#and anyway Gai was busy trying to get Kakashi out of anbu

[steblynka-draws]

A gift from someone 🥺

[ficklecat]

13!

“was kakashi trying his best? / was he a "good" sensei?”

So I could write an absolute essay about this very specific take but I will do my best to be concise.

Was he trying his best? Yes. Was he a ‘good’ sensei? Eventually.

Long and short of it, we all can agree Kakashi was NOT READY to be a sensei when he left ANBU and was moved to be a Jounin teacher. You can see in the eps how he essentially had anxiety attacks during every test he gave, his fear of failure and of the fate of the squads he’d pass should they not work together were re-traumatising him at every turn. You can also see it in the juxtaposition of Gai’s exam with his students and Kakashi’s - Gai blocks their blows and delivers gentle defensive hits, allows his students to come at him instead of pushing them. He’s smiling and encouraging them and egging them on, and even when they don’t “defeat” him he informs them of the positive attributes he saw in their teamwork and tells them with development they’ll be successful.

But Kakashi is in his head and acting like he’s on a battlefield. He’s focused on the worst outcomes. He’s kicking kids across the training grounds like they’re real assailants - because that’s what he knows. He’s angrily telling them they won’t survive essentially - not because he’s an asshole, but because he KNOWS, and he’s SCARED for them, and more than that, he’s scared HE will be the one who sent them off to die unprepared. Just like he was.

Rumors spread that he’s a hard ass and this and that but you can tell so clearly, he’s not trying to be “bad” at this job. He’s a professional after all. But he’s fresh out of ANBU where he was known as ‘friend killer,’ on the heels of death after death, still not having dealt with any of it, still avoiding joining his friends at dango, etc etc. He’s not well. And Hiruzen says - ‘go teach the next generation not to die.’ Are you kidding? OF COURSE he’s gonna freak out, even if he’s doing the best he can. He even talks with Hiruzen about how he feels like he might not be ready for this, and they have that little chat about how Hiruzen thinks the next squad will be better suited for his skills.

But even with team 7, Kakashi isn’t always in “teacher” mode. He does TEACH them things, of course, but even when he is lecturing them or explaining, it’s as if he’s doing so via tactics and survival understanding, not like Gai for example, who provides encouragement and mentorship. Kakashi is all business - again, this does not make him a bad teacher.

It makes him a good squad leader though. And that’s what Kakashi is. That’s where he thrives. He’s drafted into ANBU by Minato under half-baked protective pretences, sure, but he doesn’t get promoted for them. He gets promoted because he’s good at being a leader to his squad. He’s a strategist. He’s intelligent. He’s highly skilled and he can provide his squad with detailed plans, intel, and objectives with ease. It’s where he thrives, and it’s all he knows. And he’s made it his literal life’s mission not to fail at this because he knows the consequences are death.

So that’s how he functions as a sensei. Is he fantastic at it? Of course not. But he plays to his squad’s strengths where he can, because that’s what a good squad leader does. He goads his students like subordinates on a mission rather than mentee’s - he teases out their motivation with quips and ribbing, he points out flaws plainly and delivers fact without being over-emotional. If they’re on a mission and they might die, he’s going to say “we might die, pay attention” instead of “this is an opportunity to hone your focus” because on a mission, in battle, in WAR, there’s no time for all that.

SO anyway, that’s my take on all this, in an essay I promised I wouldn’t write. Is Kakashi a good sensei? He gets there. Is he the best? No way. But he DID do his best, and he gets better as he grows alongside his squad. He grows as he learns to be less afraid. So I think he does a good job in his own way.

[wind-becomes-lightning]

Anchor

Day 4 is a finished version of an old wip of mine i thought of when I watched the Kakashi anbu arc in... december? anyway here is the finished thing. it is fuun!

Uchiha Sayuri, Info, etc blahblah

Sayuri never leaves AU

Hatake Kakashi & OC

Rated G, but sad

1823 words

for @narutoocshipweek Day 4: Loss

When Kakashi came home from his mission, full of blood and eyes wide, black and empty, unable to speak and much less explain what had happened to him, Gai picked Sayuri up for help

When Kakashi came home from his mission, full of blood and eyes wide, black and empty, unable to speak and much less explain what had happened to him, Gai picked Sayuri up for help. She hurried from her teammates to him, nervous about the rumours flying around. People said that Rin had died, that Kakashi had killed her somehow. Neither Sayuri nor Gai believed in such words. It just didn’t seem like him.

Sayuri’s first look at him told her that something terrible must have happened while he was away. Kakashi walked the streets of the village in a daze, blood still all over his harness. He wasn’t going home either, enveloped in a state of permanent trance. She stopped in front of him and while he did not walk into her, he did not seem to actually see her. Eyes spaced out and foggy, looking nowhere in particular.

She touched him softly at his shoulder and watched him shiver like a still lake that ripples once you throw a stone in. His eyes met hers and he actually saw her for the first time, a dim light flashing in them told her as much. “Come,” she said, voice quiet and soothing, taking his hand in hers.

Sayuri was still a head smaller than him, who had last summer had a growth spurt and outgrown her, so pulling him in any other circumstance might have been difficult, but now Kakashi let himself get guided back to his house without any resistance. He seemed to not care where he was going.

The boy was still living in the Hatake house, all these years after his father had passed, all alone. There had been times when it had been filled with laughter and games when Obito had still been around, but this was all so long ago now. She had long since wanted to bring it up to him, the opportunity to move somewhere else, out of the forest, away from the pain, but he’d been so busy, so she had not had the chance.

Gently, Sayuri moved Kakashi through the door, the boy still looking like he was barely functioning. He watched her unbuckle his harness with quick fingers, his eyes sunken deep into their sockets. He must have cried earlier, his tears long dried up. “Sayuri”, he winced, as if he had just in this moment recognised her, too lost in whatever spiralled in his mind. She was so worried that her hands were shaking.

Of course she wanted to know what had happened, how true the rumours were, especially since Rin was not around, but she said nothing, quietly helping Kakashi out of the stained clothes. He needed a bath and possibly medicine to sleep. “You have to bathe yourself, ok?” she said, one hand of hers on his cheek. He flinched at the skin contact as if it had burned him, but a nod showed her that he had understood. “Wash it off..” he mumbled and pulled his pants down.

She watched him stagger into the bathroom half naked and waited until she could actually hear the water running. She feared to leave him alone in this state for too long, but he needed some medicine or herbs to sleep and food to eat, so she headed out as quickly as her feet could carry her.

It took her not even half an hour to return with everything she needed and by then Kakashi was still in the bathroom. She wondered if he was trying to drown himself in the bathtub and the image in front of her eyes seemed so horrific that Sayuri called for him and he finally exited. “I bought you food”, she said softly, helping him throw a shirt over his still damp back, “and sleeping herbs. I will check on you tomorrow.”

She turned to go, but Kakashi grabbed her wrist quickly and tightly. “Don’t go,” he whispered, his black eyes wide open “Please.” Then he looked to the right hand that was holding her and the expression in his eyes turned to open terror. He let go as if it gave him physical pain. Sayuri knew if she stayed here she would get the punishment from her father later. He hated when she came home late, when she missed dinner without having a mission. But she couldn’t go, not with Kakashi like this.

“Alright,” she said and tried to speak soothingly again. “Let us eat something together, ok?” She took his hand again and led him to the small table in the way too large dining room. There wasn’t much for dinner, especially since Sayuri did not know how to cook, but there were some rice balls and dango that at least could still hunger. 

Kakashi sat down mechanically and he only took something to eat when she pushed it onto him. To her surprise he reached for the Dango, which he usually didn’t like eating. It seemed that he also did not care about that at this very moment. There seemed to be nothing but black fog. He stuffed the sweet treat into his mouth and for a second she thought he’d choke on it, because his mouth seemed too tired to move and chew it down, but then he swallowed. After that first dango, he didn’t touch anything else.

Of course she had expected him to not eat much, or anything at all, so Sayuri was glad that he at least took something. She pushed down an onigiri just because at home there surely wasn’t going to be a meal waiting and then she jumped up again. “You should drink the herbs to sleep”, she explained and waved with the little package she had brought. 

“Why don’t you already go to bed and I will prepare it for you?” She reached her hand forward and Kakashi got up like a puppet on a string. He said nothing, just let her move him into his room. Mechanically, he took the cover of his perfectly made futon and laid himself down, eyes half lidded and staring at the ceiling.

If she had been younger, maybe Sayuri would have been excited to be in his room alone with him. To see the sparse belongings that were sorted into the shelves at the opposite wall. To notice that next to a picture of his dad and his team there was also a snapshot of Gai and her sparring with each other. It would have made her heart flutter maybe, would have made her hope.

But that was long ago, before Obito was killed. And… now Rin was gone too. 

“Sayuri”, Kakashi whispered suddenly, bringing her attention back down to him. Her heart stopped for a second when she saw how much he was shaking. Sayuri reached out and took his hand. “I’m here”, she said softly. “It is okay.” This just seemed to set him off even more. Suddenly his eyes widened and thick tears ran out of the side of the sharingan. The other stayed dry. 

“I’m not alright, nothing is alright” he said breath coming in so fast that he almost choked on it. “I - I  don’t- I’m …” He seemed to be unable to express himself clearly. “... drowning.” Sayuri grabbed his fingers a little tighter: “You can hold on to me. I’ll anchor you.

Kakashi was breathing heavily now, something behind his eyes spinning with increasing intensity. Sayuri pressed his hand down, called for him in vain hopes to bring him back to reality, but he just turned his head away. She felt herself ripped apart at the sight of him, struggling heavily against whatever memories were torturing him. 

Before she could think of something else to do, Sayuri already pulled the covers back and climbed after him onto the futon, wrapping herself around his shaking body like a protective shield. He immediately clung to her, burying his still wet hair in her neck. He was crying now and so was she, unable to take this pain from him. “Rin died,” he sobbed. “Rin died.”

So that was the truth. Sayuri just about could stop herself from whining loudly at the reality of it all. Of course, she had known, a little at least, if she was honest with herself. Rumours were exaggerated often enough, but when she had not seen Rin return from her mission, Sayuri had definitely had the suspicion that her death might be true. Gai must have known it too, maybe that was why he had called her in the first place.

“It is not your fault”, she whispered and held the boy a little tighter. He crawled himself tighter into her clothes and when he spoke his voice sounded like he was choking on his own words: “I killed her.” Sayuri closed her eyes, the pain like a knife at her heart. Still she didn’t let go of him, held him and tried to soothe him with her hand on his back. There must be some mistake, she thought. A misunderstanding.

Then the words poured out of him like a waterfall. The mission, the sanbi, Kirigakure’s secret plan, the fact that Kakashi had fought several nin alone, the chidori, Rin’s death. He ended the story by staring at the right hand he dominantly used for jutsu. “I’m a murderer. I’m a friend killer. I’m a waste of air. I-” His hand cramped.  She took his hand with the one that she had had on his back and softly stroked with her thumb over it. “These are not the hands of a murderer, they are still your hands.” Kakashi gasped for air.

They remained like this for a bit longer, just crying arm in arm for their lost friend, the next lost friend in a row of lost friends. The night had long since taken over, moonshine coming in from the window and illuminating the pictures on the wall. Sayuri would get beaten once she got home, she knew that, but she could not go. Not now that Kakashi was like this. He needed someone to hold him and she wanted to be that person.

She did not get up to get the herbs she had bought and cook it into tea. Instead, Kakashi and her fell asleep wrapped up into each other, bodys pressed against each other as if they were two pieces of wood drifting in an ocean. Both slept well that night, all things considered, even when Kakashi rose during early morning hours from a nightmare, Sayuri’s hand in his calmed him down again.

For many years to come they would continue doing this, sharing a bed at nights when they couldn’t stand being alone. And though they got older and their bodies changed, they never saw it as anything else but an understanding between close friends. Maybe someday it could have been something else, but one of them died too early for them to find out.

[shycoconutt]

I Found My Light: Chapter 2 (Kakashi X Reader)

Chapter 1

A/n: Well, I decided to continue! I'm very excited about this. Hope you enjoy it!

Summary: Left confused after last night, you talk with Kurenai over breakfast at your favorite diner.

Word Count: 1400

Warnings: fem!reader, SFW (but might not be later lol)

“You… cuddled?” You could feel Kurenai’s eyes burning into the top of your head as you stared down at the coffee cup between your hands, her tone of disbelief unquestionable.

“I mean, yeah, I don’t know how else to describe it,” you started, nervously biting your lip, “one moment we were under the tree with his arms wrapped around me, and the next I was waking up in my own bed this morning with him nowhere to be found.” It was strange really. You don’t remember even moving from the spot you two were in, so how could you have made it all the way home without waking up? Did he carry you all the way there? Teleport? How does he even know where you live?

“Are you sure you’re not imagining it? Sounds to me like you were just having a realistic dream.” You could see Kurenai’s hand reach out and grab your wrist, giving it a small squeeze. “Didn’t you say you were thinking about him the other day? Maybe he just ended up slipping into your dream because you miss him.”

Looking up from your cup, you meet her sympathetic eyes. Kurenai knows more than anyone else about the feelings you had for Kakashi when you were young, so dreaming about him wouldn’t be a far-fetched idea.

“Listen, I get why you would think that way,” you started, “but I’m telling you, as ridiculous as it sounds, that’s what happened.” You lean back into the booth and fold your arms across your chest, escaping Kurenai’s grasp. There’s absolutely no way you will let anyone take that moment away from you, you decided.

“Alright, alright, I believe you!” Kurenai chuckled with her hands coming up in defense. “If you want I can ask Asuma to tell me if Kakashi says anything about it to him. I mean I highly doubt Kakashi would go around telling people you two had a cuddle session, but who knows? He sounds like a whole new man.”

“Order’s up!” Your waiter exclaimed, bringing three plates of food over to your booth. “Let’s see I have the eggs and bacon,” placing the plate in front of Kurenai, “the veggie scramble, and the pancakes you wanted to share.” Placing the rest of the plates down, you both give him a warm smile and a thank you.

“Mmm yum.” You both say in unison as you begin to eat.

“Honestly, (y/n), you better hurry up and eat that scramble because I am ravenous right now and will finish our pancakes before you even get to them.” Kurenai teased with a mouth full of eggs.

“You eat my half of the pancakes and you can expect a kunai in your back during training today.” You threatened, pointing your butter knife at her.

“Wait,” Kurenai paused and then gasped, “that’s right!”

“What?” You ask, a tad concerned at her excitement.

“Kakashi!”

“Kakashi—”

“Will be at training today!” She exclaimed. You could feel the blood begin to drain from your face. “Yeah since he’s not a member of the Anbu anymore he has time to train with us. Gui finally convinced him to, saying something about taking advantage of the springtime of our youth.”

“Ah, typical Gai.” You spoke flatly, trying to remain as casual as possible, but inside you began to panic. How are you going to face Kakashi so soon? You have absolutely no idea how he feels about last night. I mean, he instigated the cuddle session but left you in your bed this morning without any word. Were you supposed to keep that moment between you a secret? Did you already mess up by telling Kurenai? How could you be so—

“(Y/N)!”

You snapped out of your train of thought and met Kurenai’s concerned eyes, a small smile forming at the corners of her mouth.

“(Y/n), I can feel you spiraling from over here.” She gave you a small chuckle. “You’re going to be fine. If anything, he should be the one nervous to face you. How can he explain what happened last night without admitting he has feelings for you?” She reasoned while taking the last bite of her half of the pancakes.

“Admitting he has feelings for me?” You repeated in disbelief after a pause. “You can’t be serious.”

“Well, how else do you explain it?”

“He’s lonely, or lost.” You begin to think out loud. “Ah, or he needed human connection and I was the only one around, simple as that.” Proud of your answer, you take the last couple bites of your food as well.

“I suppose you could be right,” Kurenai began, “but you're definitely wrong.”

“How am I wrong?”

“Well, to be completely honest with you, if anyone in the world ends up with Kakashi, it’s going to be you,” Kurenai stated matter-of-factly.

“What!” You scoffed. “Absolutely not.”

“Hey, hey, not too fast there with the rejection.” Kurenai reasoned. “Besides Rin, you were the only girl he gave any attention to.”

Rin.

My poor Rin.

I miss her.

“You realize that’s because Rin and I were best friends right? I was only given attention by association. He was close to me because he had to be.” Your voice began to trail off at the end as you could start to feel your throat tighten, Rin’s death still stinging like salt in an open wound. “Don’t forget what happened in the months after Rin’s death.”

“I know,” Kurenai said almost to herself.

You continued anyway, “He avoided me. We crossed paths probably a thousand times at Rin’s grave, no words exchanged. Until one day I told him that I knew what happened and that I didn’t fault him for any of it. Then we exchanged a few words here and there only for it to ultimately fizzle out again. Now here we are, years later, and we’re somehow connected again? Seemingly out of nowhere? It makes no sense.” Damn, maybe I was dreaming.

“Maybe it does.”

“How?”

“Well,” Kurenai sat back and began to play with the ends of her hair, “what if he wants to start over? What if he wants to get back to the way things were before?”

“When we were just little genin?”

“Sure.”

“Or,” you began after a moment, “he feels guilty and wants to clear his conscience.” That sounds more realistic.

“Ah, there you go being a grade-A pessimist again.” Kurenai chuckles with her hand covering her face. “How about we quit the speculation and just find out naturally?”

“Fine.” You sighed, putting your chin in your hand while gazing out the diner window.

“It’s tragic really.” Kurenai pondered, also staring out into the distance.

“What?” You looked at her confused.

“We should’ve gotten two orders of pancakes. I’m still hungry.” She complained.

You stared at her for a moment, unamused while she gave you a big, goofy grin.

Finally feeling yourself break into a smile, you laughed and threw your napkin at her face. “I swear the only things on your mind are Asuma and pancakes. You have a problem.”

“Ugh, not true!” She joked, pretending to be offended. “I also think about how nice it would be if my future maid of honor and Asuma’s future best man were in a happy, fulfilled relationship together.” She stated, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Shut up.”

“Careful, (Y/n),” she smiles, getting up from the table and taking your hand in hers, “at this rate your eyes are gonna roll out of your pretty head.”

“Yeah, yeah.” You mused, putting your arm over Kurenai’s shoulders as you stroll out of the diner, leaving money and a tip for your waiter.

“You never know, (Y/n).” Kurenai spoke as you made it outside. “Just promise me you’ll keep an open mind tonight, okay?”

You sighed, feeling stressed again about the training session.

“Yeah, okay,” you finally answered, turning to face her. “And you promise me you won’t tell anyone else about what happened last night, not even Kakashi can know that you know, okay?”

“I promise to not tell a soul.” She spoke sincerely. “I’ll see you tonight, my love.” She gave you a strong hug, a kiss on the cheek, and walked off in the direction of her apartment making sure to look back and give you a teasing wink.

You smiled and yelled after her, “People are gonna start thinking we’re lesbians if you keep that up!”

“Let them think what they want!” She yelled back without turning around.

And just like that, there you were, one of the strongest kunoichis of the Hidden Leaf, feared by many, standing alone on a busy street terrified to attend your training session tonight because of one silver-haired shinobi.

One very handsome, insanely smart, terrifyingly strong, porn-reading, sharingan-wielding, silver-haired shinobi.

That you cuddled.

Last night.

Shit.

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Are you alright with a/b/o? not for any of the raunchy stuff of course XD this is the pg blog (i hc him as a Beta anyways) but i've seen some cute wholesome ones where Kakashi as an omega just has no clue or that much desire to do any of the "typical" omega activities, or even just general knowledge of a/b/o in general since he was so busy with training and kinda-maybe-somewhat dealing with his trauma, plus in ANBU anonymity is sacred also he just didn't give a damn about it lol AND THIS IS OKAY- he get's taught by Tenzo and friends how to make a nest, the yes and no's of scenting people etc. Gets ribbed (affectionately) by Rin for ignoring his health for so long, and just generally have a good time with his friends being very understanding but also teasing his clueless ass, Even Tenzo knew more even tho Danzo fucked up his gender so much- Anyways just a soft vibes- what are your headcanons about it? (if you have any- i get a/b/o can be damn weird and ridiculous at times sorry i get if this makes you uncomfortable- i didn't see it on your rules list so i'm just making sure- T.T)

I donMt do A/B/O a lot because it’s just not something i’m familiar with

But my favorite thing is Beta Kakashi, because it fits with my demi sexual Kakashi Headcanon and just fits best with him. I don’t like the Omega or Alpha standards that are attributed to the types as a rule, and Kakashi isn’t someone i can fit into either role.

Partially because i feel like if he was in heat (i might get terms wrong, please don’t scold me for it Xad as i said it’s not something i’ve delved into a lot) he would be very likely to break an alpha’s arm or even neck if they tried anything without his full concent. As for him being an alpha, Kakashi is a character i feel would try to avoid people whose scent might get to him

The main headcanons i do have for this AU are

Beta Kakashi who is often the in between in Anbu stopping Alpha’s from getting out of hand and just trying to do his job. I feel like because of the ‘hierarchy’ alpha’s would often assume the role of leadership over beta’s and omega’s, so Kakashi stands out a lot by being such a strong tactical leader that he often gets the leadership roles over alphas, even those more experienced than him.

Gai is an Alpha but something about his body doesn’t agree with the omega scent, so when an onega’s in heat he actually gets sick and wants nothing to do with it. Because of this he’s quit happy to be with Kakashi who he doesn’t have this problem with and is someone he loved completly and has for years

[cyhyr]

Summer of Whump Day 5: Broken

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: T 

Pairing: Hatake Kakashi & Umino Iruka, potential pre-relationship.

WC: ~1650

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply; kid/teenage whump; referenced abusive relationship; referenced child death

Notes: An AU-ish wherein Kakashi and Iruka were always friendly, if not friends, as kids. It’s implied that Iruka and Mizuki are a thing, but you can read it as platonic. Takes place over Kakashi and Iruka’s teenage years.

A/N: Iruka is my new favorite character to whump. I’m not sorry. He’s so pretty when he breaks; and putting him back together is just as fun.

~

Kakashi knows he’s being distant. Who wouldn’t be, after this? Obito is dead, and it’s his fault, and Rin and Minato-sensei and Gai and the rest of the village could whisper and point and pity him but he knows and accepts it. 

The only one who won’t accept it blindly is Iruka. Kakashi isn’t sure if he’s angry or elated by this. Iruka wasn’t the first to ask what happened, when their team came back without Obito, but he was the first to sit and ask Kakashi, how can I help?

He didn’t have an answer two weeks ago when Iruka asked. He still doesn’t have an answer now, as he’s avoiding Kohari-san’s third invitation to dinner this week. He’s declined them all. Kakashi likes Ikkaku-san’s cooking, and the Umino house is warm and inviting.

But he doesn’t deserve it.

He watches from afar as his friendship with Iruka, once a casual playmate the Umino family had insisted upon and the Sandaime had agreed to, deteriorates into acquaintanceship. Then, further into something closer to strangers. They wave to each other in the village, but no more than that. Besides, Iruka is a good kid and makes friends easily.

Mizuki hangs onto Iruka like a leech, and Kakashi will soon wish he could have paid closer attention to that simile.

~

After the Kyūbi, Kakashi doesn’t spend a lot of time in the village. He’s running missions in ANBU with minimal breaks, often alone. He still wakes up with the furious obsession to wash Rin’s blood off his hand, but it’s not so frequent anymore. Sometimes, he catches himself on track to a panic attack and can stop them before they start.

He’s feeling… well, not great, but not bad. 

It’s helpful to stay busy.

It’s not helpful to slip into the Hokage’s office and see Iruka playing go with the Sandaime in complete silence. Kakashi’s glad for both masks now—Iruka and silence never went together before. He has a leaf headband now, an official shinobi. When did that happen, Kakashi wonders.

“Hound, have you met Iruka?” the Sandaime asks. He knows the answer, of course, but who’s Kakashi to say old Sarutobi doesn’t have a plan up his sleeve.

“I’ve seen him around the village,” Kakashi says, keeping his answer vague.

Iruka doesn’t react. He’s still staring at the board—no, wait.

He’s staring past the board.

What is this… 

“Umino Iruka is a promising young genin,” Sarutobi talks him up, as though Kakashi needs to hear it. “Some of his traps have caught patrolling ANBU unawares. Non-lethal, of course,” the Hokage adds with a smile and a huff, “Iruka has the utmost respect for our fellow shinobi.”

“And yet he sets traps for them?” Kakashi asks, honestly curious. This is a different side of Iruka he hasn’t met yet. He’d like to.

They both turn to Iruka, waiting to see if he’ll respond for himself. He doesn’t.

Sarutobi sighs. “That was a year or so ago,” he says. “We haven’t had any incidents since Iruka graduated. Some of the ANBU are bored.”

Iruka fidgets with the cuffs of his sleeves. 

Kakashi tilts his head curiously, trying to ask the Hokage the question pulsing in his mind now that Iruka is bringing attention to it.

Why is Iruka wearing long sleeves in summer?

“Mizuki says traps are for kids,” Iruka murmurs. He stands up. “Please excuse me, Hokage-sama, Hound-san.”

Sarutobi waves Iruka away, and turns to Kakashi. “I have, unofficially, taken that child under my guidance. But four months ago he stopped confiding in me, and when he speaks it’s to tell me of some new idea this Mizuki friend of his has taught him. Today, I brought up the traps. Other topics Mizuki has poisoned him on include his desire to pursue fūinjutsu as a potential specialty, the effectiveness of their jōnin-sensei, his sense of humor, and his height.”

“His height, sir?” 

“Mizuki hasn’t hit a growth spurt yet,” Sarutobi explains. “Apparently, this means that Iruka needs to slouch so they’re still eye-to-eye.” His frown, if possible, deepens. “You two were close once, weren’t you?”

“It’s been years.”

Sarutobi says nothing more, but he doesn’t need to. Kakashi doesn’t appreciate being manipulated, and wouldn’t put it past the Hokage to have invited Iruka for tea and go when he knew Kakashi would be reporting in. But, there’s a part of him that is relieved that someone is looking out for Iruka. And there’s another part of him that is ready to take over; he seems to have Sarutobi’s silent approval, if nothing else.

~

The work never stops long enough for him to properly get back in touch with Iruka. He watches from the rooftops as Iruka fakes his way through the days, and then goes home to the apartment he shares with the so-called friend Mizuki. And maybe Kakashi isn’t there often enough to see it, or Mizuki knows when they’re being watched, or Iruka had confided in his roommate that the Hokage took an interest in their relationship—but long sleeves in summer never happen again.

That said, the emotional damage the boy leaves Iruka with makes Kakashi wonder if Sarutobi acted too quickly, or not enough, or—

Anyway, the point is, Iruka almost doesn’t survive the chūnin exams, and Kakashi doesn’t know whether to blame himself, Sandaime-sama, or Mizuki. Iruka is gravely injured in the second phase because he put himself between Mizuki and an Iwa genin; Iruka had been buried and had it not been for their third teammate even noticing that Iruka was gone and then unearthing him, he would have suffocated.

Mizuki, by the testimony of the onlooking jōnin, hadn’t tried to save Iruka. He did force the Iwa cell to retreat, though. He’ll make chūnin at the end of this.

At the end of the month, they both make chūnin. Kakashi is surprised, but happy for him. 

Iruka is still slouching, though.

~

They serve together, once, after he’s pulled from ANBU. 

Kakashi can’t reconcile the dull, lifeless, quiet young man with the near-obnoxiously loud boy he knew as a child. Was this Mizuki still in his life? How had Iruka not made better friends by now? As a child he used to be surrounded by friends, forcing Kakashi to play with little kids even if he’d had missions to go on.

He tries everything he can think of to get a reaction out of Iruka. He tells bad jokes, tries reminiscing on their shared childhood, asks questions about Iruka’s life, tells good jokes, cooks bad food, refuses to assist in setting up camp—nothing gets a reaction. 

The mission—the one from the Hokage, not just Kakashi’s self-imposed one—fails spectacularly. Really, Kakashi can’t think of a worse way for it to fuck up.

But there’s a silver lining.

On the way back to Konoha, they stop for the night. No fire, no camp; they rough it in the trees. Kakashi lets one leg hang off the branch he’s sitting on and leans his back against the trunk. Iruka sits a little further out, shoulders hunched forward, both feet dangling off the branch. He kicks his legs back and forth gently. It’s endearing.

“I’m sorry,” Iruka murmurs. It’s the first time in years that Iruka has said something to him unprompted.

“Don’t be,” Kakashi sighs. “You don’t have the kind of experience I do. You can’t have known those kids weren’t innocent.”

He seems to shrink into himself further. It’s odd; Iruka’s not a small man, but at the moment he seems adamant in taking up as little space as possible. “Please don’t excuse my weakness,” Iruka says. “I know I’m not cut out for this. I shouldn’t have—”

“Stop.”

Thank the gods, he does. Kakashi takes a few breaths to collect himself, then continues.

“I signed up to captain a duo team with Umino Iruka,” he says, “not your ‘friend,’ Mizuki.”

Iruka turns to him, confused. “Wha—?”

“Don’t repeat his words back to me,” Kakashi says. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“I’m not. Mizuki is—”

“You’re not weak. You were chosen to be on this mission because of your expertise in fūinjutsu—which you learned behind Mizuki’s back, didn’t you?”

Iruka flushes. Half of his mouth twitches in a ghost of a smile. His shoulders roll back and he straightens, just a bit. “It’s just really fascinating,” he breathes. 

There he is.  

“Yes, the mission failed. Yes, if you had killed the kids when I ordered it the first time, it probably would have been successful,” Kakashi watched Iruka’s face fall again, and moved along the tree branch until he was next to Iruka and able to put a hand on his shoulder. “If you had done it, would it have been you, though?”

Iruka shivers. “They were just children,” he whispers.

“And they tried to kill you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first ones.”

“And won’t be the last.”

Iruka leans into him. Kakashi lets him, even braces an arm around his back to keep him close. “I missed this,” Iruka whispers.

“Failing missions? Talking about killing children?”

“Us.”

“You’ve had Mizuki,” Kakashi ventures.

“And he’s great—in, like, small doses.” Iruka doesn’t look up at him, but Kakashi can see him fidget with his shirt cuffs again, just like he had in the Hokage’s office years ago. “It took a long time for me to see that.”

Kakashi looks out into the woods and imagines being here under different circumstances. Maybe in a few more years. “You’re getting better. When we left, I couldn’t get you to look at me with anything other than apathy. Now look at us.”

“It’s nice.” Iruka kicks one of his legs out harder, faster; a nervous tick. “Mizuki… he doesn’t like me having other friends.”

“He can take that up with me,” Kakashi says. “I might have left for a while, but I was here first. And I plan on staying this time.”

Iruka smiles.

Just like before. Just for a second. It’s enough.

[secret-engima]

Today in “SE works through the Chuunin Exam Arc and gets increasingly incredulous over how a show so beloved can have so many GAPING PLOT HOLES and also wow you can actually tell when the animators were getting paid to be enthusiastic or not can’t you”:

1. Sarutobi why did it take you so long to realize that the stadium and village were under attack.

2. Sarutobi why did you let Orochimoron take you hostage for even a hot second KAWARIMI IS A LITERAL ACADEMY BASIC TECHNIQUE JUST SWAP OUT WITH A NEARBY TILE YOU IDIOT I’VE SEEN IT DONE BEFORE FROM THAT CLOSE RANGE. KAKASHI DID IT. SO CAN YOU.

3. Sarutobi I don’t want to say you DESERVE to be trapped in a giant purple death box with your failed student and two dead guys trying to kill you but honestly you deserve to be trapped in a giant purple death box with your failed student and two dead guys trying to kill you.

4. Anbu. My guys. My dudes. I KNOW that the barrier is deadly and made of horrible purple fire and you can’t jump in but like- the barrier holders are right there. Wasting chakra to make an extra barrier around themselves. The barrier protecting them can’t be that thick. You have these lovely things call FLAME RESISTANT STEEL SWORDS you could be using to try to crack open the barrier. Or if you were REALLY smart you could, I don’t know, TUNNEL UP THROUGH THE CEILING??? The barrier is just a box that’s been turned upside down, there is no sign of a barrier floor underneath the tiles and even if there is you guys could have checked. You don’t need to just- sit there. Watching an old man, two dead guys, and a snake wearing makeup beat each other up.

5. Who let Kakashi make the plan. Why did Kakashi decide that it would be better to send the civilian girl he hasn’t bothered to train, the loud blond who he also hasn’t bothered to train, and the boy who tried to fake sleep to get out of helping go alone with just a tiny pug as escort. There were other genin RIGHT THERE who could both help AND be conveniently out of the line of fire in Kakashi’s fight. He was sending them after Sasuke, who was chasing three genin we’ve already seen wipe the FLOOR with the average genin. Having more numbers would be HIGHLY ADVANTAGEOUS.

6. And don’t tell me “he did it because Stealth” he sent the girl with bubblegum hair and the boy in neon orange out there, stealth is a non-factor and also it’s AN INVASION, nobody is going to care about a bunch of wacky kids running by they’re too busy trying not to die to the blur of green spandex that is Gai.

7. Where is Lee in all this anyway he just kinda vanished from the screen. Or was he passed out on the floor and I just missed him. I know he can’t fight, I just wanna know if he’s okay.

8. Was it bad that I didn’t know Asuma could actually fight? I knew he was one of the Guardian Twelve or whatever but mostly fans only talk about him getting owned by Itachi or murdered by Hidan so I guess I just assumed he was ... kinda a sucky fighter. I have been proven wrong. Nice job saving your deer boy, Asuma, I’m impressed.

9. There’s an actual budget for the Hokage fight? Nice. Also who gave Sarutobi the right to actually be cool NOW when he’s been acting senile for the past 10+ episodes excuse you.

10. EXCUSE YOU SARUTOBI YOU DON’T GET TO MAKE EPIC FEELS-INDUCING SPEECHES ABOUT THE WILL OF FIRE AND THE VILLAGE AS YOUR FAMILY, NOT WHEN YOU HAVE FAILED ON BOTH THOSE ASPECTS SO HARD.

11. How dare you make me regret your impending death even a little bit Sarutobi. How dare.

12. There’s a monkey king? That’s an actual THING? I mean I knew there was a monkey king but I didn’t expect him to be so amazing. Now if he would just stop waiting for Sarutobi to grow a spine (because we all know he won’t) and actually kick Orochimaru while the snake was distracted taunting his old sensei maybe we’d actually get somewhere with this show.

13. Seriously Monkey King you turn into a adamantine pole or whatever that can change shape and size, just play dead on the ground for a minute then expand and extend to the size and length of a tree. You don’t even have to do any damage yourself you just have to shove him/wack him into his own barrier and let him go up in flames. It probably won’t kill him, since Plot and also Orochimoron, but hey at least it will do damage and distract him for a few seconds.

14. Turning to Naruto real quick because clearly Sarutobi’s Senile Damsel Syndrome is contagious- Naruto. You are an Uzumaki. You have so much chakra you can barely do chakra control exercises. I know you’re tired from the Neji fight, but I ALSO know via fandom that you’re going to summon a freaking Boss Summon in a few episodes. When Shikamaru says “someone needs to stay behind and be a diversion” why didn’t you, I don’t know, SPAM A FEW SHADOW CLONES? You didn’t even have to use only shadow clones for the diversion, you could have just dropped off a few to help out Shika in his rare moment of self-sacrifice. Half a dozen screaming orange genin would go such a long way in providing a distraction so Shika could make a plan (may I suggest, catch the sound ninja in shadow possession and then have the Naruto’s slit their throats before their ninth member has a chance to catch up?). But no. We can’t possibly spam clones the one time a comrade could find them terribly useful, let’s go back to running through the trees worrying about the boy who knows an A-Rank assassination jutsu and would be totally fine surviving on his own for another several episodes of dialogue and reaction shots ten minutes.

15. Where the ACTUAL freak is Jiraiya. He came to Konoha specifically because he heard Orochimaru was planning something. There is an INVASION HAPPENING. GIANT SNAKES. BUSTING DOWN THE WALL. ENEMY NINJA EVERYWHERE. YOUR SENSEI IS TRAPPED IN A BARRIER JUTSU WITH THE GUY YOU SPECIFICALLY CAME HERE TO LOOK FOR. You don’t suppose you could leave your drinks and women and pity party long enough to- I don’t know- HELP? I mean I know it would be hard for someone who has such niche skills like SUMMONING GIANT TOADS and USING FUUNJUTSU THAT COULD PROBABLY BREAK THE BARRIER YOUR SENSEI IS TRAPPED IN but come on man, put forth a little effort.

Maybe you show up in a later episode miraculously doing something important to help stop the invasion, who knows.

Pros of this arc tho:

1. When they decide to actually use their animation budget THEY REALLY GO FOR IT. The fights that have a budget are epic.

2. Sakura got to be useful! For 20 seconds! She fended off a genjutsu and woke up Naruto and told him what was going on! That counts as useful! *devolves into sobbing because why are the girl characters not allowed to be both good guys AND competent onscreen*

3. I genuinely cheered when Asuma swooped in to save Shika. That was cool.

4. Some of the exam fight bits were cool. Naruto vs Neji dragged on a bit but the ending tactic was as rewarding as I’d hoped it would be from reading about it in the fandom. Also I really enjoyed the Shikamaru vs Temari fight. A-tier victory from the resident Deer Boi.

5. Sasuke using Chidori first time on screen was cool, and even though I’d read about it ahead of time, Gaara wigging out over seeing his own blood genuinely startled me.

6. I was glad to see that Sasuke still remembers how to use other jutsu than Chidori. When Temari started fighting him I was afraid the show writers would forget he HAD any jutsu other than Chidori tbh. Like Naruto and his many versions of the same jutsu (see: all the clone spam variations, all the harem jutsu variations, and all the many MANY different rasengan variations).

[shinobisakura]

A Flowers and Shuriken.

PROMPTS CURTESY OF @shisakuweek FOR ShiSakuWeek2020 

Friday 21st August :

Soul mark AU

 Where you bare a soul mark that corresponds with your soulmate. You can only see your own soul mark, and it flashes when you’re going to meet them soon. 

Chapter 1 sets the scene. Chapter 2 is the real interaction. Might actual make a few more chapters to this, rework it and then post on AO3

 Chapter 1

Early mornings were not good for Sakura. Ever. Early mornings usually meant skipping breakfast, meeting up with Team 7, an all-out brawl with Team 7, Kakashi-sensei finally showing up several hours after he said to meet up and followed up with some incident that usually dragged her on shift at the Hospital.

Usually.

Toady was not a usual day. I was an incredibly unusual day.

“I’m sorry what?” Sakura spluttered staring at her master.

Sakura along with Yamato, Shikamaru and Hinata were all stood in the Hokage’s office for a last minute mission. None of them knew what it was about, and so far all they’d gotten out of the Hokage was that it was an urgent and immediate mission. So collect your shinobi packs and go. This was the type of mission urgency that only ANBU were sent on- with the exception of the Kazekage retrieval mission a few months ago.

“You four are going to the capital for a very important mission. Because its in the capital, I need the best I can get, and right now that’s you lot.”

“Its not Tora again is it? That mission is such a drag.”

Tora. That damned cat! If Tsunade was sending her on another Tora mission she’d just blow her top. Thirty times as a genin was enough thank you very much.

Tsunade however didn’t seem affected by the comment, and remained as stern as she had began the mission briefing.

“No it is not Tora.”

Silence. Clearly despite the urgency of the mission, Lady-Tsunade was trying to think of the best way to explain the mission without exposing anything critical. Hinata looked around for a moment and then chose to speak up.

“Ts-Tsunade-sama, you said you need the best, but, wouldn’t Na-naruto-kun or Saskue-san or Shino be more suited?”

“No this isn’t suited for them. Naruto and Saskue are likely to burn down the capital in a brawl, Shino is too quiet for this mission, and honestly from what I’ve heard, the Daimyo hates bugs. That would go down just as well as sending you with both of the team 7 idiots. I don’t want Kakashi reading porn in the palace and I really, really don’t want to hear that Genma slept with another Daimyo’s daughter or wife. I just about negotiated for his life in the last case.”

That… was sadly very true. Genma and Raidou had been sent to guard Shizune whilst her fellow medic-nin healed Madam Shijimi. Apparently Genma had caught the eye of the Madam and Daimyo’s daughter, who instantly wanted to add a shinobi shaped notch in her bedpost. That had gone so well for him that it had taken the elders, Lady Tsunade and an offer of engagement for his daughter from the Water Daimyo (curtesy of Naruto begging Kiri’s jinchuriki to help arrange it) for the Fire Daimyo to forget he ever wanted Genma’s head on a pike.

Either way, from Tsunade’s explanation she wasn’t necessarily after the best shinobi but rather the most capable of them. At least the most discreet. Shikamaru seemed to see it that way too.

“So not exactly the best, just the least likely to cause trouble. Damn what a drag.”

“I need you four to meet up with the Daimyo’s guard and pass on this scroll to the guard head. You will return accompanied by said head guard, with the exception of you Yamato, who will be taking over the head guards position until otherwise relieved.”

“Why us? This is going to be such a pain.” Shikamaru compained for the third time that morning.

“Because the four of you are the most qualified for this job. The three of you are all chunin or higher.” Tsunade rubbed the bridge of her nose. “In addition to this, Sakura you have your own mission.”

“Me?”

“Yes. It’s this particular mission that is why you will accompany this team. Once there you will be team leader, as your mission takes over.”

“What? But surely the Head-guard would take over being the more experienced jonin?”

“No. This is your personal mission scroll Sakura. It is only for your eyes and you are not to open it until you reach the guard. Once you’ve read it, you will understand why it is that the team will be under your command. Is that Understood?”

“Understood.” Sakura nodded and then hesitated, her sudden departure from the village might cause more problems than Tsunade would expect.. “Tsunade-hime, will you inform Team-7?”

“I’ll make sure Naruto and Saskue know and don’t burn down the village looking for you.” Tsunade nodded. “Go home, collect your essential and then depart from the sothern gates once you’re all there.”

The team stood to attention and then with that the team departed.

 Within only twenty minutes, the newly formed Captial-Team had geared up, departed the village and were well on their way to the heart of the Fire Country.

“Who is the Daimyo’s head guard anyway?” Shikamaru asked.

“I thought you’d already know?” Yamato blinked back in surprise.

“I know he’s Konoha shinobi, but I didn’t bother to know exactly who. The Daimyo goes through them that quickly.”

That was certainly true. When Sakura had been in the academy it was a well known fact that the Daimyo was sending back the Head-guard every few months. None meeting his personal standard, and some not wanting to deal with the Daimyo’s family any longer.

“It’s Shisui Uchiha. Shisui-san has been the Daimyo’s head-guard the last three years.”

Uchiha? Sakura thought. Saskue had mentioned he had a cousin on a long term mission with the Daimyo, but she hadn’t realised it was Itachi’s Shisui.

“Jeeze, that long? What a drag. What’d he do, beg the Hokage to give him relief or something?”

“I don’t know.” Yamato shrugged.

“It’s- it’s probably because Shisui is the most qualified genjustsu shinobi, aside from Itachi-san. There might be a new mission he’s needed for.”

Sakura snorts at that.

“That’s what Sasuke will have you think. I have it from good authority that Shisui is better than Itachi.”

“And who’s that?” Shikarmau scoffed.

“Itachi himself.” She snorted.

That was true. Itachi had once told her over dango that he and his cousin often spared, but Shisui was always one step ahead. Apparently Itachi said that even Shisui’s sharingan was stronger than his, which was a feat in itself as usually it was only main branch Uchiha who’s sharringan had that much potential.

Hinata giggled at that and Shikamaru groans.

“I do believe that is a good authority.” Hinata quipped.

The team lulled into a silence for a couple more miles before Shikamaru spoke up again.

“So Ino said your soulmark’s been flashing.”

Ah Sakura thought. Yes that was true. The last couple of days the soulmark on the inner of her elbow had began to flash bright every so often. She’d only noticed it the morning two days past, having taken of her guards to realise the mark was flashing. She couldn’t tell if she was excited, happy or terrified at the prospect of meeting her soulmate. The mark itself already telling her she’d have feeling for whoever it was.

“Yeah. So?”

“Well doesn’t that usually mean that your about to meet your soulmate?”

“I don’t know Shikamaru, did that happen when you and Temari met?”

“Ugh. You and Ino are going to kill me with your questions. But if you must know yes. What about you Hinata? Did your soulmark flash when you met Naruto?”

“N-no. I believe that the Soulmark only flashes if you and your soulmate are going to have a romantic meeting.”

“But it has flashed for you and Naruto?” Sakura raised her eyebrows.

“Y-yes. Naruto’s soulmark flashed just before he asked me to dinner in Suna.”

That was surprising, seeing as Hinata had been making moon-eyes at Naruto since pre-academy. But then again, Naruto had had a crush on her until two years ago when Sakura explained soul marks to him. Apparently no one had bothered to teach Naruto in the orphanage and since Saskue had met his own soulmate- and it was Uzumaki to everyone’s amusement, Naruto had been confused as to why Saskue was interested in talking to this brash girl since he hadn’t even bothered looking at Sakura.

It had been funny to see Naruto realise that the mark on his hand which no one else had seemed to ever notice, was in fact his own soul mark- A Lion. Then barely a week after it had began flashing and he was Hinata using her new Gentle Step style. Since then the two had began dating and Hinata had blossomed in confidence whilst Naruto developed a new self-awareness (at least where Hinata was concerned). Sakura had thought the reason Naruto’s mark only flashed then was because he hadn’t known that it was his soulmark, but apparently Hinata knew otherwise.

 “What about you Captain Yamato? Did your soulmark flash when you met your soulmate?” Sakura looked at her team captain. Said Captain turned bright red and nearly missed ducking a branch.

“What makes you think I have a soulmark?”

“The fact you just turned bright red?” Sakura pointed out. “So who is it?”

“None of your business!”

“Oh come on. Hayate and Yugao are soulmates. Naruto and Hinata, Shika and Temari. We deserve to know!”

“Asuma and Kurenai. Hanabi and that Konohamaru kid.” Shikimaru added with a nod.

“Even Kakashi has a soulmate.” Sakura shot in too, and Shikamaru glanced over to her in surprise.

“Really? Who? Not Gai right?”

Sakura snorted but before she could reply Yamato yelled back at them.

“OF COURSE KAKASHI SEMPAI’S SOULMATE ISN’T  GAI!”

“…Is it you.” Shikamaru asked a sly grin on his face before he dodged a kunai thrown at his face.

“I guess so. Wouldn’t have seen that coming.” Sakura grinned at the other two before they continued on, joking as they went.

 It didn’t take them too long, and they arrived at the capital in less than a day, and after an hour of paperwork and approval, they found themselves in a cheap hotel on the outskirts of the city.

“Tch. The Daimyo certainly knows how to treat his shinobi.” Shikamaru groaned.

“I thought you’d be pleased, you get to sleep in a bed before we go speak to the Daimyo and his guard.” Sakura quipped back.

The group unpacked their gear slowly making use of their down time before the following day.

 “So. What’s your soulmark?” Shikamaru asked raising his brows.

“Shikamaru-san! You can’t asked that.”

“Why not? Might help us narrow it down. There’s a good chance she’ll beet whoever it is in the city, seeing as it only recently started to flash.”

That was true. Soulmarks always corresponded with Soulmates in one form or the other. It just took a little longer for some people to work out.

“Good point. Only fair you tell me yours first.”

“Meh, mine is a fan. You know, cause Temari uses them or something.”

Hinata giggled at that before adding her own.

“M-mine is a kitsune-festival mask.”

Sakura laughed.

“Oh, those are definitely big hints. Although if you didn’t know Naruto it might take a little longer.” Sakura shook her head. Those were easy to recognise.

“So what is yours.” Shikimaru asked, breaking Sakura’s thoughts.

“It’s… It’s weird. It’s like some strange curved Shuriken or something.”

“A shuriken?”

“Kind of? It’s just weird. I thought maybe I’d run into a shinobi who used a custom shuriken or something? Maybe a pinwheel? But I don’t know anyone outside of wind country who are related to pinwheels.”

“Weird.” Shikamaru agreed. “Usually a Soulmark is connected to something unique about the person not their weapons.”

“You literally just said your soulmark for Temari is a fan.”

“Because her jutsu is unique and connected to fans. There have only been three shinobi in Suna history to use fans to slice air.”

“Fair enough.” Sakura slumped down. Her mark would be difficult to work out.

“Look lets sleep on it. Maybe in the morning you’ll know more.” Hinata added and they nodded in agreement. Sleep sounded wonderous. 

Chapter 2

“YOU WANT TO WHAT?!” 

Apparently the Hokage had not sent word to the Daimyo about the change in his guard. Said guard was stood, face entirely blank, beside the screaming noble. So far the scroll handed to him had only upset the Daimyo into something of a tantrum. In fact, Naruto’s own tantrums when told he couldn’t have ramen seemed like an elders council speech compared to the display before the team.

“We are here to exchange Captain Yamato here, for your current head guard Shisui Uchiha. Whilst we understand the lack of notice -something urgent has come up that only Shisui can help deal with. Yamato here is more than qualified to guard yourself and your family Lord Daimyo. In fact he is the only Shinobi aside from the First Hokage to have the Mokuton. Lady Tsunade selected him personally to ensure your safety.”

If there was one thing Sakura had learned from her master, it was the art of kissing up to nobles to get the outcome you want. Well that and how to hold ones liqueur. But only one of those skills was useful right now, and if anything Sakura would kill for a drink to help deal with this.

“Why?” 

“Because your safety is paramount to the peace of the Land of Fire, my lord.”

“No. Why do you need Uchiha?”

“I’m afraid that’s above our clearance to know. As the Hokage’s apprentice she thought that my presence might help reassure you the urgency of this mission as well as our knowledge of how important you are to the Land.”

A little lie didn’t hurt either. 

“Yes, yes. I did find it odd for Tsunade to send two clan heirs and her own apprentice.” His face seemed stunned for a moment before he masked it with a sagely imitation of wisdom.

Clearly, only now had the Daimyo realised who Sakura was, probably having thought she was simply a pretty face added to placate him. Technically that was probably also part of Tsunade’s planning, but Sakura didn’t need to let him know that.

After a little more back and forth, Shikamaru adding that technically Shisui was due to leave from the guard anyway, the Daimyo finally agreed. With that they regrettably left Yamato in place of Shisui and the group left. Not having shared a word with each other until they were long out of the capital.

The group stopped after an hour of running and opted to set up camp.

“Holy shit.” Shikmaru finally burst. 

“Y-you sounded very convincing S-sakura-chan.” 

Sakura, to her credit, simply shrugged as the other collapsed in giggles.

“I had to train with Homura and Koharu in the art of politics. The Daimyo is nothing compared to those old bats and the clan elders.” 

Shisui laughed at that. It was warm and reminded Sakura a bit of Naruto.

“Right, before anything else. My name is Shikamaru Nara, this is Hinata Hyuuga, and the political negociator over there is the Hokage’s apprentice.”

“The name’s Sakura.” She grinned. “Very sorry for the unexpected legal kidnapping.”

“I honestly didn’t expect it. So tell me, why have you retrieved me?” 

Sakura opened her mouth before closed it. She didn’t actually know, she hadn’t even read her scroll yet, so right now it could be anything. Technically the brief had been to swap Yamato for Shisui and have him accompany them in whatever the new mission was.

“Gimmie a second.” She finally said, pulling out her own mission scroll. It was written formally like any other mission scroll, but there was an obscurity about it that made Sakura scowl.

Sakura, apprentice of Hokage Tsunade. Your mission is to heal the damage done to Shisui Uchiha’s eyes through use of the Sharingan with the assistance of Hinata Hyuuga and Shikimaru Nara. Here is the knowledge compiled on the degenerative abilities of the Sharingan, and what little knowledge we have on preventing it. 

Please report back to the village once you are confident in having gathered all the necessary things.

Dispose of this once read 

Signed. 

Homura Mitokado

Koharu Utatane

Hokage Tsunade Senju. 

That- That was impossible. Tsunade herself had explained to Fugaku that the sharingan’s damage was irreversible. 

“Are they- THEY CAN’T BE SERIOUS!” Sakura yelled, ripping up the scroll.

“What? What?!” Shikamaru, for once in his life, looked worried. 

“Those- those idiots are expecting a miracle.”

“What?”

“Tell me Uchiha-san, how long have you been going blind?”

The following exchange went from Shisui initially denying it to finally Sakura giving him a lecture that he was acting like Saskue did when he was being stupid about a critical injury on a mission. Shikamaru and Hinata decided to make themselves scarce during this exchange, which Sakura thought was probably from learnt experience with her and her squad. After a bit more back and forth Shisui pouted and sat down as ordered, allowed Sakura to cast a diagnostic jutsu after explaining she was a medic-nin. 

“So you know Saskue?”

“I’m on his dumbass original genin squad. Sakura Haruano. I’m pretty sure Itachi probably mentioned me at some point.”

“You’re Sakura?” 

“What were you expecting. Some burly woodcutter type?”

“I was expecting someone a bit... Younger?”

“ARE YOU SAYING I’M OLD!”

“No! No! I just keep imagining Saskue and his team as 12 year old genin. It’s hard to picture him as anything but.”

“Well him and Naruto technically still are genin. Saskue ended up injured the past two chunin exams. Different incidents of course. And Naruto went on a round trip with the Pervert himself.” 

“Pervert... You mean Jiraiya?” Shisui seemed stunned at the name.

“Yes. Could you activate you Shaingan for me?” 

He obliged. 

“Okay. Now seeing as its just us. Can you show me your other form of sharingan.” 

“You know about the Mangekyo.

“Itachi mentioned it on one of his physicals. Said it was draining.”

Shisui nodded, and then activated it. 

Sakura froze completely and almost immediately Shisui deactivated it.

“I'm sorry! You asked me to activate it!”

“You- you - you-” Sakura couldn’t get the words out. 

How. How the hell was her soulmark in his eyes. 

Of course she knew the answer. He was her soulmate.

“I ams sorry. I know that it’s a bit intimidating, but you didn’t seem-”

“Shut up a second!” Sakura finally cut him off. “What’s your soulmark?”

“What?! What does that have to- It’s a flower. Actually, hang on!”

He pulls out a pressed flower from his jacket. It was a purple bell shaped flower, and instantly Sakura recognised it.

“That’s Aconite.” Sakura blinked at the flower.

“Yeah?”

“It’s poisonous.”

What kind of dumbass walked around with a press of a posioness flower in his jacket. Sakura herself didn’t do that. That was beyond stupid and dangerous. Sure she used it all the time, but she was a medic nin she could handle and accidental poisoning. Unless of course Shisui was a poison expert and was using it in some sort of concoction. 

“It is?”

No. Apparently he was a dumbass like Naruto.

“Yeah. It is. Why do you carry it around in your jacket? Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“Huh? I just carry it in case I run into my soulmate, then I could pull it out and present it to her.”

Oh, never mind kill himself, he wanted to accidentally kill his soul mate too! If she hadn’t known better, he’d have killed her.

“I use it in my antidotes and- Well its my favourite flower.”

“Your favourite flower is poisonous?”

Sakura snorted. “Ino- my best friend- compared me to an Aconite bud when we become friends. It stuck with me I guess.”

Shisui’s face seems to fill with realisation.

“So... This flower has a special connection to you?”

“Yes, and clearly the curved shuriken is connected to you, seeing as its in your eyes.”

“Wait! Are you trying to say-?”Apparently she had to spell it out for him.

 “That that weird dumbass shuriken soul mark I’ve been branded with is actually your mangekyo? Yeah.” 

“Huh.”

Sakura snorted once more. 

“I guess I’ve got a real reason to be motivated to find your cure now.”

[jacksgreysays]

Determined Clairvoyant, Misguided Knight brainstorm, (2020-05-29)

A/N: So I had a weird sleepless brainstorming/outlining binge last night, passed out and woke up to this chunk of nonsense...

I’ve been reading a lot of DCMK (Detective Conan and Magic Kaito) fic but also I am always a little bit thinking of DoS so my brain went:

Hey, Shisui and Shikako have very similar personalities to Kaito and Shinichi...

But Shisui is the detective and Shikako the thief.

And on the one hand, I was considering just translating it into the in Friendship Is A (Mutual) Con 'verse, such that Shisui is Interpol/FBI and ends up helping the crew because what they do is morally right even if it's not legal...

But it just wouldn’t be the same!

Also, for those who don’t know anything about DCMK, I’m not really using the Detective Conan premise (in which a famous teenage detective gets shrunken into a 6 year old and has to keep his identity secret while finding/dismantling the criminal organization that did this to him. In their defense(?) they were trying to kill him but used an “experimental poison.” They’re not going out of their way to randomly turn teenagers into kids... although there is another teenager that got turned into a kid by that same poison) 

But it is interconnected to the Magic Kaito ��verse (in which a teenager discovers that his dad didn’t die in an accident but was murdered by a mysterious criminal organization (possibly the same one as in Detective Conan? we’re not sure) because he used to be Phantom Thief KID who was searching for a magical jewel called Pandora that supposedly grants immortality because said mysterious criminal organization wants it for nefarious means. Also the teen and his dad are stage magicians and make their heists very flashy and fun)

Anyway, personality wise I was really feeling the Shikako = paranoid/logical Shinichi vs Shisui = flamboyant genius Kaito contrasting with their arguable respective roles as Shikako = chaotic neutral regular rule breaker and Shisui = lawful good believer of systems if not authority.

I was considering whether or not I wanted to transplant the characters into the DCMK setting, but seeing how that’s just (arguably) modern day Japan I was a little... the adapting would be more work than its worth when really all I wanted was thief!Shikako and detective!Shisui and I also, as previously mentioned, didn’t want to just insert Shisui into the Fia(M)C ‘verse.

So then I remembered this ficlet in which Danzo successfully became Hokage but a mysterious figure (ie Shikako) is working against him and I was like. Okay, but reluctant detective!Shisui having to try to capture insurrectionist thief!Shikako is hilarious. And I know Shisui isn’t actually KMP in canon, but Danzo is Hokage which means the situation is bleak and I kinda explain everything below anyway, so...

Enjoy?

~

shisui is one of the oldest uchiha in the village because everyone older than him was executed by danzo for their (supposed?) attempted coup

doesn't particularly want to be a detective, but he's the only one left

sharp-eyed shisui? it is both mocking his singular eye but also he does end up being pretty good at investigation

Itachi is clan head and also one of danzo’s busiest anbu (because danzo is creepy and weird) and he’s being run so ragged that shisui stepped up to do it since he vaguely remembers the KMP’s protocols and also, with one eye short, his combat effectiveness isn’t as reliable

He hates not being able to be back up for itachi, but until he figures out the depth perception thing, he’d be a liability

Itachi is the only one with both eyes (again, because danzo is creepy and weird)

every time one of his younger cousins activate their sharingan, they are forced to undergo surgery because danzo harvests one eye from each of them

sasuke is the next upcoming kid

hikaku/sai was the most recent

Shikako is working reverse chronologically to restore eyeballs because they’re not exactly labeled but she knows the newest eye goes to the most recent activator.

This is how she gets hikaku/sai’s immediate loyalty (he has both eyes, but still hides one under his eyepatch/headband because if you can’t passive aggressively use danzo’s tricks against him then what’s the point? )

((also, it’s a real good dramatic reveal of how shikako gets shisui to trust her because he’s like “you’re stealing my family’s eyeballs and turning my little cousin into your spy” and then hikaku/sai just flips up his eyepatch and blinks both eyes at shisui and he just. “well, that was literally the only argument i had”))

Oh, the age of graduation is lower in canon because danzo doesn’t believe in coddling kids and also “back in my day” nonsense, so sasuke is maybe around 8?

kakashi is, like, a weird sticking point. he's the only non-danzo adult that has a sharingan and, hey, he's also only got just the one, but shisui also remembers the elders being a little weird about him so :shrugs:

I should figure out what to do with him, tbh

i mean, i know Shikako helps Naruto escape/evade ANBU capture because Danzo was going to turn him into a “proper jinchuuriki weapon” so maybe she throws him at Kakashi and is like “BABY SITTING DUTY FOR YOU, SAD STRING BEAN”

and there’s also Tenzo/Yamato to consider here

at first the thefts are random but escalating: old mission reports, the sandaime's novelty(?) crystal ball, the hokage's hat, the sword of the thunder god, etc, etc

then it becomes directed: sharingan eyes

Shadow Thief Shikako is here to make things real difficult for danzo

while shisui is trying really hard not to get smitten (even though she’s stealing his family’s eyeballs! but he guesses better than in danzo’s possession? he’s very conflicted emotionally and very stressed and also a teenager), shikako is recruiting allies for her coup

She needs to make a deal with the devil… Kabuto? For the medical expertise in how to re-implant all the sharingan she’s stealing?

He does spy on behalf of who he thinks is the strongest, and shikako is v strong by this point

Although, the whole concept of “you were the first person i ever wanted to murder” “you flatter me” is kind of funny

What is going on with orochimaru in this timeline?

For that matter, what’s going on with the other sannin?

hyuuga have weird feelings about the whole one eye stolen thing, branch family in particular because on the one hand: DOJUTSU/BLOODLINE THEFT is literally their big nono. But they do like being the strongest clan in the village now.

Is neji’s dad still alive? When did danzo become hokage? Is it before or after Hinata’s near kidnapping?

Ibiki, anko, aoba -- gotta figure out what’s going on there

Does aoba not have the crow summons since shisui is still alive?

Is aoba a surprise half uchiha?

Unsure how bleak i want things to be for the Nara clan. They definitely don’t like things, but i’m not sure if they’re also largely killed off, just shikaku, or just yoshino…… unless Shikamaru has been taken as Danzo’s apprentice/ROOT?

Something also has to have happened to the akimichi and yamanaka tho, in order to justify/reflect it

Team 10 is essentially being held hostage. Shikako has to “steal” them from Danzo in order to get the ANY clans’ cooperation

they’re allowed to visit their family once a week in order to get clan training, but it’s on different days from each other so the other two are still within ROOT’s grasp and the one who is visiting their family knows not to step out of line

Shikamaru has been trying really hard to help him and his teammates escape, but he’s only eight years old. I’m but a boy. I’m just a boy

There is a war.

I’ve decided this.

It’s the only way to make sense of why danzo is still in charge without him having killed a ludicrous number of people (more than he’s already killed, that is)

There is a war and that’s where the majority of the loudest dissenters are sent (inuzuka, aburame, gai, etc) and because they are always out on the front lines they don’t know how bad it actually is at home

Mist rebellion peeps?

Zabuza and Haku are still alive at this time, i guess

Terumi Mei--is there even a mist rebellion at this time or are they too busy with the war, too?

… Gelel/Sand?

look, magical gems are the crux of Magic Kaito and I know I’ve replaced them with Sharingan eyes, but still. If there’s a magical gem I feel like I’m obligated to at least mention it

also, Shinichi in Detective Conan ends up with, like, the most ludicrous allies over the course of the series. He is a--as far as anyone else knows--a 6 year old Japanese boy with connections to the American FBI. That’s nuts! So Shikako having allies with Mist or Sand isn’t too far outside feasibility in comparison

~

A/N: So... in theory I would like to come back to this and actually write it--because as far as sleepless brainstorming sessions go, this one is fairly coherent--but just in case I don’t, I figure people would enjoy this mess of an outline anyway. And it’s nice to have notes for later.

Title is, unsurprisingly, my attempt to make the letters DCMK apply to Shikako and Shisui. On the one hand, I know the quote is “and angry Aburame, a focused Inuzuka, and a motivated Nara” but I kiiiinda misremembered wrong and thought it was “determined,” fell in love with Shisui as the “misguided knight” and then only after went back to check and realized that it should’ve been “motivated”

Ah well

[itachi-uchiha-deserved-better]

Tequila! With Sakura Uchiha

Itachi had planned to go out drinking alone. He wasn’t fit company at the moment. Not to mention that he had no intention of getting the kind of drunk he would get if Gai tagged along, and while Kakashi might have been a fitting companion for the kind of mood Itachi was in, he was busy tending to a sick Tenzo. So Itachi went out to the bar seeking to numb himself to the memories that threatened below the surface. 

The bar Itachi picked was a quiet one. He picked a booth where his back could be up against the wall, a habit from so many years spent in the Anbu, and he nursed his way through a glass of hard cider, content to sit and watch the other patrons in the bar. 

He’d been surprised when his new sister in law walked into the bar, searched the room till her eyes landed on his, and she made her way over to come and join him. 

“You look even more morose than usual,” She said, her smile as bright and warm as always. Itachi had to admit that she provided a welcome change around the Uchiha district. Even with their relationship with the leaf village repaired, his clan wasn’t the most welcoming bunch. Still, Sakura managed to bring smiles to many an Uchiha face, laughing and joking, reminding Itachi very much of one curly haired Uchiha boy he had known many years ago. 

Itachi offered Sakura a half hearted smile, gesturing for her to join him at the table. A waiter came over and Sakura asked him for two shots of tequila and two glasses of water. 

Itachi raised an eyebrow but said nothing. After all, she was the apprentice of Lady Tsunade and that woman could certainly drink. They sat in a familiar silence until the waiter came back with the shots and placed them on the table. Sakura pushed one of the shot glasses across the tabletop towards Itachi. 

He gave her a questioning look. Sakura’s lips curled up into a clever grin. 

“You can drink that, or you can tell me what’s going on with you. You’ve been avoiding everyone for days and I’ve had at least three different patrols come in and tell me that you’ve been walking the streets all night for several nights in a row.” She reached out a hand and placed it on Itachi’s, her grin melting into a look of compassion, “We’re all concerned about you.” 

Itachi pulled his hand away, the touch to much like the kind of gentle affection of the boy in those memories he was trying to chase away. His heart ached at the slight look of hurt that crossed Sakura’s face, but his own hurt was too sharp. 

He reached out for the shot glass, picked it up, and gulped down the liquid fire, ignoring the burning sensation it left in his throat. 

Sakura downed her own shot, then signaled to the waiter for two more to be brought. Itachi saw her game. No doubt Sakura could hold her alcohol better than Itachi. It would only be a matter of time until he was forced to chose between letting his emotions spill out and getting well and truly drunk and likely passing out. Either way, Sakura got something she wanted, either Itachi dealt with his feelings directly or he got some sleep. 

He huffed quietly, picking up the second shot before Sakura could slide it towards him and slamming that one back as well. Sakura copied the motion and signaled for yet another round. 

“I don’t suppose that tell you or anyone else that I’m just fine will stop you?” He asked, defeat already evident in his voice. Sakura shook her head. 

“I’m family now. Family looks after one another. And Sauske....He asked me to keep an eye on you. He said you might need a friend while he’s gone, but he wouldn’t tell me why.” 

Two new shots hit the table. Sakura pushed Itachi’s across the table and picked up her own, her gaze intent on Itachi’s face. Itachi picked up the shot glass and considered it. He brought it up to his lips, savoring the pain it brought with it. That’s not exactly healthy, to want to find ways to hurt like that. 

He put the shot glass down and reached out to catch Sakura’s hand before she could call for another round. He begged his eyes not to let the tears fall, not just yet anyway. 

“Today would have been Shisui’s birthday,” He said softly. Even after all this time, the hurt was still so fresh. Understanding dawned in Sakura’s eyes. Of course, being so close to the hokage and his former anbu captain, Sakura likely knew all about Shisui, how close he and Itachi had been, how he had met his end. But few enough people remembered Shisui’s birthday anymore, so Itachi had a habit of spending it alone or with Sauske. 

“Drink some of your water,” She said gently, “Then how about we go visit his grave together. What do you think would be a good offering for us to bring?” 

Itachi smiled, “Shisui always liked flowers.” 

[orlha]

Kakashi/Sakura - Romantic ♡ 3. Where character B is their soulmate Please♡♡♡

Notes: SOOOO This is supposed to be a drabble. But heeeey SURPRISE it’s not? Hope you like it anyway, I might add that it’s not terribly fluffy either.

—

Civiliansconsidered themselves adults when they received their soulmarks at eighteen.Shinobis didn’t care too much about their soulmarks or tried not to at least.Not all soulmates meet, and if they do, not all of them meet on friendlyterms.  

Kakashiknew that the chance of having an out-village soulmate was rare, yet he hadseen how Rin had reacted when Obito died, seen how his father had chosen deathover him, seen Sensei picked death over living without Kushina. His soulmarkappears, “No, you stupid man. You are not dying under my watch!” curvingdown his palm. Cursive and almost unreadable words. 

Inanother world without shinobis, without pain and the ever-hanging death,Kakashi thinks he might have been loved and loved back. But he’s not in anotherworld. He’s here, where the people closest to him have chosen to die, wherethey had died leaving him alone. 

Gaiassures him that soulmates always meet each other. It’s fate and no matter howfar he runs, he’ll always come back to the same fork. It leaves a bitter tastein Kakashi’s mouth. He doesn’t someone, doesn’t want someone else to die onhim. Gai… Gai is the only one he trusts not to die on him. Too much energy andoptimism, too much youth. 

So hedistances himself. 

FromTenzo who pursued his friendship, from Asuma who tried to rekindle their‘broship’ after his long absence, from Team seven who was a mockery of what hisown team had been. 

Hebarely trains his genin, barely cares when Naruto was apprenticed to Jiraiya orwhen Sakura is apprenticed to Tsunade. They were barely his students. 

Yethere they are again. Tsunade refusing to let him fade into anbu, forcing him toreform his team. 

Hehates it, hates how people push him, with supposedly comforting words that hissoulmate was out there somewhere.  

Hedoesn’t care. He tells himself that every time. His soulmate is probably dead,or out-village and he doesn’t care. 

Theyare all lies. 

Becausehe does. 

He’sjust abandoned. 

—  

Inspite of people’s popular beliefs, Sakura worked hard to get top kunoichi. Sheknew it wouldn’t matter in the long run. Academy scores didn’t matter in thereal world, but that was all she had to prove to her next superiors that shewas competent. Never mind that she didn’t have a senior shinobi to train herlike all the clan kinds, never mind that some days her parents ‘forgot’ to feedher.  

Sakurais good. 

She hasto be. 

She’snot like Ino who had parents to fall back on after graduating. Sakura had neverhad that kind of affection. She imagines that when she gets her soulmark, meetsher soulmate that they would fall passionately in love. She’d be tucked intohis arms, she would be loved. 

It’sthese thoughts that keep Sakura going even when her jounin sensei turns out tobe a distant and barely teaching them anything beyond referencing books to readon.  

Sakurareads these books voraciously. No one is going to help her if she doesn’t helpherself. She summons her own courage to request for an apprenticeship with Tsunadeand spends her next few years proving herself that she is competent, that sheis worth teaching. 

Becauseno one else cares if she doesn’t.  

—  

Shishousends her on a mission with her former Team Seven just near her birthday. Anddespite it being a fairly low ranked mission for shinobis of their status,Sakura thinks that Shishou hadn’t counted for the Team Seven luck. 

Whatshould have been an almost idyllic mission turns into a shitfest. Turns out theperson they were escorting was some long-lost prince who now inherited thekingdom and by mandate was returning to ascend the throne and the councillorwho had looked after the kingdom for twenty years was disgruntled enough tosend Iwa-nins to kill him.

That’s not important. 

Sakurawas busy fighting off Iwa-nins and their stupid explosive jutsu when Kakashitakes an almost fatal hit for Yamato. Quickly, with Sai’s help, she disengagesand flickers to Kakashi, hauling him to the side where Naruto’s clonessurrounded them in a protective circle. 

“No,just leave me,” Kakashi says even as she fights to manually pump his blood andheal that hole in his torso.  

“No,you stupid man. You are not dying under my watch!” she snarls. She presses on,leaving Naruto to deal with anyone attempting to interrupt her and divesin.  

It’smaybe minutes or hours later when she wakes from her healing trance,disoriented by the lack of veins and cells in her vision. A hand helps her up. 

“Kaka-senseiwill be fine.” Hands press food into her hands as soon as she’s seated by thefire. 

She blinks.  

Thestars above have bloomed across the dark twilight sky, the Iaw-nin bodies hadbeen burnt or sealed away, a small smokeless campfire had already been startedand Kakashi was tucked under a blanket next to Yamato, his half-lidded eyewatching her. 

Shedoesn’t care if she saved Kakashi against his will. Only stupid man does stupidthings like that. He can hate her for all she cares. He wouldn’t be the firstor the last to do so. Sakura forces herself to eat the stew Sai had given her.Tomorrow she’ll need to check on him and considering how he chose to dieinstead of being healed, she already knows it’d be a fight. 

To hersurprise, Kakashi doesn’t put up a fight the next day. He lets her press hermedical chakra in, check his torso and even his eyes.  

Andwhen everything checks out, Naruto heaves their long-lost prince onto his backand starts the trip to the Kingdom of Stars. Now that they’re aware of actualthreats, they’re more cautious about leaving traces behind.  

Sakuratries not to recall the way Kakashi refused to let her heal him. So it seemsthat her choice of people to have crushes on always are people who areemotionally unavailable. She’s been down that way once, abandoned at thevillage gates. It wouldn’t surprise her if her soulmate would be equallyuninterested in her.  

Themission ends successfully, and they’re invited to stay in the palace for a fewdays. The Kingdom of Stars is gorgeous. Unlike the Kingdom of Moon, the mostpicturesque thing about the Kingdom of Stars is their sky. The trail ofnorthern lights dancing across the sky, beset with shimmering stars.  

Sakurastares out into the sky, the light wisp of smoke escaping her mouth as shebreathes. It’s a place she wouldn’t mind retiring to. The placid lifestyle ofthe people here, their earnest laughter.  She thinks she could be happyhere. 

Probablynot.  

She hadfinally gotten her soulmark during the mission. It’s across her hip and shedoesn’t care what it says anymore. It’s stupid yearning for something she’llnever get or even brooding over it. When this mission is over, she’ll go backto the hospital where no one cares, back to her one room apartment.  

Sakuraisn’t meant for happiness or love. 

“Sakura?” 

She’sso lost in her thoughts that his voice almost startles her off the roof.Kakashi grabs her, his hand lingers on her arm before he sticks it back intohis pockets. His shoulders are slumped, radiating the feeling of exhaustion. 

“Areyou okay?” The weapons that the Iwa-nin weren’t likely to be poisoned. She wouldhave noticed if it were, but there’s always the chance for human error. Sheputs a hand on his, double checking his system for any infection or poison. 

That’sweird, his hands are bare. Kakashi always wears his gloves. 

Sheturns his hand and gasps. There are thick calluses across his palm, especiallyon the fingertips and across the palm, almost down to his wrist is undeniablyher handwriting.  

“No,you stupid man. You are not dying under my watch!” it says.  

Sheslowly looks up at him. His mismatched eyes look back at her nervously.  

“Ibelieve these are your words,” he says carefully.  

Sakuracan hear her blood pounding in her ears, the colour in her face bleeding out asshe processed the situation. She pulls her shirt up, wrenching part of herpants down. Splayed across her hip, the narrow but neat writing are the words “no,just leave me.” 

“Those…are definitely my words and handwriting.” His hand curls up to grip hers.  

Shebarks a mirthless laugh and shakes his hand off, stepping back several steps.“So…” she starts in a quivering voice and hates herself for the weakness. “…I’m marked with your suicidal words.” 

Sheturns away and the frustration of the entire situation, the helplessness feltso overwhelming that she couldn’t stop tears from gathering in her eyes. 

She wasright.  

Thepeople always had crushes on were emotionally unavailable and that apparentlyincluded her soulmate, the man she had a crush on for the last two years. Also,the man who is suicidal and had such a blatant disregard that shishou forcedthem to have a medic at all times. 

Underall her doubts and sarcasm, Sakura had hoped that her soulmate would be someonewho loved her, where she could finally be love and be loved in return. 

“I’mnot…” he murmurs behind her. “…suicidal…” 

Hereaches out to clasp her shoulder.  “Sakura…” 

“Don’tworry, I’ll be fine even if you leave,” she tells him. She had seen shinobislike Kakashi. She knows what would happen. She won’t cry over this, or so shetells herself as she ignores the tight clenching in her chest.  

Becauseno one would care if she isn’t alright and her parents would be smug in theknowledge that they were right; that even her soulmate didn’t want her. 

“Let metry, please.” His fingers tightened and she looks up at him. Hissharingan still spinning slowly, his hair almost fey in the dimmoonlight.  

Shepulls a shuddering breath from her lungs, schooling the trembling in herhands.  

“Youdidn’t care to teach any of us anything. Didn’t care who I went to or if I hadto go to genin corps. Why? Why should I?” 

“I’mnot suicidal. I just… There’s a point where you don’t care because you’ve beenabandoned by everyone that loved you and I know I fucked up, but please.”His eyes are desperate. 

“Atleast you’ve been loved,” she says, scrubbing the tears furiously away with hersleeve. “I’ve never even once!” 

“Thenlet us try. We’re soulmates right? There has to be a reason for it…” he says.His tone full of self-deprecation. “Gai said that its fate and that no matterhow far we try to run from it, if it’s fate, we’ll come back to the same fork.So since we’re at the fork now. It’s better to try. I… I am still terrified ofmaking have new people join my ring of important people…” 

Herlips twist and Sakura laughs a wet laugh.  

“Andprove them wrong?” she asks. “All the people who said that no one would loveyou.” 

“I’ll standback and watch you crush them?” He thumbs her tears away. 

“Okay.”She presses her face into his palm, his eyes softening. 

—  

Andperhaps no one believed it would last. Some soulmates die young together, somesoulmates never quite work out. 

Betweentheir multitude of issues and age gap, no one believed Kakashi and Sakurawould.  

Butthey did. 

Curledup in each other’s arms, under the tall Sakura tree, watching the petals fallaround them, they finally found the happiness, peace and love they had longedfor.  

Untilthey were old and wrinkled, grey and aged.  

Kakashipresses a kiss into her greying hair and thinks of the northern lightsreflected in her pink hair then and he would have it no other way.

—

Prompts are still open all the way until New Year’s Eve if you want to send any in :)

Tumblr prompts list: here

[purple-possibilities]

Sibi oneechan I'm so sad )))': i had a dream I was married to Kakashi last night but he was mean, abusive, controlling and manipulative. And in my dream all my friends and family turned against me and were hurting me too. Tbh I woke up kind of scared of him and of relationships in general. I know you're busy but I could use something positive, esp about Kakashi ))): sorry

I’m so sorry that youhad such an alarming dream!  And for it tofeature being married to Kakashi to boot… that’s like pouring salt in thewound.  You got gypped!

So, to fix that, letme tell you what being married to Kakashi is actually like.  We can wipe the slate, so to speak, and giveyou something good to (day)dream about. I hope this cheers you up (it’s over 5.3k so buckle up, kiddo)

To start, let’s talk about Kakashi and marriage ingeneral.  Kakashi is definitely the typeof guy who never thought he was going to get married.  When he was a kid he didn’t care about datingor romance at all.  Girls were dumb.  Boys were dumb.  Kids were dumb.  Everyone but Kakashi (and his papa) weredumb.   So he didn’t think about it.

Then he got his team (which reinforced the idea thateveryone was dumb, but Minato got added to the exception list) which was just abad experience for Kakashi.  His fatherkilled himself soon after, and then one by one his teammates died/were killed,all in very traumatic fashions.  Whichled to Kakashi isolating himself even more. Any thoughts Kakashi might have had about getting married (with Minatoand Kushina being married and her being pregnant, I feel like he might havegiven it a very brief, passing thought before dismissing it as trivial,especially if the adults around him we’re being adults and saying things like “that’s going to be you one day,” or “I can’t wait to see you when you fall inlove,” and other annoying things people older than you often say about thishypothetical ‘one day’ you) are completely gone at this point.

Then Kakashi goes through his ANBU phase, he gets Team 7, andthere’s just no time to think about dating or settling down.  Kakashi is still very reclusive before Team7, and it takes a bit after he does get his students for him to open up atall.  So Kakashi definitely isn’t lookingor thinking about love.  I can’t imagineKakashi dating at all in this period of time, not casually at least.  It would have to be in a very specificcircumstance.  Like, someone he alreadytrusts who has been in his life for a while, and then some situational things,and some movie magic.

To make things worse, whatever healing that happened afterbecoming a sensei was washed away with the whole Sasuke defection drama Ialmost wrote defecation, that would have been an entirely differentseries.  Kakashi has his feelings offailure compounded, his guilt is magnified, he feels like an even biggerfailure, and the rest of his students are gone, too.  So he regresses a bit.  That means there’s still not time to think about dating,except for maybe depressing thoughts when he sees people together, like“they’re so happy, no one would want to be with me like that, I’d just ruintheir life anyways.”

I do think that Kakashi begins to crave that sort ofintimacy after a while.  He might be abit envious of Asuma and Kurenai’s relationship, not because he’s in love witheither Asuma or Kurenai, but because they have each other, and Kakashi feelslike he has no one.  But again, his lifeis in shambles and Kakashi is not about to bring someone else into it, so nodating.  (I can also see him trying toconvince himself that he doesn’t want it either.  Like ‘oh, I don’t need that, it’s not for me’etc, but his love for Icha Icha tells me otherwise—boy wants connections, he’sjust too scared and stunted to make them of his own volition).

When the Fourth War is over, this is when Kakashi has timeto heal.  His precious people survived(the people he loooooves, it’s so nice to think that Kakashi has people heloves, he deserves it—we all do), and he has some sort of closure with his Obitoguilt.  He’ll have to work out his guiltfor “causing” the Fourth War in the first place (not that I think it’s hisfault, but Kakashi probably does), but he’s in a good place.  Konoha is in a good place, the ShinobiNations as a whole are in a good place, it’s just a good time for healing.  

I can see Kakashi entertaining the idea of dating at thispoint in his life, maybe after a few years. He might see his students and the other sensei’s kids starting to pairoff and date, and maybe Kakashi begins to think about settling downhimself.  Although, he’s gonna have tocatch feelings first before he makes a move.

It probably takes Kakashi a while to even realise that hehas a crush (“What is the strange feeling in my chest whenever they walkby?  Maybe I’m hungry.  When was the last time I ate?”) because Idon’t think he’s ever had one before. He’ll probably think of it as admiration at first, since he’ll confuseit with the way he felt for Minato and his dad somewhat (platonically people,jeeze).  Like, he wants to be around thisperson, he wants to impress them, he likes it when they pay attention to him,he gets nervous when they’re around, he somehow manages to make a fool ofhimself every time he hears their name, etc.  

Once he connects the dots, however (and it was 100% IchaIcha that clued him off, thanks Jiraiya, RIP), Kakashi has like, amini-breakdown.  He still doesn’t thinkthat he’s worthy, he still thinks no one would want to be with him, he stillthinks that he’s no good.  Gai probably findsout and has to convince Kakashi to take a chance.  It likely involves making it a Challenge™ ofsome sort.

Kakashi does what he always does; he strategizes.  Kakashi is a man of strategy, so he’s goingto make a plan on how to woo you.

Unfortunately for Kakashi, his experience with romance anddating at all is zilch.  Twice asunfortunately, with Asuma gone (RIP Asuma you went too soon), he only has Icha Icha as a guide.  Kakashi might also nab a book he has seen Saiwalking around with (Romance and Relationships: A Beginner’s Guide to Dating.  I do not recommend it).

So Kakashi makes his plan. It’s very well thought out, has multiple phases, and contingencies, andsoooo many layers you don’t even know.  Despitehow convoluted it is, it can be separated into two fairly simple phases—it’show he executes each phases where things get messy.  I’ll briefly explain it.

Phase 1 is figure out if you like him.  This involves like, Elle Woods-esque (fromLegally Blonde) tips and tricks.  Like,bending over in front of you and seeing if you stare at his ass.  He probably starts talking to you more,trying to be super casual.  He suddenlybumps into you all the time.  Whereveryou go, Kakashi is somehow there too.  Ifyou try and talk to him though, he gets all aloof and distant, because hedoesn’t want you to know that he likes you yet. It’s very confusing.  He justcomes across as Odd.

Eventually he clues in that you like him (although someoneelse probably figures it out and tells him). So he moves on to Phase 2: Ask You Out.

Kakashi asking people out is always hilarious whenever Iimagine it.  I can see it happening intwo (equally hilarious) ways.  Although the first is the most likely, I have to add the second.  You’ll see why soon lol.

In the first, he is so laid back and aloof that he probablystrikes out multiple times because you just don’t understand that he’s askingyou something at all, let alone asking you one a date.  Like, I’m pretty sure the first few attempts,you think he’s talking to someone else and just walk on by like nothinghappened.  Like, he’ll say vague thingssuch as, “It’s a nice day for a walk,” or “Yakiniku Q has the best BBQ” or “I’llbe at Ichiraku later.”  And you’re justlike “???” or “That’s nice,” or just keep on walking because you didn’t evennotice he was there.  Boy is too stealthy sometimes; it’s really notworking out for him.

So he realises that he needs to be more direct.  Kakashi, however, gets stuck in the ‘oh Ithought you were asking as a friend’ type thing.  He might think you two are on a date, untilyou ask something like ‘where’s everyone else?’ and then he realises that hewas not direct enough.  He was probablysuper late, too.  You may have even left,thinking you were in the wrong spot (or you were just tired of waiting, let’sbe honest).  

So he’ll ask again, this time saying that he’s picking youup from your house, since that’s a date-thing to do, and also that way youdon’t leave when he’s late.  Because heis still late, although it’s because he’s nervous and trying to figure out howto not mess things up, not so much that he didn’t want to come.

The second way I can see him asking someone out is by farthe more hilarious.  Rae and I havetalked about this before with one of her KakaHana one-shots and it’s like, themost Kakashi thing ever.  He getsflowers, and writes a poem about his feelings for you (it’s a very cheesy poembut it’s super sweet). He knocks on your door and when you answer, gets on oneknee outside of your house. He’s sweating and shaking and he tries to recitethe poem but he’s stuttering through it, redder even than that one time theyasked him to read Icha Icha out loud, if that’s even possible.  It is a huge, cheesy, romantic gesture,probably straight out of Icha Icha.  It’severy romance novel cliché, it’s painful to watch (let alone being Kakashi) sotake pity on him, accept the flowers, pry the poem out of his shaking hands,and say “yes,” already.  

Invite him in for tea. Do not tell him how sweet he is, unless you want him to faint.  If anyone other than you witnessed him askingyou out, he would probably die of embarrassment.  Never bring it up again.  I think the only way he’d do this, though, isif he already had strong feelings for you. Like they were closer to love than just a crush, and you were friends for a while.  He thinks the grand romantic gesture is what he needs in order to show you that he wants to switch your relationship from friendship to romance.

For Kakashi to ask anyone out at all, I do think it’sbecause he’s hoping it will lead to something more, eventually.  He’s not a casual dater.  That’s not to say that he’s trying to settledown quickly, or that he’s just going to stay with the first person he asks outno matter what, but he is definitely looking for something serious.

Even then, it takes Kakashi a while to propose.  No matter how quickly he falls for you, he’sstill got his issues and his insecurities. He feels somehow like he’s cheated you, tricked you into being with him,or somehow stolen you.  He definitelydoes not think that he is worthy, and no matter how much you love him, thiswill be hard to change.  It’s somethinghe needs to get over himself.  Anytimeyou tell him you love him, he feels an overwhelming warmth in his chest, aswell as shame, and fear, and guilt, and a whole host of other things.  I don’t know that Kakashi will ever be ableto get over it.

I think the best thing you could do to reassure Kakashi isto show him that you’re happy.  He willdefinitely be trying very hard to make you happy, to make up for his ownfeelings of inadequacy.  This, out ofeverything, makes him feel better.  He stillcan’t imagine why you would like him, let alone love him, but as long as you’rehappy, he feels like he’s doing something right.  He feels like it’s okay for him to be withyou, because you are content, and that’s really what he wants for you.

After a few years of being happy together (and you’veprobably moved in together at this point), Kakashi will start to believe that it’sokay for him to have you.  He had wantedyou and loved you and tried his best to deserve you. Maybe he still feels likehe doesn’t deserve you and all the happiness you bring him, but he can tellthat you’re not going anywhere; he “let you” get too attached, and—if you’vehinted to it at all—he’ll be thinking about marriage.  

He’s probably wanted to marry you for a while now, but hedidn’t want to trap you in anything.  Butyou haven’t gone anywhere, and aren’t planning on going anywhere, so Kakashi wantsto do right by you (that’s what he says to himself, because he is a selflessman.  But deep down, he desperately wants to tie youto him, he wants to casually call you his spouse, he wants to call you his—he’salready yours, all of him is yours, he is devoted and loyal and completely atyour whim, though he doesn’t have the words to say it.  He thinks this might just show you howprecious you are to him).

So Kakashi proposes. He also has a very convoluted, intricate plan for this.  I’m not going to outline a proposal, becauseI really think that the ideal proposal is different from person to person.  Kakashi would know you so well at this point(maybe a little too well, he’s observant and a master at looking underneath theunderneath) and so he’d craft it to be exactly what you’d like.  Whether it’s casually going for dinner andthen a walk, where he takes you somewhere private and gets on one knee (hestutters and blushes through telling you how much you mean to him) or somethingcompletely cheesy and romantic (he also stutters and blushes through the wholething) or whatever.  Kakashi will go outof his comfort zone for you, because at the end of the day he really just wantsto make you happy (which can be dangerous for him, because he doesn’t thinkabout his own happiness—really, he’s just happy if you are.  So try and do things to make him happy too,no one-sided relationships here).

It takes him like a month to plan and organize things to hisstandards (if he’s Hokage now, it’ll take him even longer).  I can’t decide if he actually manages tocarry out the plan, if he gets too nervous and fudges it up on the day, or ifhe just cracks and randomly asks you out of the blue because he just loves youso much and he can’t wait, or the nerves got the best of him and he can’t take it anymore.  If it’s thelatter he’ll try to back-peddle and recover but honestly just kiss him (even ifit’s over the mask) and say ‘yes,’ to put the poor man out of his misery.

So you’re engaged (wasn’t this supposed to be about marriagewhere did I go wrong?) and Kakashi is temporarily relieved.  The wedding, however, makes him soooonervous.  Not because he has any doubtabout marrying you, but if you want a big ceremony (not happening if he’s not Hokage, btw, because Jounin Kakashi doesn’t have command over ANBU and can’t get you any bodyguards), or even one in front ofjust your close family and friends, he’s sooo worried about it.  He wants everything to be perfect for you, hedoesn’t know what that means but Icha Icha said that weddings were the happiestday of the couple’s life and Kakashi feels like if he fails at this, then he’sgoing to ruin your relationship for all time. Yes, he totally is overreacting. I hc that Kakashi can’t really deal with emotions well, and this is agood example of that.

Kakashi will go along with whatever you want.  But this is where you really need to step inand think about what he wants, too, because he will not.  So don’t plan anything that will make himuncomfortable.  Although, if he’s Hokagehe’s probably going to have to have a huge wedding, with the village involvedand everything.  Hooooboy.  This… this is a lot to take in.

Absolutely do not suggest that he not wear his mask.  He honestly might take it off for you, as ashow of dedication and his love, but he will feel so out of place (and plusthen all people will talk about when referencing your marriage is his face andthat will just make him more uncomfortable). So, mask on (sorry Future).  

While Kakashi is great at planning things in the tacticalsense, this skill does not apply to wedding planning.  He’ll make time to go with you places, liketo look at venues, or to taste food and stuff, but things like colours andflowers and whatever, he doesn’t care. So that’s going to fall to you. Sorry.  Get your friends to help.

Engaged life is probably pretty similar to dating life withKakashi, considering you’ve already moved in with him and see each other everyday.  

The length of time you’re engagedis determined by how complex your wedding ceremony is.  Kakashi is ready to go elope the second heproposes (ok so he was ready before he proposed but he has to ask you first, hecan’t just swoop in and take you to an officiant, he has some tact).  You’re probablystressed because so much of the planning falls on your shoulders, but Kakashigives really nice massages and he’ll totally make it up to you in other ways,wink wink.

On the day you get married, Kakashi is super worried thatsomething is going to go wrong.  Hethinks you’re going to change your mind and leave him at the altar.  He is probably a sweating mess.  He acts really indifferent on the outsidethough, or tries his best.  No one willever realise just how nervous he actually was, although those close to him cantell that he’s not as unaffected as he usually looks.

The moment he sees you, however, his heart stops.  You look stunning, no matter what you’rewearing.  He is simply in awe.  It’s finally happening.  You’re here. You haven’t changed your mind.

I’m going to skip the ceremony and reception stuff, becausehonestly you planned it, not me, so you go ahead and take a minute to imageyour wedding.   I will say, however, thatonce the ceremony is over, Kakashi is soooo relieved.  Everything worked out, no one tried to opposeyour ceremony (he’s read too much Icha Icha ok he was half convinced some pastlover of yours was going to crash the wedding and take you away from him).

Kakashi is more relaxed during the reception (if you have one) andhe’s never far from your side.  Hedoesn’t like the attention on him, but he likes that you’re his spouse now, andhe doesn’t want to let you out of his sight. He probably plans to whisk you away somewhere asap, though, leaving shadowclones as decoys (unless you really want to stay.  Then he’ll stay.  But take pity on the man at the very leastand keep the attention on you and not him. Although honestly he’d probably manage to make your guests uncomfortablesomehow).  

Gai definitely makes at least one Youthful speech at somepoint.  The more he drinks the morespeeches he makes, to be completely honest. There are lots of tears and YOUTH and you should probably leave before hecovers you and Kakashi with snot from all the happy tears he’s crying.  Direct him towards Lee; they’ll hug it out.

Kakashi’s favourite part of the reception is getting to slowdance with you.  Even though everyone iswatching, he enjoys having you so close. He’s been stressed out all day and having you in his arms, inhaling yourscent, hearing you whisper that you love him, it just helps him decompress.  Honestly, you should really cuddle him a bitbefore the reception, in private.  Showup late.  It’s cool, no one expects youto be on time anyways.

THE WEDDING NIGHT.

…do I really have to go here?  

*le sigh*

All I’m going to say is, wear some nice lingerie underneathyour outfit.  If you’re brave enough (orhave no filter, like myself) whisper all the things you’re going to do tohim/want him to do to you.  He’ll go sored, but it’ll turn him on sooo much. Just go for it.  Even if you’reblushing yourself, it’s totally worth it. Be brave, lil birdy, I believe in you.

You’re both probably tired from the day you had, so maybeyou just help each other undress and then fall into bed together (poor, unusedlingerie.  Kakashi will ask you to wearit tomorrow night).  Kakashi can’t sleepthough, he’s had too stressful of a day. Instead he holds you closer and thinks about how lucky he is… and thenreads Icha Icha.  Come on, the man isn’tfrom a romance novel he’s not going to stare at you adoringly all night.  He will probably turn his head into yourhair, occasionally nuzzling or pressing soft kisses wherever he can reach.

If you wake up and want to have some fun, he’s definitelynot going to turn you down, either.  Hehonestly might need the release just to loosen up and actually fall asleep.  Get Kakashi off.  Just do it. It’ll be fun I promise.

So you’re married now. This was my point. I’m finally at the point.  Wait, honeymoon.  Ok ok real quick.  No, fuck it. You make this part up.  I’m sureit’s lovely.  Kakashi goes where youwant.  Do something romantic for him (hewill blush so hard if you romance him it’s so worth it he’s adorable just doit).  Hopefully he has some time off fromhis Hokage duties.  Spend lots of timealone, just the two of you.  That’swhat’s important—being together.

Ok so now I’m atmy point.  Married life.

Kakashi is so much more relaxed now that you’remarried.  He’s not worried about youleaving him, because while you might divorcehim, he’s confident that you wouldn’t have married him if you were planning onbeing with anyone else.  Your marriage issomething concrete; it’s tangible in a way, in that it’s on paper and everyoneknows about it.  While he probablyworries about it being such public knowledge, if he’s Hokage he can’t avoidit.  And if not, well, he would haverequired a more private wedding, limited to just your family and close friendsthat you both would trust with your lives. Kakashi does not compromise on your safety.  You’re going to just have to deal with it.

He loves waking up next to you.  If he wakes up first, he’ll turn into you andhold you closer, letting himself drift on the edges of sleep.  Or he’ll grab Icha Icha from his nightstandand read a bit.  He’s perfectly contentjust lying in bed for a while.  If hereally has to leave, he’ll do his best not to wake you when he gets up (itprobably involves a replacement jutsu with a body pillow).  Then he’ll use all his ninja skills to getready and go.  He might cook you somebreakfast, and leave it in the stove to stay warm.  You’ll probably find a silly note signed witha henohenomoheji on your hairbrush or something—whatever you go for first whenyou wake up.

If you wake up first, your movement will wake him up.  Always. He’ll pull you closer and whisper “just five more minutes,” and how canyou say no to sleepy Kakashi?  You can’t,only a monster would have that power.  Sosettle back down, cuddle a bit, and maybe start kissing a little, and let yourhands wander, and if one thing leads to the next, well… I’m sure you’ll have anice morning.  You’re going to be latethough.  I hope you didn’t have anywhereimportant to be.

Although Kakashi seems like the type of guy who wouldn’t putstock in important dates, I think he himself really likes celebrating youranniversary.  It’s a celebration thatyou’re together, that you love him, that he makes you happy… it’s just good forhim.  That doesn’t necessarily mean hemakes a big deal out of it, but he definitely remembers.  He’ll get you something meaningful, that he’sput too much thought into but he’ll pass off as “oh, I just picked somethingup.”  

Kakashi will want to do something special but also lowkey.  Maybe he’ll pull out the sake or the wine (ifyou don’t usually drink it) or maybe he’ll go for champagne (if you likeit).  He will have mysteriously just “found it” somewhere.  A nice old ladygave it to him as a thank you for carrying her groceries.  He caught some kids in an alleyway andhe—being responsible—had to confiscate it. He had to help a cat out of a tree and he found it in a bird’s nest(they use stranger and stranger things to build their nests.  Why, only the other day he found a perfectlywrapped and beautifully arranged bouquet of flowers in one.  What odd birds.  That’s definitely it).

If you’re staying in, he offers to cook.  Insist on doing it together.  Even if you’re not a great cook, just chopwhat needs chopping, or hand him things. Crowd him in the kitchen.  Helikes how casually your skin brushes against his.  How you slip by him, how your hands brush… hejust likes that casual intimacy that means you’re close to someone.  That sort of calm, domestic stuff gets to him.  It makes him feel like he’s alive instead ofjust existing.  Even just hugging himfrom behind while he works over the stove—clinging tight enough to hold on butnot so tight that he can’t move around—is enjoyable to him.  Bury your nose in his back or his neck or hisshoulder or whatever idk how tall you are but just nuzzle the boy he’ll enjoyit.

Idk how close you are with your family, but if they’re agood bunch, I think he’d like family get-togethers, while simultaneously hatingthem.  Since he lost his family, I thinkit’s a sort of novelty to him; like, he thinks it’s nice that you have peoplewho love you, he thinks it’s interesting to watch how you all interact,etc.  But he’s super anti-social, andthese things make him sooo uncomfortable (especially if you have one of those well-meaningbut nosey and pushy families).  He’ll tryto hide in corners, and people will be like ‘Where’d Kakashi go?’ and he’slike, disguised himself with a genjutsu or something so no one can see him.  He won’t leave without telling you, but hewill probably leave early.  Whether you leavewith him or not is your choice, he doesn’t mind if you want to stay, he justcan’t be there for too long.

Don’t host people at your place though.  Unless it’s like a once a year thing becauseyou have to.  Even then, Kakashi isleaving early.  He’ll help you clean uponce everyone is gone, though, and help you prepare before everyone getsthere.  He’ll have a better time if peoplehe’s close to are there, so he doesn’t have to make small talk with people he’snot comfortable with.  He still leavesearly.  There’s no stopping him.  Don’t try to. Don’t get mad.  It’s just how itis.

Kakashi probably really likes calling you wife/spouse/husbandin private.  He’ll use it instead of yourname.  Call him ‘husband’ or ‘anata’ andyou’ll get his heart jumping.  Tell himhe’s yours and watch him blush.

If he’s Hokage, he’ll probably be busy (even if he playshookie often).  Surprise him for lunchand you’ll make his day.  Honestly, he’dstay in the office if he knew you were stopping by, so do Shizune a favour andmake your way over so she doesn’t have to chase him around.  He might leave after you go, however.  There’s no helping it.

Although I do think he’d be a very hard working Hokage,honestly.  He might not be happy aboutthe position, as it was never his dream, but Kakashi cares for the village socompletely and with such an intensity that I can’t see him avoiding it whenthere are things that need to be done. He tries his best.  Make sure hecomes home at a reasonable time.

I actually wholeheartedly disagree with the idea thatKakashi is lazy.  I think he does areally good job of appearinglazy.  He doesn’t want people in hisbusiness, he doesn’t share much about himself, and he has no desire to go outof his way to prove his merits to anyone (he’s not a man who wants his meritsto be acknowledged at all, let along prove them).  Kakashi is humble and shy so shy omg.  He’s not a slacker, though—he would not bethe ninja he is if he were lazy.

So he’s not going to leave things for you to do, he’s notgoing to just sit around and watch while you clean up after him, or neglectyou, or whatever.  Kakashi puts effortinto everything that’s important to him (and no, training Team 7 wasn’timportant to him when he first got them, but he did put in that effort whentraining Sasuke, because it was important to train him at the time—baddecisions aside.  That’s a different canof worms, however).

Kakashi has definitely been touch-starved.  When you start dating, he might find itawkward or uncomfortable when you touch him intimately.  And I don’t mean sex, I mean gentletouches.  Holding hands, leaning yourhead on his shoulder, etc.  Respect hisboundaries and don’t push him.  By thetime you’re married, he’ll be reaching for you without thought.  He’ll never be big on PDA though, so don’texpect him to be the guy pulling you into his lap in public.  He will do that in private, though.  Like a Venus flytrap lol.  Get too close and suddenly you’re in hisgrasp.  It’s cute.  Cuddle for a bit, even if you have things todo.  They can wait.

I should have said this earlier, but you’re definitely goingto be late for things, from now on—like, shortly after you move in together.  I can’t see you being on time.  Ever. Sorry.  Whether you’re going withKakashi or going by yourself, he’s somehow managing to delay you.  You might be on time if he’s out of thevillage and he’s not around to distract you. Although he’s probably engrained himself so deeply into you at thispoint that you forget to set your alarm, or you don’t realise the time, orwhatever.  RIP time managementskills.  It was nice knowing you. Sayonara.  

My point though, at the end of it all, is that Kakashi isvery appreciative to have you in his life. He thinks of you as one of the best things that has ever happened tohim.  That you chose to be with him, thatyou choose to stay with him, means the world to him.  He had never imagined that his life wouldturn around from the tragedy it was to something that makes him so happy.  So of course he would never mistreat you.  

Kakashi cherishes every second you choose to spend withhim.  He will probably never feel like hedeserves you, which is a tragedy in and of itself.  But because he knows what it means to loseeverything, he values you even more. Kakashi is kind and loyal and he tries his best.  That’s all we can ask of ourselves and eachother at the end of the day.  And Kakashiwill be his best for you

I hope this manages to cheer you up!  It’s the best I could think up.  

[shiranuigenma]

Can you do all numbers for KoteIzu or KakaYama please?

how about both? :D

send me a pairing :)

KakaYama

Who asks the other on a date first?Surprisingly, it’s Tenzo. Kakashi is too busy and out of touch with his own feelings to make a move and though Tenzo is shy and unsure about it, if he doesn’t make the move nothing will ever happen. Kakashi gets all flustered and can’t even answer and ends up walking away but Tenzo isn’t an idiot, he knows there’s something more here and Kakashi’s just scared and he didn’t actually say no so it doesn’t actually count as a rejection, right?

Where was their first kiss? Who leaned in first?On the training field. What had started off as a date (their third or fourth or something like that, who’s counting? (Tenzo is counting - it’s their fifth)) had turned into a training session that went long into the night and Kakashi is just enraptured by the sight of Tenzo beneath the moonlight and he can’t help himself.

How long did they know each other before they started dating?It’s been so long, neither of them are even sure anymore. Definitely years, and definitely double digits because Kakashi’s about three years into being Hokage and it took him way longer than he would ever admit to to allow himself to give in to his feelings.

How did they flirt with one another before one of them got the courage to ask the other out?There was no outright flirting. It was all tense moments and charged glances and heated exchanges, and let’s be real someone started a betting pool (*cough* Genma) on when it would actually happen.

Where did they go on their first date?Tenzo’s apartment. Kakashi is far too secretive about his personal life to go on a public date, and Tenzo wants Kakashi to be comfortable so he offers to cook for him.

What did they talk about on their first date?At first, they just make awkward small talk, until the initial nerves die down and suddenly they’re talking about anything and everything under the sun and before they know it the sun’s actually rising.

Who picked who up, or did they meet up, on their first date?They were supposed to meet up at Tenzo’s place. Kakashi is, of course, late.

When do they make it official that they are dating?One day, it just is. Neither sees a reason to actually talk about making it official - they’re together, they have toothbrushes and clothes at each other’s apartments, they aren’t seeing other people. Labels and all of the rest of it don’t really matter.

Who do they bring to their first double date?No one, they don’t do double dates. Ever. Tenzo tried to arrange one once but Kakashi never showed up (and made no apologies for it either)

Who can’t stop blushing when they are around their partner?Let’s just say Kakashi is very, very grateful for his mask (esp when Tenzo is in his Anbu uniform good lord)

How do they adjust to their partner’s social group?Neither of them really have a social group, it’s pretty much Gai and Team 7 and they all get along well to begin with so there’s no real adjustment needed.

Who gets tongue tied around their partner?Tenzo. He has a bit of a nervous stammer thing going on, especially in the beginning, and it’s even worse when Kakashi has his mask off around him.

What do they do in public to show that they are dating? Hold hands, walk arm in arm, does one have their arm over the other, constant flirting, the look™, anything else?Lowkey dirty flirting, but only in situations where no one else will notice. Kakashi’s more prone to it than Tenzo, but Tenzo will absolutely get involved to get back at Kakashi for it.

Who is more likely to give a kiss on their partner’s cheek in public?Neither.

Who notices all the small things when they start dating?They both do. Tenzo has spent years watching Kakashi from a distance, noticing every small thing about him, every tiny detail and weird habit, never knowing that Kakashi has been doing the same thing.

this is getting long so koteizu below the cut :)

KoteIzu

Who asks the other on a date first?Kotetsu spits it out over breakfast and he is freaking out the entire time because he definitely did not mean to say that, and now Izumo is looking at him weird and oh god what has he done? His best friend did not need to know that Kotetsu was in love with him but now he’s asked him on a date and he is panicking and expecting Izumo to say no but suddenly he says something that sounds weirdly like yes.

Where was their first kiss? Who leaned in first?In their living room. It’s strange coming home from a first date in which you live with the person you just went on the date with. Izumo is looking at him expectantly but Kotetsu can’t move - so Izumo takes the initiative and leans in.

How long did they know each other before they started dating?Forever. They’ve been best friends since they were children.

How did they flirt with one another before one of them got the courage to ask the other out?There wasn’t flirting so much as Kotetsu trying really desperately to ignore his feelings while still staring (admiring) at Izumo when he wasn’t looking (and immediately looking away when he was). He doesn’t even notice that Izumo’s always doing the same thing.

Where did they go on their first date?Ichiraku for dinner - it’s something they do regularly anyway so it hardly seemed like a date but this time it’s silent and weird because though they’ll never admit it, both are internally freaking out and are scared they’re gonna completely fuck this up.

What did they talk about on their first date?When they remembered how to speak, they made simple small talk. Normally they never have trouble speaking to each other but this is honestly terrifying.

Who picked who up, or did they meet up, on their first date?Technically neither, since they live together and they were already in the same place before heading out.

When do they make it official that they are dating?Honestly they don’t even know. They go on a few dates, testing the waters, and then one day Tsunade makes a teasing remark about them dating and Izumo just goes “yeah, what of it?” and Kotetsu’s just like “oh shit” (in a good way)

Who do they bring to their first double date?Asuma and Kurenai

Who can’t stop blushing when they are around their partner?Both, honestly, but mostly Kotetsu. Izumo’s way better at hiding it.

How do they adjust to their partner’s social group?They’ve always run in the same social group so there’s no adjustment needed.

Who gets tongue tied around their partner?Kotetsu forgets how to word on the reg.

What do they do in public to show that they are dating? Hold hands, walk arm in arm, does one have their arm over the other, constant flirting, the look™, anything else?Since they work so closely together, they try to keep it professional, but Kotetsu can get pretty handsy especially when they’re sitting guard duty at the gate and no one can see his hands wrapped tight around Izumo’s or resting on his thigh. On dates, though, they’re holding hands.

Who is more likely to give a kiss on their partner’s cheek in public?It doesn’t happen often at all, but Kotetsu. It’s a surefire way to make Izumo blush and he thinks it’s cute.

Who notices all the small things when they start dating?Izumo is an elephant for small details and he won’t admit it but he’s been cataloging every tiny detail and quirk of Kotetsu’s for years.

[kuriquinn]

Underneath the Underneath [2/?]

Temporary Blanket Disclaimer

First Chapter

AN: Not edited yet. Honestly, I’m just amazed I could write something this week with how brain-dead I’ve been feeling. Here’s hoping things calm down soon so I can get back to my stories!

AN2: Also, I got the opening scene from a comic I saw somewhere here on tumblr. Can’t remember the artist, but if someone finds it, let me know so I can credit that person as inspiration here.

“Oh, you beautiful lady…you’re amazing.”

Hana Inuzuka freezes in mid-step, halfway through the door into the back room of her uncle’s veterinary, wondering if she’s hearing things.

“You are just gorgeous,” the voice continues, warm affection colouring the words.

A frown on her face, she peeks farther into the room and then has to resist the urge to smack her palm into her forehead. Kakashi Hatake is crouched in front a small pen, where one of the Inuzuka hounds is curled up with her puppies, congratulating the dog.

“Women all over Konoha would literally kill to have you say stuff like that to them, but you reserve it for the dogs,” she remarks as she wanders into the room and begins checking charts. She’s only an intern, but it’s generally accepted that as soon as her formal veterinary training is complete, she’ll be in charge of the place.

“Dogs I get,” the masked man replies, not budging from where he’s scratching the mother dog behind the ears. “People are weird.” The animal makes a noise of agreement, tongue lolling out in amusement, and he pats her once more before straightening up. “So, how’s the patient?”

He’s referring to Bull, one of his ninken, who is in the quarantine room sleeping off anesthesia from a recent procedure.

“He’ll be fine,” Hana says. “Uncle Kōga says the treatment was a complete success and there aren’t any poisonous toxins left. But take it easy with him for a bit. No missions and plenty of rest and fluids.”

“I’ll tell the rest of the back the same, then.”

“And I want him back here in two weeks for a follow up. No excuses.”

Kakashi is notorious for being late or absent for most appointments, and she shoots him her most challenging glare. Considering she perfected it staring down three giant wolf hounds, she knows how impressive it is. Grown men have been reduced to tears at the sight of it.

But Kakashi just snorts.

“No sense in arguing, I guess. Seems like that’s a theme with your family.”

Hana blinks. “Huh?”

“I met your sister the other day,” Kakashi says mildly. “She’s…certainly a character.”

“That’s the nicest anyone’s ever put that before,” she replies, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe unusual is a better descriptor,” he corrects. “What made her choose demolitions over working here with you?”

Hana continues to frown at him in confusion. She’s a little unsure, considering Kakashi doesn’t really talk to her much beyond matters related to his ninken. He’s not the type to waste words, and so small-talk seems very out of character for him. At least based on the observations of a completely objective bystander.

Eventually, she shrugs.

“She has her reasons,” she says. “Let’s call them philosophical differences and a stubborn streak, depending on who you ask.”

“I’ll take your word on that. Still, it’s interesting. There aren’t many Inuzuka who aren’t actively part of Konoha’s defensive forces, right?”

His tone is casual enough, but Hana has been a shinobi long enough to recognise even an informal interrogation. The question is…why? It’s common knowledge that her twin dropped out of shinobi training after her failed Chūnin Exam. There are records of that which anyone—especially a former ANBU operative like Kakashi—could find if they looked. And he doesn’t take interest in people without some actual purpose.

“It helps that she has a natural talent for being destructive,” Hana says, noncommittal.

“I believe that,” he says with a nod. “She gave me a few of her explosive tags to try.” Hana’s eyebrows shoot towards her hairline at this. “If I hadn’t been as fast as I am, I’d have lost a limb.”

“She gave them to you?”

“Yes?”

“For free?”

“No. To test out for her,” he says slowly, and then frowns. “But from your reaction I take it that’s significant somehow?”

“For Manako, sharing explosives is kind of like giving someone a friendship bracelet,” Hana informs him.

“What exactly did you do?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kakashi says abruptly, suddenly straight-backed and tense. He seems alarmed; she’s not sure how she knows it, because his entire face is covered, but he is.

Well, his hair kind of looks agitated, anyhow. Maybe that’s it?

Kakashi rubs the back of his head, almost sheepish, and edges to the door. “Anyhow. I have to check something. I’ll be back tomorrow morning to pick up Bull.”

“And then again two weeks to check up on him,” Hana agrees.

“Right!”

He vanishes into thin air.

“Because that wasn’t weird at all,” Hana says, making a mental note to ask Manako what that was all about the next time she sees her.

はたけ

“So, your new friend came by,” Hana begins apropos of nothing. She stands in her sister’s tiny kitchen, picking through a box of yakisoba and trying not to wrinkle her nose at the unwashed dishes in the sink.

Manako peers at her, a mouthful of noodles spilling over her mouth like she’s some kind of mutant jellyfish.

“Oo?” she mumbles, confused for a moment before her eyes light of. “Oh! A gah wih ah heh?”

She makes a demonstrative, up-and-down motion meant to mimic the masked jōnin’s hair, and Hana sniggers.

“Yeah, that’s the one. Though most people would recognise him just by the name.” Hana watches her carefully. “Looks like you made another wonderful impression on someone.”

Manako swallows.

“It’s what I do.”

“I guess it could be worse…Thanks to you, I have a stellar reputation around here. Everyone thinks I’m the good one.”

“It’s not my fault you’re boring.”

“Better boring than misanthropic.”

“You work with animals all day, you don’t get to pass judgement on my judgement of stupid people until you’ve worked in retail,” Manako reminds her.

“You’re the one who didn’t want to go into the family business.”

Her twin shoots her a single, unimpressed glare as though to remind her they are straying dangerously close to a topic that is not to be spoken of.

Hana dutifully changes the subject. “So, what do you think of him?”

“Who?”

“Kakashi.”

Manako shoots Hana a funny look. “Why would I think anything of him?”

“It’s not every day of the village’s most prolific shinobi walk into your shop. He could be good for business. Especially if you ever want to take over the place officially.”

“I doubt it. He didn’t come in to buy anything, he was just avoiding someone,” Manako points out. “That taijutsu master that has a thing for bodysuits, I think.”

Hana sniggers. “Gai? Yeah, I can see that.”

“That man exhausts me just existing within the same country as me,” Manako shakes her head.

“You can say that again…”

“Anyway, I took pity on broom-head and let him hang out for a bit.”

“And convinced him to test out your explosive tags, from what I heard,” Hana remarks innocently. “That’s impressive. Especially considering how famous the guy is for avoiding work. How sure are you that he’s actually going to do it?”

“Pretty damn sure. It’s all about knowing what people like,” Manako replies easily.

“Oh, ew, do I even want to know?”

“Probably not.”

Hana squints at her, trying to see beyond the casual tone figure out if her sister is joking or not. Manako doesn’t have the same reservations about certain behaviours as Hana does; she’s like Kiba and their mother in that respect. At the same time, she sets high standards for the people she gets close to.

And if she’s looking at this guy as friend material…

Hana chooses to tread carefully. Manako tends to be very guarded about her relationships, and even alluding to any serious interest in another person, whether it be a friend or something more, might cause her to torpedo that new relationship.  

Especially since what happened with Izumi.

Sadness creeps over Hana. She was never as close to the Uchiha girl as Manako was—they weren’t teammates, after all—but they were peers at the Academy. What happened to her was horrible.

Since then, Manako has been even pricklier than she was growing up, utterly isolated from everyone except Hana and Kiba.

But if she’s showing even this little bit of interest in being friends with someone? Even someone as weird as Kakashi Hatake?

Hana considers the very odd situation for a moment, and then nods to herself.

That settles it. Jōnin or not, the man has the emotional maturity of a fourteen-year-old boy, so at least they’d be on the same level, mentally. And he’s trained to deal with difficult cases, right? Being friends with Manako shouldn’t be too difficult to him.

Kakashi’s hypothetical feelings on the matter don’t factor into it, of course. Hana has a duty as the older sister to look out for her younger siblings.

Even if one of them is only three minutes younger.

“Well…as long as it wasn’t anything too weird,” Hana muses out loud, keeping an eye on her sister’s reactions. “I mean, it’s hard to tell with that mask of his, but he doesn’t look like he has much fun otherwise.”

“Nah,” Manako dismisses, waving her chopsticks. “He gets along with dogs. Dogs are fun. And he reads. So he probably has some vague idea about fun.”

“Things are so simple for you, aren’t they?”

“Life is way too complicated as it is. Keeping things simple keeps them real.”

“We’re shinobi, everything’s pretty real.”

“Speak for yourself. Proud dropout here. Maybe that’s why I don’t have to torture myself with in-depth philosophical issues.”

“At least not until the next family dinner.”

Manako snorts in annoyance.

They eat in silence for a bit.

“They tell stories about him, you know,” Hana says after a while, in a quieter and less jokin tone now. “The things he’s done…what he’s seen…”

“Eh, I bet he’s just as hoity-toity as any other jōnin,” Manako dismisses. “Though, he’s got some questionable reading preferences, so maybe not that stuck-up.”

“How do you know what he reads?” Hana asks, not so innocently.

“Because I’m blackmailing him to test out my equipment. Why the hell else do you think I’d give him free explosives?”

“Manako!”

“Well, it’s not exactly blackmail,” Manako considers. “It was more withholding a book he wanted to read. But then again, I did threaten him with spoilers, so maybe blackmail is the right way to put it.”

“I don’t know whether to be disappointed in you for blackmailing an elite shinobi, or to be disappointed in him for his terrible taste in literature. Especially if he’s borrowing something from you.”

“Don’t pretend like you’ve never read a romance novel in your life.”

“Romance, yes, soft-core pornography? Not really.”

“Prude.”

“Pervert.”

“Bitch.”

“Assface.”

“You realise we’re twins, right? You just insulted yourself.”

“It depends on the ass,” Hana sniffs. “Mine is nicer than yours.”

“Oh, screw that!” Manako cries, tossing her unfinished yakisoba on the counter and twisting to point at her posterior. “See this? This is gorgeous. It’s got all that padding that you’ve trained away.”

“So, what you’re saying is…you have a fat ass.”

Her sister growls and lunges at her.

つづく

Yes, I know it wasn’t terribly shippy, but I did warn you all that Kakashi and Manako’s relationship is really slow burn. It takes place over the course of years, and barring the minor failure of the Bechdel test in this chapter, neither character really thinks overly much about the other at this point in time.

Also, I realised that I’ve never really spent much time on Hana before, barring that one chapter in Unplanned. And I’ve never written her and Manako together, and I figure it’s time. Also, everyone thinks Hana is the good one…when she is clearly much more conniving than her sister, hee hee.

Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating—and if you enjoy my writing, check out my original stories as they are posted on patreon!

栗

Next Chapter

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Answer Me This

AU: Soulmate

Words: 1875

Pairing: KakaYama

Warnings: None

Summary: Ever since he was young, Tenzo wandered about the mark on his chest. Now that he’s a bit older, with a lot less going on in his life to distract him, he decides to seek some answers from a trusted source.

For: My Kakayama loving followers definitely XD

Ever since he was a child Yamato had wondered about the mark on his chest. Once, when he was still young and naive, he had asked Danzo about it, hoping to find the answer he had been searching for since the first time he saw it in the mirror.

The only response he got was a gentle reminder of his job. That things such as the mark on his chest were of no importance and were best forgotten.

So he forgot about it. Focused his attention on his training and missions instead, only really remembering it during the odd time he’d see it in the mirror again. For years he was fine with that. Danzo always had more than enough work for him to do to keep his mind from wandering back to the mark, and even after he had left Root and joined Kakashi-senpai on Team Ro he was always busy.

Doing missions, training with his new team. All of it kept his mind off of the mark.

Until the day that Tsunade-sama finally pulled him out of Anbu.

I want you to lead Team Kakashi on their next mission.

Her words echoed in his mind whenever he was forced to deal with Naruto’s insubordinate attitude. Even at his worst though, Naruto wasn’t as distracting as back-to-back missions and training.

Now that he was a part of Team Kakashi, Yamato had time to think. To dwell on the things that he had ignored for years. The foods that he liked, the things he wanted to do during his time off, and the mark.

The one that kept staring at him in the mirror every morning after his shower. Sitting right over his heart.

Eight little paw prints starting at his collar bone and running all the way down to the center of his chest where a little scarecrow sat. Somewhere, deep inside of his brain, he knew the answer should be obvious. It just wasn’t coming to him for some reason, no matter how hard to search for the answer.

Now, sitting beside Gai in the training field watching as his Senpai set Naruto, Sakura, and Sai up for a spar against each other. He wondered to himself if it was alright to ask someone else.

If he was finally allowed an answer to the question he had refused to ask again for years.

“You seem like you have a lot on your mind,” Gai’s voice dragged him out of his thoughts, a bright smile greeting him when he glanced towards the older man. “What are you thinking so hard about? Surely it’s not the training Kakashi’s doing with his team. I know his methods don’t always seem the most proper, but they’re quite effective in the long run.”

Yamato couldn’t help but laugh. If there was anyone in the world who knew Kakashi’s training methods and just how interesting they could get, it was him. Years of being on the same team had introduced him to a variety of ideas Kakashi came up with to improve their skills, and not one of those ideas could be considered standard or even safe some days.

“No,” glancing towards the team, he smiled slightly. “I was actually thinking about something else. Something you might be able to help me with.” If there was anyone who could answer his question, it was Gai. Not only did he have a wealth of information, some of it from speaking to Kakashi a lot over the years, but he was also emotionally open and present. Regardless of what the question was, he’d be willing to answer it. “I was wondering...Well, when I was younger I noticed something on my chest. It’s not a scar, and I don’t think it could be considered a birthmark either, but I’m not really sure what it is.”

“Oh!” Gai’s eyes widened, a look of shock taking over his face momentarily before softening into a much more familiar smile. “You must be talking about your soulmate mark.”

“Soulmate mark?” Over the years he had heard whispers of such things. People huddling up close to show off a mark on their body to their friends and whispered guesses of who it could belong to. Never wanting to distract himself, he had left them alone to have their fun. But now that he thought about it he had always wondered if the mark could be representing someone.

As his mind started to wander, so did his eyes. Scanning towards the middle of the field, they lingered on his Senpai. Patient, kind, protective. Kakashi had been there for him since they were both kids. A small hint of light in a pitch-black world.

“It’s a mark that everyone has. A depiction of who your soulmate is in pictures or words. Something that’s supposed to give you a hint of the person you’re soul is joined to, without flat out telling you who it is,” Gai explained, his smile never leaving his face. “What does it look like? I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, of course. I was just thinking that if you only asked about this now perhaps you haven’t put too much thought into who it could represent.” He trailed off.

“Who-” his mind started racing. Trying to figure out who was supposed to be represented by the marks on his chest. No matter how hard he tried to think, though, only one answer came to mind. “-What if...I mean, if the person who it r-represents...what if they don’t want-”

Gai’s laughter cut off the rest of his sentence. Loud enough that he could feel all of Team Kakashi’s eyes on them suddenly. The kids probably wondering what was going on, and Kakashi-senpai was no doubt already making plans to interrupt.

If he was going to show Gai the mark, he had to do it fast. Before his Senpai showed up to interrupt them.

“Here,” turning to face Gai, he unzipped his Chunin vest and lifted his shirt so that Gai could get a good look at the mark. “I don’t know what it means. I mean, I have an idea but…”

“Oh,” Gai’s eyes widened after a moment. “Yamato, this is…”

“What’s going on here?” Shoving his shirt back down, Yamato turned to glare at the silver-haired man who had just appeared at his side without any warning. “What? Surely you’re not doing anything I shouldn’t be a part of. You wouldn’t leave me out of the fun, would you Tenzo?”

“It’s none of your business, Senpai,” he huffed after turning his gaze away from the older man. “Shouldn’t you be watching over Team Kakashi’s training?”

“They’re not going to kill each other if I look away for five seconds.” Ass if on cue, Naruto went flying past them. Sakura’s voice following shortly behind with an angry threat to his health if he ever repeated his last sentence. “Ok, they might kill each other, but it’s good for training.”

Good training.

Right.

“Anyways, you were showing Gai something,” Kakashi continued as if his student hadn’t just been punched through the air. “What was it?”

“None of you busi-”

“He was showing me his soulmate mark,” The sudden weight of the world came down on Tenzo’s shoulders. Of all the people to betray him in such an important moment, he had trusted Gai. “It’s really cute. It even has a scarecrow on it.”

“A scarecrow?” Peering up at Kakashi, Tenzo huffed when he saw him raise an eyebrow. “Is that why Shisui’s crows don’t like you?”

At this moment, Tenzo really hoped Shisui didn’t come bounding out of the trees to continue a rather terrible joke. The last thing he needed was those two going back and forth trying to outdo each other in the terrible humour department. He’d be here all day if they got started.

“Can I see it?” Kakashi’s question caught him off guard. He had barely wanted to show the soulmate mark to Gai, and now Kakashi wanted to see it? The one person his heart told him to hide it away from no matter what? “Come on, Tenzo. I won’t make fun of it. I promise.”

Curling his fingers into the bottom of his uniform shirt, he sighed. “Fine,” he whispered, finally meeting the other man’s eyes again. “But if you make one joke about it I’m going to”

“-not talk to me for the rest of the month. Yeah, I know.”

Huffing, Tenzo pulled his shirt up once more and watched as both Kakashi and Gai peered at the mark there on his chest. It was a little embarrassing sitting there and being stared at like that, especially when Gai reached out to touch his skin.

“I told you it was cute. The little paw prints leading to a scarecrow. You know, it sort of make’s me think of the hounds.” Tenzo felt his stomach drop. Suddenly it all made sense. The reason he could only think of one person when Gai asked him who his mark was supposed to represent, was because it was meant to lead him to that person. His soul mate was-

“Well, I think that’s enough slacking,” Kakashi straightened himself up suddenly and turned his back to the pair. “I should go check on the team. Make sure Sakura hasn’t actually broken all of Naruto’s bones.”

And with that, he was gone. Nothing but a puff of smoke left where he had just been standing moments ago.

“I-” He tried.

“Don’t worry about it,” glancing back at Gai, Yamato opened his mouth to say something. Unfortunately, words seemed to fail him at that moment. “Kakashi’s always like this when he has to deal with emotions. I’m sure you know that as well as I do.”

Yamato couldn’t deny it. In all the years he had known Kakashi, one thing was painfully obvious. The Copy Ninja would do anything he could to avoid having to deal with emotions until they became too much for him to ignore any longer.

Still, it didn’t leave him with a good feeling.

Now that he knew what his mark was, and who it was meant to be, he was left to sort all of the emotions that came with that revelation on his own. The only thing that he could hope for, was that Kakashi wouldn’t reject him.

“He’s not leaving you behind,” Gai’s words caught him off guard, pulling his attention back to the conversation in front of him. “I know what you’re thinking. Kakashi is hard to read sometimes, and it always sucks when he shuts us out and tries to figure things out on his own.” That was certainly true. Tenzo had always wished his Senpai would open up to him a bit more. Let him help where he could. “He’ll get there, Yamato. Just give him some time.”

Some time.

He could do that. It wasn’t like they didn’t have a lot on their plates to deal with right now anyways.

“Thank you, Gai,” Giving the other man his best smile, he stared at Kakashi in the distance. Watching as he separated Sakura and Sai from a verbal argument. “I’m glad to have you as a friend.”

[jouissezduprintemps]

Terrible First Impressions

Rating: M Words: 3446 Fandom: Naruto Summary: An incredibly self-indulgent fic cooked up by me and @onceandalwaysenglishmajor. Tenzo needs to make some new friends outside the Foundation. Kakashi makes the mistake of bringing him along to one of Anko’s parties. Kakashi ANBU era. KakaYama.

Kakashi knew he’d been avoiding his friends, but his job had to come first. At least, that was what he told himself. None of them knew about his trauma, about how it manifested in nightmares and obsessive hand washing. No one, except Tenzo, that is. The pair had been on enough solo missions for his kouhai to pick up on his triggers; they had yet to have a conversation about it, but Tenzo was conscientious enough to accommodate him. Despite his efforts, his kindness wounded Kakashi’s pride.

It had been days since he’d spoken to Tenzo, who caught him scrubbing his hands until his knuckles bled. Their heated argument played out in the ANBU locker room, which was, thankfully, empty so late at night. Both men parted ways furious with the other. A single text message from Kakashi sat unread on Tenzo’s phone; if his senpai had something to say to him, he could come say it in person.

Tenzo balled his dishcloth in his hand and wiped the wet surface of his plate, busying himself with menial tasks to keep himself occupied. The breaks between missions allowed him to take care of everything in his flat that needed doing, and tonight was no different. A gust of wind blew in from the window, tossing his long hair into his face. The ANBU agent sputtered, using his forearm to push his hair back.

With a start, he realized that he hadn’t opened his window. He spun on his heel, somehow unsurprised to see his senpai squatting in the window frame. Kakashi raised his hand and offered him a “Yo.”

Unable to think of anything else to say, Tenzo settled for “I have a door.”

Kakashi made a noise of affirmation as he stepped down off the ledge and into Tenzo’s flat. He was wearing a baggy, zip-up hoodie over his masked undershirt, and he was clad in a simple pair of jeans and sneakers. It was an unusual look on him. He stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked forward from the window. “You never told me if you wanted to go or not.”

“Go where?” Tenzo asked, setting the plate and rag on his kitchen counter.

“Anko’s?” Kakashi paused, looking for recognition. “Remember, I texted you that my friends were getting together? I asked if you wanted to come? Said you need to meet some people that aren’t Foundation?”

Tenzo feigned understanding. “I forgot,” he lied, unsure if Kakashi believed him.

“Well? You coming?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure. Just give me a minute.” Tenzo bustled around his flat, finding an acceptable change of clothes in an old tee-shirt Kakashi had given him when he outgrew it. He’d complimented it a few times, and his senpai assumed he would want it. It was a nice shirt; it was a deep green color, soft from wear, with a v-collar. Although he hadn’t meant to imply that he wanted it, it had quickly become a favorite. He decided to stay with his comfortable black pants, and he grabbed a hoodie, judging the temperature from the open window. When he gathered all his hair back out of the hoodie, he declared, “Let’s go.”

Kakashi stood up from his seat at the foot of Tenzo’s bed and slid the window shut. “You should really keep this locked,” he commented off-handedly before following his kouhai out the front door.

“Yeah, well, Shiranui? Let me tell you where you can stick that senbon-” Anko’s voice threatened from the other side of the door. As she opened it, she continued to scowl over her shoulder at Genma, who was laughing riotously. “Choke on it, you son-of-a- Kakashi!” Her eyes lit up when she realized who was standing on the other side of her door. “You actually showed up! I’ll be damned. Come on in!”

Kakashi did as he was told, and Tenzo hung awkwardly behind like a shadow. He’d assumed that Kakashi’s friends would be like him, but it seemed he was wrong. Anko had rejoined the small group, which sat in a circle on the living room floor; it was the only space that could accommodate all of them. Tenzo took a quick glance at the faces, wondering if any of them would be familiar.

A black-haired man with little more than a 5’o’clock shadow had his arm draped across the shoulders of a red-eyed woman, whose head rested against the fur collar of the man’s coat. To the woman’s left sat their hostess, who was dressed in black shorts and a crop-top over a mesh body suit; Tenzo wondered at this, but had a feeling he wouldn’t get an explanation. Beside her, the young man with a senbon between his teeth flicked it up and down tauntingly in her direction.

The last member of the group, a tall, lean man in a… uniquely green body suit, stood up and threw an arm around Kakashi’s shoulders, pulling him to the circle. “We’ve missed you, Kakashi! I was starting to think you were avoiding me.”

Kakashi allowed himself to be forced to sit, leaving Tenzo an open space to his right and the senbon user’s left. He ducked out from underneath his friend’s arm and went around the circle, indicating each ninja in turn. “This is Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, and Genma. Everyone, this is Tenzo. He’s my kouhai in the ANBU.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” the red-eyed woman – Kurenai, he reminded himself – smiled at him. Tenzo, a little overwhelmed, gave an awkward wave to the group of people looking at him.

Anko reached behind Genma and pulled two beers from the cooler, handing one to Kakashi and one to Tenzo. Tenzo eyed it with suspicion, admitting “I’m not twenty.”

“Half of us aren’t, either,” Genma informed him.

“No, I mean, I’m sixteen.”

“Relax,” Anko prompted. “No one’s gonna tell.” She sealed her promise with a dramatic wink.

Tenzo looked over to Kakashi, who had pulled his mask down below his chin and had the bottle to his lips. Noticing his kouhai, Kakashi lifted his bottle in Tenzo’s direction, giving him a smile with closed eyes as a sign of his approval.

Tenzo nodded. “Okay.”

“Let’s get started, shall we?” Guy boomed with enthusiasm. Clearly, Kakashi and Tenzo showed up late and the others had decided to start without them.

Asuma used his free hand to finish the last of his bottle and handed it to Kurenai. She leaned forward and set it in the middle of the circle on its side. With a flick of her wrist, she sent it spinning. When it came to a stop, it pointed right at Anko.

Anko considered her options before saying “Truth,” holding out her arms as if to tell Kurenai to do her worst.

“Name your sex tape.”

Anko smiled like the devil. “Which one?” She waited until the laughter and ‘ooooh’s calmed down, waving her hand dismissively. “I’m joking,” she insisted, although it wasn’t clear if she was being truthful. “Okay, let me think. This is harder than I thought.”

“This is Harder than I Thought!” Genma exclaimed.

“I can work with that.” Anko shrugged.

“I Can Work with That.” Genma grinned, flicking his senbon with his tongue.

Anko gave him a shove before reaching out and giving the bottle a spin. She smirked when it pointed to Tenzo. Before she could ask, Kakashi spoke up, drawing her attention. “Easy, Anko. He’s not used to you, and we haven’t had half as much to drink.”

“Then chug,” Anko retorted slyly. “Fine, we’ll start him off easy. Truth or dare, Tenzo?”

“Truth?” His wide eyes flickered with hesitation, unsure what to expect.

“What do you like? Guys, girls, both?” Her ulterior motive was clear. If she could gain some basic information on their newest member, things could be made interesting in later rounds.

“Mm.” Tenzo waited a moment before answering, deciding to be honest. “I’m gay,” he admitted. To his surprise and relief, there was almost no reaction from the group.

“Cool.” Anko smiled at him, gesturing to the bottle. “Your turn.”

Catching on, Tenzo did as he was told. Guy beamed at him when he was chosen, not bothering to wait for Tenzo to ask. “Dare,” he decided, to the horror of his friends.

Kakashi leaned closer to his kouhai, murmuring “Tenzo-”

Eager to be a part of the activity, Tenzo decided on the most outrageous dare he could think of. “I dare you to streak.”

Kakashi groaned, his head falling forward as Guy jumped to his feet. “How many laps?” Guy inquired.

“None!” Asuma shouted, trying to regain control of the situation.

“Nine! Got it!”

Kakashi covered his face with his hands. “Oh, Tenzo, no.”

“Guy!” Anko rushed after him, her fingers barely missing the fabric on his back. “Son of a bitch!”

Genma passed Tenzo an unopened bottle. “You’re gonna want this. Trust me.”

Tenzo was frozen among the looks of disapproval he was given from his peers. He didn’t understand what had just happened. Kakashi’s hand came to rest on his shoulder, and he focused on his senpai.

“You can’t say things like that to Guy,” Kakashi explained. “He takes everything as a challenge. He will do anything. We gave up on finding his limit a long time ago.”

“So he’s-”

“Running around the village nine times with his bare ass to the wind?” Anko finished for him, speaking from her porch. “You know it. At least he’s fast; you can hardly see him.”

“I said ‘none,’ right? Not ‘nine?’” Asuma asked Kurenai, making sure he wasn’t crazy.

“Yeah…” Kurenai sighed, patting his chest.

Anko shut her front door and rejoined the group with a huff of exasperation. “He’ll get back when he wants to. Let’s just skip him.”

Genma volunteered and spun, smirking when it pointed out Asuma. “Well?”

“Dare,” Asuma decided, trying to make things a little fun.

“Go hide Guy’s clothes.” Genma couldn’t get through his sentence without snorting.

“Man, no one wants to see that,” Asuma protested as he moved his arm away from Kurenai. “I’ll do it, but I’m leaving him a towel.”

“Not one of mine, you’re not, Sarutobi.” Anko narrowed her eyes.

“Here.” Tenzo grabbed the hem of his sweatshirt and pulled it over his head, straightening his shirt before passing the article to Asuma. “It’s my fault, anyway.”

Asuma grinned and clapped Tenzo on the back as he passed. “You’re a good man, my friend.” He returned in a matter of seconds and stuffed Guy’s clothing underneath the couch, out of sight.

Two more rounds passed before Guy tapped on the window, beckoning Kakashi over. The way he was pointing made it clear that he only wanted Kakashi. Genma bit back a laugh as the white-haired ninja stood and walked through the circle to open the window. Guy whispered hurriedly for a moment. When he stopped, Kakashi raised an eyebrow. “No.”

Guy mumbled, urgency in his tone.

“I don’t care if you’re my best friend, Guy. I’m not giving you my pants.”

By this time, everyone in the living room was watching the scene unfold.

“No, I don’t know what happened to them.”

“Come on!” Guy exclaimed. “This isn’t funny. Asuma, help me out.”

“Not giving you my pants, either, buddy.” Asuma did his best to hide a smirk.

“Where are my clothes, guys? Genma? Tenzo?” In an act of desperation, Guy turned to his newest acquaintance, hoping he would be the weakest link.

“Seeing as that’s my sweatshirt, I think I’ve allowed you to defile enough of my clothing,” Tenzo quipped, much to Anko’s amusement.

Kurenai took pity on Guy, and, despite Asuma’s disappointment, grabbed the poor man’s clothes from their hiding space. She stood up and handed them to Guy, whose eyes were watering like he’d just been blessed by an angel. He returned, fully clothed, to the circle, tossing Tenzo’s hoodie aside when he refused to accept it.

“My turn,” Guy stated, determined to get his chance to pay his friends back. He completed his task, so there wasn’t anything the group could say to stop him. With more force than necessary, he spun the bottle, following it to see where it would land.

The more inebriated they became, the more the group was willing to admit during their turns. Anko declared that she’d be willing to have a threesome with Asuma and Kurenai, citing her pansexuality without being prompted. Asuma had been dared to steal his father’s headdress, which was easy enough for him to do at his own home. He wore it on his head, lopsided, demanding that everyone refer to him as ‘Lord Fifth.’

Kakashi read aloud a page from the latest Icha Icha novel he had stuffed in his pack, putting on his best impression of Jiraiya as he did so. It left the group in stitches while also making them mildly uncomfortable, which seemed to be the theme of the evening. Kurenai revealed that she and Asuma definitely got down and dirty in the hokage’s office, at which Asuma grinned pervertedly.

They’d given up on the randomness of the bottle, and their victims were now hand-chosen. This led to some pointed truths and risqué dares that, hopefully, none of them would remember the next day. When it was Guy’s turn to choose, his eyes darkened mischievously as he turned to his side. “Kakashi,” he declared, clearly waiting for his chance ever since he returned. “Truth or dare?”

Kakashi looked his friend in the eye. There was no way of knowing what Guy would come up with. He decided that taking a dare would be the safest route, and, from the look on Guy’s face, he made the right decision. “Dare.”

Guy took a second to think before giving an evil grin. “Strip.”

“Excuse me?”

“Get up on that table and strip.”

“Is this because I didn’t give you my pants?”

“Who cares!” Anko exclaimed. “Just do what the man says!”

Realizing he had no choice, Kakashi drained the last of his bottle before subjecting himself to the torment of his friends. Genma, for good measure, stuck his senbon behind his ear and put his hands to his mouth, making percussive sounds in a surprisingly even beat.

Once he steadied himself enough to stand on the coffee table, Kakashi began to unzip his hoodie, at which Asuma inserted his fingers into his mouth and gave a whistle before laughing. It was then that Kakashi decided that, if he had to go through with this, he might as well have some fun with it.

Dramatically, he shrugged the jacket off his shoulders and allowed it to gather at his elbows, swaying his hips as he did so. Anko let out a hoot, clapping a few times to encourage him. He struck a pose and let gravity do the work for him as his jacket fell onto the table. He kicked it out of the way, thinking clearly enough to remove the hazard.

“Go, Kakashi!” Kurenai shouted, entertained with how her friend seemed to be enjoying the attention.

Kakashi knew from experience that there was no way to look sexy when removing his undershirt, but he did the best he could given the circumstances. He tossed the lightweight fabric into his small crowd, earning a laugh from Guy, who caught it.

Anko had become distracted from the scene by Tenzo, who hadn’t made a sound, let alone a playful jeer, since the whole thing started. He was watching Kakashi with wide eyes, and his cheeks were flushed a light shade of red. She wasn’t entirely sure he was breathing, which caused her some worry.

Tenzo’s heart stopped when Kakashi winked and flashed a smile. For a fraction of a second, he was convinced he was having a heart attack. He remembered to breathe, and his heart’s rhythm came back to a regular, albeit fast, pace.

Seeing her opportunity to cause a little mayhem, Anko cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, “Take it off!”

Getting his pants off was much more of a challenge than his jacket or shirt had been. Frustrated with the sudden difficulty, Kakashi tried to use his feet to help get them off once he got them down to his knees. He overestimated his ability to balance, and, as soon as he shifted his weight to his left leg, he careened off the table.

Tenzo could only watch as Kakashi crashed into him, their foreheads cracking painfully together. Kakashi rolled to the side, his hands on his forehead, groaning “Motherfucker that hurts!”

Knocked onto his back, Tenzo didn’t bother trying to sit up. His eyes focused on the ceiling as he tried to make sense of the last several minutes of his life. His head pounded dully, but he didn’t care. This was all some sort of twisted nightmare, anyway.

“Easy does it,” Kurenai coaxed Kakashi into a sitting position and moved his hands from his face. “You’re gonna bruise, but you’re fine, otherwise.”

“C’mon.” Anko grabbed Tenzo’s hand and pulled him back up.

“Pants up, Kakashi,” Kurenai tried to help him, but he shooed her away, clearly embarrassed by his fall.

“I’m drunk, not stupid,” he grumbled. Half-dressed, he took his undershirt and jacket from Guy, who had brought them over. He glanced over at Tenzo, who was rubbing his forehead. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, Senpai,” Tenzo assured him. “It happens… I guess?”

“Okay, no climbing on furniture after the third drink,” Kurenai declared. “That’s going in the rulebook.”

Genma took his senbon and placed it back between his lips. “So does this mean we’re done here, or…?”

“I’m still game,” Anko declared.

“Sure,” Asuma spoke for himself and Kurenai.

Tenzo looked over at Kakashi, waiting for him to respond. He was the one to bring him, after all.

“Yeah, why not?” Kakashi shrugged, deciding that they’d probably reached the peak of their night. At this point, it would be safer to stay at Anko’s than to find his way home, anyway.

Guy grinned at Kakashi, giving him a thumbs-up. “You’re up, then, Kakashi.”

Kakashi abandoned his undershirt, settling for pulling on his sweatshirt, leaving it unzipped. At least, now, he was decent. The way his head was pounding, he didn’t want to deal with anything unnecessary.  “Someone else can take my turn,” he decided.

“I’ll take it!” Anko jumped at the chance a little too quickly. “Tenzo hasn’t gone in a while. Truth or dare?”

Deciding that nothing could be worse than Kakashi’s dare, Tenzo considered himself safe. “Dare, I guess?”

Anko smirked. “Kiss Kakashi.” See? Who said she couldn’t be a good person?

“Truth?”

Genma snickered. “Doesn’t work that way.”

Tenzo felt like the color was draining from his face at the same time he knew he was blushing. He looked at Kakashi, unable to read his expression. Now that he could see the lower half of his face, it was difficult for Tenzo to understand him just by his eyes. He could use the pieces, but he couldn’t put them together.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Kakashi reached out and caught him, one hand on his jaw and the other at the back of his neck. Tenzo nearly fell forward when he was pulled swiftly in, where Kakashi’s lips met his own. It was far from the chaste peck that he’d planned; the man refused to let him go.

Either Kakashi had gone deaf or he didn’t care when his friend erupted into raucous cheers. “Get it, Tenzo!” Kurenai shouted, thoroughly pleased with the result. Hopefully this would kill any lingering tension from Kakashi’s last dare.

When the two broke apart, Guy gave a low whistle. Kakashi seemed more than pleased that he’d given up his turn. “Alright, then. Tenzo? You ok to take your turn?”

The ANBU agent nodded. “Kakashi?”

“Dare.”

“Do it again.”

“Hey! Not in my living room!” Anko used her fingers to flick water at the pair, trying to bring them back to reality. “Kakashi! Down! I swear to god, I’ll separate you.”

Kakashi gave his friend a lewd gesture, but he did as he was told. Anko pointed at Asuma and Kurenai, who were minding their own business. “You see them? I don’t have to pull Kurenai off of Asuma’s lap, do I?” She clapped her hands for emphasis between each word, trying to get Kakashi’s inebriated mind to understand. “No. Sexual. Tension. In. My. Fucking. Living. Room!” She narrowed her eyes, focusing solely on Kakashi. Somehow, Tenzo had avoided her wrath. “Now, behave, or I’ll put you outside.”

“You know, you kinda started it,” Genma pointed out, dodging a swing of her fist.

“I was trying to be helpful!” Anko snapped.

“Oh, you were.” Genma chuckled, enjoying her suffering. “Very helpful, in fact.”

“Genma?”

“Hm?”

“Get the fuck out of my house.”