#but it also feels like he stays away from konoha because he feels guilty about not being able to love Sakura the way she loves him

[maoam]

What do you think of this post

https://www.tumblr.com/saski-uchis/740996293540954112/an-analysis-on-sns-and-their-fans-treatment-of?source=share

I stopped reading when op brought up "the truth about itachi?" panel as proof that Sakura can't be judged for not knowing. But okay, I will explain this in more details AGAIN.

1. The difference in how Kishi portrayed Naruto/Sakura reasoning with Sasuke

Naruto's reasoning why Sasuke shouldn't go to Orochimaru: "He will kill you." Naruto is concerned for Sasuke's well-being.

Sakura's reasoning why Sasuke shouldn't go to Orochimaru: "Revenge won't make you... ME happy." And Sasuke says "I knew it (yappari)" because he realizes Sakura is making this about herself. That's why that line is isolated with Sasuke in the background.

She specifically claims she understood what Sasuke meant yet she compares her pain to Sasuke's entire clan being massacred and taken from him, and takes her own parents for granted.

Then when it doesn't work, she starts to confess her feelings (why the hell she always looks angry when she confesses?).

And then she completely flips on her arguments. So much for "revenge won't make you happy" like she cares about Sasuke's happiness. Unlike with Naruto, whose arguments were very simple, Kishi chose to portray Sakura in this insincere and hypocritical manner. This is a writing choice.

He actually says in Japanese "I knew it (yappari), you really are annoying." Notice how Sasuke always uses "I knew it" with Sakura, it's because his first impression of her being ignorant, selfish and childish was correct. So despite him giving her chances his first impression continues to be right.

2. Naruto's reasoning stays the same

Kishi acknowledged that Naruto didn't quite get Sasuke yet at this point, but his intentions were good nonetheless. He just didn't want Sasuke to die/throw his life away.

3. Kage arc and how Kishi again portrayed Naruto and Sakura differently:

Yes, Naruto reacts like this at first.

Kishi showed that Naruto did care and did understand Sasuke's love for his clan. He also showed Naruto was completely fine with letting the massacre be exposed. He did not care about how it would make Konoha look, even when he didn't know it to be true yet. Kishi wrote this for a reason. Kakashi then stops Naruto.

Sakura, who supposedly "loves" Sasuke, heard how much Sasuke loves his clan, was aware that Itachi had been killed, yet she didn't bother to ASK Sasuke, something Naruto was planning to do, why he is now acting the way he is since Itachi had been killed. She just didn't want to feel guilty about the promise between her and Naruto (because her ego really made her believe Naruto was only chasing Sasuke for her). So she decided to kill Sasuke.

Sakura then hears all this (after her failed attempt to kill Sasuke) which means that there is more to Itachi's case than meets the eye, and that Sasuke thinks Konoha is responsible for what happened to his clan. Yet she still doesn't ask anyone what all that was about because she does not care. Her main motivation was always to get into Sasuke's pants, she never cared about Sasuke's feelings or him as a person, that's how Kishi wrote her. The fact op used this last panel to defend Sakura is baffling to me. She was specifically given an opportunity here, and she just shrugged it off.

4. Portraying Naruto and Sakura differently yet again:

Sakura is given the chance to understand Sasuke wants CHANGE and yet does she care?

Nope, she starts yapping about her feelings and how things can go back to the way they were if Sasuke just stays with her, completely discarding Sasuke's desire for change. Which mirrors the confession she made in part 1. Kishi was showing how she has not changed in ways that matter. She is still selfish, and she still doesn't listen/nor care about Sasuke's feelings. This is why Sasuke calls her annoying yet again.

But Naruto, regardless of the shitty ending, does want change. He was shown over and over again to want to change things for the better. You can't possibly use Boruto to deny this part of his character.

Guess who again discarded what Sasuke wanted and asked to come with him on his journey he wanted to take alone, just for romantic purposes? Guess who later CHASED Sasuke just to be with him, once again discarding his wants?

"Naruto forced Sasuke to come back to Konoha" no he didn't. At no point did Naruto say Sasuke needs to live in Konoha. He let Sasuke leave at the end, and didn't force himself with him because Sasuke wanted to go alone.

People who act like Sakura would be revolutionary when Kishi over and over again showed that not only does Sakura not grow as a person, she also does not care about Sasuke's feelings or change.

Same way, Kishi had Shizune tell Sai that Naruto is not chasing Sasuke only for Sakura's sake. Yet Sakura still thought it was just for her, and thought her confession would make Naruto stop chasing Sasuke, and was shocked when Naruto said the promise doesn't even matter. Sakura constantly discards the information she receives because she just does not care if it's not about her relevance or her being together with Sasuke.

"People celebrate Naruto for doing the same things they hate Sakura for" no we don't, we just read the manga and understand what Kishi was trying to tell, hope this helps.

[jacksgreysays]

THAT FIEND!!! HE TOUCHED SHIKAMARU!!! DEATH FOREVER TO HIM!!!

But also, Shikamaru DID warn him to stay away and then Danzo literally touched him which is exactly the opposite. I feel like there are laws protecting bloodlimit users from, well, man slaughter if it's a clearly defined accident or the other party instigated a basic biological reaction.

And the Nara affinity for shadows isn't NOT a bloodlimit? Since it is a genetic predisposition for an ability? Or, like, maybe the argument is that Shikamaru (and Shikako) are an evolution of the Nara affinity that makes it the first of the bloodlimit?

And if anything, given his obvious one(?) Sharingan theft, it could be argued that Danzo's actions were a precursor to (further) bloodline theft which both the Uchiha and the Hyuuga (who have been previous victims to bloodline theft) would definitely confirm as witnesses.

And, you know, all the Academy students (who ARE heirs or back-up heirs and who all ALREADY play the "what can we get Shikako to eat" game) who will definitely vouch for their friend who is not imaginary, which they've BEEN saying to the Academy teachers. Like, honestly, THEY DID NOTHING WRONG.

But I do have to:

~

The first and only time Shikaku brings his children to meet with the Hokage, he spends the entire time so focused on the deep, dark shadow that is his daughter, that he barely listens to what is said. He responds correctly--it's not too hard, given mostly what the Hokage wants to say is to keep everything quiet, keep the peace, don't mess with the status quo, same thing as always--and whatever he doesn't catch, he's sure Inoichi will remind him later.

Mostly he watched as Shikako wavered, both literally and figuratively. She had stretched along the ground towards the Hokage, then stopped and retreated into Shikamaru's shadow. Then she did it again, this time circling around the office before heading towards the Hokage, only to stop once more and pull back. Again and again, as if she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to eat him.

And the thing is, yes, Shikaku had imbued enough chakra in his own shadow in order to intercept his daughter if she had made that decision. But as the meeting went on and her indecisiveness bounced her back and forth, he found himself more uncertain if he would do it. Or, well, no. He would do it. To not would be treason, and he promised Chouza and Inoichi that he would give them at least three days' heads up if he were going to do so. But he found himself more reluctant to do so.

On the one hand, he supposes it's good that Shikako hadn't rushed straight for the Hokage--unlike with the late Danzo, who Shikamaru had said she would have eaten immediately if he hadn't held her back (for which he feels guilty, never mind that Shikako had been too satisfied to hold the initial hesitance against him)--because that must mean something. But that fact that she kept considering it and only stopped because Shikaku had immediately picked up Shikamaru and bodily carried both of his children out of there is... worrying to say the least.

Home, at least, is less harrowing. For some given value of it. Now that Shikako's choice of sustenance has been confirmed, Yoshino has decided to make up for lost time by using her connections with T&I to get dossiers of the various non-classified enemies of Konoha. She has taken to reading those out loud to the twins and watching Shikako's reactions for who to assign as the next target for her "grocery shopping missions" with the Uchiha cousins. At night, Yoshino reads them the bingo book as if it were a bedtime story. Or, maybe for Shikako, it is more like a cookbook, or a menu.

Regardless, normally Shikaku doesn't have to worry about politics at home, except as soon as they enter the house, Shikamaru faithfully translates:

"Shikako says she would have eaten him, but she didn't want to give you and Inoichi-oji even more paperwork, and she says she has at least four more years before he expires. Also, she says he's more useful alive as bait for an even bigger meal."

... well... at least he can give Chouza and Inoichi more than three days' heads up.

~

A/N: What would you like to name this 'verse dona?

(Not sure if I can qualify for another prompt after the last wonderful prompt fill but here goes:

The Academy was perfectly fine with Shikamaru’s imaginary friend Shikako, until she managed to ____.

Oh dona, there are so many things that can fill in that blank. SO MANY THINGS. And, I’ll be honest, a lot of what comes to my mind range from funny to alarming. But the on that I think is the most encompassing—without being too boring—is simply “get caught.” Because that opens up so many opportunities for what else she could have been doing before she got caught in such a way that also builds a dynamic between those who are in on it (ie, the Rookie Nine, maybe even the full Konoha Twelve since Team Gai IS only just one year older) and those who aren’t (presumably the teachers of the Academy) However, in order to narrow this fic down into something writable, I should figure what Shikako is doing before she gets caught… and, maybe this is just me, but I kinda like the idea of… now maybe this is too specific… but basically, Shikamaru’s imaginary friend Shikako, aka his literal sentient eldritch horror twin sister that lives in his shadow, just straight up eating Danzo. Just. How do you get rid of something? Eat it. Because, like… okay. My brain goes something like this:

“Hm,” says Shikamaru as they hide in the treetops from Iruka-sensei.

Normally, Shikamaru is content with being out of the classroom that, outside from telling them the plan needed to ditch and stay hidden, he stays pretty quiet either cloud watching or napping.

Chouji, in his spot next to Shikamaru and equally satisfied with just being outside, is the only one to hear him. “What is it?” He asks.

That gets Kiba and Naruto to perk up, starting to get bored after their flawless escape with minimal conflict.

“Shikako says she’s hungry.”

Good friend that he is, Chouji offers some of his chips. A tendril of Shikamaru’s shadow shakily takes one, wobbling even under that weight, but Shikako is also a good friend so she eats it.

Well. She tries, anyway. Shikamaru’s shadow curls around it, mimicking a chewing motion, but it remains unchanged.

After a moment, Shikamaru reports, “Shikako says thank you, but she might need to eat something else specifically?”

Naruto, ever curious asks, “What does a shadow even eat?”

Shikamaru shrugs. “She says she’ll know it when we find it.”

Kiba, and an Akamaru squirming with eagerness, declares, “Akamaru and I are the best and finding stuff. We’ll get it in no time.”

—

Iruka-sensei finds them before they find the ambiguous “it.”

To be fair, they were searching through the refrigerator in the teacher’s lounge, and their self assigned mission had carried them through to lunch time. So really it was their own fault.

Didn’t stop Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru from yelling and howling up a storm as Iruka-sensei grabbed the two boys by the collars of their shirts. Mizuki-sensei at least just gestured his two charges forward, trusting that Shikamaru and Chouji would cooperate since they had been caught fair and square. And plus, it was lunch time.

Distracted as they were, none of the boys noticed Shikamaru’s shadow stretch itself to connect to Mizuki-sensei’s.

Without that context, none of them made the connection when, not even a minute later, Mizuki-sensei stumbled, nearly falling, before catching himself in an uncertain stance.

“You okay?” Iruka-sensei asked, caregiving nature winning over his desire to continue lecturing the boys.

Mizuki-sensei waved him off with a strained laugh, “Ha, I just felt a little tired—midday slump, probably.”

Kiba and Naruto, sensing weakness, re-aim their efforts from complaining to making fun of Mizuki-sensei’s age. It draws his ire, never mind that he tries to seem cooler than Iruka-sensei, but he musters a woozy, half-hearted defense at best.

Shikamaru glances at his shadow, darker and deeper than it was before.

Shikako isn’t as hungry anymore.

—

A/N: And then something something Ino and Sakura spot the boys questing for Shikako’s food and they also believe in/like Shikako anyway so they try to help out, Shino gets pulled in because they end up on Aburame territory and he’s holding his smiling baby sister and his untouchable vibes are way lowered, at some point they’re like… maybe Hinata can use her cool eyes to FIND what Shikako needs (and she’s stalking Naruto anyway so we might as well actively include her) and then Sasuke kind of feels left out ALTHOUGH… I may have a separate thing for how Sasuke gets pulled in. Anyway the kids try to figure out what she’s doing—she doesn’t eat chakra, she eats life energy, but only out of people that she wants to kill anyway and the amount she eats from them is maybe based on how much she wants to kill them? (she really does almost eat Kabuto to death the first time they encounter him lol)—and they’re like… well… we also don’t like the people Shikako doesn’t like anyway? Here’s where plot maybe comes in and maybe where Sasuke gets pulled in but basically if this is pre-Uchiha Massacre then there could be a day when Itachi goes to pick up the little Uchiha members from the Academy and Shikako is just like ??? DO I want to kill and eat him??? because he hasn’t done anything (YET) so it’s just like… the rest of the kids investigating into Sasuke to investigate into Itachi which then somehow Scooby Doo style gets them to Danzo and MAYBE he’s being a creeper and visiting the Academy to recruit future ROOT agents or MAYBE the Academy building is near the Hokage’s Tower (I think???) or Shisui and Itachi are BOTH picking up the various Uchiha Academy students and Danzo tries to use the opportunity to intimidate/threaten them both “subtly” and Shikako’s just like !!!!! FEAST MODE!!!! And fully just eldritch style swallows him whole in front of some Academy teachers :) And it’s not like Shikamaru can get in trouble because he’s BEEN telling the truth about his imaginary friend Shikako the whole time. And as far as they know it LOOKS like a Nara clan technique so they’re like… well… uh… maybe we should tell the Jounin Commander about this. And Shikaku’s just like… uh… Kasuga… what the fuck… And Kasuga turns to Sembei-obaasan and also asks what the fuck… And Sembei-obaasan has to search deep deep into the Nara oral tradition for what the fuck is going on And Shikako is just in Shikamaru’s shadow, totally pleased with herself. I’m not hungry anymore :)

[undercover-stories]

Do you think Sasuke ever looked at Naruto and Hinata in Boruto and thinks “I made the mistake of making him wait”?

[scarecrow-supremacy]

A/N: Oookieee, so I decided to start writing a new fic bc I have great ideas for a story line. Yet I can’t bring myself I writing an actual beginning. Like I’ve already written some random chapters, but I can’t do anything with them because they don’t really make much sense without the context of the rest of the fic/my ideas. Like this chapters is where the romance/actual x reader gets into actual action. Hopefully you get the gist of what the plot is, and aren’t confused as hell from this part. Sorry if it’s a bit long, it’s around 4.8k-ish words. Enjoy 💜

Hatake Kakashi wasn't one to celebrate his birthday.

He simply thought that they were foolish excuses to let loose and party. To Kakashi, birthdays were no reason to be happy and celebrate. They were just reminders of how long he had endured the pain of living. Each year marked another without the people he once held close in his heart. His father, his sensei, his teammates, and (y/n)...

The day that (y/n) gone on that horrible mission was his special day. The mission he was supposed to go on, but (y/n) filled in for because she wanted him to go celebrate with Gai and the others. So much for having the day of joy...Kakashi thought to himself mournfully.

With a great sigh, he grabbed the last of his belonging, shoving them in his mission pack. He'd promised to take his students out of a group mission for the day, but it had been mostly for selfish reasons. Kakashi had hoped that this would take his mind off of the weight in his soul, yet knowing that his efforts would be futile. The loss would never leave him, it would always follow him like a darned shadow. It would forever haunt him. There was not letting go of the horrors of his past.

Slowly, Kakashi strolled to the gates of Konoha to meet his kids, shoving his hands in his pockets as he mumbled a little tune under his breath. The dark cloudy sky and drizzling rain seemed to mirror how he felt inside.

Drip, drop. Drop, drop. Drop, drop.

Each raindrop fell upon the dirt paths of the town, dampening Kakashi's Jonin uniform. If only he'd gone on that mission, if only he hadn't let (y/n) take his place. If only so many things that happened hadn't. If only he felt whole again. He could feel the heavyweight of guilt on his shoulders, spreading pain throughout his body. Sure, Team 7 filled the void, but they could only do so much. If there is one thing I wish for, it is that these kids will grow up to be happy.

A soft smile played upon Kakashi's face as he approached the three teens. "KAKASHI-SENSEI!" His hyperactive blonde student, Uzumaki Naruto, yelled at him, "YOU'RE LATE-TTEBAYO!" He raised his fist in anger. Sakura glared at both Kakashi and Naruto, slapping the boy's back to calm him down. Off to the side stood Sasuke, his hands in his pockets as he briefly kicked the dirt and pebbles around him to form his clan's symbol. "Usuratonkachi," he grumbled at the group. To be honest, Kakashi did feel a little guilty about keeping the kids waiting for him. They were being held back just because he was wallowing in self-pity. And Kakashi felt ashamed of that; ordering his mind to push his thoughts further to the back of his mind.

Kotetsu and Izumo, guards of the gates, turned to the team and smiled in greeting. "The gate opening mechanism is broken, so we have to manually open the gates," they explained. "Heading out yet again, eh?" Kotetsu chuckled. "I thought you lot just came back from a mission. Ya leaving so soon?" Izumo asked. Naruto pumped his hand into the air, "Yeah! Dattebayo! It's only a C rank, but it'll be fun-ttebayo!"

He's a lot like you, eh Obito, Kakashi's mind wandered as he looked up at the clouded sky, a drop of rain fell upon his nose and slid down his mask. If only you, Minato-sensei, and Rin were here to see us in action. You would be proud.

But what about (y/n)? Part of Kakashi was surprised that he didn't think of her immediately. Did he still believe that she could've been alive? After the Hokage had told him that he'd lost contact with (y/n), Kakashi didn't know what to think. It had been 3,650 days since she left. 3,589 since she was supposed to come back. And 3,529 days since they fully lost contact. What were the chances she'd come back, alive or injured? Kakashi wanted to believe that she was still alive. Was that realistic?

"She's gone, Kakashi! You need to understand that!" He flashed back to when Asuma, Gai, and Kurenai had tried to slap some sense into him. Well actually, Kurenai had slapped him. "Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura gently tugged his sleeve, straining her arm up so her red umbrella would also cover his head. "Are you okay? You've been spacing out a lot lately." She whispered as she looked up at him.

"I'm fine, Rin," Kakashi weakly smiled, "It's nothing that you should worry about." Sakura flashed him a questioning look, "Rin?" Sucking the air, Kakashi's whole body tensed up, "Sorry." He looked away, turning his attention to the bickering Sasuke and Naruto. "Just a little mix-up, Sakura." He put on a fake smile, breaking up the boy's fight. "Let's go, shall we?"

"Alright! Shanaroo!"

"Dattebayo!"

Kotetsu and Izumo went to open the gates but stopped to exchange worrisome glances. "Someone just knocked from the other side of the gates. Which is weird because our list says that we shouldn't be expecting anybody." Izumo knit his eyebrows together. Kotetsu, who had been looking through a glass which allowed him to see the incomer, hastily urging Izumo to help him. "ANBU!" He had barked at his partner, "Bleeding! Dying, wounds, whatever! They need medical attention!" That had caught Kakashi's attention, he got ready to act as the guards opened up the gates, heaving on the rusted hinges. Yet he was not mentally prepared for what awaited on the other side of the grand doors.

There she stood. Uniform torn, stained and ripped up. The wakizashi sword that was strapped to her hip was blunt and scratched, the sheath dented. Skin scratched and bruised, wounds dripping with blood and gore. A long x shaped cut on the inner side of her left thigh. Gasping and choking for air, she started to wobble, blood dribbling down her limbs and stomach. The rain continued to fall, now hard and heavy; burning and searing the wounds of the lady. Yet she still managed to keep her face from wavering In an instant, Kakashi recognized who the woman was based on her cracked porcelain ANBU mask. (y/n).... "Sakura! Go alert the hospital. And you two boys, clear the way for Sakura so she can get there. Quickly!" Kakashi ordered them as he took the heavily wounded woman in his arms. Anger and fear coursed through Kakashi's veins as his heart thumped erratically. He could feel (y/n)'s body twitch in pain. "Izumo, go let Hokage-sama know that Ibara-hime has returned." Kakashi let out one last demand before zipping off to follow his kids.

"Kakashi..." (y/n) mumbled out his name, "Kakashi..." she shakily rose her hands up to gently cup his masked cheeks. "What is it?" He whispered, gently rubbing her skin through a torn patch of her ripped uniform. "Happy birthday, Hatake..." She softly breathed, her tight grip of Kakashi's chest loosened as her eyes dropped closed. Please don't die, (y/n)... I've waited all the fucking years. You aren't leaving me again. A tear formed in Kakashi's eye, flying off with the rain as he bolted towards the hospital. Stay with me a bit longer, will you?

"My sensei will be here any second with an ANBU woman in need of immediate medical attention!" Kakashi heard Sakura's voice quiver as he barged into the hospital. "I'm here, kids. Go to Gai-sensei and stay with him until I'm back." He quickly barked, flashing all of the nurses who flowed into the room a nervous look. "Please, help her. I'm begging you." He pleaded with the staff uncharacteristically. I need her to live. Need. "We do what we can, sir." One of the medic-nin nodded, putting (y/n)'s unconscious body onto the stretcher. If (y/n) lives, that would be the best birthday gift ever.

Kakashi jogged after the nurses and doctors, peering into the emergency clinic room through the window. "I'm sorry, Sir, but you won't be able to visit the lady until all the major injuries have been cleaned up and treated." A male nurse out his hand in his shoulder from behind. "But..! Okay..." Kakashi let out a sigh, "Isn't there any paperwork that needs to be filled out?"

The nurse shook his head, "The Hokage has come and is speaking to one of my colleagues about it. Don't worry about it. You won't have to take care of any of that." He tried to reassure the angsty shinobi, "The woman is part of the ANBU ranks, right? Her mask is of the uniform." Kakashi nodded his head, biting his lip inside of his mask, "Yeah...she is... but it's kinda complicated." The nurse raised his eyebrow but just shrugged. "Can I speak with the Hokage?" The Hatake requested. "Come this way," the other man sighed, leading him away.

Kakashi let out a deep and long sigh as he held (y/n)'s scraped hand in his gloved ones. He had been told by the same nurse from before that (y/n) was in a decent state to accept visitors, yet was still unconscious. He could tell that the nurse was hiding something from him, but he was too worried about (y/n) to give it a second thought. Hesitantly, he brought her hand to his masked lips, gently pressing them against the fabric. "Ya know, (y/n). After you left, I decided to give those goddamn books a try. And you're right, they are addictive. Thanks for the gift," Kakashi sadly chuckled before pausing for a moment.

"Those books, they helped me a lot. They helped me get through my days, just like you told me."

"They also helped me realize something. They helped me realize that I don't hate you. I don't want to hate, and I never should've."

"I've realized that I was such a dick to you at the beginning and that it was all my fault that our relationship became how it was. I regret it... So when you wake up again, I just want to start over again. Maybe not entirely, but just so that we can leave all the hate behind us. How does that sound?"

Kakashi stared at the sleeping (y/n), her chest heaving up and how slowly and rhythmically. It hurt him to see her like that, her skin swollen in the places of the stitches and anointed bruises. "Listen, (y/n). I'd never been able to tell this to you while you're conscious, so I might as well let it out now. I...I love you." Kakashi rightly shut his uncovered eye. "After feeling your loss, my dumbass self finally realized how much you are worth. After they pass on, you and the others were all I had left. But then you also left me, that hurt like hell." His tone started to break.

"Lord Hokage told me about the whole fake-death move, and I was relieved that you weren't gone for good. And then we lost contact, everybody assumed the mission had been finished, and your squad sacrificed your lives for it. I couldn't let the fact that you could be a dead sink in. It didn't feel right. Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai tried to get me out of another depression cycle. Kurenai even went to the lengths of quite literally slapping some sense into me." Kakashi played with a loose strand of (y/n)'s (h/c) hair.

The muscles of (y/n)'s hand twitched ever so slightly. Kakashi's drooping head snapped up; he'd almost fallen asleep in the chair. "(y/n)?" He murmured as her eyes started to flutter, "(y/n)?"

(y/n) chapped lip parted ever so slowly, taking a big breath of air, her (e/c) eyes squinting. "Hatake..?" She shakily managed to mumbled, her voice hoarse and dry. She tried to prop herself up on the bed, but Kakashi eased her back into her resting position. "Rest, (y/n), you're not ready to stress yourself yet." Kakashi to her, "I'll be back with a nurse and some water for you, alright?" (y/n) opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She simply looked down and nodded.

Moments later, Kakashi came back with the nurse and water. "Here," he carefully put the cup to her lip, gently tipping the cup, "Good." He turned to the nurse, who seemed to be scribbling something down from the little monitor to his clipboard. Kakashi's eyes followed the cord attached to it, to the long x shaped hash in (y/n)'s inner left thigh. What worried Kakashi was the anxious look on the nurse's face.

"(l/n)-san, your vitals are doing alright, but you'll have to stay here for a night or two just so that we can keep an eye on something's that may need monitoring." He curtly nodded his head, "Lord Hokage wished to speak to you. So, sir, that means you may have to leave."

Kakashi tried to reason with the other man, but (y/n) reached to weakly squeeze his thigh. "It's okay, Hatake. You can just drop by later." (y/n) tried to smile. "Fine," Kakashi grumbled, leaving the room and letting Hiruzen in.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hiruzen came back out. "How's (y/n)?" Kakashi asked him impatiently. The Hokage put his hand on Kakashi's shoulder as if trying to soothe him, "She'll be better soon. Don't worry, alright." The silver-haired shinobi let out a small grunt, "I know that she'll get better with time. But what about now?"

Kakashi knew that Hiruzen loved (y/n) almost like a daughter, he cared about her deeply. Hence the elaborate cover-ups to protect (y/n) and her squad on the unconventionally lengthy mission. The Hatake could see the sadness that had tried to be tucked away in the Sarutobi's eyes. "The main concern of the moment is the poison in the gash on her left thigh. The medic-nins have tried to extract as much of it as possible, and try to find something that will counteract the effects." The elderly man explained to him. "Did they find an antidote?" Kakashi questioned.

"That is where the problem lies," Hiruzen explained, "There is a certain medicinal herb that is used alongside a jutsu to nullify the effects, as the poison has traces of chakra. We have a few medics on hand who support the skill to perform the jutsu, but we don't have the plant. Even so, that won't be a permanent cure." Kakashi knit his eyebrows together, "How would it not be a perfect cure? Plus, since there are traces of chakra, could we possibly track down the person who created the poison and make them fess up on the cure?" He questioned.

"Great thinking, but..." Hiruzen groaned, "(y/n) said that they performed a self-destruction jutsu just after striking her. He probably thought that it would be in their best interest to take their secrets to the grave with them." Kakashi cursed under his breath, "Fuck... This is terrible."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement, "No duh."

Kakashi's head shot up, "Uh?!"

The elder man's eyes widened, "Did I use the term correctly?! I'm trying to pick up on the phrases the kids are using these days..."

Kakashi gritted his teeth, "Right idea of the meaning, I guess. But the context and timing...wasn't quite fit." Looking ever so slightly dejected, "Oh...alright." Smoothening out the wrinkles in his robe and putting in his cob pipe, "Kakashi, if you are going to stay here with (y/n), could you at least pick up some good food. The food in the hospital canteen is quite bland." Kakashi nodded his head and obliged, only to be stopped in his tracks by Hiruzen.

"Kakashi, I'd like to ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"What caused your change in actions towards (y/n) change so much?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've observed you two whilst you were in the ANBU together, and you never got along that well. And suddenly you act so attached to her, Kakashi. You don't need to answer. It's just that as your leader, I want to understand what is going on in the heads of some of my most trusted people." Hiruzen explained to Kakashi, puffing out a cloud of smoke from his cob pipe.

Kakashi frowned from behind his mask, trying to figure out how to explain his change of feelings in a professional manner. "I think that after I was given the impression that she was gone, I noticed that I cared about her. It made me realize that I was wrong to not see how much she meant in my life." He tried, his voice fading off into a whisper. Hiruzen smiled and nodded, "You really are something else, Kakashi."

Kakashi silently strolled over to Ichiraku's to grab some takeout. The paper lanterns lit the nearly empty streets of Konoha, creating a soft and soothing ambiance. The smell of the rain and moisture still clung to the air, the dirt roads had muddy dampness to them. "Yo! Kakashi, my eternal rival!" A boisterous and friendly voice greeted the said man. "Hey, Gai," Kakashi responded, he noticed his students sitting alongside each other and gave them a quick wave and smile. Naruto and Lee were arguing about who'd get Sakura. Sakura insisted that Sasuke would come around in her favor. Sasuke was quietly eating his food. And Neji and Tenten were discussing a new sword they saw in the windowsill of a weaponry shop.

"I'll take two eggplant miso soups with brown rice noodles," Kakashi leaned over the counter space between Lee and Naruto to order his meal, also effectively stopping the argument. "Thanks, Ayame," he thanked the daughter of Teuchi, owner of the quaint place. "No problem, Kakashi-san!" She chirped.

"Kakashi?" Gai raised his brushy brow, "Your kids told me about what happened this morning..." Kakashi sighed and pulled him aside so that they were at a comfortable distance, "It was (y/n)..." he told his best friend, "She's back and in the hospital because she's not in good health at the moment. I just came here to pick up a meal for her." Kakashi watched as Gai's jaw dropped, "(Y/N) IS ALIVE!" He exclaimed a touch too loud for his eternal rival's taste, "CAN I MEET HER?!" Tears of youthful joy waterfalled down the jumpsuit-clad man's cheeks. "I'll see if you can come tomorrow, alright Gai." Gai smiled broadly, "This is very...unusual. Youthful, nonetheless!" He grinned.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and nodded, "I'm glad she's back..." he murmured barely loud enough for Gai to hear. Knowingly, Gai patted Kakashi's back. "Oh! Yeah! Happy birthday, my youthful rival!" He gently punched his comrade's shoulder. A smile formed on Kakashi's lips, "Thanks, Gai." He flashed his eccentric friend his signature close-eyed smile.

"I'll see you later."

"Bye, Kakashi! Have a good night!"

Knock knock, Kakashi rapt (y/n)'s door, "Can I come in?"

"Come in," (y/n) murmured, a small moan of pain escaping her lips, "Ouch..."

Kakashi quickly set the takeout on a little table, rushing to (y/n)'s side. He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and helped her to the table. "I got us dinner because the food at the canteen isn't that good." He explained with a slight shrug. "Thanks, Hatake," a weak smile formed on her lips. The silvered-haired Jonin served them their meals. "Itadakimasu," they both mumbled.

Heavy tension filled the room as they ate in silence. (y/n) knew that Kakashi had his mask down, but didn't look up. "It's been a while..." Kakashi breathed, in hopes of hearing (y/n) speak, "Too long..." The kunoichi rested her forehead on her palm, "I- Yeah..." she mumbled, eyes growing classier by the second. So much for trying to start a conversation... Kakashi thought sadly as they resumed their meals without a word. The silence seemed to be killed him. Kami, it had been 10 goddamn years! 3650 days since he had gotten to talk to the woman. He missed her. Hell, he could even say that he missed all of their little spats. Hatake Kakashi missed everything about (y/n).

"I missed you..." was all Kakashi mumbled as he pushed his finished food away and pulled up his mask, "All these days, months, and years."

Hot tears slipped down (y/n)'s cheeks, forming a puddle on the table. "I-I came back be-because I didn't want-want to hurt you and the r-rest. Dying on passed down pain to the people who love you. I can't afford to c-carry the guilt of t-that." She mumbled shakily, "I promised to be back, a-and I held up the promise." Kakashi sadly smiled as he awkwardly reached under the table to gently caress (y/n)'s thigh.

"You care about others so much, but you should really take a moment to care about yourself, (y/n)." Kakashi scolded the injured kunoichi, "You had me scared for you; all those gashes and open wounds... You could've died," he knit his eyebrows together in worry. "Don't do that ever again."

(y/n)'s dull smile faltered as Kakashi spoke on, "Now you know how I felt when I saw you doing all those suicidal stunts back then on those missions. It was like you were in a hurry to die... I mean, I was too, but you did some seriously dumb shit," she giggled emptily. Kakashi sweat-dropped, "I see... I guess you are right..." (y/n) rolled her (e/c) eyes as the masked shinobi let out a drained sigh, "I'm always right, Hatake."

"Really, (l/n)? You've been through torturous pain, and you still act like a child." Kakashi groaned, "All these years..." (y/n) shot him a hard glare, "All these years and you still think you're in charge of me." He cast a confused look, "It's my duty to protect you, as a comrade." As a comrade... "I guess, but you're just annoying, Hatake," she huffed.

"I'm sorry about ruining your birthday with my arrival and stuff. I probably ruined your plans with those kids." (y/n) looked down, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them, "I could hear you guys through the gate; they seemed pumped about going out. I'm sorry, I didn't think about the flaws in my whole plan." Kakashi's head snapped up from its resting position on the table, "It's fine, they don't even know it's my birthday," he paused, "But you planned to come here? As in, today in particular. With all those injuries, (l/n), you should've just tried to take care of yourself. My birthday isn't as important as your health."

The (y/n) shook her head, "I was going to stay at a small village pretty far from here before finally coming home. I planned to just heal up there and see how things went from there. I even considered settling down there. But that just didn't feel right," (y/n) face set in a frown, "Once I realized that your birthday wasn't that far off, I decided that I couldn't stay and needed to come back. I doubted I would even live to be back. But here I am..." she said with a soft wince of pain. "It was terrible, I hated every second of it," Her (s/t) fingers made their way to the raw mark on her inner thigh, “I’d already lost so much; there was nothing for me to lose at that point.” Kakashi's face softened as he understood what she meant. (y/n) wasn't put in the mission alone, she had her team. They all must've been killed with time.

"Ouch!" (y/n) yelped as she let out a moan of pain, clenching the fabric of her hospital-issued pajama pants. “Shh..." Kakashi whispered into her ear, quickly leaning in to soothe her, "What's causing all this pain?" He asked with a frown as (y/n) bit her lip. "It's the thing in your thigh, right? Lord Hokage and the nurse told me a bit about it. But I still don't fully understand it and how it can't fully be cured."

(y/n) buried her face in her hands, "Oh..." She mumbled, "The poison can't de be removed because it's already been inside of me too long. And since it is laced with chakra, the properties of it aren't completely like normal poison." She blinked back the stinging agonizing tears in her eyes, "The herb that I need is just going to ease the effects in my body, whilst the jutsu will seal it from triggering anything that was layered in with the chakra." (y/n) explained. Kakashi could tell she was trying her hardest to keep her face straight, pushing back the pain and hurting inside. "The thing is–"

"What?" Kakashi asked the pained woman, his tone soft and soothing, "I can help if I know what's going on."

Warily, (y/n) agreed to speak on, "The place where the mission was stationed at was just underground of the nuke-nin outpost I was from. And the guy who poisonous me was one of the other kids' experiments were done on, along with me. He was a few years older than us, and his name was Hiroto Myoga. His parents were in owed debt to the rogues, they were forced into being test subjects until they died. Which left Hiroto in the nuke-nin's hands." She rubbed the temple of her head pushing away the images that sent a shiver down her spine, "Something similar had happened in the case of my parents and me. But unlike me, when the ANBU did the raid, Hiroto was snuck away just in time."

Kakashi's heart sank as he heard what she was telling him. (y/n) had never known much about her past, the damned curse seal had caused. “Since he was older than most of the other kids there, the nuke-nin's of the outpost decided that they needed to trust their information. It was all precautionary, just in case they were taken down. And that's just what happened. Hiroto was the one ordered to put memory restriction curse seals on us, the kids, before he fled to be underground, where the actual harm was being done. That meant that all this time Hiroto had been working in those old plans." (y/n) closed her eyes tightly, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

With a subtle groan, Kakashi supported (y/n) up from the chair and rested her in her cot. "Don't stress yourself, (y/n). You can just tell me later; it's getting late anyway." He told her. "It's fine, Hatake. Letting this out helps me feel better." She reassured him.

"The ANBU caught wind of suspicious activity in that area and decided to send out a squad to go check out. I overheard Danzō arguing with Lord Hokage about it, and got interested. It was really dumb, but I just wanted to go to learn more about what happened in my past. I learned, but that can with lots of twists and turns. 10 years of going undercover..." (y/n)'s (e/c) eyes met Kakashi's single uncovered black one, "It wasn't long before Hiroto became suspicious of us, slowly narrowing the group down till it was just me." (y/n) took a deep breath and continued, "After Hiroto killed himself in our final fight, my curse seal was lifted. That's how I suddenly was able to remember all of the past. All of it."

A pit formed in Kakashi's stomach as he watched (y/n) cry in silence. He wanted to help her feel better, he really did. But he was afraid that he'd make things worse; dealing with feelings just wasn't his thing. "I'm here for you, (l/n). We've been through so much together, you've helped me through it all," Kakashi tried to reassure her, "It's my turn to look after you. Please, just don't cry." He reached out his hand to brush a tear-off of her streaked cheeks.

“Are you okay with me staying here for the night?" Kakashi asked (y/n) as they sat at the bay window, looking down upon the empty moonlit streets of Konoha. The soft light cast down by the moon seemed to make everything look beautiful, serene, and at peace. "(l/n)?" He asked again, turning to look back at her. A gentle smile played on Kakashi's lips as he saw that she'd fallen asleep. (y/n) had been through so much throughout the day, she not only deserved to rest for a long time but also needed to. "Good night, (y/n)..." he carefully lifted the sleeping beauty and placed her on the cot. Sitting back at the bay seat, Kakashi took in a deep breath. "I love you."

She's finally back.

She's finally home.

[wing-ed-thing]

Click (Part V: Naruto)

Synopsis: You invited everyone out to dinner. You also audibly clicked. People have opinions about this.

Word Count: 1,927

Warnings/Tags: LANGUAGE, Slight Angst, Serious Themes

Part I: Shikamaru, Part II: Shino, Part III: Neji, Part IV: Rock Lee , Part V: Naruto, Part VI: Kiba, FINALE, The Message in Click

Notes: So for most of the Click series, you could have read as one shots, this one really relies on the other chapters. You’re not really going to know what’s going on so I suggest reading the Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, and Rock Lee parts that are already posted. At the very least read the Shikamaru one, but whatevs. 

This one is a bit more serious compared to the last chapter which was filled with jokes. But I think this might be the most important one because it’s so serious. 

Lee left. Naruto stared blankly at the spot Lee stood, lost in thought and pensive. He could almost still see his green form standing in front of him. The mental outline danced in the empty space. Sakura shifted next to Naruto, but he found himself too lost to notice. It felt as if his mind went blank yet his thoughts raced rapidly. Naruto, always one to feel the need to align himself correctly, felt like a failure. He clenched his fist. The three friends that they had traveled with moved on, but Sakura stayed. She put a tentative hand on his shoulder. Naruto shrugged her hand away.

“Naruto,” She spoke softly. “We’ll make it up to her, okay? Don’t beat yourself up.” Naruto shook his head, feeling himself begin to get more upset. He knew how you felt. He always prided himself in his ability to empathize with others. Never did Naruto believe that anyone should ever be alone, but he obviously messed up.

“I’m sorry, Sakura. I gotta go.” Sakura called after him as he left, but didn’t chase after him.

Naruto didn’t know where he was headed, he just felt his legs work under him. His hand made its way up to his hair and he tugged at the short strands. A frustrated grunt fell from his lips. The scenery around him changed rapidly as he picked up speed. It wasn’t like Naruto to ignore someone like he did. He remembered. He remembered you asking him to dinner clearly when he thought about it. It must have slipped his mind. He must have been distracted, too easily excited. It wasn’t as if he disliked you, not in the slightest. But now all he felt was guilt and most of all like a hypocrite.

Naruto let out a frustrated roar, stopping at the edge of a clearing to land a vicious strike against the trunk of a nearby tree. It shook, almost snapping. Leaves fell violently from the branches above.

“FUCK!” A loud string of curses came from the clearing. Naruto turned to see Shikamaru sitting up among the flowers. Shikamaru buried his face in his hand. “Fucking shit, thanks for scaring the absolute living shit out of me. Leave it to the hyperactive, knucklehead ninja to ruin my fucking nap.” His arms straightened out towards Naruto who stared in surprise. Shikamaru groaned before collapsing back down onto the ground, body sprawled out among the wild plantlife. Naruto wandered over.

“Sorry, Shikamaru,” Naruto apologized, hand once again in his hair. He scratched at the back of his head. “Maybe you should find a better spot to nap next time.” Shikamaru didn’t bat an eye as he looked upward at the clear sky.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Naruto, but we’re in the middle of fucking nowhere.” Only then did Naruto’s attention snap up. He glanced around, turning his body a full three-hundred and sixty degrees. Shikamaru was right, they were in the middle of nowhere and Naruto had hardly noticed. He didn’t even think that they were within the limits of Konoha anymore. Shikamaru looked at Naruto quickly, then back to the sky. “Are you leaving now?” But the blond said nothing, instead coming to sit down next to Shikamaru, who frowned.  

“I think I messed up, Shikamaru.” Naruto mumbled, pulling his legs closer to cross them. The Nara let out a sigh. Apparently, Naruto planned to stay.

“Is this about the birthday thing?” Shikamaru asked, causing Naruto to scrunch his face in shock.

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“You’re not the first person to get worked up about it and something tells me you won’t be the last,” Shikamaru huffed. The wind blew, causing the tall grass to waver in the breeze. Naruto’s hair flew into his face, causing him to shift. The strands blew over his forehead. “Beating yourself up over it isn’t going to fix anything.”

“Well, what will?” Shikamaru remained silent. He kept his eyes on the sky above. Naruto looked up too, wondering what it was that Shikamaru was so fixated with. “Think I should talk to her?” Shikamaru didn’t skip a beat.

“Would you be talking to her for you or for her?” Naruto glanced back at Shikamaru.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, are you talking to her to make her feel better or to make yourself feel better?” The blond frowned.

“Her, of course.” He answered with a certain amount of certainty. In all honesty, he didn’t put that much thought into the question. Like most instances in Naruto’s life, he just answered, leaving the heavy thinking for a later time. He stood and Shikamaru hummed. “Thanks for the advice. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“Please don’t.” But Naruto was already gone.

***

Lee had almost finished the dishes by the time a knock came at your door. You had offered, planned on doing them yourself, but Lee insisted. When Lee insisted, there was no convincing him otherwise so he stood over your sink, scrubbing with rigor you had never seen before. You opened the door to reveal Naruto, his eyes near pleading. You stepped to the side, letting him in straight away. A pit of dread gathered up in your stomach. You did not click. Lee looked up from his work. He seemed to sense that something was wrong as well.

“Oh, Naruto.” But his surprised greeting was ignored. Naruto’s eyes focused solely on you.

“Can we talk?” He asked in a hushed tone. Your eyes glazed quickly over your apartment. No room to talk in private.

“Um, yeah sure.” You gave a slight smile. Your voice jumped an octave, pumped with kind understanding. You faced Lee, who looked at you with expectation. “You can leave those. It was really nice having you over tonight. I really love the flowers.” A polite and silent request for him to leave. Lee understood, but appeared wary.

“Is there anything you would like me to do?” You shook your head.

“Thank you for keeping me company and for being so understanding. I hope we can do this again soon.” Lee gave you a hopeful grin.

“Yes, I would very much enjoy that.” He left through the window. Naruto found his way to your empty kitchen table. He seemed lost in the pattern of the hard, wood surface. You sat down across from him.

“Can I get you some tea?”

Naruto shook his head slowly, continuing to stare down at your table. You sat patiently, waiting for him to speak. You could tell that he had something to say, but you refrained from prying. Your fingers traced the outline of your clicker in your pocket. And after letting the tension in the air thicken just a moment longer, Naruto finally spoke.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” He paused. Your lips remained sealed. You sat, ready to listen. Naruto looked up at you, seeming to wonder if you’d answer, but he took your silence as a cue to continue. “About your birthday, I mean. It was Kiba, he was the one who convinced us all to go out and it must’ve slipped my mind. I just feel like a jerk for listening to him and blowing you off like that. I just realized that those guys are really mean to you and I swear I’ll never be like that.” Naruto’s bright, baby-blue eyes met yours.

“Naruto,” You spoke his name softly. You almost bowed your head, afraid to tell him what you were going to. A gulp. “You apologize, but you blame everything… on Kiba. Kiba convinced you. You shouldn’t have listened to Kiba. Those guys did and said something unkind.” He stared blankly at you.

“Kiba was the one who set the whole thing up. It’s his fault. And I thought you should know about all the mean things people are saying about you. It just made my blood boil-”

“Naruto.” His name cut through the atmosphere. “No matter what the intention was, you told me that you’d be there. I don’t care what Kiba did-”

“But you don’t know what he-”

“But you. I was under the impression that since you apologized, this conversation was about you.” There was a force in your tone that Naruto had never heard before. He looked across the table at you sitting neatly in your chair. Your face remained unreadable, though kind. A certain amount of strength radiated from you. “I know what Kiba did and I know what people say about me. They’ve acted that way and said the same things for quite some time now.”

You sighed and leaned back in your chair. Naruto, for once, was still. You continued, speaking quicker. Nervous, but determined to make a point.

“But all of that aside, if we’re talking about what happened yesterday between you and I, all I can see is that you told me you’d join me for dinner, but you never came. And honestly, I was upset at that moment, but I’m really not as down about it as everyone seems to think I am.” You let out a deep exhale, having built it up as you spoke. Naruto clenched his fists underneath the table.

“Yes, you are. How can you not be upset about that? How can you not care, just not care about what happened?”

“You want a real answer, here, Naruto?” You sighed and once again made eye contact with the blond. “I’m not upset, because the actions of others are not things I can control.” You crossed your arms and leaned forward.

“But something should change,” Naruto argued. “I feel guilty. They should at least feel guilty and say sorry for fucking up so bad.”

“And maybe something should change.” You shrugged, letting your head tilt to the side. “But I’m not going to work myself up over something that I can’t control.” You smiled, letting yourself laugh just a little bit. You spoke his name with affection. “Not everyone has to like me. It was really hard, I won’t lie because who doesn’t want to be liked? But sometimes there are people who just don’t understand you and really, it’s not my job to make them understand. I’m living in a way that makes me happy. And anyone who wants to join me is welcome to.”

Nartuo once again fell silent. Once again, you allotted him time to think.

“I’d understand if you wanted space or to not be friends.” Naruto nodded to himself, mustering up the strength to look you in the eye. “But if you’d let me, I’d like to join you, even if no one else will.”

“You are forgiven if that’s what you need to hear.” You let out a snicker and he mirrored your expression, albeit sheepishly.

“I appreciate that, actually.” You rattled and a small click came from your pocket.

“I try to focus on the positives as best I can. Maybe they’ll see, like you said, and learn.” You looked to your left out through the window. You shrugged, returning back to Naruto. “Maybe not. It’s not my problem and it certainly won’t keep me up at night. There’s no use in looking back. For me, the only option is forward.” You felt the ache of that slight smile that had plastered itself to your lips. “That’s it for my depressing monologue for tonight.”

“Not at all,” Naruto reassured you, but you had retired the subject. You stood.

“I’m going to make some tea. Do you want some?”

“Yes, please.” Naruto nodded politely, energy dipping from the less-than-chipper conversation.

Notes: I meant every word of this. It takes time and a whole lot of effort to change your mindset about something, but you really can set yourself free. If you’re expecting everyone to adore you, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Sometimes hardship reveals who your true friends are. I’d take that any day over a group of people who silently judge me. 

Note: Let. Shikamaru. Say. Fuck. 

Thank you to everyone who liked, reblogged, and followed. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.

[airashisakura]

Pregnancy Diaries

Chapter 2 - Arguments

Chapter 1

Rating: General audience

Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke & Haruno Sakura

Summary : Sasuke takes a rash decision that leads to a little argument.

FFN Ao3

Traveling with Sakura had shown Sasuke a side of her that was less known to him. Her dedication to the medic rules and her compassion towards her patients always left him in awe. Her green eyes turned serious when the healing chakra flowed through her dainty palm and her stern expression changed to a gentle one when her patient finally breathed in relief at the end of her procedure.

He doesn’t know whether Sakura’s patients feel the same, but the sight always calmed his raging interior. In a genuine sense, she was a healer. She healed everyone unconditionally and tended to both physical and mental wounds. He thought maybe nobody else thought about  her that way because only he knew how she was mending all the open wounds of his past.

He also helped people in the places where he stopped to rest while on his journey, but Sakura amplified the whole concept of atoning for his sins just by being by his side. She was always ready to help people with her knowledge of medical ninjutsu. Sometimes Sasuke wondered if it was all necessary for her to do, especially for his sake. He had told her before too that his sins had nothing to do with her, but she always insisted that it was her duty. Being away from Konohagakure undoubtedly gave her a break from her responsibilities, but healing people always left her with a sense of serenity. And now, after months of traveling together, he always felt pride when he watched her work.

But today it irked him. He was impatiently waiting for his wife. He leaned against the door at one of the cabins of the local clinic in the town where they were staying. He furrowed his brows in irritation, watching his wife push her limits. The staff there had also asked her to not expend her chakra much in her present state, but she stubbornly ignored their advice with a reassuring smile. And to her husband, she did worse.

Sakura could feel Sasuke’s burning gaze on her even though her back faced him. She knew he wouldn't just order her to leave whatever she was doing and join him, but from the moment she sensed his chakra nearby, she knew he was there demanding the same. She didn’t even bother to turn back and give him a cute assuring smile, because she knew it wouldn't work on him now because he wasn’t there just for her, but for both of them . He had no say over her frantic working habits before, but since now she was carrying part of him inside of her, he had a right to interrupt her.

Sakura wiped sweat rolling from her forehead with the back of her hand and then took off her white coat. She promised the staff there that she would visit tomorrow to help them again. Sakura took little unsteady steps due to her overuse of chakra, but she concealed it by accumulating the meagre amount of chakra she had left under her feet so she didn’t fall over. She grinned at Sasuke, and he nodded in response.  His onyx orb fell on her slightly engorged belly, announcing the start of her second trimester.

They walked through the streets to reach the inn where they were staying. Sakura chattered about the patients she healed and asked Sasuke about his day to which he kept his answers short but informative. Even though Sakura was trying her best to act normal, she wanted to get to the room as soon as possible.. She realized that she had overexerted herself and didn't want Sasuke to worry about her health.

It was difficult to fool Sasuke, though. He had already noticed she was struggling to walk. He knew she hated feeling weak, so he discarded the thought of helping her walk, but stayed sharp in case she lost her balance.

As Sasuke unlocked the door, Sakura felt chakra dissipating from under the soles of her feet and lightheadedness started taking over. The best she could do was to recline to the wall alongside the door as the world around her spun and she heard her name in a concerned voice. It hit her hard that she’d made Sasuke worry.

“Sakura?” Sasuke gently wrapped his lone arm around her waist, letting Sakura rest her head on his chest. In times like this, he wished he had taken the prosthetic arm.

Sakura smiled wearily as she regained her balance, but Sasuke didn’t let her go. He shut the door with his foot and then moved towards the bed. Sakura sat down carefully and started rubbing her small baby bump, smiling to herself. Sasuke hated to interrupt the beautiful scene, but he knew he had to say something.

“You are resting tomorrow,” he said as he handed her a glass of water.

Sakura knew he was concerned too, and it made him feel guilty that he couldn’t abandon his journey to go back to Konoha and stay with her. Sakura said, “But we will leave the day after tomorrow so I need to check on them once before we leave.” She drank up the water and thanked him, smiling.

Sasuke took the glass from her as he moved to keep it on the bedstand and said, “Not in your current condition,” and sat on the other side of the bed. He knew it would upset her, and he didn’t want to be swayed by her expression.

Instead, Sakura frowned and said, “Sasuke-kun, it’s necessary to work during pregnancy. I told you earlier, and… ”

He cut her off. “You forget your limits.” He knew Sakura would give him the same mini-lecture he had been hearing from day one of her pregnancy, how being active would help with her labor and all kinds of stuff, but he couldn’t stay silent and let her continue to overwork herself.

“I know.” She sighed. “But I promise this won’t happen again.” She craned her neck to look at his back, hoping he might see her pleading look.

“No.” His reply was blunt.

“I’m the medic here. I know what is good for me and my baby,” Sakura pointed out, trying to dissipate his concern.

My baby?

He repeated those two words mentally, and it broke the last strings that kept him from lashing out at her. The Uchiha was very possessive of the people he loved and he couldn’t immediately forgive even his wife for denying his concerns and untold fears for their unborn child. Sasuke furrowed his brows as he pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking deeply about a decision he had been considering for quite some time. No matter how rude it might sound, he had to voice it out.

“Starting tomorrow, we will start for Konoha. Once I drop you there, I’ll resume my journey.”

Sakura couldn’t believe what she had heard. She looked towards Sasuke, but his back again greeted her.

“W-what?”

“Aah. At least you’ll listen to people there and won’t overwork.” He tried to remain calm.

Sakura lost it then. Sasuke’s words not only hurt her but made her angry. The day she told Sasuke about her pregnancy, he had been reluctant to let her continue the journey, but Sakura promised she would be okay if he would be by her side. The best reason she had given him was that he could also see their child grow little by little, and even Sasuke didn’t want to miss that opportunity. And now, at the 16th week of pregnancy, he ignored every reason for them to be together just to win a petty argument over her.

Ridiculous, she thought.

She wanted to remind him how happy she was to be able to see the world together with their baby. But she was too tired to argue with him or try to prove him wrong. Tears started to sting her eyes as she lay down to rest on the bed and grumbled, “Fine.”

“I’ll fetch something to eat,” Sasuke said, getting off the bed. Sakura mumbled a yes in response.

Sasuke didn’t like hurting Sakura after everything he had done to her in the past, but this decision was for Sakura’s sake and for their baby’s health. He sighed and looked towards her before exiting the room.

Although he maintained a calm demeanor while walking through the streets, his inner demons reminded him that he had always been incapable of protecting his family. This fear of losing the people he loved still ran through his veins. No, Uchiha Sasuke wasn’t sulking over the fact, but it infuriated him. He quickened his pace to find a restaurant so he could return to Sakura.

Pregnancy blues had never hit Sakura until that day. Although she knew that overusing her chakra was not good for the baby, the thought of living alone again made her anxious. Although she knew living in Konoha surrounded by her friends would be safer than traveling. But after waiting all these years to be with him, and what was happening now was not fair. Sakura sighed in defeat. She felt selfish for canceling after she had promised to help the next day, but Sasuke was genuinely worried about her.

“I’m back.” Sasuke announced, and she got up from her resting position. Sasuke didn’t need his sharingan to know his abrupt behavior had upset her. A silence hung between them before Sakura spoke softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Please, Sasuke-kun. Let me stay with you.”

Sasuke wanted her words to calm him down, but his brooding over his failure tasted so bitter in his mouth that he spat out, “Damn it, Sakura. Just understand.” He stopped when he realized his voice had terrified her. He rubbed his forehead, choosing his next words carefully. He sighed and scooted near her and sat beside her. Sakura quickly wiped away her fresh tears.

“I-I fear losing you and…” His expression softened and his gaze fell to her bump. That was when Sakura realized Sasuke had also been hiding his fears. Not only that, but his past also haunted him.

Before Sasuke could react, Sakura wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling him in a hug. Yes, that's what he needed. No clarification through words. He reciprocated her by holding her tightly, snuggling but careful not to crush her bump. Both of them embraced their warmth, unaware that the third member was most elated by their interaction. Sakura abruptly broke out of embrace when she felt something fluttering in her stomach.

“Sasuke-kun.” Sakura squeaked, her green eyes gleaming. “Our baby moved. I felt it.”

It was rare for Sasuke to smile, but he couldn’t help it. The smile quickly wore out when he remembered what he had really wanted was to ensure their safety even if he had to miss them. He tried to rationalize every pro and con as he watched the most beautiful sight, his wife having a one-sided conversation with their unborn baby. His lips curled upward. Unlike in the past, he didn’t have to regret his decision later.

“Sakura, Stay with me.”

Sakura nodded happily, her tears foaming her green orbs, “ Just take me to the clinic tomorrow so I could apologize to them for not helping.”

Sasuke nodded in response.

The little one moved again, unaware how it settled the arguments between its parents and strengthened the bridge of feelings between them both.

Chapter - 3

[daraanna]

Chapter 8: Nightmares

The last few weeks have been full of events. Teaching Boruto turned out to be a lot more difficult than she expected. Even though he was initially unable to hold the katana correctly, he learned very quickly and after a few weeks, she began to have difficulties defeating him in their small duels. Though she would never admit it to him. The fights with Kawaki turned out to be on a completely different level. He not only had an amazing technique, but also something she only had seen while training with her dad a long time ago. He had the sense of a warrior, someone who experienced real-life and death fights. Not many times she was able to defeat him during training. Yet her thoughts were mostly occupied by the strange feelings that haunted her more and more. She enjoyed spending time with her husband. A lot. The memory of their last kiss made her feel a pleasant warmth in her chest. It was completely different after their first kiss. She was strangely excited and could not understand her behavior at all. As if that was not enough, in some way their guest also seemed attractive to her. It made her feel guilty, considering that the two men did not like each other at all. Every time they fight Uzumaki ends up with painful injuries. It did not help that the day on which they were about to return to Konoha was approaching. As soon as the snow will melt, they will set off... All of these things kept her awake at night. Just like now, she was lying looking at the ceiling. Her husband was sleeping peacefully by her side, with one hand on her waist. He looked so calm she felt better just by looking at him. She rolled her eyes at her own thoughts and was about to try to sleep once again when she heard the creak of the floor coming from the hallway next to their bedroom. She wanted to ignore them when she heard another similar sound. She stood up slowly, taking a small dagger from the hiding place under the bed. She hid it in the sleeve of her nightgown and quietly went out into the corridor, but as soon as the door to her bedroom closed she felt a strong tug. Someone pressed a hand to her mouth, preventing her from making any noise. She froze waiting for an attack, but it did not come. All she felt was the warm breath on her neck. Then she heard a familiar hoarse voice.

"I can't stay here anymore" no doubt the person who caught her was Kawaki. "But I am grateful to you for saving my life, so I will warn you. Take your husband and run from the Land of Fire to the east."

After these words, the boy pushed her forward with enough force to make her fall. She heard him run away and immediately rose to chase him, but as she turned the corner of the corridor, he was gone. The only clue about what happened to him was an open window. When she looked out through it, she was unable to see him. As if he had dissolved in the morning mist. Shaken, she returned to her room. Boruto was sleeping hugging her pillow. As silently as she could, she slipped under the covers. However, when she was almost lying down, she accidentally poked the blonde with her elbow. The boy woke up. Even in the darkness of their bedroom, she was able to see his blue eyes.

"Are you okay Sarada?" He asked in a sleepy voice. She froze at first, hoping that he will go back to sleep, but the lack of her reaction only made him worried.

"Sarada?" He asked, a little louder.

"That`s nothing. Just... Just a nightmare, she replied, moving closer to him. The boy gently hugged her around the waist.

"Are you sure? '' He struggled to hold back a yawn. She cuddled up to his side answering him with a soft "hmm"

Apparently, it was enough for him because a moment later, he was already asleep. But she was unable to contain the growing guilt within her. She had no idea why she lied. Something told her I'd be better this way, but on the other hand, she felt like she just betrayed his trust.

.....................................................

It's a really short update. I'm sorry, but lately, I have been extremely busy with my studies and then the geopolitical situation in my region of the world became pretty ugly and I wasn't in the mood for writing... Also, I want to say that new chapters won't appear regularly and that this story doesn't have a specific ending yet... Soooo... basically I get here to give this short chapter, warn me that she writes slowly and I don't know what I'm doing, and then sprinkle all of it with Kawasara red herrings XD

[ssa25]

Green and Red - Naruhina 2020 (Jealousy)

Rating: T (mild swear words and implicit content)

It was not easy to rile her up.

His wife. Uzumaki Hinata was the gentlest soul he knew. And she absolutely adored him. She bore no ill feelings towards anyone. Always gracious, always charming and always composed.

And he loved her back with an intensity that shocked him sometimes. He learnt a lot from her. He learnt a lot about her too. Like how she never expects him to shout out his feelings from her. She expressed her love in the subtlest ways. Like brushing her fingers through his hair after a long day of work, sneakily putting in some vegetables into his home cooked ramen, whispering her love in his ears in the handful of mornings they got to share and happily accepting him into her arms at whatever godforsaken time of the night he felt the need for her.

He also learnt that she expressed her feelings with actions more than words. She would make him woolen clothes during winters and get him to drink health tonics instead of nagging him about getting sick. She would pray or meditate when she was worried or agitated about something. She would apply just a dash of his favourite perfume on the base of her neck, on the nights that she wanted to express her desire to feel his bare skin on hers. That wordless little trick always made him go crazy with need. As much as he loved her submissive side, he equally yearned for her bolder, assertive side when she let her desires known to him. He had had a few glimpses of this bold facet of her personality in their 15 months of marriage and it was just the perfect mix.

They were in Suna for the annual Kage meetup. As the next in line Hokage, he was invited with his wife to accompany the current Hokage Kakashi and his advisor Shikamaru. He had been fairly used to the confidential meetings and extravagant parties now. And he had convinced Hinata to take a leave from her hospital duties to accompany him this time.

He looked over at Hinata who stood a few metres apart chatting with Temari and Samui. The Tsuchikage was droning on about something inconsequential, and he was distracted by how pretty his wife looked in her short black dress. She was usually quite conservative in her choice of everyday clothing, but she never shied away from wearing modern figure hugging clothes for special occasions. In fact, the novelty of seeing her like that made him quite horny.

Involuntarily, his eyes kept flicking in her direction. And for a magical moment, she happened to look back at him too and gave him a slightly impish grin. Like she knew what he was thinking about. Of course, she knew. She totally knew how perverted he could be sometimes. And even that fact was a turn on for him.

Feeling oddly thirsty, he lifted his glass to gulp down the content but noticed that it was almost empty. Excusing himself, he made his way to the open bar to get himself a glass of water instead of the flowing alcohol that the servers offered. After all, he didn’t want to become too intoxicated and make a fool out of himself at this high profile party.

A small shriek made him turn to the side.

“Uzumaki Naruto!!!”, a brown haired woman walked closer to him while gasping in recognition. “It is you right??!”

“Uh… Yeah!... That’s me..”, he nodded with an awkward smile. Since the end of the war, more than four years back, he still had not gotten used to the fame and fan following.

“It’s so nice to meet you!!”, she looked positively thrilled to see him and offered her hand to greet him.

Gingerly, he shook hands with her before turning to his glass of water, hoping she would be on her way. 

After his wedding, young women in Konoha had quickly toned down the fawning and flirtations. Because they knew, and he made it abundantly clear, that Hinata was the only one for him. But instances like such still occurred every once in a while when he was travelling or they had foreign delegates over.

“I’m a huge fan of yours…”, the woman came closer than he was comfortable with, but she kept her hands to herself. “My name is Akane Yui… I’m the niece of Tokoro Futoshi!”

Naruto quickly realised that she had just named the Daimyo of the Land of Wave. He knew he had to handle this woman tactfully unless he wanted to unintentionally rile up the egoistic Daimyo.

“Ah, nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine… I had been hoping to meet you for a long time. After all, it's not everyday that I can get to see the most powerful Shinobi of our time!!...Are you, by any chance, here by yourself?”, she asked in a lower breathless tone while leaning down to show her barely there cleavage. 

He looked away from her and shook his head. “No, my wife is here with me.”, he pointed with his chin and was a little flustered to see that Hinata was looking back at him with an odd, blank expression. 

He liked to think he knew this look. He had seen it on her face a few times when they had just started dating, and he would be accosted with a flirtatious female. But with her being the definition of demureness, she never openly confronted him. And he always made sure to kiss her doubts and troubles away.

Now, her striking frosted gray eyes glanced at the woman beside him for a second before looking away, as she resumed nodding to Samui. Naruto wanted to rush to her and take his wife in his arms, but Yui was being quite persistent.

“That’s too bad. I would have loved to take you around the city sometime.”, she said coyly.

“Uh..”, he gulped his water and motioned for the bartender to refill his glass. He spoke almost disinterestedly, “I thought you said you were from the Land of Wave, not the Land of Wind….”

She giggled behind her hand and fluttered her eyelashes at him. “You’re right… I’m not familiar with Suna… But it would have been fun to explore it together, nonetheless… Don’t you think?”, she said as she brushed her hand lightly over his left bicep.

“Riiiiight.”, he frowned and stepped away from her. This woman was making him uncomfortable and there was only one way to get away from her. He looked around the packed hall and raised his arm up pretending to answer someone’s call. “Oh… I’ve been summoned… Talk to you later…Bye.”

He walked away quickly without waiting for the woman to respond back. He moved through the crowd and positioned himself right beside his wife.

Hinata looked up at him and raised an eyebrow before looking away.

“Honey…. You’re alright?”

“Sure.”, she replied without sparing even a second glance.

Naruto smirked at her and lightly elbowed her side. “You sure don’t look like it.”, he whispered discreetly to her.

“What do you mean?”, she frowned while looking at her glass of champagne.

“I mean you look a little green… with envy… “, he teased her. It was always a boost to his ego to know that his cool and collected wife could lose her composure when it came to him. Like the way, sometimes he did when he found men staring inappropriately at his wife.

“You’re sure you’re not jealous, baby?”, he prodded her some more. 

Instead of looking guilty or embarrassed like he had expected, she faced him with an even stare that gave nothing away. Rising up on her tippy toes she leaned towards his  right ear.

“Why would I be jealous, Naruto~kun? Other women can only fawn at you outwardly. But I’m the only one that gets to go down on knees and worship you in a way no one else can. Isn’t it?”, she whispered the dirty words coolly as if she was talking about the damn weather.

Well, shit. The back of his neck grew warm instantly and his pants started feeling a little tight.

“You’re looking a little red Naruto~kun!... Are you all right?”, she placed her cool palm on his hot cheeks with a teasing glint in her eyes.

Naruto stopped the closest server and slammed down both of their glasses on the tray before pulling Hinata to the nearest exit.

He learnt something new about her that night. That Uzumaki Hinata had her own quiet yet wicked way of dealing with jealousy. And he was more than okay with it!

x

A/n: This is so late, that I’m not even sure an apology will suffice. Nonetheless, I’m sorry for the delay. Stay safe guys!!

[misssunflowersandsangria]

Knots

Hello deers!  This has been sitting in my drafts folder for a while so I wanted to finally share it with you all.  It’s the last part of my Sand Sibs stories, Strings and Thread.  Enjoy it!

Summary: Temari had dreamed of supporting her brothers and leading Suna.  It was a role that she was content to fulfil for her entire life.  Then a curious thing came into her life in the form of one Shinobi from Konoha.

*

**

Knots

“I’m worried, she’s really sick.”

“Maybe it's like ya know. That time of the month.” Kankuro’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“You idiot. You absolute moron.” Temari's voice shot back through the layers of blankets.

“I think she's okay.”

“Temari, are you okay?” Gaara asked carefully.

She nodded her head. “I’m fine. Everything is just fine. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’ve been locked in your room for days now. You haven’t snapped at anyone or called me stupid. We’re getting concerned.”

She sighed, taking a deep breath seeing the worry clear in their eyes.

“Shikamaru proposed.”

Their expressions brightened. “Temari! That’s great, congratulations!”

“We should be celebrating.” Kankurou stared at his sister curiously. Gaara was right. Something was wrong. “Why isn’t Nara here?”

“I couldn’t say yes.”

Their eyes shot wide open. “Temari?”

“Shikamaru needs to be in Konoha and I couldn’t leave you two and Suna. Who am I if I’m not Temari of the Desert?” She knew that she made the right decision. She couldn’t just leave her brothers and Suna because of something as trivial as love, right? This was the right thing to do she assured herself. But then why did her heart feel like it was tied up in knots?

They both sat next to her and she leaned into them. “Temari, I don’t tell you this often but you made the wrong choice,” Gaara told her, placing a gentle hand over hers.

“What?”

“Temari you’ve done everything for us and Suna and the fact that you felt like you had to say no to his proposal for us makes me feel incredibly guilty. You raised us, we’ll be okay no matter how far you might be.” Kankurou tried to assure her. She was so damn loyal, even to her own detriment.

“You’ve been Temari no Sabaku for a long time and you always will be her. I think that maybe you should try being Nara Temari.”

Her heart fluttered at the idea.

“If you stay here Temari, you won’t be yourself. I’d rather have you happy, and complete miles away than here and just a shadow of who you are.”

She sat there silently replaying that moment Shikamaru proposed. Rather than feeling excited and happy, it was difficult and terrifying being pulled in two different directions.

“We told him that we approved. Didn’t he let you know that?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t give him a chance. After he asked I said no and for the first time in my life I ran.” The absolute shock and brokenness in his eyes would be a look that haunted her. She wondered if she had given him some time to explain if the results would have been different.

“Well, I had a feeling something happened between you two because this self-imposed quarantine happened after you returned from Konoha so he’s actually here. I asked Kakashi to send him some documents for the alliance.”

He was there. She could fix this. She could make it right.

Kankurou wrapped an affectionate arm around her, leveling her with a soft look. She knew that he hated it but like this, it was almost as though her father was speaking to her as well.

“Trust us, and trust yourself a little more. We’ll be okay, and you more than anyone deserves to be happy. It’s obvious that you want to be with him. No matter where you are the three of us will always be bound together.”

*

**

Shikamaru rubbed his sweaty palms on his pants while waiting for the Kazekage.

He imagined this trip much differently. After he proposed he planned for them to go to Suna to let her brothers know. At this point, he didn't even know if she was in the country or if she’d let them know what happened.

Now he had to be there, his tail tucked between his legs, and let Kankurou and Gaara know that he failed to get a yes after practically begging for their approval. He approached them months ago during his last trip to Suna to ask for their blessing. He thought that if he had that she’d be more willing to say yes. He tried to tell her as such but when she’d flat out refused words failed him. When he could finally get his wits about him she had already run off leaving him kneeling in the grass alone.

The ring was heavy in his pocket. He’d tried to return it to his mother but she insisted that he hold onto it. It was technically his now. She seemed to believe that he’d have some use for it. Part of him just wanted to give it to Temari. No one else would ever wear it.

He knew that he was a masochist and despite how broken he felt he still wanted to see her. Even just to ask what he did wrong. To have some kind of closure. Her saying no didn’t seem possible. Everyone was convinced they belonged together and honestly, he thought that she believed it too.

He stood up hearing the door behind him open turning to greet the Kazekage but felt his heart stop.

“Tem.” She threw herself into his arms a teary mess.

“I’m so sorry.” She sobbed into his chest and he held her tightly.

“Don’t apologize I should have asked if you were ready or even wanted to be married. I just assumed I’m sorry-“

“Don’t, please don’t apologize for proposing to me. Do you regret it?”

He shook his head. “No. I would take that risk each and every time. Still, if you need more time I’ll give you that.“

“No, that’s not it. I’ve always looked after my brothers even when they were babies. I was content to fulfill that role for the rest of my life. To watch over and protect Suna. Then this crazy thing happened.” She couldn’t help the grin that crossed her face despite the tears in her eyes.

“I fell in love with a cry baby shinobi miles and miles away and it made me rethink everything that I wanted in life.” Her fingers gently traced over his face.

“You make me want so much more. I imagine us, raising a family, leading the Nara clan, and growing old and gray together. I got scared because I was afraid that by saying yes I would be losing who I am that I was being selfish. I think that I am gaining something more, that somehow I’ve earned this. I want us. I want to be Nara Temari”

The admission left him breathless and despite knowing she’d tease him for the rest of their lives the tears appeared in his eyes.

“Temari, the only thing I ever wanted out of life was to live it as simply and easily as I could. Loving you has been the easiest decision of my life. You will always be my fierce desert princess. I will never ask you to change but if you’re willing though, will you also be my wife?

Kankurou and Gaara watched the proposal from the other side of the door relieved when she finally accepted. It would be tough without her but the best gift that they could give her was freedom. Allowing her the space to decide what she wanted in life and who she wanted to be.

Unable to hold back their excitement any longer they burst in and gathered the engaged couple into a hug. Shikamaru trapped between them. Those invisible knots tying them together.

*

**

The Ties that Bind

Ugh.  I love this family so much!!!!!!!!  It's interesting that the Sand Sibs don't technically have a last name. So if Temari did take Shikamaru's name and became a Nara that's a pretty big deal. Okie, so I've started writing the next chapter for Stalemate.  Hopefully it will be out before the new year.  Then I need to work on Yamanaka Week stories, then I need to relax for a little lol.   

Thanks for reading and all your support my loves!!! 

[i-simp-for-gintoki]

Hashirama arranging Tobirama a marriage with his s/o

“There are a lot of arranged marriege ones for Tobirama but what about an arranged marriage but he's already interested and maybe Hashirama thinks he's not making any progress and decides to meddle and arrange one for the two?” @kaiseaya

Thanks for the request! And sorry if this isn’t exactly what you wanted since i realize i kiiiiinda went away from the request?? Idk i feel as if i didn’t write it properly 

Tobirama and you aren’t officially together

You have feelings for each other and hang out whenever he’s free

But you aren’t actually a couple despite the numerous ‘dates’ you two have gone on

It’s not that you two are scared of the commitment, its just that you can’t be a couple.

Tobirama Senju, someone in the main branch of the clan, someone who would become head of the Senju should anything happen to his brother, someone with such high authority.

How could he be dating someone like you? 

You often ask yourself this and remind yourself on how lucky you are

You couldn’t tell anyone you had feelings for each other

You guys have hid it well but eventually Hashirama knows whats up

He might ask you a few questions and you didn’t know how to respond

Could you really lie to the hokage? To someone who’s been hailed as the God of Shinobi?

Yeah

He sees through it and frowns at your lie but nods his head anyways

About 6 months pass and you two still havent become official and its driving him mad

He doesn’t want his brother to hide his love life for the sake of the clan

He confronts the younger senju and when tobirama went to say the same thing you had half a year ago, he was cut off

“Don’t lie to me brother, how long have you been hiding this relationship?”

“...it will be 2 years in a month”

Hashirama is shook 

2 whole years you two have been together?? 2 whole years his dear younger brother has had to hide his feelings for the one he loves?

Although it’s not hashirama’s fault, he can’t help but feel slightly guilty

At the sudden silence the albino is slightly worried his brother disapproves and wants the two of you to end it

Tobirama asks in his own long, word filled and confusing way to let you guys stay together in secret

The elder brother smiles and pats his shoulder and says he will take care of things

About a week passes and suddenly tobirama finds himself in formal wear and getting ready for a meeting with his brother

Usually he doesn’t mind too much, but it was bothering him that hashirama was leaving out all the details

As the brothers are walking to the location, the water user raises a brow when he sees you walking in the same direction, also in formal clothing

Hashirama smiles before walking ahead, giving the secret lovers some space

Tobirama asks why your so dressed up and you say its because your parents are taking you to a Omiai 

He asks if your the one whos seeing if fit to be married and it made you laugh

“Pfft of course not! I think i would know if i was about to be put in an arranged marriage. Plus i would tell you right away if i was. My parents are simply taking me so i can learn how its done in person”

Lad is so relieved but pauses

He asks the location of this meeting and is slightly surprised when you said the name of the place he’s going to

You say its probably just coincidence and he barely nods his head in response

“Theres no reason to worry right? Besides, I heard this place gives the best sushi in all of konoha”

You give each other compliments on your looks and make some small talk for the rest of the walk (but lets be real it was just you giving compliments and him thinking the compliments in return)

What surprises him though is when you arrive at the location is that not only were you brought to the same room but you were suddenly seated across from each other

“Anija what is the meaning of this?” Tobirama mumbles and his brother gives him a slightly shocked look

“Im surprised someone like you hasn’t put it together yet! You’ll see in just a bit” 

The meeting starts and immediately your father asks why you should be married off to hashirama

“Wait w h a t?”

It took everything tobirama had not to blast everything away with his chakra

You sat there with a VERY strained smile as you looked towards the senju

“I wasn’t aware that this omiai was for me, much less with Hashirama-samma.”

Hashirama laughs nervously and properly explains the situation

“No no this isn’t for me, I already have my lovely mito! This marriage proposal is between my younger brother, Tobirama, and your child, Y/n-san.”

Theres many emotions throughout the meeting but you manage to stay professional the whole time

It honestly doesn’t take much to convince your parents

Getting married to a senju was such an honor that they didn’t even think twice. But they wanted to make it seem they where putting up atleast a bit of a fight

At the end of the meeting and when the food has been eaten, you all do your respective bows before going your separate ways

Well really, it was just your parents leaving.

The brothers and you had a bit to discuss on this very out of the blue marriage

Tobirama demands for the reason his brother didn’t even ask for his own opinion, and why this was happening in general

Hashirama proceeds to give a very long and overly emotional explanation that you two can finally openly be together and happy

You can finally be an official couple and it brings two clans together in the process

Its a win!

“Oh don’t tell me you’re not happy with this, Tobirama! You guys are so happy together! I’ve seen you smile more times for y/n than i have seen you smile in years!”’

And well he’s not wrong, you both are extremely happy for this marriage but tobirama won’t show that yet

He’s upset that not only did his brother get involved, but that he couldn’t even make it official himself

As tobirama walks away you give a quick hug and thanks to the elder brother

He smiles and pats your head before leaving himself

you meet up with tobirama and ask if he’s really sure he wants to do this

“I should be asking you the same thing”

you guys come to the conclusion that you indeed want this, and is very grateful that hashirama went ahead and planned this through

And soon after that, you and tobirama are not only a couple, but married as well.

[lunaticpuppetmaster]

  My contribute for Konoha Simps server collab! 

Trying to do both drabble and an art was a poor decidion as i am a lil bit late. 

Special Thanks to @pfreadsandwrites who beta-readed this drabble!

Title: Lost and Found.

Pairing: Kiba Inuzuka x OC (Tsubasa Yuki)

Summary: Everyone knows that everything you lose will end up in your soulmates possesions. Some people go crazy trying to find their destined one with practically no information. Tsubasa was never interested in finding hers and there is a chance she would never be able to.

Warnings: Angst, mentions of death, hurt/comfort

Word count: 6907

   When the first symptoms of the family curse appeared, Tsubasa already knew she was doomed. The sickness was rare and there wasn’t much information about it in the Yuki clan library even before the genocide, while after it…  well, no information survived. To be honest she did not have much hope at the beginning when her ice-natured chakra just only started to act like a parasite, eating her body and breaking thin bones.

But her sensei had. Mei had always been protective of her pupils, acting like a big sister even after the trio passed the chunin exam. So, when the worst happened, she used all her resources in order to save one of them. Unfortunately, even Kirigakure medics famous for their body knowledge were unsuccessful. The only hope was the best medic alive, Tsunade-hime herself.

Tsubasa did not know how she convinced Tsunade to help or what she promised to her (probably rare Kiri herbs), but the sannin agreed to work on her case. She didn’t promise a cure. To the girl’s pleasure, unlike her sensei, the 5th hokage was rational and she stated right from the start that the chances of recovery were very low and more likely she would just extend the Yuki girl’s agony. It was hurtful, but honest. Tsubasa always respected honesty… and her sensei. She had no other choice, but to promise Mei that she will fight till the end even though she did not want to.

“Maybe you will find your soulmate there,”- said Mei before her departure.

Mei was one of those people who always wanted to find their soulmate, however that was not the reason why she said it. She appreciated different manifestations of love: between friends, parental, sisterly and etc. She also knew that Tsubasa was a pessimist and even the love of people who were close to her was not enough to restore her will to live. At least if she were deeply in love with her soulmate, Mei hoped that Tsubasa could finally find the strength to fight.

Soulmates were always a bone of contention between different social groups: commoners, nobility and shinobi. Especially the last one. Missions and loyalty towards the village must be a number one priority for a ninja. But with soulmates everything became much harder.

Still even the biggest soulmate deniers tried their best to ‘lose things’. Even though little was known about soulmates nature, over the years people were able to learn a couple of useful things:

1 - Every item you lose will end up in your soulmate’s possessions.

2 - You cannot send a letter or any kind of writing this way.

3 - You cannot just throw away a random thing in the air or leave it intentionally on a park bench. So, you must really lose the thing to make it reach your soulmate.

The world was never peaceful. Neither for commoners nor shinobi, so desire to help for so called “true one” was understandable. People tried to tie various useful items with slim strings to their clothes like meds and water. When it came to shinobi they usually tied small scrolls to their bags or jackets hoping that during fights the thread would be cut or ripped and the item lost. Such scrolls were usually filled with food, kunais or ninja pills. Supplies that suddenly appeared managed to save some shinobi on the verge of death more than once. So even soulmate deniers had an opinion that it was practical to help the soulmate and very rude to ignore it. Help for help, life for life, nothing more. Tsubasa was one such person.

Of course, every skilled shinobi could tell from which village the lost item appeared.

Yuki’s soulmate for example was from Konoha. Her teammate Hiroto recognized a specific plant in a found ninja pill. So, she had some chances to run into him during her stay.

But Tsubasa did not want a soulmate. She did not need some stranger. She wanted to stay in Kiri and spend her last days with people she loved with all her heart and soul. Hadn’t she suffered enough? It didn’t look like it.

This was how she ended up in Konoha; or rather in a spare room of Yamanaka-hime’s house. Although Tsunade made efforts, in Yuki’s opinion, she clearly did not have an intention to heal her, but to collect information about how the disease proceeds under various factors, in order to save other unfortunate ones… Tsubasa could tell it from her students. Tsunade put her under the care of somewhat inexperienced newbies, ones who could crawl into her head and feel the patient’s condition themselves. Tsubasa did not blame her for that. She would be happy if her death could help someone. The girl rather felt sorry for distracting Ino from her more important patients. The hime herself was cheerful and sunny person, but in moments that required professionalism she could turn cold and focused with the flick of a finger. “She would be a perfect clan leader one day,” Tsubasa thought.

To be honest Yamanaka’s jutsu was useful for more than just therapy. When they first met, Yuki just simply let Ino read her mind and see her past. It was much faster and easier, plus all the secret information she knew as an ANBU was sealed. In order to get it, they would have had to use much stronger and more traumatic jutsu (and of course torture). Moreover, she was going to die soon, so did it really matter how many people knew her story?

Though when Tsubasa saw the girl’s blank face after reading her mind, she felt guilty. The blonde stayed silent for a few seconds before giving her a hug. She did not need words to say that she will do her best.

    Ino was easy to befriend. She also was good at distracting from negative thoughts. Between her regular Tsunade checkups and preparations for missions (It was important to monitor the development of the disease in the field, and all missions would be related to information gathering about the Yuki clan) they were chatting, watching movies and sometimes working in the flower shop. Thanks to Tsubasa’s honey-coloured hair most people mistook her as a distant relative of Yamanaka, so no one asked questions.

Once they ended up talking about soulmates. It started when Ino found some spilled ink on her carpet one day. Hime did not know much about her soulmate except he was really… an artistic type. Through the years she collected various brushes, pencils, erasers and doodles. Once she even found a whole sketchbook (unfortunately half torn)! But there was one thing that made her upset. He never “lost” anything to help her like the majority did.

“Maybe he is from a strict ninja family or a specific ANBU team”, she said with a sad smile.

If Ino’s soulmate was artistic, Tsubasa’s was… quite “special”. Because only a “special” person would end up losing a 6-kilo bag of dog food. Even now, after seven years Tsubasa sometimes wondered ‘how?’.. It was not a pen or a trinket which could be easily left on an academy desk, but a giant bag of dog food! No, he was a good soulmate who was “losing” supplies for her (that once saved her teammate’s life) unlike Ino’s, but still… Even when the blonde heard about it, she could not believe it and then started to laugh hysterically. After such silly small talks Tsubasa felt like she wasn’t fully alone in this foreign village. It almost felt like she had found a friend.

Unlike the other forced teammate.

Every village had a system of having at least 3 people in a team. Moreover, Tsubasa was suffering from her disease and Ino concentrated on helping her. They needed another member.

Tsubasa did not like him from the start. He was loud, narcissistic, clingy and insolent. The kunoichi was easily fed up with his behaviour. She spat out what exactly she thought of him to his face before going back to the Yamanaka estate. Only when she was alone in her room, she understood all her stupidity. She shouldn’t have acted so idiotic and lose her cool. It was essential for a ninja. She also understood why he was chosen among all of the shinobi. As a member of the Inuzuka clan he had a ninken who was already big enough to carry a man. It would be useful in case she became unconscious due to the illness. But she could not help it. A lot of bad things were going on in her life. She felt useless and helpless since she was banned from using her ice chakra. Mei also banned her from using anything that would hide her emotions. She thought that Tsubasa finally needed to learn how to speak and deal with new people. Babysitting was not helpful, so she wanted to try something more radical. Tsubasa understood, but understanding wasn’t enough to cope with the stress. Now she was sitting in the corner of her room shivering. Usually, she would take her father’s mask – the only thing left after his death- and put the cold material close to her forehead thinking what he would say or do. She couldn’t do it any longer. Some of her belongings and a mask were lost during a powerful chakra release at the beginning of the disease.

A few minutes passed before she started to feel better. A sudden knock on the door took her out of thoughts. Tsubasa went to open it thinking it would be Ino. Unfortunately, it was him. The cause for today’s bad mood and their third teammate – Kiba Inuzuka himself. She sighed and looked at him through the door, hiding most of her body behind it. The young man in front of her hesitated and looked a little bit strange or uncertain.

”Listen, I came here to apologise.“

Tsubasa raised her brow. Surely she should have been the one to apologise?. Plus, the boy looked like someone who would rather make a bunch of excuses and snap back than accept he was wrong.

“Well, I shouldn’t have invaded your personal space in the first place.” He scratched the back of his head and looked away. Judging by his behavior, the girl started to understand what actually made his behavior change.“And …uhm, Ino told me about your case so…”

“Showed you,” said Yuki her guess as a statement.

”She d-did not show me much!”

”That’s okay. I don’t mind and Ino knows that.”

“Anyway, I want to start on a clean slate. Here, take it. It’s a half mask and a bottle of blue paint so you can customize it with your clan symbol.”

”Actually…”

“I know that you are not allowed to use anything to hide your emotions, but it is a half mask and I made the holes for eyes bigger so your emotions will be perfectly visible. This is not technically breaking the rule and you will definitely feel better due to your um… well, habit. Just enjoy it, okay? I have to go now, bye!

“W-wait! I cannot…”

But the boy already left, forcing the girl to accept.

After that, though the relationship between the trio smoothed out, it was far from perfect. Tsubasa preferred to act more as a solo player despite her health condition, Kiba was still too loud and tried to act like the leader he never was and Ino … Ino tried not to go crazy in this whole mess called a team. However, overall, their missions were rather calm. Perhaps the three of them needed time to get used to each other before they could accept the others’ faults and learn to compromise. The tension completely disappeared at rest time, when tired teenagers passed time by talking to each other. Often they talked about soulmates. Someone was consulting with others about what would be more useful to seal in a tie-down scroll, the other one was looking through a travel bag for new supplies (or accidentally dropped useless things), another was thinking about loud who their soulmate might be. On one of such days, all of a sudden Tsubasa discovered earrings in a sealed scroll. They were simple and consisted of three deep blue feathers each. The girl looked at them in surprise, not knowing how to react. But, on the contrary, Ino reacted too happily.

“These are so cute! And they match your eye color! Quite a nice present for a soulmate that has never seen you.”

“This must have been a mistake.”

“It was in a scroll. How could this be a mistake? Looks like your soulmate really wishes to meet you and…”

“I don’t need a soulmate, Ino! Like, I don’t believe in perfect matches made by spiritual forces or some sort. I never wanted to have him in the first place! I have a dream to achieve, a family in Kiri. No way if I survive, I will leave it all behind because of some questionable romance! That’s ridiculous!”

Ino sighed and Kiba remained silent. The conversation came to an end. But not the attention from Tsubasa’s soulmate or their mission.

One of those days, when all sorts of cute things and sweets instead of standard ammunition began to show up in Tsubasa’s scrolls more and more, their group stumbled upon really strong opponents. The longer the battle continued the more obvious it became that they were not going to win. Unless Tsubasa broke the rule and used her clan’s abilities. Mei’s order, both as sensei and as Mizukage, always stood above many moral principles for Yuki, but now it was a completely different case. Neither Ino nor Kiba with the sweetest and bravest Akamaru should have been involved in this from the very beginning. They were not supposed to die or risk their lives because of some terminally ill girl from another village and a questionable contract between their Kages. They must live, survive and Tsubasa made up her mind. At first, she managed to eliminate a couple of ninjas and slightly injure the rest using the element of surprise. She was incredibly lucky, because the disoriented opponents were much easier to finish off for Kiba and Ino. Tsubasa by this moment had already lost her eyesight from the tension and saw the battlefield only as a set of white and light gray colors. She lost her breath and her strength to stand upright. But it was nothing compared to the pain that washed over her seconds later.

     The kunoichi screamed in pain as she felt blood filling her mouth and an ice crust covering her internal organs. She fell on the cold dusty ground, heart-rendering screams leaving her lips with the blood pulsing her temples, ice needles tearing the muscles of her arms and legs. It seemed like nothing existed except for the all-consuming pain. Through the wall of never-ending white noise, she heard the sounds of Ino’s commands and Akamaru’s frightened barking. This was the last thing she felt before passing out.

Tsubasa woke up with a heavy head and pain all over her body. She listened to her senses before opening her eyes… and it would have been better not to listen to them. Someone brazenly pressed her close to their body and sniffed into the ear. When she opened her eyes the girl immediately screamed. In general, it was a completely normal reaction when you find yourself half-dressed in the arms of an equally half-dressed man. Of course, given that she was half-asleep, her only response was a stream of unpleasant curses and swearing. At first Kiba, who was still sleepy, was happy that the girl woke up, but soon joined the exchange of curses until a joyful, but terribly tired Ino ran up to them, immediately trying to interrupt the catfight and change the topic. Kiba waved his hand resentfully and went off in an unknown direction. Ino stayed with Tsubasa alone.

“Sit down and drink this.”

“Okay, but can I ask you a question first? What the hell happened here?”

”Your disease went out of control. I could barely suppress it. This time it was… too strong. Not like before. When I was finally able to improve your condition, you were still unconscious, your temperature dropped to terribly low levels, and some ice crystals did not disappear. We didn’t risk taking you back to the village in such poor condition. At first, we tried to wrap you up warm, but that didn’t help. Your clothes were quickly soaked by the cold coming from you and it only aggravated your condition. Then we decided that we would warm you one by one with the heat of our bodies. Well, Akamaru too.

Tsubasa howled in embarrassment and Ino sighed.

“Don’t worry. I think Kiba understands what the situation looked like for you. Or he will understand. He is a hot-head, you know, and he needs some time to calm down. But he will.”

”Still, that doesn’t change the fact that I snapped at him twice for literally nothing, especially the last time when I should have said ‘thank you for trying to save my dumb ass’. I feel terrible.”

The blonde girl patted her dejected friend on the shoulder and then said, “ Drink the medicine or, I swear to God, you will regret that you woke up.

The group’s return journey took place in silence. Despite the fact that Tsubasa apologized to Kiba and he accepted the apology, the kunoichi was still tormented by her conscience. She needed to apologize to him properly. Stealing a glance at the still visible ice crystals on her hand, a thought flashed through her: “While I can still do it.”

Night is definitely a wonderful and mysterious time of the day. Too bad that not everyone can enjoy its beauty, but there are also some who would be glad to miss it. For example, some unfortunate souls from the Inuzuka clan. It just so happened that a heightened sense of smell was not the only animal trait some clan members shared. Heightened hearing, too. In battle it was somewhat useful while in everyday life - irritating. During the day, in a mixture of noises, it did not cause much discomfort, but at night, when all the sounds disappeared, a can kicked by a drunk felt like a hit in the head. It is not surprising that such “lucky” clan members often suffered from insomnia and generally lived in the rhythm of night owls, which was very difficult for the shinobi world, where everyone was entirely early birds.

So was Kiba. However, tonight it felt different. His day was active and the sounds on the street did not disturb him, still he could not sleep. It seemed that the whole atmosphere of the house became more and more oppressive with every second spent inside, and the inner desire to walk through the village at night became stronger with every minute. He just wanted to go outside and run. He did not know where, but somewhere, where it was important for him to be now. In the end, when he accepted the fact that he obviously would not sleep today, the young man called his faithful dog and quietly left the house. The night was calm and fresh from the recent rain. Perhaps even too much, but it did not bother Kiba. He gladly wandered through old village streets, breathing in deeply the cold night air until he found himself near the playground. Or better to say, found someone.

Tsubasa sat on the swing all hunched up, almost motionless like a statue, and although this time her face wasn’t hidden by a mask, but her honey hair, Kiba knew that the girl was clearly not radiating joy.

“May I sit?,” he asked. Tsubasa didn’t even flinch.

“Yes.”

Kiba looked at the girl. When they first met, she was strong, cold and impenetrable. A true warrior. But now things were different. As a shinobi, he was not afraid to die on the battlefield, surrounded by dead and, possibly, even rotting bodies. But seeing a person fade like this, when they were unable to do anything about their state, when they burned out like a candle, turning with every second into a pale copy of their former self is what really scared him. At first, he didn’t care much what would happen to Yuki, but now, when her life glimmered on a candle stub, saving her was important. Either she will survive, and he will get rid of animal all-consuming fear, or her pale face, disfigured by illness, in the tongues of the funeral flame will haunt him till the end of his days.

Akamaru rested his head on Tsubasa’s lap. Still lost in her heavy thoughts, Yuki let her hands go of the swing chain and started to mechanically stroke and scratch the ninken behind the ears.

”Hey Tsu, I know that you are that type of shinobi who tries to follow the code perfectly. But we are not made of steel. You are not made of steel. You are feeling bad and tired. It’s unlikely that I will hear something that Ino did not show me or did not hear from you. Sharing pain as a shinobi is hard, but it’s even harder to keep your cool when you are on the verge of being broken by your own emotions. Even though I talk too much, anything you tell me tonight will stay here, I promise. So, tell me what’s eating you.

”You’re right. I am tired. I am weak, although I’ve tried to prove myself otherwise for my whole goddamn life. Even when I felt bad and thought that everything was lost, I clung to a few good things that I had. What does not kill makes us stronger, and the world, even drowning in war and blood, is still too beautiful to give up, especially the little things that everyone forgets. That’s what my father taught me. My path has never been covered with rose petals. Well.., for most people, actually. Still, I didn’t stop fighting for the people I love. Only when the clan curse showed itself… I was really scared. I felt completely helpless. And after the recent events… Fuck all my experience, knowledge and even more ranks. I am useless. I… I must accept the truth. I will die soon Kiba and I do not want to die here.”

Her previously smooth and still voice started to crack. Her shoulders shivered slightly.

“You, Ino and your friends are wonderful people and in general I like Konoha, but it will never be my home, and you will never replace my family. I hate to break promises, but I really don’t want to keep the one I gave to sensei and friends. I just want to give up and go back to Kiri. I miss them so much and want to see them one last time. Besides there is also one thing that bothers me…”

Mei was not that wrong when she said that Tsubasa might fall in love in Konoha. She actually did, but not with the soulmate destined by the stars. She fell in love with an eccentric, slightly arrogant and silly boy who may have not really known her, but still tried to help. Simply because he did not lose faith in her or their team, because he acted friendly with her and could cheer her up even in her darkest moments. For the fact that he could knock on the window at one in the morning and invite her into the forest to look at the fireflies. Just like that. It wasn’t like love at first sight, or a long courtship. With each passing day her feelings grew stronger washing over her like waves. Unfortunately, there were few “BUTs” that Tsubasa could not ignore:

She was from another village and even though there were many bad things in the hidden Mist, she was not going to betray it or move anywhere. She promised herself to help Sensei make the village a better place, and she was not going to give up on her dream either. Kiba was also too loyal to his family and friends. He would never leave them for some Kirigakure girl.

Moreover, Tsubasa felt guilty about her soulmate. Yes, she never saw him, but that did not stop him from taking care of her and obviously dreaming about their meeting. It would be wrong just not to care about his feelings.

Most importantly, that applied to both Kiba and the unknown “true one” - she was dying. She was a weak sick girl who had a month left to live at best. Of course, she could confess her feelings to the boy next to her right now, feel loved and die with a drop of happiness… But was it fair for Kiba who would have to live with this burden until the end of his days? Definitely not. She couldn’t do that to him. That’s why she would rather stay silent, burn out from her feelings, because at least she would not let him suffer.

“I just don’t know what to do… I feel lost.”

She lifted her head, blue feathers of her earnings blowing in the wind. Her face was emotionless and her body calm, yet uncontrollable tears were streaming down her face.

The boy took her freezing hand and pulled her into a hug. Tsubasa bit her lip, burying her face in his shoulder and soaking his jacket with tears.

”You lost only because you gave up right away as soon as you found out about your diagnosis! Stop thinking about the fucking disease! Focus on something else! Not on the loved ones, since it causes you so much pain. Focus on your dreams! On your soulmate!”

“Why are you so obsessed with the idea of soulmates?”

“Why are you so disgusted with the idea itself?”

She let his hand go and exhaled. There was no trace of her emotional outburst except for her bloodshot eyes. Tsubasa grabbed the swing chains, thinking for a second.

“I do not believe in fairy tales about gods, who loved each other and were separated, that blessed all mortal couples with a secret connection, in revenge to the rest of the pantheon. Why did everyone suddenly start to think that it was a love connection? What if that bond means a strong friendship? And how can finding lost things help my soulmate find me or specifically, my body? The only variant I see is where you tattoo the coordinates on your hand and lose it in battle. An ‘excellent’ plan! Moreover, where are the guarantees that soulmate couples will be happy? Give me one example.”

”Ino’s parents are soulmates.”

Both of them suddenly turned silent.

”As far as I know, Mrs. Yamanaka did not even know our language when she arrived here. She was from another country, with completely different customs, still she risked going into the unknown. And I don’t know any stronger couple.”

“The way you talk about it… Your parents aren’t soulmates either, are they?”

He nodded.

”Don’t get me wrong, I love my mother. In fact, my father left when I was one year old, so she and my sister raised me. But… My mother is a very difficult person. As far as I can remember, it was always important for her to be the first and she never cared about the feelings of others. This is good for a warrior, but not for a family member. She could easily say things that will hurt you, including the ones she said on purpose, as a joke in order to please her ego. When you tried to talk to her about this and ask her to tone it down a little, she pretended to listen at first, but soon forgot about it. As for my father, he was not from our clan, not even from our village. He was a stranger and ended up being at the very bottom of the clan’s hierarchy. My sister said that he could stand a lot of things, but not the betrayal and disregard towards him from his once loved one. Of course, this was not the only reason he left. After that, looking at how Ino’s parents perfectly understand each other and always try to find a compromise, on how strong their union is… I want the same kind of family. Yes, I can act like my mother, be short tempered and impulsive. I think you noticed it when we first met. I admit I behaved horribly, but with people close to me, whom I don’t want to lose, I try to control myself and work on it.”

“That’s… amazing Kiba. And despite the fact that you mostly act like a jerk -” he snorted and a small smile formed on her lips- “I have to admit that after knowing you better, I have respect for you. You don’t try to please everyone. You give all of yourself and your warmth only to the ones that are close to you. Only to those who, in your opinion, deserve it, disregarding the rest. This is right. I share the same point of view. But since you really want to find your soulmate, have you ever thought that you might end up being the one to leave your home? Are you ready for such a sacrifice yourself?”

Kiba fell silent. At first it seemed that he was deep in thought, but in reality, everything was different. He was frightened and listened to the silence of the night trying to find out if someone was eavesdropping on them. For a moment, the girl even thought that he used ninjutsu to sniff out strangers and make sure that there were no one near them.

As white as a sheet, he took her hand and ‘wrote’ his answer on the inside of her palm with a finger:

“Yes”

She glanced at him. His actions spoke louder than words.

“Your father is dead, isn’t he?”

”Were you born in a clan or joined it later, you cannot leave it.”

”I understand. After all, in Kiri, a lot is happening inside our clans too.”

They both sat in uncomfortable silence.

“When you said that my parents are not soulmates, you also said “either”. So..?”

“You heard right. You know that before Terumi-sama, Kirigakure was overflowing with nepotism and bribery? Well, people were willing to do anything to move up the career ladder. My mother really wanted a higher position in ANBU, so she made my father fall in love with her and convinced him that she was his soulmate. As you understand, it was also important for my father to find ‘the true one’ but when he realized that he was fooled it was already too late. He comforted himself with the fact that he seemed to love my mother even without that spiritual bond, plus he loved me with all his heart and soul. But in fact, the love between my parents was one-sided… and because of the special treatment to the Yuki clan, my father was never at home. So… when you start looking for your destined one, please be careful, okay? I do not want the same fate for you or for anyone else.”

Okay, let’s change the topic” - he waved his hands in a playful defensive gesture “You mentioned that you have a dream. So, what kind of dream?”

“Well, you chose a bad one to distract me, because my dream is deeply connected with my family. You know about the genocide of the Yuki clan?”

“Mmm, sorry, to be honest, not really. Only that when the Uchiha clan was massacred, the elders whispered with each other that it could be the same case as it was with your clan, where it was the Kage’s order or some sort.”

“The Yuki clan was once considered to be one of the most powerful clans in the village of the Hidden Mist. And of course, quite dangerous, especially for the past Mizukage, or rather, for the one who controlled him. So, one night, the entire main branch was killed and the clan’s library burned down. The Yuki clan was officially made part of a lower caste. Some clan members managed to escape, while others were often sent on dangerous and suicidal missions. Now from the once large clan, only 30-40 people remain in Kiri, and most of them are elders and children. For comparison, grandfather Naoki had four children, the same age as my father, and only one daughter remained alive. As you know, my frightened and repressed clan avoided communicating with each other. In fact, in my childhood, it was as if the clan did not exist at all. Childhood in Kiri was not easy, but the other children at least had a clan, a large family that stood up for them. I wanted it too. I wanted to be a part of a clan and before my illness I dreamed of reviving the Yuki clan, regaining lost knowledge and finding all the relatives lost around the world, whom, as far as I heard, were not liked by both ninjas and civilians. But now after that illness… I must find every single Yuki alive to make sure that no one will be alone while fighting the family curse and that no one will go through the same pain as me, giving them a chance to be cured. And I will do it, no matter what… If I survive, of course…”

“It’s … A great dream to achieve-,” he scratched his head not knowing what to say- “And I am sure you will! Just don’t be so pessimistic! “

”I am realistic.”

“Pessimistic.”

“Realistic!”

“OK, OK!” he chuckled.“Looks like only realists like you, who talk about how bad and terrible everything will be, turn out to be chuunins.”

“What? Kiba, I don’t… urgh forget it! Arguing with you on any topic is simply useless when you are stubborn as a mule.”

“Said another mule!”

She laughed. Warmly and sincerely, for the first time this evening, and perhaps since they returned from that ill-fated mission.

”By the way, if your life in the hidden mist was so bad why do you hate the idea of moving to another place? Like here, to Konoha?”

“First of all, my life in Kiri is perfect now. Secondly, when people will learn that I am from the hidden mist they will hate me. The only thing that saves me now is that commoners think I am a distant relative of Ino.”

“Why do you think that?”

“You never heard why Kiri women are hated so much?”

“No.”

“Well let me tell you,” she grinned sinisterly. “One year, in our village, due to hunger, disease and war, there were practically no men left. Then the women decided to fill this gap by stealing men from other villages. But then they questioned themselves, how to transport healthy and adult shinobi without harming them? This is how the world-famous art of Kirigakure ANBU was born, thanks to which we can immobilize even the most powerful warrior,” she chuckled as a senbon she used in some missions appeared from nowhere, - “With the combination of many factors, but still. Well, those poor souls who ended up in Kiri … they essentially had no choice, but to marry ladies there if they wanted to live.”

“Are you joking?!”

“I’m not! In fact, my great-grandfather was kidnapped from the village hidden in the Stone. So, be careful Inuzuka Kiba! Who knows, maybe my illness is just a part of a secret mission and I’m actually here to pick up suitable candidates… And you might end up being one of them! You may turn out to be a good third husband for me, you know?”

He laughed.

“Oh really? Well, I would die to see how you would try to steal me with such an amazing guard as Akamaru!”

“Oh darling,” she grinned and hugged the huge white dog,” I would find a way to make that adorable boy my partner in crime! “

Akamaru happily barked in agreement and both teenagers burst into laughter, almost falling off the swing.

“By the way,” she said after a small pause, “I have to admit that fireflies are much more beautiful in Konoha. Thank you for letting me enjoy such beauty…”

He bit his lip and took her hand in his. The Ice crystals were still showing from her bandage returned them both to the dreadful reality.

“You will survive Tsu, I promise you, and you will see many more fireflies. Not only these.”

She looked at him with a faded, crooked smile. A smile that only gravely ill and very tired people have. Kiba returned her a look and his heart squeezed painfully in his chest, skipping a beat.

“Don’t make a promise that you can’t keep.”

”I’ll keep it! You will see. We are close to finding the ancient temple of the Yuki clan, and there definitely should be information on how to cure you. And after the next mission is completed, we will go to a grill bar! In the land of water there are only sea creatures and practically no normal beef. I cannot let you go back to Kiri without letting you know all the delights of good meat.”

She chuckled.

“If you say so.”

But there would be no grill bar or any next time. They found information about the temple location, but at the cost of everything else. The disease turned out to be unstoppable at this point. Luckily, they managed to reach it in time and save Tsubasa’s life.

Three months had passed since her miraculous recovery. Representatives of the Mist village appeared in Konoha the next day and took the girl with them, not allowing her even to say goodbye to her new friends. Still, their paths will cross in the future.

Upon returning to Kiri, Tsubasa began to communicate a lot with Ino through letters, which made the Mizukage almost ecstatic. She hoped that friendship with the clan princess would turn into a possible strong political tie in the future. One way or another, Mei was going to make her children, if not a future Mizukage, then those on whom the village could rely. Sometimes Mei was so happy about the benefits that Tsubasa had a feeling that her illness and departure to Konoha were part of Sensei’s plan to improve relationships with the village from the very beginning. However, she thought it was too weird and silly to be true.

She also sent letters to Kiba. Feelings for him that suddenly flared up in her heart were not planning to disappear, but she still had no intention of getting into his personal life. He wanted to find his soulmate, and she respected that wish. This was the least she could do for him. “Besides,” she thought while drinking peach tea in the evenings and remembering how he was trying to warm her drastically freezing body on their trip to the temple, “it is unlikely that we would have succeeded even if there would be no soulmate. We are too loyal and attached to our villages and clans. None of us would move to another village for the sake of other. Only a soulmate had such privilege.“

Therefore, she was happy to be his friend at least, send the boxes of tangerines and dried seafood snacks on special occasions, help with advice on everyday problems that all teenagers went through, regardless of which shinobi village they were born in, and just talk about all sorts of nonsense.

At six am, there was a loud knock on the door. Tsubasa was just getting ready for the training and she had no idea who would need to see her at such an early hour (her teammates were waiting for her at the training field, so it could not be them).

A familiar figure was standing outside of the door. Tired from the road, a little nervous, but smiling. Holding a medium-sized flat box under his arm.

“Kiba? What are you doing here, especially this early?!”

“There were reasons,” he said giving her a box, “may i come in?”

“Of course, you can, I’ll make you some tea and something to eat for you two.”

The girl moved away to the side, letting the boy and his dog into the apartment. Akamaru immediately stretched and laid himself on the carpet of the living room, while Kiba took a seat in the kitchen.

“So, what’s the reason you came here?”

“Open the box,” he said with a smile.

Tsubasa raised her eyebrows skeptically. She put the box on the table, thin fingers gripping the blue lid and pulling it up. Her father’s mask with its cold material was staring right into the girl from the inside. Frozen in complete shock, looking at the once-lost thing dear to her heart, she did not notice how Kiba approached her from behind.

“I just felt lost,” he said in a soft voice, while tucking a loose strand behind her ear. Their faces were only a few inches apart, “And desperately wanted to be found.”

[iwajima]

don’t hate me. (akaashi keiji x m!reader)

summary: you push your feelings down for akaashi for so long that you’ve forgotten every loving memory of him. until, he reminds you.

a/n: this is so bad bc i didn’t edit this at all and theres probably a lot of typo’s but (*��꒳`*) i felt like writing a self indulgent soft fic before sleeping

warnings: nothings really, fluff and anxiety(?)

status : unedited / 1.9k

You honestly didn’t know when your love for Akaashi bloomed in a romantic way. After all these years of being his close friend, you both shared moments that an average person would label as romantic, but to you both it was just friendship. From sleeping together cuddled in the same bed to gifting each other on special days to sunset picnics after practice. Either you two were oblivious or the world was too strict on defining what romance is.

But now you know, you love Akaashi. Seeing him be confronted by a girl with a love letter in her hand made your heart prick with jealousy. Your eyes couldn’t stop glaring at the girl, the thought of her having a chance with him bubbled anxiety that you pushed down and denied. You didn’t even notice that your face was strewn with furrows when Konoha slaps your back.

“Oi, y/n-chan what’s that look on you face?” He looks at your ridiculous expression before following your eyes, when he sees who they’re set on he puts two and two together.

Konoha whistles before snickering at you. Despite Akaashi’s faint body language of disinterest, you still believed in the possibility of him reciprocating the girl’s feelings.

“This is some entertaining shit, don’t tell me you like her–“ You roll your eyes at him, ignoring his teasing, he clearly lacked awareness of how much his words could have affected you.

When you turn around, trying to get away from the scene before you, Konoha follows suit and babbles on about other things. You didn’t blame her, Akaashi was growing into his features and that brought a lot of attention from shallow girls. You just didn’t like the idea of him sharing his love. In your little fumbled head, that meant you weren’t important enough for him to give all his love to.

You spend the day almost ignoring him, which was stupid of you considering if you were losing him you should be trying to win his attention again. But you needed some time to let your brain think.

The rest of your classmates file out as the day ends and you’re left with Akaashi, who’s on cleaning duty with you. Had you not been jealous of the girl due to the entire situation that morning, the atmosphere wouldn’t have been uncomfortable and awkward, at least for you.

“Hey, y/n I haven’t seen you all day, are you okay?” He speaks up when the last student leaves.

He approaches you, placing a hand on your shoulder. You had your head resting on your arms as your face was nuzzled into the inside of your elbow. When you don’t respond, he moves to the other side to place himself in your line of view. You had your eyes closed, but Akaashi had a suspicion that you were well awake.

“Alright then, I guess you’re going to leave me to do all the cleaning.” He laughs, gently patting your shoulder.

You felt guilty, letting him do all the work, but that kinda meant he’s stuck with you a little longer and you were fine with that. The sounds of his soft humming almost made you fall asleep. His voice was soothing, it almost made you cry. Your sudden yearning for his touch confused you, why were you suddenly crushing on Akaashi?

The constant thinking had actually made you fall asleep. The last thought made you fall asleep to a comforting feeling. You had thought of Akaashi and that was bound to make you get a good nap. Just as you were beginning to float to dream land, you were woken up by a hand stroking your hair.

“Y/n, we gotta go now, it’s getting late.” He smiled at you, you looked so peaceful sleeping.

It took you a second to realize you had fallen asleep, but the drowsiness soon left when you see Akaashi looking at you, his proximity a little closer than you thought.

“You owe me one for making me clean everything, luckily the room wasn’t as messy as it usually is.”

You both silently walk home together. Luckily, volleyball practice wasn’t on, so you were able to go home and drown in your sorrows. Your overthinking was broken by Akaashi’s voice slicing through the quiet.

“Hey, are you still sleeping over tonight? we’re still going to the city tomorrow right?” He asks, eyeing your fatigued expression.

“Oh shit– I completely forgot.” You say with wide eyes, realizing you should’ve packed for a sleepover.

“You dumbass, you can borrow my clothes remember? I got extra towels and a toothbrush too. Where has your head been? you seem off today.” He says in worry.

You brush it off, saying you didn’t have the best sleep because you were up too late. He was right, usually you weren’t this… awkward. All your manoeuvres were hesitant and your demeanour was not the usual chill guy he knew. You curse at yourself for not being able to mask your emotions.

But man it felt nice to be sleeping in Akaashi’s bed again. Everytime you inhaled, all you could smell was him. You could almost doze off from it alone, but you wanted to stay awake a little longer to bask in his company. He was curled facing you, one of his legs was resting above yours. You weren’t sure if he was asleep or not. You were face to face with him, noses a few inches away, you didn’t want to stare too long just in case he opened his eyes but you couldn’t.

Your eyes travel from his long lashes, to the tip of his cute little nose, before settling onto his smooth lips that were slightly pouting. You were so close you could kiss him, but that would be weird. Your thoughts fought with each other as it raced with scenarios that could happen.

What were you saying? You can’t keep thinking about this, Akaashi’s your friend and has been since you were in kindergarten. You didn’t even know if he liked guys. Right… if you were to tell him, he would probably call you a freak and a stalker.

The thoughts keep flooding and some hurt more than others. You turn to face the wall, letting a few drops of tears fall. You tried your best to not let out a sound but you couldn’t stop yourself from sniffling. Just as you were about to fall asleep, a voice erupts from behind you.

“Y/n are you jealous of Keiko?”

You freeze. Why would he be saying that? Did he see you stare? Or were you really that obvious? You didn’t know how to respond, you didn’t even want to move. The sound of your heart was beating so loud in your ears that it made you panic even more.

“If you’re wondering why I’m asking you, I’ve known you since we were 4.” His voice was quiet, only loud enough for you to hear, and it sent chills up your spine.

By now your eyes were wide, tears streaming down even more. You bite your lip to prevent your breathing shake. You really couldn’t come up with a response. He continues when you don’t reply.

“It’s been a year, you seriously think I wouldn’t notice?”

Akaashi knows when you gaze at him, but he never meets your eyes. He notices the hugs that were a little longer than usual. He notices your touches grow more and more frequent each time you meet whether it be a faint brush of your fingers when you pass him something or you placing a firm hand in his shoulder as you great him when you arrive to class in the morning.

A year? Had it really been a year. Were you really in love with him this entire time, did you forget or were you oblivious by your own feelings that you couldn’t see how you were acting around him? You wanted to turn and see the look on his face, it was probably disgust. You can’t tell if he’s upset or not, his speech was affected by his tiredness.

“You don’t remember do you?”

Remember?

Akaashi did feel a tinge of disappointment when he saw your lack of response. Maybe you were mad at him because he let that girl Keiko talk to him longer than needed. Maybe you were mad at him because maybe you do remember and he wasn’t showing signs of what he swore he felt. He just wanted you to talk to him.

“I know I should stop letting these girls give me love letters, but I hoped you would’ve stepped in for me and say that I'm not interested. Is that strange?”

He sighs, you haven’t moved an inch. He was hesitant, but he moved closer to you, close enough to feel the heat radiate off your body. Maybe he shouldn’t have confronted you about this, it felt like wrong timing.

“Remember that night you stole alcohol from your parents? You were pissed drunk, maybe they weren’t true words but you said…”

You felt shame creep up to you, a frown settled on your face at your failure to remember. You knew you shouldn’t have drunk most of the bottle.

“You told me that you were in love with me.”

Oh.

Maybe you did remember. You probably shoved that memory down subconsciously to prevent yourself from being embarrassed, you remember, it was a clear small chunk of memory. You also remember the amount of girls you hooked up with to prevent yourself from falling for Akaashi even more, but it obviously didn’t work, you only wanted him even more because those girls weren’t him.

“Do you… you know what nevermind. I’m sorry if you found this weird, forget I said anything–“

“Akaashi.”

You finally turn, eyes slightly red from crying. He was so pretty under the moonlight, his upturned brows and wide worried eyes made your heart skip a beat. You would be lying if you didn’t want to suffocate him in a hug right then and there.

“Tell me what you said that night.” Your voice was stern, but you could tell that you were trying to hide a cry.

“I’m sure you remember–“

“I want to hear you say it again.”

You pull yourself closer to him, eyes never leaving his as you search for something within. You cup his cheek, inching your face closer and closer. Akaashi feels his cheek heat up. Luckily, you couldn’t see his blush under the blue tones from the night.

He hesitates, but says it clearly. The words replayed in your head over and over, you have to make sure you heard it correctly and you weren’t hallucinating. Instead of heartbreak, you felt relief. It wasn’t what you expected for him to feel.

“I love you.”

You wasted no time in pressing your lips against his. And oh how it felt so good to finally be able to do so. Every single memory of your display of affection towards him flashed in your mind. You had been practically hinting at it, but you denied your feelings and called it friendliness.

If you could have a moment you could replay on a loop when you died, it would be this one. You lay almost on top of him with your face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. Your leg was placed across his thighs as your arm was resting on his chest, your hand tangled in his hair.  

This was the intimacy you craved, and so did he.

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

what do you think lee and obito's dynamic would be like if, say, things were a bit different and they were the same age. like, minato made a deal with the shinigami, except because obito caused the kyubi attack, he'd be the one lee latched onto. so, say lee went to konoha when obito is five or so, how would he react to this strange foreigner and how would the uchiha react? idk it's kinda funny to me. you don't have to answer if you don't like!

I feel as if you people are sometimes trying to push me story ideas like you’re pushing crack. One of these days, you know my will power’s going to break and I’m going to write the thing, it’s just a matter of which one.

But not today, Satan.

So, I’ll just do this at a high level instead and we can content ourselves with a “what if”.

Well, first, it’s very hard for me to picture this scenario. Obito was there at the time, yes, but he had no direct content with the Shinigami, didn’t call her himself, and well was mired in nihilist rage. So, I’m not sure Lee the god would even notice him there except, perhaps, distantly. 

Though, perhaps through the sheer power of his rage, Obito’s overwhelming ability to force his will onto the world, and more would spark her notice and cause her to go to him rather than a young Minato. That, or when Ellie Potter decides to take the Dursley’s up on their suggestion to leave and find an orphanage, she gravitates towards a time period where the Minato she had previously met is closer to existing (Minato’s older, in a stable relationship with Kushina, etc.)

Regardless, I think a Lee who would choose this time frame, even unwittingly, would be less human and closer to whatever Lee truly is. 

Which means, of course, that Obito’s going to have the weirdest time of his goddamn life.

I forget when Obito enters the academy, I’m going to throw six out as a number as I believe that’s canonically when Naruto’s generation typically enters, and that way Kakashi’s even more ridiculous for graduating at five. 

Until this point, being an Uchiha and living with his grandmother, he has no interaction with strange foreign (possibly Uzumaki) orphan Eru Lee. So, he undoubtedly meets her in the academy, and she’s peak weird.

I imagine she easily confesses to Obito that she’s here to meet the man who, in a few years time, is going to summon her and offer his own soul in sacrifice. She thinks it would be a little awkward to approach him directly, he’s a grown man and she’s six, and in the meantime she’s discovered that the only occupation for foreign orphans is to become shinobi and pray you have some talent. Also, fun fact Obito Uchiha, you burn down the village riding on the back of a Godzilla villain knockoff.

Obito, naturally, is weirded the fuck out and wants nothing to do with her (to his misfortune, her seat is right next to his, and Rin’s is on the opposite side of the classroom). Obito’s grandmother probably tells him to be nice to the weird, friendless, foreign orphan girl and makes him feel guilty as hell. He tries, it’s still weird, and not helped by the fact that Lee quickly reveals herself to be insanely talented.

While Obito, of course, sucks.

Obito’s the one who points out that, if Lee’s this good, they’re not going to care that she completely fails her written exams: she’s going to graduate yesterday. Lee thinks this war business sounds unpleasant, also Obito is the only person who talks to her and if she leaves now she’ll be alone, six, and on a battlefield, and starts purposefully failing her exams. Unfortunately, she’s terrible at failing. Fortunately, she’s great at genjutsu and successfully remains in Obito’s shinobi class. Obito can’t even.

Eventually, i.e. right away though Obito doesn’t admit it for months, Lee becomes his best friend and unofficial wingman who tries to help him win Rin’s heart. She makes it worse, because now Obito’s that weirdass kid who hangs out with that other weird ass kid who does things like get kidnapped by their own clones.

His grandmother is glad Obito has friends, Lee is over all the time eating all their food and practically lives at their house, but has no idea what to make of this girl at all. Much like in “Minato” though, thanks to shenanigans and a lack of direct jonin supervision, the village hasn’t really caught on yet that Lee is anything more than an abnormally talented civilian born orphan. So, the Uchiha don’t think anything of it (and since Obito’s a branch member and very young they don’t really care that he appears to have a non-Uchiha/arranged girlfriend). 

Four years later, Obito hates Lee forever because she genjutsus her placement to be on his genin team instead of the top kunoichi in their class: Rin. Also not helping, as his best friend is a girl, this means that everyone (Rin included) thinks Lee is his girlfriend. At this point, even Obito’s not sure if Lee is his girlfriend or not, her being an alien also doesn’t help matters (a fact which Obito catches onto much faster than Minato did in “Minato”).

The bell test is a convoluted mess. Minato and Lee have the world’s weirdest “do I know you from somewhere?” staring contest. Lee knows she can get the bells in two seconds and instead spends the entire test trying to negotiate with Kakashi and Obito and decide among themselves who stays and who goes. (Obito, clearly, must stay if he wishes to become hokage. Lee would go, but Kakashi and Obito seem to fight like cats and dogs. Per Minato Namikaze, they’re not all staying). This turns into a ridiculous brawl with Kakashi who cannot believe he’s stuck with these genin losers. They end up passing the test because Lee gets the bells and probably buries Minato in the sand somewhere and makes him renegotiate his terms (he takes all three of them as students if he knows what’s good for him). Minato’s not sure how he feels about this.

Life, continues, shenanigans ensue that undoubtedly attract the interest of all the right parties: Danzo, Orochimaru, and the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha clan probably sits Obito down to tell him “By the way, you’re going to marry your weirdass friend”. Obito has an existential crisis about his shitty family, the nature of duty, and everything else.

Danzo probably waits with glee for Lee to turn chunin but undoubtedly actively tries to recruit her straight away. Lee is very weirded out by this.

Orochimaru probably steals hair samples and tells Danzo that he has dibs.

They’re put into war very early, as Obito was in canon, this is undoubtedly quite awful. They likely have a very tense relationship with Kakashi, who wants nothing to do with either of them, and is in his stoic, serious, traumatized phase of his life.

And so on and so forth, we could keep going, but I think this is enough.

[theredconversegirl]

hey there! looking for more fanfictions to read, what would be your favorites right now?

Hey there Anon! 

Thank you for stopping by! You’re lucky that I was already preparing a few rec lists, so it was easy (and quick) to put this one together :D

I’m including below a list of a few of my all-time and current favorite fics. Since there are so many lists out there recommending known and famous stories, I’m leaving those out of this post, so we can give some space for underrated fics as well. ;)

In no particular order, here are 15 SasuSaku fics I love very much: 

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Give Me A Reason by: Rise of the Blossom / @riseoftheblossom-ff

Things aren’t always what they seem and when Sasuke realizes that, he also realizes he has two choices: fight for her, or give in. [Rated M, complete. High School AU.]

The story is very relatable (to me at least 🙄) and my favorite high school one. There’s a nice character development and a good backstory. I love the interactions and how they seem real. 🙃

P.S.: This hits too close to home lol. The way they start and develop their friendship/relationship is - almost - the same way I did with my hubby.

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Don’t You Wanna Stay by: letmeannoyyoutoday

Seeking help one cold winter night at his old teammate’s place, Sasuke remembers just what Christmas is about. [Rated T - One-Shot Christmas Fic.]

Perfect balance between angst and that feel-good aftertaste. This author’s writing is lovely too. ❤️

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Ever After by: ohwhatsherface / @sun-summoning

Sasuke and Sakura enjoy the married life. And kissing. Especially the kissing. [Rated T, complete. Short Story.]

This is the cutest story ever! You’ll be smiling from ear to ear until the end. Heartwarming and fluffy, full of slices of life (my go-to feel good fic). 🥰

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Celebrity Status by: Einna Fletcher / @backintheslipstream

Sasuke and Sakura’s lives revolve around music, and the craziness that comes with fame. Romance is the last thing they want to deal with. The problem: they can’t seem to stay away from each other. [Rated M, complete. Celebrity AU]

My teen years were surrounded by music and friends’ bands, so this story is special to me ❤️. Here, they are both singers and in different places in their career, and the hate to love development is great. It makes me giddy! 🤩

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Cracks by: thevelvetbunny

Sasuke struggles with life after returning to Konoha, and enters counselling with a certain no-nonsense Hokage. [Rated M, incomplete.🔥]

Although the fic doesn’t have an official end, the story seems wrapped when you finish it. I loved this one very much! The pacing and development is so good!!! It’s like a “what if Sasuke stayed in the village after his first return (no redemption journey)” AU. Here, he rediscovers the friendship with his teammates, he allows himself to feel - slowly but surely ;) - and he opens up, getting the help he truly needs. Itachi is somehow ingrained in his recovery and it’s beautiful. Also, without giving much away, SasuSaku here is 🔥🔥🔥!

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Good Vibrations by: Cinnamunk

With her 25th birthday approaching, her friends pairing off, and her forever crush firmly ensconced in ANBU, Sakura feels decidedly gloomy about her romantic prospects. One Ino-led shopping trip and a mysterious midnight visitor later, things are looking up for our favorite, pink-haired kunoichi. Or are they? SasuSaku. Non-mass AU. Fluff/lemon with some soapy angst/drama. [Rated M, complete.🔥 and there’s a sequel!]

Non-massacre fics are my favorite, and this one is amazing and hilarious! Hold tight, because this story starts in a really good pace. 👀🔥 

P.S.: Also, beware of the dreamy and hot 😅 Uchihas.. especially Shisui 😏. I do not take responsibility if you fall a little bit in love with him! 🙄

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Meet the Parents by: JinnySkeans

There are pictures on the walls of a small, loving family and he has the presence of mind to feel unsettled, as though he’s intruding on their happiness just by existing. Still, though, her mother fills his teacup with a smile and her father claps him on the back, and they’re kind and warm and welcoming. Sakura had to have learned it all somewhere. [Rated T, complete.]

This is an all-time favorite because, well, Sasuke meets the Harunos and I don’t see that a lot. It’s also heartwarming and so fun to read! There’s also a good portion of confused and jealous Sasuke, which is always a treat. 🥰

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Arranged by: zunaira ghazal / @zunairaghazal / @zgs1994

Arranged marriage in the twenty-first century might have been uncommon, but not unheard of. “You’re mommy’s special little snowflake, aren’t you?” [Rated M, complete. Modern AU.]

[🛑 UPDATE: Unfortunately this story is no longer available. More details here ]

The arranged marriage trope is a guilty pleasure of mine, and this one was the first one I read, so it holds a special place in my SasuSaku heart 💕. Mikoto is matchmaking as expected, Sasuke has none of that, and Sakura thinks everyone is nuts. This is another fun read! 😌

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Chains by: Boriqua-chan

Sasuke is in chains and Sakura can do as she wishes. [Rated M, complete. Smutfic. 🔥]

Well, the summary says everything… 😏🔥🔥

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he said by: the blanket / @blanket-fictions

Sasuke, Sakura, and all that lies between. “I have never expected anything from you. That would have been the height of all foolishness, and say what you want about me, but I was never that. With you, Sasuke-kun, I only ever hoped.” [Rated T - One-shot.]

This is short, but it’s so, so good! The angst and how Sakura overcomes the hurt and rejection are perfect. I can’t say more without giving away the goods.. go read this, please! 🥺

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Tangible by: twilightdazzle

Sometimes, she feels like she’s invisible and they can’t see her. Like she wasn’t real. And they finally realize she’s there just when they’re about to lose her. [Rated M, complete.]

This story is a storm of emotions, and the writing is so lovely and touching that it’s basically impossible not to tear up a bit.. prepare the kleenex beforehand, my friends! 🥺

🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅

Origins of the New Uchiha by: CertifyyedGoon

When a very pregnant Sakura is kidnapped, Sasuke must journey not only through the obstacles to find her but also his own memories. “How do you know you’re going to find her?” “She’s my wife.” [Rated M, complete. Shinobi AU.]

Another AU that has a different approach around Sasuke’s redemption and return to the village. The story switches between present and past (Sasuke’s memories showing how their relationship evolved). The story is refreshing and brings that whole ANBU Team 7 vibe we all had before canon. 🤩💕

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Miss Independent by: letmeannoyyoutoday

Tsunade once told me that striving to be the best, to be acknowledged, to be renowned, also had a series of disadvantages. But I would have never thought that one of them would send me to Otokagure, serving under the man that once left me on a bench, in the middle of the night, after breaking my heart and killing what was left of my spirit. [Rated M, incomplete. Shinobi AU. 🔥]

Ok, Sakura is a badass, independent, strong, cocky, brilliant woman and kunoichi here - she’s awesome! This story is refreshing, sexy, and funny. Sasuke gets Konoha’s help to structure Oto’s medical care and hospital in a moment where he’s dealing with this unexpected legacy. They have to work together and they annoy the hell of each other in the process. It’s a long but worth the read story, even though it’s - unfortunately - not complete.🥺 Some I-hate-you-but-maybe-I-love-you in the mix.😍🔥

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The Story by: dances.with.sunflowers

Because when they married, he didn’t really know how to be a husband. But she had eternity to teach him. First year married. [Rated T - One-shot.]

A beautiful tale of love and patience, showing the development of their relationship and married life.❤️

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your spellbound heart by: blue-plums (arabesque05) / @blue-plums

there is a new barista at the corner coffeeshop, who always smells faintly of smoke. [Rated M, complete. Coffee Shop/Dragons AU.]

Simple, adorable, and hilarious story. This AU is one of the kind and when you finish the reading, I’m sure you’ll crave more. 😍😁

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If you enjoy these fics as much as I do, let the authors know! 😉

~ Happy reading!

xoxo

[peepingtoad]

OKAY SO. 

It’s not that often that I talk about what I really think about Jiraiya, and I guess I mean more how I feel about him, since I always try to write my ‘deeper’ headcanons/metas from a more... idk, trying not to get too emotional about it point of view. Basically it’s because I know how controversial he is, and I pretty much ritually avoid a lot of takes because I don’t want to get irritated about something that really doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme, because we’re all entitled to our opinions and I largely get my say through the act of writing and developing him how I see fit.

Which is enough for me, mostly, but for the purpose of reinforcing/building upon how I see my muse’s plight, working through some of my Sannin-feels and also to dip my toes into why I find blindly judgemental/single-faceted takes of him, his priorities and the Sannin’s bond so exasperating, I kinda feel like rambling my thoughts (feelings) anyway! 

Politely sticks this stream-of-consciousness mess under a cut.

So sometimes I do think about the fact that Jiraiya kinda, lmao, forgot about Everything Else in the world because of Orochimaru and his (frankly) obsession with him/them. And the fact that a ridiculously significant portion of bad shit that happened is down to his actions/inaction. And the fact that he really did go and leave the likes of Naruto (and maybe to a degree Kakashi, although there’s zero actual evidence he didn’t get involved given the strong indications of a great rapport in the canon), just because he was so hellbent on pursuing Orochimaru, who was not even shown to be affectionate towards him at the best of times. When I think about it in terms of Jiraiya being gone and the main reason we’re given for it, things suck for a number of people, and quite largely because of potentially unrequited/horribly communicated/obsessive JiraOro pursuits, in essence :’)

(And for all it’s still quite the rarepair, Jiraiya does express on accounts that he was destroyed when Oro left. I mean... this is the guy who rarely acknowledges his sadness so... It’s not my bias at all I sware)

Of course JiraTsu is very real in my eyes too, albeit a very different kinda tragic, as is OroTsu. And the messy poly ship? Ohohoho, even better, but... yeah. Tsunade does at least go her own way for a long time, as messed up as that is in itself, for reasons including the fact she seems to pointedly not heal or move on from her grief. And given the absolute debacle that was her and Jiraiya reuniting... and both her and Oro even discussing a possibility of sacrificing him... and just, them in general for that whole arc :’))) yeah. They are without a doubt messy and troubled, but even despite how fraught things become I genuinely think all the furtive expressions and the undercurrents of longing and the evasion of their past exhibits a history much deeper and full of lost love compared to many other team dynamics we get (otherwise the Three Way Divorce wouldn’t have been quite so horrible on them, would it? That and they’d probably have split up after Team Hiruzen was no more, if they really hated each other/just tolerated each other out of familiarity like I sometimes see speculated).

But yeah, back to our main man. Jiraiya’s intense (and frankly very Scorpio of him) love for our first series Big Bad kinda did ruin him and what he was setting out to do in some ways, to the degree that the actual story of Naruto wouldn’t be very much without him in terms of drama. I mean, he always loved a good story, right? So art imitates life, and innit just pathetic poetic.

And in so many ways it is incredibly tragic and pitiable that he’s Just Like That. Idealistic and warping everything terrible, no matter how bad, into adventure in his mind! As growth! As pain that makes you TOUGH and makes you a stronger man! As something to be pushed aside while you just keep on truckin’! Whatever anyone you love throws at you, it’s Totally Fine!

After so long narrating through his personal lens, I’ve come to realise he truly is so convinced that everything bad that happens, is sort of just... something he has to deal with and feel big and guilty and feelsy for while spinning it in ways that enable him to keep going. He just loads it on himself and sorta holds it. The fact he’s so sad and filled with sickly pining grief that he has to try and exorcise it with impulsive bouts of decadence? Fine. And it’s not abnormal at all, how he approaches things with such broad scope and just kinda... thoughtlessly wrecking-balls his way through everything he thinks is a great idea at the time. He experiences the fallout of these things and simultaneously feels the entire ravages of it acutely while compartmentalising it ever so neatly away. The crazy thing, too, is that he’s exceptionally convincing at making everything he does and how he handles things seem so grand and noble and romantic and tragic... but in a humorously self-deprecating and still ultimately very hopeful way, to the degree that I as a mun get caught up in his relentless optimism and forget he actually is a sad and heartbroken guy wrapped up in all this grandiosity.

Sometimes I do step back and look and I just think yeah, fuck, he really is a total disaster! He’s a walking disaster and he’s been so damaging to himself and others in so many ways, all because of acting on emotions and impulses without really thinking about the impact! He really did kinda give up on those who needed him and for what? A love that will never love him or prioritise him back? 

A wonderfully tragic theme that I do love with him, don’t get me wrong.

But then at the same time, there’s always more nuance to be had than just ‘he is a disaster and made bad choices, as tragic and romantic as it is, he was actually just selfish and kinda sucked in the end, pathetically whipped by his friends and unable to let go of what they had’. There’s more nuance to be had than reducing him to a purely romantically-inclined character, who just snubs everyone else for a doomed love... because in the end, I think a huge part of JiraOro’s demise in particular was that Oro felt immensely snubbed by Jiraiya when he stayed in Ame, when his loyalty to Konoha (as a place and people, not necessarily a system) and of course loyalty to his own ideals was prioritised over Oro.

To an extent, I feel like Tsunade could have been a similar case, were she not preoccupied with already having lost so much, and besides I really do think she and Jiraiya were quite firmly in best friend zone at that point. With Tsunade not being able to get comfortable around Jiraiya or to pursue any underlying affection for him because of the dumbass way he always behaved (understandably of her tbh), probably until she got with Dan, by which point I reckon Jiraiya started to really come through by showing how he valued her for her, where we see by them having each other’s backs so closely in the second war. Not to mention him generally respecting that his feelings for her have no place by the time he gets her back to Konoha.

In terms of that first split in Ame, Jiraiya, I feel, simply didn’t think him leaving was going to be a big deal, because the three were always fiercely headstrong people who had their own shit going on (simultaneously independent while also being, perhaps not to their knowledge, So Very Codependent). Not only that, but his overly affectionate ways and incessant jolliness were probably considered such a joke that he was basically like ‘they’ll be fine without me’. I certainly don’t think he felt needed by them, which I don’t think is their fault or a point of angst and ‘waaah poor blameless Jiraiya’, because quite honestly, the strain on their relationship was something I fully believe even he didn’t realise he needed out of at the time. His one-track mind was just on ‘save kids, teach kids, this is right, must seize opportunity to be the change I was told I’d be, not continue with this godforsaken war’

Selfish? Maybe. Well-intentioned? Certainly. Intended to hurt anyone or imply he stopped caring? No.

In essence, when it comes to why in the end Jiraiya seemed to be so horrendously bad at being around at the worst of times, at being responsible, whatever else (and I’m not even going to go into scenes intended to be comedic because, they are comedic)... I’ve got to look at it from more than just one view. It’s easy to say ‘he’s ridiculous and terrible because he pretty much flaked on what was important based on his whims/a doomed love/his dick’ (which I have seen said lmao) but there are so many other things at play here.

So I’m thinking, while he was shirking duties (godfatherly mainly)... did he actually consider that his most important duty? Was it anyone’s place to tell him it was? Minato didn’t, as I recall, and when he sacrificed himself he specifically left it to the Third because he (presumably) respected what his teacher was about and knew he wasn’t for staying put. Did Jiraiya not consider his primary duty to be to the prophecy, and in a more general sense fixing the big wrongs and trying to foil big dangers to his home? Were these things not pretty much what he existed for (as much as his faith wavered and went off the rails at times)? Was that not the main source of any real purpose he ever had, being a kid who showed practically no ambition before? Did he not pretty much redesign himself as being ‘from Mt. Myōboku’ rather than Konoha after two devastating wars, and thus is it not understandable for him not to focus solely on Konoha—not outright destroying it, still ultimately loyal to his home and not about to let anyone destroy it, but seeing that the world is in fact so much bigger than just his little town? Is that really something that’s so bad and wrong of him, in a story where the main cast’s country has a pretty fucking nasty system and is established to do so very early on? Is he not pretty revolutionary in his own brand of not blindly serving, but not going on a destroy-it-all frenzy either?

Also, was he not the only one who actually bothered to investigate Akatsuki and the forces that would see Naruto dead, in time? For all he did help bring Akatsuki into existence in ways, it was inevitable from before he even met the orphans that they were going to be groomed/moulded into what they became, regardless of whether Jiraiya came onto the scene. Jiraiya leaving them was just a different kind of suffering to what they were inevitably going to suffer anyway, and hell, with his influence at least there was a time where they might’ve stood a chance of going totally against Madara/Obito’s path, especially while Yahiko was still around. Jiraiya didn’t know that the whole thing with the Ame orphans was, by a design out of his control, doomed to end horribly. So while he felt personally responsible not knowing this, and it’s taken as a given that he was... actually, was he, when there was a master manipulator at play? Was it wrong to want to give some kids a chance?

With regards to all those things I see people say he should have stayed and fixed, that he should have been there, he should have done x y z... Is it not the responsibility of everyone not satisfied with their lot to step up to the plate and make where they live better? Jiraiya wasn’t the only adult. Tsunade, and I absolutely love her, does seem overwhelmingly to be absolved of leaving Konoha because... ??? Kicker is that she too is related to Naruto, of course. 

So... was she not also needed for the very material ways she could’ve helped at numerous points? Was she not also placing her grief and lost love before everything else? Are some reasons inherently more ok than others to ditch? As Kakashi’s generation grew up, was it not also then up to them to decide whether they’d change the status quo? Were Minato’s own generation, presumably his own peer group, not complicit in Naruto’s ostracisation? We got a slight taste of rebellion with Asuma, Hiruzen’s own son, but the fact is many Konoha-nin were overwhelmingly complacent with how things were. And yet never get demonised at all for it. Because it’s Jiraiya’s fault for... not staying and giving it all up to be a guardian who could well be depressed and unfit to raise a child... or just being a flaky as hell one that’s never there anyway because he has shit to do? (and in doing the former would let too many things go unchecked by a completely tuned-out Hokage, not gathering all that spicy useful intel, y’know... essentially he wouldn’t have ended up largely doing his job along with the personal shit in between).

Basically when I see claims saying that Jiraiya as an individual should have done pretty much everything better, and somehow been there for everyone that needed him at any given time, and that (mostly Naruto’s) suffering was a failing on Just His part because of his selfish whims... I feel like the point of his tragedy is absolutely missed. That tragedy being that barrelling through things alone is definitely a failing and harmful in numerous ways, as we see with Itachi shouldering everything alone too, and we see them both miss out on Naruto and Sasuke as a result... but at the same time, is just settling down and leaving everything else to chance not also a huge failing, when there are so many other circumstances and enemies acting against you, when you do have the power to change tides, and when so many other people refuse to or can’t seize their own agency? Jiraiya does put his faith in a lot of people too, and a lot of people fail. Don’t fail him, but in a general sense many, like Minato, fail to make the change they wanted to. That’s life in this world, it’s tragic, and after losing a lot of loved ones yeah, he retreats and goes at it alone. 

But how can he win? How does he do what’s right, other than by chasing what he thinks he can do to actually help the world, which happens to be bigger and not centred on individuals, even those he cares about?

(and remember, nobody knows Naruto is special-reincarnation-prophecy-boi, which is why I tend not to blame-game any characters for him being treated like so many orphans were because... while it’s not morally right or nice at all, it’s tone deaf to how the world is, to the fact all characters having different degrees of knowledge and priorities, and it’s insensitive of the fact most the characters had their own struggles and were just doing their best with a bad lot gdi). 

Hell though, Jiraiya even does put Oro, his big obsessive wild goose chase that whisks him away into selfish pining hopelessly devoted land, on the back burner at points. Maybe not in a lasting way, particularly by the last databook where he’s inspired anew by Naruto, but he does prioritise other shit on numerous occasions. And there’s a lot of shit to try and prioritise.

What I’m trying to say is, Jiraiya can’t solely be held responsible for people. Sure, he’s a character whose decisions were pivotal to events, but what of every other character in the story? Why are they not held to the same crazy high standard of doing and protecting and preventing and somehow doing everything ‘right’ that would have also meant him fitting neatly into the Konoha mould? Would other characters really have been that much better in the position of The Big Guide/Martyr/Tragic Hero/Force For Change character? And also is having a tragic Chaotic Good bastard of a hero not a sign of a damn good and interesting character, that at the very least tried where so many others didn’t? Would Naruto not have been a boring as hell story, whose main protag didn’t really have much conflict to make him compelling, without Jiraiya (among others) being a mess with the best intentions? Without so many other characters having failed him, for him to overcome it and still be able to love and inspire change (albeit through sometimes-clumsy talk-no-jutsu)? Was I missing the point of the story?

............. Hmm!

No longer sure where else I’m going with this now, so.... here, I guess, ends my ode to why character hate (especially that reduces them to One Thing) is dumb, why demonising truly well-meaning characters doesn’t feel particularly woke to me in a cast full of flawed characters and horrible circumstance, and why I’ll defend this poor bastard with far too damn much hinging on him to the end I guess :’)

TL;DR HE’S A DUMBASS AND HE TRIED, OKAY?!

[fuckinuchihas]

KONOHAMARU X READER

NOT RATED (DID NOT END UP EXPLICIT)

PARTS THREE & FOUR (COMBINING WITH THE EPILOGUE HERE ON TUMBLR)

POTENTIAL TRIGGER WARNINGS: N/A (unless potential mis-characterization is one)

PART ONE

PART TWO

A rescue team finds the two of you just a couple miles outside of Konoha. Even they acknowledge how little help they turned out to be after you’d made it back all that way on your own but there is a med ninja who sees to your leg immediately and gives you some long awaited relief.

Once you’re able to start trekking back to the village properly again, Konohamaru gently tugs at your sleeve until you step back a little and make space between the two of you and the others.

Immediately you imagine him changing his mind, retracting everything he said about taking you out for a night on the town once you made it back to the village you both call home but instead he just calmly, quietly promises that any information seen or given between the two of you belonged solely to you unless expressly asked for by the Hokage himself. 

It’s a reassurance, an insurance policy maybe? Something...you’re not sure but you don’t want to test it. Why would Naruto ask expressly about the sealing chains? He wouldn’t...so if Kono wasn’t going to tell him, it meant...you could stay in hiding just a little longer maybe. 

It both confuses you and warms your heart at the same time. 

Feeling a little bold you wind your pinky around his and squeeze gently in thanks before rushing ahead to meet up with the other nin. 

You breathe in a deep sigh of satisfaction when you feel the familiarity of Konoha air in your lungs. You’d have never thought it would smell so good, but it does. It feels and smells like home, like a word you’d been promised but now you actually feel it. There’s something that lingers around you when you step inside the village, something like safety, like rest, like not having to watch your own back every single second of every single day. 

“We need to give a report,” you say to Konohamaru, mostly so the other nin will nod and flash away. 

“I can take care of that,” he hedges, but you shake your head.

“No, we’ll go over all the details and let the chips fall where they may,” you promise. “Unless you think there’s something I need to worry about…” 

“No-nope, nothing here…” 

“Alright then, let’s go talk to the Nanadaime. It’s about time I met my cousin….officially.” 

Konohamaru leads the way and you follow silently behind. You try very hard not to give away your nerves but after so long of being in close quarters together, it would be impossible for him not to notice.

You both pause outside the long rounded hallway that you know leads to the Hokage’s office, Konohamaru tugging at your sleeve once again. You turn to him with a questionable look, why is he slowing down? Showing hesitation...it isn’t like him. 

“What’s going on, Konohamaru? Did you not want me to come with you?” you ask, as you start to feel a little hurt, sad maybe. You’re not really sure. None of it makes sense. 

There’s a high blush on his cheeks and he rubs nervously at the back of his neck. 

“I just-I don’t want you to get the wrong idea,” he says, and immediately that stone heavy ball of ‘other shoe waiting to drop’ sinks into your gut with a hard slam. 

“And what would the ‘wrong’ idea be exactly?” You ask, because you need to know, even if it hurts. 

He says something that comes out in a blur and before you can stop yourself, your hand is reaching out to nab the scruff of his neck before you slam him back against the wall. “I don’t have time for this Kono, just say whatever it is,” You growl. 

“Naruto might have set this mission up as an um...a-mattch-makking-thing-” 

You blink at him. 

That was not what you’d been expecting. 

“You convinced the...hokage, to put you on a mission with me b-because you thought I was hot-well comfortable…” you say, remembering his preferred word. 

You blink up at him. 

The two of you had nearly died because he wanted some alone time with you? 

He must be trying and failing to chase your mental gymnastics with the way his eyes keep pinging all over the place but in the end all you can do is laugh because breaking down in the hokage building, no matter how fitting, seems well...inappropriate. 

You drag him down the hall quite successfully considering he’s grown fairly tall and you, well you stopped growing taller pretty early on but you get him outside the room where you need to be and you force him through the door with a quiet, “This isn’t over.” 

“Lord Seventh, we’ve come to give report regarding the mission to chart and explore the empty space just beyond the land of fire as for possible expansion,” you say, because that’s exactly what the two of you were supposed to be doing and now, fuck...now it’s- of course you should have seen something coming. Nobody has been expanding since the war really, though you had guessed Konoha and the land of Fire would be first given how much the Allied Nations thought of Naruto. 

“Oh and...should we...expand over that way?” Naruto says, with cheek that is very unbecoming of a Hokage. 

Something like grit settles in your chest as you continue on, Konohamaru deathly silent as if he knows he’s going to say the wrong thing. 

“Well now that the Black Beast Tsunami has been sealed away, I imagine it’s quite safe,” You say, hearing both Naruto and his advisor gasp in surprise. 

“The Black Beast Tsunami? I thought he was a joke!!!” Nartuo said, eyes wide before he looked to Konohamaru as if you weren’t the one just speaking about it. 

“Sealed-?”

“Yes, sealed...with my Adamantine Sealing Chains,” you say, making both men take notice of you once again. 

“Hey I think that’s that’s the same thing mom used on Kuruma, right Shika?” he says, turning to his advisor. 

Shikamaru Nara, the advisor to the Hokage that you’ve only heard about in passing. Rumored to be the smartest nin in Konoha, maybe all the allied nations combined. He turns to Naruto and squeezes the bridge of his nose before he says, “Yeah, something like that...I think she’s trying to tell you something, Naruto.” 

You don’t get another word in edgewise before Naruto is talking to someone-something  else in the room that you genuinely hope no one else can see, and then he’s embracing you in a hug. 

“Uh…” 

“Yeah, he has that effect on people...it’s a drag but you get used to it,” Shikamaru said, taking a long hit off a cigarette that hangs unlit from his lips. 

“Family! I have family!!” 

“Woah there, nobody said anything about-” You start, but Nartuo just squeezes around you further and honestly you don’t really know how to handle it so you stand there dumbly for a while longer. 

“Did I tell you that you have the best taste or what, Konohamaru?! Eh? Cousin to the Hokage, to your big brother Naruto,” he says, somehow hands everywhere to hold you in place while also rubbing the top of a blushing Konohamaru’s head.

“Lord Seventh! If you would please get yourself under control!” You say, making everyone in the room stop, freeze.  

When it doesn’t seem like they’re ready to speak again, you continue. “I appreciate your….readily acceptance of the truth but that doesn’t change anything. You are Hokage and I am just another citizen of the Konoha and I’d very much like to keep it that way.” 

You watch Naruto sink down just a little and you lie to yourself and say it doesn’t make you feel guilty but it does. In your defense though, it’s been a long trip and you really just want to get home and think over everything that’s happened.

“Sure, sure...but all of the Konoha is my family and that isn’t going to change now.” 

You nod because you don’t want to argue any further. Honestly the last scrap of fight you had left in you escaped halfway through that small little sad sigh that Naruto gave. “Then I will take my leave,” you say, bowing your final respect before slowly standing on shaky legs and moving out of the room, closing the door behind you. 

You get three days, which honestly is about two and a half more than expected. Konohamaru is a bit headstrong that way. It comes to your attention that he’s been busy with a couple other things too, so that’s bought you a little reprieve to do some thinking, and healing. Mostly thinking, though. That med nin was pretty quick on the leg stuff and everything else had all but faded. 

You’ve just gathered your laundry off the line outside your modest, but decent apartment when you hear the clink of a small stone on your window. 

“You break it, you buy it,” you say, but he nervously chuckles and cautiously climbs up the overlapping beams to put himself down right smack dab in front of you.

“I was thinking, we’d spend some time together this evening, if you’d be up for that sort of thing…” 

Bless his clueless little heart.

“Well it certainly seems a lot safer than tackling a mission that will take us a stone’s throw away from one of the most deadly assassins ever mentioned…” you snark, because you honestly can’t help yourself and it’s kinda cute to see him all flustered. 

“Haha, that’s cute. No more fake missions, I swear,” he says, crossing his heart in an adorable, somewhat lame gesture only someone who was still at least a little part child could take so seriously. 

“Oh, no more fake missions...then what exactly will this outing entail?” You ask, just to give him a little bit of a hard time. 

“I was actually thinking of taking you on a picnic, if that would be okay. There’s a place overlooking the city and it can be kinda nice after dark,” he says. 

You hmm a bit. “And I’m just supposed to agree to go out after dark with some random-

“Hey! I’m not random!”

“Random ninja because he shows up at my door looking all handsome and flustered?” Just what type of girl do you take me for, Konohamaru?” 

“One who can take care of herself?” he says, only a hint of growling frustration but it’s enough to make you laugh all the same. 

“Fair enough,” You say, “We’re in agreement then,  If you try anything I’ll kick your ass.” 

“Of course,” he says, as if you’d been the last person to think of it that way and it fills you up to know that he really does admire your strength as much as he’s said he did.

“Okay then, I’ll be ready at seven thirty sharp, and don’t forget you have to feed me. None of that salty broth either Kono, real food!” You say, making your way back inside your apartment where you shut the blinds behind you so he can’t watch the little happy dance your feet give without much advisory from your brain. 

“It’s a date…” you say to yourself, and then grin wide and open where no one can see you. 

Somehow you force yourself through the rest of the day. You have taken a much needed break from missions, not that there’s usually too many to go around these days anyway but now all your energy is focused on you and that’s rarely ever a good thing. 

You deep clean the apartment all the while telling yourself and an imaginary Konohamaru that it doesn’t mean anything, it’s just something that’s needed done for a while and now you have the time. That’s all. 

You’re grown, you are allowed to do things grown people do; even your father had come to respect that rule before he passed but still just thinking of letting out all your carnal frustrations on Konohamaru makes you wanna flee back to your cocoon of blankets on the bed and not finish getting ready.

You really don’t wanna scare him off, not that you think you could per say...oh who are you kidding, of course you could. You scare them all away… but Kono is different, he really is…

Right?

Yes, he’s different.

Still, maybe it's better to take things slow sometimes, right? Give them a taste and then have something worth waiting for too maybe? 

You groan in frustration, being inside your own head about this is not helping. 

Unfortunately as you’ve thought many times before, it’s not like you’ve got a whole click of Kunoichi at your beck and call to talk these things out with so you just have to make do with you. 

That’s not appealing in the least. 

There’s still about forty minutes til the ‘date’ is supposed to happen when your doorbell rings. 

You squawk in an undignified manner as you rush to put on some sort of robe after having just stepped out of the shower. 

What is with this guy, does he have some sort of sixth sense for when you’re mostly wet and naked? 

When you peek outside though, your body sags in relief. It’s just a woman, a small dark haired woman with Hyuga eyes...fuck-is did Nartuo send his girlfriend over to ‘help?’ 

“Uh….hi?” You say, because you don’t actually know her name, or your own for a few beats there. 

“Hello, sorry to um, to interrupt but I thought maybe you would like some...help?” 

“You mean Naruto thought I’d like some help,” You say, skeptical that it was all her plan that the two of you ended up here. 

“No, well I mean he mentioned that Konohamaru was um… he said you might like a friend and I may not be-be much but I can be a friend,” she says, and okay, that was cute.

“So because Konohamaru is a mess he was worried about me also being a mess…” You say, but you’re grinning now because Kono being all worked up about a date with you seems positive and you’re not quite as nervous somehow anymore. 

“No you’re not a mess...clearly,” she says, though when her eyes look around the room you feel maybe she can see just far enough into the past to know how much of a lie she just told. 

“Oh sorry, where are my manners?” You say, goofily waving off your state of dress by making somewhat of a proper introduction. 

“You can call me Hinata…” she says, and you feel a vague sense of memory over the name but nothing beyond what you’ve already hammered out. 

“Sorry I just...I’m not usually very good with these things, y’know...with other Kunoichi and like women in general honestly.” You say, “I’ve always been a bit more….rough and tumble I guess.” 

“Oh I don’t think you’d find that would get in the way with some of our female nin but I can understand it’s a bit hard to put yourself out there,” Hinata says, somehow sweeping you into a polite sitting posture without really having done much. 

“I wasn’t very good at it either, at talking to people at all really but I’ve learned a few things from my friends and I’d be more than happy to pass it on, if you’d like of course,” she says, taking a comb out of somewhere as she starts just brushing your hair with it. You glance over at her in these cute little black shorts and some kind of sweater shirt and you’re wondering where the pockets are, but you don’t ask. 

“Uh sure, okay...not like I have much else to be doing right now,” You say nervously, letting her work her comb magic through your usually tangled up mess of hair. 

“I haven’t known Konohamaru all that well for very long but I have watched over Naruto for more years than either of us would like to admit,” she says, chuckling a little which makes you chuckle too. “I see a lot of the same qualities in them; determination, playfulness, and of course that neverending hope.” 

You nod in agreement because as much as you’d love to argue there’s not many differences when it comes to the two you’re talking about, not where it matters anyway. 

“The stories they share in childhood are not kind, not on either boy. Naruto was ignored to the point of abuse and Konohamaru was pampered beyond that same point. Each found their path willingly and guided one another where they needed to go. I truly believe that with everything I have,” Hinata says, doing something that makes one side of your hair a little shorter, tucking it under something, around something? You’re not sure you just want to hear more.

“Naruto gave Konohamaru someone to look up to and Konoahmaru gave Naruto someone to empower, to protect, to champion for even before all the stuff with Sasuke-there was his ‘little brother’ and I think that was just as important,” she says, pulling a mirror out of nowhere and offering it to you. 

“Oh wow...that’s...that actually looks really good how did you do that?” You ask, “Is it forbidden jutsu?” I won’t tell anyone...just show me how.” 

Hinata just shakes her head, giggling at you a little and promises to show you another time before she follows you into your closet like it was your choice and helps you pick out your best outfit. 

“You Kunochi really are something else,” you say, but Hinata just reminds you that you’re one of them too. 

“Not with this stuff though…” You say, finding it a bit hard to realize that you’ve spent almost an hour with another kunoichi and you haven’t wanted to run away. “I’m not good at this stuff.” 

“It’s not a necessity for fighting usually but Ino, Sakura, they’ve taught me it can be a pretty useful skill to have in your bag. I could teach you, they would be happy to teach you some things too if you’d be interested. They are busy kunoichi of course, but they are also women and we like to get together sometimes and just talk and teach one another things,” Hinata says, and then grins wide as she edges her way to the door. “You’re always welcome to join us and not just because of who you’re dating.” 

“Sure,” you find yourself agreeing, and then Hinata is gone and you glance down at your watch and shit, it’s like five minutes til time for Konohamaru to show up. 

You rush to the bathroom only to find everything is as ready as it’s going to be for you to leave. Your hair is done, you’re wearing your best outfit, you actually look somewhat put together and the mess you’d made of your closet has been straightened up quite nicely. 

“Black magic,” you whisper when you think of Hinata’s help but you still can’t help but smile. 

It’s a really nice feeling. 

*DATE EPILOGUE*

You answer the door, one arm carefully tucked behind you. 

Konohamaru looks fucking adorable in a pair of chinos and some sort of half dressed up half dressed down style you weren’t really expecting. 

You’re starting to think maybe you weren’t the only one who had kunoichi intrude through your afternoon. 

“You look beautiful-” 

“My don’t you look handsome-” 

You both chuckle a bit at one another. 

“Thank you,” you say, trying to keep the steady blush out of your cheeks. 

“You too,” he says, artfully rearranging the picnic basket he’s holding so that the arm closest to you is free to offer. 

“Just let me lock up,” you say, hiding your cheeks when you turn away to do just that.

You immediately take his arm when you turn back around, fighting off the hints of embarrassment you feel. It might not have been the best idea, the matchmaking aspects of the mission at least, but being cooped up with one another did make friendly touching come a bit easier you think. 

“So what made you think of a picnic?” you ask, not wanting to lag in conversation output. 

“Well I did want to try to impress you and somehow I don’t think sparring would have gone that well for me,” he answers, with a chuckle. “Not without breaking a real sweat at least.” 

“Oh I don’t know, I kinda like you all sweaty and spent,” you say and then wince and laugh at how it comes out. “Sorry that was probably a little too far eh?” 

“Don’t worry about those things,’ he says, waving his hand around a bit. “I’m sure you’ve noticed this about me but I’m not great at knowing the right times to say and more importantly, not say certain things. I’d rather you just be you without trying to filter everything in or out and I’ll try my best to just be me.”

“Alright then, I think I can live with that,” you say, chuckling a bit as he guides you up toward the hill that leads to the top of Hokage Mountain. 

You keep up light conversation, nothing too much too heavy and you only tease him slightly about the misguided mission attempt. He takes it all in good fun as it’s intended and eventually puts a blanket down beside you before making a half-hearted attempt to ‘help’ you down. 

It’s precious and adorable, and completely unnecessary but you let him anyway.

He opens the basket and your belly rumbles happily at the smell of barbeque. 

“Wow, you’ve really outdone yourself,” you say, eyeing the selection of meats and veggies that you can see. He brought enough for three, maybe even four people unless one of those happen to be an Akimichi, and you can’t help but chuckle at how proud he is of himself. 

“I uh, I went around asking about your favorites and this was by far your most chosen meal that you eat out in town at least,” he says, like it’s not the most adorable thing that he’s done...recon for your date.

You nod because it is your favorite in town. “I like the way they season the meat. It reminds me a bit more of food from, well Takigakure, than most places here at home.” 

“I see you do that a lot, backtrack. You know, I want you to feel welcome here in Konoha but it’s okay if you feel like you have homes in other places too,” he says, and it’s so sweet and honest and such a Kono thing to say. 

“I used to correct it a lot because people assumed I mean Konoha when I said home, and for the most part I didn’t in the past,” you say, chewing at your lip a little. “But this time, I-I wanted to emphasize what I actually meant when I said home, was here in the village.” 

He hands you over a full box of barbeque and watches as you happily shovel some into your mouth. It’s a little embarrassing but nothing he hasn’t seen before so you try not to let it get to you. 

Eventually he starts to eat too and you watch him stuff himself silly and sigh in relief of that warmth when both of your bellies are full. 

“Kono...can I ask you something?” you say, rubbing your fingers through his hair a bit as he’s stretched out beside you. 

“Sure, anything.” 

“Why did you really want to spend time with me, I mean...sure I can see there aren’t tons of women around who look like me, if that’s your thing, which I’m still not really convinced it is…” you start, “I just I can’t imagine what gets you from...she’s kinda cute to let's spend a week off charting nature so I can get closer to her? Y’know?”

“Okay,” he says, “I can see how you might look at it that way but have you ever tried to talk to you? Cause I’m not trying to be mean here...but you’re intimidating as hell,” he says and well...that’s probably fair. 

“I tried, you know, a couple different times. To say hello, ask after you, but you are a very ‘all business’ type of person until you see a reason to let someone in, or at least that’s been my experience.” 

“Okay I can agree with that, I’m not very sociable….but then why the interest at all? You’re the opposite of that, everyone loves you and from what I’ve seen you make friends easily enough, so why-”

“Because you’re worth it!” he says, this time an eerie sincerity settling over his features as he continues. “Because you were worth getting to know, you were worth the barriers and the boundaries and the effort. I knew you would be, and I was right!” 

That shuts you up, just a little. It shuts up that nagging in your brain asking you why this perfect little cinnamon roll has gone through so much just to get a chance to be with you. It lets you take a breath and just savor and enjoy the feeling that he thought you were worth it, still thinks that by the way, and you are helpless to just fall into him like a puppet whose strings have been cut. 

He wraps his big strong arms around you and for once in your life you just let someone hold you, just let him be there and strong and dependable.

“Thank you,” you say, “for making the effort.” 

“You have always been, will always be worth it…” 

“Wow that’s deep,” you say, teasing while also wiping at the corner of your eye. 

“Well I wasn’t sure when a good time to tell you was but, I might have fallen a little bit in love with you like a long time ago so...y’know, whenever you wanna catch up that could be nice.” 

“You-you-” you sputter, how dare he catch you off guard like this, but your fumbling just makes him laugh louder and harder than before. 

You ignore your embarrassment and roughly push at his shoulders until he’s forcefully down on the ground, blanket beneath him, stars shining in his eyes and that’s when it hits you that maybe you’re not so far behind after all. Your breath rushes out as you take in his smile, his brightness, and everything goes a bit sideways in a good way, in an exciting way. 

“Kono-” you start, but you can’t quite finish.

“Kiss me, if you want,” he says, and suddenly you’ve never wanted anything more. 

It’s a bit of a difficult angle but you manage, just a soft peck of lips at first but when you start to pull away you feel his encouraging hand on the back of your neck and you gasp a little in surprise. 

You lay there for a bit longer, his arms wrapped around you, kissing you for all you’re worth until you finally pull away. 

“You know, I’m not usually this easy,” you say, straightening yourself up a bit as you clear your throat. 

“Maybe, but I think I’ll take that as a compliment to my expressive love confession rather than you exhibiting some sort of loose moral code suddenly,” he grins and you want to hit him in his cute smug face but you’re still ringing a bit from the kisses. 

“Yeah yeah, Romeo… just keep your hands to yourself for the rest of the night,” you say, and then immediately ignore how much it bothers you now that you’ve said it. 

“I will do my best,” he says earnestly but there’s a devilish look in his eye and you kinda hope it means what you think it means. 

It means exactly what you think it does and he manages to get you both in a little more trouble throughout the night but it’s still quite innocent as he packs up to walk you home. 

You hold hands as you stroll through the village streets and even though a few stop to speak to him, they mostly leave you in peace and it’s kind of nice, more than kind of actually, it’s really nice. It’s one of the best nights of your entire life, and you hate the idea of letting it go even for just a little while. 

When you make it back to your door, you linger there. He’s not expecting an invitation in, you know this and you’re not going to give one either, but you do feel some sort of need to make sure he understands how much everything he has done for you has meant. 

‘I might not be there, not quite yet…” you say, though it might be more lie than truth at this point. “But I promise, Sarutobi Konohamaru, that I will give you absolutely everything I can until I catch up, okay?” 

“That’s more than enough for me,” he says, whispering your name before bringing your lips to his one last time. “I only ever needed the chance.”

“Next time we’re sparring,” you say with a wide, evil grin as you shut the door behind you. You can hear the groan outside your door but you know he’s smiling all the same. 

“That’s all I need too, just the chance…”