#Tenten and Genma are in the first part

[seoheesoo]

Modern AU! Kakashi is Naruto's guardian who meets his child's teacher for the first time and immediately falls in love with him

[Part 6]

Kakashi turned onto a narrow street and slowly drove along the low houses. Every now and then he glanced at the GPS so as not to get lost in an unfamiliar area. Naruto's lessons ended earlier than usual today and Guy, as suggested at yesterday's picnic, took him to his home. Kakashi spent the entire day in nervous anticipation. Shiranui knew at one glance that there was something wrong with Kakashi. Considering that he probably knew about yesterday's date, he quickly added up all the facts he had received. Shiranui was not an idiot, and before Guy and Kakashi realized how quickly and seriously their relationship was developing. As Hatake left the office, he received a veiled blessing from Shiranui in the form of a silent nod. Kakashi felt irrationally relieved. Knowing that the person you worked with for many years is the closest person to your lover was like walking on hot coals. But now the problem of Genma ignoring their relationship had disappeared and Kakashi felt much calmer.

Hatake parked next to the two-story house and got out of the car, not forgetting to take Naruto's backpack with household items and the cake he bought on the way from the back seat. Kakashi knocked on the door and stood in awkward anticipation. Not even a few seconds had passed before the door opened and light gray eyes stared at Kakashi. Neji narrowed his eyes slightly and silently moved to the side, letting Kakashi inside. Hatake nodded to the child and, hastily taking off his shoes, headed into the living room, from which the loud voices of other children could be heard. Naruto and Lee sat on the floor and were completely immersed in a card game. TenTen was sitting in a deep chair and, judging by her concentrated face and chaotic movements, she was drawing something in a notebook. Neji silently walked around Kakashi and sat down on the sofa, picked up the book and continued reading it. Hatake put Naruto's backpack on the floor next to the sofa and, deciding to greet Guy first, went to the kitchen from which soft singing could be heard.

Kakashi leaned against the door frame and folded his arms across his chest, silently watching the man. Guy was cutting something, quietly humming some annoying song. He was wearing a ridiculous bright yellow apron and terribly fluffy panda slippers. Kakashi felt his heart clench in his chest with endless tenderness for this man. For a few seconds, Hatake fell into dreams of this perfect moment. He allowed himself to imagine returning home every day after a grueling day at work. How the children greet him with loud laughter and tight hugs. How he walks into the kitchen and just silently watches Guy cook. How he comes up to him and hugs him from behind. And feeling Guy turn around to face him and softly kiss his forehead, he completely relaxes in his arms. How these days repeat over and over again and turn into a routine. Into everyday life.

Kakashi shook his head, throwing off all unnecessary thoughts and quietly walked up to Guy. After hesitating for a couple of seconds, Kakashi carefully placed his hands on Guy's waist and hugged him gently. The man tensed at first, and then, recognizing Kakashi, immediately calmed down. Hatake rested his chin on Guy's shoulder and kissed Guy's neck softly.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” - he heard the calm voice. - “Welcome home.”

Kakashi's breathing hitched. Guy immediately sensed his anxietment. The man froze tensely and began to turn around, but Kakashi stopped him.

“Thank you,” - Hatake whispered barely audibly and heard Guy’s quiet exhale.

“Go to the living room, I’m almost finished preparing dinner.”

Kakashi placed another kiss on the man's neck and headed towards the children. Neji continued to read, and Naruto and Lee were still immersed in the game. However, something has changed. Kakashi felt a heavy gaze on himself and turned around. Golden-brown eyes looked straight at him, in which a lot of different emotions were mixed. TenTen silently nodded towards the door and immediately headed into another room. Kakashi sighed heavily and followed her. They entered the room and Hatake looked around. It turned out to be Guy's office, which was filled with a variety of things from different periods of the man's life. Kakashi managed to notice several medals from competitions, framed photographs with Shiranui, and children's crafts. The door slammed loudly, Kakashi flinched in surprise and turned to look at the girl. TenTen stood in a protective position with her arms folded across her chest and looked straight at him with a slight frown. Kakashi could literally feel the waves of irritation, mistrust and hostility that came from the girl.

“What are your intentions regarding my tou-chan?” - TenTen asked in an even voice.

Hatake sighed mentally. How is he supposed to explain all his feelings to a ten-year-old when he hasn't figured it out yet? Kakashi knew he had to choose his words carefully. He was not surprised by this conversation and this question, nor by the fact that it was TenTen who took the initiative. The girl was the eldest among Guy's children, as well as the most determined and… The most caring. After all, behind all this feigned anger, Kakashi saw fear. TenTen was afraid. Not him, but this whole situation. It didn't take long before the four of them started a family. And Guy always gave them all his attention and love. And then suddenly a stranger appears who also claims the attention and love of Guy, their father. Kakashi could clearly see that TenTen was terribly scared by the fact how quickly everything had changed. Changes are always difficult to accept, especially such global ones. But most of all, TenTen was afraid for Guy. She didn't want anyone to hurt him and was ready to protect and take care of him to the last. Even if she had to be too aggressive, even if she had to show herself not at her best, she was ready to do anything to protect the person most dear to her. Kakashi saw all this and understood her feelings perfectly, and admired her courage.

“Not much time has passed yet,” - Hatake began to say carefully. - “And I still can’t say exactly where all this is going. However, I can assure you with confidence that I want to be with your father. I have sincere feelings for him and I want to be a part of his life. Your father and I have not discussed our future yet, but I want to say that I will never come between you.”

With every word spoken, Kakashi saw TenTen's tense shoulders drop. She was flattered that Hatake took her question seriously and answered it seriously.

“Nothing will change between you because of my appearance,” - Kakashi said softly. - “Three of you are the most precious people in Guy’s life, and you will always be his priority. I just want to give him the love that he deserves and that I feel for him…”

TenTen raised her palm up.

“I understood. Enough,” - the girl stopped him. - “Thanks for the answer.”

Kakashi nodded, and after waiting for the girl to leave the room, he exhaled loudly. He wasn't so worried even during training with Ibiki. TenTen would make an excellent interrogation agent. The door opened and Guy looked inside.

“Dinner is getting cold, let’s go.”

Hatake shook off the tension and followed the man into the kitchen.

“Kashi nii-chan!” - He heard Naruto's loud voice. - “When did you arrive?”

Kakashi smiled at the corner of his lips and stroked the child's hair.

“Hi, Lee,” - he greeted the boy.

Lee smiled charmingly back at him. Guy placed a large bowl of ramen on the table in front of each of them and they started eating dinner. The entire dinner was filled with children talking about their day at school. Naruto would not stop talking about his classmates and their adventures. Guy listened to all this with a wide smile and inserted rare comments. Lee and TenTen then shared their news, with Neji correcting them, giving their story more realism. When dinner was finished, Kakashi helped Guy put away all the dishes and they headed to the living room. Naruto and Lee managed to draw TenTen and Neji into the game, and the children heatedly discussed something and argued with each other.

“It’s already late, will you stay overnight?” - asked Guy.

All thoughts flew out of Kakashi's head, the only thing he could do was nod. When it got dark outside the window and the clock showed nine in the evening, Guy sent the children to bed. Naruto settled down in Lee's room, although Kakashi suggested putting him with Neji, so there was a higher chance that the children would fall asleep on time. But Guy just waved his hand and sent Neji to the other two boys. Naruto was beside himself with joyful anticipation of his first sleepover. Guy gave Kakashi his household things and, after quickly taking a shower, Hatake changed clothes and headed to the man's bedroom. Guy was still in the bathroom and so Kakashi decided to look around a little. Guy's bedroom was spacious, as was the whole house. And bright. Hatake closed the curtains in advance so as not to wake up from the bright rays of the sun in the morning. The man heard the sound of the door opening and turned around. Guy casually entered the room, drying his wet hair with a towel. A thin white T-shirt clung to slightly wet body. Kakashi covered the distance with lightning speed and pinned the man against the door. Guy opened his eyes in surprise. Hatake loomed over the man and placed his palm to the right of his face, trapping him. Kakashi leaned over and took a deep breath. Guy's skin immediately broke out in goosebumps.

“You're killing me,” - Kakashi said hoarsely, beginning to cover the man's neck with kisses.

With his left hand, Hatake reached under the man's T-shirt and traced his abs with his fingertips. Kakashi kissed his way down to Guy's shoulder and lightly bite him, hearing the man's quiet groan.

“K-Kashi… kids…”

“Just be quiet,” - Hatake whispered into Guy's ear, feeling the man tremble in his arms.

Guy pressed his hand to his lips and closed his eyes. Kakashi grinned and quickly moved away from him. The man opened his eyes, in which Hatake could clearly read bewilderment. Kakashi yawned ostentatiously.

“Let's go to sleep?” - he asked in a serene voice, watching how Guy’s face rapidly changed from excited to irritable.

“You…”

“Yes?” - Kakashi raised his eyebrows innocently.

Guy growled softly and pushed him towards the bed, pushing him onto his back and hovering over him. Hatake grinned openly.

“Are you teasing?”

“Who? Me?” - Kakashi pointed at himself. - “Not at all.”

Guy approached him. Hatake did not take his eyes off his concentrated face. Suddenly, Guy smiled softly and gently placed his hand on Kakashi's cheek.

“You are so cute.”

Hatake felt a treacherous blush filling his cheeks, and his heart began to beat wildly in his chest. Guy kissed him softly on the forehead and lay down next to him, hugging his waist.

“Today has been a long day,” - Guy said in a tired voice.

“Sorry for dumping Naruto on your head.”

“Stop it, that kid never caused any problems.”

Kakashi smiled at the corner of his lips. Guy was one of the few people who said this.

“Thank you,” - Kakashi whispered, lifting Guy's hand and kissing his knuckles.

“You said yesterday that you fell in love with me the first time we met,” - Guy said suddenly.

Kakashi nodded silently.

“Actually, the first time I saw you was when you came to apply. I was leaving the office and saw you at the end of the corridor. You were so beautiful that I even pinched myself to check that I was not dreaming. So technically I fell in love with you first.”

Kakashi stirred and turned to face the man.

“You… turned this into a competition?” - he asked in amazement.

Guy shrugged.

“You started this first. I just provided facts and evidence.”

“You’re impossible,” - Kakashi snorted and turned away again.

Not even a second had passed before he felt Guy hug him tightly.

“Do not sulk.”

“I'm not sulking.”

“Next time you will win,” - Guy assured him. - “If you can, of course.”

“Hey!”

Guy laughed loudly. Kakashi poked him painfully in the side.

“Next time I'll kick your ass, Guy. You can choose any challenge,” -Kakashi stubbornly pursed his lips.

“Any kind?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” - Guy nodded. - “I bet you can’t take all the kids to their children clubs tomorrow after school?”

“You just want to dump all the work on me,” - Kakashi rolled his eyes, but smiled.

Guy laughed.

“It wasn’t even in my thoughts.”

“Yeah, sure,” - Hatake muttered, gently playing with the fingers of his hand. - “Okay, so be it. But if I win, you’ll give me a massage for a week.”

“With pleasure,” - Guy ran his fingers over Kakashi’s chest, listening to his ragged breathing.

“Guy…”

“Yes?”

Kakashi shook his head.

“Let's sleep.”

Guy placed a light kiss on his cheek and turned off the light, plunging the bedroom into pitch darkness. After a few minutes, Kakashi felt Guy's breathing even out and become deeper. Hatake himself lay motionless for a long time, trying to remember to the smallest detail the feeling of Guy's strong embrace, which gave him long-awaited peace and comfort.

***

It was a warm summer day outside. Perfect weather for a BBQ party. Kakashi sat down tiredly on a chair under the shade of a tall oak tree and drank cool lemonade.

“You look exhausted,” - he heard a woman’s voice and silently shrugged his shoulders in response.

Rin sat next to him, lightly nudging him with her shoulder.

“It’s been a busy week,” - the man answered evasively. - “Naruto lost his football uniform, TenTen said she wanted to quit fencing, and Neji ran into some Hyuga on his way home from school and was in a suspended state for several days.”

Rin patted his hand sympathetically.

“What about Lee?” - she asked about the remaining child.

“Lee is a wonder,” - Kakashi sighed. - “Sometimes I even want him to get into some trouble, but he’s too nice.”

Rin smiled softly. TenTen approached their table with a terribly menacing expression on her face.

“What now?” - Kakashi exhaled tiredly, turning his gaze to her.

“This Uchiha…” - the girl began.

“Sasuke?” - Kakashi clarified.

TenTen nodded. Hatake waved his hand lazily.

“Go and teach him a lesson.”

A bloodthirsty grin appeared on the girl's face. She immediately turned around and went straight to the unsuspecting boy. Rin looked from the leaving girl to her friend and shook her head.

“She looks so much like you.”

Kakashi couldn't help but smile proudly.

“Well, she's my daughter.”

Rin snorted and punched him in the shoulder. Kakashi looked around the backyard thoughtfully. He and Guy decided to throw a barbecue party for all their friends. It was something of a tradition to gather at their house once a month for the weekend. Guy always stood near the grill, talking to Asuma and Genma. Not far from them, near a small pond with ducks, stood Obito with Yuki, who was happily running around her father, and Kurenai with her newborn daughter in her arms. The large playground that Kakashi and Guy had built for the children was filled with loud voices and laughter. Kids were allowed to bring their friends. Naruto invited his best friends - Shikamaru and Gaara, who brought a bunch of other children with them, and thus almost twenty children ran around and at the speed of light absorbed all the food supplies of the Might-Hatake family. The children were being watched by Itachi, who was too young to be with adults, but seemed cool in the eyes of the children. A few minutes later, Yamato, Kakashi’s new colleague, and also the father of Sai, Naruto’s classmate, appeared.

The backyard was filled with lively conversations and the delicious smell of food. Kakashi looked at all this with a slight smile on his lips and felt all his fatigue go away.

“It suits you so well.”

“What exactly?” - Hatake raised one eyebrow questioningly.

“Paternity.”

Kakashi shook his head in confusion. In fact, he didn't think so. He was still learning to be a father. But he knew that he had made and was making many mistakes. He will never be as wonderful a father as his father and Minato were, or as Guy is. But Kakashi is trying. He makes every effort for this. And in some very rare moments, it seems to him that he is succeeding.

Kakashi and Guy moved in together two months after they started dating. And after another two months they officially legalized their relationship. That same week they moved to another house, with more rooms and a larger backyard. Slowly but surely, bonds began to form between Kakashi and Guy's children. Kakashi clearly remembers the days when every child called him father for the first time. He treasures these moments as the most important value in his life.

The first child to call him father was Lee. This happened when Kakashi was taking him to kung fu. The child jumped out of the car and said casually: “See you tonight, papa.” Kakashi remained in the car for a long time and could not come to his senses. But in the end he managed to overcome the shock, start the car, and go to work.

The second child was Naruto. This happened when Kakashi came to pick him up after football practice. Naruto told his teammates about his life. And when the topic of family came up, he said casually: “My tou-chan is a secret agent.” Kakashi then thought that Naruto was talking about Minato, but then Naruto continued: “And my second tou-chan is a teacher.” Hatake literally almost had a heart attack then. Naruto had never called him dad before, only brother, but when talking to other people he acknowledged him as his father. That evening Kakashi had a very long and very emotional conversation with the child.

The third child was Neji. It happened late in the evening when Kakashi returned home after work. All the children had already gone to bed, except for Neji, who was sitting in his room, immersed in reading some book. Kakashi looked in on him and gently reminded him that it was time to go to bed. Neji looked at him in confusion and then looked at his watch. Kakashi looked in a few minutes later, the boy was already lying in bed. Hatake approached him, straightened the blanket and turned off the night light, wishing the child good night. Neji muttered in a half-asleep voice: “Night, tou-san.” And Kakashi froze with his hand on the door handle. But he quickly came to his senses and left the room, silently closing the door behind him.

The last one was obviously TenTen. She and Kakashi had a complicated relationship. There was no tension or any other negative emotions between them, but everything was just complicated. She was the complete opposite of her brothers, she was closed, stubborn and independent. She was a copy of Kakashi, as Guy had once pointed out. And that's why it took them so long to get close. But one night Kakashi woke up abruptly and saw TenTen. The girl stood in their bedroom in complete darkness and tightly clutched in her hands a green frog, a gift from Jiraiya. Kakashi noticed her frightened face and immediately tensed. At that same second, a loud sound of thunder was heard. The girl shuddered and closed her eyes, quietly whispering: “Tou-chan.” Kakashi reached out to wake Guy up, but felt the girl's cold hand on his forearm. Kakashi turned his gaze to her, TenTen shook her head and said: “Tou-chan,” gently pulling his hand. Hatake immediately got out of bed and headed with the girl to her room. TenTen lay down on the bed and Kakashi sat on the chair next to her. He stroked her hair softly and smiled reassuringly. Kakashi sat next to her bed all night. At some point, the girl fell asleep, but never let go of his hand.

Kakashi shook his head and returned to the present. Naruto and the rest of the boys played football, asking Itachi to be the referee. The girls were playing volleyball nearby at that time, and by some unimaginable miracle forced Genma to judge them. Although Shiranui was always too weak to the wishes of his beloved niece. Asuma rocked Mirai in his arms, trying to put his daughter to sleep. Kurenai and Rin were talking about something, Yuki was weaving a wreath of dandelions. Obito and Yamato were discussing some work issues. Guy continued to stand near the grill. Kakashi caught his tired gaze. Hatake reached for the thin silver ring on his finger and resolutely stood up from the chair, going to help his tired husband.

“Let me help,” - Kakashi took the tongs from Guy’s hands. - “Get some rest.”

“Thank you, love,” - Guy kissed him softly on the cheek and went into the house to change clothes.

Kakashi glanced around the backyard of their house once again. A few minutes later he felt familiar hands on his waist, and then a warm kiss on his neck.

The dinner was held in a cheerful atmosphere. No one left their house hungry. The parents came to pick up the children, and the adults didn’t stay long either. Kakashi sent the kids into the house and began to clean up, but was stopped by a tight hug.

“Today was a great evening.”

“Agree.”

“I'm glad everyone was able to come.”

Kakashi covered Guy's hands with his own.

“Thank you, Guy.”

“Mm?” - the man asked in a quiet and sleepy voice.

Kakashi smiled.

“Let's go to sleep.”

“What about cleaning?” - Guy immediately perked up.

“Don’t worry, I’ll clean everything up tomorrow morning.”

Guy silently agreed, which indicated the extent of his fatigue. Kakashi put his arm around his waist and led him into the house. As they walked up the stairs, Kakashi looked at the framed photographs that came his way. All their memories, happy moments from which their lives were woven. Kakashi carefully lowered Guy onto the bed and covered him with a thin blanket. Hatake looked around the man's sleeping face. He gently touched the wrinkles around his eyes with fingertips and softly stroked his hair. And then left a kiss on his forehead.

“Thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for teaching me how to be a father. Thank you for giving me a family.”

[The End]

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

[sadbean609]

Just the Way You Aren't : March — Acceptance (Part 3)

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Hinata's POV

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A scroll down the Twitter feed...

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“Hinata!” Kiba called from the car. Shino was driving, and Kiba was sticking his head out the window like a dog. “We found you!” 

Hinata sniffled, her sleeve fully over her hand. She winced at the amount of snot she got on her, but she couldn’t bring herself to care fully. She tried to pull her sleeves even more over her hands, but they wouldn’t go further down. She opted to stand and dust herself off, now that she had calmed down enough to stop crying. 

She stumbled into Shino’s car, sighing as she sat back against the backseat. 

“You looked great today, if it’s any consolation,” Kiba said, fully turning around to talk to her. 

“Thanks,” she whispered, pulling out her phone. She first looked at the messages she missed from Shino and Kiba, scrolling up to backread what she didn’t see when they came to get her. She hovered her thumb over the groupchat with Ino, Tenten, Obito, Rin, and Genma. She closed her phone instead. She couldn’t bring herself to read what they were saying about her. They were probably all thinking that she ruined the plan, and that they shouldn’t have asked her in the first place, not if she was going to act like that. The tears started to come back. And she was just starting to feel comfortable with Genma, too. He probably hates her now. 

Her phone vibrated, causing her to look at it out of habit. Her heart leapt in her throat at the action, but she was puzzled instead when she saw who it came from.

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Genma's POV

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Part three - March - Completed

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I'm also adding a little author's note in here all the way at the end. Hello!! Sorry for the hiatus!! It's been literally almost exactly a year since I've posted this, and I'm sorry for not explaining myself, especially when I planned to post this throughout last year. Honestly, life got hectic, buncha shit happened, i got sad, I stopped writing, etcetcetc. but it's here! Does it count for the event anymore? Probably not. But that's okay, I still want to do it, even if it takes longer than I meant to.

I hope to just continue chugging away at this, but I can't make any promises, especially how that went last year xD hope you like it so far! I made this one extra long to make up for it. Also a lot needed to happen in March. Now what will happen in April I wonder? Stay tuned to find out!

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Coffee Shop Au

KakaGai

For: @mushroombitchboy who asked for both Kakagai and IbiKashi and had to wait a day for this one XD

Kakashi: Author

Gai: Owner of the Cafe (given ownership after the original owner (his father) passed away)

Yamato: Plant Shop Owner

Neji: Barista/Night Manager

Tenten: Barista

Lee: Barista

Genma: Mid-day Manager

Rin: Doctor.

Kakashi has been going to this cafe since he was a kid. Tagging along with his father on his morning coffee run before going to school for a full day of studying and hanging out with his friends.

The cafe was owned by Maito Dai when he was younger. A kind man who’d always have a cup of hot chocolate ready for Kakashi whenever he was able to tag along with his father and who was more than happy to listen to anyone who had a story to tell him. Kakashi never had much of an opportunity to speak with the man, but he always knew without a doubt that he was a kind man.

As he got older Kakashi began going to the cafe less, and when he went off to University he found it even harder to sneak to his favourite little cafe, but no matter where he was he always remembered it. Whenever he would visit another cafe, hoping for a nice cup of coffee or hot chocolate, his mind would wander to that small little shop that his father would always take him to.

Then the worst thing happened. The year he was due to graduate, Kakashi’s father passed away. Kakashi finished his school year at his father’s home, doing courses online and still earning the top spot in all of his classes even though he was suffering a deep, profound loss.

One of the first things he did when he came back to his hometown was found that tiny cafe at the edge of town. He retraced the steps he was so familiar with, enjoyed sights he hadn’t seen in all too long, and finally found his way to the front door.

When he opens the door he expects to be greeted by Dai. To be told stories and made to laugh for the first time in weeks.

Instead, Gai’s greeted by one of his old classmates. Maito Gai.

Gai’s the same as Kakashi remembers him from their school days. Endlessly cheerful, full of energy, and ready to race anyone who dares to accept his challenge. It’s comforting if Kakashi’s being honest. To have someone that he recognizes and who almost immediately recognizes him. Though, that last part is a little surprising. It has been years since they’ve seen each other and he remembers that Gai always had problems remembering faces.

A fact that was made all too clear when he spent every day of grade seven asking Obito who he was, and if he was new to close. Though, after the fifth time it happened, Kakashi was convinced that Gai was playing up his face blindness just to mess with Obito.

Kakashi starts visiting the cafe all over again. Making a habit of finding his way there early in the morning, sitting down to do some of his school work, and leaving only when the cafe’s about to close.

He’s not sure how many times Gai has sat across the table from him enjoying lunch, or how often Dai has come in for a visit and sat down to chat with him. He doesn’t need to keep track because it’s all the same to him. The same comfort, the same warmth, the same feeling of home.

Even after graduating from school, Kakashi continues to come to that little cafe. At first he just sort of hangs around trying to figure out what to do with his life (he has enough money left over from his dad to take his time thinking about it), and then one day he just sort of gets an idea and opens up his laptop.

It’s nine pm and time for the cafe to close when Gai comes to Kakashi’s side to check up on him. Kakashi bent over his laptop typing frantically, not stalling for even a second. Gai has to place a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, and when he does Kakashi looks up at him like he has just been pulled out of a dream. Groggy and very confused about what just happened.

Gai tells him it’s time to close and offers to buy him some dinner because he knows for a fact that Kakashi hasn’t eaten all day. Kakashi does try to turn down the offer gently, but Gai’s not hearing of it. He’s not stupid, he knows Kakashi. As soon as he gets home he’s going to continue writing and probably won’t even fall asleep on time let alone eat anything.

Ultimately Kakashi ends up agreeing to go. The two of them head to a nearby sushi place where, somehow, Kakashi gets roped into an eating competition (that he wins).

This does not stop Kakashi from continuing his writing. Over the next seven weeks, he spends a minimum of five hours in the cafe working endlessly on his new project. He’s not constantly typing, but he’s always at his favourite seat with his laptop open ready to go if inspiration strikes.

At the end of that seven weeks, Kakashi has a finished project. A novel of his very own that he never expected to write. All he needs now is someone to read it and tell him if it’s even worth trying to publish. His hopes aren’t high for it to work out, but Gai convinces him to give it a try.

Kakashi’s choice for beta readers is Rin. She’s not around a lot, always busy doing her residency at the village hospital and volunteering in her precious few off hours, but he manages to catch her one day when she pops into the cafe for a quick drink. Rin is of course all too happy to give the book a read for Kakashi.

The entire time he’s talking to Rin about it, Gai’s standing behind the counter watching them. Smiling to himself as he watches Kakashi buzz with excitement for the first time in years. There had been a time, shortly after Sakumo’s death, that Gai was worried Kakashi had lost his youth to all of his grief, but now he can see it as bright as ever and that leaves him feeling proud of his friend.

To celebrate the completion of his first real book, Gai offers to take Kakashi out for dinner once more. This time, Kakashi doesn’t argue and even suggests a nice Ramen place that has just opened up down the street. The owner is old friends with their high school teacher, Minato, so Kakashi’s able to use that connection to get a reservation for them (He and Minato still keep in contact regularly and Minato helped him a lot in building up the basis for his novel)

It’s another three weeks before Rin returns to the cafe with Kakashi’s book in hand, and proudly tells him that he needs to get it published asap so she can have a proper copy of it in her home.

Kakashi’s surprised by this, but Gai (while bringing them their drinks) decides to declare that if Kakashi does get the book published he’ll not only buy a copy for himself but one for the cafe that anyone can read. He was thinking of adding something to the place, and a bookshelf for customers to select books from and read during their visits seems like a grand idea.

With the full support of his two best friends and his old teacher, Kakashi goes ahead with it and starts sending his novel out to different publishers in hopes of finding one that will agree to publish it.

The first rejection letter stings, but Gai insists that he just wait it out. Promises that he’ll get a letter telling him that his novel is going to be published.

The second rejection letter hurts, especially when this one makes a comparison between Kakashi’s book and one of his favourite authors (Jiraiya). To be told he doesn’t match up to that level hurts, but it also makes him a bit more determined to prove them wrong.

It’s the third letter he gets back that finally gives Kakashi hope. An acceptance, and agreement to publish the book. Of course, there’s more work to do, but Kakashi is being published. A big company liked his book enough to put it out in the world for everyone.

Knowing what he has to do next, Kakashi heads straight to the cafe, buys himself a hot chocolate to celebrate, and slaps the letter down behind the counter for Gai to find later. Genma sort of rolls his eyes at the dramatics of it all, but he’s not about to tell Kakashi not to do it and even makes sure that the letter is put in a much safer place, away from all of the coffee that could be spilled on it.

Gai shows up an hour later to find Kakashi hunched over his laptop working on something completely new, and shakes his head. When he gets behind the counter, Genma hands him the letter that Kakashi left for him and he gives it a quick read.

The entire cafe stops dead in its tracks when Gai lets out an excited ‘whoop’.

Needing to celebrate, Gai calls up his father who quickly comes in to cover his mid-day shift and drags Kakashi out to the sushi shop. Dai’s of course more than happy to help out, even though he’s technically now just the owner and doesn’t often do shifts at the cafe anymore.

He knows his son needs this, though. He and Kakashi have been close since they were kids and this is a monumental accomplishment. Not celebrating is absolutely out of the question and if that means Dai has to do a bit of work behind the counter so be it.

Kakashi and Gai spend hours at the sushi shop chatting over their food. As always Kakashi seems to be more cool-headed and a bit aloof about the entire situation, but Gai can tell from the way he talks about all of the steps he needs to get through to publish his book, that he is very excited.

It’s not a date, not in either of their minds at least, but if anyone were to ask in the future Kakashi and Gai would say this was the moment that they knew they were meant for each other. Gai figured it out when his heart swelled with happiness at seeing Kakahsi’s dreams coming true, and Kakashi knew the moment that Gai asked him to ‘tell him everything’.

Both of them are too busy in their lives to try dating at that moment, though. Gai works 40-hour weeks at his father’s cafe and also works out, volunteers in the village, and has even started doing some tutoring for some of the high school kids. Meanwhile, Kakashi has a lot of work to do on his book and has been tutoring their old high school teacher’s son who isn’t the best when it comes to school (even though his father and mother are both quite intelligent people).

So for now, Kakashi and Gia stay friends. Supportive, always hanging out with friends.

Kakashi spends the next year working diligently on his novel, and even starting a second novel whenever he was not doing edits or meeting up with the publishers.

By the time the year is over, Kakashi is holding his first published Novel in his hands. It has a beautiful dark green front with the title written in black, and at the bottom instead of an author’s name there’s just a small signature. A signature that anyone who knows Kakashi personally knows without a doubt is his.

The Henohenomoheji.

Rin is one of the first people to receive the book, and Gai is the second. Though, Gai is given two books just as he’d wanted. One for himself, and one for the cafe. Both Rin and Gai’s copies are signed by Kakashi, and the dedication at the front of the book is to both of them as well as Minato, and a small mention to Kakashi’s father.

Naturally, Gai insists that they have to celebrate again. To cheer for Kakashi’s success and perseverance in having his first book published. Kakashi happily agrees and decides on Ramen for their celebration and makes plans to meet with Gai as soon as his shift ends.

This continues for another year. Every minor achievement Kakashi or Gai makes they celebrate together over dinner. With their favourite foods, a nice drink, and sometimes a night spent hanging out at one of their places. Gai takes on more responsibility at the cafe. Celebration. Kakashi does his first Q&A online (so he doesn’t have to be seen in person). Celebration.

Neither of them is sure when the celebrations start turning into sleepovers at each other’s houses, but one day the two of them wake up in bed together and it sort of hits them.

They’re a couple.

They’ve been a couple for a while.

Where they had once sworn that they’d wait to date, no matter how long they had to stay back and keep their feelings to themselves, they’re now free. Everyone in their little town seems to know they’re dating long before either of them realizes it.

A year after his book was released, Kakashi begins the process of releasing a second book and this time Gai is at his side every step of the way. Not just supporting him with comforting words and free coffees, but reading the letter Kakashi gets from the publisher confirming that they’ll publish his second book. Sitting at Kakashi’s side when he gets the first edited draft back and groans because there are so many changes the editor wants him to make that it feels like an impossible task.

Gai’s not the only supportive one, though. When Dai finally decides it’s time for him to step down and hand over the Cafe to his son, Kakashi’s there by Gai’s side Squeezing his hand as he processes his father’s words. He helps Gai when he decides to make some changes to the cafe, putting in the work to bring in new tables and chairs, and even going to the plant shop down the street to get some pretty new plants for the cafe.

While at the plant shop, Kakashi finds himself chatting with the young owner and finds out that he also has a passion for woodwork, and grand new ideas strike him. Paying Yamato for his wood, Kakashi puts in a special request for a piece that he’s certain Gai will love.

It takes a few weeks before the piece is done, but when it is Kakashi hands over the money plus a little extra to convince Yamato to help him take it to the cafe while Gai isn’t there.

Getting it into the cafe is easier enough, but it’s only once they’re there that Kakashi realizes he needs to move a few tables to make room for this beautiful gift. Thankfully Gai’s new Midday manager, Genma, isn’t opposed to helping with the task (though he does make his displeasure at having his work day interrupted known)

Once the tables are moved and the gift is in place, Kakashi admires the work. It’s a rather large bookshelf with Turtles and Tortoises engraved all along the sides and a large sign at the top that says ‘The Youth Cafe’. (the Cafe’s name, of course).

When Gai finally arrives at the cafe the first thing he notices is the bookshelf. He doesn’t even see anything else when the giant new piece catches his eye, with a beautiful green paint job and the cutest little turtles/tortoises he has ever seen. He can’t stop smiling at it as his customers and workers watch him. All of them enjoy this moment of pure joy that he’s experienced.

Of course, he doesn’t need to ask who got it for him. Only Kakashi would dare to add something to the cafe without asking Gai for permission first, and he’s glad he did. This is the most beautiful addition there has been since they started refurbishing the place.

Not even three months later, Kakashi’s second book is published. This time, though, Gai has to make an even bigger deal out of it and plans a huge event at the cafe for the day that the book is released. He has Kakashi sign a bunch of books beforehand (because he’s not about to force his boyfriend to sit and sign books for fans in the cafe. He knows Kakashi isn’t fond of that idea) and sells them while giving out free drinks and food (Kakashi, of course, helps pay for all of this). It brings in extra business for Gai when people come to the cafe for the first time and realize they like the drinks there, and they sell out of all of Kakashi’s books.

The biggest surprise, though, is when Jiraiya (Kakashi’s favourite author and a man who’d grown up in their town before leaving to explore the world) comes into the cafe to buy a copy of the new book, get a drink, and flirt with the pretty girls (Naturally).

Kakashi spends the entire night trying to talk to Jiraiya about his favourite books, the Icha Icha series, but sort of gets ignored most of the night. Something he’s not too bitter about because Jiraiya does at some point signs the copy of the book he’s holding (and even makes it out to the author of the new book he bought, showing he knows that Kakashi is the author even though Kakashi’s name isn’t on the book at all)

When everything is said and done, Kakashi and Gai hang back to clean up the cafe together. It’s not what anyone else would consider a good date, but probably one of the best dates the two of them have ever had. They drink coffee, chuck (clean) trash at each other while cleaning up and laugh the entire time.

Sometimes during clean-up, Kakashi stops and just looks at the cafe. That little place he has been going to since he was a kid, enjoying Hot chocolate and Coffee. Where he wrote both of his books, met the love of his life, and seems to have made a whole life for himself.

Gai walks up to him, a little concerned about him suddenly stopping without warning, but as he gets close Kakashi focuses on him, smiles, and says “We should get married.”

Gai’s not sure how to respond at first. It’s a lot to take it when it’s said so randomly like that, but it’s something he’s been thinking of for a while. Something he wants to do.

“When?” he asked, unable to contain the smile that stretches across his face.

“Now,” Kakashi answers as if it’s the easiest thing he has ever said in his life. “Or this week, if you’d prefer.”

They get married three months later, in the very cafe where they’ve lived so much of their life, with all of their friends around them. It’s not the grandest wedding, but it’s perfect for them.

Of course, Gai keeps running the cafe, and Kakashi still spends daily there. Sometimes doing the finances for the business (since Gai hates the paperwork and trusts Kakashi with it) and sometimes works on the next book he plans on putting out.

Neji, Tenten, and Lee always ensure a space for Kakashi to sit open.

Genma still ribs Kakashi about how he convinced Gai to marry him

The two of them move into Kakashi’s home together, where they have Gai’s giant tortoise (that he has had since he was a kid) Ningame and Kakashi’s eight dogs that spend most of their time outside in the field but also have deep love of jumping into their bed in the night and snuggling up to them.

Random Headcanons

Kakashi’s favourite drink is a standard coffee with half coffee and half milk. Gai still hasn’t forgiven him for this poor choice of coffee. His comfort drink on a bad day is a nice hot chocolate but not too sweet so always half the chocolate sauce/chocolate mix.

Gai often does coffee deliveries to Yamato at the plant shop. He knows the man needs his coffee to get through the day, but he rarely finds the time to leave the shop and go to the cafe. When he starts dating Kakashi, he makes a habit of sending him on coffee runs. Something that quickly results in Kakashi and Yamato becoming very close friends.

Neji is the youngest manager at the cafe, and as such has had difficulties with staff listening to him. Gai knows that Neji is competent and smart, doing some of the best work and keeping the cafe running smoothly even in Gai’s absence.

Neji always requests Tenten and Lee for his shifts. Not just because they’re both driven, competent workers as well, but because they’re his friends, and if he has to suffer the nighttime rush he’s going to do it with people he likes to work with.

Gai is always up at 5 am but never in the cafe before around 1. Morning time is his time to work out, take care of his pet tortoise and just generally relax before spending the rest of his day working.

Kakashi is the opposite. He prefers getting his work done in the morning and having the afternoon to himself to do whatever he wants. Go to the gym, take his dogs out for a long walk, or just relax at home.

Kakashi started helping Gai with the cafe’s finances when he first took ownership of the cafe. Dai had always hired an accountant to do the job, and Gai would have kept them on but they decided to retire at the same time as his father so he was left to try and figure things out while looking for a replacement. Seeing Gai fretting over the finances one day, Kakashi plopped down in the seat beside him and asked him if there was anything he could do to help. Kakashi was always good at every subject in school, so Gai decides to ask if he might be able to deal with all of the numbers. Naturally, Kakashi is more than capable of doing the job for him.

Kakashi learns how to take orders at the till from Neji, just so he can help out with the rush hours whenever he’s around and see them struggling. He refuses to deal with coffee making, but taking orders is simple enough and doesn’t demand a lot of energy from him.

Choza shows up every Friday to pick up a pre-order for the office he works at. It’s always a huge order and it’s the one day Gai can be expected to be in early to help make it. Gai often helps him carry it all out to the car and discounts it because they’re all such loyal customers who are always supporting the business.

Kakashi isn’t the only regular. Nara Shikaku shows up every day at opening for a cup of coffee before heading off to work, Inoichi Yamanaka is in three times a week to get a treat for his daughter while she’s helping out at the flower shop, and a few other random villagers that like their morning or afternoon coffees with the quiet atmosphere of the cafe.

Gai ended up buying five more copies of each of Kakashi’s books for the cafe because so many people were reading them at once that there were arguments over them.

[chaosnojutsu]

i want to clarify: they are not keeping this a secret. it just becomes an unspoken truth, another item on their daily to-do list. they won’t announce their task force or take credit for any of the good they’re doing, but it’s not hard for the people paying attention to piece together what’s going on.

so maybe genma sees karui, hinata, and ino step out of the village late at night, heading in the direction that anbu said those enemy spies were hiding out… and maybe he hears fighting break out in the forest shortly after, and maybe he spots the women returning hours later at first light, all dirty and sweaty and ino’s got some medical jutsu going on karui’s stomach even while they’re hightailing it home, with six chumps tied up and left at the village gates to be found and arrested… but maybe genma doesn’t see any of that.

maybe shikamaru takes it personally when temari rejects intimacy until he catches her in the bathroom secretly wrapping her (freshly?!) bruised and cut up shoulders and back, parts which he knows used to bother her often but haven’t as much since she stopped carrying her tessen everywhere… then again, the destruction of the treeline outside the rogue’s campsite looked very familiar to him upon inspection earlier today… maybe her rejection wasn’t personal at all, she just didn’t want to be seen like that… and maybe he goes to bed without another word.

maybe sarada notices her mama seems more scatterbrained and sleepy these days and begs sakura to take a day off from the hospital so they can “spend time together,” aka eat dinner and fall asleep on the couch together while watching reruns on tv, aka sarada can make sure that her mom will still be there when she wakes up, because sakura wasn’t the other night, but then she dodged the question when sarada asked where she’d been at two in the morning. and maybe sarada doesn’t drop it until after she worriedly confronts her father with this information and he doesn’t seem surprised.

maybe kiba and akamaru go to tenten’s store for a scheduled supply pick up, but it’s 10:30 and her “sorry we’re closed” sign is still on the door, so he calls up to her loft and she sleepily stumbles downstairs to let him in, and kiba gets this bad feeling because tenten smells like those guys we were chasing the other day, but then he gets an update from the police chief while he’s waiting on tenten to box up his order, and those guys he was supposed to track down today are somehow already in custody. kiba collects his package from tenten and tells her to get some rest and goes about his business.

and maybe a new urban legend/adage emerges from this: don’t cause problems in konoha after sundown. if the hokage, anbu, various shinobi, and police force don’t stop you, the women will.

*sigh* i’m imagining a world where there’s a boruto subplot where it’s revealed that the kunoichi we know and love are only pretending to be housewives/borderline civilian by day, and by night they cloak up and go fuck up some really dangerous bad guys.

i just know hinata and temari are behind it all. they overhear all kinds of talk, being who they are, including talk of threats (of varying degrees) popping up in and around the village. and maybe they’re in no position to go take on the otsutsuki by themselves, but some little ring of bandits right outside the village? that’s child’s play for them, and it would be one less thing for the village to worry about (see: maybe get their husbands home on time for dinner).

and as they get more comfortable with doing this, they slowly start to loop more of the girls in so they can take on bigger threats. they have to keep a small number so they can remain stealthy, so the cutoff is six— hinata, temari, ino, sakura, karui, tenten— and they take turns going out so they don’t draw too much attention, unless there’s a rare occasion calling for all six of their diverse talents and abilities.

and they stagger home at four in the morning and quietly tend to their wounds in the bathroom, gritting their teeth and breathing deeply and doing anything but waking up their families too soon. and they still have breakfast hot and ready two and a half hours later. (except tenten. she sleeps until nine thirty and orders take out for breakfast. her shop opens at ten a.m. for a valid reason.)

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Training Interuption

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

3937 words

Edited by: @mireleth

Thirty minutes late.

It was unlike Gai-sensei to be late. Usually he was the first one to the training field, a smile on his face and more energy than an adult had any right to have. And to be late when he had promised to show Neji how to add more power to his gentle fist? It was just inconsiderate, and a tiny bit worrying.

“We should go look for Sensei,” Lee’s voice broke the silence that had fallen between the three of them, his words laced with worry. “What if he is injured?”

“I’m sure nothing bad happened,” Tenten spoke up. “Gai-sensei would only get injured on a mission, and since we saw him at team dinner last night we know he didn’t go on a mission without us.”

A good point. Any mission that could cause Gai-sensei an injury severe enough to prevent him from attending their morning training would take longer than a night. Still, it was out of character for Gai-sensei to be late, and since he doubted that his sensei was taking punctuality lessons from his eternal rival, something had to be done.

“We could check his apartment,” he suggested, cringing when both of his teammates looked at him. “We can’t start training without him. He had the training plan and Lee’s not going to focus if he’s worried.”

“I guess you’re not wrong.” Glancing down at all of the scrolls she had scattered on the ground to work on while they waited for their sensei, Tenten sighed. “L-let me just clean up.”

“No need to clean up.” Neji moved into an attack stance when he heard an unfamiliar voice nearby, his byakugan activating and searching the area for the intruder's chakra signature. “Gai said there was someone on the team I’d like to meet. Should have just told me he had a weapons enthusiast, I would have shown up earlier.”

Spotting a chakra signature nearby, he prepares himself to strike only to see the chakra moving around the area and coming to a stop directly behind him. Doing a one hundred eighty degree turn, he aimed his gentle fist attack at the intruder’s abdomen only to have the man grab his wrist and pull it upwards over his head. 

“He did let me know to watch out for you though.” Turning his eyes up towards the man’s face, Neji narrowed his eyes. “Punchy little shit, aren't you?”

“I am Gai-sensei’s student, am I not?” There was a moment where the man actually looked impressed, but that quickly shifted into disinterest. Feeling the grip on his wrist being released, Neji watched as he was quickly forgotten in favour of Tenten’s scrolls still scattered on the ground. 

“You’re not wrong about that.” There was a fondness in the words. “Gai would have all the punchy students. Speaking of which…”

Turning his attention back to the three genin, he examined each of them individually. From the way his eyes scanned over them Neji could tell that he was trying to size them up. See what he was dealing with.

“My name is Shiranui Genma, and I’m going to be taking over your training for today.” It felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He had gotten his hopes up. Allowed himself to look forward to the training that Gai-sensei had promised him last night while they were enjoying sushi together as a team. “Don’t look so upset about it, kid.” Glaring back up at Gemma, he huffed. “Gai woke up this morning with a fever and no energy to spare. That second symptom would be enough to cause concern on its own. So, after a bit of arguing, he agreed to have me train you this morning in his place while he rests.”

That was… different.

“When Gai-sensei has been unable to teach us in the past, he sent Kakashi-sensei in his place.” Lee made a good point. It was out of character for their sensei to send someone that they didn’t already know. “Why would he send you this time?”

“Maybe he wanted to give you a fun sensei this time?” Neji’s pretty sure that both of his teammates have the same unimpressed looks on their faces as him. “Jeez, ok. Kakashi’s busy today.”

Not a favourable answer, but he was going to have to live with it. 

“And what can you teach us?” Lee continued, the usual excitement in his voice replaced by an uncertainty that sounded completely out of place coming from him. “If Gai-sensei sent you, your taijutsu must be impeccable.”

A moment of silence and they had their answer.

“If your taijutsu isn’t up to par with at least Kakashi-sensei’s, then why are you here?” Perhaps it was a little harsh, but it was true. They needed a sensei who could improve the skills that they already had, not one that would just fill a spot. “Is there anything you have to offer us as a sensei?”

“Punchy and rude.” Genma glared down at him. “Are you sure you’re a Hyuga and not a Hatake?”

Whatever commentary was being made about his personality, Neji ignored it. That wasn’t the point of conversation that he wanted to focus on at the moment.

“Do you have any redeeming qualities?” he continued, ignoring Tenten when she jabbed him in the side. A silent message for him to tone back the ‘rudeness’ that others might pick up in his words.

“I’m Konoha’s top weapons expert.” Useless to him and Lee, but he could already see Tenten starting to vibrate with excitement beside him. At least someone would get something out of this disaster. “A tokubetsu jonin of Konohagakure, member of Team Choza alongside Ebisu and Maito Gai.”

“Oh,” Lee’s eyes widened, “you, you were on Gai-sensei’s team?”

A sharp nod of the head, and Neji knew that Lee was gone. A chance to find out about Gai-sensei when he was their age, from someone other than Gai-sensei? Considering Kakashi-sensei never told them anything, this was as good as a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Still, there wasn’t much here for him. He had no interest in learning about weapons more than he already knew. Tenten was the weapons expert on their team and he wanted to leave that to her. It was her passion, he wasn’t going to impede on it. Plus he really had gotten his hopes up for that training Gai-sensei had promised him. 

“I think I’m going to go do something on my own.” He hadn’t actually meant to say that out loud, but with all eyes on him now he was kind of stuck. “It sounds as though this would be a great moment for Tenten to get some one-on-one training with someone who aligns more with her interests. While Gai-sensei certainly doesn’t leave her behind in our daily training, even helping her find her skills for summoning inanimate objects and creating a unique fighting style with it, he wasn’t the weapons enthusiast that Tenten was. 

“In that case, perhaps it would be best if Neji and I trained together today while Genma-sensei focuses on Tenten.” Lee’s arm came down around Neji’s shoulders as he spoke, a proud smile on his face when Neji looked over at him. “I could use the time to spar with my rival; what do you say Neji?”

Not an optimal situation, but better than nothing. 

“Does that mean…” Tenten looked up at Genma with hopeful eyes.

“I guess we’re focusing on weapons today.” The smile on his face says that the tokubetsu jonin is in no way adverse to this outcome. “Just try to stay out of trouble, you two. Gai will never forgive me if you two get hurt when I’m supposed to be watching you.”

“We’ll be fine,” Neji assured him. “Come on, Lee. Maybe today you can actually land a punch.”

“I will land five punches!” Lee proclaimed proudly, beaming when Neji glared at him. “Just you watch, Rival. You won’t be able to keep up with me during our spar.”

Unlikely, but he’d certainly be impressed if Lee did manage to do it.

Watching as Tenten returned her attention to her scrolls, sitting down beside them while Genma-sensei sat across from her, Neji turned and headed towards the exit with Lee hot on his heel. It would be best if they took their training somewhere else and avoided getting in the way of Tenten and Genma-sensei if they decided to start throwing weapons around.

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Training was not going nearly as well as Neji had hoped. 

Lee was certainly doing better than expected. He had improved a lot since their last proper spar, meaning Neji was going to have to keep a closer eye on his teammate’s training regimes. 

Still, simple spars were not what he had planned for his day, and he was starting to get agitated with the entire situation.

Blocking another kick from Lee, Neji placed his hands on his waist and sighed. “This isn’t good enough,” he grumbled under his breath, watching as his teammate clambered to his feet. “I want to improve. I need to become more efficient in battle.”

“What do you want to do then?” Lee asked with a genuine interest that surprised him. He had no reason to be worried about Neji’s training, but he seemed as invested in it as if it were his own. 

Not to mention he didn’t really have an answer. The only way to get better was to find out what Gai-sensei had in mind for his training, and that wouldn’t happen until he was able to tell Neji himself what he needed to do to improve his gentle fist.

“We could go visit Gai-sensei.” Lee’s suggestion caught his attention, but it wasn’t that easy. If Gai-sensei was sick he was likely in no condition to give Neji his training plans. “I’m sure Sensei has it written down somewhere. He always has notes on our training.”

A true fact. Neji had seen the book that Gai-sensei always brought to their training. The one he wrote down new team formations and training ideas in. An idea he had gotten from Kakashi-sensei one day after forgetting the training plan he had come up with for the team. A common occurrence apparently, since Gai-sensei was used to challenging himself to new and interesting training methods and had never really thought about a set training plan before.

The sporadic self challenges didn’t work for everyone though. Neji himself preferred the well thought out plans that his Sensei kept in the book. 

Whatever it was Gai wanted to teach Neji, he must have written it down in his book. He wouldn’t risk forgetting about something that he spoke so highly of just yesterday. He’d want to make sure he remembered every detail. 

It was decided then.

“Let’s go find Gai-Sensei.” Meeting Lee’s eyes, he tilted his head when Lee gave him a confused look. “Don’t tell me you don’t want to go. He may be sick but we both know you still want to see him.”

“Well, of course I do,” Lee whispered, “but I wouldn’t want to impede on his recovery. Genma-san said that he was sick enough that he couldn’t come to training. For Gai-sensei to miss training he must be extremely sick. If we show up there he may try to push himself too much and impede his recovery.”

Surprisingly thoughtful of Lee, but deep down Neji knew his desire to see their sensei would outweigh such a thoughtful response in the end. Not that he would call Lee out on it. The choice was up to him in the end, but Neji knew what he was going to do.

“If you want to wait here, I’ll be back soon,” he promised, turning his back to Lee and doing a quick calculation of which route would get him to the Jonin apartments as quickly as possible. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to keep yourself entertained in my absence.”

Jumping towards the exit he couldn’t help but smile when he sensed Lee following right behind him. As predictable as always. 

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Gai-sensei’s window was easy to spot even from the streets three floors down. With a large red tortoiseshell statue sitting proudly on the window sill, one that the team had all pooled ryo in together to purchase for his birthday a few months ago, it was hard for anyone who knew the man to miss which window belonged to him.

“Try not to knock down the statue this time.” He glanced over at Lee, who sputtered when he heard the jab. “We don’t have Tenten with us today to catch it before it hits the ground.”

Not that Lee and him weren’t fast enough to catch it themselves if it did happen to fall again. Tenten just always made sure to let them go up before her because she didn’t like being crowded on the small window sill together, so she didn’t have to go chasing after it when it fell during their last visit. She just caught it while she was waiting for them to go inside of their sensei’s apartment. 

“I won’t knock it over,” Lee promised. “But I will be the first one up there, so watch your step when you join me.”

With that said, Lee didn’t bother to wait for Neji’s response before jumping up towards the lowest available ledge. The only stepping stone he’d need to help him get up to their sensei’s window, though at the rate his skills were going Neji wouldn’t be surprised if he could make the jump from the street soon. 

Giving his head a shake, Neji quickly followed Lee, intent on getting the information that he had come for and leaving as soon as possible. There was no doubt in his mind that seeing his students would cause Gai-sensei to disregard what he needed to do in order to heal, and would result in him pushing himself to train when he should be resting instead.

“Oh…” 

Landing on the window sill by Lee’s side, Neji frowned when he heard the discomfort in his teammate’s voice. It was unlike him to say such a thing when it came to Gai-se—

“Oh…” It felt as if he had been slapped in the face. Of all the things to find themselves interrupting, it had to be this? “Didn’t Genma-san say that Kakashi-sensei was busy today?”

Lee nodded his head, but said nothing. His attention was focused completely on the scene in front of them. One that Neji really wished he wasn’t being subjected to at the moment. He was certain that finding your sensei cuddling up in bed with another person was something that every student wanted to avoid in their lives. 

It was awkward and made him wish that he had just continued his training without complaints. It was a much better outcome than… this.

“This hardly counts as busy,” he grumbled under his breath, glaring at the two jonin. “There’s no reason he shouldn’t have been able to train us if this is all that he’s doing.”

“To be fair,” Lee turned to look at him, a soft smile on his face, “Tenten is getting training that she otherwise would not have gotten. We should not be upset about that since it will hopefully improve her fighting style which can only make our team stronger.”

A true point, but Neji was still a little bitter.

Kakashi-sensei was a skilled in Taijutsu. He had to be in order to even stand a chance against Gai-sensei in their spars, or to keep up with him when they were battling side by side. He would be able to explain to Neji what he needed to do according to Gai-sensei’s training plans. They had all seen him using Gai-sensei’s training notes when he had taken over their training for him before.

“You two should be training right now.” Neji glared over at Lee when he responded to Kakashi-sensei’s statement by slapping a hand over his mouth, as if that would solve the problem of them being caught spying. “There’s no point hanging around outside. You’ve already been seen.”

He’d like to think that he could train himself to go unnoticed, but considering the tattoo he had seen on Kakashi-sensei’s arm during one of his competitions with Gai-sensei, he didn’t think it would be possible. The jonin was hardwired to notice everything and everyone around him. To go unnoticed around him would be near impossible. 

“I guess we’re going inside.” Not waiting for Neji to agree, Lee slipped inside of the open window and set his feet on the floor, smiling when Kakashi-sensei glanced over at them from the bed. “Hi.”

Following his teammate into the apartment, Neji frowned as he looked at the scene in front of him. It still made him a little uncomfortable seeing the pair like this. So exposed and open. It was as if he was intruding on a private moment.

“You can stop making that look, Neji.” Kakashi closed his eyes, though for once Neji could see the way his lips turned upwards into a smile. The usual dark blue mask was nowhere in sight and it only made Neji feel worse about being here. “It’s not like you caught us doing adult things. We’re just laying in bed.”

As far as he was concerned that was ‘adult things’. He certainly didn’t know anyone his age that would cuddle up to one of their friends when they were sick, hiding their face in the other person’s neck. Frankly, Gai-sensei looked like he was comfortable where he was. Like he couldn’t imagine being anywhere el—

“Oh.” Scrunching up his nose, Neji glared at the silver haired jonin. How had he not realized this before? “Really? You?”

“That hurts.” Kakashi-sensei threw a hand over Gai-sensei’s back, right where his chest was hidden under the other jonin’s body. “Am I not good enough for your sensei?”

This really wasn’t something that he wanted to be thinking of. His sensei’s love life was none of his business and it wasn’t why he was standing in this room staring at the pair with disgust.

“I don’t understand.” Neji closed his eyes, willing himself not to look at Lee with a look of utter annoyance. “Is there something that I am missing?”

Sometimes he wondered how Lee can be so dense about the things going on around him, but there was also a part of him that wished that he could miss the obvious once in a while. Like now, in this exact moment.

“We came here for a reason, Lee,” he reminded his teammate, cringing when Gai-sensei shifted in Kakashi-sensei’s arms and turned his face towards them with a happy sigh. “W-we really should get going quickly.”

“Gai-sensei looks comfortable.” Lee took a step forward and leaned in close, grunting when Kakashi-sensei reached out and flicked him in the nose. “Owww.”

“If you’re looking for his notebook it’s in the top right drawer of his desk.” Narrowing his eyes, Neji glanced over at the drawer in question, questioning himself for the first time since he had decided to come steal a glance into his sensei’s notebook. “But if I can offer you some advice…”

He wasn’t particularly fond of receiving advice from anyone other than his sensei, but it was unlikely that Kakashi-sensei would let him leave without saying whatever it was that he wanted. 

“Let me guess.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he sighed. “Don’t look in the book and just hope I can improve myself without Gai-sensei’s training plans?”

“Well, it worked for Gai.” Tilting his head, Neji leveled the jonin with a look that told him to explain himself. “When he was young a lot of Gai’s improvements came from his own determination to become stronger. He didn’t rely on his sensei to have all the answers for how he could become stronger, though he did listen to him when he had suggestions.”

Pursing his lips, Neji glanced over at the drawer once more. He really had been looking forward to whatever it was that Gai-sensei was going to teach him. It had been the only thing he could think of since they finished dinner yesterday and all went their separate ways.

The ways he would be able to improve himself. How much stronger he could get.

Of course, he had always been able to improve himself even before he became part of Team Gai. While he was naturally talented he still had to train to keep his skills honed, so why wouldn’t he be able to improve himself with his own hard work as well? Lee and Tenten were able to do it, so perhaps he could as well. Even just a little bit. 

“We weren’t here for the book anyways,” he lied, knowing full well that Kakashi-sensei could see right through him. “Lee was worried about Gai-sensei. It’s rare for him to get sick so he wanted to check in on him.”

For a moment he thought that Lee might argue with him. He had no right to lie for him after all, and nothing to gain from it.

But Lee said nothing, and just smiled when Neji looked over at him.

“I guess now we know that Gai-sensei is in good hands.” Lee smiled back at him. “We should get back to training.”

Nodding his head, Neji turned his back to the bed and made his way towards the window, well aware that Kakashi-sensei was watching him every step of the way. Stopping in front of the open window, he took one more look back at the bed. 

Other than moving his face out of Kakashi-sensei’s neck, Gai-sensei hadn’t budged at all since Neji and Lee’s arrival. Not even the smallest action to show that he was trying to get more comfortable, or that he was restless. 

Sick with a fever and drained of all of his energy, Neji absolutely expected to see his sensei having a restless sleep. It wouldn’t be new to him, since he was always tossing and turning in his sleeping bag whenever he slept during one of their many training days that ended with them sleeping under the stars. 

But he looked comfortable, and somehow Neji knew it wasn’t because he just didn’t have the energy to move. For some reason the jonin with endless amounts of energy and a constant urge to keep moving and stay active was calm, content and comfortable laying there in Kakashi-sensei’s arms.

“I don’t understand his taste,” he admitted, smiling a little to himself when Kakashi-sensei chuckled. “But I’m glad he has someone who’s got his back.”

“Always.” A simple word full of so much promise. Neji didn’t think it was possible for someone to convey so much love and trust with so few words, but there it was. “Now get out of here, before he wakes up. It took me an hour to get him to lie down and go to sleep.”

Somehow that didn’t surprise Neji at all.

“Come on, Lee,” he glanced back at his teammate, “you still have to hit me in training.”

He could see Lee bursting with excitement at the reminder of his own personal challenge, and for the first time that day Neji thought that maybe it wasn’t such a waste. He wasn’t going to learn how to improve his gentle fist, not today at least, but he’d get to see Lee try to hit him in a fight.

And honestly, that itself was entertaining enough to make up for the loss in his training.

[phoenixyfriend]

A Smattering of Ideas for a Neji Time-Travel Fic

[EDIT: okay so viewing the post on dash or sidebar blog completely ruins the bullet nesting for some reason. Please open it in a new tab.]

Okay so I actually wrote the first chapter or two of this like... almost a decade ago probably, but the concept was:

Neji, upon dying, gets sent back, and he's perfectly healthy again, pretty much exactly as he was just before getting mokuton-stabbed... except the seal damage wasn't reversed, so he's blind.

I think he ended up like riiiiiight before the Hyuuga Incident, so about of age with Kakashi & co.

But yeah like imagine telling Hiashi about it.

We have a new Jounin! It's a blind Hyuuga.

His seal is gone! He's technically your nephew.

He needs to be retrained for blindness! He needs to be protected for the information he carries.

He's a time-traveler!

Have fun.

The Hyuuga clan has like a million things going on but future Neji is just finding his younger self and Hinata to cuddle them.

He can't see shit but he Needs To Hug Baby Hinata

She's so small? She needs to be protected?

"Sir, you're blind now." "If Lee can be a ninja without chakra, I can be a ninja without eyes." "Sir. Sir that's--that's not the same thing, you can't--SIR." "I'll ask Hatake for advice." "He's still got half of his--SIR!"

Neji is a genius, if there's anyone who can pivot their entire fighting style from "I can see everything" to "I don't need to see anything" it's someone like him. Especially with the "I need to protect all these smols and be strong enough to force people to take my advice seriously if necessary" motivation

BUT But But for the first few days, it's just like. Sir. I understand you want to protect this small child, but you walked into three walls in the past hour. Please st--sir.

Fun option is "Neji spills all the beans... to Hiashi, not the Hokage."

Hiashi: Okay so like. Give me a few days to come up with a cover story for your existence. Neji: That's fair. Hiashi: Do. Do you want me to send in Hizashi or...? Neji: I'll tell him the truth if you do. Hiashi: That's, uh... that's fine. Neji: Then yes. Please. Hiashi, thoroughly unnerved for a variety of reasons: Right. I'll go do that.

Relevant: "Stop trying to convince me to put the Caged Bird Seal on a man who is already blind."

Since that's the ostensible reasoning of the seal, and like. You can't make that argument about keeping the eyes safe when the eyes don't... work.

Courtesy of @firebirdeternal​, along with a bunch of other stuff but especially this:

ooooh feels moment: Neji starts his retraining to become Strong Enough without his eyesight, guess who sees him working his ass off to overcome a disadvantage and thinks "Oh, there's a person I should Be Friends With!"

Part of me just went "Gai gets injured on a mission and, while waiting out his medical leave, gets assigned to Neji as a guide/sparring partner"

Or, well, not assigned. He's just doing one-armed pushups in the training yard with a cast on half his limbs after breaking out of the hospital and zeros in on Neji like "Ah yes, medically inadvisable training, a Bonding Activity!"

Neji goes from "I can see everything" to "I can't see shit but if you're within arms reach you're fucked"

A lot of it comes down to Neji building up non-Byakugan sensing abilities, I think?

It won't help him read, but it'll sure help him avoid getting punched.

I think that's really the crux of his New Style, however he works it out, instead of having this Massive Range of perfect perception he just trains his other senses until he still has that perfect perception effectively, just in like a two foot radius around his person

and then he goes full Rock Lee and trains speed and reaction time until that two feet is enough

I want Daredevil-style bitchiness at some point, in the "Okay, I'm sure the contract is lovely, but do you have it in braille, perhaps?" sense

And Toph-style stuff

Genma, in the Jounin lounge: "Hey guys I think I've got a design finished for the new tattoo I'm gonna get, what do ya'll think?" 'holds up scroll' Kakashi: "Why would you get a tattoo of an ugly couch?" Genma: "It's not an ugly couch it's the Hokage Monument!" Neji: "It looks perfect to me" Genma: "Thank you! I worked really hard on-..... why do you feel the need to do these things."

Also I want Neji to have the same approach as Matt to a cane. He can make do without it, but it sure does make his life easier when he's off-duty.

Like, yes if he focuses his entire, highly trained person, on perceiving his surroundings, he can sense his way around. But that is very tiring

Like that is a lot of work to be doing, when you are just trying to get to the coffee shop for a bagel

Neji learns Sage Mode solely because he wants to be able to tree-hop again

Neji visits Kakashi like "I can't ask the Inuzuka for this because their dogs are clan-specific, but do you know where I can find a guide dog that can double as a ninken in the field?"

Neji asking Gai to help him pick out a feminine yukata because if ANYONE is going to not judge...

Listen I'm just really invested in what Naruto SD told us about how often Neji cross-dresses

Someone asked me which summons Neji learns Sage Mode from, and 

I mean, Hashirama supposedly just. Learned it? Without summons?

So maybe Neji does that and just learns from Jiraiya or something

Though it's not... particularly safe.

Birdie had the best response

learning it Without a Summon is very much in the vein of Neji's past attitudes towards Special Secret Techniques, given that he learned the Kaiten with no help even though it was a Secret Technique of the Hyuuga.

"I know it's possible to do, so the hard part is already over, the rest is just figuring it out and doing it"

Neji: I'm here, I'm queer, I'm blind as fuck.

Neji hanging out with Gai and Kakashi is, admittedly, not that different from hanging out with Lee and TenTen

Kakashi is a bit more likely to join in on the shenanigans than Tenten was, but he's still just as available for "We're judging you" sessions

Neji, sipping tea as Gai yells: this is my comfort zone.

Neji with a white cane: This is my whacking stick. Hiashi: Don't you mean walking stick? Neji: No.

Because... what ninja wouldn't ensure that any normal part of their daily life was fit for battle.

Like if Karin can hide lockpicks in a photo and a knife in her glasses, Neji can ensure his white cane is suitable for battle.

(Going off the earlier Daredevil comparisons, I’d say this is similar to Matt turning his cane into billy clubs sometimes.)

Neji, assuming the role of Chief Babysitter for SmolNeji and Hinata, senses Lee and Tenten at the park. Nudges SmolNeji: "Go, be friends with them"

SmolNeji, watching Lee faceplant into the dirt while trying to jump off the swing while Tenten chases two boys around with a weird frog she found: ".... why"

Neji: "Just trust me"

Also consider older Neji giving baby Hinata shoulder rides

Baby Hinata is delighted by this whole affair.

More time with big brother, and a new even bigger brother? Best times.

Bigger brother needs help reading sometimes and Hinata is so excited to help. Hiashi even approves because helping older Neji read things like menus and the like is helping Hinata learn how to read, so it benefits everyone.

Consider also: Neji encouraging the smols to play with bby Naruto, a Hyuuga elder (or possibly Hiashi, but I want him to be a confused accomplice) complains exactly once and Neji exudes such a powerful "Do not test me" energy that he just kind of. Drops it.

Neji's attitude towards baby Naruto is somewhere between "They're good dogs Brent" and "I died for him once already, do you think I'd hesitate to kill?" and it depends entirely on how seriously he thinks you're talking shit about him

Neji plays with the smols, including smol Naruto, by just being the Perfect Straight Man. Just taking every nonsense thing Naruto says Completely Seriously and using deadpan reactions to chaos to make them giggle. This drifts into Feels for Naruto when he's the first adult who takes his "I'm gonna be the Hokage" completely seriously

"Of course, chibi-Hokage-sama"

Hiashi: "What.... are you.... doing?" Neji: "Ah, Hiashi-sama. Please exercise caution, the floor has mysteriously transformed into molten rock. I suspect enemy action, but have no further intelligence at this time" SmolNeji, Hinata, and Naruto: 'wild giggling as they dangle from rafters/stand balanced precariously on chairs'

Hiashi takes one step into the room and all the kids start screaming so loud he steps back out in shock

Neji out in Konoha just Causing Shit with plausible deniability

Listen. Neji is PETTY.

Someone describes Naruto as "the annoying blonde child with the whiskers, you know, the skin brat" and Neji says "I'm a sensor and have encountered no demonic chakra"

"okay just avoid the blonde kid with the whiskers"

"I don't know how to tell you this..." 

"Sir, I know you're new in town, but that kid isn't really good news--" "A child can't be news unless they're recently born." "No, I mean, didn't anyone tell you to avoid the blonde kid with the whiskers?" "Naruto's blonde?"

Possibly "Hinata's blonde?"

He just, aggressively misunderstands that any insinuation about Naruto is about the Hyuuga heir instead

Birdie said they like the idea that he uses the aggressive deliberate misunderstanding to force people to either be embarrassed by how they're acting by having to spell it out or give up in quieter shame

Sometimes Neji gets tired of being obtuse and just lets Gai do it for him

Gai babysits on occasion, SmolNeji is aghast, Hinata mostly just confused, Naruto is delighted

Naruto is just Stars In Eyes about Gai

Kakashi: this is not the excuse I expected to have for visiting Naruto but I'm taking it

[jjgrace42]

Scrapbook of a Dimension-Traveling Sideshow: Skin-Deep 1

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Samsaric AU (platonic soulmarks)

Skin-Deep 1

Babies weren't supposed to get marks. Marks only ever appeared for the intense bonds. For the people the marked loved, lived for, would die for. And babies couldn't understand that. It would be impossible for someone so young to feel something so deep.

But Mirai was five months old, and she had Naruto's name scrawled large across her right palm.

She stared at her hand a lot, Kakashi noted. She was too young to have the mark and too young to understand it, but sometimes she would press her hand to Naruto's cheek as if she knew. Which was impossible. Just as impossible as her having the name in the first place.

Kakashi compared it to his own. Naruto was in the same loose handwriting down his right bicep. He had to cover it during missions, and he didn't like to let the others see it. But he knew it matched the name that stretched away from the back of Yuugao's wrist and that took up the expanse of Genma's shin, and he knew that they had to hide it too.

He didn't have to do anything special about Mirai's name because it appeared beneath his mask, though that didn't matter. Everyone knew where it was because Raidou, Genma, and Yuugao all had Uzumaki Mirai inked neatly across their throats, the lines thick and dark as if someone had pressed a pen too firmly into paper while writing. Kakashi saw the black across his own throat whenever he looked in the mirror with his mask off, and he wondered what it said about them that they all held her name in such a vulnerable place.

The Hokage said nothing at first when they all started wearing high collars beneath their ANBU armor. But when they returned after one mission and Raidou's shirt and armor had been removed to make way for bandages, Hiruzen didn't look away from the man's throat during the entire report. And when Kakashi finished talking, all the Hokage did was look at Mirai's name and murmur, "It's large, isn't it?"

— — — — —

Kakashi was fifteen, and he had seven marks. His father, his team, his sensei's wife, and the twins. It had taken him well over a decade to collect them all, and so it made no sense that Mirai would be catching up so quickly.

Yuugao was the first one to see the black on Mirai's hand. Like Genma had when she'd spoken for the first time, Yuugao yelled until everyone tumbled into the room. But unlike Genma, she shoved Mirai into Kakashi's arms and then held up the girl's hand with a command for him to look.

Kakashi filled the quiet space on the side of her hand, sitting snugly between her pinky and her wrist as if it belonged there.

"She doesn't know my name," he croaked. "How is that possible?"

Yuugao didn't have an answer for him. No one did. And no answers came when Genma's name appeared, small and delicate under the right corner of the girl's mouth. Then came Yuugao's, curling across the back of Mirai's neck. Raidou's was next, staining the knuckle of her right ring finger.

Mirai was one, and she already had five names.

Naruto was three when they left, and his neck was still bare.

— — — — —

"Who is Kurama?" Hiruzen asked the four year old, pressing a thumb into the jagged kanji that followed the curve of her jaw.

Mirai smiled, and the action twisted the name and whisker marks alike until her canines were bared. "A friend," she said. Then she touched her left index finger—Rock Lee practically burned into her knuckle—before looking down and twisting to show off the other name—Tenten—etched into her calf. "Them too."

Hiruzen looked up the names later. Rock Lee and Tenten were both a year older than her, but the claim written across their throats was clear and familiar. They were friends. That part had been true.

There was no one named Kurama at the orphanage.

— — — — —

When the twins returned to ANBU, Mirai had ten marks and Naruto had one. It was too dark and too late, and the twins were too tired, and so Kakashi didn't catalogue her names before they fell asleep. He simply curled around them like a shield and ran his thumb over the kanji that were straining to encircle Naruto's neck. Then he pressed his hand to his own throat and wondered, not for the first time, if the fact that it almost resembled a collar said more about Mirai than it did about the people she marked.

— — — — —

When Raidou had made it to the twins first upon their arrival, Mirai had said his name. When they got Naruto settled into a chair, Mirai rubbed her knuckles and stared up at the ANBU as if she was waiting for something. Then she said his name again. A test. Making sure that she was right.

Raidou warned Genma, but the latter still wasn't ready to sit down at Ichiraku only to have the girl turn to him and say his name with such surety and finality that he thought she could have said anything and he would have said she was right.

— — — — —

Kakashi got back with his team, and Mirai marched right up to one of his kohai and tilted her head back to show off the name painting the soft underside of her jaw. "Itachi-san," she greeted, as if it was perfectly natural to have a mark for someone you'd only met once before.

Itachi, almost too small for his ANBU uniform and carrying only three names, stared at her from behind his mask with wide eyes. He didn't touch her, but he did reach up and press his fingers under his own jaw.

Whatever Mirai had been waiting for, she must have gotten it. Because then she turned to greet Kakashi's other kohai with a smile that showed off too many sharp teeth and more distance between the two of them than was really necessary.

When Mirai woke up the next morning with Tenzo stamped across the inside of her left wrist, Kakashi almost wasn't sure it was real. Was it really possible for someone to care that quickly? Or was there something wrong with her? Would her names always appear that fast?

Kakashi hadn't gotten Tenzo's mark until the very day he clawed the boy out of Root and away from Danzo. He was the only one with Tenzo's name, and so he could understand the way Tenzo seemed bewildered, fascinated, by the new mark on Mirai. If she waved her hands while talking, Tenzo tracked the one with his name. If she sat quietly and meditated with her hands on her knees, he wouldn't stop staring. Kakashi wished he could stop staring too.

It wasn't that he didn't want Tenzo to have people who cared about him. It was that if Mirai was this quick to get attached, Kakashi was afraid of what she would do when she started losing people.

The next day came with a new name—Shisui—marring the entirety of her left cheek, pulling from under her eye to her jaw, and Kakashi decided he had to get used to the worry boiling under his father's name.

— — — — —

Shisui hadn't really known what to think when Itachi told him of the small girl that had his name under her jaw and Sasuke's on her hand. Itachi had mentioned the number to him—eleven—but even that hadn't prepared him to actually see just how much black there was on her skin. Shisui only had two—his father's across his tricep, where he wouldn't have to look at it and wouldn't have to remember what he'd done, and Itachi's tall and proud between his shoulder blades—and he couldn't fathom having so many.

Her brother only had one name, and that made sense. The way the name had a vice-like grip on his throat didn't.

Then she came back just a few days later with his own name covering almost half of her face. Shisui tried to get answers from Itachi only to find out how quickly the mark had appeared. And then a week later, she had three new names—Hayate her thumb read, with Izumo and Kotetsu sharing her pinky—staining her left hand. And that didn't make sense at all, because that was fifteen marks and most adults had no business having that many, let alone a five year old. She didn't make sense.

But his throat had started to itch.

— — — — —

Mirai was six when she finally saw her name on Kakashi. He'd taken his mask down for her before, a long time ago in ANBU, but he'd kept it tucked in tightly just under his jaw. Now, he let it hang loosely down to his collarbone. She stared at her name for a long moment. Then she set the tea on the table and stepped up so that she fit between his knees.

Her small fingers were cold against his throat, but he had the thought, as she pressed her hand down just a little too firmly, that she could crush his trachea like this if she managed the strength. She seemed to realize something too, because she snatched her hand back like she'd been burned. Her gaze found his, and she didn't touch the mark again that night.

— — — — —

Shisui left his house with a bare throat and arrived at Mirai's with his neck stained black. He didn't even know at first. He and Kakashi focused on getting Mirai bandaged and safe and in bed, and it wasn't until he stepped into the bathroom to wash the blood off his hands that he realized he had a third name. "Huh," he mumbled, running his fingers over it just to make sure it wouldn't smudge. To make sure it was real.

"How long have you had it?"

Shisui glanced at him and finally dropped his hand, straightening. "Maybe thirty minutes?"

"Oh." Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "That recent, huh?"

"Are they all like this?" Shisui asked, frowning. "I mean, I've seen Naruto. But I've never heard of someone's name showing up on people the exact same way every time."

"If you figure it out, let me know. I've seen her name on at least ten people now. It's been the same every time."

"For you too?" he asked. When Kakashi straightened, Shisui scoffed. "C'mon, don't pretend like you don't have her name. Of course you do."

"Yeah," Kakashi said, voice brittle. "Yeah, it's the same."

Kakashi wouldn't talk about the marks after that and instead questioned him about the fight as they waited. They were finally interrupted by a hoarse cry of Shisui's name from the other room. Shisui gave Kakashi a look before slipping past him and to Mirai's door. He leaned against doorframe. "Good morning, Taichou. How are you feeling?"

"Well, not dead," she said, her voice sounding like it didn't exactly agree with her statement. She dug her fingers into her thigh and looked up at him, mouth open to speak. Then her gaze snapped to his neck, and whatever she was going to say seemed to get lost. Her grin twisted his own name on her face, and he'd never in his life seen someone look so pleased.

This wasn't so bad.

Shisui could live with three names.

— — — — —

Mirai was quiet as she treated him, and it wasn't until after she was done that she mentioned the names. She feathered her touch over the name on Kakashi's bicep first, murmuring, "I was wondering where it was."

Kakashi didn't have a response for that. Instead, he just tracked Mirai's gaze as she looked at the other three visible marks. She started with Obito and Rin's, one down each side of his ribcage. Then her brow furrowed, and she moved her hand to press it against his stomach. "Your dad's?" she asked quietly, frowning down at Sakumo's name.

"Yeah." He curled his fingers around her wrist, pulling her hand away. "I don't have as many as you."

"Is fifteen a lot?"

"For someone your age? Yes." He turned her hand so he could look at his own name against her skin. "For anyone? Yes."

— — — — —

When Shisui saw Mirai after her first day at the Academy, she had six more marks. He studied the Nara Shikamaru that had settled itself in the notch of her collarbone and announced, "This isn't normal."

"There's one here," she said in response, turning her head and folding her ear down so he could see the elegant Hyuuga Hinata written behind it. Seven new names, then.

"This isn't normal," he repeated. "Tachi-chan, you ever seen something like this before?"

Itachi's gaze flicked from Mirai to Shisui. "No. It's impressive."

"I don't think I've ever met anyone with twenty-two marks before. I mean, kami, Taichou, eventually you're not going to have any room left if you keep going like this."

"No, it's okay." She looked down at her arms, turning them over and then back again. "I still have plenty of room left."

— — — — —

The name on his neck made sense now. So did the one on her jaw.

"Do you know why they're all like this?" he asked, interrupting her lesson on the English alphabet and raising his hand to his throat.

"Why they're all like collars? Hell if I know." She reached up and ran a thumb down the front and center of her throat. "What do you think the chances are of someone's showing up on me like that?"

"Slim to none. Not only have I never seen anyone's mark show up identically on everyone, but I've never even seen one that looks like, well, this."

She frowned. "Like what?"

"Like a brand. Or a claim. I think you have issues with possessiveness, and it's bleeding over into your marks."

"I don't have issues with possessiveness."

He scoffed. "Right. Of course you don't."

— — — — —

Shisui didn't do anything about it until after Kakashi had fallen asleep and they'd left him alone. The moment they were in the hallway, he jabbed a finger into her forehead. "That's new."

"Hey, ow," she muttered, rubbing at the spot. "What was that for? What's new?"

Shisui just tilted his head at her and raised an eyebrow. Mirai's eyes widened, and she scrambled for the bathroom. She threw open the door and dragged herself up onto the stool, leaning on the counter. "What?" she mumbled, staring at her forehead in the mirror and brushing her fingers over the new name.

"Who's Neji?" Shisui asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Um, Hinata's cousin. I just met him today. We yelled at each other."

"A Hyuuga? That's . . . . Well, then. Interesting placement."

"He hates me."

"Are you going to hide it?" he asked, watching the conflicted battle that flicked across her face.

Mirai shook her head, lips settling into a line. "No. It's one of my names, no matter how he feels about me."

— — — — —

Mirai was halfway through saying sorry, wrist-deep in dirt, when she realized that Neji was pale—pale even for a Hyuuga—and his eyes were wide as he stood in front of her. She awkwardly finished her apology and then asked, "Are you okay?"

"Are you trying to trick me?"

"Trick you?" She frowned. Why would he think that? She tried to catch his gaze, but he wouldn't meet hers. She glanced over her shoulder to try to find what he was looking at. When she looked back, she realized he was staring at her forehead. "Oh. It's not a trick. It's real."

"It's ink."

"It's not," she insisted. She shook one of her hands to shake loose some of the dirt and then scrubbed at the middle of her forehead with her knuckles. "See? Not ink."

"You have so many."

"Twenty-three."

"Why would I be one of them?"

She shrugged and sat back, finally done packing the dirt around the plant. "Why not? I was rude when we met, but I like you." Then she pouted. "Aw, wait, are you telling me you don't have mine? My feelings are hurt."

His gaze flicked away and then back to her forehead. "I don't have any."

"Huh. Well, maybe you'll get mine someday. It's big enough to make up for being the only one."

— — — — —

Kakashi had known it would happen eventually. She collected too many names. Statistically, she was bound to lose someone sooner or later. He just wished it hadn't been someone whose mark took up so much of her face, whose name she would have to confront every time she looked in the mirror. Kakashi never had to look at his marks, never had to look at the names of those he'd lost, except for on rare occasions. He couldn't imagine having to spend every day with such an obvious and large reminder.

"It's okay," Mirai whispered, feathering her fingers over Shisui's name. "It's better than the name on Hiruzen's face, don't you think?"

He didn't have a real response for that. Didn't know how to touch the fact that the Hokage had the name of a missing-nin under his eye. Instead, he said, "It's dangerous to get them removed, but I know some people have figured out ways to cover them up. I can try to find—"

"No," she interrupted. "I want to see it."

— — — — —

Then came something Kakashi hadn't even considered. Something that he would say was probably even worse than losing one of the people whose mark she wore so proudly. Because instead of dying, Itachi had repaid her mark for him with torture. And a blade. Kakashi could still feel Mirai's blood on his hands from when he'd found her, stuck in a genjutsu-induced coma and slowly bleeding out.

He didn't know how he could even talk to her about it when she woke up. He didn't know how she would feel, knowing that she'd put Itachi's name in such a vulnerable place and he'd proven he didn't deserve it.

But then she came out of surgery, all stitched together with clean, bloodless skin and the name Obito written in small, leaning kanji down the left side of her neck. The handwriting didn't match his own mark for Obito. And Obito was dead. People didn't get marks for the dead. It didn't work that way.

Kakashi spent three weeks staring at the name of his teammate and decided he wouldn't talk about her marks anymore.

— — — — —

Itachi entered the massacre with three names and left the Village with four. The masked man had taken one look at the new mark carved into Itachi's throat and started laughing. When he was done, he said, "I have a hard time believing that after what you did to her."

Itachi just grit his teeth and ran his fingers over the name. Then he snapped his hand up to grab the scarf his companion threw at him. "What is this for?"

"Put it on. She's not a name. She's a jinchuuriki."

— — — — —

Next Chapter

[ladyxxdaydream]

Please do the kakairu chef au 🥺

oh man. dont enable me!!! i still have my other wips I need to finish first T-T but for now... here’s my old notes, as a treat.

- [ ] kakashi = renowned chef (heralded as a genius in food, reinvents things scientifically. micro-level. visual experience as well as sensual. japanese cuisine? would make the most sense. has three locations in different parts of the world. wears black mask beneath chefs jacket. kind of an arrogant jerk but its mostly a facade. lives in a fancy top floor apartment, lives alone, super lonely, keeps himself insanely busy bc of it. sakumo was a famous chef—feels pressured to uphold his legacy. - [ ] iruka = starts as a dishwasher? (given the job by his roommate genma whose a line cook at same restaurant. iruka suffered a severe break up from mizuki (genma thinks it’d be good for him aka get off ur depressed ass)—back injury; in physical therapy for better part of a year, lost previous job because of it. moved in with genma after the breakup bc he lived with mizuki. Isn’t a big fan of kakashi at first, kinda hates him actually. also, doesn’t understand kakashi’s food, thinks it’s pretentious ‘why would i want to eat something that imitates a strawberry, while NOT being a strawberry, when i can just eat a real strawberry?’ LMAO. iruka doesn’t really know anything about the food world/kakashi’s place in it so talks to him “disrespectfully” without realizing it—rest of the kitchen staff is in awe. kakashi is annoyed by it… but also amused and intrigued

kitchen core: kakashi, genma, anko, choji, temari, shikamaru

bar: neiji (wine), sasuke (cocktails), tenten

host/wait staff: ino, sakura, naruto, sai.

>> it’d be kinda  “enemies” to lovers, which i’ve never really done before

AND YA that’s what i got so far.

btw this is just one au out of seven on my “to-write list.” O.O lmaokjg

[raspberryfanfics]

Are you having a bad day? Think about the first time each team’s first truly bonding moment:

- Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura going to a restaurant after arriving from a mission and getting frustrated because the bentos they want to order each have something they want and hate so after they order their boxes, they use their chopsticks and grab over each other to customize their lunch, sharing their food and joking about how disastrous everything was. 

- Shikamaru and Choji learn to do Ino’s hair, to braid it, and they all watch clouds together. They tell her she is beautiful, her body is beautiful, and she shouldn’t be killing herself to change it, which brings her to tears and she eats a whole bag of Choji’s chips, besides the last one of course. Choji and Ino then argue with Shikamaru about the logics of shogi, like why there isn’t a super powerful queen because is western chess there is, and it’s the modern age so they should have female characters! 

- Kiba teasing Hinata about Naruto as she stutters and Shino feels left out so he makes one of his really awkward jokes, which makes Kiba uncomfortable especially because it could have offended Hinata really badly, yet she bursts out laughing louder than they’ve ever seen her, and everyone kind of starts rolling on the ground, dying, because sometimes she snorts while laughing, which is literally hilarious.

- Neji, Lee, and Tenten dead after a really hard mission where they each almost died and was saved by Gai multiple times, and he goes to send in the mission report because they are all exhausted. No one wants to go home but no one wants to admit it, so Tenten slumps against a tree, pulls Lee beside her, rests his head on her lap, and Neji awkwardly sits beside her. He’s kind of distant until she doses off and her head falls on his shoulder and her knee is kind of the perfect armrest and they fall asleep in the position for the rest of the day, even when their body parts are going numb, they can’t bring themselves to move.

- Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru doing a three-way argument until for three complete sentences, they unintentionally say the same thing at the same time, before going silent at the same time, just accidentally mirroring each other for a good five minutes and not being able to get out. 

- Kakashi, Obito, and Rin teasing relentlessly at Minato for his huge crush on Kushina and they take turn play out skits similar to Naruto SD revolving around their sensei’s inability to talk when she’s mad. Somehow, they have perfect teamwork when it involves torturing their sensei.

- Gai, Ebisu, and Genma roasting each other, but it’s literally the weirdest roast battle because Gai’s roasts usually end up with “but your youth shall prevail soon”, Ebisu is trying to use the “yo mama” jokes but it’s not like anyone has mothers anyways, and Genma is just like “oop you guys are so bad at roasting we’ll all freeze to death” but never actually roasts them, just roasts their roasting. In the end they just roast all the other teams and does pretty well.

- Inoichi, Shikaku, and Choza doing a combination jutsu correctly and effectively for the first time and charging towards each other to do a three way chest bump, only to do it so powerfully that they end up in the hospital anyway. They share a room and laugh because the one time they were about to have no injuries from a mission whatsoever, they ended up in the hospital anyways.

[sadbean609]

Just the Way You Aren't : January — A Proposition

...We begin when a mysterious new groupchat adds our couple...

Hinata's POV

-

A very confused Hinata asks the comfort of her two followers on priv

-

Hinata smoothed down her dress with her hands, already feeling them clam up. Her heart was beating faster than normal, and she could feel it in the warmth of her cheeks. This is fine, she reassured herself. I’ll just pop in, see what the big deal is, then I’ll take off. Easy as that.

She raised her hand to knock, taking her time, when the door opened to reveal a very flushed, but smiling Ino. Looks like the booze already started long before she got there. “Am I late?” Hinata asked, eying her tall friend.

“No, you’re just in time!” Ino cackled, pulling her in the apartment. “Guys! Guess who’s here!” Ino pulled Hinata into the living room, and Hinata was immediately met with excited, scheming eyes. Hinata only met them very briefly and very quickly at a party she went to with Sakura. She knew the man was an Uchiha, and the woman beside him could be his girlfriend. She couldn’t remember their names though, and she wasn’t going to with how fast her brain was going.

“You made it!” Tenten called from the kitchen, poking her head out. “I was worried you’d bail on us, but it’s nice to see that you took my advice.”

“Uh, Tenten?” Hinata started, not liking the amount of eyes that were on her. “Do you want to explain what’s going on?”

“Take a seat first, Hinata,” Tenten reassured her, disappearing behind the wall to finish what she was doing. “Do you want a drink?” 

“Do you have any cider?” Ino asked for her.

“That we do.” 

The room fell into silence and Hinata pulled out her phone to busy her hands. She opened a group chat that hadn’t been active in a few weeks. Maybe they weren’t so busy now? 

-

We introduce some new characters

-

Hinata was pulled out of her concentration on her phone from a knock at the door. “I’ll get it!” the Uchiha called, standing up abruptly. He stole a weird glance at Hinata that made her stomach flip. Oh no. What could that imply?

“I’m surprised you’re almost on time,” she heard him say from the foyer. She tried not to pay too much attention to the mystery guest. She had no idea who it could be and the anticipation was causing her knee to bounce. 

“I’m more than an hour late,” she heard the mystery guest say. Okay so he was a guy. A guy with a voice so smooth she could spread it on toast. Her breath became short.

“I purposefully told you the wrong time, figuring you’d show up over an hour late. Your curiosity would get the better of you eventually.”

“You know, sometimes I don’t buy that whole weird ‘air head’ shit you pull. You scare me sometimes, dude.”

Both of them walked into the living room. Mystery Guest’s eyes landed on Hinata’s and for one brief, swift moment, Hinata forgot how to breathe. She choked on her cider, almost causing her to spit up on the couch that she was barely sitting on. Her heart thrummed in her palms, and her eyes were on everyone that just saw her do a spit take as the man simply looked at her.

“This might be more fun than I thought,” came Ino’s voice over Hinata’s coughs.

-

We introduce a few more characters

Genma's POV

-

Installment 1 will have to be broken up into two parts, I've reached the image limit

-

Masterpost | Meet the Cast | Next ->

[raendown]

Pairings with Canon Characters

Stories that are not cross-posted to AO3. Pairings that have several stories are lumped together and the rest are organized alphabetically by pairing. 

MADARA/TOBIRAMA

After The Smoke Clears [Russian Translation] Translation by: @mailitt

Angsty Assassin Drabble - Rated T+ Word count: 410 Summary: Both of them are assassins but they both made the same mistake.

Blood Bender Drabble Part 1 - Rated T+ Word count: 1102 Summary: Tobirama is rather more protective of his older brother than most people would have expected. Madara notices.

Blood Bender Drabble Part 2 - Rated G Word count: 669 Summary: Madara rather enjoyed watching Tobirama and Hashirama noticed his enjoyment. His approval is conditional. - Rated G

Blood Bender Drabble Part 3 - Rated G Word count: 673 Summary: If the violence had happened before peace was made.

Blood Bender Drabble Part 4 - Rated T+ Word count: 1897 Summary: Set after Part 2, Madara makes an effort to woo Tobirama and the Uchiha clan quickly learn to fear him even more.

Butt Touching Drabble - Rated T+ Word count: 402 Summary: Madara gets a little bold.

Chance Meeting - Rated G Word count: 1010 Summary: Too exhausted to sense ahead of himself, Tobirama runs in to Madara in the forest - literally.

Dinner With Izuna Drabble - Rated T+ Word count: 847 Summary: Izuna invites Madara over to dinner to talk about Tobirama.

Domestic Fluff Drabble - Rated T+ Word count: 799 Summary: Domestic discussions about child rearing and responsibility.

Fear of Beards - Rated G Word count: 817 Summary: Everyone is afraid of something. Tobirama’s biggest fear just happens to be more unusual than others.

Fear of Beards Part 2 - Rated G Word count: 663 Summary: Madara did indeed convince Izuna to grow a beard. His plan has mixed results for the two of them.

Hogwarts Professors AU - Rated T+ Word count: 1028 Summary: Madara’s not sure what disaster Tobirama is trying to cause, breaking in to his rooms like this, but he’s damn sure it’s all Kagami’s fault.

Kitten Kisses - Rated T+ Word count: 995 Summary: Tobirama finds Madara in his living room with cat ears and a cat’s mind. He is both horrified and so very weak to the purring.

Lap Sitting Drabble - Rated G Word count: 438 Summary: Madara tries to follow Hashirama’s example with mixed results.

Less Is More - Rated T+ Word count: 1384 Summary: One quick change to his usual attire and it was like everyone else had lost their ability to be normal. Tobirama hated being confused.

Less Is More Part 2 - Rated T+ Word count: 1015 Summary: After the doctor’s examination Tobirama asks for a little clarification on what happened. Madara is mortified.

Less Is More Part 3 - Rated G Word count: 307 Summary: The origin story of how the crop top came to be.

Lightweight Tobirama - Rated T+ Word count: 558 Summary: Tobirama always thinks he can drink Madara under the table and Madara is always happy to prove him wrong.

Madara Likes Glasses Drabble - Rated T+ Word count: 711 Summary: Touka gets caught alone while weakened and signals her cousin for help. Turns out Tobirama helps more by being distracting than with violence.

Rabbit Tobirama Drabble - Rated T+ Word count: 1673 Summary: A drunken Madara compared Tobirama to a white rabbit and Tobirama does not take such comparisons gracefully.

The Adoption Drabble - Rated G Word count: 673 Summary: Tobirama and Madara discuss making certain things official

Virginity Drabble - Rated M Word count: 1055 Summary: They’re both virgins until Tobirama isn’t - and Madara wants to know how.

KAKASHI/SAKURA

Comfort and Home [Russian translation] Translation by: @tianshannn

Hurricane Shelter Ficlet - Rated G Word count: 805 Summary: Sakura arrives at the hurricane shelter and desperately searches for a familiar face

Icha Icha Drabble - Rated T+ Word count: 215 Summary: Sakura tries something new

Matching Soulmarks AU Drabble - Rated G Word count: 969 Summary: Sakura never bothered to check her mark when she got it.

The Cat’s Meow - Rated G Word count: 966 Summary: An unusual perspective.

MADARA/KAKASHI

Clan Marking Drabble - Rated G Word count: 468 Summary: Kakashi gets crafty. Madara pretends he doesn’t enjoy it.

Good Boy Drabble - Rated M Word count: 277 Summary: Kakashi has a kink that Madara is more than happy to indulge

The End Of The World Drabble - Rated T+ Word count: 1311 Summary: “You promised to meet me at the end of the world.”

The Sub Sandwich Drabble - Rated G Word count: 806 Summary: All he asked was that Madara try and eat a sub sandwich. This is exactly the kind of hilarity he was hoping for.

Vampire AU - Rated T+ Word count: 787 Summary: Kakashi picks up a man who catches his interest at a party and they both get a little (big) surprise.

OTHER PAIRINGS

Breaking The Fast - Rated T+ Pairing: Itachi/Deidara Word count: 780 Summary: This isn’t at all what Itachi thought working with the Akatsuki would be like. The day’s barely started but he doesn’t think he’s going to have any complaints at the end of it.

Sparring Drabble – Rated T+ Pairing: Kakashi/Hidan Word count: 182 Summary: During sparring sessions both of them can get a little distracted.

In My Head (And In My Heart) [Spanish Translation] Pairing: Kakashi/Iruka

Two’s A Crowd(ed Space) [Russian Translation] Pairing: Kakashi/Yamato

I Brought My Friends Too - Rated T+ Pairing: Madara/Kakashi/Tobirama Word count: 834 Summary: Kakashi goes back in to the past with Obito and Gai and they all make friends with the founders. Kakashi makes…more than friends.

At My Worst And At My Best – Rated G Pairing: Naruto/Sai Word count: 785 Summary: “At my worst I worry that you’ll realize you deserve better. At my best I worry that you won’t.”

Thankful Neji Drabble – Rated G Pairing: Neji/TenTen Word count: 544 Summary: Neji is thankful for many things in his life but his is most thankful for his wonderful wife.

Be You, For Me - Rated T+ Pairing: Obito/Kakashi Word count: 845 Summary: A werewolf au in which Obito calls him home.

Hello Drabble – Rated G Pairing: Obito/Sakura Word count: 321 Summary: Sometimes just a single word keeps you hanging on.

Assassin Au Drabble – Rated T+ Pairing: Obito/Sakura Word count: 890 Summary: Obito mastered the art of working and flirting at the same time a long time ago.

A Clean Start [Russian translation] Pairing: Shikamaru/Naruto Translation by: @tianshannn

Leave Me Here To Die Drabble – Rated T+ Pairing: Shisui/Obito Word count: 1327 Summary: “Are you just going to leave me here? To die as if I’m nothing?”

A Polite And Proper Thank You - Rated T+ Pairing: Suigetsu/Karin Word count: 1347 Summary: She just wanted to drink the night away but he had to go and ruin all the fun.

Parenthood - Rated G Pairing: Suigetsu/Karin Word count: 695 Summary: After the war they have a son name Mangetsu. He is a legacy of them both - and all the frustration that comes with that.

First Meeting Drabble – Rated T+ Pairing: Tayuya/Itachi Word count: 508 Summary: The first meeting between them sparks some interest.

Random Thoughts - Rated T+ Pairing: Tobirama/Itachi Word count: 262 Summary: Itachi shares what thoughts are floating through his head at the moment and Tobirama does the same. 

Surprise Blowjob - Rated M Pairing: Tobirama/Izuna Word count: 384 Summary: Izuna swears up and down that it happened. Unless he hallucinated it. That’s possible too. 

First Kiss Drabble – Rated G Pairing: Tobirama/Kagami Word count: 755 Summary: Tobirama’s favorite quote gets turned against him - and he doesn’t really mind.

Tattoo Soulmate AU Drabble - Rated G Pairing: Tobirama/Kagami Word count: 641 Summary: Kagami wakes up with new markings on his face on his 18th birthday.

How To Woo An Uchiha - Rated T+ Pairing: Can be read as Tobirama/Izuna or Madara/Tobirama Word count: 158 Summary: A Step-By-Step Guide From Senju Tobirama

Tsunade and Genma - Rated T+ Pairing: Tsunade/Genma Word count: 242 Summary: An arrangement begins.

A Window That Won’t Close - Rated T+ Pairing: Yamato/Shisui Word count: 554 Summary: Yamato attempts to use a pickup line his friends gave him.

Soulmate Story Collection [Chinese Translation] Pairing: Multiple 

Soulmate Story Collection [Chinese Translation] Pairing: Multiple

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

Some Time Alone

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai

1903 words

Kiss: Lower-Lip sucking kiss

For: @grumpygaybaby and @temarihime​ (if you want to read some Kakagai today lol)

An escape, at last. 

Three days ago Kakashi left Konoha with his husband, and to say he was looking forward to a chance to unwind and relax after being handed the Hokage’s hat all those years ago was an understatement. He couldn’t wait to be as far away from all the responsibilities and expectations.

Unfortunately, Naruto had decided to throw a Kunai in his plans by sending one Mirai Saratobi along with them on body guard duty.

A body guard. The sixth Hokage and one of Konoha’s top Jonin, with a bodyguard.

He’d be insulted if he hadn’t spent the last three days pissed because Mirai refused to give him and Gai any space at all, citing her responsibilities as their guard whenever he tried to get her to go somewhere else for even just an hour.

Not that he blamed her. She was just doing her job.

This was Naruto’s fault and Kakashi was certain it was payback for him sending Genma to watch over the brat’s honeymoon with Hinata. Usually he’d let it slide too, but when it came to Naruto ‘trouble magnet’ Uzumaki, he had to be a bit more cautious. Genma had intercepted three different attempts to interrupt Naruto and Hinata’s honeymoon without them noticing and he should be thankful damn it.

But no, instead he was vengeful and now Kakashi was stuck with a 15 year old who was determined to prove herself and refused to leave Kakashi and Gai’s side no matter how many times he begged her for just a little bit of alone time with his husband.

Drastic times called for drastic measures.

“Are you sure about this?” Mirai looked at the bath house skeptically. “Isn’t there something else you would rather do?”

“No, this is exactly what i want,” it was a perk of being in a relationship with someone who was the same gender as him. He could go into a bath house and not have to be separated from Gai. “it’ll be good for us all Mirai. Bedside’s, if anything happens we’ll be right next door. You just can’t see us.”

The words didn’t seem to make Mirai feel any better about the situation. “Fine,” she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a look that reminded him a little bit too much of her mother. “But if anything happens i’ll be there in an instant.

“I have no doubt about that,” he smiled, “but try to relax. That’s the point of this stop after all.”

Finally, some peace and quiet. Even if they weren’t completely alone, at least they would be able to relax a bit better without Mirai breathing down their necks, and maybe she would finally unwind a little. 

Stepping out into the bath area, Kakashi couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit excited. It was better than he could have hoped for.

Empty.

The entire bath was empty. Not a soul to be seen. 

There was no better outcome he could have asked for. A whole bath for just him and Gai. No one around to judge if he slid in a little too close. No prying eyes if he decided to take off his face towel.

No real need for the face towel at all really.

Seeing Gai coming up to his side, he glanced down towards the man he had decided to marry. The beautiful human he would spend the rest of his life with. If they were really lucky no one would show up at all until they were ready to leave.

He would get Gai all to himself. 

A small smile tugged at his lips. “You mind?” He took a step forward and turned to face his husband, one hand reaching out towards the other man.

Debating the unspoken question for a moment, Gai took one look at the bath waiting for him behind Kakashi and slowly nodded his head. With permission given, Kakashi closed the distance between them and bent forward, tucking one arm behind Gai’s back and the other under his legs. 

With his hands in place Kakashi lifted his husband out of his chair with surprising ease. Perhaps when Gai had joked with him earlier that week about how he carried him around their home too often these days as a substitute for his old morning training regimes, he hadn’t been too far off. 

“A whole bath to ourselves,” Gai chuckled as his arms came down around Kakashi’s neck. ‘What shall we do with all of this space, Rival?”

“Well first we’re going to find you the best spot possible,” Kakashi muttered, turning around in his spot and scanning the area. Picking out a small rock close to the edge of the bath, he started walking. The last thing they needed was for Gai’s cast to get wet. That always ended up being a mess that neither of them wanted to deal with.

“And after that?” 

“Once we’re settled in and the water is working its magic on our old fagil bones,” Gai roared with laughter, loud enough that Kakashi was sure Mirai could hear him on the other side of the bath house. “Well then I’ll just have to enjoy the precious little personal time I get with my fantastic husband.”

Stepping down into the water, Kakashi groaned as his body started to relax. This was already the best idea he had all day, and he hadn’t even made it all of the way into the water yet. 

“You look happy,” Gai commented, lifting his leg up over the water while Kakashi slowly submerged the lower half of his body in water. “A nice relaxing soak to recharge us for our next challenge. A grand idea you had, Rival!”

Another challenge was not something he was ready to concern himself with. Not when he had already lost the handstand race from their room to the front door of the Inn they were staying at, which surprised absolutely no one. 

No, now was the time for cuddles and kisses, not talks about challenges.

Reaching his target, Kakashi positioned himself perfectly so that Gai’s leg was hovering over the rock and proceeded to carefully set his husband down in the water. Thankfully both of them had decided to forgo their towels in the locker room, deciding it would be easier that way. A choice made much easier for Kakashi since he had been able to get top surgery shortly after becoming Hokage. 

An accomplishment made much easier to achieve without the threat of impending war or a constant need for him to be ready for missions looming over his head. 

“Mmmm, you’re right,” Gai grinned. “The water is perfect. There is no doubt we will be able to do anything we wish after a long soak.”

‘Anything’ seemed like a bit of a stretch, but he was willing to let his husband have it.

Once Gai was settled into his spot with his leg safely propped up out of the water, Kakashi took a step back to admire his work, forcing Gai to release the hold he had on his neck. 

“Are you going to join me, Rival?” Tilting his head, Kakashi thought about it for a second before reaching up to carefully remove the towel he had wrapped around the lower portion of his face. 

Leaning over Gai’s body, Kakashi set his towel down right behind his head and smiled down at the Taijutsu master. Gai was one of the few people who never reacted when he took his mask, or in this case towel, off to show his face, and it was one of the many things he loved about the man. 

“You’re cooking something up in that mind of yours,” Gai teased, reaching up to poke Kakashi in the nose. ‘Stop it. Bath houses are for relaxing.”

“And relaxing is exactly what i’m going to do,” Kakashi assured him even as he leaned in close and brushed his lips against his cheek. “Having fun is part of relaxing is it not, turtle?”

If anyone else had been in the bath with them Gai would have gone bright red at the use of that old nickname. Even after all of these years together it still seemed to embarrass him. 

He claimed it was because it was only nicknames Kakashi ever used for anyone, but Kakashi was certain that it had something to do with the fact that Gai still couldn’t believe that out of all of the nicknames he had access to, he chose to hang onto that one. The silly little nickname he had come up with when they were fourteen years old, and had refused to let go of since then. 

“A whole bath to ourselves, turtle,” He enunciated the nickname, chuckling when Gai shifted awkwardly in his spot. “There’s so much we could do.”

“If you’re suggesting what i think you are, i would like to remind you that you are a screamer and Kurenai will slaughter us if her daughter hears...that.” A fair point. The last thing Kurenai would want is her daughter finding out what the sixth hokage and his husband did when they were alone, and he did have troubles keeping quiet when he was with Gai.

Clearly the more risque activities would have to wait till later. When they were alone in a room. Perhaps Kakashi could convince Mirai to go somewhere where she couldn’t hear them. That was a challenge for him to face later.

For now though, he had a different idea.

Rubbing his nose against Gai’s cheek, he slowly made his way in towards his mouth while gently pressing smell kisses against soft skin along the way. The way Gai shivered under his assault was intoxicating.

The man who never broke.

Who had survived opening the eighth gate and lived through something that no one should ever have been able to live through.

That beautiful, unbreakable man was shivering because of him. He was weak, because of his actions. 

Kakashi held all of the power in this moment and he loved it. 

“My precious Turtle,” his breath tickled Gai’s skin, causing him to squirm just a bit under him. “So beautiful, laid out in front of me like the most delicious snack I could lay my eyes on.”

Gai snorted. “Snack? Did you get that one from Tenten?”

The answer was yes. Who else would he get such a ridiculous saying from? 

Still, that wasn’t his concern at the moment, so he continued without a word. Making his way towards Gai’s lips slowly while he continued to whisper sweet compliments against beautiful skin.

Finally reaching his goal, Kakashi pressed a quick kiss against Gai’s lips before gently sucking his lower lip into his mouth, his hands coming down to settle on Gai’s chest as the Taijutsu master arched up into the kiss.

While Kakashi gently started to suck on the trapped lip, Gai ran his hands up his arms and into his hair. His Fingers settled in short silver strands, sending shivers down Kakashi’s spine. 

Finally, Kakashi released his hold on it and moved back to admire his work. Gai’s eyes were half lidded and there was a peaceful, calm look on his face. The most beautiful picture he had ever seen. 

“Perfect,” he smiled brightly “My beautiful Turtle, all to myself.”

“And i wouldn’t have it any other way.” Gai assured him with a fond chuckle.

[bouncyirwin]

Bouncy’s Masterpost

 I'll admit that I made this list purely out of boredom. I compiled all my work from 2018 here (FF.net, AO3 and Tumblr), in other words: the good, the bad and the ugly. I’ll probably update this again by December.

Order: from oldest to newest.

January 2018

[1] Resolutions | 6,649 Words | T | KakaSaku

In which Sakura realises it isn't too late to find happiness and lets go. 

Snippet:

She'd never quite paid attention to it before, but Kakashi had really kind eyes. It made her wonder how such dark depths could ever hold so much warmth— Sasuke's were always hard, emotionless. Like staring into a void. Cold.

[2] Coming Home (to you) | 4,050 Words | T | KakaSaku | fanart

Sakura had always been a part of Kakashi’s thoughts, even in her absence.

Snippet: 

I know I tried to escape the hospital, but I think it’s kinda a given with me. Chaining me to a bed in the Hokage’s office is a bit extreme….

I really miss having you doing the ass-kicking.

This is beyond humiliating.

I hope you come back soon or else you might just find yourself a copy ninja short.

- Kakashi.

[3] When You Awake | 4,270 | M | KakaSaku | Fanart 1 | Fanart 2

Through a haze of confusion and a killer hungover, Sakura discovers she’s in Kakashi’s bed. 

Snippet: 

He was shirtless— why was he shirtless?

As if in a trance, her gaze slid down to her own body and a fresh wave of embarrassment assaulted her when she realised his lack of shirt was because she was wearing it. Without looking up at him, Sakura asked very slowly, "Kakashi… why am I… wearing your shirt?"

[4] Chance Meetings | 1,810 Words | T | ShisuiSaku

Shisui flirts with Sakura in front of an angry Team 7.

Snippet:

"Dinner with you?" Sakura asked, surprised but not unpleasantly so.

Shisui laughed, she was just too cute. "Well yeah, that's what I'm hoping."

Another glare intensified, this one coming from the blond boy. He looked ready to march to Sakura's side and throttle Shisui, but the firm grip of Kakashi Hatake kept him in place.

"Like… like a date?" Sakura inquired, her cheeks slightly darker now.

May 2018 

[5] Daylight | 1,335 | T | IronStrange [Marvel]

Tony had nothing, and then he had everything.

Snippet:

“Strange, I thought we agreed the balcony bedroom is mine?” Tony swept into his bedroom with a hint of the dramatic flair he used to possess before the world reminded him everything was temporary and painful, voice lightly reprimanding but not holding any real heat.

Stephen looked up from the thick book he was reading, his hair drifting lightly in that infuriatingly captivating way of his. “It seems my room has been taken over. I had to relocate.”

[6] At Your Mercy | 3,006 Words | M | StevexOC [Marvel]

In which Steve Rogers and Valerie discover that sometimes need trumps rationality.

Snippet:

“I wasn’t jerking off.” He finally said. Valerie startled, her mouth nearly dropping open, not having expected those words from him at that moment.

Instinctively she glanced around to make sure no one overheard Steve. When she noticed no eavesdroppers, she pressed, “really?”

June 2018

[7] Rainstorm | 2,990 Words | T | KakaSaku 

Life-threatening injuries always end in a confession. 

Snippet:

His eyes traced over the skies outside, dragging his gaze from the windows and over to her so that their eyes met again. She waited, wanting to look away from his intense depths of charcoal but finding herself unable to. He was at once as loud as a storm and as quiet as the night. “The last time I assigned a simple mission to a large group of people, they were ambushed and three of them died. First I thought, there’s safety in numbers, lesser chances of things going wrong. Instead, it got them noticed and tracked by a group of missing nin.”

[8] You Only Live Twice | 3,319 Words | T | KakaSaku

Kakashi’s ninken sure love to meddle, but at least their heart’s in the right place this time.

Snippet:

"We just think it'll be a good idea if you looked after him, y'know," Pakkun mumbled, trying to lace his voice with as much innocence and conviction as possible. "He tends to neglect his health and we can't boss him around cause he's the boss."

Sakura huffed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, sure, leave it to me. That baka, I'll show him."

Soon afterwards Sakura set on her way back to the hospital and Pakkun turned to nod to his fellow ninken. "Step one, check."

[9] Recipe For Disaster | 1,858 Words | T | Multiple [Marvel]

Peter Parker did what Nick Fury failed to. He unwittingly brought together a group of remarkable people.

[or, a silly marvel group chat fic that no one asked for]

Snippet:

Dp: I’m Dp

Tony Stark: What’s Dp stand for

Dp: Take a wild guess

Tony Stark: Double penetration?

Spideyboi: oHMYGOD

Spideyboi: MR STARK

Tony Stark: he did say a ‘wild’ guess

July 2018 

[10] The Story Of Another Us | 19,155 Words | M | KakaSaku

Kakashi and Sakura were at the brunt of the Fourth Shinobi World War, only to be thrust into the ruins of the Third.

Snippet:

"Don't put words in my mouth, Kakashi," Sakumo chided, some anger colouring his voice. "That wasn't what I asked."

Realising that whatever tactic he was using against Sakumo wasn't working, Kakashi's shoulders deflated. He looked so helpless to do anything but endure the interrogation that Sakumo almost took pity on him. But not quite. He needed to satiate his curiosity first.

Kakashi had turned back to the stove, breaking eye contact and reaching to stir the contents in the pan. And then he said something that had Sakumo's jaw drop open. "I love her."

[11] 3 A.M | 2,345 Words | M | KakaSaku

Our Drunk OTP are fantastic wedding planners. 

Snippet:

“A bet is a bet, darling.” She purred against the white sleeve of his dress shirt.

He’d looked magnificent tonight, especially as he’d gotten more drunk and lost the tie, rolling his sleeves up to expose his lean elbows and unbuttoning the first two buttons of his shirt.

“What d’you want for a refund?” He tilted his face to bury his nose in her hair, inhaling her deeply and in a way that made Sakura’s stomach twist.

Nuzzling closer to his body warmth, Sakura voiced what she’d been thinking since the moment he’d lost the bet. She tilted her head back, bringing their faces closer together as she murmured, “I want to top tonight.”

[12] Cravings | 3,823 Words | M | KakaSaku

When you mix alcohol and pent-up frustration, things are bound to go somewhere. Phone sex. 

Snippet:

It was a selfie of him and Genma at some club, drinks in hand with the caption of ‘you’re missing out xx’.

Sakura took a second to appreciate the wild mess that was his hair and the flexing tendons in his neck. The first two buttons of his plaid shirt were unbuttoned to expose some toned skin, his sleeves rolled up over his lean arms. He had his tongue stuck between his sharp teeth and Sakura wanted to die as all her frustration rushed back into her. All because of one photo.

Sakura: fuck u

How could he do this to her so effortlessly?! His reply came faster than she’d expected and she looked down at her screen with raised eyebrows.

September 2018 

[13] Distractions, Confusions and a Hot Professor | 4,324 Words | M | KakaSaku

Professor Hatake and Ms Haruno are dragged into the midst of the newest rumour circulating the University of Konoha. 

Snippet:

“Hey Sakura, have you seen the new cute professor yet?”

Sakura looked up from sorting the piles of books in front of her to raise a curious eyebrow at her colleague. Tenten grinned leaning over the desk to peer at Sakura. “He’d already made Hyuuga faint and all he did was smile at her.”

October 2018 

[14] Knock Knock, Let The Devil In | 7,617 | M | KakaSakuShika

Kakashi had always appreciated Shikamaru's ability to turn any situation in his favour. He just never expected to become a willing target to his whims.

Snippet:

Kakashi quietly slipped into their shared room and immediately froze in his steps. Perhaps it had been a mistake to return quite so early— he hadn’t even paused to ponder if those two had any plans.

They’d said they weren’t dating but Kakashi now wondered why he hadn’t interpreted that shared look for its implications. They weren’t dating alright, but they sure were close.

November 2018

[15] Nocturnal Activities | 3,761 | M | KakaSaku

Actions have always spoken louder than words.

Bonus - Art

[x], [x], [x], [x] 

[caveadministration]

Gladius

Chapter 8: Solitude

Sakura stared down at the boy in wonder. Although, calling him a boy was a bit out of place as he must have been her age, if not older. She turned her gaze towards the smith; if she had to guess, she’d say they were all of a similar age.

“My name is Tenten,” said the smith, a smile on her lips as she raised a hand in greeting.

“And mine is Sakura. It’s a pleasure.” She looked around the forge. It was large and cluttered, but well used and well loved, clearly somewhere people cared for their work. Half-forged weapons and armour lay on every surface, but none looked abandoned, and of what Sakura could see of the work, it was masterfully done. It was no wonder that Tenten, and her master (for a smith no matter how talented could not own a forge so young) had a job at such a prestigious place. Creating the equipment for the gladiators of Rome, some of their most prolific fighters, would have quite a reputation. But, Tenten was the only smith in the building and that blade on the bench had the marks of one freshly tempered and the forge still hot. That spoke volumes.

“You do impressive work.” Sakura looked back towards Tenten. “Where did you learn your skill?”

Tenten let a chuckle. “Well, it’s a pleasant surprise for someone to think it’s my work and not my father’s, but I can’t say I don’t appreciate the compliment. Yes. some of these are mine and as my father is currently boozing it up in the country for the week, I hope you don’t mind that yours will just have to be part of the collection.” She turned and gestured for Sakura and Genma to follow her further inside. “I have to take your measurements and an idea of your combat style before I begin.”

Sakura began to follow, but a glance at the strange man still passed out on the wall made her pause. “Should we not…”

“Ah, don’t worry about Lee. He’ll come ‘round soon enough.” Tenten cleared off a bench in the back of the room and whipped out a measuring tape. “Stand tall and spread your arms out.”

Sakura stood as told while Genma headed over to recline on a chair. It was a wonder he was so relaxed all the time.

“Well, Sakura. About five and a half pes, you’re surprisingly tall for a woman.”

“Good thing,” said Genma as he crunched into an apple that had miraculously appeared from nowhere. “I like my women tall.”

“Don't we all Genma,” muttered Tenten. “Don't we all.”

Sakura, personally, was taking this conversation very... well... personally.

Tenten continued. “Wingspan is about the same. I’ve gotta say, nice proportions. And good measurements on the waist. You’re fit, but not too fit.” Tenten moved onto the smaller measurements. “I can’t tell you how many men I have to measure armour for, and their body muscle is way out of line. Too much of it and it’s gonna hinder more than help.” She scribbled down the last of her notes on a piece of paper and rolled up the measuring tape. “I’m glad to see that you’ve got the brains to match your brawn.”

“I could’ve have told you that,” said Genma around a mouth full of apple. “You should have seen the way she wiped the floor with Hidan, and those Demon Brothers this morning certainly didn’t hold a candle.”

“Well nobody claimed those guys were too bright, not that I’ve seen many sparks in the gladiator school.” Tenten moved over to a rack of weapons on the wall. “Any of these your preference in fighting?”

“A graecus, and an axe is a close second. If possible, I dual-wield them.”

“Dual-wielding, and an axe for half of it? I have to say I didn’t believe everything I’d heard from your fight, but the axe was certainly not the part I would have thought to be true.” She searched through her collection before grabbing a variety of graecus and axes and loading them onto the table. “Any of those fit your style? I’m sorry to say but I don’t think there’s any chance of retrieving the ones you’re familiar with, so it’s either one of these or I forge a new one.”

Sakura shifted through the pile, choosing and discarding. “No matter; they may have been familiar, well worn, comfortable, but they were nothing special and of low quality. It will be nice to have one that fits my grip and balance better.”

Finally, only a few weapons lay remaining on the table, the rest back on the rack. Tenten perused them carefully. “I see for the sword you favour a thinner blade, with a more than average length for your height. Better for your reach but only when you’re trained to accommodate it. It’s a good way to even out the balance but it’s still heavier than on average. As for the axe… you clearly prefer them double-bladed, but oddly enough, you like them shorter. I’m guessing to pair better with your sword in combat.”

Sakura blinked in surprise. “I never thought about it that way, but I suppose you’re right. I had often just used weapons that felt right but I had never considered why they did.”

“So,” Tenten said. “You like to use both sword and axe, but the reach has to even out more and the blades themselves thinner for manoeuvrability. Now, pick up those on the table and tell me which ones are most comfortable and balanced to you.”

Sakura reached hesitantly for one of the graecus and settled into a stance. After a few forms she could tell that the balance was not far off, but the grip was all wrong. Her sword now discarded in Suna was no masterpiece but even its hilt was better than this. She placed it down and picked up another. A better grip but much too heavy. The next was too light. Sakura ran through all the swords and axes on the table, but the result was much the same. They had promise but none could make her feel comfortable without learning how to fight around their faults. She turned back to face Tenten and conveyed her findings as Genma, now finished with his apple, dug the seeds out of the core and threw them into a pot. He was studiously ignored by both women.

“Ah.” Tenten did not look surprised. “I have to say, the chance of one of these suiting you was very low. They all have been forged for men, their hilts too large and the blades themselves too unwieldy and, even then, none for the same fighting style as you either. Where did you learn something for which the weapons were so specific?”

“It was just what came naturally. The sword was my first weapon, and the axe was one that I had to be comfortable with. When there's no swords around you have to make do.”

“I can see that you're ambidextrous. Was that a habit of necessity too?”

Sakura looked at the sword and the axe currently in her grip and with a quick flick of her wrists swapped them over. She flexed her fingers. “I've always practiced with either hand. If I wasn't ambidextrous when I first started, then I certainly am now, but not of necessity, it was just what was done.”

Genma whistled. “Anything else we should know about your skill set?”

“I am practiced enough in most other forms, but nowhere near as proficient. Make no mistake, I can use any of these swords and axes but if it’s comfort that you are after, they don’t suit me at all.” Sakura lowered the weapons and placed them back on the table. “Was there anything else you wished to know, Tenten?”

“Just your armour.” Tenten removed the weapons until the table was clear once more. “I assume you will need a cuirass as we have none for your… measurements, but if there are other parts that fit you well enough, I would recommend using them for now. The more we have to make, the longer it will take.”

“I have no comparison for such knowledge, so I will have to take you for your word,” said Sakura.

Genma stood up abruptly. “As nice as it was to see you again, Tenten, dear Sakura here has a couple of places she needs to be, and it seems like you have a fair few tasks on your hands.”

“My pleasure,” Tenten said dryly. “I’ll have the items sent to you when completed. It should take about a week. And who knows, maybe if Sakura performs well in the colosseum, I’ll see her again; most of the more famous gladiators get to look a little flashier when they perform.”

Sakura inclined her head and followed Genma out of the forge, and as they turned the corner, they heard the unmistakable sound of what must have been Lee stirring from his position on the floor and lamenting to Tenten of “missing the beautiful blossom.”

All Sakura could think was that Romans were strange. But then again, maybe Lee was an oddity.

Sakura was wrong. In front of her stood a man who resembled Lee in clothes, eyebrows, and haircut. And given the tears currently streaming down his face, their personalities were worryingly similar.

“Sakura, this is Might Gai, one of our doctores, trainers.” Genma smiled. “You have already met his charge, Rock Lee.”

Gai knelt in front of her, her hands clasped in front of him and sparkles shining from his eyes. “The power of youth is flowing from your eyes!”

Sakura erred on the side of caution. “It is… nice to make your acquaintance”

He gasped, the volume of glittering tears increased. “Such a soothing voice and such wonderful diction. To be in your presence is an honour.”

“Hey, hey, Gai. You don’t want to scare the girl.” The man with a shock of silver hair yanked Gai up with the back of his shirt.

“Youthful rival! There is no need to worry! I was being nothing but a perfect gentleman!”

“Glad to see you’re on time today, Kakashi. I wouldn’t want to have to track you down.”

“Sure, Genma. Lucky for you I didn’t have anywhere else to be except to see the novelty.” Kakashi turned his gaze to Sakura. “I take it this is our most recently enslaved gladiator.”

His eyes were piercing. Suddenly, the past few hours of joviality washed away and memories of the last few weeks crashed down on her. Why she was here, the carnage in Suna, her kids. It was difficult to breathe. Kakashi’s eyes creased and his mask curved into a smile. The feeling passed.

Shakely, Sakura composed herself and took a few calming breaths. This was serious, this was Rome.

“Yes,” she said with gentle apathy. “It is my understanding that I am here for an evaluation.”

Genma side-eyed her but didn’t mention anything, while Kakashi simply let the smile drop.

“Yes,” Genma said, the confusion apparent in his voice. “This is Kakashi Hatake, another of our doctores. We should be meeting the last one, Yamato, soon. They are some of the most senior of the doctores and will oversee your training.”

Kakashi turned on his heel and walked into the yard. “Come on. We don’t want to keep Yamato waiting now, do we?”

Gai hurried after him and Sakura followed. She could feel Genma’s curious stare, but she kept her back straight and her stride controlled. These were Romans. They were not companions, or friends, or safe; for all she knew she had already told them too much of her past, things they could use against her. She was a slave and she needed to be much, much more careful.

Sakura joined the men in the middle of the small training yard, it was empty except for her guard and the three trainers. A private audience then.

Kakashi walked over to the rack of weapons on the wall, he took down a sword and a shield and tossed them to Sakura. Lucky for her she caught them without fumbling, this was no time to look the fool.

“Good reflexes,” said the other man, Yamato she presumed. “But we don’t generally try to injure our gladiators before they’re trained.”

“Hey, she caught them, didn’t she?” Kakashi flapped his hand. “No harm, no foul.”

Gai cut in with overwhelming enthusiasm. “But that is no way to treat a lady, especially one as beautiful as Sakura here! Where is your pride as a man?!”

Kakashi took down another sword and shield. “My pride is on hold. Right now I need to test our newest gladiator.” He rushed towards her.

As Genma, Gai, and Yamato stepped to the sides, all Sakura could focus on was the speed at which Kakashi swung down his sword. She felt years of training kick in and threw her shield up to block the strike before rolling to the side to avoid his next attack. The shield itself was too large, too Roman, and at this point more hindrance than help. She threw it to the side.

Kakashi tutted. “Are you sure you wanted to do that? Throw away your only form of protection?”

“My sword is protection enough.” Sakura crouched down and watched as Kakashi’s eyes narrowed.

“Fine,” he said. “But don’t be offended if I keep mine.”

He rushed her again and this time Sakura parried the blow and skittered backwards to create more space. This man trained gladiators and she had no knowledge of his skills while he had likely heard, maybe even seen her fights since she’d been here. For all she knew, he had given her the shield knowing she would throw it aside. This wasn’t about proving herself by winning a fight, this was about playing it safe.

He came at her again and Sakura blocked. Again, and again Kakashi tried to land a blow and every time she studied his movements and either dodged or stopped the sword itself. But to her amazement, he did not tire nor become aggravated. This was certainly not another Hidan.

Suddenly, he stopped. Sakura watched him carefully.

“You have good technique,” Kakashi said. “But you’re too cautious and didn’t take advantage of any of the opportunities I gave you. You fight too clean and that’s not going to help you in the colosseum.”

Quickly, he threw his shield at her and as she scrambled out the way, he was in her face, tossing dirt in her eyes and body checking her into the ground. As she blinked the grime out of her vision, Kakashi stood over her, sword at her throat.

“The people like excitement, and if you spend too long avoiding your opponent, you won’t die by their hand, but the crowd might just get you killed.”

Sakura stared at him and jolted into action. She used her sword to knock his aside, the blade just nicking her skin, and swept her legs under his. As Kakashi fell, Sakura rose and pinned his body against the ground, her sword now resting on his throat. He blinked, eyes wide.

“You wanted flare. For me to play dirty. Does this measure up?”

Behind her she could hear Gai waxing on about passion and youthfulness as beneath her, her blood dripped from her heaving throat onto Kakashi’s face. To her surprise, he smiled.

“Yes,” he said. “This is exactly what I want.”

Kimimaro watched the morning’s events with detached interest. The woman was certainly more trouble than she was worth but not an idiot. The fight was concise, well thought out and while the idiots around him cheered as blood splattered the floor, Kimimaro ran over what he knew of her. She had come in with the newest African slaves, a failed assimilation of a small town called Suna, no doubt due to the idiocy of those military dogs.

She had helped during an ambush and instead of killing her, the Emperor had found it fit to parade her in front of the masses. If he was of interest to him, she could be used; the question was how malleable she was. His meeting with the messenger would decide what should be done. Kimimaro looked to Sasori seated at the same table as the girl. She had no idea she was in the presence of another Suna gladiator yet clearly, based on the way he looked at her, he did. Perhaps something here could be exploited.

When the commotion calmed down and gladiators began to leave the hall, Kimimaro and his barracks went to their training ground. He sat in the shadows talking to a man before joining the rest in training. His master would give him orders, all he had to do now was wait.

As Sakura lay on that prickly straw mattress in that tiny cell, she couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down her face. Her life was, effectively, no longer her own and the most she could do was hold back her sobs and sleep to fight another day.

Hey. So. The pes is a unit of measurement from Ancient Rome. It’s similar to the Imperial measure of a foot, averaging at about 29.6cm per pes. Sakura is about 5.6 pes which is about 165cm, or 5’5”. Now, the average height of woman around Roman times was about 155cm (they measured corpses for this) a good 4” shorter than Sakura. If you’re curious, the average on men was 168cm so yeah, Sakura’s fairly tall.

Other than that, saying her new weapons will take about a week is about right as the Roman Empire while growing needed a frequent intake of weapons and armour for the new soldiers they gained in conquered countries, especially for uniform requirements, not just general weaponry. A Roman blacksmith was capable of forging a few rough blades a day which would then be grinded and finished in the next few. Dress swords and fancy-pants armour would take a little longer for officers and other “important” officials. In other countries around the world, i.e. Japan, the swords would likely take a fair bit longer as they actually cared about the craftsmanship and quality rather than just churning them out.

The staff at a gladiator school included trainers. Usually when a new recruit, or novicius, was introduced they would be assessed by a doctor, called a medici, for health, and their fighting style and capability would be overseen by the trainers, called doctores. They were often former gladiators themselves and specialised in certain types of combat. Together these two groups were called a lanista. They would also accept the gladiator based on physical appeal as they only wanted attractive fighters. I’ve sort of smushed Tenten into the medici role as Sakura is a slave and therefore already required to fight and her injuries were already checked out by Moegi.

So that’s about everything. See you in the next few months because I procrastinate even the things I enjoy!

[ao3feed-hashimada]

ao3feed-hashimada

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/aXHxNJc

by itadeishipper

It’s September 3, 2021. The events from years before come back to haunt those that are still alive. The ghosts of the past come to light in the worst way, showing everyone that the past has not been forgotten… Danzo and Ayano set forward their plan and wreak havoc on their empire. What will everyone do when they realize that to succeed against their enemies, they’ll have to lose more than they ever thought…

THIS IS THE SECOND PART OF MY SERIES! If you haven’t read the first part, this story will not make sense! Please go and read the first part before reading this!

Uploads every Tuesday and Friday!

Words: 2607, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Naruto A/O AU

Fandoms: Naruto

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other

Characters: Original Characters

Relationships: Deidara/Uchiha Itachi, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Senju Hashirama/Uchiha Madara, Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Izuna, Shizune/Tsunade (Naruto), Hyuuga Neji/Tenten, Hyuuga Hinata/Inuzuka Kiba, Karin/Sai (Naruto), Namiashi Raidou/Shiranui Genma, Hagane Kotetsu/Kamizuki Izumo, Maito Gai | Might Guy/Mitarashi Anko, Inuzuka Hana/Uchiha Shisui, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru/Temari, Hyuuga Hanabi/Sarutobi Konohamaru, Juugo/Kimimaro (Naruto), Gekkou Hayate/Uzuki Yuugao, Nagato | Pain/Sasori, Sarutobi Asuma/Yuuhi Kurenai, Nohara Rin/Uchiha Obito, Haku/Momochi Zabuza, Gaara/Rock Lee

Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Explicit Sexual Content, Mpreg, Alternate Universe, POV Alternating, Intersex female alphas and male omegas, Political Alliances, Alcohol, Drugs, Gun Violence, Kidnapping, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Torture, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Implied/Referenced Sex, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Graphic Descriptions of everything mentioned above, this one's gonna be a doozy, y'all might hate me, i hate myself too lol

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/aXHxNJc

[novaviella]

Ok now that I’m not sleep deprived, I can properly answer this 😂😂

First thing, I absolutely agree with you about how women and in this case Shizune can be perceived as a bitch just because she’s being cautious (I just want to clarify that I don’t think she’s a bitch in ANY way just a being a bit unfair to Genma) Anywho!, and yes this is SAKURA’s story which I totally get, my adhd brain just locked on to Genma being sad and my tunnel vision wouldn’t let up until I wrote everything down that my brain was not shutting up about 😂😂

Second thing, hell yea I agree about the whole feminism thing, like I get wanting Sakura to have healthy chick friends, I get it, but she does! She has Ino, Yuugao and TenTen! Why does she HAVE to be super close to Shizune? You explained what I was thinking but couldn’t put into words about their relationship perfectly!

Ok last thing before my brain goes into over drive and I end write up an entire thesis 😂

Personally (and this is just my own opinion) why do Genma and Shizune HAVE to end up together(this part is for everyone who ships them, not J if you read this, it’s also not a slight at all to anyone, just a genuine question.) I’m guessing they were each other’s first loves, but more times than not first loves don’t stick. You can love someone with everything you are, it doesn’t mean they’ll stay or it will end with a happily ever after.

I hope this ramble made sense.

Can’t wait for next weeks chapter and to see where to take this amazing story J! 💖💖💖💖

Shizune’s Character Study...ish

This is an answer to this comment <3 I always love a good character study

First of all, I found your observation about Shizune not being in love very clever and astute. This was exactly what I intended to show through my writing without spelling it out. Shizune left the village for what? Close to two decades? She spent more time away then in Konoha and she came back to a mountain of responsibility. Sure, she loved Genma when she was a child and some of it lingers, especially since Genma is, well, Genma. He’s a lovable hottie and a total flirt. But I don’t think she really let herself fall back in love with him. 

Now, this is a specific answer to your rb but also to a lot of reviews I got for the last chapter, so bear with me while I take this and go on a tangent xD

DoF is Sakura’s story. While we get a few sneak peaks into other characters’ PoVs, this is ultimately a story told by what she sees and understands. For over four years Sakura kinda shut down this part of her life that was “holding her back” before she became a proper ninja. She focused on her career and her training and just now she’s realising the repercussions of that. Namely, not being aware that people in her own team were together, the Genma and Shizune situation and in a way the impact she has around Konoha. So Sakura doesn’t know the whole story here and Genma x Shizune isn’t the focus of this story so while I explore some of it, it will mainly be the part of it that affects Sakura directly. People are allowed their privacy and even though Team Ro is close, that doesn’t mean that they have to know every single thing that goes on with each other.

So yeah, back to Shizune. When you said she was just waiting for him to fuck up and not telling everyone was a way for her to have a clean way out, you were absolutely right. This is the video that inspired me to write Shizune telling Kurenai about their relationship. In my head, she wanted to vent for a while but was scared of other’s reaction and then it slipped when she was drunk talking to her friend. Shizune is allowed to be cautious with her heart. Just like Sakura is. 

I think there’s a trend in media that we need to break when it comes to how we see women. A man can be a jerk and then be called deep because he was just protecting his feelings while a woman is a bitch when she’s looking out for herself. This comes from a place where we hold women in a position to always be nurturing and kind, to put others before her. Women can’t be mean, women can’t be angry, women can’t be assertive without being immediately judged by us as bitches (*cough* specially asian women, tiger women? yeah i see u *cough*). So yeah, Shizune is a bitch for not trusting Genma when he’s shown to be deeply afraid of commitment, a frankly unreliable partner with his long days away on extremely dangerous missions. 

Now, all of this I will briefly touch upon in later chapters (I think about three chapters from now? It’s already written) but you have to keep in mind the type of person Shizune is. She’s the Hospital Director and she’s aware there’s a very serious war brewing in the shadows. She works a lot and she’s always in the village dealing with all of this bullshit while Genma is a part of the most dangerous team in ANBU. She’s scared and frankly she’s tired. She wants stability and she wants something that she might not find in Genma. Y’all know I love Genma but in my eyes there’s no way Shizune can be condemned by the way she’s acting. She should be mindful that she’s hurting Genma (and she is, you just don’t get to see it bc again, not their story) but she can’t hurt herself in the process of making things comfortable for him. 

Now, there’s something that worries me about some of the comments I’m receiving. I get that a lot of people love Shizune and heavily ship Genma x Shizune but you have to take a step back and actually read the characters I’m writing. See them for what they are in this fic and kind of let go of your preconceived notions about them. Either that or stop reading the fic, lol. Anyways, some people were worried that this would drive a wedge between Sakura and Shizune and were sad because they feel like Sakura needs more female relationships and that they wished to see their closeness in a way they didn’t get to see in canon…

I get that. Y’all know that DoF was created with this heavily in my mind and it’s something very important to me, to give these characters that were done wrong some form of justice. That does not mean I’ll simply put every single female as super close friends and call it a day and yay female power. This is also a current trend I see where authors (and I mean screenwriters and the such, mostly) are heavily leaning into this woke version of feminism that just feels demeaning to me and while it’s leagues better than blatant misogyny it’s not exempt from criticism. 

My female characters have depth and they have their own personality which does mean that they’ll clash sometimes, there will be girls who don’t really get along with other girls, there will be petty grievances, there will be angry women, and sad women, and fucking deranged women. Because that’s what I want to see in mainstream media. I don’t want a simplistic version of what it means to be a women broadcasted to everyone and I will never write that even though I don’t have all of that reach. 

Oof, all of that to tie back to Shizune’s and Sakura’s relationship. In canon, I did miss seeing a strong bond between them but not in the way that some people want to see in this fic. I wanted them to be family. And you don’t always have to have a lot in common with family, or even like them, to deeply care for them and love them. DoF!Sakura left the hospital work after six months. She trained her ass to the ground and she was most often away on missions. She moved into the Senju Estate but Shizune always had her own place. DoF!Shizune is buried in hospital work, she has responsibility and most importantly, she has distance from Tsunade. She’s still seen as her former apprentice and she’s still her pseudo niece but she’s making her name outside of Tsunade’s shadow here. She’s not an assistant and she’s not always glued to Tsunade’s side, she’s the fucking Hospital Director. Sakura and Shizune drifted apart and no amount of woke let’s-scream-feminism-at-the-top-of-our-lungs can change that when they simply do not have that much in common. They grew apart and that’s okay. They still love each other. 

@hatake-sakura88 , I won’t answer everything in your comment because some things will be addressed later on and I don’t wanna spoil anything yet. Thank you for caring enough about my fic to engage and for being super polite and a sweetheart in general <3 

This post will probably be reblogged later with a more in depth character study of Shizune (both in canon and in Daughter of Fire)