace and place to rest for all of time. Of course that was not appealing to him. Ever unpredictable to the end he had a counter offer. One that the Sage had to consider. In which Sakura's going to have a rough time. A really rough time.

Sakura is probably one of my all time favorite fics because the emotions are just spectacular. The story is pretty heavy on ANBU and ROOT aspects, which I always enjoy, but I wouldn't say it's a major focus. However, there is an emphasis on the unfair treatment towards kunoichi. Anyway, the characterizations and storytelling are beautifully done. Please share this author some love.

Check TWs before hand!!

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Hope y'all enjoy these recs, and please feel free to send me some if you have any!!!! I really appreciate when you do :)

[stitchzin]

Sasuke The Demisexual King

I was a bit apprehensive about making this post because English is not my native language. So, apologies in advance. But thank you @kirinlady for the comment.

First of all, being demisexual has nothing to do with being gay or straight; you can be either. Another point is that you can have your headcanon; you are free to do so. But I am focusing on the canon line Kishimoto intended, which was SasuSaku from the start, according to the databooks and the novels.

There is A LOT OF CONTEXT SO GET READY.

Let's start!

In the first part of the Naruto series, Sasuke is very touch-deprived, traumatized by his family's murder by his brother, living in the house where they were killed, and self-isolating. A more correct way to describe it is to say he is touch-starved. Lack of physical touch can lead to feelings of emptiness and loneliness.

Sasuke had been without care for so long that being touched in a non-aggressive way might have given him sensory overload.

It's important to discuss these points when it comes to Sasuke's story. Naruto was also touch-deprived, but he externalized it, while Sasuke internalized it. This context aside:

A good part of the reason why people think Sasuke is gay is because he repels the touch of women and rejects flirtations from many girls. Sasuke doesn't need to feel anything towards these people, no matter their intentions. A man rejecting a girl does not make him gay, just as a girl rejecting a guy does not make her a lesbian. People have the right to their own bodies. It doesn't matter if you or many people would act differently; Sasuke is not that guy.

As I said, you can have your headcanon, but even fictional characters are people. Doubting someone's sexuality just because they don't follow a pattern says more about people in real life than about the character.

A good example is Gaara, who is clearly asexual with clear romantic feelings towards Naruto. I can see that in him more than in Sasuke. But this is my headcanon. I said Asexual no Aromantic.

Back in the series, Sasuke eventually gets more comfortable with Team 7. Kakashi respects his boundaries, Naruto is not the hugging type with him, but Sakura is another story. He can not avoid her like all the girls.

But this time is different. He sees her maturing, becoming a friend to him, and like a sister to Naruto. And this is the part where Sasuke starts to change. Seeing Sakura and Naruto's interactions makes him angry, maybe jealous. Sakura's attention was entirely his, but now it isn't, though a lot of it still is for him.

And this healthy distance makes him realize he misses her, maybe even wants her close. This brings us to the second part of being touch-deprived: What do you do when someone touches you? Mostly, he stands there or keeps his arms still. But he is not annoyed or pushing her away. He could, but he just doesn't want to.

She has such power over him that she can stop him even while he is controlled by Orochimaru's seal. He reaches for her while in pain, he gets mad when she is hurt. We all love the phase "who did this to you". He remembers her hug when he is losing control. She is that light.

They are kids at this point, but I really think he had feelings already. He wanted to protect her as a friend, and as something he did not understand. Lets not mention the blant Jealousy at adate ( =I think that's his name", and feeling powerless when Naruto saves her instead of him. But he had no time to figure out his feelings before being manipulated by Orochimaru's machinations to leave.

Even when he left, Sasuke accepted her feelings but chose to go anyway. But accepting her feelings, doesn't mean he is ready or is the time to act on them.

I have a post on their goodbye.

Now to the point of the post: Is Sasuke demisexual?

Demisexuality means being sexually attracted to someone only when you have an emotional bond with them.

The first part of the post was about 12-year-olds. This part is about 15/16-year-olds. Sasuke could have had any girl, and this is the age where most people's hormones are crazy. But he does not feel that need.

When facing Sakura for the first time, he recognizes her immediately. Sure, her hair is the same, but it has been three years. He is not attacking; he is just looking at her. It could be coldness, or it could be a boy who does not know what to do. I can't know what would have happened if they were alone. Sasuke shifts after Naruto gets there. His voice tone is different; he is not as pleased to see Naruto as he is to see her.

(there are great fics on this cenario, I would love some links because it was the SasuSaku fanfiction golden age)

This part is a more general view, but MOST demisexuals don't flirt like most people. Since it is deeply connected to emotions, there are a lot of acts of service, a lot of stares, and small touches. Much of what Sasuke shows towards Sakura and only Sakura.

And there is Karin. I dont have her, I like her. She is a great charact with great backstory if you don't agree fight me.

But Karin is very disrespectuful at the begning. Maybe that is why there was so much hate.

Sasuke pushes Karin away in a more respectful way than she behaves with him. He is not interested in that. Karin is pretty; anyone would want to be with her, but Sasuke did not because does not have feelings for her, plus she did not respect him. Even traveling with him for some time, she still did not respect his boundaries. Maybe that is why he has no warm feelings towards her. Feelings that would keep him from doing that infamous Danzo scene.

Karin did nothing to harm Sasuke, yet he harmed her because she wasn't important to him. So there were no feelings to hold him back, even a little. The once-manipulated Sasuke, this time by Obito, had no problem getting rid of her.

Yes, he was wrong. Terribly wrong, because she had helped him so many times. But the reason was that she wanted him carnally. And this does not flowrish in Sasuke.

Sakura and Sasuke are on a whole other level. Sasuke was fed up with Naruto and Kakashi because, even though Sakura also wanted him in the village, her methods to pursue him were different on his eyes. Sakura had hugged him, Sakura had begged him to stay. He had a completely different vision of her.

He attacked Naruto first.

But Sakura attacked him first, so he reacted.

I really think "losing Sakura" made him even madder. He dived even deeper into his sadness. She was that one thing he was sure about. Honestly, I think his offer was to push her away because hurting her would hurt him.

Sasuke put those feelings inside once more. But seeing her again at the war, he answers only to her. The more he tries to push her away, the stronger those feelings come. And he is always watching her. He smiles when she destroys the ground, she shakes when she calls him.

And he claims, "I have no reason to be loved by her or to love her," even if that was not what Kakashi said or asked. He said Sakura wanted to help him. Honestly, he brought up the romance card. The moments their eyes clicked, when he came to save her and succeeded, the way he once felt powerless to do as a child. So he puts her to sleep because her words would stop him.

Maybe he could take Naruto in a fight, but he could not handle Sakura's cry one more time.

Because he thinks he does not deserve her. He leaves and travels. Again, he could have had anyone at this time once more. Now a man with crimes pardoned, a respected man. Only when he was complete did he come back.

People talk about Sakura's constant "afterglow" when Sasuke is in the village. They comment that they have pillow talks, the intimacy he craves, and a person to go and call home.

Sasuke never loved another because he had already accepted Sakura's feelings at age 12. Sasuke never wanted another physically because he had wished for only one person. His desires are connected to his emotions.

Sasuke says that no matter how far they are, or how long they haven't seen each other, his feelings for Sakura will never change.

And neither have hers.

Ending with this frame because it shows what I think is the start of his feelings. Look at how beautiful she is; this is Sasuke's vision. I think Sakura is very pretty. But here, she is much prettier than normal.

He sees her as more beautiful than we do.

[maoam]

I love how sakura and hinata fans say sns shippers are misogynists for not liking those girls and the ships when really I think me being a man-hating-radical-feminist is what makes me not like them lol. Like I have self respect which is why I don't like someone who's entire purpose is to be a man worshipping housewife from the 1950s with no backbone and doesn't stand up for herself at all (hinata) or someone who's pretty much a male in female form who mimics real creepy male behaviour to a T like constantly harassing someone and trying to force them to like you back despite constant rejects, treating them like a sexual object only, centering yourself around their life and not even actually caring about someone they claim to love (sakura). Also if you take it a step further, I can even say the reason sasuke's my favourite character is bc he's female-coded. Like almost every way he gets treated both by the narrative and by real fans is how a lot of ppl treat real women. (think they know better for him, hating him for being attractive and able to get anyone's attention, hating him for having agency and not caring what ppl think, not caring to follow paths others want him to follow, etc) these are all things that most women get hated on for irl. It also says a lot that most of his haters are male lol, while other male characters with the "coolness" factor like sasuke are still worshipped (like his own brother, kakashi, even naruto). Also gaara getting more popular after he started worshipping naruto and leaving his cool backstory and interesting character behind also proves my point. If sasuke just became a naruto fanboy halfway thru and didn't bother with his revenge and only started loving naruto (not romantically tho, ofc, bc that's gay and we're alpha males who fuck bitches only 😤) he prolly wouldn't be as hated. Just like if sakura switched her affections from sasuke to naruto halfway thru, the dudebros would stop hating her. It's all about naruto worship, and the characters who end up doing that always end up being the shell of the interesting characters they once were (like gaara, hinata was never an interesting character, she's the only one who was meant to be his cock worshipper since the beginning) and that's what makes me hate all dudebros and some female fans who think this too. Like sometimes I start hating naruto myself bc some of the sasuke only stans on tumblr make really good points about how naruto's basically a male power fantasy series. Almost everyone ends up worshipping him, and even sasuke (if you wanna see it that way) ends up doing that. I personally like equal power in relationships so I like to see them as equal in the end, but some ppl who only wanna see their self insert incel mc be worshipped, they can see it that way. Sometimes I only like naruto in sns and sasuke individually, and hate everything else about this series. Anyway that got kinda off topic but yeah.

Sakura also does not stand up for herself when it comes to Sasuke.

Hinata's body language is always timid, but Sakura's becomes one too in the presence of Sasuke. Because she tries to make Sasuke like her, but since she doesn't understand Sasuke she also doesn't understand this is not what Sasuke wants nor needs. Sasuke wouldn't like it either if Naruto acted this pathetic.

Hinata is literally a tradwife dream, she is docile, submissive, doting and her only goal in life is to support Naruto and become Naruto's girlfriend/wife and have his kids. She has no thoughts about anything else. This is what many men want from a woman. It's really pitiful to read/watch people try to come up with something in order to make Hinata look like a decent character. It all comes down to "she liked Naruto since the beginning", "she sacrificed herself for Naruto", "she has had more kids than the other female characters".

I don't know about the use of "female-coded" as a term (I talked about it at one point), I think it's the homoeroticism that largely contributes to this (especially how Sasuke is made to be desirable to both men and women). But I do see where you're coming from. Sasuke does piss off many men but a lot of it is due to incel mentality. Some of it is due to main character entitlement, as in Sasuke takes too big of a chunk out of the manga when it comes to screentime. Ironically, there are many of them who think Sasuke should have been a female character so Naruto's obsession with him wouldn't make them so uncomfortable.

I also find it annoying when so many Sakura videos I watch have men ranting about how Sakura still likes Sasuke despite the fact Naruto saved her. Like you can tell they think a man should be able to buy woman's sexual interest by making her owe them. But thankfully, I have come across also videos that make very good points about her character.

Naruto and Sasuke's fight (or more like the aftermath) annoyed some men because it was physically basically a draw and Naruto even said to Sasuke "this isn't about winning or losing". Sasuke lost to his feelings, basically him admitting defeat was him accepting to be loved by Naruto LMAO no wonder dudebros were mad. Many of them whined because they hated how Kishi had to make it so gay.

Shonen tends to be a male power fantasy. Luffy also gets everyone to fanboy/fangirl him. And shonen mcs usually have one of the worst stans for this reason. It's funny (or not) how the same pattern can be seen in every shonen fandom when it comes to the main character. There are men who self insert into them and act like everything needs to be about them, and bash other characters especially if they take even a little from their mc. Meanwhile there is a subset of women who create this yaoi harem shit around the mc, him as feminine uke bottom that every other guy just wants to rail. And they also might wrote posts on how other characters are irrelevant and boring compared to their beloved mc. It always happens. If it makes you feel better, Naruto always saw Sasuke and Iruka as different from the rest, because he didn't need to prove anything to them, they just cared for him even when he was a loser. And to Naruto, Sasuke is the best in the world. Even to Sarada he started ranting how Sasuke is hot and cool and the best shinobi in the world lol. But yes, I think Gaara and Neji lost some edge of their characters after they were saved by Naruto.

[team7-headquarter]

I love how grim was the original Naruto.

I really miss when adults were portrayed like that, like actual soldiers who had to indulge in several vices to control their PTSD. They smoke or do drugs or read porn or drink or become addicted to work or physical exercise. They are all perverted in their own ways, broken, traumatized, damaged.

I miss when they had big ass scars and when you could tell they were shinobis used to killing for a living just by looking at them.

I miss how Kishimoto used the kids view to make everything look kinda innocent at first, but slowly turned everything worse the more that they lived to reveal to real shinobi world, not how the kids dreamed it to be.

There was something so appealing to it, to the contrast of innocence vs a world submerged in war and violence.

Kakashi starts the Land of the Waves arc being a funny dude with hearts in his speech bubbles and it progresses to Kakashi putting his hand through Haku's heart with a chidori. There's suicide and there's extortion and there's old men molesting Sakura and people being crucified and genocide and corruption and—

There are moments when you can feel the reality of their violence, like when Orochimaru appeared on The Forest of Death. He showed Sasuke and Sakura with a genjutsu how he'd decapitate them. Like when Hiruzen gave his soul to a demon to try and seal Orochimaru's soul too. Like when Gaara started killing people by exploding them with his sand. Like when Rock Lee was told that if he went along with the surgery he could die and if he did not he would never walk again. Like Orochimaru experimenting with kids or like when Neji revealed the secondary branch of the Hyuugas were slaves marked like cattle that would only find freedom if dead. Like Itachi forcing Sasuke to live again and again the Uchiha massacre with a genjutsu.

Shippuden has a lot of it. It is brilliant at times, but doesn't have the consistency of the original.

[x-emeraldsky-x]

~ Naruto Headcanons ~

Naruto Uzumaki

• Naruto makes all of the groupchats in his friendgroups and is the most active in all of them. "Super Seven Squad" has himself, Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, Yamato and Kakashi. "Naru-Squad" has Sakura, Kiba, Rock Lee and Shikamaru. Sasuke and Gaara were added but Sasuke left and Gaara can't figure out groupchats. "Next Gen Parents" has himself, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Temari, Shikamaru, Rock Lee, Gaara, ect.

• After training with Jiraiya, he picks up writing as a hobby. He's good at writing narratives, but his handwriting takes a while to become legible.

• Considers Sakura his older sister, he acts on this quite a lot and calls her "Nee-San" sometimes

• If Just Dance were a thing in the ninja world, he'd be the master. Sakura would be his less enthusiastic partner

Sakura Haruno/Uchiha

• Sakura's love language is gift giving. Often she will spoil Sasuke with flowers, treats and very fancy, well thought out dates. This carries onto her friendships and family bonds as well.

• She takes note of things her "nieces and nephews" enjoy and makes sure to buy something for them every time she visits. Boruto and Shikadai often get Ninja Trading Cards, Metal and his sister get new ninja equipment, ect.

• Sakura goes all out for birthday celebrations, and Sarada has never had a boring birthday

• Naruto gave her a shirt that says "Honorary Uzumaki" some time after he came back from training with Jiraiya, she still wears it even when she's an Uchiha. Naruto got her multiple new ones when the first finally tore

• Sakura's a very sloppy sleeper. Snoring, drooling and always sprawled out. The only time she's not taking up the whole bed is when she's spooning Sasuke. She has drooled in his hair and she will again

Sasuke Uchiha

• He's the leanest and lightest out of Team 7. This works well in his favour because it helps with his agility, but it's impossible for him to get out from under Sakura or Naruto without the use of Ninjutsu

• He associates certain hobbies or items with the people he's near. Anything hospital related reminds him of his wife as well as pink flowers, ramen reminds him of Naruto, ink reminds him of Sai, ect.

• Sasuke is very touch-affectionate with Sakura, craving her hugs and kisses whenever they're apart. He gets embarrassed when he asks, however, so he's very subtle and indirect

• Always ends up on top of or hugging Sakura in his sleep. Over the years he too has become a sloppy sleeper, but as long as Sakura is holding him, he doesn't mind

Hinata Hyūga

• All of the Hyūga clan have very prominent veins, especially around their eyes. Each Hyūga member has a unique pattern or colour. Hinata's children inherit this trait, but it's harder to see

• Hinata's veins are mostly purple, and her veins form a heart shape on her left eyelid, but it's usually hidden by her multiple eyelid creases. Neji's veins were green and formed a look similar to lightning

• Hinata has very soft, pale skin. In the cold and heat, she's always the first to go red, so she always packs a hat and a jacket.

• She has indented knuckles and is quite plump. This used to be an insecurity for her, but her friends and partners helped her embrace it

Kiba Inuzuka

• Kiba loves to sing. He typically makes up random songs about what he's doing, like washing dishes or sweeping the floor, but he also likes to sing music from his playlists. He enjoys calmer music, but he'll sing almost anything

• Team 8, Mirai and Himawari are the only people who know Kiba sings. Kiba loves his hobby but he's too embarrassed to sing in public

• On bad days, Kiba will sit with Shino on their bed in the dark brushing his hair with his fingers, singing softly to him to help them both relax

• After finding out about Shino's sensitive eyes, he went and bought blackout curtains and dim lights for his house so Shino could walk through comfortably without his glasses

Shino Aburame

• Shino is a very jealous person, and he sucks at hiding it. Many people have had to hold him back to prevent him from saying nasty things

• During Shippuden, he formed a bond with Akamaru. Since then, people called him Akamaru's second owner or second dad. He embraced this fully when he and Kiba got together

• He loves working with the dogs that the Inuzuka clan raise, but he does get very attached emotionally. If he had his way, he and Kiba would have about 30 dogs running around the house

• His eyes are a very deep brown colour, in the light they would shimmer with a orange-gold like colour. Due to his sensitivity to light though, only Kiba and the odd doctor have seen this.

• He gets cold very easily, so he's constantly layering his clothes. He and Hinata both would huddle in next to Akamaru on missions in the winter

• He has small scars on his body where his bugs come out, but they go unnoticed by the human eye at a distance. Hinata and Kiba always panic when they see Shino bleeding from his bugs breaking through his skin

Shikamaru Nara

• Shikamaru loves puzzle books, like Sudoku. He often buys magazines to complete these puzzles, sometimes looking into the latest gossip

• Once he and Temari are in a relationship, he carries a small summoning scroll that holds a giant folding fan, just in case of emergencies

• Shikamaru loves the food from Sunagakure, the rich tastes and flavours are to die for, but he can't stand the heat of the desert. Fortunately, Temari often brings Suna ingredients home so they don't miss out when they're in Konoha

• He unironocally loves some One Direction songs, although he'd never openly admit it. It's a secret he'll take to the grave

• Sakura caught him singing What Makes You Beautiful once and she has never let him live it down

Rock Lee

• After Neji's death, Lee starts to grow his hair out in remembrance. It takes him a long time for him to grieve but he soon finds peace with the loss

• For a short time after the war, Lee joins the Anbu under Kakashi's guide. After the birth of his first child however, he quits and becomes a Chūnin exam proctor for Konoha

• He and Shikamaru form a bond due to their relationships within the Suna trio. They become each others biggest defender when it comes to Kankuro, who still doesn't want to share his siblings with them even as an adult

• In The Next Generation period, he doesn't talk with Gai that often, focusing more on his family, friends and career. He has little time for other things

• He lived in Suna for a couple of years when Aiko and Metal were born. When his duties were needed back at Konoha, he took Metal with him because of Gaara's busy schedule. They visit each other as much as the can during holidays

• Scared of Temari

Temari no Sabaku/Nara

• Temari has very rough and dry skin. Her lips are usually chapped and peeling, and her hair is very coarse. She doesn't know what skin and hair care is, and even if she did, she'd ignore it

• She has a scar on her back near her right shoulder from protecting Gaara from a Suna villager, no one knows about this scar except Shikamaru who saw it on accident

• Very protective and loving of her little brothers, she'll always throw herself between them and an enemy if it means they'll be safe. Kankuro and Gaara worry that they'll lose her because of this

• Surprisingly very affectionate, and she loves to spoil all of her loved ones to the point they need extra storage to keep their gifts

• Sakura was her first close friend from Konoha, they relate quite a lot with their love for their family (even though Sakura's is not by blood). In their later years, Sakura introduced Hinata to Temari, and after a bit of a rocky start, they have girls nights every couple of weeks. Just the three of them

• Has fought with Kankuro over getting a puppy many times. In their early life, they couldn't afford or take care of one, but as adults, Temari finally gave in. She bought Kankuro a puppy for his birthday before she left for Konoha

[guidaozongshi]

On Sakura and SasuSaku's apparent popularity in the eastern fandom

One of the widely regurgitated talking points in favour of the Sasuke/Sakura relationship is that it is the most popular Naruto pairing in Japan and that Sakura is a very popular character but western fans apparently fail to understand the nuances of their relationship unlike their eastern counterparts. These claims range from half-truths to complete nonsense, in this post I attempt to counter these.

Firstly, let's talk about Sakura's reception in Japan.

Kishimoto infamously said that girls would come up to him to complain about Sakura and that he really struggled to make her likeable. But you don't need his statements to arrive at the conclusion that she is not well received.

Take a look at the Naruto Character popularity polls by Shounen Jump taken during the run of the manga.

Character Poll 1 , as of Chapter 60

1. Kakashi Hatake – 22,692 votes

2. Naruto Uzumaki – 16,729 votes

3. Sasuke Uchiha – 13,674 votes

4. Iruka Umino – 7,128 votes

5. Sakura Haruno – 3,055 votes

Naruto had just started to take off , with Team 7 being the main focus, yet look at the difference in votes for the members. Iruka, a character that barely appears overtook Sakura. What's ironic is that this will be the highest position she would ever receive because her popularity gets worse.

Character Poll 2 , as of Chapter 107

1. Naruto Uzumaki – 2,788 votes

2. Kakashi Hatake – 2,635 votes

.

14. Sakura Haruno – 359 votes

14th Position! Despite the fact she is from a trio of characters that are the most focused on. Not only the other Konoha rookies rank above her but even Gambunta ( the frog ) overtakes her.

In Character poll 3 , 4 ( chapter 199 ), 5 ( chapter 245 ), 6 ( chapter 292 ) and 7 ( chapter 531 ) her ranking becomes 9 , 10 , 8 , 12 and 12 respectively , while the other Team 7 members never leave Top 4. Characters with less panels and appearances repeatedly overtake her.

It is not an exaggeration to say that she was widely disliked as a main character. She has been repeatedly bashed, on Japanese online forums as well as by the author. ( more on this later )

All this of course doesn't mean that she doesn't have a fanbase, oh she has! a very loyal one and a particular kind at that . Women who love Sakura tend to be fans of Shoujo/Josei , something you can notice if you have come across SasuSaku artworks.

When Naruto ended , the majority of their comments were congratulating Sakura on her long one sided crush being finally reciprocated and how happy they were for her. Sasuke fans couldn't care less about the relationship as her character has hardly any effect on his story ( that is, until Gaiden came along and angered many people)

There is a noticeable difference in how JP artists portray their relationship in comparison to their western counterpart. The former portrays it as a 'puppy love' like between an idol and a fan. The appeal of the relationship comes from Sasuke, who is the classical male ideal and Sakura who is deeply ' loyal' to him , who then gets rewarded for it. It is one of the reasons why it only shot up in popularity post-ending.

On the other hand, the latter seems to believe that Sakura is Sasuke's equal, that she challenges and influences Sasuke, despite the fact that she becomes a doormat in front of him and according to Sakura's own words she couldn't come close to Sasuke's heart.

I have discussed why some Japanese fans like Sasuke/Sakura as it may appeal to their taste but these fans don't make much of the fanbase.

Case in point, one of the most hyped SasuSaku material i.e Sasuke Retsuden only managed to sell about 17k copies for the weeks it charted, in Comparison Naruto J Novels 1-7 sold about 470K when it was in circulation back in 2008.

Even the manga adaptation piggybacking on the anime couldn't even sell 40K copies for the first volume.

There was a time when Sasuke's name alone would be enough for a manga to sell out but the truth is that not only the majority of Naruto fans have moved on since 2015, even the loyal fans aren't interested in this content.

After Gaiden came out, Both Sakura and her relationship received harsh criticism, the 2channel threads kept bashing her and Kishimoto of the poor handling of the relationship.

Some of the snippets

"..with the release of Gaiden, the author just had worsened what was already bad. I guess he lost his willpower to write.”

“I was expecting before Sasuke and Sakura’s feelings would be shown in Gaiden but was edited out...because back time I thought I saw some spoilers that Sasuke and Sakura had gotten closer.

But now there’s no way there was some edit, no, this whole thing is a fucking lie.”

"A natural progress of loving, to slowly get accustomed and come to love someone, yeah I can’t imagine this with Sasu/Saku. Such extremely weird couple, how are they supposed to get used with each other over time? This is the vibe I get.

This relationship feels weird in my head, maybe I’m asking for too much to find a reason behind this.

But Kishimoto’s Sasu/Saku bonds is completely empty, I guess it’s funny that there’s nothing to add in it.”

"Sakura’s feelings is over the top terrible. She’s able to be happy with this..”

The thread is VERY long but you get the gist of it.

Fun fact : In 2015 Sasuke/Sakura was 6th most voted couple that should Break-Up by Japnese readers

Accusing others of not understanding their relationship because they apparently don't get their supposedly "culturally contextual relationship" is quite stupid and laughable because it's also hated by many Japanese people. It's only popular with a specific set of audience.

Which brings me to the other argument.

"Sasuke/Sakura is the most popular Naruto couple in Japan"

While this might be true today, it has not always been the case. Sasuke/Sakura shot in popularity post-Naruto ending while the most popular pairing throughout the run of the series (Sasuke/Naruto) declined. ( If anybody has the pixiv stats from 2012/13 , please feel free to add)

Take a look at this Naruto couple ranking list in Japan from 2012 ( the rankings are based on Google Japan results if I am not wrong)

サスナル (SasuNaru) —- 166,000 res.

ナルサス (NaruSasu) —- 78,400 res.

サスナルサス ( SasuNaruSasu) —- 244,400 res.

サスサク (SasuSaku) —- 54,700 res.

There's quite a large gap.

Even in 2016, 2 years after Naruto ended and many Sasuke/Naruto artists deleted their artworks or moved on from the fandom , it still rivaled SasuSaku in popularity on pixiv

SasuNaruSasu サスナルサス 9.502 works

SasuSaku サスサク 8.150 works

I will make a separate post for the Chinese Naruto fandom but they are very brutal against the Sasuke/Sakura relationship.

For other East Asian countries, I wrote about how SasuNaruSasu is the largest pairing in China with no close second . I am unfortunately not familiar with the Korean fandom.

This is the general sentiment there :

Sasuke married Sakura to atone for his sins

🤍 10 K

[crystalstylehexagon]

"Soulmates" Pt.3 - Kakashi & Reader

requested by: @hoohamaru

requests: open

enjoy!

pt1

pt2

Two days have passed since the revelation of Kakashi having a soulmate. It had been… Full of thoughts and a lot of investigating. With some connections and the use of his ninja skills, Kakashi managed to gather some intel about his soulmate. He was currently staring at her file: Y/n L/n. B/D. He found out that she lived in the civilian side of the village. He remembered that place. He and his team visited Sakura's parent's house for dinner once. It was also close to the restaurant she worked at. He stared at the occupancy: Retired Chunin ninja, currently working as both the chef and manager of the place. Got her promotion after a few years of working there. "A chef, huh…" He smiled slightly under his mask. For her personality, he asked around after visiting as Sukea, that she was a hard-working woman in her mid-thirties. She was described as slightly bossy, but a kind individual. Y/n loved her job, apparently, and helped the new recruits, get a feel of how things worked around there. She had a slight temper, according to one of the cooks, but it rarely showed its head. Other than that, she was a cheerful person, always ready to help when you needed it.

He leaned on his hand and hummed boredly. He refused to investigate otherwise, his brain overthinking the possibility, that she might spot him. Surely if her name appeared on his forearm, written in bold Japanese letters, the same would happen in her case, right? He didn't want to creep her out or anything. The last thing he needed was his possible future partner fleeing at the sight of him. That and he didn't want people hoarding around "Lord Seventh" … How he hated that title… And how he thanked his past self for choosing to disguise himself. Upon further investigations, he also found out that she didn't believe in soulmate theory, at least didn't subscribe to the now popular beliefs of it, and wanted to find love naturally, hence her previous unsuccessful dating spree. A pang of jealousy ran through his veins, but he stifled it down. It was logical, he told himself. Not everyone believed in the soulmate theory, him being one of those, even though he had proof that soulmates were made for each other by his late parents. He remembered how his father always told stories to him about the moment one would meet their soulmate. To some, it was explosive, to others, it was like two missing puzzle pieces clicking together, finally forming that beautiful, big picture. Though he never really paid any mind to his father's words as a kit, he couldn't help but wonder sometimes if his soulmate was out there, somewhere. Kakashi hummed and looked up at the ceiling. "Still… What if she doesn't like me? It's not like I'm the brightest person out there…" He wondered out loud before his face darkened as the back of his mind helpfully provided. 'Why would anyone want a friend-killer and a misfortunate person like you?'. He sighed. Maybe he should just give up on the whole ordeal. He had lasted three decades without a soulmate, he could bear a few more… … But what if he had one? Something selfish in the back of his mind nagged at him. Did he not deserve happiness too, after all he has gone through? Why should he be the only one to bear such shackles? Despite the war and setting things straight with his old friend, bringing Sasuke back home, and helping Naruto fulfill his dream; of becoming a Hokage, the guilt was still there... The weight of things he had done. Even today, he visited the graves of his fallen comrades and mourned the lives he had taken with his hands, enemy or not. Was he made to just suffer eternally? Of course, he knew that the path of a ninja wasn't a field of flowers and daisies, he made a conscious choice to become one at a very young age, watching his father. He wanted to help his village in the way he knew how to. That, and he was the only ninja alive left from his clan. He deserved to love and be loved as well. Someone to share his pain, or at least comfort him in his darkest hour. Someone, other than his village and friends, to live for. "Someone to come home to…" He remembered the young boy's, Yukimaru's words that he had met once.

He sighed for the umpteenth time, before shaking his head, looking over to yet another stack of paperwork on his desk… And ten more on the ground, waiting to be signed. His eye twitched. "Naruto, I sometimes wish that you were simply smarter…" He whined a complaint to his student. It was taking him a long time to get down the basics of theory and laws of being a Hokage. Well, he supposed he should get back to work until then. Those dreaded papers wouldn't sign themselves. Sighing, he begrudgingly picked up the pen and the first paper from the pile and started on with his signing spree. Yet again, another day had passed peacefully, uneventfully. Kakashi wrote off the last document of the day on the laptop and sent it off. He closed the device and took a long, deep breath. Just then, a knock was heard at the door, directing his attention to the door. He knew just by the overbearing scent of ramen it was his ex-student. "Come in." He called out. The door opened, revealing Naruto. "Heya, Kakashi-sensei!" The blonde walked in. Kakashi nodded. "Come in, Naruto. How can I help?" He asked. Naruto shrugged and stepped into the Hokage's office, closing the door behind him. "Just thought I'd drop by. Me, Sakura-chan, and Teme are having a night out, Just the three of us. 'Was wondering if you wanted to come along and have dinner with us. For the old time's sake, ya know?" The blonde grinned. Kakashi looked up at the clock and frowned. "That much time had passed, huh?" he asked, chuckling. "Sure, why not!" He smiled behind his mask, giving one of his crescent-moon-shaped eye crinkle, and got up, stretching. He felt his bones crack from the effort. "I think it would do me some good to go out once in a while." He mused and rounded the table, walking towards Naruto. "Where are we headed?" He asked, to which Naruto replied with a grin. "Where else? At Ichiraku's, of course!" He motioned the sixth Hokage to follow him and opened the door for Kakashi, to which the silver-haired man thanked the blonde and stepped out.

The two stepped out of the Hokage tower quietly. "So, Sasuke's back in town, huh?" Kakashi asked, turning his head towards the Uzumaki. The boy- now a man clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the clear, midnight-blue sky. "Yeaah. The bastard just came back this afternoon, completely unannounced. Can ya believe him? No message, no text. I mean, we have portable phones now; the least he can do is buy one and simply call or text!" Naruto replied, pouting. Kakashi grinned behind his mask. He couldn't blame the Uchiha. After all, he didn't own a personal phone either. He liked the old-fashioned way. He had his home phone he could use, or the one at the Hokage tower. During the missions, which he rarely went on these days, because… Well- being the Hokage, you got less of such privileges, safety and all. Though he liked to defy those rules, sometimes- He used the wireless radio, which he found more convenient. So there was no real need for him to own one.

"Probably, but maybe he prefers the old-fashioned way like I do. It's all about the preferences, after all." Kakashi replied with a light-hearted nature. "Yeah, but come on! No letters or anything for the past few months is a bit too much, don't ya think? I get he's on the road of redemption and all that, but… It would be nice if he wrote once in a while! The post office is almost in every village now!" The blonde countered, to which Kakashi nodded. Maybe a few months was a bit of a stretch, even for Sasuke. Yet again, he could resonate with him in some way. Given the peacetime situation, that didn't exactly mean Sasuke had a lot of time at hand to begin with. After all, there was always a threat and it wasn't just the self-redemption journey the man was on. He was on a constant lookout for any other threat that may put the peace between the five great nations in jeopardy, and he was the only one who could keep a lookout for the Otsutsuki. After all, they had learned that Kaguya wasn't the only one of her alien kin. She was merely a pawn who had rebelled and found a home on their planet, according to the sage of six paths.

Kakashi sighed. "Perhaps but he's home now, for now. How are things between her and Sakura-chan?" He asked Naruto, who shrugged in response. "It's hard to tell what's really going on between those two, ya know? I can tell that Sakura-chan is still in love with Teme, but… I can see that she has doubts, and Teme isn't really making any moves on her, either. He just lingers. I've known Sasuke for a long time, and I can tell that he's conflicted with his own feelings… But if this keeps up, despite being as loyal as Sakura-chan is, whatever flicker of feelings and hopes she has left for Sasuke-bastard may fade if he doesn't make a move soon." Naruto frowns, thinking. Despite being as oblivious as the blonde was, he had his moments, Kakashi mused in his mind. Sometimes, if he observed, Naruto could read anyone like the back of his hand, to the lengths even he, himself had trouble reading others. Kakashi was a seasoned ninja, but sometimes he was simply unable to resonate with others' feelings. Sometimes he just winged it and pretended he did, especially when it came to romance. "True." He mumbled, staring up at the stars that faintly shone amongst the lights of the village. Naruto nodded. "Yeah… Plus, we're not getting any younger, and I know for sure that Sakura-chan dreams of having a family of her own, one day. I guess it has to do with a woman's maternal instincts, or maybe it's something else. Maybe she wants to have someone to protect, love, and cherish. Something other than her profession to live for." He shrugged. "A family of her own." He finished a sentence, deep in thought.

Kakashi nodded yet again. He could also see Sakura's passion for having a family of her own, and her struggles. That was something he recently started sympathizing with. The whole soulmate ordeal came back to his mind, dragging him back into his spiral of never-ending questions: What would it be like to have a significant other, someone to love permanently… Someone to protect and cherish… Starting a family, even if he was knocking around his forties. A family, something other than his village to protect… Shaking his head, he turned to Naruto as they walked. If he went too deep, he would zone out and he didn't want to look suspicious. "What about you? Any love life drama?" His eyes crinkled as his voice took a playful tone. He gently nudged Naruto as he teased. "I've seen some girls and boys fawning over you, recently~"

Naruto laughed. "Nah… I'm still focused on my goal of becoming a decent Hokage. All that studying is hurtin' my brain, though!" The blonde whined out a complaint. "The will of fire, the basics. Ugh…" Naruto shuddered. Kakashi chuckled yet again. "Not as easy as you thought, is it?" He asked. "Nope! I guess I can't really punch and kick my way to being a Hokage, after all!" Naruto joked as they approached the all-too-familiar ramen stand. The two ducked their heads and entered, pulling aside the flaps of the shop. "Excuse us…" The two said. "Ah! Naruto, Kakashi-sama!" Ayame gret the two. "Welcome, welcome! Take a seat!" Kakashi sweatdropped. There it was again, the "sama." He sighed, tiredly. "Ayame-chan, i told you a thousand times over. Just Kakashi is fine! No need for formalities!" Kakashi said tiredly, taking a seat next to the blonde. Sometimes, he felt like they were doing this to tease him. He wondered what sort of cruelty or prank did he pull on these people to get such a karmic response… "Right, Kakashi-san!" Ayame giggled as she corrected herself. "What would you like to order, today?" She asked. Naruto hummed. "Unless there's anything new on the menu, I'll take the usual!" He grinned. Kakashi hummed. "Miso soup, please." He ordered much more politely.

Just then his sharp ears picked up two sets of footsteps. A lighter one and a heavier one. He heard light chatter between the two, then the opening of the flaps of the shop. "Naruto, Kakashi-sensei! You're here!" Sakura's voice rang out. the two turned to the newcomers. "Hey, Sakura-chan, Teme!" Naruto grinned. Sakura smiled softly at the two and Sasuke nodded a greeting. "Dobe, Kakashi." Sasuke greeted and sat down next to Sakura. "Hope we didn't keep you guys waiting!" The pinkette said as she ordered miso soup as well. "No, we actually just got here." Kakashi replied, giving the duo his signature smile. As the night went on, he observed his cute little ex-students. 'Maa, Maa… How they've grown.' He thought, a sense of happiness and pride filling his chest as they chattered. Naruto was no longer as obnoxious and as loud as before. Sure, he had his moments, but he became more level-headed. Sasuke was more inclusive in the conversations going, opening up more. He scowled a lot less and it looked like he was slowly growing out his hair. Kakashi noted that his fashion sense had also changed for the better, opting for a more practical choice of clothing and he smiled a bit more. Sakura was the same old Sakura, just with less punching and temper, but more with feminine grace and a certain gentleness she showed after working with children after the war was over. She had grown into a fine woman. He just hoped Sasuke would catch on soon. He could tell that the Uchiha harbored feelings for the pink-haired woman. The way he always looked at her, attentive to what she said, always protecting her with extra care when in danger, his eyes always ran towards her one way or the other when he and Naruto weren't bickering. He respected her mental prowess and abilities, which had grown as they had grown. Now, he stared at her with a certain longing in his abyss-colored eyes: Curiosity, inner conflict, and admiration, but his own ego, lifestyle, and silent nature gave him trouble expressing his feelings toward the Haruno. Kakashi stared at his soup that was served five minutes ago, thinking. Was he going to experience the same feelings if he did end up falling for his soulmate? He dated once, but he never experienced love on that level, so he broke it off. That, and he felt like he would bring misfortune upon the poor girl, as he always had.

"Kakashi-sensei? Eat up. The soup will grow cold, 'ttebayo!" Naruto snapped him back to reality. Kakashi blinked. "Oh, right. Sorry! I was thinking if I had anything left to sign back at the tower, haha!" He made an excuse and laughed, scratching the back of his head. Naruto frowned. "You need a break, for real." The Uzumaki stated. "Maa, maaa… I suppose, but you'll have to work harder to become the Hokage so I can retire!" Kakashi pointed out with a grin behind his mask. Naruto whined. "No fair! I'm already working overtime, believe it!" "Then work harder, dobe." Sasuke responded, smirking. "Or is your singular brain cell finally at its limit?" He challenged. "WHAT'D YA SAY, YA BASTARD?!" Naruto yelled and their playful banter started yet again, pulling quite a few laughs from Sakura, Kakashi, Ayame, and Teuchi. Kakashi's eyes softened as his laugh died down, watching his old team, something in his heart swelled with joy; Oh, how he missed these precious moments… 'Is this what it feels like to be a father, dad? Did you feel the same way when I made a friend or had these types of moments with others? If so, then this is the best feeling on the planet… My cute little students… My family…' He smiled softly behind his mask at the thought. Perhaps… Perhaps it was worth the trouble, pursuing his soulmate, after all. If this is the happiness it brought, he wouldn't mind. If she said no, he still had his family. 'Alright… From tomorrow on, I'm going to make some effort! …. And maybe pull a few strings here and there...' Kakashi thought. With that, the night went smoothly. Kakashi enjoyed and cherished every single moment of the evening, made jokes, and teased his adorable ex-students at every chance he got. After all, what kind of ex-Sensei would he be if he didn't get on his pups' nerves?~

[cozymoko]

So what if sasukes darling that doesn’t really care for the leaf for their own personal reasons and doesn’t want to live there in the future when they settle down and sasuke is one of the only leaf ninja they like from there ?😂I just want to see drama of sakura darling completely ignoring team seven and cpecially sakura bc they from leaf or darling just not liking none of them

Synopsis: Sasuke with a s/o who doesn't like anyone from the leaf.

Pairing: Yandere Sasuke Uchiha x reader

Format: Headcanons

WARNING(S) : slight yandere tendencies

🍙 Even SASUKE could not recall when or how you grew so close. The two of you were easily competing for "most distant asshole", as Kakashi woul d say, every day. But you beat him by a long shot. You were so quiet and reserved, it was like you were a mere vessel with no one to inhabit it. Then you finally said something to his surprise.

🍙 “I hate this village,” You scoffed at no one in particular. “When I'm old enough I'll move out of here and never turn back.” Sasuke attempted to suppress his laughter to little avail. You wanted exactly what he wanted, to leave and never look behind him. Your views intrigued him the more he invested his time in them. At that moment he made his up mind about you.

🍙 Team seven made many attempts to get along with you. You ignored them. Sakura wished to become your friend, but it was solely to get closer to a certain Uchiha. So, you ignored her. Naruto was annoying, so you ignored him. Only when in the presence of Sasuke were you somewhat interested in listening.

🍙 You truly did not have the patience for anyone's petty antics, Sakura's especially, and that girl seemed to have plenty of them. You were already aware of her "little" crush on the shinobi, long before he asked you out. But frankly, you couldn't care less. You didn't like her anyways; but she was angry, understandably so. Her pointless shrieks no more than further your desire to leave this wretched place. And she would be the first person you get away from.

🍙 After the Great Ninja War, the two of you ventured far beyond the Leaf. Even so, your very last moments there still lay fresh on your mind: Sakura confessing her love for Sasuke, begging and pleading for him to rethink his decisions. Naruto trying to convince you to stay for no reason in particular. Kakashi didn't care in the slightest. You snort at the memory, it was amusing to this day.

🍙 “You're distracted. Why's that?” It seemed as though every time your mind wandered, Sasuke was there to retrieve it. There was not a moment where you were left to marvel at the wonders of your vast mind, for Sasuke had grown envious of what dared to capture it. You leaving him remained one of his greatest fears. After all, You were no fool, and if given the opportunity he was sure you'd lose interest in him much like you did with the others.

[tentenismybitch]

since 2025 is the year of tenten posting, headcanons about my blorbo:

she is an orphan to me, mostly because i imagine that she is a little bit abrasive and can very often forget her manners, especially when provoked. she’s not nearly as rude as naruto or sasuke but she lacks the well-mannered politeness of lee, neji, and gai because she had no one to teach her these things (ok we all know that iconic sakura scene where she complains about naruto’s #fatherless behavior to sasuke, a fellow orphan, who gets pissed off at her? yeah… tenten also behaves #fatherlessly sometimes)

HOW exactly she is an orphan varies depending on what i’m writing - sometimes it’s the standard “parents died in the kyubi attack.” sometimes her mother died in childbirth and her father turned to his work in grief and died on a mission. sometimes both her parents are anbu who had a child (by accident?) but don’t want to quit their jobs so, again, died on a mission. it really depends on the themes of the fic - also, i do like to occasionally give her a slightly older sister who takes care of her after their parents die

this is mostly to justify the fact that i pretend she looks like this, but one of her parents is from kumo and moved to konoha temari-style, tho this was at a time when they had to renounce their home village and could not become a shinobi of konoha. they never got married hence why she doesn't have a last name. i have an AU in the vault that provides an angsty variant on this where both her parents are from kumo, but i am keeping that close to my chest just in case i ever write it

complete disregard for canon and inspired by this post by @erumai-maadu but despite having a march birthday, tenten is actually younger than neji and lee because she was born in the previous year. she got put in the academy early because that’s what they do with orphans

tenten is a hot girl. you now how every girl was in love with sasuke when they were in the academy? that’s how it was for tenten in her year. she was a lot of girls’ gay awakening. basically this post but it’s true for everyone

she is also oblivious tho so does not realize her own charms and that people are into her. A LOT of team gai’s mission success rate in other villages has to do with tenten accidentally charming the pants off shinobi who are otherwise hostile to konoha

tsunade is of course her idol, but she looks up to pretty much all kunoichi older than her - when she was due to graduate from the academy, she secretly hoped that kurenai would be her sensei, but obviously ends up happy with gai (an iconic male feminist in this misogynistic ass shonen LMAO)

ino is her non-team gai best friend, partly b/c they actually knew each other growing up: her father was in the torture and interrogation unit when he was alive, so he was well acquainted with inoichi, but they would’ve gravitated together anyway because they’re both funny, bossy, and gossipy.

also she doesn’t like sakura for a while in the same way that like. when your friend and the guy she’s been dating get into a fight and almost break up but then stay together and heal so your friend is happy but you still side-eye the guy for a couple of years? yeah. she does grow to love sakura by the time we get to the timeskip tho

SPEAKING OF NON-TEAM GAI FRIENDS. idk. idk. maybe it’s cus of this fic, which i originally read on ff.net many years ago, maybe it’s cus of this fanart of them as anbu teammates that i saw also years ago and now can't link but…her and sasuke would be friends. maybe they somehow became friends as children, before his clan was murked. maybe in a rare fic of mine when neji actually dies, she tries to replace him with sasuke. maybe kakashi puts them on a long mission together during the Blank Period and they bond cus tenten is good at bonding with standoffish brooding b*tches idk. sasuten friendship is real to me tho

gai (and lee) have rubbed off on her with the rivalry shit: she tries hard to fight it but she is compelled through a force far beyond her control to challenge temari. first to a rematch but eventually it’s like. temari comes to the village and tenten is baiting her into rock-paper-scissors and shit like that. she absolutely is keeping score. just like kakashi and gai, they are evenly matched

ok clearly i want tenten to collect guys with offputting vibes like pokemon cus her and sai would also be friends TO ME. IDK. literally yesterday in the shower i had a fic idea where tsunade assigns tenten, sai, and sasuke to be kakashi’s bodyguards when he becomes hokage. is this idea mostly to further my sasusai agenda but also make tenten a main character in it for some reason? maybe so. i am not sorry

other offputting vibes guy pokemon she has collected: gaara and shino

i have to make a separate post for team gai and shipping ones cus this is already too long chile 😔