#ShinoSaku

[kumeramen]

I love your art and Sakura pairings! If you ever have free time could you draw Shino and Sakura or chouji and Sakura? There’s not enough good artwork on those pairings!!

Eyes revealed~

Also a previous ShinoSaku art I drew a while back! [ ☆ ]

[multisakunation]

Hello! Welcome to my blog 🌸

This blog is aimed at couples who I think look good together aesthetically.

As Sakura is one of the characters closest to the main character, she ends up having a lot of "external" interactions (outside her team and outside the village).

And well, I've seen people ship couples for far fewer interactions. Sometimes the personalities don't match up well, but aesthetically it matches very well. So, I decided to create this blog with the intention of sharing these couples.

Before you ask: yes. I have a favorite couple and I could've made a blog just for them but I had a MultiSaku blog before and just decided to start over.

If you decide to send an ask, I kindly ask that you remain respectful and polite. I'm not forcing you to like what I like. And people have the right to like different things. If you don't like a couple that appears here, that's okay. I respect.

Icon credit go to @tenartist because I'm just obsessed with their art.

Thank you for reading this far 🩷

Sasuke x Sakura = SasuSaku:

sasusaku

young sasusaku

genin sasusaku

au sasusaku

fav sasusaku

anbu sasusaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Itachi x Sakura = ItaSaku:

itasaku

young itasaku

genin itasaku

au itasaku

fav itasaku

anbu itasaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Rock Lee x Sakura = LeeSaku:

leesaku

young leesaku

genin leesaku

au leesaku

fav leesaku

anbu leesaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Deidara x Sakura = DeiSaku:

deisaku

young deisaku

genin deisaku

au deisaku

fav deisaku

anbu deisaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Sasori x Sakura = SasoSaku:

sasosaku

young sasosaku

genin sasosaku

au sasosaku

fav sasosaku

anbu sasosaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Naruto x Sakura = NaruSaku:

narusaku

young narusaku

genin narusaku

au narusaku

fav narusaku

anbu narusaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Madara x Sakura = MadaSaku:

madasaku

young madasaku

genin madasaku

au madasaku

fav madasaku

anbu madasaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Obito x Sakura = ObiSaku:

obisaku

young obisaku

genin obisaku

au obisaku

fav obisaku

anbu obisaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Darui x Sakura = DaruiSaku:

daruisaku

young daruisaku

genin daruisaku

au daruisaku

fav daruisaku

anbu daruisaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Shisui x Sakura = ShiSaku:

shisaku

young shisaku

genin shisaku

au shisaku

fav shisaku

anbu shisaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Izuna x Sakura = IzuSaku:

izusaku

young izusaku

genin izusaku

au izusaku

fav izusaku

anbu izusaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Neji x Sakura = NejiSaku:

nejisaku

young nejisaku

genin nejisaku

au nejisaku

fav nejisaku

anbu nejisaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Gaara x Sakura = GaaSaku:

gaasaku

young gaasaku

genin gaasaku

au gaasaku

fav gaasaku

anbu gaasaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Sai x Sakura = SaiSaku:

saisaku

young saisaku

genin saisaku

au saisaku

fav saisaku

anbu saisaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Shino x Sakura = ShinoSaku:

shinosaku

young shinosaku

genin shinosaku

au shinosaku

fav shinosaku

anbu shinosaku

🌸•🌸•🌸•🌸

Kakuzu x Sakura = KakuSaku:

kakusaku

young kakusaku

genin kakusaku

au kakusaku

fav kakusaku

anbu kakusaku

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Sakura/shino

Hmmmm this is a tough one cuz it's not a ship i usually think about XD

ummm, I think my top choices would have to be maybe an Age swap au where Sakura is sensei to team seven and Shino is the sensei to team Eight.

Kakashi, Rin and Obito would have a lot of questions about their sensei's choice in partners, but also Kakashi is probably the one who thinks it's about the only good Decision Sakura-Sensei has made because he thinks Shino-sensei is actually pretty cool

or

Mafia au where Sakura and Shino meet when Sakura joins Shikaku's gang (Shino works with his father, who often does jobs for Shikaku cleaning up certain scenes they don't want the cops finding) and is instantly intriqued by his work because she wants to learn how to take care of the scenes herself and she wants to learn about all of the different ways to do so (She has seen how Kakashi does it, but she has no intention of getting eight dogs so she's looking at different options) and while learning about Shino's work they two get closer and become almost inseperable, to a point where Shino's willing to break the one rule his father has of not getting involved in the actual work that created the scenes they have to clean up and starts helping Sakura with certain jobs because he finds the work interesting AND he gets to spend time with the hot girl who lets him gush about his bugs without looking board for even a second.

[kiljoius-writes]

Cooler Than Me - Chapter 7

Ao3 | FFN

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First Chapter

Chapter 7: Day Two - Sakura

Sakura thinks that Sasuke’s tough guy act is hilarious.

The way he grumbles, pushes at his paperwork, gets real pouty and…

Fuck, it’s cute.

Sakura hates Sasuke’s baby fat. She hates his big eyes. She hates his soft, fluffy hair. She hates the way that even when he’s pouting, he looks good. It’s not fair, not at all. For one man to just be effortlessly pretty—it’s terrible. She hates it and she hates looking at him.

But she likes working with him because it’s her only opportunity to dunk on him.

“This is ridiculous, you realize that don’t you?”

Sakura coughs into her fist, rolling her eyes. “And just what do you mean by that, Sasuke?”

She says it in this sing-song voice that’s annoyed him since they were kids because, at this point, she thinks he deserves to be annoyed by her.

“I mean that this is a waste of time,” he responds, flatly.

“Oh, it’s a waste of time to find out who’s intruding on your girlfriend’s home? Laying traps for her cousin? That seems like a pretty serious issue.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Sakura turns her nose up at his accusatory tone. “This is clearly a prank.”

“I am so sorry, Sasuke,” Sakura laments, very sarcastically, “sometimes us police officers actually have to do work. The worst, isn’t it?”

“Seriously?”

She ignores his scowl. “You pretend like all this is a game, but it’s not! We have serious jobs, I know you spend all your time at the desk, but—”

“Not by my choice!”

“BUT!” Sakura exclaims, stomping her foot to get him to stop talking. “But it’s our job to protect our citizens. Neji is a citizen with a valid complaint.”

“It’s his baby cousin pranking him—”

“So, we should seek out Hanabi and arrest her then? Hinata’s little sister?”

Sakura sneers at Sasuke. She really doesn’t like the way his scowl looks good on him. “We’re not arresting someone for a prank.”

“Only 3 more trips to go!” Sakura darts her eyes up at a familiar voice. Tenten is guiding her marching genin down the road, each carrying a hefty amount of weight. “It’s strength training! You’ll be thanking me later when you get your hands on some amazing sword, like the Executioner’s Blade! Swinging it around like it’s an aluminum bat!”

“Hey, Tenten!” Sakura calls and Sasuke groans next to her. She doesn’t even bother to shoot him a look this time. He does follow her as she approaches Tenten, which she appreciates.

“Ah, what’s up Sakura?” Tenten asks, diverting her attention away from the genin who all are quietly grumbling something about wishing they had Shino for a sensei.

“Have you seen anything suspicious around the Hyūga compound?” Sakura asks. “Or heard from any of your genin about pranks going on there?”

“Pranking the Hyūga?” Tenten asks, tapping her lips. “Can’t say I have. Someone prank Hinata or something?”

Sakura glances at Sasuke who purses his lips, shaking his head. “Hanabi played a prank on Neji.”

“We don’t know—”

“Neji’s back?!” Tenten exclaims, wide-eyed. “Since when?”

“This morning?” Sasuke shrugs. “Or last night? No clue. Hinata never mentioned it, so I assume it’s recent.”

“He…he didn’t come to see me?” Tenten’s upper lip quivers, slightly. Sakura furrows her eyebrows, reaching out to set a hand on her shoulder.

“He’s a busy guy, Tenten,” she tries to comfort. “You know how Lee is, Neji’s probably busy fixing all of the chaos Lee’s unleashed on the village.”

“Chaos aided by a certain someone,” Sasuke says under his breath from beside her. Sakura and Tenten both give him a look.

“Everyone knows it’s your girlfriend’s dad responsible for loaning out piles of cash to Lee,” Sakura quips, and Tenten snickers.

“Not my business.” Sasuke shrugs again.

Sakura knows that it absolutely is his business but decides not to push it. Just looks back at Tenten, who looks like she’s trying not to cry. She just frowns because she doesn’t think Neji is worth crying about, completely confused as to what Tenten sees in him. He’s too much like Sasuke, but at least she finds Sasuke attractive. They’re both hardheaded, snippy and think they’re better than everyone else.

That’s why she’s with Shino, she thinks. He’s softer, more willing to listen, doesn’t talk a whole bunch. That’s the part she likes best, that he’s quiet. Constantly surrounded by people who won’t shut up, Sakura finds peace with Shino. Even if she is a little unsettled when he speaks to his bugs, at least it’s quiet.

“Anyway, Sakura.” Tenten wipes at her nose, clearly trying to hold it together. It reminds her of when she found out on her 20th birthday that Sasuke and Hinata were an item. Now she’s growing into her 20s and doesn’t think there’s any man worth this reaction. “Uhm, Kiba likes to play pranks. Maybe you should ask him?”

“Aren’t you seeing each other?” Sasuke asks, suspicion in his voice.

“I didn’t know you were the village gossip,” Sakura snaps back. “Maybe we should start inviting you to tea, huh?”

“Yeah, Sasuke.” Tenten laughs a little, eyeing him. His face is the picture of confusion. “Didn’t know you were keeping up on village romance.”

“Whatever,” Sasuke sighs. “Let’s just go find him. Even though it’s not him, you’re going to insist and I’m just tired of it.”

Well, that’s no fun.

“Thanks for your help, Tenten.” Sakura leans in to whisper, “we can talk more about it on Friday for tea.”

“Yeah.” Tenten sighs, waving at them as they begin their trek.

Sakura’s pretty sure Sasuke already knows what ‘tea on Fridays’ means because Hinata probably told him at some point or another, but she must at least try not to let the whole village know that 4 kunoichi (and 1 male shinobi) are meeting weekly to discuss everyone’s business. The only time Sakura feels like she can relax lately is in the comfort of the Akimichi’s Barbeque Diner. For a barbeque place, it’s actually got a fairly modern, hip vibe to it, just with the smell of a smoker. She just hopes after their break from tea brings forth juicier gossip than last time.

“Inuzuka compounds this way.” Sasuke nudges his head while Sakura shakes hers.

“Guess you don’t know as much as you thought,” she quips, feeling satisfied with his frown. “He’s on guard duty ‘til 3.”

“I have never once in my life cared to memorize the schedule of an Inuzuka,” he says, flatly, just typical Sasuke. She huffs because his effortlessly unaffected voice while simultaneously insulting her in an underhanded way really gets under her skin. Thinks that if Shino said something like that to her, as if she was crazy for knowing other people’s daily routines, she’d probably cry. But at least he would care and try to comfort her somehow, not meant for it to be an insult.

“Kiba!” Sakura shouts with her hands cupped around her mouth. See’s him poke his head out from the top of the tower.

“What is it?” Kiba calls back, standing up now to rest his arms on the edge of the fencing. Sakura starts climbing the ladder, looking back at Sasuke expectantly, who is staring off in the distance.

“Earth to Sasuke.”

“I’m not going,” he tells her, coolly. “This is your insane mission. I’m just along for the ride.”

“Lazy,” Sakura spits, shaking her head as she continues up. “Hinata clearly has a type.”

It’s a harsh statement to make and she catches the electricity that sparks between his fingers when she says it. He’d never do anything, so she just hums to herself as she continues up the ladder, satisfied that she finally got under his skin. No one likes to be reminded of their partners’ exes, especially being compared to them. Shikamaru and Sasuke had never been friendly in the past, but since Sasuke and Hinata started dating, things became tense between them. It’s one of the few things Sakura can rub his nose in.

Once she gets to the top, she’s greeted with Kiba leaning on his back against the fencing, hands clasped behind his neck. “What’s up, Officer Haruno?”

Sakura actually doesn’t mind Kiba. He minds his own business, says hi whenever he passes by, and Akamaru being adorable doesn’t hurt either. If she actually thought Kiba had done the prank, she’d feel bad having to confront him right now. Of course, she’s not an idiot. She knows who did it.

“Just investigating an attack,” she says, and he straightens up immediately. She waves her hand. “Attack might be a strong word. A prank, rather.”

“I haven’t pranked anyone,” he responds, quickly, looking guilty.

“It was on Neji.”

“Neji’s back?” Sakura instantly feels a little pang of guilt now, realizing this can’t be good news for Kiba. The little shake in his voice is so pathetic it’s almost cute. She has a hard time feeling too bad, though, because Kiba should know better.

Whatever’s going on between him, Tenten, and Neji, it’s messy.

Tea Friday can’t come fast enough.

A/N: Thanks to anyone patiently waiting for this fic. I'm working on SasuHina month so everything got put on the back burner, but I got a sudden wind of inspiration for this fic so here's Sakura doing her best to ruin Sasuke's happiness.

[almostdoriangray]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Naruto Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Yamanaka Ino, Aburame Shino/Haruno Sakura, one-sided Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke - Relationship, one-sided Yamanaka Ino/Uchiha Sasuke - Relationship, Nara Shikamaru/Temari, Karin/Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura & Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru & Yamanaka Ino, Referenced - Relationship, Sai/Yamanaka Ino, if you squint hard enough Characters: Yamanaka Ino, Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata (mentioned), Rock Lee (mentioned), Hyuuga Neji (Mentioned), Pakkun (Naruto), Aburame Shino, Nara Shikamaru, Nara Shikadai, bunch of unnamed ANBUs Additional Tags: Secret Relationship, Character Study, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied Relationships, Depression, Anxiety Attacks, ino supremacy Series: Part 2 of Wolf's bane Summary:

“When Ino sighs, the universe splinters, and the pieces of who she used to be rain down and scatter away from her feet.”

Everyone moves on. Ino doesn’t.

[Character exploration with a dash of pairing].

[multisaku-advent-calendar]

Day 4: Stranded

Author: Deijinn Pairing: ShinoSaku Additional Tags: Foreplay, Slow Sex, Handjobs, Couch Sex, Trans Character Word Count: 999

Read it here on Ao3!

By the way, we have a Carrd and a Spotify playlist! Please leave this author some love!!

[naruto-shipping-confessions]

[purple-possibilities]

This is post 3 (I should have included instructions with these)

Ignore

Yama abu aki nara inu clan tags

[thefairyletters]

Naruto asks: 19, 30, and 31!

19: Least favorite character

Hiruzen and Orochimaru

One who didn't deserve to have the hat because he selfishly favored wrong people over his own village, and the other who got away with light slap on the wrists after everything he's done. He killed a freaking hokage and got away with it??? Boruto is a freaking joke.

I guess it's also a painful reflection of reality like corrupted officers in the government.

30: OTP

NaruSaku forever. But also, NaruSakuSasu. They are three peas in a pod. My love for them is no secret and knows no bounds.

I also favor ShiSaku (lowkey NaruSaku but with Sasuke sprinkled on the top???) followed by ItaSaku.

31: Brotp

LeeSaku - best spar buddies. They are taijutsu masters and are "Konoha's Blossom and Green Beast". Absolute tanks. They are best of friends, i know it even if we don't get to see them onscreen. They also make flower crowns together as a hobby. He is one of her inspirations.

ShinoSaku - Out of everyone in K9, I think Sakura would be the only one who'd truly appreciate bugs. She owns slugs after all; are crawling, buzzing insects any more creepier than slimy mullusks?? Shino is walking encyclopaedia, there's no way he isn't the brain of his team. She is a nerd and so is he, so they are nerdy together.

SaiSasu - classic love and hate relationship. They are replacements of each other after all. True Bros.

[wlwsakura]

rare pair sunday: shino x sakura

[scrappyasfrick]

Here is a fic art commission for Chrysalis by Treeato / @treeato. 🦋💖

Here is a link to my commission sheet, please note that I do offer specials for Sakura fic art (& a bonus discount if you’re buying fic art for someone else!) 🌸 Hope everyone thrives this new year—my resolutions are mostly creative.

[kumeramen]

❀For @thelmathrowaway​❀

And for the wonderful ShiSaku ficlet you wrote (inspired from one of my art nonetheless!). I adore it so damn much~!! The fic may be short, but it was really worth to read. So in return, to show my appreciation, have this art that I drew of your favorite pairing! 🤗

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Shikashino and sakushino

ShikaShino

· Shogi is actually a game that Shino doesn’t enjoy that much, but recognizing that it’s something that helps to calm Shikamaru and helps him focus he chooses to take up the game with him. It’s also a nice opportunity for the two of them to just chat, as Shikamaru is more open and talkative when playing Shogi.

· Sometimes, while Shino is training, Shikamaru likes to nap under a tree nearby. He always situates himself so that he can watch Shino as he works, but also always manages to fall asleep. Which is fine in his opinion, because waking up to see Shino’s face hovering over him is always a treat he looks forward to.

· While Shikamaru might not be the biggest fan of bugs, he does appreciate Shino’s love for the little creatures. Watching him list off the names of every little creature is adorable, and he could honestly lay there all day listening to shino. Vice versa, Shino thinks it’s it’s an absolute treat to go into the Nara compound and watch Shikamaru interacting with the deer. For a man as lazy as him, he’ll sure do anything he can to keep the deer happy, and Shino loves it.

SakuShino

· Conversations about Poisons are numerous and detailed between these two. Sakura loves talking about all of the different kinds of potions that she has learned from Shizune and other sources, and the ways she can find to heal them. Shino loves talking about the ways he can come up with to protect himself from getting poisoned. How he breeds bugs with immunity so that he can use them as shields. How some of his bugs are able to eat away at the poison that tries to get into his systems, saving him.

· The two of them train together every afternoon, not just focusing on their own growth but also trying to create combo attacks that fit both of their fighting styles and compliment each other. The favorite they have come up with so far, is Shino sending out his bugs towards an enemy in a mess attack. As they get close to the enemy though, the bugs part out of the way to reveal Sakura directly behind them/surrounded by them, and before the Enemy can adjust their guard to block the attack they find themselves taking Sakura’s fist to the face.

· Sakura loves watching Shino teach. Seeing him in his element, helping to mold future shinobi and prepare them for their future, is one of her favourite shows. He always looks so soft and kind when he’s teaching. Attentive to his students needs and different learning styles. Once in a while she’ll help him with a class so that he can focus on kids who might need a bit extra help with a certain topic, and seeing how soft his face gets when they ask him questions and he supports them in every new attempt they make is beautiful. She falls in love with him all over again every time.

[kiljoius-writes]

Cooler Than Me - Chapter 6

Ao3 | FFN

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First Chapter

Chapter 6: Day Two - Neji

The day Rock Lee became Hokage was the last day Neji Hyūga knew peace.

Even in Anbu, Neji was more at peace than he was as advisor to Lee. Guy-sensei had taken over for Jiraiya within the year he had become Hokage, somewhat of a last-minute decision after the scandal broke news. That was the same day Neji enlisted in Anbu. He wasn’t going to be sucked into the madness of Lord Guy, and he and Tenten were teamed together, both in agreement that far away was for the best.

Then, Kakashi opened up a dojo, and upon learning of this, Guy immediately resigned as Hokage to open up a dojo immediately adjacent to continue his rivalry. The decision to make Lee Hokage happened over night. When Neji first peeked inside of Kakashi’s dojo, he was appalled. It was filled with several young shinobi, glad in masks and headbands, all reading Icha Icha. Why Guy decided this was worth resigning as Hokage for, he had no clue.

The day of his inauguration, he had the council at his door, begging him to be advisor to Lee as the only person who could realistically rein him in. His one stipulation was that Shikamaru Nara join him in this fresh hell, and that he’d be offered a month-long vacation yearly. One that he would call a ‘sabbatical’ for appearances sake. And to be totally honest, Neji thought it was completely earned. He’d been reining in Lee and listening to Shikamaru’s complaints for nearly a year now.

So, for his first ‘sabbatical’, Neji took to the mountains. With a guaranteed salary as the advisor to the Hokage, he was in the perfect position to use this time to rediscover himself. Really get acquainted with who Neji Hyūga really is.

That’s why he’s spent the last two weeks backpacking through the great Land of Fire’s mountainous terrain. Really take in nature, enjoy the sounds of the creek, observe the wildlife, study the foliage, breathe in the fresh mountain air, watch the sunrises and sunsets. All of the things one is supposed to do on a grand journey of self-discovery.

He really thought he was getting close to some sort of break through within himself when a beautiful stag entered his campsite. It was majestic: nearly came to his chest just from the shoulders, a dark, burgundy coat, absurdly large antlers, and—

Oh no.

Neji’s eyes immediately landed on the left antler, missing a middle fork. A trademark of a certain trusted deer; every time it regrew its antlers, it was always missing a middle fork on the left antler.

Another message from Shikamaru.

With a sigh, he frowns as the deer elegantly steps towards him, a scroll attached around its neck. He gives the deer a forced smile as he pulls it loose, then unravels it.

With a little snicker, he crumples the scroll in his hands and shakes his head, tossing it into his campfire.

“Looks as though—” Neji immediately coughs into his elbow upon trying to speak, his words gravelly. It had been a while since he’d spoken out loud. Patting his chest, he clears his throat and continues, “looks as though he’s already sent his deer, doesn’t it?”

The deer does not respond in any outward fashion, simply blinks up at him. Neji squints.

“If that’s all, you may go.” He outstretches his arm to motion back to the village, but the deer doesn’t move. He scoffs. “You may go.”

Neji is unamused as the stag huffs and shakes its head. It’s waiting for him to pen out a response.

Shikamaru had no right to intrude on his time in nature with his deer, and to threaten to send them? What does that even mean? As if deer were some sort of match for Neji Hyūga? No, Shikamaru must have been having one of his nicotine fits and thought that somehow this letter was appropriate.

Neji shakes his head as he rummages inside of his pack for some parchment and a pen. He settles on a log next to his campfire and presses the parchment to his knee, taps the pen to his chin as he thinks.

Dear Shikamaru, kindly fuck off.

Too harsh. He tears that sheet away, crumples it, throws it in the fire.

Dear Shikamaru, my sabbatical has no concrete end date.

Too soft. He repeats tearing it, crumpling it, throwing it in the fire.

This process goes on for several more sheets before the stag stomps his foot to the side impatiently, lips flapping as it huffs again. Neji snarls at it before sighing, looking back down at the parchment.

Dear Shikamaru, send your deer if you must. I will not be returning.

“Good enough,” he grumbles to himself, tearing the sheet away to roll up. He approaches the stag cautiously, their eyes locked in mean glares at one another, and he slowly reaches out his hand with the scroll in it. Just as much in suspicion of him, the stag carefully lifts his head to allow him to slot the scroll into the tie. With a little nod, Neji addresses the stag, “Kanoko.” He lets out a relieved breath when the stag turns and takes off in a swift run.

Neji spends the rest of the morning doing his usual activities: make breakfast, pack up his campsite, and set out for a new, interesting place to stay for the night. He makes a quick stop at the river before he officially sets out, refilling his largest canteen downstream. A particularly loud splash towards the north catches his attention and he lifts his head towards the noise. A pair of black eyes lock with his and he nearly stumbles back before he realizes…it’s just a deer.

Strange.

But it doesn’t approach, so he shakes it off, lids his canteen, and continues his trek.

A few hours later, and he comes upon a clearing about 40 kilometres away from his last spot and decides this is a good place to stop. He carefully sets his back aside, pulls out his canvas log carrier, and sets out for firewood for the night. Amidst his journey, he spots a few fresh hoof prints in the loose dirt, and it strikes suspicion in him. He scans the thick forestry around him, and again, a pair of black eyes meet his. He grits his teeth.

“Shoo!” he calls out, unconvincingly, but it does the trick, and the deer begins…slowly backing away.

Do deer normally back away?

Soon, it’s no longer visible, but Neji’s eyes linger on the spot for another few minutes until he’s sure it’s definitely gone. He presses his lips in a line and sighs out through his nose, then gets back to collecting firewood.

A distraction. He needs a peaceful distraction. With the firewood laid on in a provisional pit, he returns to his pack to pull out his canvas and paints. He finds a nice, high tree stump and sets himself up there with a makeshift easel. Before he begins, he does a quick check of the area to make sure no more beady, black eyes are boring into him, then pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out an irritated breath.

He’s probably just being paranoid. It’s not like his return letter could have made it back to Shikamaru already. Then he wonders…how fast do deer run, anyway?

Again, he shakes it off and pops open his watercolor palette, getting to work relaxing.

A beautiful sunset begins peeking through the treetops after about an hour and Neji realizes he hasn’t even really been paying attention to what he’s been painting. He blinks and refocuses his eyes, then leans back in horror.

On the canvas is a mess of grays, browns, blacks, and reds. It’s a massacre of deer.

Neji panics, darting his eyes around the landscape before immediately ripping the canvas off and bunching it up against his chest, then turning to the firepit. He hurriedly throws it in and holds his palms out to create a small flame, then lights it on fire. As soon as it begins lighting up his surroundings, he suddenly sees nearly a dozen pairs of black eyes, all looking directly at him.

“Okay,” he groans, covering the flaming canvas with a log of wood before holding up his palms. “All of you, shoo!” When only a light rustling his heard, he claps his hands together. “Out! I don’t know what Shikamaru’s put you up to, but I can assure you, I am not one to trifle with!”

Still, they remain.

“I did warn you,” he tries to sound threatening, but honestly, a hoard of deer isn’t something shinobi training prepares you for. He activates his byakugan and dips his stance, and that’s when all the pairs of eyes slowly begin to retreat. He senses for their chakra networks until they’ve nearly disappeared, and he finally relaxes, somewhat. He stands up straight, deactivates his dōjutsu, and turns to the canvas that is still mostly intact, burning quite slowly. He holds out his palm to direct more flame towards it, hoping to put this unpleasant experience to rest.

Neji busies himself for the next few hours doing anything and everything. Sweeping the campsite, making sure he has a perfectly flat spot for his tent, setting it up, hunting for dinner (and resisting the urge to specifically seek out deer), making tea, journalling.

My journey of self-discovery has been rudely interrupted once more, but this time feels different. Shikamaru’s letter was a tad more on the desperate side, and he sent his most important stag, Kanoko. From what I remember, he’s the speediest and most capable of his herd. I assume this to mean he’s at the end of his rope, but these were the terms agreed upon. I will not claim blame for the fact that the Nara clan leaders and heirs have historically been advisor to the standing Hokage. He can take it up with Shikaku if he has a problem, Lee being my former teammate does not oblige me to follow him wherever he goes.

Neji slams his journal shut and presses his face into his palms, elbows on his knees.

Shikamaru couldn’t be so desperate as to have his deer follow him all over the mountains, could he? Certainly not harass him while he sleeps, right?

As the moon crawls higher and higher up into the sky, Neji relents to his tired mind and puts out the fire. Takes his canteen down to the stream to brush his teeth, puts his hair into a top bun, washes his face, moisturizes. He applies a special cream that Hinata began sharing with him when they were teens after their reconciliation. It passed down to her from her mother and her mother’s mother, a special main branch Hyūga secret formula that’s guaranteed to slow wrinkles (he assumes his uncle probably passed on using the cream).

Officially done for the night, Neji settles inside of his tent, and after a somewhat restless hour, finally succumbs to sleep.

But because Neji would never again be allowed to know peace (and in the back of his mind he knows that), he’s awoken some time later to rustling. Before he even has a chance to pull his fist up to rub at his eye, the front of his tent is torn straight through the middle, and he’s face to face with a large pair of antlers. And the middle fork is missing from the left antler. They rip right through the top. Cold hair hits Neji’s face and he locks tired, milky eyes to shiny, black, beady eyes illuminated by the moon.

“For the love of god,” Neji grumbles, throwing the front of his sleeping bag off himself and scrambling to his feet. “Is this truly necessary?!”

When he lifts his head to look at the stag, he’s met with what seemed like dozens of pairs of eyes, and Neji finally realizes that this is truly the end of his sabbatical, whether he wants it to be or not.

Neji spends the rest of the night hiking back to the Leaf and returns just as the shops begin opening up.

First thing is first: giving Shikamaru a piece of his mind. He breezes through the village and up the Hokage tower until he’s greeted with the familiar sight he thought he wouldn’t be so irritated to see upon return: Lee on his hands and Shikamaru crouched over his desk. They both turn to meet his eyes, and Neji activates his byakugan.

“Stop right there!” Shikamaru throws an accusing finger out before locking it into his other hand to begin his shadow possession jutsu.

Before either of them can act further, Lee is back on his feet and has Neji crushed between his arms, swinging him around. “NEJI!!!”

“Put me down, Lee!” Neji demands, not missing the way Shikamaru’s lips tip into a smirk.

“That’s no way to speak to your Hokage, is it, Neji?” Shikamaru asks, clicking his tongue as he drops his hands.

Somehow, a crushing hug from Lee and the irritation and embarrassment that’s brought with it brings Neji some state of calm. Lee drops him to the ground but keeps his hands on his shoulders. “You’re back! I am so happy you’re here, and just in time, too!”

“Just in time?” Neji’s face immediately falls into a deeper frown.

“To discuss the festival!” Lee responds brightly as Neji peels his hands from his shoulders with a look of distain. “We were thinking about a special dojo set up—”

“You!” Neji jams his pointer finger into Lee’s chest, who leans his head back, then tilts it. “How many dojos have you opened since I’ve been gone?!”

Lee taps his chin, then holds up his other hand to begin counting on his fingers, but Shikamaru clears his throat behind him. “Fourteen.”

“Four—” Neji cuts himself off. He opened two more since Shikamaru’s letter. “I am putting an immediate hold on all your spending.”

“You don’t think I haven’t done that?!” Shikamaru asks incredulously, gesturing out the window. “It’s your idiot uncle funding this!”

Neji grits his teeth and thins his lips, looking out towards his home. Lee perks up with a beaming grin. “Lord Hyūga is just as enthusiastic about training as we are!”

“That – that is not—” Neji bunches his fists, taking a deep breath in through the mouth and lets it out through his nose aggressively. “I will have a chat with Uncle about this.”

“Talk to your brat cousin, too!” Shikamaru calls after him when he spins around. “The village is getting tired of her parties!”

Neji pauses with his jaw set, byakugan flaring to life again, and Shikamaru is immediately doubling over with his stomach held, chakra point sealed.

Before he can confront his uncle about this nonsense, his first order of business is a legitimate shower.

He ignores any and all attempts to grab his attention as he makes his way through the village until he’s back in the Hyūga compound.

One might think the last straw would be the moment he opened the door to his unit and is immediately coated in broken eggs and feathers, but his breaking point occurred long ago. At this point, Neji’s just glad it wasn’t an explosive tag or a set of kunai being launched at him. Part of rediscovering himself in the mountains was attempting to achieve inner calm, and he immediately puts to use those deep breathing exercises from those ridiculous self-help books Hinata insisted he bring with him. He calls for a servant to come clean the mess and makes short work of getting a shower.

Again, his uncle must wait because even if he’s not going to personally hunt down the person responsible for the prank, he will have someone else do it. He enters the Uchiha district and immediately throws open the door of the police department, his destination known. He stops in front of a desk holding the Uchiha he knows cannot deny him. Sure, he could probably bother any other officer in this building, but one of the few joys Neji has left in life is bringing Sasuke misery.

He slams the feather he kept from the assault onto his desk.

Sasuke lifts his eyes to the feather, then to Neji and tilts his head. “Getting into bird keeping now that your back?”

“Someone broke into the Hyūga compound and left me a gift at my unit,” Neji speaks shortly, lowering his glare at the Uchiha he despises with his entire chest. “You’ll find them and bring them to justice.”

“It was Hanabi,” Sasuke immediately interjects and Neji scoffs, waving a hand.

“Absurd. She would never.”

The idea of Hanabi playing some sort of prank on her older cousin was absurd to Neji. His little cousin was nothing more than an angel in his eyes. Sure, she was a powerhouse much like he was, but her heart was coated in sugar when it came to those she cared about. There was no plausible way Neji would ever believe his sweet cousin capable of such pitiful mischief.

He ignores the way Sasuke gives an exaggerated sigh, then throws his accusing finger towards a pink head of hair who is peeking from behind a corner, nosy as ever. He waves her over. “Sakura! You help him.”

“Hm?” she questions innocently, hands on her hips as she makes her way over. She cranes her head to catch a glimpse of the feather on Sasuke’s desk and Neji wrinkles his nose at her question, “is that…a feather?”

“Okay, wait a minute,” Sasuke interjects and Neji rolls his eyes, already knowing his protest is coming from the idea of working directly with Sakura. “Why are you having me investigate a prank? In the Hyūga compound no less. It’s obviously one of your clansmen.”

“I have more important things to do,” Neji snaps back.

“Like what? Brushing your hair exactly 100 times?”

“Like stopping our Hokage from opening 100 dojos!”

“That’s true,” Sakura pipes in, and both men throw their glare at her. She holds up her hands in defense.

“While we’re on the topic—” Sasuke shoves his chair back and circles the desk to become face to face with Neji, who lifts his chin so he’s looking down his nose at him. “I’m only letting you know because of Hinata—”

“I told you not to call her that.”

“I am not referring to my girlfriend as Lady Hyūga,” Sasuke growls and Neji’s eyes go veiny with the conflict. Sakura sighs, stepping in between the two men and holding her arms out just as Sasuke’s eyes turn red. Both of them take one step back, though their dōjutsus remain active. Sasuke grinds out, “only because I respect my girlfriend, I’m letting you know that an investigation is being launched on your uncle.”

“What?” Neji snaps, stepping forward, causing Sakura to shove her palm into his shoulder to keep him at bay. “There’s no need.”

“It’s not up to me,” Sasuke waves a hand, his eyes casting out towards the main building of the district. Neji’s eyes follow.

Neji huffs out, “it’s Itachi, isn’t it?”

“Don’t drag my brother into this,” Sasuke speaks warningly, stepping forward now as well.

Sakura stomps her foot and both men recoil when she brings her hands together, cracking her knuckles threateningly. “Enough you two!”

Sasuke grumbles incoherently under his breath and Neji huffs out of his nose, but they both concede, deactivating their dōjutsus and stepping away.

“Neji, we’ll make this disturbance our number one priority!” Sakura ensures, holding her fist to her chest.

Neji squints suspiciously when Sasuke rolls his eyes, but nods regardless. “See to it you do.”

Thanks to antioedipus for the quick beta <3

[brokenolivejar]

Arg what if

Shinosakuhina (shino x sakura x hinata) like 🤝🤝🤝 hinata has two hands and their being held by shino her joyfriend and sakura her girlfriend

[multisaku-advent-calendar]

Day 17: Sweater (ShinoSaku)

Author: Petrikore Pairing: ShinoSaku Additional Tags: Chakra beetles, Keep Quiet, Oral Sex

Read it on Ao3!

“Are you wearing my sweater?”

Sakura glanced up from the scroll she was reading to see her boyfriend, wet hair hanging down around his eyes that were, for once, not covered by his signature shades. His chest was bare, a tiny beetle scuttling along the sharp angle of his collarbone.

“I got cold,” she replied, her eyes returning to the text in front of her. 

“You are not wearing pants. Are you not still cold?” He raised an eyebrow skeptically, but she could feel the heat of his gaze travelling down her outstretched legs. 

She shrugged, struggling to keep her composure under his scrutiny. “Did you want it back?”

“Not yet,” he murmured, crossing the small room and placing a knee at the foot of the bed. His fingers were warm as they wrapped around her ankle and dragged her down. “Are you wearing anything else?”

Sakura didn’t get to respond before he sought the answer for himself, pushing the black turtleneck up her hips. She shivered as the chill of the room kissed her exposed skin. Shino didn’t look up, fixated on the sight of her bared before him. 

One, two kisses as he parted her legs gently, eyes finally locking onto hers as he pressed the flat of his tongue to her clit. Her breath hitched, a hand reaching down to tangle into his hair. It was almost criminal really, how good he was, how well he knew every inch of her body. 

It wasn’t long before she was writhing against his sheets, legs wrapped over his shoulders as the first wave swept over her. She grit her teeth, hand clamped over her mouth as she cursed the living situations of clan heirs apparent. When it was over and she was twitching helplessly, Shino lifted his lips from her, flashing a rare smile. 

“You are woefully mistaken if you think this is over, Sakura-san.” 

She was still catching her breath as he flipped her onto her stomach, his mouth pressing kisses to the sensitive spots on her shoulder and back. Her hips lifted subconsciously as he aligned himself with her entrance. 

“Shino, your pare—”

“Do you really wish to speak of them here? Now?” He taunted, slipping the tip of his cock through her folds.

No. No, she didn’t. 

It didn’t matter really, because all thoughts fled her mind when Shino pressed into her until his hip bones dug into the flesh of her ass. She grabbed one of his pillows, burying her broken moans into the down. One of his hands was planted on the back of her neck, the other on her waist to hold her steady as he thrust into her, slow and hard. 

Her second peak hit suddenly, Shino tumbling right after her, hissing in her ear about how hot and tight she felt. He was at her side, nose pressed into her neck with his arms around her waist when she came to.

“Well… I suppose I should wear your clothes more often.”