#and there i was - one singular voice - crying over sakura

[thepurpleblossom]

im only here 10h after the info but please know i was losing it when it was released. i also saw the figma set but yall that thing offends me on a personal level so im not reblogging it

[3d-wifey]

Hiiii, hope you’ve been doing well!! If requests are open, can I have hcs of Rock Lee, Mirio and Tanaka (haikyuu) with a pregnant s/o or as a expectant dads?? My baby fever came back and UGH I’m in love with these idiots sm 😩💕 (Also it’s hella obvious that I have a type™️ for loud idiots bskabskwnsj)

• He'd be the absolute best papa (that's what his kids call him 🥺)

• Mirio absolutely loves kids, so he'd be over the moon when you tell him you're pregnant

• Just like, grinning and calling everyone he knows to tell them you're pregnant

• The type of expecting father who would want to go to all those birthing, pregnancy, and parenting classes

• Would probably go through sympathy pregnancy, which is when the dad takes on some of the symptoms the mom has (i.e. bloating, nausea, cravings) but would take it like a champ

• He would want to get one of those Empathy Bellies so he can "know what you're going through" (he handles the fake contractions like a champ)

• You'll probably be getting one of those fake babies too so you can "be prepared"

• He'd study Eri and take notes in preparation

• Mirio: "So...what does your kind like to do? 👱🏻"

• Eri, who just wanted to go to the park: "🧍🏼‍♀️"

• He's a stickler regarding your diet which is hypocritical since he eats a singular (1) fruit every year

• "I know you want a soda, Sunshine, but think about the baby. The baby 🥺."

• We already know Tamaki's gonna be the godfather

• Your manservant

• He gets you whatever you need before you even knew you wanted it

• Talks to your stomach all the time. You'll end up setting up a time in the day for him to talk and of course, that's when the baby is most active

• He can't decide what he wants, so he makes a list of boy and girl names

• In the end, you end up having twins and you blame him for it

• Paints the nursery and puts together the furniture by himself (with Sir Nighteye giving him advice on the phone the entire time)

• His voice is all calm and level-headed when you go into labor, but his body has never been tenser. He has never been more excited and terrified in his entire life

• Mirio: "Deep breaths, Sunshine. We got this in the bag. 😁"

• Also Mirio:

• He is nowhere near passing out in the delivery room, he actually records the entire thing and he shows it to everyone. It's mostly your screams of pain and him trying to get you to do your breathing exercises

• Tears up when you tell him you're pregnant and makes a valiant effort not to start sobbing, but ends up crying the second he touches your stomach (sensitive boy 🥺)

• Guy-Sensei gives you an infant sized green jumpsuit with tears in his eyes (you burn it immediately)

• Another manservant

• You don't have to lift a finger for anything

• He'd wipe your ass for you if only you would let him 😔

• You feel cooped up in the house? He'll carry you outside on his back! No need to hurt your fragile ankles

• In fact, he'll make walking around the village with you on his back a part of his work out

• Sakura makes you the food pill equivalent of prenatal vitamins and Lee takes them with you so you don't feel alone (spoiler alert: they taste like ass because Sakura can't cook for shit)

• Lee asks Neji to be the Godfather and he plans the whole thing like he's asking for his hand in marriage (of course Neji acts like it's the last thing he wants to do but he still says yes because he's secretly honored Lee would trust him with this type of thing)

• He doesn't care what gender the baby is, he's just happy to have a new member joining the Lee clan

• However, he's very dead set on the name Metal for some reason

• He has drills set up where you practice what to do when your water breaks and he forces you to do them often and at random times

• Naturally, Lee ends up being on a mission when your water actually does break

• By the time he gets back you're already hours into your labor

• He almost passes out when he sees the baby's head coming out but he keeps it together (he makes sure not to look at it again tho)

• He'd freeze up when you tell him you're pregnant

• Like he'd be the stillest you've ever seen him, but not in a bad way, he just needs a second to process the situation

• And once it all sinks in, you'll see the biggest smile grace his face before he picks you up and spins you around

• He's the type of future dad that says you're both expecting ("We're pregnant. It's uterus, babe.")

• He'd, in all honesty, probably growl at anyone who tries to touch your stomach, even before you start showing. Like I'm being deadass.

• But nobody is more protective of you than his sister

• He's a personal trainer so he'd probably make you a regimen that'll take some of the growing strain off your body and make the pregnancy easier on you in the long run

• I say once again: Personal. Man. Servant. Whatever you need, he'll get it

• Whatever you don't need, he'll get it

• Knows you should probably eat healthily, but he can't deny you when your like that; waddling around with his baby in your stomach, teary-eyed because of the pain. And how could he say no when you look at him like it's his fault?

• He'd talk to your stomach and be convinced that the baby can hear him. Like, to the point that he'll put his hands on either side of your stomach before he curses like he's covering their ears

• You're having a volleyball themed baby shower and there ain't shit you can do about it because he's throwing it 😌

• Claims that he knows the gender of the baby even before it's revealed and he ends up being completely wrong

• Tanaka: "I know my baby girl is gonna be a looker, just like her daddy 😌."

• Baby: is a boy

• Tanaka: "😕"

• He and Noya both had to beg you to let Noya be the godfather

• He's terrified when your water breaks. He'd be running around like a chicken with its head cut off. It gets to the point that you have to calm him down

• Tanaka: "It's happening! I can't breathe, I can't fucking breathe! I'm freAKING THE FUCK OUT, BABE!"

• You, with a literal baby coming out of your vagina: "Please calm down, Ryuu. 🧍‍♀️"

• Actually passes out in the delivery room when he sees the baby coming out

[sylphwriter]

11 Q Meme.                        

Tagged by @manabingu

Honestly it’s probably about time I trot out some ask memes and try to start talking again.

(Answer 11 questions, tag 11 people)

1. What is the best music related thing you bought in 2017 or 2018?

Oooh, well, I had to replace both my iPod and my speaker. A new iPod is nice and all (if you repress the memory of the price tag) but the speaker is AMAZING. It looks unappealing, this big square gray slab of a thing that could be the murder weapon in a mystery by bludgeoning. But it’s wireless, it’s battery life lasts me an entire week at work, it’s water resistant so I can set it up right next to the bath or shower without worry, and it has the full range of play, skip, volume buttons so in a hurry I don’t have to wake up my iPod to stop whatever’s playing. It also fits in my bathrobe pocket, and it causes my father no end of confusion and disorientation if I walk around with people’s voices coming out of the seeming air around me as I listen to podcasts.

2. Cats or Rabbits?

Cats for me. Rabbits are cute to look at in videos and pictures and all, but I’ve never kept one as a pet and would not have the confidence to properly care for ones needs. I’ve had cats all my life, I love my babies and generally I understand their needs and moods pretty well, and just in a general sense I find all sorts of cats fascinating.

3. What Disney character do you think is underrated?

Anyone remember Rescuers Down Under? Okay, ALL OF THAT. It’s been a long time since I watched that movie but it’s one of those things that didn’t get the widespread appreciation a lot of the other classics got, but what I remember was stunning and enjoyable. Specific characters, well I can’t remember the movie clear enough to really point any out, they could be more archetype or role fillers than I recall. But the antagonist and his pet lizard Joanna were definitely very well suited to their role, with a very memorable line. “My mental facilities are twice the size of yours, you peabrain!” It took a few years before baby me got the joke.

4. Name 3 films you liked this year!

Black Panther, for sure. Infinity War was alright, it didn’t hit me the way it seems to have gotten everyone else, but I enjoyed the interchanges between all these characters meeting for the first time, and the humor was well done. If we’re going by the last year, as in a year ago in 2017, then I can put the live action Rurouni Kenshin movies in as well. I don’t remember if I watched those before or after the new year, I found the trilogy on blu-ray during my Christmas shopping. The first one especially was an enjoyable adaptation and I found the way they tried to convey the anime touches in a realistic medium interesting.

5. What is one of the best memories you’ve made in the past 5 yrs?

This is now this.

Bought these, have them ready for when the actual kitchen is finished.

Which is in an early state of progress over here.

In short, there has been a WHOLE lot of home improvement and remodeling going on (not pictured, the lone toilet sitting untouched in the corner of a huge open space of room) and every time we hit a milestone and something becomes functional as a near finished form of what it will be...

Comes with a whole lot of emotions. When we were focusing on my bedroom and private living room area, I kept getting squashed down by all the stuff pushed into one room while work was done on the other, and I’d have only my bed and three feet of space to move in. Wanted to cry when we finished those and I could spread out and relax for the first time in forever.

6. If you could ask aliens 1 question, what would you ask?

“Have you seen my force lance?”

If anyone gets that reference, please tell me.

In seriousness, I can’t think of anything I’d specifically want to ask aliens. If it’s only one question, it feels like there’s no singular perfect question that would matter to me. They’d be the answer to “is there life on other planets” already. And anything else about space travel or what’s beyond this galaxy or that, or anything of cultural significance, well, that seems like grounds for a much more in depth conversation with more questions.

And asking something like “Did you really help build the pyramids” or some other alien conspiracy proof/debunking question is not within my interests at all.

I guess “Have you visited before?” without bothering with the theories would be potentially interesting to ask. Although the answer to that might raise concerns if they have but no further context is given… That or it’s just a straight, “no.”

7. What types games do you like to play?

Rpgs, almost exclusively. Other than casual stuff like Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros, I’m not very comfortable in multiplayer games or online gaming in general. I dislike feeling like I’m in a position where others are relying on me to hold up my end, or like I have an obligation to fulfill to be there at certain times, or that I may fail others. I don’t want gaming to feel like another job.

The biggest themes in my game library are Zelda, Final Fantasy, Tales of, and Pokemon.

8. Favorite magical girl?

Sakura. Cardcaptors is a very fond memory from the bygone days of Saturday morning cartoons.

9. Strawberries or Raspberries?

Not particularly a fan of either, in honesty. I’d probably say I prefer the taste of strawberries, but the overabundance of little seeds is a no sell for me.

10. If you could have 2 superpowers what would you have?

Ah ha ha. Perhaps no surprise for anyone who knows me through FTaBV, but I would totally love an ability to phase through physical matter. I’ve put a lot of thought into different ways to apply that by now so it’s pretty cool to me. Other than that…invisibility would be nice, though possibly unnecessary if paired with the first, and a longtime favorite would be animal shape shifting, so one or the other.

11. Would you rather be a Fairy, Mermaid, Alicorn or Dragon?

(Looks up Alicorn.) Oooh, there’s a specific name for that? Well, a very tiny Sylph would’ve loved being an Alicorn. Grown up Sylph is torn between Fairy or Dragon, leaning very heavily towards Fairy. The causes all the mischief and plays riddle games to abuse loop holes just to mess with people type of fairy. Who demands tribute.

I’d be a fairy like my character Alastor and the group he’s from. Full confession.

…I’m my sylph avatar.

Anyone who feels like answering the same questions may do so, I’d feel like I was imposing if I tagged anyone when I’ve been so quiet on my end.

[grecoisms]

title: to sing of light in a singular block

pairing: Hatake Kakashi / Haruno Sakura

rating: T

summary:  "The first time Hatake Kakashi proposes to Haruno Sakura, she has just sucker punched someone in the face." for @itslulu42 because she always comments, likes and supports. oh, and her writing is Phenomenal, please read and like and follow her; here. 

To be thy lips is a sweet thing and small. Death,thee i call rich beyond wishing if this thou catch, else missing. (though love be a day and life be nothing,it shall not stop kissing).

***

The first time Hatake Kakashi proposes to Haruno Sakura, they - meaning him posing as the Hokage, Hyuuga Neji as his main bodyguard, Uzumaki Naruto as his other bodyguard, Shiranui Genma as a pain in the ass, and Sakura as his spokesperson slash assistant slash the group's medic - are standing in a storm of preposterous size, soaken to the bone.

Sakura has just sucker punched Kumo's Dean in the face for numerous things, of which the least offensive was denying them an audience. They can all but watch, because, Kakashi reasons, this is the wisest action at the present moment.

"I have no respect among these men." Sakura turns around to face them and snarls. The storm holds nothing to her sight. Naruto, on his left, whimpers. "Here I am, a jounin, a medic, the apprentice of the Godaime herself, assistant to the present leader of Konoha and yet if you ask anyone around here, I am nothing but your woman?"

It was Naruto who wrote the letter to the Dean a fortnight ago in which he failed to specify Sakura's title and role leading to the current misunderstanding. The moment they stepped into the city, the Dean simply laughed in Sakura's face when she opened her mouth and then he promptly asked Kakashi how much he paid for her.

Now here they are, dimplomacy in shambles, Naruto close to soiling himself and Genma and Neji are fidgeting, no doubt trying to calculate the odds and methods of protecting Kakashi from Sakura's fists. Probability must be low and the methods scarce, because his bodyguards (yes, the ones sworn to give their blood the very moment he is in the smallest danger) are slowly but surely slouching away. Oh well. Kakashi suspects the moment is now or never.

"Sakura" he says, very carefully. "I can clarify your position to any of these men before you decide to kill them with your bare hands."

Sakura's temper is legendary, and one of the few people who is able to calm her, is, indeed, Kakashi. Yet her face is still scarlet when she shots her answer back.

"And what is my actual position? When it comes to you?"

Kakashi shrugs his shoulder very elegantly, attempting to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"I can pose as your husband, for instance."

"What?" gapes Genma.

"What?" whispers Neji.

"Say again?" shouts Naruto.

"You what?" screeches Sakura. "Now you want to marry me for the sake of maintaining healthy diplomatic ties?

It is no shock that as she stomps her feet, the Dean's office crumbles next to them and shakes. People are running out from the building and he thinks, this is not as romantic as I have read.

"Well" coughs Neji as Sakura starts marching towards them, face like lightning. "It was good to know you all."

"I am both terrified and aroused right now" Genma declares and Kakashi turns towards him. Genma has the audicity to grin. "Hatake, you lucky bastard."

"Yes." Kakashi says, dreamily, as the ground shatters into oblivion around them.

***

The second time Hatake Kakashi proposes to Haruno Sakura, his spleen is outside his body and she is shouting again. Both of them are swimming in his blood.

"Marry me" he says with some saliva and blood on his lips. Sakura's face is chalkwhite, the hands that try to reapply his organs are shaking. She does not cry and she does not respond.

He repeats himself.

"He is going into shock, girl, let's hybernate and we can deal with him later." This is Anko's voice, coming from above him, like a vengeful goddess.

Two pair of arms clutch at his shoulder and he wonders how memorable will the proposal get if he vomits all over himself.

"Sasuke, I swear to all the gods if you don't let him go, I will kick your ass into a genjustsu spiral."

The hands do not release him.

"I said no!" it is a howl now, Sakura's voice. The anger kicks on her chakra-flow and he feels like he is being sewn from the inside and out. But at least the foreign coldness of strange hands release him, and he is back in her arms, steady and warm.

"Oh, Sakura, this is really cruel" Kakashi slurs. "Please, let's marry. Marry me. Right no-"

"Shush" she says and bends closer to his face. He smiles at the proximity even though consciousness flees from him, even though he suspects they might forget about it after this battle. He coughs some blood upon this thought. Right into her face. But Sakura must really love him, because she doesn't even flinch; just caresses his face with her other hand, not fully aware of the action.

" 'Kura" he whispers. "I mean it. Take me to your parents."

"You are an idiot" she says, full of emotion. Her voice is wavering, audible for just him. The curtain of her hair separates them from the others, from the war. She is his shield now; she has been his wall of safety for a longer time he can remember. "I am trying to keep you alive."

"Just say yes" he breathes. "I am alive. Please, please - "

"Are you finished yet?" this is Sasuke's voice, bored beyond measure.

"Yes." breathes, smiles, laughs Sakura. "Yes, yes, yes."

***

The third time Hatake Kakashi proposes to Haruno Sakura, they have been married for fifteen years. Kakashi has loved her since she was twenty.

"Is this what I think it is?" their oldest, Hanako, asks.

She is loud and disciplined like her mother, but her face is Kakashi's face; long silver hair and wistful bends of wide mouth and eyes tilting downwards, warm-dark. Top of the class, already an elite chunin, she is planning to join ANBU, despite her father's wishes.

When she finally unwraps her graduation present, her mouth goes 'oh'. It is a ticket to a caravan heading to Suna, a place she always wanted to visit. Her eyes tear up, passionate, and she embraces them fiercely, then runs towards her godmother - Ino - to tell the news.

Friends and people all around them mingle, in the garden Ino and her family has maintained for generations. Just behind Kakashi, there is a sweet-smelling mango tree.

"Kazue found your old scarf this morning" his wife tells him, eyes closed, breathing in the sunlight. "Wanted to put on right away, but I convinced her to wear something more elengant today."

"Um" he says, and Sakura's eyes open, alarmed. "I caught her wrestling with Neji's daughter just ten minutes ago. In the puddle I left Pakkun in."

She just groans, and tilts her head; and it is the moment when Kakashi is surprised to find that Sakura's pink hair glints in this light, for she has some silver in her hair. As she grimaces, the laugh lines dance across her face, and suddenly, he is shaken beyond measure. Time has slipped between them, and for better or worse, they chose and stood together.

"What?" she asks as he catches him staring in awe. "Do I have mango juice in my hair again?"

Before she can catch her braid into her hands, Kakashi catches them.

"Marry me?" he says and Sakura is already laughing her omnipotent laugh, all freckles and some crow's feet jumping around her eyes which he adores, and leans to catch his mouth in hers.

"Ugh" it is just a moment later, but they look up, dazed. Hanako's hands are on her hips and she is glaring. "Are you so adamant on embarassing me?"

Sakura and Kakashi lock their eyes and hands together.

"Yes" they chant. "Yes, yes."

[gwydionae]

Going Straight Ahead With These Scars

A/N: About a year and a half ago I wrote the >first portion to go along with a drawing I'd done<, and, liking it well enough, I decided to expand it. Problem is I'm only in a Naruto mood once in a blue moon, so I wasn't sure if it'd ever get finished. When my next mood finally took hold, I refused to let it go until I had finished this, despite being super busy with other things. I'm glad I did. It was... cathartic.

Posted on fanfiction.net >here<.

Teaser: Sasuke knew he would likely someday forget this feeling and again be tempted to sacrifice those he cared about to complete his goal, but perhaps, just maybe, this loud, insufferable usuratonkachi would be there to pull him back once more.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Title from the song "Sign" by Flow. Rated T for mild gore and language.

I'm Going Straight Ahead

He had to move. His legs were weak, and his knees trembled, but he knew he couldn't rest here. Someone else was sure to catch up to him, and at this point he wasn’t sure who he would consider friend and who foe. Before he could take a single step, however, a sharp pain tore through his body, and with a cry, he gripped his shoulder tightly and fell to his knees.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he grit his teeth. He would need medical attention, but for now the rain that had begun to fall was cold and numbing, and if he focused on each tiny drop that pelted his exposed arms, legs, and neck, he found the pain easier to ignore. With a low, deep breath, he at last opened his eyes, ready to right himself, but the view before him froze him in place.

The mess of yellow hair, the lines on those round cheeks, and the all too calm expression on the usually lively face made his own features soften. This boy had chased him down, refusing to allow him to leave, even at the cost of his own life. Unconscious and breathing shallow, it would be so easy to finish what was started, despite his own weakened state. But with the heat of battle long gone so too had disappeared his unquenchable thirst for power no matter the price. Looking upon the face of the one who had become his closest friend, who bore his same scars of loneliness, his heart would simply not allow him to rob the life from the boy who had risked so much for his sake. Not right now. Not after what they had both just been through.

As the rain continued to fall, dripping down the tip of his nose and on to the deathly still face beneath him, the ache in his chest that he’d been pushing aside for what felt like an eternity grew, overpowering the pain from his injuries. And for the first time since the man he was destined to kill demonstrated just how big a gap in power there was between them, he felt a need greater than that of his need to become stronger, a need he could no longer pretend didn't exist.

His fingers absently brushed over the mark on his neck. The promise of power was there, waiting for him. He had tasted it himself. And yet the one lying before him had stood up to that power, matched it, even. The victory was his, but ultimately it rang hollow. He did not feel invincible nor was he convinced that his newly awakened abilities would allow him to defeat his one true enemy. No, what pushed him this far was not the dark, seductive power or his ever burning hatred. It was none other than the young boy lying motionless on the ground.

With a shuddering breath, he pushed himself back until he was sitting upright with his face skyward, eyes closed as the rain caressed his skin. Arms at his sides, he merely sat in silence, his mind numb, until at last his eyes opened and he turned them on the figure prone before him. His body ached, his energy spent, but after years of turmoil, his heart was, for now, calm. He knew he would likely someday forget this feeling and again be tempted to sacrifice those he cared about to complete his goal, but perhaps, just maybe, this loud, insufferable usuratonkachi would be there to pull him back once more.

With These Scars

"Sasuke!"

Six weeks and four days. That's how long it had been since his perpetually moody teammate had run off, vanishing into the night with barely a trace, leaving his forehead protector signifying him as a ninja of Konoha neatly on his nightstand.

Naruto grit his teeth as he frantically searched the freshly made ruins. He had grown complacent. Ever since waking up to black hair in his face, pale arms carrying his battered body after their fight at the Valley of the End four years ago, he had watched Sasuke like a hawk, refusing to let him out of his sight whenever possible. If he had even the slightest inkling that his friend was about to bolt again, he'd step in, using his loud, often obnoxious personality to convince him otherwise. Somehow this had worked, and as the years passed, Naruto had felt his anxieties subside.

"Sasuke! Where are you, you jerk?"

Instead of kicking himself for his failure to see the latest warning signs, Naruto had immediately taken off in pursuit of his teammate, forgetting to tell even Kakashi or Sakura where he was going. Sasuke was unsurprisingly difficult to track, but at long last his search had proven fruitful when he met someone in a small town far from Konoha recognizing his missing team member and pointing him to the west. Shortly after heading out, he had felt the trembling of a fierce but distant battle and instantly headed toward it, unnatural smoke curling into the sky acting as his compass.

That had been over half an hour ago. It was clear that the collapsed structure he currently navigated was ground zero, splashes of blood and black scorch marks marring the few still standing walls and pillars. His heart pounded as he cast his blue eyes around wildly, unable to remain completely calm when he was so sure the one he'd been searching for was somewhere amongst the rubble.

"Damn it, Sasuke! Answer me!"

"...late as always."

The smile had barely begun to spread across his face when it suddenly collapsed in on itself, a quick turn of the head confirming with his eyes what his ears had already deduced from the quiet, almost mechanical greeting.

"Sasuke!"

Running closer to the figure slumped against what used to be a wall made every patch of crimson, every deep gash, every broken bone all the more pronounced. His left arm lay still, twisted to an odd degree at his side, his left ankle was clearly swollen, and his torn clothes clung to his pale skin, soaked in blood that Naruto could only hope did not all belong to him. But it was Sasuke's eyes that sent fear rippling down his spine. The hollow, lifeless gaze, a look he had seen on the boy's face only one time before, after Itachi had violated his mind, was never for a moment directed at him. Instead it was trained dully on the corpse at his feet wearing a tattered Akatsuki cloak.

"You jerk! What were you thinking, running off like that, idiot!"

Naruto couldn't keep the edge out of his voice as he crouched down next to Sasuke, his mind quickly trying to recall all the first aid that Sakura had forced him to learn the past few years. He fumbled through his things for his water pouch and dry cloth with one hand as he gently tried to search out the worst wounds with the other, doing everything he could to keep them from shaking.

"How many times have I told you, huh? I'm always gonna chase you down and drag you back, 'cause this is what happens when you're left to do what you want. You're pathetic! I'd beat some sense into you if you weren't already half dead! Idiot! Jerk!"

Only half dead. He wasn't dead yet, and there was no way he was going to die if the stubborn ninja had anything to say about it. Naruto quickly began tending to the goriest injuries, breathing out a short sigh of relief as it became apparent that indeed at least some of the blood was not Sasuke's. But his brow was still furrowed, and it took all of his willpower to not reopen already closing lacerations as he cleaned them a bit harsher than he meant to or pulled the bandages a little too tightly as he wrapped them.

"You're so selfish, ya know that? Not even for a second thinking about how much Sakura-chan is gonna worry about you. How do you think she'd feel if she saw - "

"Naa, Naruto..."

Jerking slightly in his attempt to secure the broken arm, the quiet, clumsy words shook Naruto out of his diatribe. A quick glance at Sasuke's face made the knot in his stomach tighten as he realized the other boy's gaze remained locked onto the nearby body. He refocused on immobilizing the arm, setting as fast a pace as he dared.

"...what?"

"Why don't I feel anything?"

Naruto's hands stilled, his work momentarily forgotten as Sasuke slowly lifted his right hand, caked with his brother's blood, and at last tore his dark eyes away from the lifeless figure at his feet to stare at it blankly.

"I spent my whole life chasing him... the envy from my childhood turning to hatred... and I made killing him my singular goal... I trained and fought for years, not allowing my focus to waver... This was my purpose, my mission... to avenge my family and clan... so why..." Balling his blood-stained hand into a fist, his eyes returned to his brother. "...why do I feel so empty?"

A heavy pause hung briefly between them before Naruto resumed his work on the broken arm and said, "Because it doesn't change anything."

He could feel Sasuke's attention shift toward him for the first time as he deemed the arm properly secure and reached for more cloth and water.

"Killing Itachi doesn't bring your family back. It doesn't get rid of the years you spent alone, it doesn't resurrect the Uchiha clan, and it doesn't make that bastard any more forgivable." Naruto pulled the raised fist toward him and began gently wiping away the dried blood. "You wasted all your time worrying about something that can't change the past and didn't help you build a future. I mean, it's not a bad thing that a murdering bastard like him is gone, but you were so set on killing him that you didn't plan for what would come after that."

Uncurling the loosely balled fingers, one by one he washed them, careful of the cuts and bruises, until at last the hand was pale once more. Putting the dirty rag away, Naruto raised his eyes to Sasuke's, finding them again fixed on the now clean hand.

"It's over. He's gone. There are a lot of people back in the village that care about you, no matter how big of a jerk you are. It's time you pay attention to what you have instead of only thinking about what you lost. You don't have to be some lonely avenger anymore. Forget about him - " he jabbed a finger at the corpse " - and start living your own life!"

Naruto waited as patiently as one such as him possibly could for a response, feeling a surge of hope as Sasuke dropped his hand to his side and turned his head until their eyes met. At last there glowed a faint spark in the apathetic gaze, but as he remained silent, Naruto grew restless. With a loud huff and an irritated frown, he moved toward the swollen ankle, setting to work on securing it in case it too was broken.

"Of course one thing I won't let you forget is that you seriously tried to kill me four years ago, you jerk!" he said a bit louder than was really necessary as he tied off the bandages.  "Punching a hole in my chest - even I had scars after that one! You're lucky you didn't go to Orochimaru, or I might have been forced to return the favor! Bastard!"

"...as if you could."

Whipping his head up with a glare and snide retort ready, Naruto quickly felt the words die on his tongue. Sasuke was wearing his signature smirk. It didn't hold quite the infuriating superiority that it normally did, but it was enough to breathe life back into his entire countenance.

The weight that had taken up residence in Naruto's gut for the past six weeks and four days seemed to lighten almost instantly, and he found himself unable to repress a smile.

"Guess I'll just have to bring you home so we can get you all fixed up and find out."

A comfortable silence fell between them as Naruto finished attending to his teammate's injuries as best he could. Once satisfied that all major cuts had been bandaged and bones secured, he stowed his remaining supplies and gently pulled Sasuke onto his back, willing himself to remain patient with every audible grimace that slipped past the other boy's stoic facade. Every step would be painful for his passenger. All he could do to alleviate that was to return to the nearby town as quickly as possible so he could find a real doctor and send word to Kakashi and Sakura of their whereabouts.

"Alright, here we go," said Naruto as he stood, feeling the grip of Sasuke's right hand tighten around his jacket in anticipation. And with one last, sidelong glance at the dead Akatsuki member, he was off. They had barely reached the edge of the ruins, however, when a soft voice spoke into his ear.

"Naruto..."

He kept his pace steady as he entered the surrounding forest.

"What?"

"...thank you."

The breath he'd been holding, fearful he'd have to come up with a different plan to get his teammate to safety, escaped as something between a laugh and sigh of relief.

"I told you, didn't I? No matter how many times you go running off like an idiot, I'll always be there to knock some sense into you and drag you back home. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?" Naruto paused before adding, "Just make sure this is the last time. Jerk."

Black hair whipped around in his peripheral vision as Sasuke rested his head on his shoulder. The response he received was short and muffled, spoken into his jacket's collar, but Naruto could feel the sincerity in the other boy's voice nonetheless. With a smile and renewed determination, he pushed forward, the weight on his back more comfort than burden.

Can You Hear Me?

"Yeah... sorry."

Though he had barely the strength to utter the words above a whisper, it was obvious his message was heard from the way the shoulder and neck muscles he clung to seemed to relax, as if releasing a tension they'd been forced to deal with for far too long. Had he possessed the energy he would have laughed, those same shoulders still carrying the cause of their suffering only now in an actual physical form.

It seemed strange that this had all started with their positions reversed. Ever since choosing to save a life instead of extinguish it four years ago, being the one to bear the weight of his savior on his own back, he'd placed a yoke around his teammate's - his friend's - neck, linking them together in what he'd always intended to be a lonely goal. Being the one to convince him to return once left that mission up to him indefinitely, a responsibility the other boy had taken on gladly. But still the evidence had always been there that such a task was not carried out lightly. The usually mischievous blue eyes held a distinctly keener gaze, and the loudly opinionated boy often struggled to find the balance between being cloyingly clingy and allowing him time and room to sort through his own emotions.

And yet he had endured. Through years of his own stubbornness and pride, the other had never once tried to discard his job of both moral compass and friend to one constantly at war with his ingrained beliefs. He had only managed to circumvent the other's watchful eyes due to overhearing a rumor of his brother's whereabouts shortly after the two had parted for the night, deciding on impulse to leave immediately.

His brother...

If he closed his eyes, he saw a battered, broken corpse, two dark eyes staring back at him lifelessly, the red of the Sharingan gone from them forever. And so they remained open, the fluttering of yellow hair keeping them occupied.

He would not mourn the death of a selfish murderer. And yet he could not help the memories of days long passed when those eyes seemed to hold a kinder glint rising to the surface at the end of it all. How truly fortunate he was, then, that he had not severed his bond with the one person willing to risk everything for his sake. The memories of a brighter past, the emptiness of revenge, they may well have robbed him of his life had no one come to his aid. But despite his escape into the night, leaving team and village behind in search of personal gain, he had been chased down once again, his savior appearing before him in this the second time he found himself most in need of his help.

His grip on the other boy tightened, the words his friend had so passionately spoken to him earlier resounding in his head. Moving on from his revenge, living for a future... the concept seemed so foreign and surreal. But rather than mere advice, he'd also been given a starting point. Simply by being at his side, refusing to give up on him, laughing, breathing, living, he'd made himself an example - an example of a life worth emulating. If he who also knew the pain of loneliness would reach out and try to shoulder the burden of another, he knew he had no choice but to do his best to repay that unselfishness with the same vigor and purpose. It would be difficult. His heart had been hardened and calloused for so long, resistant to letting others in and his true feelings out. But this boy, his team, his village, deserved his effort.

He would no longer live for the dead. They would remain buried, mere memories. His life now belonged to a new cause, one that included making sure the light never left the eyes and smile of the one who even now carried the heavy weight of their friendship without regret.

So Am I

A/N: As always, critics and grammar police are appreciated!