#even if he didn’t make that promise to Obito to keep her safe he’s too devoted to his loved ones

[sinnbaddie]

To say that Kakashi and Gai’s relationship (talking solely platonic rn) was mostly about him helping Kakashi cope with the loss of Obito is disingenuous to Kakashi and all of his relationships.

Any person is going to be traumatized after seeing someone — much less their teammate — be crushed to death under a rock. Kakashi is shown to be someone susceptible to depression due to 1. His environment 2. His initial beliefs and 3. His genetic line. Of course his life is going to be centered around one of the most traumatic experiences of his life, romanticizing it is so hurtful to his character because it destroyed him - and if Kishimoto actually cared about expanding other character relationships instead of making a “generational duo that falls apart” + wasn’t a misogynistic writer, Rin’s death would be the bigger influence on his life than Obito’s.

Yes, Gai had to help him numerous times in his grief but it wasn’t solely or even mainly about Obito. Rin was an absolute vital point in Kakashi’s downfall into chaos. The self harm he inflicted upon himself, the self hatred, the self shame. He became a whole different person after he was forced to kill her. I would say Kakashi’s father Sakumo is by far the biggest influence on him. He wouldn’t have needed any speech of “your father was a hero” by Obito if it wasn’t for Sakumo. His personality of today is thanks to his father’s own death.

Gai and Kakashi’s friendship is almost entirely about them when they’re in scenes together. Look at the chunin exams, look at any scene in the land of steam arc, look at their race, etc. naturally there will be grief the two bring to the relationship and it’s on them to work it out separately, together and with other people which did happen.

You’re actively ignoring every other character that has shaped and formed who Kakashi is by saying Obito is the biggest and only reason he is who he is. Gai is one of the strongest reasons why Kakashi is as motivated and strong as he is. Kakashi would’ve absolutely died at some point in (general) anbu if Gai didn’t pull him out and he was slipping so far when he was in it because of Rin and Minato.

Kakashi’s heart does not “belong” to Obito because he’s in love with Obito and can’t get over him, his heart belongs to the people he loves because that’s who Kakashi is at his core - a lover. He’s a person who cares so deeply, even for people he doesn’t necessarily like or get along with.

Kakashi is a person who is shaped by everybody in his life, that’s why he is one of the best written Naruto characters. He feels like a real person because real people are influenced by everyone in their life, in every way. It’s unfortunate to see those who call themselves Kakashi fans only to mischaracterize, limit and erase the bonds he was written to have to prop up one single bond for your ship.

Do you care for this character? His themes, parallels, relationships and writing? or is he just a placeholder / self insert for shipping content?

[themidnightguardian]

Day 1: Panic Attack & Race Against the Clock -- Kakashi (ft. Team 7)

gen | AU of the hospital rooftop fight | Warnings: panic attacks, hints of PTSD, referenced childhood trauma, referenced child deaths, canon-typical violence, Kakashi's guilt complex, brief suicide idealization (specifically with Kakashi feeling he can only be redeemed in dying)

Whumptober 2024 Masterlist

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Kakashi knew something was wrong by the increasingly familiar trickle of dread down his spine that he had come to associate with his students’ lives being in danger. It wasn’t anything tangible, nothing he had proof of. It was just a gut feeling, but nothing good had ever come of ignoring his instincts.

(He might have managed to save Obito if he’d learned to listen sooner. Might have been able to stop Itachi from slaughtering his clan. Might have fought harder to keep Naruto from going to an orphanage, instead of into Kakashi’s care, like Minato-sensei would have wanted.)

Instinctively, he changed his course from the Memorial Stone back towards the hospital. He’d just been discharged half an hour ago, and he’d left Naruto and Sakura at Sasuke’s bedside where he was still recovering from Tsukuyomi. He’d thought they’d be safe there.

Had something gone wrong medically? It wasn’t like Tsunade to make mistakes, and besides, Sasuke seemed fine when Kakashi left, if grumpier than usual.

What if Orochimaru is making another play for the sharingan? he thought, picking up the pace. His own chakra reserves were still drained from his last fight with Itachi and the weeks he’d spent in a coma, but he pushed himself faster, using shunshin to cross rooftops in the span of seconds. What if the Akatsuki have sent someone else to collect the kyuubi?

Another twenty seconds—so slow, too slow, why couldn’t he move faster—and the hospital was finally in view. The hospital, which had a lumpy mass of orange on its roof.

Naruto’s shadow clones. Fuck.

Faster. His gut had been right; there was a problem. Some kind of fight was happening on the hospital rooftop, and Naruto was involved. And if Naruto was involved, then Sasuke would have followed him, too determined to not get left behind. And if Sasuke had gone, then Sakura would be there, and if they were facing down an S-rank nin—hell, even an A-rank or B-rank nin—then they were all going to get wiped out.

Kakashi refused to let that happen. He’d made a promise to himself when Sarutobi made him take on Team 7 that he wouldn’t fail them the same way he’d failed his own genin teammates. That he would do anything to keep them alive.

(It was a promise he couldn’t hope to keep, not in the world they lived in. But he knew if he lost any of the kids, it would destroy him in a way none of the other deaths of his precious people had managed. His father’s death had been crushing. Obito’s had ripped him in half. Rin’s had shattered him into a million pieces, and Minato’s had left him a shell of a person.

But if Naruto or Sasuke or Sakura died, Kakashi didn’t think he had any pieces of himself left to lose to grief.

If the kids died, Kakashi was certain he would follow them one way or another.)

He was one building away when the clones dispersed rapidly, and the crackling chirp of chidori filled the air. He launched himself forward. If Sasuke needed to pull out an attack of that caliber, then they were in danger, they needed him, they—

Kakashi landed on the edge of the hospital rooftop, momentarily frozen in place.

On one end of the roof, Sasuke ran forward, chidori a bright burst of lightning in his palm. On the other end, Naruto, racing towards him, arm outstretched with a swirling rasengan.

Aimed at each other.

And Rin Sakura—always forced to play peacemaker between the boys—was trying to step between. As if she could stop them. As if they might stop for her.

(Brown hair. Purple marks on her cheeks. A smile. Blood on his hand, warm and wet. Blood, spilling from her mouth. Dead. Dead, dead, dead.

Everyone was always dying, and it was always his fault.)

He was moving before the image in his head fully faded. He was faster than Sakura, faster than Naruto or Sasuke. Faster and stronger, and he would stop them, he had to, he had to—

It was easy. They were inexperienced, and they were too focused on each other to see him coming. He wrapped his hands around their wrists, wrenched them apart just as Sakura went stumbling past.

(Too close. Too close. Too close.)

The rooftop fell silent, but Kakashi could hear his own heartbeat thundering in his ears, smelled the lingering singe of lightning, and he suddenly he couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t—his lungs wouldn’t work, too heavy, weighed down, like they were being crushed, crushed like Obito—

Black creeped in at the edge of his vision, and suddenly the heaviness in his lungs felt less like crushing and more like stabbing, like they’d been torn through, like Rin—

(God, like Rin, when Kakashi killed her.

He killed her.

He killed her. He killed her. He killed her.)

“Ka��”

He tried to breathe in, but it didn’t work, or maybe it did but it didn’t matter, and the dark creeped closer anyway, and maybe that was what he deserved. Yes. It was what he deserved, and when he died, maybe then Rin and Obito could forgive him. When he died, maybe that would be enough.

“Kakashi—”

It would never be enough, but it would be a start. And he was dying—he had to be dying, because he couldn’t breathe and he couldn’t see past the darkness, and everything was heavy, and his body must finally be quitting on him. He’d known it would, one day.

“Kakashi-sensei, please!”

There was a sharp slap to his face, and the shock of it yanked him abruptly back to the rooftop. For a moment, all he could see was pink-orange—the sunset, he thought, until something blue-black edged in, and no…those were his students leaning over him. Sakura, face wet. Naruto, eyes wide and frantic. Sasuke, white-knuckled grip on Kakashi’s vest.

Kakashi inhaled, and the air in his lungs hurt, but it was there. He became aware of the pavement under him. Somehow, he’d ended up on the ground. He must have collapsed.

“Sensei?” Sakura asked, voice wobbling.

“Hm?” He couldn’t manage more than that, his throat still tight enough he worried a single word would be enough to choke him.

But instead of asking a question, she let out a sob and all but tackled him, Naruto following a second after. It was a good thing he was already on the ground, or else they’d have knocked him over.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Naruto said, and now he sounded like he was crying too, face half-buried in Kakashi’s shoulder.

Slowly, carefully, and with his arm still feeling like it weighed a hundred pounds, Kakashi lifted a hand and patted the top of Naruto’s head. Then Sakura’s. And then, because Sasuke had always been pricklier about that sort of thing, even if he needed the same reassurances the others did, Kakashi reached out and clasped his shoulder.

“Me, too,” Sasuke said, much more quietly and without the tears. But there was a heaviness to it. Shame, Kakashi thought. “I’m…sorry.”

Kakashi nodded as much as he was able, and then let his head thunk back down on the pavement.

(Later, when the crying finally stopped and Kakashi was back in the damned hospital again—because apparently he’d re-drained his chakra reserves and also passed out, and that required inpatient care—he’d tear them all a new one, Sakura included. The boys were in the most trouble for fighting each other like that, but to get between two deadly jutsus? It was suicidal.)

(And if, when Kakashi was done lecturing from his hospital bed—and Tsunade was done yelling, twice as loud and with significantly more swearing thrown in—the kids refused to budge from the hospital room, clustering around Kakashi’s bed and taking turns maintaining a point of contact like they thought he would disappear if they let him go for even a second…well.

This wasn’t the way Kakashi had wanted to make them all act like a proper team, but he wasn’t about to argue with the results.)

[whynoteswhispered]

Tales of a Loved Ninja (pt 1)

Idk; I’ve been in such a Jiraiya mood recently that this was bound to happen. 

(Very fluffy, uhhh idk)

word count: 4,930 (oops)

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The warm sun beamed on to your skin as you walked down the path to Icharuku. You couldn’t help but emptily smile at each person you came by; waving and speaking to most as they passed by.

Minato didn’t allow you much time for lunch, so grabbing ramen to go was the most reasonable way to go – plus you had a phone call to make before lunch was over.

“(y/n) Sensei.” You felt a hand tap the back of your shoulder. Swiftly turning around, you looked down to see Kakashi. Every time you saw him you couldn’t help but feel proud; you had watched him grow into an incredible shinobi – and though against your wishes, he made a great ANBU member as well.

“Hey, Kashi!” You patted the top of his head - watching the small amount of cheek above his mask turn red.

“Can I eat ramen with you today?” He reached up to the counter grabbing his to-go bowl of ramen, and then swiftly turned back to you.

You heard your name called as well so you quickly grabbed your container, looking over at the clock to see how much longer you had on lunch.

Fifteen minutes. It took at least five minutes to walk back to the academy which then only gave you ten minutes on the phone; if he answers.

“Sensei?” Kakashi was waving his hands in front of your face, you finally snapped back to reality and smiled at him, “So?” he questioned.

“You know I have to make a phone call; you can hang out in my classroom while I make that call if you would like.” You turned around and started the trek back to the academy, you could hear Kakashi’s feet trek quietly behind you.

“He isn’t worth your worry.” You kept your eyes forward – this wasn’t the first time he’s tried to start an argument over him.

“Kashi, don’t you think it’s wildly inappropriate for you to meddle into my personal life?” Sadly, you knew the answer to this – he cared about you as if the two of you were family.

“Don’t you think it’s wildly inappropriate to be throwing yourself at someone who is nearly double your age.” His voice was annoyed; making fun of you with each word that came out of his mouth.

Was it wildly inappropriate? You didn’t think so. Sure there was a large age difference, but meeting Jiraiya was one of the best things that had happened to you.

“How has ANBU been?” You switched the subject, knowing that there was no winning the conversation about Jiriaya “Are you still having nightmares?”

“Shh,” He hushed you; you could hear the embarrassment in his voice. “ANBU has been fine; yes, the nightmares still happen.” His voice was defeated. He sounded as though he was an old man who had lost everything, instead he was just fifteen and had lost everything.

“Kashi,” you turned around meeting his glance, you could tell he was uncomfortable. “I can talk to Minato about letting you out. You have to take care of yourself too.”

He shook his head, “I’m fine (y/n) Sensei.”

“You haven’t been acting fine.” You turned back towards the academy, “Guy came and spoke to me the other day – Kashi, he’s worried about you. He says you’re reading books about honorable death, that you won’t speak to any of them, and that you just aren’t acting like yourself.”

You had been worried about him for a few years now, but he never let you talk to him about his problems. He always acted like everything was fine; but you could see the subtle differences: the bags under his eyes, the way he would throw himself in front of danger regardless of circumstances, you’ve caught him crying to himself several times. He didn’t tell you about the nightmares until you went to check on him one day and walked in on him washing his hands and sobbing over the sink; saying Rin’s name repeatedly, staring at his hands as if he was witnessing that moment happening on repeat. After that, Kakashi opened up to you a bit – and you checked on him more often, buying him groceries and occasionally bringing him dinner to ensure he was eating.

When Minato told you he was going to suggest ANBU to Kakashi you begged Minato to listen to your concerns, but as his Sensei he thought what he was doing was the best way for Kakashi to deal with the death of his teammates. The following months after he joined you watched him break down further and further; he is a mere shell of the person he was just a few years prior.

“I could be doing better.” Kakashi’s words shocked you, but you kept your eyes forward knowing that looking back at him would likely embarrass him. “I just, I can’t shake it (y/n) Sensei. Every time I close my eyes I see Rin’s face looking back at me in shock? Anger? I could never understand the emotion she gave me and it haunts me in every passing moment. I deserve it though, I killed her. I couldn’t keep my promise to Obito – I couldn’t keep her safe.”

Everything in you wanted you to turn around and hug him; to hold him and tell him that everything was going to be okay. “Kashi, it wasn’t your fault. No one blames you for that incident. Not even Obito would see it as your fault.”

You could hear him start to sniffle, but you were certain he was holding back tears – regardless of how broken he was, he was still one of the strongest shinobi you had been around

“I, I know.” He stumbled over his words, letting out a large exhale once he finished speaking.

You opened the door into the academy, letting Kakashi walk in front of you.

As soon as he got in front of you, you placed your hand atop his head, rustling his hair.

“You can always talk to me; my door is always open – you know that.” You patted his head as the two of you began to ascend the stairs. “And if you don’t want to talk to that’s fine as well – but just know you aren’t alone, okay?”

Kakashi stopped outside of your door, turning around to meet your eyes; through his mask, you could see a small smile coming across his face. “Thank you (y/n) Sensei.”

“Mhm.” You nodded, unlocking the door so he could immediately run in to sit on the beanbag beside your desk.

Looking over at the clock you realized that you only had about five minutes left of lunch to call Jiriaya and eat. You couldn’t help but look over at Kakashi and wonder if he would be okay for those five minutes. Even though he gave you a hard time, you knew he enjoyed seeing you happy. He was like a younger brother to you, and he looked to you as an older sister.

“Do you mind?” You pointed towards your closet; which is where the phone was kept, “He hasn’t answered in the last few days – so I at least want to attempt to check on him.” You gave him a slight smile – waiting for him to inevitably roll his eyes at you.

“Go ahead.” And as you started walking towards the closet you watched him roll his eyes at you just slightly; you couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

The closet was small but you had found comfort in its existence when you started to call Jiraiya during lunch. He would forever be considered a Legendary Sannin of the Leaf, but he was rarely ever in the village itself. Most people speculated what he was up to; but you knew the truth – that he was constantly watching and keeping track of Orichumaru’s movements and writing. He also tended to drink a bit too much when he was out, but you couldn’t blame him considering all he puts on himself.

You grabbed the phone and began dialing the only number you had memorized. Placing the phone up to your ear, you took a deep breath in – fully expecting him to not answer once again. And though you knew he was safe, it was hard not to worry about him when you never got to see him.

You listened to the phone ring. Once, twice, three times; you were almost certain that he was probably once again too busy to answer. Then you heard the click of the phone.

“Jiraiya?” You questioned.

“Hey (y/n).” You immediately felt a smile come across your face; you hadn’t heard his voice in several weeks – you only told Kakashi a few days so that he wouldn’t worry for you.

“Where are you? Are you okay??” You couldn’t help but immediately overload him with questions. The feeling of tears beginning to form in the corners of your eyes made you immediately wipe them away, knowing if Kakashi heard you crying he would only think the worse.

“I’m fine, but hmmm where am I? That’s a good question, isn’t it? Want to take a guess?” His tone was playful; oh how you had missed his voice.

“Are you in the Sand village?” You knew you had no option but to play the game with him or he wouldn’t tell you.

“Think closer.” His voice was giddier this time.

Closer? “Are you in the Land of Fire?” You didn’t want to be hopeful, but you couldn’t help but hope that he would be swinging through for a visit.

“I’m in the office.”

“The office?” Your mind began to run at max speed. Did he mean the Hokage office?

“Mhm, the office.” You could hear him let out a light chuckle.

Without thinking you immediately hung up the phone, nearly dropping it from excitement. As you opened the door, Kakashi’s eyes immediately turned to you; curiosity filling his eyes.

“He’s back?” He questioned as you placed your ramen on the desk.

Turning to answer him, you couldn’t help but let a huge smile spread across your face. “Yes, he’s with Minato.”

“And you’re going? Isn’t lunch almost over?” he went back to eating his ramen; he knew your answer before he even asked it.

“I don’t have a class after lunch and I’ll be back before the next class; you can hang out in here if you want.” You started to turn towards the door but stopped yourself, “Will you be okay? I can stay if I need to?” You loved Jiraiya and had no idea how long he would be in the village, but Kakashi needed someone to be there for him and you couldn’t take that away from him.

You immediately felt your heart warm as you watched a smile spread across his face, his eyes never leaving his bowl of ramen. “I wouldn’t stop you from seeing him; even if I don’t like him. But if you aren’t back by the time your class gets here I’m going to make them go to the training grounds.”

“Okay Kashi, you can torture my students if I’m not back in time.” You let out a laugh as you started to make your way out the door. “You’re sure you’re okay?” you couldn’t help but question him again.

“You better get going before I change my mind.” He threw his hand in the air, gesturing for you to leave.

As soon as you stepped out of the classroom, your pace quickened tremendously. You couldn’t help but nearly run out of the academy.

It had been nearly a year since Jiraiya had been in the village; and you had only been talking to him for a few weeks at that point. You had met him at a bar after the Chunin exams; he hit on you instantly. But you weren’t interested – at least not interested in what he was interested in. Both of you drank quite a few drinks, and he attempted to invite you back to his place but you couldn’t help but laugh in his face. You’ll never forget his face when you did that; he looked shocked as if he had never been turned down in his life. Before leaving the bar you gave him your phone number and told him to call you the next morning if he was still interested. To your surprise, he called you shortly after you woke up the next morning. The most shocking part was that the phone call wasn’t awkward – it felt as though you were talking to a friend you had had your entire life. You both laughed and told jokes, he talked about Orichumaru and you talked about the death of your parents; it was like talking to someone who understood everything even if they hadn’t been through it. He listened when you talked, and you hadn’t had someone listen to you in what had felt like years. The two of you stayed talking on the phone for hours, it was dark outside before the two of you decided it was time to hang up but before that Jiraiya initiated setting up a date to Icharuku.

You couldn’t help but feel your smile growing bigger with each passing step towards the Hokage building.

You had never been to Icharuku before Jiraiya took you; ramen just wasn’t something you ever thought about when looking for restaurants to eat at – plus your parents weren’t the biggest ramen fans so it wasn’t something you were used to eating.

As soon as you got to Icharuku, Jiraiya was waiting outside the curtain for you. As soon as his eyes met yours, his face filled with a smile. The two of you went in and ordered ramen; you let him pick out what you were going to eat since you had no clue what to order – and it did not disappoint. The two of you drank and ate ramen as you talked just as you did the day prior on the phone; this time with more emotion. The booth filled with the noise of the two of you laughing for hours. He walked you home that night; he never tried to do anything funny – he stopped outside your apartment door and kissed the top of your head. As soon as you unlocked your door he began to descend back down the stairwell.

You opened the door and began to sprint up the stairs to get to the Hokage office. Several visitors gave you awkward glances as you passed by them with a huge smile spread across your face.

There were two ANBU members stationed outside of the office, but they didn’t even give you a second glance as you walked up to the door. Without much thought, you pushed the doors open without even knocking. As soon as the doors creaked open, your eyes met Jiraiya’s and you couldn’t help but move quickly. You could feel Minato watching you, but not an ounce of you cared. You opened your arms and threw yourself around him as soon as he got in touching distance.

In a blur, the two of you fell backward onto the ground – Jiraiya immediately holding you tightly to ensure you wouldn’t get hurt.

You both busted out laughing; you could even hear Minato let out a chuckle.

“I’m sorry.” You said softly as you pushed your head deep into his shoulders; his arms pulling you tightly against him.

“You know, Minato and I could’ve been talking about information that you didn’t need to hear.” You could hear the teasing tone in his voice.

You pushed yourself up so that you could look at him, his hand immediately moving up to your face to push the hair away from your eyes. “Oh shit, I’m sorry.” You hadn’t thought much when coming in, your only thought was seeing Jiraiya.

“You know you’re kind of cute when you miss me.” His arms wrapped around you again, pulling you tight against him once again.

Before he left, the two of you held each other for hours in bed; talking about how you were going to stay in contact, you listened to his worries for the missions he was out to complete, he listened to your worries about him going out on missions by himself. Though the two of you mostly just stayed silent – enjoying each other’s presence while you could. When you dozed off in his arms, you woke up to him having already left. A note rested upon the pillow where his head was laid up hours prior.

You could feel the tears well up against your eyes; you hadn’t realized how much you had needed this hug.

“Jiraiya.” Minato’s soft voice echoed through the room.

Jiraiya laughed as he picked you up off of him; placing you back on to the ground as he stood up to address Minato.

“Sorry Minato.” Jiraiya smiled at him. “Am I good to leave?”

You began to stand up and Minato laughed, “Get out of here you two; what has it been a little over a year?” you shook your head. “Go.” He gestured towards the door and Jiraiya immediately grabbed your hand in his, nearly tugging you behind him.

“You’re still coming over later though, right? I’ve already told Kushina the two of you would be there for dinner.” You looked back at Minato who was smiling ear-to-ear at the two of you.

“We will be there.” Jiraiya never turned around, instead he kept tugging you forward out the door; Minato waved at you as made your way through the door.

You managed to find your pace in his, and instead of being tugged behind him, you were happily walking in stride with him. His large hand completely wrapped around yours; his thumb rubbing small circles on the back of your hand as the two of you walked down the stairs.

“I missed hearing your voice.” As you made your way to the bottom of the stairs he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, pulling you in towards him. The people around you watched the two of you; it wasn’t as if people didn’t know who Jiraiya was – he was a hero of the village, and people knew who you were because you were a teacher at the academy; most though weren’t aware of your relationship.

You could feel the judgment through most people’s eyes; it was to be expected. Jiraiya had himself sold around the village as a pervert and you were sure most people were likely imagining that you were just his next prey. But honestly, he had never made those types of advances towards you – you set up boundaries and he respected them. He would occasionally make a dirty joke, but it was nothing more than a way to make you laugh.

“You were the one who wasn’t answering the phone.” You gripped his hand tighter. Those few weeks without hearing from him were rough; you could only imagine the terrible things that could’ve possibly happened to him – but you kept your hopes up, thinking if something had happened to him that the village would eventually find out.

He pulled your hand into the air, spinning you in a circle and pulling you into a hug. “I’m sorry.” His hands moved from yours and he placed them gently against your face, pulling you towards him.

You could feel your heart rate accelerate as he guided your face to his; his lips opened slightly and you couldn’t help but smile as your lips crashed onto his.

Before he left you hadn’t even kissed him yet; your relationship wasn’t much of a physical one. He was used to one-night stands and he didn’t want your relationship to be the same as the others.

His cologne lingered on you; the smell of oak and musk; as he slowly released his hands from your face, letting his lips fall off of yours. As you met his eyes you could see a smile spread across his face.

“I’ve wanted to do that for quite some time now.” He pulled you back under his arm, your face turning red with embarrassment as you notice the several onlookers the two of you had.

“How long are you here for?” You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him; the rush of euphoria that you experienced from your lips meeting his vanished and was replaced with panic – this could be his only day in the village.

“I’m back for a while.” He looks over at you, wiping the singular tear that you weren’t able to keep held in, “Minato needs me here for some things, so don’t worry about me leaving quite yet.”

The two of you continued walking hand-in-hand until you got to the riverfront. Jiraiya took his time stretching and then sat beside you on the grass; watching the currents in the water.

“I can’t stay out here for long, I have to get back to my class- “

He cut you off before you were even able to finish your thought, “Don’t worry about your class – Minato got it covered for you.” He laid back onto the grass, stretching his arms behind you and staring up at the clouds moving through the sky.

“Sorry again for interrupting in the office earlier; I just, I wasn’t thinking.” You shook your head in frustration at yourself when you heard Jiraiya chuckle behind you. His large hands wrapping around your waist and pulling you down to lie beside him.

“(y/n), Minato knew as soon as I answered your phone call that our conversation was over; really, he knew as soon as your lunch break started that our conversation was as good as over.” You couldn’t help but laugh with him.

“Wait,” it finally hit you that Minato knew of your relationship – “did you tell Minato?”

Jiraiya cocked his head slightly to look at you, his face calm. “Well, I knew you would be calling me; and considering I was there on official orders I felt it was best to let him know. I wouldn’t worry about him though, he’s just happy to see me happy.” His hand found yours, his fingers interlacing with yours. “Should it be a secret that we are together?” he seemed to be slightly upset at the idea of this.

“I, I just haven’t told anyone.” You pondered this thought for a moment, “Well, expect for Kakashi.”

“White Fang’s kid?” Jiraiya perched himself up a bit; curiosity was written across his face.

“Mhm,” You smiled as you let your gaze leave him and you returned to looking at the clouds. “I’ve watched over him since he died; he’s like a brother to me. He eats in my classroom nearly every day so he’s known since the beginning.” Laughing, you couldn’t help but continue, “He doesn’t like you much though, especially with your reputation.” Jiraiya knew you were only joking; though he did have quite a reputation in the village.

“Ahh, I see.” You could hear him lie back on the grass, “How is he after the incident with Rin?”

You were taken aback by this question. He was rarely in the village, and though that incident was quite horrific you didn’t imagine that he had heard about it. “He, uh –” You tried to think of a way to answer this question without completely disrespecting Kakashi, “He’s as good as you could be after losing one teammate and accidentally killing the other.”

“So, not too good?”

“No, not so great at all.” You pondered if you should drop the conversation, but you had at least one more thing you wanted to bring up, “Minato put him in ANBU after Rin.”

“Yeah, I recall him telling me about that.” You could tell by the tone of his voice that he must have also disagreed with that decision.

“It’s made him worse; they call him ‘Cold-Blooded Kakashi,’ he won’t talk to anyone, well except me – but I have to force it out of him most of the time. But, he won’t leave ANBU.” You could only hope that Kakashi was okay; you had left him in your classroom – but hopefully, he had left and gone on home. Maybe Kushina would have leftovers you could take him.

“I can’t do anything about what Minato does, even if I was his Sensei, he won’t listen to me – especially when it comes to his team. He’s gone through the same losses as Kakashi; he didn’t take any of those events easily. I’m sure he imagines himself in Kakashi’s position, and for him maybe ANBU sounded like the best healing mechanism.” He paused for a moment, “I’m sorry I can’t help him (y/n).”

You shook your head, “It’s fine; I didn’t expect you to able to, but I had to at least try.” His hand tightened around yours.

“I could talk to him though; I won’t tell him I know anything – “

You cut him off before he could even go any further with that thought, “No, you can’t do that. He would immediately know I told you something. He’s incredibly smart; I would go as far as to say that he’s the best shinobi the Leaf has ever had.”

That piqued his interest, he sat up beside you, watching your face. “The best shinobi of the Leaf, huh?”

“Maybe I’m biased, but I’m almost certain Minato would agree.”

Jiraiya laughed, shaking his head in agreement. “I would say I know for certain he agrees.”

The two of you stay by the riverfront for hours; talking about the past year as if you hadn’t talked on the phone for a good majority of it. He told you that he finished his book; Tales of a Gutsy Ninja. He didn’t have a copy on him, but he promised he would give one to you. You told him about your class this year. You had told him about Shisui Uchiha; the most promising student you had. He was years above his class; he would likely be allowed to graduate early if he kept at the pace he was going. You both couldn’t help but get lost in conversation with each other. He continued, telling you about what it was like training Minato, he brought up the three kids he taught from Amegakure; Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko. He talked about them frequently, even during your phone calls. He couldn’t help but wonder what they were doing and if they were still alive; surviving the war-stricken land. Jiraiya talked about them as if they were his children; it made you upset that he wouldn’t go visit them.

“When need to get going,” he stood up beside you, offering his hand to aid in helping you up. He lifted you from the ground with ease. “Kushina will get upset if we are late.” He patted down his legs to remove the dirt that was spread across them; you did the same to yourself.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I go?” you reached out for his hand; you didn’t want to be a burden on Minato and Kushina.

“Trust me (y/n), if you didn’t show up Kushina would not be pleasant to deal with – plus, she’s excited to have another woman to share the evening with since it’s normally just myself.” He grabbed onto your hand.

You shook your head, still nervous at the idea.

The two of you walked as the sky began to turn orange and the sun began to make its descent for the evening. The air was brisk, but Jiraiya kept his arm wrapped around your shoulders; laughing and making jokes through the entire walk.

As you arrived at the walk path to their door, you could feel your heart rate quicken; but as if he could tell, he wrapped his hand tightly around yours, squeezing it with comfort.

This was the first time the two of you were going out as a couple – at least a known couple; your first outing had to of course be at the Hokage’s residence.

“It’ll be fun.” Jiraiya pulled you along with him, stopping at the door, he turned to you and kissed the top of your head.  

His knuckles hit the door with several loud strikes and you could hear Kushina yell at Minato to go answer the door; within seconds you could hear the door being unlocked. Minato immediately glanced over at you, as if to ensure that you had indeed come with Jiraiya; a smile spread across his face.

“Hi!” he opened the door up for the door of you, “Come on in!” he exclaimed.

You took a deep breath; hand still wrapped tightly in Jiraiya’s. The two of you followed in-behind Minato, who seemed happier than normal – which was saying something considering how bubbly his personality was.

As soon as you made it into their living area, you could hear Kushina moving around in the kitchen.

“I’ll be there in a moment!” She exclaimed as you heard the sounds of dishes being tossed about.

Jiraiya had let go of your hand to walk over to Minato; the two of them deep in conversation. Both of them with smiles spread across their faces; Minato occasionally blushing. You could only begin to imagine the things that Jiraiya could be saying to him.

“Oh!” you looked up to see Jiraiya staring at the doorway; your eyes naturally following his.

“Oh!” You couldn’t help but let out a sound a surprise.

Kushina was standing in the doorway; her belly round with child and her face bright with joy.

[pain-somnia]

Away From Home

Pairing: SasuSaku Rating: M (for sexual content) Prompt: time travel w/smut. (for those worried that it’s an adult with a teen, it’s not. That’s all I’m giving away) Disclaimer Day’s Notes: This was a piece that was commissioned through Patreon back in April. It wasn’t originally exclusive so I decided that it’s been 9 months so I will share this with you all.

Away From Home

There is a soreness in his lower back and a crick in his neck that has him worried to open his eyes.

He dreams often of home when on his mission, but the smile on his daughter’s face and the feel of his wife’s hands as they eased the kinks and knots of his muscles had been so real. He had smelled the fabric softener and felt the softness of the white bed sheets with the scalloped trim that Sakura favors. The detailed stitching brushing against his cheek is a sensation so strongly imprinted in his mind that it feels as though he had felt it only a mere hours ago not months.

Reaching to adjust his cloak to ward of the cold, he tucks his face into the collar and sighs. He detests being away but he is duty bound. Sasuke knows the dreams will only haunt him when he is idle for too long.

A crackle of a flame has his eyes opening wide. He never uses a fire at night when traveling alone. More alert now he recognizes the scent of smoke wafting about and absorbed into the material of his black cloak.

And he notices the way his hair brushes alongside his cheeks instead of resting against one side and brushing against the lashes of his left eye.

Sasuke has to blink excessively before he is able to focus on his surroundings. The clarity he usually had is gone and he has as much difficulty seeing as when—

No.

The blurry trio of sleeping bags and the long red hair poking out over the top of one is a sight he hasn’t seen in almost two decades.

It’s as he’s flexing fingers on a hand that he hasn’t had in over fifteen years that he recognizes that his chest is rising and falling at an alarming speed.

When was it that he last had a panic attack? When was it that he last had a panic attack without being able to turn and hold on to the small, soft body of his pink haired wife to ground him to reality?

Inhaling and holding his breath, Sasuke lets out his next exhale long and slow.

Oddities in his life are rare but nothing new, but suddenly finding himself in his teenage body is far more outside his realm of normality than rabbit goddesses and eye snatchers from the moon.

.

.

Settling into the flow of Team Taka is easier than it should be, but Sasuke was never much of a talker and it helps him pretend he isn’t a thirty-two year old man trapped in the body of a seventeen year old.

These versions of his former underlings haven’t noticed anything off about him yet but he knows it’s only time before he slips up.

It would be better to separate.

By the red clouds on his cloak and his blindness he can pinpoint when in time he’s supposed to be. Team Taka is meant to hunt down the Hachibi but Sasuke isn’t his young self lost in the darkness. He not only doesn’t want to hunt down the Hachibi but he also knows how it all plays out and doesn’t care to repeat history.

He will have to walk a path parallel to the one of his past so that he doesn’t disrupt the course of events that lead up to his future. As much as he would rather abandon everything and return home, there may be consequences to that decision.

There is one decision he must make to change the course of events. It will buy him time as he avoids hunting the Hachibi and it would be best for himself and to prevent an outsider from taking what belongs to his brother.

The order was wrong, but it was time to claim his inheritance.

.

.

Having the procedure done a second time, Sasuke was more alert this time around during his healing process. There are no dark thoughts clouding the corners of his mind as he plans.

This is another moment he wishes Sakura were with him. His brilliant wife would have healed him and fixed any errors left behind by the crude surgery. She would be able to come up with theories as to how he found himself in such a predicament. He can only hope that she is safe with their daughter in the distant future and that he hasn’t had any missteps that would erase their family’s future.

As much as he doesn’t want to hunt down the Hachibi there is still one man he will have to take care of again. Sasuke will have to be smarter this time around, less controlled by the hatred that had consumed him in his old life.

Loud voices and hissed insults outside of his bedroom has him snuggling into his futon until only the spikes of his hair can be seen poking from the top of his blankets. He doesn’t wish to know what it is Karin is doing that has her fighting with their comrades.

Sasuke longs for the quiet of his home even more during his recovery. Aches for the breeze drifting in through the open windows of his house and the smell of garlic and shallots filling the air as Sarada and Sakura’s chatter wraps a soothing buzz around his brain and down his spine.

He can’t afford a single misstep. He’ll find his way to Sakura again in the future—of this he’s confident—but he can’t lose their Sarada.

He drifts into a troubled sleep and dreams of hues of pink and red and of a girl’s distant laughter, always cutting away when he’s just within reach.

.

.

It’s a color he could never mistake and a voice he yearns for on quiet nights after days of of inaction.

There are others with her but who they are he doesn’t care. It’s always been like this. He hears her, sees her, before all others. Once that had been something he would vehemently deny, keeping those stray thoughts encased in the deep recesses of his mind, but he isn’t his seventeen year old self━no matter his appearance━and home is a flash step away.

“Konoha shinobi,” Karin warns. “Three klicks but heading west in the opposite direction. Easily avoidable.”

“You couldn’t have said something earlier?” Suigetsu scoffs. “You have one job and you can’t even do that right.”

“Shut up!” Karin seethes. “Sasuke-kun knows I would have said something if I was told to keep alert for them.”

With just a glance, Sasuke has them silencing. He nods his head in the direction he wants them to take and the three of them take off without him.

Home is running in the opposite direction. Three kilometers turns into four which turns into five and then six. And so on she keeps running, not even knowing how much he wants to be running to her.

.

.

He can hear them whispering. Even Jūgo is becoming skeptical of his plans. They have been moving and moving, constantly moving without making any effort to hunt down the Hachibi despite the orders given from his elder cousin Obito masquerading as their ancestor.

“Are you sure?” He hears Suigetsu muttering to Karin from his spot above them all in the forest canopy.

“I’m positive. We’re going in circles. Just as we’re getting closer I can feel him leading us away and…”

“And?”

“Something’s...different about Sasuke-kun. He doesn’t feel the same. His chakra is different. It’s like it’s not the Sasuke-kun we know.”

“Is it because of that surgery?”

“No...it’s been like that since before...just one day he woke up and he was different.”

Whatever Suigetsu responded with was lost to Sasuke as he closed his eyes and shut their voices out.

He didn’t necessarily need them anymore but the three of them had nowhere to go currently. In the future they crawled back to Orochimaru but at the moment he is still dead. And with the war approaching they would need as many allies and Taka did their part in assisting in his old life.

Sasuke will have to find a reason to get away from his team to avoid anymore suspicion.

.

.

He’s on his own for a bit. Sasuke always needs his space from his teammates and before they used to be wary of him, but now they’re wary for another reason all together.

He’s Sasuke but he’s not their Sasuke. He’s a Sasuke only a select few know and Team Taka never had this Sasuke. Karin has witnessed small increments but this Karin isn’t the Karin that was covered to her elbows in blood, cradling his premature daughter to her chest. This Karin doesn’t know it yet, but he is in debt to her for helping his wife and child.

He owes her more than she knows. But that hasn’t happened yet and he just wants distance, space away from her calculating eyes. She can see the way his chakra moves, feel the missing heaviness of how imposing it once was.

And he can’t allow that to be his undoing. He could handle it if Karin were to confront him but he couldn’t handle it if the confrontation led him to losing his future.

So Sasuke runs.

He takes the first chance he gets to split from the rest of Taka. Makes an excuse so that they split ways for a period. They have Karin and she can track him when they need to meet up again.

Being on his own again, Sasuke is reminded of the time during his redemption journey. Although he stands shorter than when he stepped out alone for the first time, he is seeing the world through clearer eyes and a free heart.

Sasuke finds himself sleeping often, a habit from when he went searching for himself. When the warm breeze rustled through the grass and the scent of the oak trees traveled with the wind, Sasuke was reminded of home and his thoughts would become muddled. Sleep was a reprieve from the confusing ache in his chest.

Now sleep is a curse. The weariness of his eyes as they drooped haunts him. For sleep cannot give him what he wants.

A promise that when he wakes up everything would have been just a dream. And that he would be home again.

.

.

It takes Sasuke a moment to remember to breathe.

It was already a coincidence that they had crossed paths once before, that he had caught a glimpse of her so soon before…

Before the time he had seen her in his timeline━his real timeline━and almost lost the future he is missing now.

His eyes are wide open and he is seeing the world with such clarity. How many times did he miss her before? How many times did he miss her when his vision was clouded with his hunt for justice?

He draws in the breath his lungs have been screaming for and it’s with that inhale that Sakura skids to a stop.

Eyes so green, so seafoam green, narrow and scan the perimeter. Short, choppy hair rustles with the slight movement of her head as she searches in his general direction. Sasuke can almost see the calculations circling in her mind.

She knows someone’s there. He can make a run for it, use his greater speed as an advantage. It would be the wise thing to do. The strong thing to do, for he knows that the gravitational pull his wife has on him even━before she’s aware she has any pull on him at all━is something he is weak against.

It is why he left home at twelve. It is why he stayed away.

Sasuke is very good at doing his duty. It’s what kept him on his mission for so long, it’s what had him on his mission without coming back home until it was done.

But he is tired and sleep has been bad and all he wants is that look━the look that Sakura gets on her face when she sees him, eyes wide and lips parting as if she’s seeing something splendid for the first time.

It’s greedy and selfish, but he’s sacrificed years in one lifetime and weeks in another. The universe can forgive him for a few seconds.

Purposefully he takes a step on a twig on the forest floor, one that alerts Sakura to his exact location. He just needs to wait for that look, that one look of astonishment, and he’ll take off.

“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura gasps, but before he can pivot and flee, she’s already taking a step back.

Curious, he halts his movements and watches as she digs her teeth into her lower lip and her eyes drift from him to the direction she had been heading toward before he had distracted her.

That’s...peculiar.

He is right in front of her—not moving now that he’s observing her—and she isn’t pleading with him to go back home with her.

Sasuke understands that she may be wary of him, unsure of how he would react, but Sakura isn’t one to shy away when it comes to her feelings so her silence is unnerving. He had been expecting her to shout out, not to act with trepidation.

Sasuke edges forward, sliding one foot along the soil, moving slowly as if approaching a doe. He waits for a reaction but Sakura just stares and stares.

He takes off, using a sequence of flash steps to create distance. He didn’t expect Sakura to be able to predict his movements but a tugging at the rope belt he uses to tie his cloak to his body has him skidding to a stop and redirecting his path.

“Sasuke-kun!”

He can’t look back. If he looks back he’ll break and forget that he has a responsibility to keep the timeline on its course. There is no telling if he will wake up back at home and face consequences for any disruptions he may have caused.

“Sasuke-kun,” Sakura continues to cry after him, trailing closer after him than he anticipated her sixteen year old self to be able to.

His mind offers a flash of Sakura dodging quick attacks during the fourth great war and then of her sucker punching Shin with his body covered with activated mangekyou sharingan, despite her off roster status due to being the director of the hospital.

“Anata!”

Fumbling a flash step, Sasuke trips up and skids across the forest floor, catching himself with his hands digging into the earth. Sakura catches herself on the trunk of a tree, using chakra to anchor herself instead of skidding along the forest floor like Sasuke. Green eyes go wide in fear as she continues to watch him, body poised and ready to make a run for it. Her body is tense as she anticipates a violent reaction from him.

Activating his sharingan, Sasuke scans every inch of her and looks for a sign, any sign that she could be━

“Tsuma?”

The endearment has barely left his tongue when Sakura throws her body at him, tackling him to the ground in one of her strong embraces.

“It’s you, it’s you!” She sobs into his chest, soaking his top with her tears.

Sasuke places a hand on her back and rubs soothing circles, letting her find comfort in releasing weeks worth of stress.

.

.

Sasuke doesn’t need to hear the lecture. It’s in his wife’s scowl as she sends pulses of her soothing chakra to his temple, healing the scarring from the surgery his cousin had performed to implant Itachi’s eyes. It’s the same scars she healed for him while he was in the hospital after his battle with Naruto.

She doesn’t reprimand him as he pulls her closer to straddle his lap. The closer she is, the more real it feels that she’s really with him.

Sakura had been in her sixteen year old body for the same amount of time he had been back in his seventeen year old body. She had told him of how she woke up one morning convinced she had dreamt he had returned for good, only to realize she was in a smaller body, in a much smaller bed, back in her bedroom in her parents’ house.

Sasuke scoffed at the comment of a smaller body. She had only grown a few more centimeters by the time she had reached adulthood. It is true though that she is no longer fuller at the hips and had lost the bust she developed after pregnancy━even the one she developed toward the end of puberty, but he isn’t going to mention that he had been watching her more closely than he should.

He remembered the shock of standing up and realizing he had lost over half a foot of his own height and although he was still muscular it was nowhere near the muscle mass of his adult body.

And then there was the issue of balance since he no longer needed to compensate for the missing limb.

“Do you think anyone else was sent back in time?” Sakura asks him as she examines him further, unzipping his top and brushing the pads of her fingers along still healing scars.

“Definitely not Naruto. He wouldn’t have the sense to keep it a secret.” Sasuke drags his nose up the line of Sakura’s throat. She smells mostly of sweat, dirt, and grass, but just underneath is her own unique scent.

Sasuke slides his hands under her medic apron, fingers edging along the hem of her tight shorts.

“What—,” Sakura narrows her eyes at him, cutting off her flow of chakra, “—what are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Sasuke answers as he cups her pert backside with both hands.

“We’re in a forest,” Sakura protests.

“That wouldn’t be new for us,” Sasuke counters.

“We’re in a forest, I’m sixteen, and you’re a missing nin,” is Sakura’s rebuttal. Despite her protests, she reaches for his rope belt and tugs it undone.

“Physically,” Sasuke continues to counter, “but spiritually we are━”

“Oh, just shut up and kiss me, you opportunist.”

Sakura holds his face in her small hands and initiates their first kiss━a minor change from their original timeline. Sasuke sits her in his lap and bites on her lower lip, pulling it into his own mouth as he proceeds to deepen the kiss.

Sasuke isn’t ignorant of the fact that he now has the advantage of two hands. He can touch his wife without the assistance of any jutsu. Although the observation doesn’t stop him from using his teeth to unzip her top. His hands are too busy pulling off her shorts and underwear.

As close as they are, they’re not close enough and he needs to correct that.

“Don’t rip through my shorts,” Sakura warns him, clutching his shoulders with enough force he’s sure she added chakra to her hold, a promise of repercussions if he damages her clothing.

Sakura’s gasp is barely heard over the sound of her mesh tank top being torn in half with only the use of Sasuke’s teeth. No one ever sees her undergarments so it’s an article of clothing that has no import, something that Sasuke is aware of and pays no mind to her grumbling as he drags his tongue up her sternum.

Her irritation melts into a soft sighs as he presses open mouth kisses to her clavicle. He grabs her waist with his hands, distracted by how tiny it is as he brushes his thumbs lightly around her belly button.

“Sasuke-kun…” Sakura murmurs as he sinks his fingers into her warm, wet center. He gets to work on stroking her with one hand and helping her remove her shorts and underwear with the other.

Two hands really were more efficient.

Sakura’s moans roll into his mouth as she grinds her hips against his hand. She had been too engrossed in the feeling of his fingers thrusting in and out of her core to worry about removing her medic-nin apron. Sasuke wants it on during their encounter.

Barely covering anything at all, Sasuke didn’t get a chance to appreciate her little apron when he really was seventeen. It is short enough and the slit just high enough that he can watch the way Sakura’s pink curls brush against the heel of his palm.

As Sakura grinds her hips against his hand, she braces herself by gripping his shoulders. The position they’re in makes it easy for Sasuke to wrap his lips around a pebbled nipple. He uses his other hand to press against her lower back in order to support her as she bucks against him, legs trembling.

As her inner muscles start to spasm around his fingers, Sasuke pulls them out. Sakura cries out at the loss and throws a glare at him, eyes watering from the frustration.

“I was close!”

“Yeah, I know.”

Sakura pouts so cutely he should feel bad about depriving her the release she was edging toward but he doesn’t. He just pulls his cloak out from under him and spreads it out on the forest floor.

“Come here,” Sasuke murmurs, tugging at her wrists to draw her closer. “And take off your shirt.”

Sakura barely shrugs her red top off and Sasuke is already pushing her down on to the cloak. He wastes no time in pushing her thighs apart and opening her folds once again. He’s careful to avoid the bundle of nerves that would throw her over the edge now that she is sensitive from the earlier stimulation.

“You’re doing it again,” Sakura whines, wiggling her hips in an attempt to get him where she wants him.

“What am I doing?” Sasuke feigns ignorance, pretending to be too concentrated on his task.

“Sasuke-kun. I’m not going to be the only one naked outside again.”

Sasuke frowns at the statement but doesn’t refute it. Their encounters outdoors usually ended up with Sakura losing every article of clothing while he only tugged his pants low enough to free himself from the confines.

Sasuke shrugs but in a gesture of mock solidarity he removes his shirt and tosses it to the side. He quirks an eyebrow at her and hesitantly she relaxes underneath him.

Now that she’s more willing to be compliant, losing the tension in her body, Sasuke swipes at her clit. He rubs at it with his thumb as he strokes her folds and places kisses down the valley between her small breasts and lower until he reaches her navel.

Dipping his tongue in her belly button, he sucks at the flesh there before making his way down lower and lower, past the thatch of pink curls, and flattens his tongue against where she’s hottest and drags it nice and slow before flicking Sakura’s hardened nub with the tip of his tongue.

A sharp pain at his scalp alerts him to Sakura’s fingers clutching at his hair and yanking it as he pulls the nub between his lips and rolls his tongue around it, alternating between soft suckles and hard suction that has her thighs trembling around his head.

Sasuke groans against her folds and Sakura’s body tenses up as his name tumbles weakly out of her mouth in a soft cry of relief.

Sasuke continues to lap at her core, flicking her clit in the upstroke. When Sakura tries to sit up he hooks his arms around her thighs and place his hands on her hips to keep her still. Using her sensitivity from the last orgasm he guides her into a second one and then rolls it into a third.

Sakura’s pulling his hair so hard at this point he’s glad that she is unable to concentrate on anything else but the feel of his tongue. If she could focus she would gather her chakra and attempt to pull him off of her. With the way she was yanking she could probably scalp him with her bare hands in her flustered state with the use of chakra.

By the time he’s done teasing her, Sakura is struggling to fill her lungs, unable to catch her breath through her pants. As she’s coming down, chest slowing down in its rising, Sasuke sits up on his knees and pulls her lower half so that her legs are spread across his lap.

“Are you okay?” He asks as he strokes her thigh soothingly as her eyes blink back into focus. She nods and grasps his hand, interlocking their fingers.

“I want to touch you too.”

Sakura pulls his hand up and presses kisses to the pads of his fingers, drawing them into her mouth. Sasuke’ mouth runs dry as she sucks on them. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she slides his index and middle fingers in and out of her mouth, her tongue wrapping around them.

“Next time,” Sasuke chokes out, reluctantly removing his hand from her hold as he pulls himself out of his pants. He gives himself two quick strokes, using the slickness from Sakura’s sucking to lubricate himself before guiding his cock into her entrance.

Slow and steady, Sasuke pushes in, groaning as he sinks deeper into Sakura’s slick heat. Looking up at Sakura’s face he cocks his head to the side, not sure why her lips are parted and eyes glimmering in awe.

“So that’s what you would have looked like…” she says softly.

Smirking down at his wife, Sasuke groans again purposely as he pulls out and thrusts back in as deeply as he can fill her.

The awestruck expression falls from Sakura’s face as she gasps from the sudden fullness. Sasuke stills inside her, feeling her inner muscles contracting around him as she adjusts to his size. As soon as she lifts her hips to move underneath him, Sasuke begins a steady pace of thrusts, gripping her hips with both hands to anchor her to him.

As familiar as he is with what his wife likes, his young body isn’t accustomed to being inside her and he is hypersensitive to the sensation. He can feel his release rapidly approaching, much sooner than he’d like.

Pulling out, he maneuvers Sakura’s body so she’s on her stomach. Following his lead, Sakura braces herself on her hands and knees and spreads her legs for him. Sasuke sinks back in and Sakura cries out, feeling him even deeper than before.

It’s a position Sakura prefers and that he gladly puts her in due to the increase in her sensitivity. He settles himself into the even pace from before, not trying to cum before he’s ready. Sasuke takes a finger and drags it down the curve of Sakura’s spine, feeling her flutter around him from the act.

Sasuke drops his head in the crook of her neck and drags his nose across her nape. Dropping kisses between her shoulder blades, Sasuke bites down on her shoulder and Sakura cums again, squeezing him tight and forcing his release out of him. Sasuke pulls her hips tight against his and grinds into her as spills himself inside of her. He collapses on top of her, chin resting on her shoulder. Sakura slowly drops to the ground and nudges him gently off of her as they sprawl out on the cloak.

Sasuke takes a deep breath and pulls Sakura closer so that her back is pressed against his chest. He hooks his arm around her waist and pillows her head with his other arm. Pressing his nose against the top of her head, he breathes in the smell of home. Sweaty and hidden behind the smell of earth, it lies there in the strands of Sakura’s hair.

.

.

Sakura had shrugged on his shirt when they gathered their things and relocated to a bank of a stream to wash up. The sight of their crest on her back is a small comfort but the news Sakura gave him as they laid on the forest floor had put a damper on his mood.

“Sasuke-kun,” his wife calls back his attention as she hangs up the newly washed cloak to dry. “What are you going to do now?”

Sakura was on her way to rendezvous with her team when she had ran into him. Luckily she was ahead of schedule due to already having the information she needed from the mission in the past. Sasuke hadn’t sidetracked her as she was using the extra time to be on her own. She had found it unsettling and tiring when she was with people. The stress of pretending and trying not to disrupt the timeline had been getting to her.

She was just as stuck as Sasuke and the only theory she could come up with was the rinnegan which was ruled out as soon as the thought crossed her mind. The rinnegan traveled dimensions not time.

Waiting around and playing out the rest of the events wasn’t something Sasuke wanted to do. There were other ways to get what he wanted.

“And I really don’t wanna celebrate Naruto’s birthday this time with the two of you blowing each other’s arms off,” Sakura jokes as he drags a hand down his face in embarrassment.

“That’s not happening this time.”

“Then what is happening this time?” Sakura slides her hand down his left wrist, settling her palm against his until he takes hold of it and interlocks their fingers.

“This time,” Sasuke breathes before granting her a soft smile, “this time, I come home. And stay.”

“And you stay.” Sakura nods, beaming up at him. Her smile fades and her brows furrow. “And Sarada?”

“We can be careful, do some calculations…” Sasuke rubs his thumb on the back of her hand. “She was ours once. She can be again. We’ll try.”

“We can try,” Sakura agrees.

“But for now,” Sasuke tugs on her hand, drawing her closer, “let’s go home.”

[depressedkakashihatake-fics]

It’s Finally Over

Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai/Tenzo Yamato

2101 Words

Kiss: Top of the Head Kiss

For: @tenzoyamato​

Celebrations still haven’t stopped. Ever since the day that they returned home from the war the festivities had continued day in and day out. Of course there was still a looming feeling of sadness. People who had lost someone had less reason to celebrate than the others, but they were still there. They still stand with everyone else, sharing memories of loved one’s lost and smiling a sad broken smile, because while they’ve lost someone they know what could have happened.

They understand that it could have been so much worse, and so they celebrate.

Watching from the top of the newly built Hokage’s residence, Kakashi smiles a soft smile. One saved only for himself as his eyes follow Sakura and Naruto running through the streets down below collecting their friends for shenanigans that he didn’t want to know anything about.

If they got into trouble, it would have to be someone else’s problem. Just for today. After all, while everyone else is celebrating he’s thinking back to the war that he had barely survived. A war that would have killed him if it hadn’t been for Obito’s intervention.

A war that he had no real desire to survive, thinking that his two most important people were dead. That he was alone in a world that seemed so desperate to make him suffer, never to see that blindingly bright smile that Gai always gave him, or the soft thoughtful eyes that Tenzo always had when he was looking at him. 

Surviving that final fight had felt like an empty victory for so long. A victory for his students more than anyone, and one he had no real desire to celebrate alongside them until…

A smile pulled at his lips when he felt two very familiar chakra signitured directly behind him. “You shouldn’t be up here,” glancing back at the pair, he rolled his eyes when he saw Tenzo helping Gai back into his wheelchair. “I thought you didn’t want anyone helping you with that.”

“I made an exception for this,” Gai assured him, that blinding smile of his cemented on his face. From where he stood Kakashi could still see the scars left behind by the eighth gate’s intense chakra burning through Gai’s skin. Angry red marks that the doctors had told them would heal a little over time, but would always be there as faint scares for the rest of Gai’s life. “You said you were going to meet us downstairs to join the celebrations.”

“I’m not that late, am i?” judging by the unimpressed look that Tenzo gives him, he is in fact late. Possibly very late. “Sorry, i guess i got caught up in my thoughts.”

“Nothing new,” Tenzo dismissed with a playful smile. “You’re always thinking too much, Lord Sixth.”

Kakashi cringed at the use of the Honourary. ‘Senpai’ was bad enough most days, but this was a bit too far. “Please, drop the ‘Lord’,” he pleaded. “Just use my name, Tenzo. It won’t kill you.”

“You’re the Hokage,” Tenzo argued. “It’s proper to refer to you as ‘Lord’. To do as you ask and ‘drop the Lord’ would be…”

His sentence trailed off, never to be completed, when Gai reached out and laid a hand down over his knee. If there was one person Kakashi could always trust to have his side in an argument it was Gai. Even if the rest of the world was against him, Gai would always have his back. 

“How about we have this conversation later,” Ok, maybe Gai wasn’t on his side this time. “Everyone is waiting for us downstairs. We shouldn’t keep them any longer than we already have.”

Wait? For them?

“What could they possibly be waiting for?” Kakashi inquired. “And who is ‘everyone’? Did  you two...please tell me that you didn’t plan anything. You know i don’t like surprises.”

The proud looks on the pairs faces told him that they had, in fact, planned something and that he had little to no choice about it. Possibly because they had already told everyone what they were going to do, and it would be rude of Kakashi to leave his friends waiting.

Some days he had to wonder why he had ever fallen in love with these two. Of course as soon as he started to question his life choices on the matter, one of them would do something grossly adorable that would make him melt on the spot. 

Like Gai, who was currently rolling up to his side and looking at him with the biggest, saddest eyes he had ever seen. And the man had the audacity to say that his puppy dog eye look was too powerful.

Clearly someone had never looked into the mirror while making that face. 

“This is completely unfair,” he grumbled under his breath. “Why would you two do this to me?”

“You’re Hokage now, Rival,” Gai argued. “Given the title today in front of all of Konoha. It’s only natural for all of your friends to want to celebrate with you.”

A celebration was the last thing that he wanted after having the Hokage’s hat shoved onto him by Tsunade-sama. He was still trying to recover after she had suddenly announced her intentions to retire, and told Kakashi that he would be taking over for her.

Though, he did finally agree to it after he convinced her to hold off the ceremony to officially pass him the title until Gai was released from hospital. The thought of not having both Gai and Tenzo there with him when he took a job that he didn’t even want did not sit well with him at all.

“Just for an hour,” Tenzo offered, smiling when Kakashi turned his attention to him. “Let us celebrate for an hour, and then we can do whatever you want. Deal?”

Whatever he wanted? That did sound like a compelling offer. 

“One hour and no ‘congratulations’” He bargained. “If i have to hear one person congratulate me for getting a job i did not want, i might scream.”

There was a moment of silence while the pair looked at each other, clearly having a silent conversation with one another before finally returning their attention to Kakashi.

“We make no promises about Naruto,” He wanted to be upset about that, but he really couldn’t be. Naruto was convinced that becoming Hokage was the highest honour that could be bestowed upon someone. There was no one who could convince him not to congratulate Kakashi for the new title, even if they carefully explained to him that Kakashi didn’t actually want the job. “But for everyone else, we will inform them to avoid any sort of ‘congratulations’ and focus instead on just having a good time.”

Since there was no way he was going to get out of this little party that the pair had organized, he was going to have to take this as a win. It was better than nothing at least.

“Five more minutes,” The words left his mouth before he could stop them. A soft plea followed by a hopeful smile. “I haven’t gotten a lot of time with just the two of you. Just five minutes, no one else but us.”

He could wait till tonight to have his alone time with them, but he felt like he needed it right now. Not forever, just a few minutes.

A quick reminder that he wasn’t dreaming.

That Naruto had saved Gai from certain death. That Tenzo hadn’t died at Kabuto and Obito’s hands.

Just a quick reminder that for once in his life, he didn’t have to lose everything that he held dear. 

“There you go again,” Tenzo stepped up to Gai’s side and reached out to poke Kakashi in the nose, laughing when the Hokage glared at him. “Thinking too much, Senpai. You really need to stop that.”

“It’s hard,” he admitted, bringing a hand up to rub his nose. “Back there in the battle field… I thought…”

He doesn’t need to finish his sentence. The soft look on Gai and Tenzo’s faces tells him that they know exactly what it was he was thinking. They always knew him so well.

“We’re here, Rival,” Gai smiled up at him. It’s still weird, seeing Gai so much lower than him. Though, he’d gladly take Gai in a wheelchair and retired over never seeing him again. “We’re not going to leave you behind.”

Hearing the words said out loud makes something snap inside of Kakashi. Something that he hasn’t felt break in a long time. He’s not exactly sure when the tears start to fall, or when his knees give out. All he really knows is one second he’s looking at the loves of his life directly in front of him, and the next his head is buried in Gai’s lap and Tenzo’s hand is in his hair.

He should be celebrating, but his heart still hurts. Pain echoes deep inside long after it should have gone, screaming at him to let it out. To admit that he’s scared and hurt.

Instead, he had pushed it back. Refused to acknowledge it even when he felt like he was going to fall apart. The world needed him. His students needed him. His pain would have to wait until the world was safe once again.

And then the world was safe. Everyone woke up, Sasuke found his way back to Naruto. Tenzo and Gai had lived. Everything was ok, but the pain was still pounding deep inside of his chest, and he continued to ignore it.

What reason was there to be sad? He hadn’t lost Tenzo and Gai. His students were all alive. For once, he hadn’t lost as much as he could have. Even those he had lost had at least gotten to say goodbye to him. That was more than he could say for his father, Minato-Sensei, Kushina, Rin…

The sadness didn’t make sense, but it still sat there. Deep inside of him. A throbbing, constant pain that refused to leave him alone. It always felt worse when he sat by Gai’s beside waiting for him to wake up, or when Tenzo told him about what he had gone through while he was being kept prisoner. 

Still, he continued to ignore it. There were celebrations going on around him. He had no reason to be sad.

“It’s ok,” Tenzo’s voice breaks through the fog in his brain as Gai rests a hand on top of his head. “We’re here, Kakashi.”

The pain is still there. A deep, soft throb, but it hurts a little less. It doesn’t suffocate him anymore, even as he cries into Gai’s lap. For the first time since he had heard the news of Tenzo’s capture he didn’t feel like he was being eaten alive by his own hurt.

“We’re here, Rival,” He can feel Gai’s hands combing through his hair. A gentle touch that helps to ground him to reality. Keeping him there with Gai and Tenzo even as his emotions flood out, an unstoppable flood of hurt and tears. “We’re not going to leave you. Ever.”

“Five minutes,” from the way Tenzo says it Kakashi knows he’s being promised as much time as he needs, and he appreciates it. The silent promise of comfort and confidentiality. “We’ll sit here with you.”

Bringing a hand up, he searches and reaches out for Tenzo. Searching desperately for anything that he can hold onto until Tenzo notices and tangles their fingers together and gives his hand a squeeze.

He’s not sure who kisses him on the top of his head. It would take too much effort to turn his head so he can see what’s going on around him, but he knows the feeling in the pit of his stomach when he feels that kiss.

Warmth.

Happiness.

An actual happiness that blooms inside of him for the first time in months. For the first time since his students had defeated Kaguya together he feels like it’s really over. As if the wounds deep down inside of him can finally start to heal. 

Another kiss on the top of his head, and that warmth blooms a little more. 

He’s not alone.

He’s never going to have to be alone.

For the first time since he was five, he’s not afraid of the world crashing down around him. For the first time since his fathers death, he feels safe with the feelings of love bursting in his chest, and he can’t imagine anyone more deserving of that love than the two men standing with him right now.

[ayamashie]

okay so, i have been contemplating whether i should upload this or not for a real long time and FINALLYYYY here you go. a little KAKASAKU inspired from lily and snape [after all this time; always]  it is slightly dark and contains suicidal attempt sooo pleaseee be advised so. love you alll

Kakashi’s throat felt dry as he drew a breath from the cold night air standing in front of the house. Her house, that she shared with her husband. his breaths came out as deep pants as he pushed the wooden fence door making his way through the stony pathway that lead to the door of the house. The usually lit up and lively house was dark tonight. Darkness and loneliness had wrapped itself around the house and suddenly kakashi felt as if the air surrounding him was too thick to breath in. he felt cold. with a trembling hand he reached to the hem of his mask pulling it down in a quick swift motion opening his mouth taking a deep intake of air to ease the burning of his lungs. He lost count of the times that he gulped his saliva down his throat to moist the dry walls but still it stayed painfully dry.  

“Sakura.” A small cracked voice came out of him as he looked up to the window and the light flickered again. so did the light of hope in his heart. A feeling of relief washed over him as a small smile appeared on his lips. gulping in an effort to wet his throat again he ran-walked to the door as his heart thumped against his ribcage almost painfully as if it could break his ribs.

“Pl..please be safe.” He pushed the door open as his fingers trembled against the knob of the door. The hall way was dark. Stepping inside he called out the name of his lover and desperately waited for a response. The response never came. Suddenly the whole place was lit by a bright light as a lighting soared across the sky warning the deafening thunder that will be followed by it. the light entered the hall way showing him path filled with broken glasses, china, photo frames and…

As soon as the light came it went away. next, came the loud deafening sound of thunder and with that kakashi felt a tight squeeze in his heart. something inside him, broke in to pieces. a body laid across the broken shreds of glasses. Eyes wide open. Blood trickling from his gaped mouth. Lifeless body of sasuke uchiha laid in a pool of blood that flowed out of his own body. A small whimper erupted from kakashi’s mouth as he struggled to walk towards the dead body of his former student. Kneeling down before sasuke’s body, he ran his trembling hand on his face closing the lifeless eyes as tears stung corner of his eyes.

The lightening came again, and this time with that a small cooing of a baby was brought to his ears. Kakashi’s head shot up towards the stair case as the sound of the baby was engulfed by the sound of the thunder that roared. Mustering the courage to stand up he grabbed the cupboard beside him, forcing him to stand up. His body felt extremely heavy as he felt the ray of hope he found flickering away.

“Sakura.” He called out for her loudly. His voice shook as his body trembled too. With a heavy heart and a heavy body, kakashi pulled himself up on each step. with the help of the railing he Pushed himself towards the flickering light that he sees.  He stopped midway as his knees shook, grabbing the steel railing to keep himself from falling. the soothing sound of the baby reached his ears again acting like a motivation to pull himself up the stairs and reach to the open door.

“Sarada chan.” His shaky voice managed to let out her name as he finally pulled himself up and walked to the door as the light flickered again.

The lightening came again. and the light in his heart died. His trembling knees gave up and kakashi grabbed the edge of the door before he fell on his knees as he saw the woman he loves. Two swords were plunged into her as she sat by the crib. Her clothes were bloody. Her eyes were wide open. A loud shaky sob erupted from his mouth when his whole body gave in and he fell to his feet. He sat there and watched her as tears cascaded down his face and weeps escaped his mouth. Her beautiful short pink hair that ruled his fantasies was messed up and the blood stained. Her radiant green eyes that never failed to make him smile with true happiness had the light torn away from them. They were cloudy and dull as they stared into space.

“Sakura!!” A loud whimper left his mouth again as he grasped on the fabric of his sweatshirt over his chest, bowing down until his forehead came in contact with the blood stained carpet in front of the dead body of woman he loves. Tears flowed from his eyes and he didn’t try stop them as they flowed on to the carpet.

 “I am sorry. I am sorry I wasn’t here on time.” his voice trembled as the sob shook his body.

“Sorry. I am sorry”

He raised his head up staring at her before he managed to move his body to crawl towards her body. Tears flowed from his eyes and his body trembled. His heart was broken he felt the pain mount through him as he lifted a hand to wipe some blood off her cheek. His hand retreated back as he felt her cold lifeless skin under his fingertips. Biting his lower lip, he cupped her cheek in his hand brushing the blood stained strands off her face pulling her body to his chest. The strong taste of blood engulfed his taste buds as he dug his teeth into his lips only to release them in a loud wail. Kakashi clutched sakura’s lifeless body in to chest as he cried loudly dipping his nose into her pink hair sniffing in any smell of life left on her. Instead his nose welcomed the disturbing smell of blood that shook him to his core again.

From beginning to this day, he kept losing everyone that ever mattered for him. It left him hallow and cold. The void in his chest was never filled. No amount of sake and no amount of women ever helped him with his depression and loneliness. Until those three came around. Sakura sasuke and Naruto. After a long time, he was happy and he promised himself that he will protect them no matter what. When he lost his father, he promised he won’t be weak. When he lost Obito he promised himself that he will become stronger. When he lost Rin, he promised he will protect his comrades no matter what. Then he lost his sensei. His will broke that night. As he sat on front of his father’s grave gulping the warm bitter liquid down his throat he wondered what the use of his power was if he can’t even protect his loved ones. What was the use of being on bingo book under “flee at sight” if he can’t even push himself to save his teammates? He saw himself drowning in darkness until those hands pulled himself up from the deep depths of his own darkness. And before he had noticed, they had grown up and they weren’t his students. Naruto begin training to earn the title of the Hokage and sasuke left the village again. And once again he found himself in a familiar darkness until a hand reached for him. And with help of her bright smile, he found reason to live again. He stopped surviving and started living again...  

“I am sorry I am sorry.” His wails submerged into the loud roars of the thunder as he closed his eyes moaning her name in agony grappling her lifeless body against his. He shook her body as if he could shake her back to life. But she was dead. She was gone from his life. Forever. And he didn’t even get a chance to tell him how much he loved her. How much he wanted her in his life. How she was his lifeline and the reason and his will to live. And now that she was gone, so was his will to live. Tears stopped flowing from his eyes as he pulled away from her.

 He kept her body on the floor and reached to a broken shred of glass with a trembling hand. grasping the shred tightly in to his hand, Kakashi felt the sharp edges cutting into his skin as he pushed the shred against the skin of his wrist closing his eyes tightly. Without sakura, Kakashi didn’t have a reason to live for. His life would be colorless and everyday would be a struggle. He wanted see her smile again. He wanted to feel her warm skin again. So desperately that he was ready to welcome death just so he could see her in afterlife. With his resolve done Kakashi pushed the shred into his wrist groaning at it pierced into skin drawing blood.

And suddenly a small whimper reached his ears. His closed eyes shot open as the shred of glass fell from his trembling fingers. The drop of blood that was gathered on his wrist moved down his wrist and fell on the carpet. The whimper grew loud and turned into a loud wailing and Kakashi forced himself to turn and look at the crib.

Dark eyes stared at him behind the wooden bars of the crib as tears flowed from those large eyes too. Her mouth was contorted as she cried and wailed loudly lifting her small short hands up as if she was trying to reach out for Kakashi. Straights strands of her black hair was splayed across her face as her small fist opened and closed in a quick motion as if she was calling out for Kakashi to come to her. The tears that had stop flowing from his eyes, gathered in his eyes again and cascaded down his cheek.

“Ohh Sarada chan.” With a newly found strength Kakashi grabbed the wooden poles of the crib and pulled himself into standing position before grasping the baby under her lifted arms and rising her to hug her closer.

“I am so sorry Sarada. So sorry.” Tears cascaded down his face was absorbed by the soft fabric of her bodysuit. Sarada’s whimpers calmed down as soon as Kakashi held her close. She cooed gently as Kakashi pulled away to look at her face that held a smile disregard of their bloody surrounding. In return, a corner of Kakashi’s lips rose too despite of the tears flowing from his eyes.

“I will protect you I promise.” Voice still shaky, Kakashi pulled the small baby against his chest hugging her tightly. Sarada, the closest thing to sakura Kakashi had, grasped his sweatshirt cooing against him in a soothing tone. A warm feeling of happiness washed over him. And he knew he was not going to let go of that child. No matter what.

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

But I Don’t Want to be a Sensei! Pt 3 (ARCHIVED)

Chapters 11, 12, & 13

Chapter 11: Training, Yanagi-Style!

Demon of the Mist. Master of the silent killing technique.

 So why didn't he kill silently?

 Why did he make his presence known and draw me into a long battle instead of killing Tazuna before any of us could suspect something.

 Tazuna went off on the little brat, but Naruto ignored him by exclaiming that people were hiding around in the bushes all around us. I was about to hit him for being stupid when I felt a surge of chakra behind me.

 Naruto seemed to follow my instincts and aimed another kunai knife at the spot I felt the chakra surge. Tazuna smacked Naruto upside the head and the brat and drunk had yet another yelling match while I went to investigate. Just below the kunai that Naruto had thrown a white rabbit was having a heart attack.

 A white snow rabbit.

 Curse my cursed damn luck. The karma demons must really loath me.

 I stepped away from Naruto's sobbing apologies to casually inspect the clearing, searching for chakra signatures. I wasn't a very good sensory nin, most of it was just pure natural skill since I had spent most of my training on my sharingan and attacks, so I wouldn't be able to sense anyone who was suppressing their chakra at a jounin level.

 Considering that I couldn't sense anyone meant that my suspicions were right and our next attacker was a jounin skilled opponent.

 I hadn't been able to sense Zabuza until he wanted me to.

 So why did he want me to?

 And that kid with him, he was also able to suppress his chakra enough that I didn't sense him until he felt like it too.

 Why?

 Why didn't the false hunter-nin attack me? We both knew that he could easily take me out as weak as I was. Towards the end of the fight, I had been putting on a front. That hunter-nin knew that, I could feel it in his gaze. But he only retrieved Zabuza. Did he want us to be surprised when Zabuza came back to attack us? No. That false hunter-nin would know that I'd be able to figure it out. People like Zabuza and his allies wouldn't underestimate anyone.

 Zabuza was hired by Gatou, I know that. Which meant he was in it for money... or was he? Gatou would want Tazuna dead quickly, so Zabuza should have killed him quickly. Instead he went after me. That meant that Zabuza didn't care for money as much as it would seem. So why? What did Zabuza really want?

 Something to do with Gatou. He had money–Zabuza could be hired by anyone else for that. He could offer protection–Zabuza didn't need it, he was capable of protecting himself and he had an ally. Gatou practically ruled over the Land of Waves–I doubted Zabuza was interested in that. Gatou had a shipping company...

 “Obito-nii! You said you were going to teach me something cool! This is geography!” A younger me whined.

 My older brother laughed, “Just you wait, imoto, you'll see this is cool!” I gave my brother a skeptical look. Obito often lied to me for the heck of it. Nii-san, seeing my expression, reached over to ruffle my curly hair, “That's a promise!” He said cheerfully. I automatically smiled. Whenever Obito-nii said those words, that meant whatever he was saying was true!

 Turns out he was right. It was very interesting learning about rebels often hiding in secluded areas like small islands. Obito was going to teach me about smuggling too, but then Kakashi-baka-nii-san came and interrupted everything.

 Rebels. Smuggling. Zabuza.

 My mind recalled Zabuza's page in the Bingo Book. He attempted a coup d'état on Kiri because he disagreed with the government. It was rumored that he had joined the Mist Rebels, but it was never proven.

 Could working for Gatou be a cover up?

 ...

 “Frizzy-sensei, I know you're awake!”

 “Idiot, don't yell!”

 “Shut up, Teme! I know Frizzy-sensei is awake! She keeps twitching.”

 “N-Naruto, p-p-plea-please q-quiet down. S-sensei is try-trying to r-r-rest.”

 My eyes snapped open and I immediately glared at Naruto, “You call me that again and I'll kick your ass.” I growled threateningly. I tried to sit up and immediately groaned as my chakra system convulsed painfully causing my muscles to spasm and freeze up as well.

 A woman I didn't know was by my side in an instant, “You shouldn't move.” She said in a mothering tone. I eyed her, she looked a lot like Mikoto-oba except her face was a lot plainer than my aunt's. She even acted like Mikoto. “Until you're feeling better you should just lay down.” I gave in with a sigh and laid back down. If this woman was anything like Mikoto-oba, she wouldn't take no for an answer. It'd be in my best interest to just listen to her.

 “S-sensei, are you al-alright?” Hinata asked, coming to kneel beside my futon.

 “Hn.” I responded with the Uchiha general answer for everything.

 Naruto, of course, wasn't going to take that for an answer though, “What happened anyway, sensei? You were fine one minute and the next you were passing out! What gives?”

 Sasuke bopped Naruto upside the head, “Idiot, Yanagi-itoko used too much chakra.” I gave Sasuke a strange look, since when did he call me 'itoko'?!

 Tazuna spoke up from behind Hinata, “Well you did take down a powerful ninja, so I guess you've got an excuse.”

 “He's not dead.” I said, turning my gaze to the ceiling.

 I think everyone had a miniature heart attack.

 “W-what?! What do you mean he's not dead?” Tazuna practically screeched like a girl.

 I closed my eyes and struggled to sit up again. It tore at my pride that Hinata had to help me, but at least I wasn't laying down like some helpless invalid anymore, “Hunter-nins destroy the body where they make the kill. So why did that boy take Zabuza away?”

 Silence permeated the air as that information sunk in.

 Hinata gasped a little, “T-those needles he-he used...” She said under her breath. Everyone looked at the shy heiress and she blushed. “S-sorry!” She squeaked, ducking her head and twiddling her fingers.

 I reached out and pushed her hands down, “No, what were you saying?” I asked. Now wasn't the time for shyness. If Hinata had information, then she should share it.

 The girl nibbled at her lip in nervousness and, after a long silence, finally stuttered out, “W-where he h-h-h-hit... i-it was a pres-pressure p-p-poi-point... that c-ca-causes d-death if hit h-hard e-e-en-enough.” Of course Hinata would know. The Hyuuga fighting style specialized in pressure points, hitting them with chakra to cut off the chakra flow.

 Sasuke stiffened, “The senbon needles. They don't have a high casualty rate.” He said, mostly to himself.

 I nodded, “Exactly. Unless hitting a vital organ, senbon needles don't kill. My guess is that the hunter-nin used the pressure points on Zabuza's neck to create a temporary death. A hunter-nin is an expert in human anatomy, causing the heart to stop temporarily is child's play to them. Also, the fact that the hunter-nin we ran into took Zabuza's body away instead of taking care of him on the spot and using senbon needles for a weapon points to one fact: that boy was trying to save Peaches... not kill him.”

 Tazuna tried to reason with us, “Come on, you're over thinking things!” By the tone of his voice, I could tell that Tazuna really want us to be paranoid and not right.

 I gave the man a serious look, “An Uchiha does not over think things.” I said, a little more harshly than intended. Tazuna cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away. More calmly I recited a rule from the Shinobi Handbook, “The Shinobi Handbook states: 'Encountering suspicion, the ninja prepares quickly. Hesitation leads to disaster.'” I narrowed my eyes at Tazuna, daring him to comment again. I should thank Kakashi for being a ninja robot when I first met him; because of him I memorized the entire handbook by the time I was seven.

 Involuntarily, of course.

 I glanced at my genin to gauge their reaction. Naruto was grinning a little psychotic grin and Hinata looked extremely pale. Sasuke wasn't showing any emotion.

 Naruto stood up, his hand still clenched in a fist, “Alright! Let's prepare then!”

 Blinking, I looked at my dumbest student with surprise. Honestly I had expected him to start yelling about going and hunting Zabuza down, not training.

 Even more surprising was when Hinata gave Naruto a look that could have been called a glare... if she wasn't blushing, “B-but Naruto, Y-yanagi-sensei is hurt!” Hinata wasn't even stuttering as much, and she was talking to Naruto! Normally she couldn't say one word completely when talking to her crush.

 “Uh... Sensei?” I blinked and shook my head a little before focusing on a confused Naruto, “What's with the funny look?” The blonde asked, the dread in his voice apparent. Mildly I wondered if he though I was going to whip out another Uchiha-style training session like I did when they bothered me too much.

 I smiled kindly at them, “I'm just impressed by how much all of you have grown. Especially you Naruto.” Naruto squinted at me. I grinned wider until my eyes closed, “You've grown the most.”

 Should have known the praise would go straight to his head, “So you noticed, huh? Things are going to get even better, believe it!” Naruto exclaimed.

 “I don't believe it!” A childish voice, not so different from Naruto's actually, shouted behind the blonde. I looked past Naruto to the doorway where a small child in green overalls stood. He glared at us from under his hat with eyes so filled with hate and... loneliness.

 “Who are you!?” Naruto enunciated each word loudly, pointing an accusing finger at the kid.

 Tazuna spoke before the kid could, “Ah, Inari, where have you been?” My eyes went from Tazuna to Inari, so this was the kid that would cry and cry if we hadn't taken the mission to protect Tazuna after we found out how dangerous it was.

 He sure didn't seem the type.

 Inari, ignoring the rest of us, ran for his grandfather, his voice suddenly happy and eager, “Welcome back, Grandpa!”

 “Inari! That was very rude, these ninja helped your grandfather and brought him here safely.” The woman who I had yet been introduced to scolded. No doubt she was Inari's mother and Tazuna's daughter. Seemed to me that she wouldn't resent Konoha if Tazuna was killed.

 Grandpa Drunk was a dirty blackmailer.

 Tazuna waved off Inari's mother, “Ah, it's okay. I'm rude to them too.” He chuckled.

 I shot him a nasty glare, “Same to you, Grandpa Drunk.” I snapped. Tazuna tried to glare at me, but he didn't hold a candle to any Uchiha. Not even Ibo.

 Inari gave us all a blank look before turning to his mother, “Mom, don't you see, all these people are going to die! Gatou is going to kill them all!”

 Naruto had the right idea when he yelled, “What did you say brat?!” He gave a cocky grin, “Listen up, you know what a super ninja is? Well that's me, only I'm going to be better.” Contradictory much? “I'm going to be Hokage!” Oh dear kami, not this again, “This Gatou or Blatou or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me!”

 The brat scoffed, “There's no such thing as a real hero. You're just full of stupid ideas!” Inari snapped, looking very much like a miniature Uchiha in appalling fashion at that moment. Yeesh, talk about dramatic.

 There was a brief moment of silence before Naruto started for him, “WHAT'D YOU SAY?!” Sasuke luckily leapt up to grab the blonde idiot before he could murder Inari. I almost felt sorry for my cousin for having to be so close the that blaring mouth. No doubt Sasuke would be deaf by the time he was twenty.

 “If you wanna stay alive you should go back where you came from.” Inari said snobbishly then started walking away.

 Finally, finally, Tazuna scolded him, somewhat, “Inari, where are you going?”

 “To look at the ocean!” Inari snapped as he opened the doors and left, slamming the door behind him.

 I sighed, “That boy is going to have a bad attitude when he's a teenager...” I commented to no one.

 Tazuna looked at Naruto after a moment, “Sorry about that.” He said in a 'not so sorry' tone. I should know, I used it all the time.

 Inari's mother took over then and shooed everyone else out of my room, saying I was still supposed to be resting. I sighed when I was alone and wondered what everyone else was up to. Not that I cared, I was just bored. I nearly cried when I realized that if Obito found out about this he was going to murder me for getting hurt! Kakashi would be right behind him. And Shisui would never let me live it down.

 Still moaning about my morbid future, I closed my eyes to rest and plan ahead.

 vvv

 I flicked three small squares at my genin. Being ninjas, even miniature ones, all three snatched the paper out of the air without thinking. They looked at the chakra paper confused, then at me. I leaned against the tree I sat under, “That's chakra paper. When you channel your chakra into the paper it will react according to your chakra nature. For instance,” I held up a fourth slip of paper and channeled my chakra into it. The paper split in two. “That's the sign that I have Fūton nature.” I waved my hand at Sasuke, “Go, Duckass.”

 My cousin gave me a small glare before concentrating on the bluish paper in his hand. As we watched the paper began to crinkle. Sasuke looked at me for explanation. I nodded once, “Seems you have a Lightning affinity. Being an Uchiha you also have Katon nature, correct?” Sasuke nodded silently. Of course he did. The Uchiha clan was born with fire affinity, no two ways about it. There was a reason why we were famous for it after all.

 Naruto went ahead and channeled his chakra into his paper without my say-so. The paper cut in two, “Cool! We have the same... uh... katra nature, Sensei!” He exclaimed.

 “Chakra” I stressed before mentally running through all my wind ninjutsus. I didn't have that many that were low level, and those that I did weren't really battle-oriented.  Anything I taught him would be useless in the inevitable battle against Zabuza. Maybe I should start him on a higher level ninjutsu. With his large chakra stores, Naruto shouldn't be in too much danger.

 But it was Naruto we were talking about.

 Shaking off my dilemma for now, I nodded to Hinata for her to go. She channeled her chakra into the slip of paper and watched as it turned damp with water.

 I tsked, “Well, I don't know any water ninjutsus. It goes against my fire chakra nature.” I said, feeling slightly sorry for Hinata especially with her pulling that disappointed look. She was the one who needed training the most and I couldn't help her at all. Not many people could, really. Unless... I snapped my fingers, startling my three genin, “I can teach you some stealth techniques for now, I noticed you're good at that. And I'll try to find you someone someone to teach you Suiton jutsus later.” Already my mind was going through a mental file of everyone I had seen using Suiton techniques.

 All three of my genin were giving me strange looks. I raised an eyebrow in question, but I already knew what was going on in their tiny little minds. “Why... why are you being so helpful?” Sasuke finally asked.

 I gave them a smirk, “What, you miss the surly sensei? Because I can easily go back into that.” Cue a quick head shake from all my precious genin. I rolled my eyes and explained, “We're going against a S-ranked criminal and his unknown ally. I was barely able to defeat Peach-boy last time-”

 Naruto interrupted me before I could continue, “But that's the point!” I was mildly surprised at his outburst, “If you were unable to beat Zabuza then what makes you think we can?!” Was Naruto... admitting that he wasn't strong? “You passed out last time after that battle, and that weird guy in the mask will also be there this time, so what makes you think we're ready for that kind of-”

 Being the awesome sensei that I am, I smacked him in the head with one of my crutches to shut him up.

 “Didn't I just say that you're getting stronger?” I asked hotly, irritated that my rare praise wasn't warming their sorry little hearts. First time I ever praised Naruto and he was whining about not being strong enough! “Look, I wouldn't have been able to do anything during that fight if you three hadn't done something.” I think the genin were a little shell shocked.

 Naruto, stupidly, tried to speak again. I grabbed him by his collar and pulled him down until we were inches apart. “Look here, Obito Mini-me, you're going to shut up and learn a jutsu because if you don't that little promise you made back when we fought those chunnin will go to waste!” Naruto clammed up after that. I let him go and struggled to a stand, “Good. Now, lets start training. Sasuke, heel.”

 My cousin's right eye twitched at being treated like a dog but came forward anyway. I stared at him intently, trying to figure out what jutsu I could teach him. I already knew he could to the Grand Fireball–it had been a big thing around the clan when Sasuke mastered the technique when he was seven, making him yet another prodigy.

 I swear the Uchiha clan spat out either prodigies or total losers.

 “Do you know the Phoenix Sage Technique?” I asked suddenly, looking down to the duckass haired boy for his answer.

 Sasuke added a slight frown to his otherwise emotionless face, “Aniki says that's a Katon technique.”

 “I know that. I have Katon and Fūton chakra, I can't teach you any Lightning jutsus. Yes or no, did Itachi-san or anyone else teach you the Phoenix Sage?” I said testily. Damn this little brat and his need to question everything!

 Sasuke shook his head 'no'.

 I grinned sadistically. “Good. Now I get to apply Uchiha-style training on you.” I said then chuckled evilly. It might have been my imagination, but Sasuke seemed to turn three shades paler than his normal pasty self. But first, “Sit, while I deal with the others.” I commanded my cousin before pushing down on his shoulder, forcing him to sit.

 Naruto was over his gloom and doom attitude already, “Oh oh! Sensei, me next! Me next!” He yelled eagerly, waving his hand in the air like a child eagerly wanting to impress the teacher.

 Ignoring him, I turned to Hinata. “You're training is simple to explain. Go out deep into the woods and try to sneak back here. Try to suppress both your chakra and the noise you make. If you make it back here before the boys can hear you, then you pass. Got it?” Another nod. “Shoo then.” I said, waving my hand towards her. Hinata hesitated for only a moment before disappearing.

 As soon as Hinata was gone, my vision was filled with yellow and orange, “Yanagi-sensei! Teach me next! I want to learn a kickass jutsu!” I was kind of starting to miss the 'doom and gloom' Naruto...

 Picking up a leaf that laid at my feet I gave it to the blonde brat, “Here.”

 Naruto squinted at the leaf in confusion, “Huh?”

 I picked up another leaf and held it in my right palm, “To master any Fūton jutsu, you need excellent control, even more than the control required for tree walking. Use your chakra to cut the the leaf; it'll be harder than cutting the chakra paper since you must consciously cut, not just channel chakra.” I focused my chakra to cut the leaf I was holding and did just as I told him, “Do that and I'll teach you the Wind Blade.” The Wind Blade was a B-rank jutsu. But since Naruto already knew the shadow clone jutsu, which was forbidden, I doubted he'd have too much trouble.

 “WHAAT?! You said you were going to teach me a cool jutsu!”

 “I will. After you learn to control your chakra better.”

 “I already know how to do that! Teach me the jutsu!”

 “Don't make demands, kid, or I'll do nothing. Shut up and train with your leaf.”

 Naruto pouted, predictably. He crossed his arms and turned his nose into the air like a child. Rolling my eyes I leaned over and pinched his nose between my index finger and thumb. Naruto screeched and tried to swat me off, but I didn't let go, “Look, if you don't learn this then you'll never get any of the wind jutsus I'm going to teach you.” A complete lie, but what's a little white lie if Naruto never found out about it? I let go of Naruto's nose and straightened up, “Unless you want to be defenseless when Zabuza comes back, I suggest you don't question my methods. Get to work.”

 Before Naruto could say another word, I grabbed Sasuke by his ridiculous Uchiha collar and bodily dragged him away, ignoring all his protests along the way. I only let go when we reached a clearing well enough away from Naruto and made Sasuke sit again.

 I sat down across from him, staring intently at my cousin. There was a long moment of silence as we stared at each other. Eventually Sasuke wilted under my gaze and shifted nervously. Finally he looked away.

 Quickly before he knew what was happening, I shunshined further away and made the appropriate hand signs, “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” I intoned and several fireballs flew towards Sasuke.

 My cousin's eyes widened as the fireballs roared towards him. I watched in amusement as he dodged the first five before creating a Grand Fireball to cancel out the last of my jutsu. When the fire died away, Sasuke was glaring at me. I smirked and did the same hand signs, “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!”

 Repeat.

 By the time I did the third Phoenix Sage jutsu, Sasuke was pissed. He snatched a kunai from his weapons pouch and charged me. I laughed at his puny attempts to attack and backflipped away. “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!”

 “Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!”

 I shunshined behind Sasuke to avoid his fireball and recreated the hand signs, “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” Sasuke turned around, his eyes wide and filled with horror as he saw the several mini fireballs flying towards him. There was no way he could avoid them in time. I watched passively as Sasuke managed to dodge the first and second fireball. The third skimmed his right forearm, making the brat cry out in agony. He leapt away from the others, getting out of the fire zone and crouching down to cradle his injured arm.

 “What the hell is wrong with you?!” He shouted at me. I was impressed that he wasn't crying from the burn. The Phoenix Sage Jutsu was hot enough that if the fire grazed you, it would result in a second degree burn. When Obito first taught me the jutsu I was bawling my eyes out when I got burned.

 Instead of answering his question, I started making the hand signs again. Sasuke, finally catching on, leapt away. I kept following him, spitting out fireballs, but every time I did Sasuke only leapt back again. He looked good and riled now. My mouth twitched upwards in a smirk, time to throw in insults.

 “You know for being a prodigy, you're a pretty lousy one.” I drawled casually. Sasuke straightened up from his crouched position, his brows drawn low over his nose. I nodded as if he had said something, “Even my brother, the famed 'dead last of the Uchiha', was chūnin at eleven and had unlocked his sharingan at age thirteen. And let's not get into Shisui and Itachi.”

 “What's your point?” Sasuke snapped angrily.

 I sneered as I made the hand signs again, “My point is that you're going to have a hell of a time learning without that sharingan. Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!”

 vvv

 “Ouch!” Sasuke actually yelped later that night as I applied salve to his burns.

 I rolled my eyes, “Hush up, you big baby! I'm not even hurting you.” I swatted the brat over the head for good measure.

 Tazuna snorted, “Now you are.” He chuckled then made a squeaking noise in the back of his throat when Sasuke and I glared at him.

 Naruto seemed torn between laughing at Sasuke and being jealous that he got to learn a jutsu while Naruto only got to practice more chakra controlling exercises. By mid afternoon he had mastered the leaf exercise to I gave him another, when he master that one I gave him another and another. Sasuke seemed grateful every time Naruto showed up saying that he mastered the exercise, since it was a break from my torturous training methods.

 I tied a knot in the last bandage and pulled it tight, causing my cousin to wince. Sasuke glared at me as he rubbed his arm. I smirked, “If you tell Itachi-san, he'll only tell you to train more. You know he will.” I teased, reading exactly what was on my younger cousin's mind. Well Itachi would probably kill me too, but I'd leave that part out.

 No need to give Sasuke any funny ideas.

 Feeling an evil look staring at me I looked up to see Tsunami glaring at me hotly, “Yanagi-san, you overdid it today. If you keep this up you won't be able to protect us when that man comes back!” Tazuna's daughter snapped at me.

 I waved a flippant hand, “Eh, I'm a jounin, I've been dealt with chakra exhaustion before.” I said dismissively. Granted when the last time I had been on an A-rank with chakra exhaustion I had other jounin to back me up, not fresh genin. Not that I was telling any of them that.

 Tsunami just continued to glare at me.

 Giving in I stood up with a sigh, “Fine. I'm going to bed. Hinata, since you already mastered your training I'm putting you in charge of guarding Tazuna tomorrow. See you two boys in the morning.” I said deviously. Sasuke paled a fraction while Naruto cheered happily. With that I hobbled off for another night's rest.

 vvv

 “Uh... Sensei, what are we doing...?” Naruto asked. Sasuke was off in a little corner of the clearing, practicing the Phoenix Sage jutsu–he had finally memorized the hand signs I had used for the jutsu–while the Kyuubi brat and I sat in a meditative pose in the center of the clearing. It was mid-morning and so far had been peaceful except for Naruto's consent nagging.

 I opened an eye, “Right now? I'm enjoying the morning. Shut up and meditate.”

 “But-”

 “No.”

 “Sensei-”

 “Meditate.”

 “What does-”

 “Shut up.”

 “Hmph!” Naruto pouted, but at least he fell silent. I relaxed and let my mind drift over my musings on Zabuza and his ally again. I needed to figure out what they wanted before they attacked again. Maybe... maybe if they're intentions weren't as evil as I originally thought I could talk them out of their job and thus save bloodshed. Gatou, he would have to go. I didn't need the drug lord around and trying to control the Land of Waves. This whole mission was just a tangled mess. I had to worry about my genin and Tazuna. I had to figure out how to get rid of Gatou. I had to do something about Zabuza and his ally.

 Why didn't I have Itachi's insane ability to plan years in advance?!

 Bamf!

 I opened my eyes to see Naruto had fallen over, asleep. I sighed. This kid was a long way from being Hokage, that much was for sure.

 “Hey, idiot! Wake up or I won't teach you the Wind Blade!” I yelled in Naruto's ear. From his shriek of pain, I guessed that I probably burst his eardrum.

 ...Oops...

 vvv

 “Come on...” I groaned to myself as I dragged the unconscious Naruto back into the house. For a kid, he felt like he weighed a ton! I dumped him at the table and dusted my hands off.

 In the meantime, Tsunami was gaping at Naruto's crumbled state, then at me, “What happened?!” She asked shocked. After a moment the older woman's eyes narrowed as if she blamed me for Naruto's sorry state. Though, it kinda was my fault...

 I gave her a raised eyebrow, “He fell unconscious. He'll be fine tomorrow.” Normal kids took months months to recover from near chakra exhaustion; but Naruto was the Kyuubi container, a little chakra exhaustion wouldn't bother him too much.

 “What's the use? You're just going to die!” Three guess who the doomsayer was, and the first two didn't count.

 It turned out that Naruto wasn't as unconscious as I thought, he was just being extremely lazy, “What do you mean?! We're training very hard to protect you, and you just-”

 Inari cut him off, “It doesn't matter how hard you try, there's no such thing as a hero!” With that the little brat ran out of the room, slamming the door shut. Tsunami ran after her son, calling out his name. I looked at Tazuna, knowing that he had answers.

 Grandpa Drunk sighed and set his tea cup down. He nodded towards a torn picture hanging on the wall, one that showed his family there smiling. I squinted at the picture, along the edges that had been torn, I could barely make out part of a masculine torso behind Tsunami. There was a story behind this family's strange behavior, I could practically smell it.

 “He wasn't Inari's real father, he came into our family later...” Tazuna started. I sat back and laced my fingers behind my head, I knew I was in for a treat.

  Chapter 12: Bitter Taste of Reality

I nudged Naruto's side with the toe of my sandal. He didn't even twitch. Squatting down I poked the brat's cheek with a rigid finger, “Hey, dumbass...” I said loudly, knowing that a knucklehead like Naruto would react if I called him names. He still didn't move. “Obito Mini-me. Brat. Idiot. Dumb blonde. Dead last. Coward.” When the brat didn't react at all I stood back up with a sigh and turned to the others standing in the doorway.

 “Well either he's dead or out like a light post.” I told them, scratching the back of my head. Hinata gasped a little, her hands going to her mouth as she no doubt thought that her precious 'Naruto-kun' was dead.

 Tsunami looked as equally worried as the little Hyuuga heiress, “You don't think he overdid it in training, do you? He was looking pretty exhausted last night.

 “Hn. He was passed out in the forest yesterday morning.” Sasuke commented thoughtfully.

 I groaned and hung my head, I really didn't need this at the moment, “Fine, Sasuke will be on guard duty today and Hinata will train.” I said defeated. I hated it when people screwed up my schedule! “Hinata you know the rules. If anyone suspicious shows up, head for the bridge and warn everyone.”

 “H-Hai.”

 Sasuke frowned, “But that was the rotation yesterday.” I glared at him. Like I didn't know that already, idiot.

 “Hinata still needs to train in her stealth and since Naruto is stealing your rest day, you can take his spot on guard duty. Don't complain, Duckass, true shinobi don't protest orders.” Like I predicted, Sasuke snapped his jaw shut and didn't make another sound.

 Really, it was insulting how predictable that kid was.

 “Look, if it makes you feel better, I'll go with you that way you can relax at the bridge.” Everyone but Inari gave me strange looks. I returned their gaze with an unamused look, “Stop staring like calves at a new gate. I'm bored.” I snapped, perhaps just a little too defensively. By Sasuke's sudden smug look I was guessing he knew why I really was going.

 I was worried about the brat.

 With good reason though. There was no such thing as a jounin who didn't have a sixth sense for danger; and I felt more jittery than when Obito accidentally released those rabid squirrels in the house.

 I mentally shuddered at the memory.

 I moved past the miniature crowd and lead them outside. Turning to Tsunami I began issuing orders, “When Naruto wakes up, just tell him to practice his taijutsu; you also have permission to send him on any errands you have. Hinata, I want you to try and sneak up on as many woodland creatures as you can. If you catch five animals in a row then join Sasuke and I on the bridge. Duckass, Grandpa Dunk, let's go.” I turned on my heel and immediately started for the bridge without waiting for the two idiot males catch up to me.

 “Geez, for a woman you walk pretty fast.” Tazuna panted when he and my cousin finally caught up. It was really pathetic that we were almost to the bridge by that point.

 I gave the old drunk an unimpressed look, “Not all women are geishas or civilians who don't have anywhere important to be. The success of a mission could rely on fast feet, I could possibly save a life that would otherwise be lost if I arrive quicker than my enemies anticipate.”

 Tazuna pulled a face, “Hey kid, are all shinobi like this one or is it just her?” He asked Sasuke.

 Sasuke just shrugged and didn't comment. He practically had to jog to keep up with us adults; I couldn't tell if he wasn't answering because he didn't want to or because he was too focused on not falling behind. I was guessing it was a little bit of both.

 “Tazuna, how long do you have before the bridge is finished?” I asked the old man. Now wasn't the time for fun and games. That sense of dread I had been feeling all morning was getting worse the closer we got to the bridge.

 Grandpa Drunk shrugged, “Depends. If I have a full roster of workers, it should only be a few weeks. But with Gatou controlling everything and scaring the people, I keep losing my workers. Just yesterday I had one of my foremen quiet! I don't even have half of a roster now, it could take months with the amount of workers I got.”

 Grimacing, I halted at the entrance to the bridge, “That's what I feared.” I muttered.

 Tazuna gaped at his unconscious employees littering the bridge. I could tell by their chakra levels that the men were still alive, but only just. “What tha-?!” Tazuna exclaimed, his face twitching in horror. I glanced at him then at Sasuke. Sasuke looked back at me, his eyes gleaming with an odd shine of excitement. He was ready.

 A sudden mist blew in from the ocean. I snarled in frustration and stepped in front of Tazuna, “Stay behind me.” I said sharply. Tazuna didn't say anything, but he didn't move.

 That stupid creepy chuckle drifted out from the fog, “Sorry to keep you waiting, Uchiha. I see you still got that brat with you, but what happened with the other two? Did they run off?” I heard a slight clicking behind me, but didn't glance towards my cousin. I knew he wasn't doing something stupid. Of all my genin I trusted Sasuke the most in a fight, even if he had bouts of cowardice when I least expected it.

 Peaches chuckled again, “Oh look, he's shaking again. Pathetic.” The nuke-nin laughed mockingly.

 There was a small intake of air from Sasuke and I felt Zabuza's chakra spike as water clones surrounded the three of us. I tensed and palmed a kunai, ready to throw it at the clone's head that was in front of me if he so much as blinked in a way I didn't like.

 Sasuke scoffed, “I'm trembling with... excitement.”

 The Zabuza water clones seemed surprised at the admission and I only rolled my eyes. Why couldn't the need for dramatics skip Sasuke? It skipped Itachi and me, why not one more generation?! I had enough drama from Naruto, I didn't need Sasuke filling in for that little brat too.

 Speaking of brats...

 I glanced at my cousin out of the corner of my eye, “Play nice.” I said teasingly. That was all the permission Sasuke needed. He twirled the kunai in his hand around a finger so that the blade was pointing at the clone in front of him. With a delightful smirk that reminded me a little too much of Obito's sadistic grin, my baby cousin pounced at the water clones.

 While Peach-boy's clones were busy trying to defeat an Uchiha brat, I ran through the signs for a summoning and slammed my hand to the bridge's surface, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” I heard Zabuza growl angrily as a swarm of normal sized hawks flew up from the seal, spiraling into a twister of feathers and harsh cries that surrounded me like a moving wall. I held up my right arm and one of the hawks detached itself from it's flock. “Fly to Hyuuga Hinata and inform her to come as back up.” The hawk dipped its head at my command and took off to the sky, flying out of sight before turning in the direction of Hinata. No need to tell our enemies where an ally was after all. The rest of the hawks dispersed among the cables of the bridge, their sharp yellow eyes watching.

 While I was busy with my summonings, Sasuke finished up his little spar with the water clones. He looked about as cocky as a true Uchiha when he returned to his spot beside me. I mentally whimpered and hoped that I didn't get an arrogant little brat who thought he was God's gift to man. If so, I was going to beat that out of him and suffer Itachi's wrath with a smile on my face.

 “Ooooo, the brat's improving.” Peach-boy said from my right. All three of us turned to see the man with horrible fashion sense giving us a leer. At least I thought it was a leer, it was kind of hard to tell when the lower half of his face was bandaged up. His ally stood beside him, still wearing that false hunter-nin mask. “Looks like you've got competition... Haku.” Zabuza continued.

 “So it seems.” The boy, Haku, murmured quietly.

 Trolling time.

 “Oi oi. Peachy's ally, or whatever the hell your name is, are you a boy or a girl? Because honestly, you're a very androgynous individual.” I asked, intentionally playing the ignorant idiot. Tazuna and Sasuke were giving me looks that could only be described as 'way to ruin the suspense, dummy'.

 Haku and Zabuza exchanged looks and I took my chance to continue, “You know what? It doesn't matter anyway, I think I'll just call you Zabuza's Bitch.” I said with a smirk. Both nuke-nins snapped their heads around to glare at me–well I assume Haku glared, it was hard to tell with the mask–while I cackled in delight of pissing my enemy off.

 “Take care of the brat. I'll take the bitch.” Zabuza growled.

 Haku turned his gaze on Sasuke, “Right.” The kid murmured again. Then he moved. Startled I opened my mouth to shout a warning to Sasuke, but Zabuza was on me before I could utter a single syllable.

 I back flipped away from Tazuna, distancing myself from the client and the man trying to kill him. At the moment Zabuza seemed pretty focused on me, so I didn't have to worry. I smirked as I kicked Kubikiribōchō away from me. “Don't tell me I struck a nerve.” I cooed as I deflected another swing with my kunai. Zabuza snarled like an angry animal and charged at me again. I snorted and ducked under his swing. If I had know pissing Peaches off would make him attack like a predictable wild animal, I would have done it a long time ago.

 Kicking off the ground, I gave myself enough time to spare a glance at Sasuke. My eyes widened as I saw Haku performing hand signs with only one hand. That wasn't something you saw everyday. I wonder if the sharingan could somehow pick it up.

 Before I could activate my sharingan to see if I could, Zabuza attacked again, “You're opponent is me! Let's leave the kids to their game.”

 I shot Zabuza a nasty glare, “Oh, go drown in your own water ninjutsu! I didn't come all this way with a bunch of brats and a drunk old man to hear you blowing steam, ya old windbag.” I snapped, getting irritated. I knew Zabuza wasn't taking this fight seriously. He was just trying to keep me from Sasuke and Haku's fight.

 Peachy paused, “A bunch of brats, eh?” He quoted, sounding oddly interested. “So you don't think that those genin are worth anything either.”

 “Oh I think they're worth a lot of things, I just like calling them brats. They're my brats and I'm the only one allowed to call them that and get away with it.” I snapped back and flung my kunai at Peachy-boy's head to emphasize my point. He easily ducked under the kunai and charged at me, his sword back and ready for a strong strike to my legs. I leaped into the air over his blade and put my hands down on Zabuza's back, flipping over him to land between him and the kids.

 I smirked, “Ya know, some people would think you were compensating for something with that big blade of yours.” I commented sweetly.

 “You're letting that big mouth get away again, Uchiha.” Peachy growled.

 I shrugged, “Well at least I'm not trying to prank you as well as fight you like my brother does. That's just annoying.” I said coolly. From the look in Zabuza's eyes, he thought my inappropriate remarks were a hell of a lot more annoying.

 “Argh!” Both of us whipped around to see Sasuke kicking Haku away.

 Sasuke stood in his spot, smirking, “Seems you're not as fast as you think you are.” He said, idly spinning his kunai around his index finger. Cocky little git, I was definitely beating that arrogance out of his system.

 Zabuza glared at his ally, “Haku. Stop messing around and letting a brat beat you, get on with it!” He ordered.

 The masked boy stood back up easily, “Yes.” He responded in an almost robotic voice.

 Frowning I turned my back on Zabuza to watch what the masked brat was doing. Icy blue strands of chakra haloed Haku and he bowed his head, “I'm sorry it's come to this.” The boy said softly and made a strange sign. The temperature dropped drastically and I uttered a curse under my breath as I automatically regulated my chakra to keep myself warm. Of course our newest enemy would have some kind of tie to cold weather. It wouldn't be hell if he didn't.

 Stupid karma demons and their stupid agenda against me.

 The water around Sasuke and Haku suddenly leaped up into the air to form flat frozen surfaces. Haku stepped into the mirrors, senbon needles in his hands. Meanwhile I gaped in surprise, it was not cold enough to form ice like that. Even the most powerful shinobi with water nature had a hard time creating ice even in temperatures where it was easy to form. That only meant one thing.

 Kekke Genkai.

 Peaches chuckled behind me, “Seems you figured it out.”

 Growling I ran for the ice mirrors, but Peach-boy flash stepped in front of me. “If you're going to fight, you will fight me.” He snapped.

 I glared at him. “Bastard.” I spat out.

 The peachy nuke-nin chuckled creepily, “Oh? Out of your witty comments? I'm crushed.” I could practically taste the sarcasm in the air.

 “You have three seconds to step aside before I really crush you.”

 “How cute. You think you can defeat me. You weren't able to before, what makes you think you can now that we're surrounded by even more water than before?” My eyes widened a fraction and I flung my kunai at the water clone that I thought was Zabuza and leaping away before the real Zabuza could cut me down. He didn't look all that happy when he turned to face me. He scoffed when he saw my sharingan, “That again? Are all the Uchiha so weak that they rely on that silly Kekke Genkai of theirs? How pathetic.”

 Sasuke yelped and I looked over Peaches shoulder to see Haku raining senbon down on my cousin like a vengeful thunderstorm. Anger washed over me, hot and heady, when I landed my gaze back on Zabuza. “Two seconds to move.”

 Peaches sneered.

 “One.”

 He didn't move.

 I held my right arm above my head and brought my left to my mouth. Curling my index and thumb around my tongue I whistled loudly, using a small wind ninjutsu to amplify the sound. My hawk summons, having been sitting on the sidelines forgotten, all took flight. They flew in circles like a roiling thundercloud of brown and black, using my upraised arm as the pivot point.

 “Last chance to move.” I said. Zabuza stubbornly stayed where he was. My mouth twisted in an ugly grimace and I lowered my right arm to point at the Mist nuke-nin. The hawks gave one last turn before following my finger and shooting straight towards Peach-boy.

 He smirked.

 My eyes widened.

 “Hha!” I felt water douse my back and I spun around to see Hinata standing in a puddle of water, formerly a water clone, panting slightly. She gave me a shaky grin, “I-I'm sorry Y-Yanagi-sensei. I c-came as fast as I c-c-c-could.” She stuttered slightly, a blush forming on her cheeks. I didn't blame her, Hinata had suddenly become the center of attention after pulling a stunt like that. Even Haku stopped torturing my poor cousin to stare at her.

 I grinned, “Hey, I'm not complaining. You just saved me from being skewered like a roast pig.” I joked before turning serious, “Guard Tazuna, don't leave his side for any reason.” I ordered. Hinata gave a firm nod and leaped sideways until she was in front of Tazuna, in a Gentle Fist stance. When I turned to face Zabuza again, he did not look amused.

 “Oh... did she ruin your little scheme?” I asked innocently, pressing an index finger to the corner of my mouth like a slut trying to act cute.

 That did it, I could practically hear Peachy's patience snap. He snarled and charged at me, “Shut up!”

 I laughed as I jumped away from him, “Looks like you underestimated my brats, Peach-boy. Sasuke and Hinata are clan kids and having been training with their families since they could hold a kunai right.” I ducked under Peachy's swing and shot my left leg out for a round house kick. Zabuza launched into the air to avoid my leg and I pulled back before he could land on it. “Sasuke is the best in his class and no one can defeat Hinata in taijutsu. She's a Hyuuga after all, it's in her blood.” I taunted as I back flipped away from the Kubikiribōchō.

 Skidding to a halt a few feet away from Peaches I smirked, “And what have you got? A coward with a nice Kekke Genkai. Well, I've got two brats with Kekke Genkai and neither of them are cowards!”

 Zabuza's face twisted unpleasantly, “Haku, stop goofing around and kill that pest!” He barked out, his gaze darting over his shoulder to where the ice mirrors stood. Haku didn't respond, but only started throwing more senbons at Sasuke at a more rapid pace than before; I tried not to flinch when I heard Sasuke cry out. Peachy looked back at me, his gaze deadlier than before, “That big mouth of yours is going to get your brats killed, Uchiha.”

 I only smiled, “I'm confident they can handle one little brat, even one as powerful as yours. Besides, you forgot something.” Peach-boy stiffened as it dawned on him that Naruto had yet to appear. My smile twisted into a sneer, “You know, I think my last student deserves to be called the 'Stupidly Brave Shinobi of Konoha' more than I do. After all, not many genin are brave enough to fight someone like you, Peach-boy, let alone get the better of you.”

 As if planned there was a puff of smoke to the right of Haku's mirrors. Naruto's voice drifted from the white billowing vapors, “I resent that, Frizzy-sensei! Call me the 'Fearless Shinobi of Konoha'! That's right, Uzumaki Naruto is here!” My eye only twitched a little at the nickname. I'd let it slide this one time.

 Peach-boy blinked slowly at Naruto then looked at me, “You think some brat like him can do anything?”

 I shrugged, “Why not? It was a dead-last like Naruto who helped turn the last shinobi war back in Konoha's favor.” I responded coolly. I should know, Obito was the idiot I was talking about. “I feel Naruto can do the same with this little spat we have. Dead-last shinobi have a tendency to surprise people.” Naruto took a second to gawk at me, not use to my free praise. All I could say was he had better back up my claims or I was going to murder the little sucker.

 Naruto got a really big grin on his face, “You know how the hero always shows up at the last minute and kicks butt? Well that's what I'm going to do, right now! So don't you worry sensei, you can just sit back and watch me beat these guys!”

 I facepalmed.

 The blonde idiot ignored me, “Alright, you're history!” He formed a sign, “Shadow Clone Jutsu!” But before Naruto could form a single clone, Zabuza twisted around and threw a handful of shuriken at him. Like with the Demon Brothers, Naruto's first reaction was the freeze in fear.

 “Move Naruto!” I yelled, my heart in my throat as I watched the throwing stars head for my frozen student. I wouldn't be able to get there in time to stop them, not even my hawks surrounding the bridge would be able to grab the shuriken in time.

 Out of no where, senbon needles collided with the shuriken and knocked them off course. I jerked in surprise and twisted to stare at Haku half leaning out of his mirrors, still in the position of someone who had just thrown something. Zabuza narrowed his eyes at his ally.

 Now that he was out of danger, I felt it safe to yell at Naruto, “You imbecile! This is a real battle not a stupid spar; a shinobi's lifestyle is deception, not a damn talent show! Always keep your enemy guessing, be unpredictable so they can't figure out how to defeat you. So get your head outta your ass and think before someone makes a dartboard out of you!”

 Naruto turned about as red as Hinata did when Naruto got within ten feet of her. He started yelling apologies, but I ignored him to glance at Haku. Everyone else seemed to think that Haku had thrown senbon at Naruto at the same time Zabuza did and their attacks ended up colliding; but I knew better. One look at my cousin-turned-porcupine told me that Haku did not miss his targets. Which could only mean... he meant to throw those shuriken off track.

 The question was why.

 Peach-boy seemed to be thinking the same thing I was, “Haku, what are you doing?” Peachy demanded. His tone was dangerous and angry, he was pissed at Haku for disturbing his attack. In Zabuza's state of mind at the moment, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he attacked his own ally out of anger.

 One could only hope.

 Haku straightened out of his position and dipped his head towards Peaches, “Zabuza-sama, let me fight this boy in my own way... please.” The brat rasped. Mildly I wondered if all Kiri nins had that smoker rasp, or if it was just these two idiots.

 Naruto glared at the masked boy, “Bring. It. On.” He challenged before I could tell him to not be stupid. I suppressed the urge to hang my head in defeat at the stupidity of the blonde brat and wondered if he knew how powerful Haku was. Sasuke was hardly a match for the nuke-nin, what chance did Naruto have against him?!

 Zabuza chuckled, “As usual you're too soft, Haku. Fine, if that is what you wish.” Soft? What part of that masked brat was...

 I glanced at Sasuke. He was injured but not too bad, nothing that would cause any lasting damage. So either Haku was very sadistic and liked to play with his enemies; or he was soft as Zabuza said and wasn't trying to hurt Sasuke, just stall him. Still, knowing Naruto, he'd piss Haku off enough that the nuke-nin would tear him to shreds. I started to take a step forward to intervene before things got worse, but Peaches blocked my path.

 “Don't even think about it.” Oddly enough, Peachy sounded amused. “You know what will happen if you take on Haku. I'll go after the bridge builder and that little girl.” I stiffened and looked to the left where Tazuna and Hinata stood. There was no way that I would be able to end Haku and protect those two at the same time. Against a long sword like the Kubikiribōchō, Hinata's taijutsu was useless; and without me guiding my hawk summons they couldn't do shit but sit there and look pretty. I supposed I could summon a larger hawk to deal with Zabuza while I took out Haku, but that would cut down on my chakra and possibly put me in a dangerous position.

 Damn.

 Zabuza seemed to know I was in a bind, he smirked underneath those bandages, “Relax, Uchiha. Lets see how our students do... one on one.” I gave him an Uchiha Glare, but he wasn't even paying attention to me. I didn't dare attack, he might not be looking at me, but I know the Peach Bastard was still prepared to fight me. Only an idiot would think otherwise.

 Apparently Sasuke was an idiot.

 While Haku was talking to Naruto, a kunai came flying out of the ice prison that held Sasuke. Haku easily dodged the knife and looked at my cousin, “Don't think I forgot about you, not for an instant.” The masked nuke-nin tilted his head a little, “Some warriors accept defeat gracefully, they know when they are beaten...” Oh great, know I was going to have two idiots who couldn't think straight, “Others do not. So be it, let us finish our battle then.”

 I couldn't help but groan quietly as Haku reentered his mirrors. Zabuza actually snorted and gave me an amused look as if we weren't enemies fighting to the death but two people just watching our students spar. I shot him a brief glare and looked away. I refused to think Peaches was anyone else but my enemy.

 It was torture having to watch my cousin practically being torn to shreds by multiple attacks coming from all the mirrors. With my sharingan I could pick up the real Haku and how he jumped from mirror to mirror to keep the element of surprise. The little pest was fast, even with my sharingan I could just barely pick up his movements as he flashed between the mirrors. But I still didn't know how the mirrors worked.

 “Sasuke, Naruto think! You have to attack the mirrors from the inside and outside at the same time to figure out how they work!” I yelled. Naruto's face brightened with an idea and there was a poof and...

 He was gone.

 It was only when Sasuke started yelling did I realize where he went. My eye twitched and I glanced at Zabuza. The nuke-nin looked like he was on the verge of laughing, I was almost tempted to tell him that I was disowning Naruto as my student after a stunt like that.

 “Katon: Phoenix Sage Jutsu!” Sasuke yelled out and there was a brief glow of orange that surrounded the multiple mirrors at various angles, but none of them melted.

 I could hear the amusement in Haku's voice when he said, “You'll need more firepower than that to melt this ice.” I stiffened slightly. More firepower? I could easily do that, but...

 Peaches smirked at me, easily reading my mind, “If you melt the mirrors you'll incinerate your students. Doesn't that defeat the purpose?” He asked. I shot him a nasty look and mildly wondered why he hadn't attacked yet. Peach-boy didn't have a problem earlier, was he just stalling then to get to this point and showcase his student? He had been hired to take out my client, not show off his student's prowess.

 Once again my suspicions of his involvement with the Mist Rebels surfaced. I eyed the man, trying to figure out his game. I doubted that he was ever fighting me seriously. All he had done was send water clones and swing that big ass sword around. Zabuza had been part of the Seven Swordsmen of Kirigakure, he had gotten the position by being a master of kenjutsu. So far Zabuza had been attacking as if the Kubikiribōchō was just a piece of metal to be swung around and not a great sword.

 Of course it was always possible that he was downplaying his abilities to keep the element of surprise; I had been doing the same by only dodging Zabuza's sword and tossing kunai around when I got the opening. But it just didn't fit Peachy's personality to use deception when he had the opportunity to strike. I glanced at the ice prison as Haku bounded from mirror to mirror, raining senbon down on Sasuke and Naruto. Haku was the same. I knew that that jutsu was meant to trap and destroy an opponent. The positioning of the mirrors and the pure speed of Haku proved that point easily enough. So why weren't my students dead yet? From what I had gathered on Haku, I knew he wasn't the sick twisted kind of shinobi that enjoyed toying with their victims. Not even Zabuza was that way. Zabuza's way of killing was quick, painless, and silent; leaving any survivors baffled and frightened of the Demon of the Mist.

 Naruto's yelling stopped my musing, “I won't quit! Not ever, I'm going to survive and become Hokage because that is my dream!” I didn't know if I should be proud that he still wasn't giving up even after that downpour of needles or still embarrassed that he had gotten himself into that mess.

 What Haku responded with surprised me, “I didn't want to be a shinobi, it's painful. I don't want to kill you, but if you come closer I will have no choice.” What? “I will kill the kindness in my own heart and fully embrace the shinobi way. This bridge will the battlefield where our dreams collide. I will fight for my dream, just as you fight for yours. Please do not blame me, I fight for someone who is precious to me. I live for him and I will face death for him so that his dream will become reality. That is my dream, and for the sake of that dream, if I must I will act as a shinobi and take your lives!”

 I bowed my head and glanced at the silent Zabuza. It was obvious that Haku was referring to Peach-boy, but why? What did Zabuza do that made the kid so loyal to him? And furthermore, just what was Zabuza's dream? The more I listened to Haku, the more reluctant I was to kill the kid, but if he got in the way of my mission then I would cut him and Zabuza down.

 Peaches shot me a haughty glance, “Tell me Uchiha, does that wimpy village of yours still avoid the most important rule of being a shinobi?” He asked as if he were genuinely curious.

 I only started at him in silence. It was a loaded question, so I saw no need in wasting my breath with an answer that was already obvious.

 Peach-boy cackled like a madman, “I wonder what your precious little Hokage will say when you come back with two bodies instead of three live genin... if you survive that is.” I heard Tazuna inhale sharply as it dawned on him just how outnumbered the genin truly were. I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see how Hinata was holding up to the news of her possible death.

 Not too well.

 Zabuza followed my gaze, “She's going to faint.” He observed in a tone that could only be amusement. He looked back at me, “How is it that you ended up with three incompetent brats? You're supposed to be an A-class kunoichi, and yet here you are... babysitting.”

 “Hn.” I grunted. That insult was so pathetic I knew I would lose brain cells just by answering it. One would think that the Bloody Mist would pencil in a trash talk class right after their academy students learned how to gut a helpless victim. At least so they wouldn't kill their opponents from the lame insults flying around.

 Unless... that was their stupid plan all along.

 The damn man didn't shut up though, “Falling back on the Uchiha customary response? How unlike you.” Great now he was adding sarcasm to the list. My eye twitched and I came close to planting my fist in his stupid, bandaged face if only to shut him up; but I somehow refrained... for now. “It must goad you that your precious Hokage would dump a bunch of brats on you. It's such a waste of your skills, chasing after three brats like you're their nanny while shinobi weaker than you take over your missions.” Peachy continued on, not even bothering to see if he was really insulting me or not.

 Finally I got fed up, “Your insults are pathetic. Even my pacifist cousin can talk trash better than you.” I deadpanned. Peachy didn't even have the decency to look offended. He only smirked at me from underneath his bandages.

 I reached into my weapons pouch and brought out a fan. Snapping it open I began lightly fanning myself like a geisha would. I even fluttered my eyelashes at Peaches, “Let's get this over with, ne? I want to leave by dusk.” I simpered like a primping airhead and reactivated my sharingan, having had deactivated it once I realized I would never figure out Haku's jutsu with my eyes.

 Zabuza jerked his gaze away from my sharingan and he reached back into his own kunai pouch. As he charged at me, I made a sweeping motion with my arm so that my fan cut through the air like a blade. When he came into my range, I thumbed the little lever on the handle and fourteen senbon needles shot out of the fan's ribs. Unfortunately due to the large curve of the fan's edge, only five senbons were heading directly at Peaches. He easily knocked them away with his two bladed kunai and jumped back.

 I snapped the fan shut and pointed it at him, “Lesson number one of kunoichi tactics: Everything can be a weapon.” I depressed another button on the bamboo frame of the fan and a three inch blade shot out of the little slot that was embedded into the fan, just to prove my point. Zabuza did not looked very pleased with my Fan of Wonders–as Obito called it.

 In fact, I could swear he was pouting.

 “This won't be like last time, Peach-boy.” I promised him, my smirk melting away to be replaced with the expressionless mask every shinobi seemed to have.

 The bandaged nuke-nin seemed to have stolen my smirk, “You're correct, because this time even if you do defeat me, you have no chance against Haku. When I found him he was just a street rat, but I trained him in the most advanced techniques. I taught him everything I know, and with that Kekke Genkai of his, soon he was able to take on dangerous enemies. Even outnumbered and in total darkness, he could strike with perfect accuracy. He cared nothing for his own life, or the lives of others. Haku became a unique fighting machine, a shinobi. In the end even he surpassed me, with that Kekke Genkai of his nothing can defeat it! I've created a tool that can destroy anyone who stands in my way, unlike those useless brats that follow you around like little lost puppies!”

 I grimaced in disgust at the man before me. Then I glanced over his shoulder at the prison of ice mirrors where the shouts of pain from Naruto and Sasuke were still originating. When I head heard Haku's speech I was ready to put an end to the battle peacefully, just to save the kid the pain of losing his precious person. Now I was ready to roast the fool who dared take advantage of loyalty like that.

 Zabuza laughed as he looked back at the ice mirrors with a crazed look in his eyes, “You think those punks can defeat Haku? He's the ultimate battle tool of destruction!”

 “Would ya shut up already? Geez you sound worse than my uncle when he's talking about Itachi!” I snapped, getting irritated with this 'Haku is so great! You can never defeat him!' bullshit. Was Zabuza Haku's fangirl or senpai?!

 Zabuza didn't understand the reference, so he wasn't offended. Though I had now doubt he would be throwing a temper tantrum if he knew how Fugaku was when he was bragging about my cousin. “Fine, but there is one more thing you should know.” I raised an eyebrow and decided to humor him, not that he needed any encouragement, “Did you really think our last battle was just win or lose? Haku had been watching the whole time, watching every move your made with that sharingan of yours. Haku can see a move once and immediately devise a counterattack; it's one of his... gifts. I've been waiting to see the look on your pretty face when you realize that your sharingan has become worthless!”

 I kept my face blank just to annoy him.

 Zabuza held up two fingers, “Suiton: Hidden Mist Jutsu!”

 Deja vu, anyone?

 The thin mist that had already layered the air thickened to the point of no visibility. I cursed, my sharingan eyes darting to pick up the slighted movement in the mist; but all I could see was Hinata and Tazuna fidgeting around, looking left and right for a thin spot in the thick mist. I pinned Hinata with a look. She was twitching nervously and shaking in fear, “Hinata, stay with Tazuna. Don't leave his side for any reason.” I ordered her in a sharp tone. The Hyuuga girl seemed to get over her fear at the order and nodded firmly before shifting from an offensive to a defensive taijutsu stance. I had noticed over the weeks that she seemed to lose her cowardice when given a direct order. Hopefully she would stand by it even if I went down.

 Shuriken came out of no where and I easily batted them away with my closed fan. I took a cautious step in the direction the throwing stars had come from but stopped and twisted around when I felt Zabuza's chakra behind me. I blinked when I saw that his eyes were closed. Was he trying to prevent looking into my sharingan or was it another reason entirely? I frowned when he started to speak.

 “Next time you see me, will be the last time you see anything.” Okay, for Peach-boy, that wasn't a half bad attempt to be intimidating; but still... even goofy Shisui still beat him by a mile. Of course, goofy Shisui happened to be pretty terrifying when someone did the impossible and actually pissed him off, but that was irrelevant. “Without your sharingan, you're nothing.” Zabuza rasped and then disappeared again before I could attack. I twitched in annoyance. If this was just going to be a hit-and-run tactic I was going to murder someone.

 Preferably Peaches; but I would take Tazuna for putting me in this mess in the first place too.

 Fine. If he wanted to play this game, then I would just pull and Uchiha Tactic straight from the Book of Bullshit and own his sorry ass before he could sneeze. I ran through the appropriate hand signs and slammed my palms together with a loud clap, “Fūton: Gale Palm!” In a large ejection of wind oriented chakra, I managed to disperse most of the mist thinning it out enough that I could see Zabuza's faint outline several paces to my right. I turned to face the outline and began a new set of hand signs, “Katon: Great Fireball Jutsu!” I shouted and sent a steady stream of fire at Zabuza.

 I grinned when Zabuza had to leap out of the mist and into my sight, just like I wanted, “I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part. You left to quickly. Something about me being without my sharingan...?” I said teasingly. Boy, did Peaches look pissed off.

 Somehow that set off a monologue of how Peach-boy had figured out the secret behind the sharingan. I almost started nodding off when he started explaining the piercing eye and the hypnotic eye and how I had used them in battle. Seriously, what was with this guy and explaining things to invisible audiences? Was he so enamored with his own smoker voice that he liked making long winded speeches over obvious things?!

 That would explain a lot of things, actually.

 After he finished lecturing me about things I had grown up knowing, he started talking about his 'ultimate plan to win the day'. Finally I gave up pretending to listen and groaned loudly, “Oh. My. Kami. SHUT UP! At least try to make it harder on me by not explaining your stupid little plan. Dear Lord, do I need to give you the 'a shinobi's lifestyle is deception' lecture I gave Naruto too?!”

 There was a beat of silence when even Haku stopped fighting Naruto and Sasuke, before Zabuza's annoying raspy voice spoke again, “Fine. I just won't give you a sporting chance.” If that was what he called a 'sporting chance' I would gladly go without, if only to keep my ears from bleeding.

 In the back of my mind I wondered who could out talk the other: the Hokage or Peaches.

 The fighting between the three boys resumed with vigor, but something was different about it. I could hear Sasuke using the fireball jutsu as well, which was strange. Didn't he already try to melt the ice and figure out that it didn't work? What could those two idiots possibly be up to? I risked a glance in their direction, hoping that it might shed some light on their plan.

 “Pay attention to your own fight!” Zabuza roared and I snapped my head around with a gasp just in time to feel his foot connect with my jawline. There was a dull crunch and I tasted the sharp coppery twang of blood flooding my mouth; seconds later a wave of pain bloomed from my jaw, momentarily causing my mind to blank. I landed in a heap on the ground, my jaw throbbing painfully. I reached up to cradle it and winced when my hand grazed against the bruising area. The bone was cracked at the very least.

 High killer intent brought my head up and my eyes widened when I saw Zabuza descending from the air, the Kubikiribōchō raised over his head and positioned to bisect me at the waist. Scrambling, I twisted to the side and got my feet under me just as the long blade dug into the ground almost three inches deep. I winced and tried not to imagine what would have happened to be had I been any slower.

 I was really starting to regret pissing Peaches off.

 The Kiri nuke-nin yanked his big ass sword out of the ground and turned towards me, a deranged look in his eyes. “Seems I finally succeeded in shutting up the Uchiha with the runaway mouth. Now to make it permanent.” I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the lame trash talk. This guy was truly pathetic when it came to being intimidating. I was starting to think that awkward Iruka could be more terrifying than this guy. The chunnin might be terrifying to kids, but he was just a socially awkward wimp when it came to adults.

 Peachy disappeared.

 I stiffened and looked around, trying to discern any chakra signal with either my sharingan or my sensory abilities. I swallowed a mouthful of blood, trying not to gag at the overbearing taste of copper, and ran through my options. While the wind jutsu had momentarily cleared the mist, it was back in full force, once again hindering my line of vision. Sight was out, I could deal with that. Peaches was a master of the silent killing technique; he could enter a crowd full of people, kill one person, and be gone before that person even hit the ground–all the while not making a smidgen of noise. That mean I could not hear Zabuza's attacks either and if I did it was probably a distraction. Still I could manage without hearing too.

 That left my sensing abilities and scent. I wasn't a tracker and I was no where near as good at olfactory perception as Kakashi or the Inuzuka clan, but I still had a sharp nose. However, the problem with that was my sense of smell was being overridden by the smell of my blood still filling my mouth. My chances of predicting Peaches next attack were starting to slim down. My chakra sensing abilities weren't the best, it was mostly just raw talent, but I still should be able to pick out Zabuza's large chakra source in the thick mist he had created. It would be like trying to pick out the early morning sun in a thick fog, but it was still doable. Unless Peach-boy suppressed his chakra, I should be able to sense him.

 I closed my eyes and concentrated on spanning my awareness about the bridge. I could feel the chakra of the three boys flitting around inside the ice prison, which appeared to be a thin dome of Haku's chakra, and I could pick out Hinata's still relatively high chakra reserves right in front of Tazuna's stunted civilian level chakra. Wait.

 Hinata.

 Damn it! I had a Hyuuga with me the whole time and I was too caught up in my ego to even think about asking her for help. There wasn't anything that could hide from the Byakugan! And now, I couldn't talk because of my cracked jawbone. Growling deep in my throat I was about to shunshin to Hinata and signal what I needed in my rusty genin hand signs, when the object I was looking for appeared.

 Right where I didn't want it.

  Chapter 13: Reassuring Brats is Such a Drag

“W-where's N-N-N-Na-Naruto-kun?” Hinata asked the next day as she came down for breakfast. I ignored the conversation as I absentmindedly went over my supply of weapons. My instincts were telling me that the final battle between my team and Zabuza was approaching fast. I wouldn't be unprepared this time, I was going to make sure I was as prepared as I could be with my limited resources. I sighed through my nose and wished that the Land of Waves had a weapons shop of some sort. I had gone as far as whittling down sticks I gathered in the woods into makeshift senbon needles.

 There was no way in hell I was going to lose this fight.

 Tsunami's worried voice brought me back to reality, “Well I hope he's alright. A child shouldn't spend the night out in the woods alone.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I reattached my weapons pouch to my hip. Civilians would forever think that a child was a child and not a ninja, no matter what we did to convince them otherwise.

 “I wouldn't worry.” Everyone turned to look at me. I found it amusing that there were sparks of anger in the eyes of the two genin present. It was especially funny coming from Hinata. I shrugged, “Naruto is an immature brat, but he's still a genin. He'll be fine...” A smirk crawled up the corner of my mouth, “Although, he could be dead from chakra exhaustion. He's an idiot for practicing that jutsu day in and day out.”

 Hinata squeaked in fear and daintily covered her mouth with her hands. “S-sensei, you d-d-don't th-think that he–” She didn't finish her thought, as if she was afraid that if she said Naruto was dead it would be true.

 Sasuke hummed to himself, “Sensei is probably right. That dobe is probably dead somewhere.” I mentally grinned evilly as I filed away the quote for future blackmail against Sasuke. If Mikoto ever found out that Sasuke was being rude to Kushina-san's child, my aunt would hang Sasuke by his toenails and proceed to skin him alive.

 Duckass stood suddenly and started to walk away, “I'm going for a walk.” He said nonchalantly as he stuffed his hands into his shorts' pockets.

 I grinned at my cousin as he passed me, “Say hi to your boyfriend for me when you find him!” I called teasingly. Sasuke actually snarled when he glared at me and I laughed with true delight. I swear teasing Sasuke was almost as fun as it had was to tease Kakashi-nii.

 Actually teasing the duckass was more fun because he didn't throw kunais at me.

 Or tell Shisui where I was at any given time.

 The door clicked shut behind Sasuke and I immediately stood up, “Let's go Hinata, you're turn for practice.” I didn't miss Hinata's flinch, but I ignored it. Now was not the time for personal issues, we were about to have a fight on our hands.

 Hinata followed me quietly until we reached the clearing I had in mind to use as Hinata's training ground. I sat down in the middle of the clearing and closed my eyes, “Alright, go out in the woods for a bit and try to sneak back here. I'll tell you if I hear you or not.”

 She didn't move.

 I waited for a moment longer before cracking an eye open. Hinata stood there, still in her strangely defiant mood. If not for the blush on her cheeks or the nervous way she twiddled her fingers, I would have said she was glaring at me. I guess I wasn't getting out of this easily.

 “Look,” I started as I leaned back on my hands and closed my eye again, “it's my job as your sensei to prepare you for the world. I won't apologize for seeming a little harsh; to me Naruto, Sasuke and you are all adults so I won't coddle you. If you can't handle it, then resign from your career as a kunoichi and find a less stressful job.” I opened my other eye to pin the quiet Hyuuga heiress with a serious look, “Otherwise, start practicing.”

 Hinata was quiet for a long time. She just stood in her place, staring at me. I held her gaze. Hinata may be a shy child who stuttered a lot, but I could tell by her eyes that gaining her respect would be a challenge for anyone, and once the had it she would never stop respecting them no matter what they did. I knew that her philosophy came from her clan, so I would respect her beliefs, however much they differed from the Uchiha clan.

 Finally the little girl bowed deeply, as one would to a highly respected elder, and ran off into the woods. I smiled, I was actually starting to enjoy this jounin sensei gig... well at least with Hinata.

 The two boys were still annoying.

 When I was could no longer feel Hinata's chakra signature, I pulled a blank scroll out of my weapons pouch and opened it. Setting it down in front of me, the tip of my foot resting on the edge to keep the scroll from rolling back up, I took out my fan I used for wind ninjutsu and unfurled it. I felt along the fan's edge for the rib that was just slightly larger than the others. Hooking my fingernail under the tiny lip at the top, I pulled out my field brush then I flipped the fan over so I could feel along the base for the compartment that held a block of compressed and died ink.

 With all my supplies laid out I proceeded to make the ink. Scratching off a good bit of the powdered ink into the large thumb indent on my fan that doubled as an ink pot, I spat saliva until the ink was smooth and thin enough for writing. Carefully, to avoid spilling my hard won ink, I set the fan down by my leg and dipped the brush into the ink. Leaning closer to the blank scroll I began the emergency report.

 'Red Update

 Mission status: C-rank updated to A-rank

 Team: Genin Team 7

 Report: Three days out of Konohagakure, Team had encountered two chunnin level nuke-nin known as the 'Demon Brothers'. Minimal injuries. The nuke-nin were taken out by Team Leader with a minor AoE genjutsu. Client confessed to requesting a B-rank level Mission under the rank C. Team decision made to deliver Client safely to Destination and abort the Mission. En route to Destination, Team encountered A-class nuke-nin known as Momochi Zabuza. Presumed Alive with Unknown Ally. Team Leader mildly injured: Chakra Exhaustion. Political tension. Gang trouble caused by man named Gatou. Team has made unanimous decision to remain at Destination until problems are resolved.'

 After the ink dried I rolled the scroll back up and drew three bands around the outside, marking the information as High Priority information. Setting aside the scroll I twirled my brush around and used the sharp end of it to stab my thumb. Quickly I made the hand signs and slammed my palm to the ground, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!”

 A small puff of smoke and a small brown hawk stood there, her head cocked to the side as she stared at me with one sharp yellow eye, “Yanagi-sama? You have use of me?” The hawk summon questioned in her smooth silky voice.

 I picked up the scroll and presented it to her, “Take this to the Hokage in Konohagakure, fast.” The hawk jumped into the air and grabbed the scroll in her talons. I bowed my head in thanks and the hawk was gone so quickly she was nothing but a speck in the sky within a minute. Breathing in relief I knew the scroll would reach Konoha withing two days. All my hawk summons were naturally fast; but Izon was the fastest of the group, I could rely on her.

 As I finished wiping the ink out of my fan's thumb imprint, I called out, “I know you're there. Go back and try again.” There was a moment of silence before I could feel Hinata's chakra starting to move away from me again. For her to get within 50 meters of me without my noticing was a feat; maybe I underestimated the Hyuuga girl.

 vvv 3rd Person~ Sasuke vvv

 Sasuke found Naruto alright, talking to some weird androgynous boy. The Uchiha boy didn't know if he should be amused that Naruto thought the boy was a girl, or annoyed that the loser was blabbing to a complete stranger about shinobi matters. He was leaning towards annoyed. Sasuke wasn't dumb, that boy down there with Naruto wasn't some innocent civilian boy. Having grown up in a ninja clan, Sasuke could spot the small telltale signs of a trained shinobi and that boy was definitely a shinobi of some sort. Why he was bothering Naruto... that was the question.

 Sasuke knew enough espionage to know that one should never be discovered loitering around. When it was clear that the strange boy was getting ready to leave, Sasuke ducked back a few yards and began slowly walking back towards the pair. He tucked his hands in his pockets and made a casual show of looking around; when the boy turned around Sasuke pretended that the movement caught his attention and picked up his pace, his dark eyes solely on Naruto. Sasuke glanced up at the strange boy passed him, just a false curious glance, before returning his gaze on the confused blonde.

 Only when the boy was far behind him did Sasuke pause and glance back. He knew that subtle tension anywhere, he had seen it in his father, Itachi-nii, Shisui, even Kaa-chan. Almost every adult he had ever come across in the clan had that same invisible aura of caution that seemed to run in their blood. There was no mistaking it now: that boy was a shinobi. And from his careful avoidance of Sasuke, the navy haired Uchiha  also knew that the boy wasn't an ally.

 Yanagi-sensei was going to be pissed if she knew there was a possible third-party of ill intent; but she would be even more pissed off if Sasuke didn't warn her of the possibility. Sasuke couldn't help but sigh a little, never had he understood why Shikamaru was always babbling about troublesome women until now.

 To take out his frustration, Sasuke bashed Naruto on the head. The loser automatically started snapping at Sasuke, both his hands raising to cradle his poor abused head, “Hey what was that for?!”

 Sasuke crossed his arms, “Hey, loser, did you forget about breakfast?”

 The blonde idiot blinked a few times before giving Sasuke his signature cheesy grin and chuckling obnoxiously. Sasuke made a disgusted sound and pulled a face, knowing he wouldn't like whatever this idiot just did. He was starting to understand why Yanagi was always so grouchy; if Naruto was anything like Obito-itoko then Sasuke's respect for his female cousin just raised a few pegs.

 Naruto's grin grew until it took up one-third of his face and he jerked his thumb towards him with a large wink, “Just wait til you see what I mastered last night! Frizzy-sensei is going to be so impressed!” With that the blonde idiot leapt to his feet and took out the much battered fan that Yanagi-sensei had loaned to him.

 Sasuke mentally groaned. Yanagi was going to murder his teammate for destroying one of her weapons.

 vvv Normal POV vvv

 Bam!

 “Jounin-san! Don't do that!” Tsunami squeaked in alarm when I banged my head against the table. I only responded by repeating my action, just to annoy her. Damn it damn it damn it! I didn't need any more complications! I needed a nice, straight-forward battle to the death with the Demon of the Mist; I didn't need some secretive little bastard trying to throw a stupid plot twist into this! Especially not with three genin to watch over. I was going to have a hard enough time keeping the brats alive while fighting Peaches, having a secondary opponent was going to be next to impossible!

 Just kill me now, please.

 “Er... Yanagi-sensei...” My head snapped up and I pinned Naruto with a deadly glare. He immediately went white and visibly shivered. Both Hinata and Sasuke edged away from the little brat, knowing that all hell was about to break loose.

 I lifted a hand and jabbed my index finger in Naruto's direction, “You.” I hissed, my voice so cold I was almost surprised that I couldn't see my breath, “You had better start recalling that conversation you had with that bastard. Every. Word. Or. Else.”

 Naruto chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck, “Uh... Okay... I woke up and I saw this guy sitting there, only I thought she was a girl and-” He fell silent. The Kyuubi brat's breathing started to quicken. It was obvious that he couldn't recall the conversation to save his life, which was truly on the line at the moment. His blue eyes darted to Sasuke in a panic, trying to seek out help. My cousin only looked away from his teammate, obviously not wanting to get in the crossfire.

 My eyes landed on Sasuke, he wasn't going to get out of this. “If you have information, share. Don't withhold information simply because you're too scared of your own sensei.” I snapped.

 I might not have interacted much with my cousin before I became his sensei, but I knew how to push his buttons long before I met him. I made a point in knowing ever single weak point in all my clansmen, both physical and mental. Sasuke wasn't one of the only Uchiha who didn't like being called a coward, but he was the most irrational when someone did. Sasuke was very easy to manipulate. Having a father like Fugaku did wonders; you would either end up as unbreakable and unpredictable like Itachi or basically a pawn like Sasuke.

 As predicted, Sasuke stiffened and turned to glare at me. I kept my expression blank so he wouldn't see the victory in my onyx eyes. This boy was even more easy to manipulate than Obito, which was saying something.

 I closed my eyes, “Stop glaring and start blabbing.” I said to both the boys. Leaning back against the wall by the doorway, I closed my eyes as I began memorizing whatever came out of their mouths. Both were amateurs when it came to relaying information, but I could work with that. In the back of my mind, I added reporting in a concise manner and memorization at the blink of an eye to the already long list of what I needed to teach my brats.

 If we survived this stupid mission that is.

 “What does it matter?!” All conversation stopped when Inari screeched in that whiny voice of his. My eyebrow twitched in irritation, this kid was really pushing it. My already endless patience was coming to an end and someone was going to get hurt soon.

 Everyone looked to see the littlest brat standing at the doorway beside me, his childish eyes wet with unshed tears, “You're all going to die anyway! Gatou has a whole army, they'll just beat you and kill you. You're only wasting your-OW!” Inari fell over on his butt with his strange little hat flying off.

 Everyone twisted to give me various looks of surprise and anger. I only cracked my knuckles and shook my hand, “Such a hard head, that actually hurt.” I grumbled to myself. And I thought Naruto had a hard head, but he had nothing on Inari.

 “Jounin-san!” Tsunami cried out in alarm and anger. I had punched her child after all, any decent mother would be upset; even if her brat was asking for it. I wouldn't be surprised if she kicked the team out because of what I did.

 Still, I had to set this doom and gloom brat right. I set a cold gaze on Inari, who shivered and whimpered. The little coward. I hit Naruto harder than that and he never acted any different. “Never tell a ninja that their career is a wasted time. And stop sniveling, it's silly and childish.”

 Inari was very close to tears by then, “You don't know anything!” He wailed, “You don't know anything about this country, you're just butting in! All of you are just laughing and playing around, you don't know what it's like to be treated like trash!” I was positive that every member of Team 7 stiffened at that comment. We all had sob stories that were worse than Inari's and we knew it.

 Naruto cut in before I could even open my mouth, “Oh yeah? Listen to yourself whining like some sorry little victim.” I glanced at Naruto as my expressionless mask fell over my face, concealing any trace of emotion. First I would see how the kiddies handled it, then step in and finish up whatever was left. Naruto glared at Inari, his blue eyes full of anger and self-righteousness, “You're nothing but a coward!”

 “N-Naruto!” Hinata squeaked in a tiny voice, her pearl eyes wide with surprise. I doubt she had ever seen him so serious. Even I hadn't, and I had been put on his watch many times while I was part of the military police.

 Naruto stood up and stomped away with a growl of frustration. I watched him go silently, keeping an eye of the reactions of my other two genin brats. Hinata looked as if she wanted to go after him, but she stayed in her seat, her Hyuuga eyes trailing after Naruto's appalling orange jumpsuit. Sasuke had retreated into his own mind, keeping his expressions to himself like I was doing, but I could tell by the way his eyes followed Naruto that he was mildly concerned for his teammate. I returned my gaze to Inari to find the little brat sobbing, thick trails of tears coursing down his cheeks. He sat there for a moment, his head bowed so no one could see his eyes, before fleeing from the room like the coward he was.

 Time for me to step in.

 I waited until everyone had gone to bed before searching out the gloomy brat. Even though Inari was a civilian, he still had a chakra signal, albeit an extremely weak one, so finding him on the back porch was a piece of cake. I smirked when I found him sitting at the porch's edge, his knees up to his chest.

 “Hey twerp, got a minute?” I asked, bopping the kid on the back of the head lightly.

 Inari flinched away from me, his hands going to hold his hat in place, as his black eyes stared at me with nervous anticipation. Seeing how I nearly tried to brain him at dinner, I didn't really blame the brat. Inari quickly covered up his fear with a sharp glare that didn't belong on his young face, “What do you want?” He asked, his bravado only breaking when his question ended in a high pitched squeak.

 I took that as an invitation to sit down beside the brat, “You asked what do any of us know about suffering. It came to my attention that Naruto never answered your question, so I thought I would.” I said conversationally. Inari shifted away from me a little. I scoffed at his blatant fear of me and leaned back on my hands, my feet dangling inches above the water, “Where do I begin? Hm... well, I was raised by my brother, whom I don't really like, because my parents died before I even turned three; during the Third Shinobi War. Both Nii-san and I are practically outcasts from the clan because of some stupid reason, too. Sasuke's father constantly belittles him and says he should be more like his older brother Itachi. Hinata's father... yeesh, that guy is worse that Sasuke's dad. He actually thinks that Hinata is a waste of space because she's not the strongest in the clan. Even worse, she's the Hyuuga heiress so the expectations put on her are doubly high.”

 Inari looked more and more surprised at each passing sentence. His young face began to lighten with understanding that he wasn't the only one suffered. I met his gaze and turned serious, “Then there's Naruto. He grew up without knowing his parents too; even worse, he didn't even have friends or anyone who cared about him. At least I had my brother and his team, Naruto had no one ever. Still...” I trailed off and looked up at the low hanging moon, “I never saw him cry or give up. Not even when he completely screws over a mission, he'll still try his best to make amends. That brat wants to be respected, and he'll do anything to get it.”

 I smiled kindly at Inari, “My whole team has a bunch of sob stories and we all reacted in our own way. It's part of what makes us who we are and not your everyday idiot walking around on the streets. I guess you can cope through your losses by crying too... but won't you get tired of crying after a while? Isn't it better to be happy all the time, and loud and obnoxious?” Inari looked down at his feet, contemplating. I chuckled and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. He didn't flinch, “If there's anyone who can possibly understand what you're going through, it's Team 7. We're here to protect your grandfather and make sure your home stays safe from Gatou. And, if I have to die for that to be a reality, then so be it. I'll gladly give my life.”

 The little boy stared at me, awe buried deep within the obsidian orbs. I snorted at his expression and moved my hand from his shoulder to wrap his neck in a playful choke hold. With my free hand I ground my knuckles into his scalp, “Eh, don't give me that look. I may be a grouchy kunoichi, but I still have a heart. I just like confusing people!” I said teasingly and for the first time since my team had arrived, I heard Inari laugh. I grinned in response as I let the kid free from my grip and leaned back again. In truth, I didn't know how to talk to people unless I was yelling at them, but for some reason this little brat managed to break the ice.

 I snorted as I closed my eyes. If Nii-san could see me know, I was sure he would die laughing.

  VVV^^^OMAKE^^^VVV

 The Curse of the Uchiha

 vvv 3rd Person vvv

 “Man, why are we always the ones called off on stupid S-ranked missions?” Obito complained as Team Minato checked in at Konoha's gate. Kakashi shot Obito an irritated look while the two chunnin guards snickered. The Uchiha gave them a sideways glance, they seemed familiar, but Obito couldn't remember their names to save his life.

 Rin giggled behind one hand and smiled fondly at Obito, “Because, Obito-kun, we're the only full team outside of the ANBU Corp that is cleared for S-ranks missions.” She explained happily. It wasn't often that Rin got called out on missions, but she loved every chance she got.

 Obito beamed at his childhood crush, “Oh yeah! I guess it's awesome to be so powerful. But still, I wish they'd give Team Minato some off time. Between the police force and missions for Konoha, I'm being worn out.”

 “Yet you somehow still manage to run your mouth.” Kakashi interjected drily.

 Immediately Obito glared at his rival/friend, “Got something to say, Baka-Kashi?!”

 “I just said it.”

 Obito pointed at Kakashi, “Stop being so cool! We're not little kids anymore!”

 Kakashi pulled out his book and opened it to his place, “You could have fooled me.” He commented. Kakashi smirked under his mask when he heard Obito gritting his teeth. Mentally he made another tally. While he refused to participate in that silly rivalry with Gai, Kakashi saw no qualms in annoying Obito.

 Both men jerked forward a little when someone hit them upside the head, and turned to Rin, who was standing behind them looking annoyed, “You're both children, now grow up and march! We've gotta report to the Hokage.” The little woman ordered. Before Kakashi or Obito could do what she asked, she grabbed her teammates by the fronts of their jounin vests and dragged them along behind her.

 Obito pouted as he struggled halfheartedly to escape Rin-chan's grip. “Rin-chaaaan! We can walk on our own, ya know!”

 “It's not the walking that's the problem, it's your bickering! Honestly, you two never quit.”

 Kakashi didn't seem all too bothered about being dragged around by a woman half his height and weight. “You don't care when it's Obito and Yanagi fighting.” He commented, still not looking up from his porn.

 Rin and Obito both shot their teammate nasty looks, but Rin was the one who spoke, “That's because they're siblings and it's none of my business. Besides I'm not constantly around Yanagi-chan. It's you two idiots I've got to deal with.”

 Kakashi muttered something under his breath that Rin couldn't catch. Obito, however, seemed to understand him and snorted in amusement. The Uchiha quickly ducked his head in shame and sheepishly looked at Rin, proving that whatever Kakashi had said wasn't very kind about her.

 Rin could sometimes understand why Yanagi was so short tempered, if these goons were the ones who raised her. Luckily for Rin, they had arrived at the Missions Office and could give their stupid report and disperse. While Rin loved her teammates like her own family, she could only take so much of them in one sitting.

 vvv

 Hiruzen groaned and rubbed his temples after the rowdy team left. He would never understand how Minato-kun stayed sane around them, especially after all the drama that had happened between the three kids during the Third Shinobi War. It was one thing to have a student supposedly die and come back months later alive and well–that happened a lot in war; but it was entirely another thing to have another student be captured by Kiri-nins and forced to be the jinchuuriki of the Sanbi.

 It was because of Team Minato that people said having an Uchiha on the team was asking for trouble. What was alarming was most of the time they were right; Team Minato, Team Shisui, ANBU Team Ro, and now apparently Team 7 all had horrible luck when it came to missions.

 Hiruzen looked at the emergency mission report he had received from Uchiha Yanagi only moments before Team Minato came barging in the Missions Assignment Office. How on earth did Team 7 manage to somehow go from a normal C-rank mission to A-rank was beyond the Hokage's understanding, even with the explanation Yanagi had given him.

 Frustrated, Hiruzen took a long drag on his pipe and read over the report again. This put him in a bind, he knew that he should send reinforcements to aid Uchiha Yanagi, but he doubted they would be reached in time. His only hope was the pray that Yanagi had the situation under control, she didn't request reinforcements which meant she could handle it.

 Hiruzen paled at the very thought of how many people would be after his hide if Yanagi's team failed to return. At the top of that list would be Obito and Kakashi. Hiruzen shuddered at the thought of facing the two top shinobi in the village.

[konohagakurekakashi]

[ Once Rin had been kidnapped by Kiri, why didn't Kakashi get backup/inform Minato somehow? The scenario is eerily familiar to the Kannabi Bridge incident and the poor Hatake had been traumatized enough the first time. What drove him to rescue Rin by himself? And from the Bloody Mist, no less.

Good Question. I don’t think it’s a matter of wanting to attempt the rescue on his lonesome; the time and circumstances must be taken into account. I’ve always had the belief that even after suffering the horrible events of Kannabi Bridge, the Third Shinobi War was of such a nature that it didn’t allow any of the members of Team Minato a reprieve to lick their collective wounds, rather the opposite.

As able-bodied soldiers they would be thrown right back into the thick of things. Rin was a gifted field-medic, somewhat of a paragon in war times and Kakashi had the newly acquired Sharingan and rank. Upon the death of Obito, team Minato would most likely have been disbanded. Rin would have been sent to a triage setup where the injuries were at their worst and their hands too few, Minato would have been sent to the epicentre of the current fall-out, while Kakashi either continued the streak of sneaky sabotage-esque missions or found himself on one of the other borders to aid in pushing-back the enemy-nin who was unprincipled enough to encroach on Leaf territory while their attentions were elsewhere.

Kakashi still made a promise however so even though they were separated; they definitely remained in constant contact (most likely through the use of Kakashi’s ninken). If this wasn’t the case, I doubt Kakashi would have found Rin and broken her out as fast as he did (Kiri’s evil intentions aside).

I image that Kakashi emotions immediately surged upon hearing from one of the Pack that Rin was taken, the echo of his promise to Obito and said emotions fuelling all if not most of his actions, from abandoning his post, to calling the rest of his summons to immediately track what remained of Rin’s scent. I doubt however that he failed to advise anyone in his squadron of what happened and where he was going, as at this point in time teamwork was already really important to Kakashi and leaving his regiment would mean failing his current team--making them more vulnerable by breaking formation.

Thus I do believe he attempted to get word out to Konoha and if not him, would have asked his platoon to attempt same in his stead, it was the least he could do in following some semblance of procedure (and I say semblance as procedure would entail that he wait for orders or more ideally back-up. Kakashi couldn’t really wait for either as time was of the essence).

It was stated on numerous occasions that Minato was away on another mission, the very reason why Madara thought to strike at that exact moment, so I doubt Kakashi would have gotten a hold of his mentor if he tried. I also have my doubts that Kakashi would risk the blonde’s life or the success of his mission (which was very likely S-ranked-This was the Yellow Flash after all) by sending his summons to interfere. There wasn’t anyone else he could rely on to help him in this instance, not only due to the time constraints but due to the fact that they were in the midst of a terrible war! Everyone able was already knee-deep in some task or another in an effort to find a foothold closer to victory—Madara-ojii was nothing if not meticulous in his planning.

To rear back to the actual question asked:

Kakashi never sought to actively rescue Rin on his own; he did it because he had no other choice. Keeping Rin safe was his promise sure, but people tend to forget that she was important to Kakashi too; being the only other precious person he had left. As such he would rather face the unbelievable odds of getting her back from the Bloody Mist in one, preferably alive piece—than to not make the attempt at all.

As we know both Rin and Kakashi were later found by an ANBU squad and returned to the village. One could say that it was a border patrol that stumbled across them (but since when did border perambulations form part of the Black-Ops’ duty roster? Yeah. Never). I like to think that it was the back-up intended to deal with the Hunter-nin. Whether they were requested by Kakashi or his squadron is irrelevant really, what matters was that they were too late.

[writer-and-artist27]

The Future

My take on how things went immediately after Obito’s confession as written by Lang. First times always come with some bumps in the road that truly determine whether a relationship lasts. At least, that’s my experience with them.

Think everyone’s 16-18, for the sake of my own sanity.

Song to listen to, right here.

-------------------------------

Obito could have died and went to heaven in that very moment. 

“I-I do like you, Obi. I just don’t know how much I do compared to you. But, um, I’m willing to find out more with you by my side.” Tomo-chan was blushing that cute pink that made her Tomo-chan, barely able to meet his eyes, but she was smiling at him. Her hands were soft and warm and they were holding his hands. “If that’s okay?”

He could have kissed her. Damn it, he wanted to kiss her. “Definitely,” he said instead, because there’s no way he could kiss her in front of the entire café. Kei would never let him hear the end of it. Hell, Kakashi would have blackmail material for months. Not to mention Judai-jichan and Hikari-bachan, who had been silent the entire time Obito had fumbled with his confession.

Obito did not want to look behind him because he could already hear Wataru-san and Hayate cheering like goofballs.

It didn’t change how Tomo-chan was smiling at him and him alone. “Aye,” she said faintly, barely audible over the bouquet of roses nestled in her arms. “Thankie, Obi.”

“I should be the one thanking you, Tomo-chan,” he breathed, feeling dust in his eyes. “I-I thought you weren’t going to say yes.” Rin-chan was still cute, but she never noticed. Tomo-chan, though… 

Tomo-chan shook her head frantically, her braid — the one he recommended she start wearing — slapping her cheeks. “I-It’s you, Obi, I don’t think I would be able to reject you.”

Scratch out heaven. Put in Nirvana, because Tomo-chan was starting to look more and more like an angel Obito wanted to keep to himself. “T-Tomo-chan…”

“I-I guess that sums it up, huh?” said Tomo-chan, and she ducked her nose into the nearest rose blossom. “Th-There’s a lot of people staring right now, Obi, so, um.” Her cheeks turned a cuter red. “W-Wanna come with me to find a vase for these roses? M-Maybe for some privacy since I kinda don’t see one around the piano right now a-and I don’t think our friends will be helping anytime soon…”

Obito just had to glance around once. Just once, and already he could see the mess of faces consisting of his precious ones and café strangers. Most were smiling, Kei included. But there was that select few in a corner who were giving the loudest catcalls and wolf whistles, so he turned back to Tomo-chan to nod furiously. There was no way he wanted to explain what some of those bastards were saying. “I wasn’t going to say no!” 

“A-Aye,” Tomo-chan said softly, squeezing his hands. “Thankie.” She paused, blue eyes widening, then she raised her head past the roses and Obito’s shoulder. “Mama, Papa, is it okay for me to go?”

Oh shit. The sudden realization that Tomo-chan’s parents were still behind him did not help Obito’s dormant worries and a bead of sweat was already trailing down his cheek. He slowly turned in his seat to see Judai-jichan looking at him from the bar. 

Obito swallowed thickly.

Judai-jichan smiled. “Sure, hime,” he called out casually, but Obito could not shake off the feeling that there was more. Then Judai-jichan turned to him with that same smile. “Make sure not to do anything I wouldn’t do, Obito.” 

Obito exhaled. It was safe. “I-I swear, Judai-jichan!” he yelled still, because this was Judai-jichan. He didn’t know Judai-jichan as much as say, Kei and Kakashi, but he was still Tomo-chan’s dad. Obito didn’t know what a dad could be like until Judai-jichan, and he didn’t want to mess up anything else now. Not when everything was going so well. “I’ll make sure to protect Tomo-chan with my life!”

Tomo-chan jolted. “O-Obi!” 

Nearby, Hikari-bachan startled from serving a customer cake. Like mother, like daughter, he guessed. “Obito!” she echoed in shock.

Judai-jichan laughed heartily. “I’ll count on you for that, Obito!” Without skipping a beat, he lowered his voice. “She’s my only hime. Treasure her.” 

The grin was already on Obito’s face. “Roger that!”

-------------------------------

“Muuuu, I’m sure there was a vase around here somewhere…”

Obito did his best. He really did. 

But it was seriously hard to look at everything but Tomo-chan when she was still wearing that adorable pink and white kimono dress. Sure, she wore it for work, but he couldn’t help it. The blue obi with ribbon accents just cemented her new status of “cutest girl in the whole world” in Obito’s eyes, but. That did not mean looking up her skirt while she was on a stepstool. 

Nope. Nope nope nope nope. 

She needed to get a vase. The least Obito could do was give her space. He didn’t have to be a sensor or a Hyuga to know she was still nervous. 

“U-Um, Obi?” There was more shuffling as Tomo-chan rocked back and forth on her feet in front of the kitchen cabinet. “C-Could I ask you something?”

He gulped before uncrossing his arms and facing her. At least, as much as he could since she was still focused on the cabinet and not meeting his eyes. “What is it, Tomo-chan?”

“Wh-Why did you have to get so many roses? I-I don’t mind, it’s just a lot…” Tomo-chan slowly stepped down from her stool with a large blue vase in her arms, her voice still pitched like a tiny mouse. “O-One rose would have been enough.”

The ten-billion ryō question. Obito took a deep breath before walking forward and taking one of Tomo-chan’s hands in his. He knew his palm was sweaty, but Tomo-chan was blushing as much as he was, so in the end, it didn’t matter. “I didn’t know what would get through to you, Tomo-chan.” Obito hesitated before squeezing her fingers. “Kei said you throw around ‘I love you’ hard enough to concuss people, so…” he trailed off. “But it worked, didn’t it?” 

The blush from before was back on Tomo-chan’s cheeks now. C-Cute. “O-Oh,” she mumbled, putting the vase down on the counter near the roses before raising her other hand to grip his. “O-Okay. That…explains a lot.” 

Obito laughed nervously. Shit, he was already so whipped for her and they hadn’t even gone on a date yet. “Though, uh, I guess that means we’re going out now, huh? Man, it feels weird!” He never believed in his faintest dreams that Tomo-chan would feel the same. She hugged literally everyone, so to accept his confession… 

Tomo-chan swiveled her head to look at him through her bangs, her jaw dropping. “I-Is that a bad thing?!” 

Obito took a step back before shaking his head. Shit. Shit, shit, shit, that’s not what he meant. “N-no, Tomo-chan, no! It’s not bad at all!” 

“Th-Then,” Tomo-chan shivered, her lips puckered anxiously, “wh-what is it?”

Ah, screw it. Obito pulled her in by the hand for a well-needed hug.

“O-Obi?!” she squeaked against his collar. Tomo-chan was shaking but she was soft. She was warm. She was here, in his arms just like he wanted at night. 

Obito exhaled slowly before resting his nose against her hair. Sweet. Tomo-chan smelled sweet. “It’s amazing,” he mumbled, feeling that urge again. He wanted to hold her hand, to hug her like this for so long—to do it now was just… “You have n-no idea how long I wanted this, Tomo-chan. How long I wanted to be with you.”

Fingers were clutching the front of his jacket and Tomo-chan shuddered. “O-Oh,” she said again, quieter. “I-I’m sorry for not noticing sooner, Obi.” She was—she was burying her face in his shoulder again, unintentionally filling Obito’s nose with more of her scent. More of her. “I’m sorry for not replying sooner.” She took a step closer to him, almost cuddling him with how she fit into the hug. “I-I’m still not sure since we just s-started this, but um.” There was a tiny, almost quiet hiccup. “I-I think I’m…um, starting to fall in love with you too…” 

That did it. Obito could die right here and now to ascend to Enlightenment. Or heaven. Or Nirvana. This was great. 

Then again, he couldn’t leave the girl now. 

So instead, he pulled back to look into her blue eyes, arms around her waist to keep her here. “Y-You mean that, Tomo-chan?”

Tomo-chan averted her gaze, raising a hand to cover her lips. Then she nodded. “Th-This is really embarrassing, Obi.” Her cheeks were still that adorable pink as her other hand clutched his jacket. Her grip was shaking. “I don’t know how much more I can take. I-I might melt in your arms at this rate.”

A surprised laugh left his lips. Obito already knew he didn’t want to let Tomo-chan go now, not ever. “Don’t worry. I’d catch you, Tomo-chan.”

Tomo-chan chose that moment to look at him, her eyebrows furrowed from anxiety. “E-Even if I’m falling?”

Obito blinked before nodding. “I promised Judai-jichan, didn’t I?”

For some reason, Tomo-chan’s gaze turned glassy. Wait. Shit. Was she close to— “Obi,” she mumbled through her fingers, snapping him out of any panic, “stars don’t live forever.”

Obito blinked again. Tomo-chan wasn’t Kei. So what was with the riddle—

Without warning, Tomo-chan ducked her head and hid her face against his chest. Obito felt his heart start to pound in time with the barely audible words. “Obi, don’t change.” Her voice was high-pitched but sad. Desperate, almost, like she was begging. “Please.” 

“I-I won’t,” he said instinctively, but the urge to kiss her was growing harder to ignore. He tightened the hug instead, because there was no missing how upset Tomo-chan sounded. If he didn’t know any better, it felt like he was taking the Chūnin Exams all over again, and how Tomo-chan asked everyone not to die. She was still scared. “I plan to be Hokage, Tomo-chan.” He raised a hand to her head and — oh shit, her hair was soft. “And that means not leaving you.”

A tiny gasp echoed in his jacket, enough to make his heart skip a beat. Tomo-chan shivered again, her hand pushing him back slightly while her other still covered her mouth. “O-Oh,” she said. There was a small giggle. “I-I just can’t win, huh…?”

Yep. He was fucked. 

Obito swallowed the sudden lump in his throat before prying his goggles from his eyes, putting them over his headband and allowing him to look at her head-on. Tomo-chan startled once his hands went up to grasp her shoulders, enough of a jolt to move away that hand covering her lips. He still tilted his head to try meeting her gaze. The least he could do was tell her properly. Sensei said he couldn’t do “subtle,” so… “Tomo-chan, I-I want to kiss you.”

“E-Eh?” She flushed a darker pink, her blue eyes darting everywhere but him. It would’ve been funny if not for how she was trying to avoid him. At least she got the message loud and clear this time. “Wh—eh?!” 

Obito gently moved one of his hands to her cheek, tilting her head up. “Tomo-chan.” 

Her squeaks fell silent. Then, she bit her lip. “Y-Yes?”

Obito leaned in, trying not to fumble. This was the perfect moment and he didn’t want to mess it up. She was still here. “Can I kiss you? I r-really really want to.”

Tomo-chan bit her lip a bit more, lowering her head and clutching his jacket tighter. Surprisingly, she looked more kissable with the action, not helped by the furious blush on her face. A funny noise caught between a squeal and a squeak echoed in the back of her throat before there was another hiccup. “O-okay. Just, um.” Tomo-chan raised her head, her lips wet from the biting. “Be gentle?”

Obito smiled. “Aye,” was all he could say. It seemed to be enough because Tomo-chan didn’t back away, merely closing her eyes.

Obito closed his eyes too, placing his other hand to the back of her head before leaning in. 

“O-Ow.”

Shit. He bumped her head. It was his goggles. Shit. Pull back, pull back. “S-Sorry, Tomo-chan. One more try.” And then he tilted his head and leaned in for real.

Tomo-chan’s lips were soft. Chapped from all the biting she did, but they were warm, smooth, and real. He could faintly taste something sweet and even if he couldn’t drink, it felt like he could get drunk off of this. Tomo-chan was melting against him too, relaxing enough for him to pull her closer and extend the contact until they couldn’t breathe. 

It was intoxicating, but it couldn’t last forever.

Once Obito pulled back from the lack of oxygen, there was a soft smack sound and Tomo-chan hiccupped again. Everything felt hot. “O-Obi,” her blue eyes fluttered open, her blush covering her nose and extending to her ears. “Th-That was…wow.” Her shoulders were slack even through her kimono dress. “D-Did you feel that…?”

Obito felt himself laugh again. “Sure did. You…You were amazing, Tomo-chan.” 

“M-Mm.” Tomo-chan’s blush could easily make her a tomato. Or a cherry. Cherries were probably better because they were sweet, just like her. “Obi…” she gulped, her high-pitched voice barely above a stage whisper. “Y-You were my first kiss.”

Well, fuck. He couldn’t stop smiling.

“I-I’m glad. But could…” Obito leaned in once more, inhaling as much as he could through his nose. “Could I do it again, Tomo-chan? I-I want to be your second too.”

Tomo-chan shut her eyes, a hand going up to her lips. Then she nodded, slowly moving her hand away. “I don’t think I want to k-kiss anyone else. Just, um. Y-You’re going to have to catch me when I do melt, Obi…”

“Hehe, that’s fine.” Obito kept his eyes open one second longer to burn Tomo-chan’s face into his mind before leaning in. “I’m the shinobi, so I’ll always catch you.” 

“D-Dork—nn…” 

Their lips met again and Obito could’ve sworn his cheeks were starting to hurt from how much he was grinning.

But just to be sure, he made sure to hug her closer once her hands started to shake. Kissing was apparently a shared weakness. Obito couldn’t be late for this. 

-------------------------------

Kei gave him that knowing look again. Her foot was also really close to his leg under the kotatsu, so Obito made sure to pull back in case she was raring to kick him again. Knowing how much of a jerk she could be, though, better to be safe than sorry. 

“Congrats on the relationship upgrade,” she said bluntly with a grin, shoving a plate of dorayaki in his direction over the kotatsu table. “At least she got it.”

“Thanks, Kei,” he replied cheerily, already feeling a smile at the thought of his new girlfriend. “I’m gonna have to turn down the sweets today, though.”

“Oh?” Kei looked actually curious while leveling that same pointy spatula at him. “That’s rare for you. What’s the occasion?”

Obito reached into his backpack to pull out a bundle and thank god, it wasn’t messed up. He brandished it to her with both hands, and Kei blinked. “I brought lunch!”

Kei snorted through her nose. “Lemme guess. Tomo?”

“Tomo-chan!” Obito agreed, because goddammit, his girlfriend was an angel. “She stopped by earlier today to give it to me!”

“At least it’s just you.” Kei rolled her eyes, flipping another dorayaki onto the rejected plate. “Get a room, seriously.”

“Shut it.” Obito snapped, then untied the cloth around the bundle. The box was normal, but opening the lid—

His heart skipped a beat. “Shit.” 

Kei looked at it too and threw her head back to laugh. “You two are cute together!” 

“Shut it!” 

There was no denying the joy on his face at seeing the onigiri heart in his lunch. His hands shook when picking up the tiny note left at the side of the vegetables. The handwriting was hastily scrawled, but still legible. 

Come by and visit more often! You have a lot of taste-testing to do, Mister! >.<

— Tomo

P.S. Before you say anything. -.- 

...Love you too. <3

[prongsisabadger]

Songs for the Heartbroken: That’s What You Get

AO3

FF.net

Prologue.

What is the scariest thing in the world? If people say whatever first comes to mind, we would probably end up with answers like heights, spiders, or maybe even death; but there are definitively things in this world that are scarier than that. The ones I particularly find most terrifying, are people. Of course there are different types of people that are terrifying in their own particular way, but here, I'll only write about one of them.

People who love. This might sound a little stupid to some but bare with me and allow me to explain. The word 'love' has now lost its essence from the amount of times we've heard it said with astonishing lack of sentiment. But I am not referring to an eleven-year-old's version of love when they first confess to their crush; nor am I speaking about those words guiltily spat between ground teeth or stuttered in the spur of a moment for lack of a better thing to say. I don't mean those many whispered 'I love you's of someone who just cheated on their significant other.

No, what I fear is much more profound, raw, animalistic even. What I feat is a person who disregards their own life in order to whatever or whomever they love. Those people have a purpose and will do anything to see it through. Just like a parent protecting their child, a soldier fighting for a cause they believe in or anything that can inspire such passion in a person's heart that the consequences of their actions go beyond one's imagination. People with a mission and the will to lay down their lives to accomplish it; those are the people who scare me the most. It's men and women with this kind of drive and determination who bring down nations, who are able to destroy anything in their path; capable of building relationships, entire lives and tear through them with savage violence and not an ounce of hesitation.

But the most frightening part of it is not what they are capable of, it's the fact that you never know who they are until its too late. You might have known that person your entire life and never had contemplated the possibility. Anyone can be one of these people, one of those who love too much; and you'll never know until it's too late, not even if that person is you.

That is the moment these people will stun you the most, when you find that you yourself are one of them, unsuspicious even to your own consciousness, until you realize that you would be willing to do the unthinkable to protect what you love. When you realize, that after all, those things that once seemed so terrible are not anymore, and that if it means safety, then you don't mind doing them anymore. Not even if it means you will lose your humanity in the process.

I have only seen such drive in someone other than my brother and me, and it took me quite some time to realize it too. I knew Shisui and I were special in some way other kids in the clan were not, that was at least until I met Itachi. The heir to the Uchiha leadership seemed like nothing special when we had first been introduced, he was serious, pensive even beyond what would be considered normal for a four year old. Even I with the extensive training (it was extensive, ok? Cut me some slack I was four) I had been put through at that tender age, was not as stuck up as he was. Turns out it wasn't because he felt superior to others, as most people outside the clan thought, he was just very insightful and preferred to assess the situation before taking part in it.

His father, the Uchiha clan head Fugaku, was insanely proud of him, and he had reason to. Itachi was a prodigy in every sense of the word, excelling in every ninja art at a very young age and showing more promise than any other child in Konohagakure no Sato. But what no one expected from the quiet prodigy, was the fact that he was one of these people; one of those who love too much.

My childhood had been good enough considering the times we were living in. I had grown up within the safe walls of the Uchiha compound, caging me in for six years until I would be allowed to enroll in the academy, keeping me from seeing much of the village and even less of the world. Not that this was uncommon, after all I was a child; but it was at that young age that life started shaping itself around me, and events that would be shaping my future, started taking place.

"But onii-chan, I already practiced shuriken jutsu and kunai this morning! Why can't you teach me more taijutsu?"

Ah, the innocent, peaceful days when my only concerns were regarding my training. For some reason, even if I was a spoilt brat most times, my brother managed to somehow keep his cool; he was good with children like that, even if he was only two years older.

"Akane, your taijutsu is nearly perfect; you're the only one who could give Fugaku-sama's son a run for his money. Your other skills need honing too, you know?" I pouted. I used to do that a lot back in the day, so much in fact that Shisui had become immune to its effects, unlike our grandparents.

I took the weapons basket my brother handed me and once again, turned to face the target hung on the sole sakura tree in our garden. It had become a routine with the passing of the years, after our parents died in the war, Shisui had decided to take my training upon himself; since our grandparents were too old (and in my oba-chans case, too reluctant) for the task. So ever since I could stand up straight, Shisui had attempted to give me the knowledge he had acquired over his few years ahead of me. So far, he had been succeeding, and with my upcoming entrance exam in two years and Shisui's eventual graduation, we tried to spend as much time together as possible.

All of this led to a very strict training schedule we followed almost religiously. Before Shisui left for the academy, we would do a series of stretches and warm-ups, followed by our daily morning spar. And when I say spar, I mean a four year old attempting to pose a challenge to her seven year old brother. Anyway, Shisui would leave for class after breakfast and a bath, and I would get stuck with obaa-chan and the chores for the rest of the morning. Cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, doing the futons, I hated it all; but I did it without complaining or slacking off for obaa-chan's sake.

After that, I would help jii-chan at his shop in the Uchiha district market. He was a blacksmith, one of the best among the clan, and I had always loved watching him turn raw iron into the fine pieces of art that were considered his blades. Most customers were members of the clan, but every now and then came people from other parts of the village; and since I rarely stepped out of the compound, these were the most interesting days.

The bell hung on top of the front door chimed, snapping me out of my reading induced trance; I marked the page I was reading and put the book under the counter. Chakra control was a very important part of shinobi lifestyle, and I'd taken to read it's theory after a rather long rant Shisui had gone on after being under graded at the academy. The chunin sensei had obviously been in the wrong, so I was determined to, when the time came, point this person in the right direction and avenge my brother. No one looked down on Uchiha Shisui without facing the wrath of his younger sister, ever.

I let go of my still unborn plan for vengeance as I saw one of my favorite cousins enter the shop.

"Obi-niiiiiiii" I screeched as I jumped down from the stool behind the counter and made my way to him as fast as my short legs allowed me.

I only stopped a few feet away when I saw he wasn't alone. Embarrassing Obito-nii in front of his friends would not do. I would have loved to force the air out of my cousin with all the force a four year old could put into a hug, but apart from embarrassing him, I would put a blemish in the spotless name of the Uchiha with such childish behavior. So before I could give jii-chan a reason to scold me, I bowed down at the waist and tried to put the best impression of 'shinobi Shisui' on my face.

"Obi-chan, Onii-san, Onee-san; welcome to Uchiha Fuko's armory. What can I do for you?"

The girl behind my cousin cooed as silently as she could to try and not hurt my pride; while the silver haired boy simply acknowledged me with a slight bow of his own. Meanwhile, Obito smiled proudly and held his held high, probably showing off, with a light blush on his cheeks.

"Mah, Akane-chan, no need for formalities, this is just my team. This is Rin, and The gloomy bastard is Kakashi, I call him Bakashi though, It's more fun that way." The last part he whispered, shooting me a cheeky grin.

My cousin had always been quite easy to read, but the fact that a four year old could tell he was extremely pleased, spoke volumes. When Obito was pleased about something, he tended to boast, a lot; thus providing me with a semi-reliable information source; one just had to know where to look. That was how I came to know they were due another mission the next day, which delighted me in a way only Shisui knew. I had always been almost morbidly interested in anything shinobi, so this new information summoned a wave of curiosity and enthusiasm that I could only just hide.

"So you need more supplies for your new mission, is that right? Should I get your usual order of kunai, shuriken and fire conducting wire? Or will you need something else? I heard things are getting rough out in the battlefield."

I tried to hide my curiosity as best I could, Obito might have been a bit naïve, but I had heard about a silver haired prodigy before, and didn't want to get caught red handed trying to collect information. Thank goodness, he seemed to think I was interested in the subject, or at least making polite conversation; because he gave no signs of being onto me. Meanwhile both Obito and Rin looked amused by my 'playing adult' and had bright smiles on their faces as well as their full attention on me.

Ever since I had first started speaking, I'd found that different words and expressions, got different reactions out of people. Shisui, being the ideal shinobi trainee, had wasted no time in helping me hone that skill. He said information gathering and manipulation were key abilities for a shinobi to have; but that should only be used on the enemy. Of course, being a four year old, my 'enemy' was whoever happened to have what I wanted. In this case, Obito-nii and his team.

Obito put his hands on his knees and crouched to my height in order to address me. I, on my behalf stood straighter at attention, like my brother had told me when being addressed by a superior.

"That, Akane-chan, is classified information." he said slowly, clearly with the intention of letting my brain take in the new word; but I had been in the same room as my brother when he studied, it wasn't completely foreign to me.

I nodded rapidly and took a step back to address the other two, obaa-chan would have my head if she heard I was impolite to customers; and she would sure flip if she knew said customers were friends and comrades of the Uchiha.

"Rin-san, Kakashi-san, were you two looking for anything in particular? Our shop has quite the reputation for our work with chakra conducting metals." I said and made my way behind the counter to look for my cousin's usual order.

I struggled a bit with my yukata when I tried to climb the ladders and reach the top shelves behind the counter; but I managed to avoid breaking my neck and look at least a bit like I knew what I was doing. Traditional clothes were very restricting, when movement was concerned, but it sure looked good on a shopkeeper.

"That's the reason we are here actually, Uchiha-san. Both Kakashi and me are in need of chakra conducting blades." Answered the girl politely, the gleam of amusement still present in her eyes.

The other boy, on the other hand, who I was now certain, was the last member of the Hatake clan, stood silently to the side. He was eyeing up a tanto that was being displayed on a shelve to the side. He had a good eye, if I was being honest. The blade was not just beautifully decorated, displaying a wolf pack in the hunt on the side; but it was also of the finest quality my jii-chan had ever been able to make.

"I am no expert in that specific area," I said climbing down and placing my cousin's order on the front desk. "Would you please excuse me while I fetch my grandfather?"

When the lone kunoichi nodded, I smiled as sweetly as I could. Turns out Fuko Jii-chan was done with his orders for the day; so when the customers left, with their personal needs satisfied, I was allowed to go home and wait for Shisui.

In the afternoons, my brother would tell me about the lessons he had had that day or even a story if he had one about his classmates or teachers. After that, he would oversee my chakra training for the day. On this special discipline, I struggled more than was considered appropriate for a member of the Uchiha clan. Shisui worked hard to encourage me and hide his concern, but even if I was four, the disappointment whenever the leaf fell from my forehead, was still present in my eyes.

I tried really hard not to get discouraged, my brother was making a huge effort, and giving in to despair would be like throwing it all away. I didn't care if the clan thought of me as a disgrace; I just wanted to make my brother proud, to make him acknowledge me as a capable individual, someone worthy of being his sister.

I panted hard, trying to regain my composure, as my brother sat cross legged in front of me; leaf still firmly chakra-bound to my forehead.

"Nii-san, this isn't working!"

I wasn't trying to be ungrateful, not at all, but there was clearly something I was doing wrong; and it wasn't only compromising my training and hindering my development, it was making me a burden for Shisui. I never wanted to burden my brother, ever.

"Maybe Obaa-chan is right, maybe I'm no good-"

"Nonsense" Shisui never showed his frustration, not when it came to me; but for some reason, whenever I mentioned the issue with Obaa-chan he seemed really bothered by it. "If you want to be a Shinobi; that is what you will become. It makes no difference if you develop slower than everybody else in the clan. You will not be a career bride if you so clearly don't wish to."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before standing from his place on the training ground floor.

"I don't care if I have to train you myself. We will make an outstanding kunoichi out of you, Akane-chan." Shisui offered me his hand with a tired smile and waited for me to take it.

I couldn't help but hug him once I was on my feet. I knew he meant every single word he had said, he always did; and the fact that he so clearly had my future in consideration, showed me just how much he cared, and how lucky I was.

"Thank you Nii-chan, you are the best."

Shisui smiled right back at me and crouched, offering me his back. It had become almost a ritual; whenever we would be done with afternoon training, Shisui would give me a piggyback ride back home.

"Everyone deserves to live their own lives the way they want to, to make their own decisions and learn from their mistakes. No one is the same, Akane, and even if you don't agree with them, you should respect the path they have chosen."

The usual buzz surrounding the main road in the Uchiha compound was noticeably absent as we made our way through; it was to be expected since business was a lot less in the evenings. Very few people could be seen roaming around, and the few shop keepers that usually worked late were now closing up their stores.

"what if someone makes a bad decision, Nii-chan?" I asked quietly, noticing that I had no need to raise my voice above a whisper for him to hear me. The atmosphere around us was very calm and gave off a sense of warmth and comfort that I didn't want to break.

"Then you can do nothing but accept that it is the path they have chosen for themselves; and that they will have to face the consequences no matter what. Just make sure you never enforce those consequences out of spite, anger or vengeance, Akane. If someone has to atone for their sins, then let yourself be guided by your sense of justice."

Not entirely sure about what he had just said, I decided to just nod and let my head rest against his shoulder. I would later in life realize what he had meant back then; when friends and family would turn into criminals if only for a series of bad decisions.

[depressedkakashihatake]

Gravestone

        Rain pounded down on his head, Soaking his hair and cloths. He had searched the entire village for Kakashi, worried when he had gone to the Hatake home to find the child was gone. He had asked around, but no one knew where the boy was. No one even seemed to care.

               He knew the village didn’t care about others, they never had. Why would that change now? Still, it annoyed him. This was a 6-year-old boy who’s father had just committed suicide. Why was no one worried? Why was he the only one looking?

   He stopped beside the bushes, looking out towards the hidden spot where Kakashi had convinced Minato to help him bury his father. No one else had been willing to do anything. He had already heard all the judgements, all the harsh words. No one cared about how Sakumo’s son was handling what had happened earlier that week, they only cared to bad mouth a man shamed into committing suicide.

  The gravestone was small, Sakumo’s name written in stone with jagged words. There was no memorial, no kind words. Just his name. He imagined it was what his own grave would look like one day, another failure of the leaf village. Another forgotten shinobi.

      Kakashi was barely visible, but he could see the silver of his hair peeking out from under a small blanket. He could only imagine what the child was going through. What seeing his fathers’ body had done to him? What it had been like having to listen to people bad mouth Sakumo, even after his death.

    He stepped up to the boy’s side cautiously, not wanting to spoke him. Even at 6-years-old, Kakashi could beat the crap out of him. He checked the boy’s pulse first, his worry for the child’s health still flaring up. He had been on a mission when it had all happened, but as soon as he got home, he had gone out to find Kakashi. No one should be alone after such loss.

    He was just glad he had been able to get Gai to bed before he left the house.

  “Come on.” He carefully wedged his hands under the child’s body, nudging him with his fingers until he finally rolled over into his arm, still sound asleep and shivering as the rain continued to fall on them. Taking him to his father’s home wasn’t an option, Kakashi would likely wake up and flee as soon as he realized where he was.

     He’d have to give up his bed for the night, but that wasn’t a problem. Kakashi would sleep better in a warm bed, and they could visit Sakumo in the morning. He could say his own goodbyes to his friend, the friend he never got to see off. The friend he never thought would end up in a lone grave, far away from all the others.

               The friend whose son he had promised to protect if anything ever happened.

   He looked over at the grave once more, holding Kakashi close to his chest as the boy shivered in his arms. “We’ll be back.” A soft promise before he headed back towards his own house.

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               Minato had searched franticlly through the entire village, hoping to find any sign of Kakashi after the funeral had finished.

               So far, he had found nothing. Some days he wondered how Kakashi had become so good at hiding, but he didn’t really need an answer for that. Kakashi was a loner, he didn’t like being around people. The funeral had probably been hard on him for multiple reasons, not just because it was a reminder of Obito’s death. A reminder of a failure Kakashi still held himself responsible for, no matter what Minato, Kushina and Rin told him.

               The funeral had also been loud afterwards, with so many people talking and telling stories of those that they had lost. It must have been over whelming for Kakashi. He had always been so sensitive to noise.

               “Father…” His head snapped up. That was Kakashi’s voice, But he wasn’t anywhere near the graves. He was in a secluded part of the village. A part where no one was buried.

               No one except Sakumo.

               He kicked himself mentally. He should have remembered to check Sakumo’s grave, he had been the one to help Kakashi bury his father. The only one who had been willing to help after the man’s disgrace.

               It was a small walk towards the area where he remembered burying the other Shinobi, and as soon as he walked past the few bushes hiding the small grave from sight, he could see where Kakashi had sat himself down in front of the grave.

               His heart ached when he saw the pre-teen sitting on his knees in front of the grave, his hands curled painfully into the fabric of his pants and his head bowed in front of the gravestone. How long had he been sitting there while Minato searched for him?

               “I’m sorry…” The words are soft, but Minato can hear the hurt in them. A hurt he hadn’t hurt since the day Kakashi had run up to him in the middle of the village and begged him, a man who he had never met, to help him bury his father. To help him at least give his father something, anything for a grave. “I’m sorry I was angry, I’m sorry…”

               He was by Kakashi’s side in an instant, catching him in his arms as he curled forward. Kakashi didn’t bother to look up at him, or to say anything. He seemed to know who it was though, because he instantly relaxed into his sensei’s arms.

               “It’s ok…” He knows the words mean little to Kakashi, nothing is ok. Nothing had been ok since a six-year-old had been forced to bury his own father. Nothing would ever be ok again, but for now, for just one moment, he could pretend.

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               He laid beside his father’s grave, unable to say anything as his eyes focused on the words carved out in stone. What was he supposed to say? What was he supposed to tell a hero, a man who died believing he was doing the right thing by forgoing his mission and saving his friends?

How could he ever hope to match up to his father, when he was nothing more than a friend killer. A man who had seen his own hand go through his teammate, who had felt the sticky blood of someone he was meant to protect. Someone he was supposed to keep safe.

Was there anything he could say? Any way he could apologize for failing his friends and father like this?

“Go away…” He hadn’t heard movement behind him, but he knew that Gai was standing there ready to comfort him. He didn’t deserve comforting though. He didn’t deserve attention, or love.

He didn’t deserve anything.

“You know I’m not leaving.” It’s a fact, Gai never listened to him when he told him to leave. When he said he wanted to be alone. Gai had always been there by his side, pushing him for competitions and trying his best to cheer him up when he noticed that he was down.

He couldn’t cheer up though. How was he supposed to when he could still feel the blood on his hands? How was he ever supposed to believe he was worthy of anyone’s attention when he had been the one to murder Rin?

Still, he didn’t bother to argue. There was no point. He simply kept his eyes on the gravestone and stayed silent, listening to the soft footsteps behind him as Gai found his spot and sat down, intent on waiting for his friend to tell him when they were going to leave.

They sat in silence for a while, neither of them saying anything. Neither of them being able to come up with the right words to say.

Gai, as always, was the first to break the silence.

“You don’t owe him an apology.” He closed his eyes. Gai was wrong, he was always wrong. He owed his father so much, he had been so stupid. So careless. How could he not owe him an apology? “You know he wouldn’t be angry with you.”

“He should be!” He finally snapped, curling up into himself and bringing a hand up into his hair. It hurt, it always hurt. Why couldn’t he stop hurting for just a bit? Why did the universe insist on reopening his wound? On keeping the pain fresh and new. “I killed her! I killed my teammate and he should hate me! He should hate everything I am, everything I’ve become!”

He didn’t bother to pull away when Gai reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. He couldn’t. Gai was the only one other than Minato Sensei who didn’t believe the rumors. Who didn’t call him ‘cold blooded Kakashi’.

He wasn’t cold blooded; his heart wasn’t made of stone. Every fiber in his body felt like it was on fire and he hurt constantly, but he was a shinobi. He had to act like he was alright, like nothing affected him.

He hated it.

“He’d never hate you.” The words are soft, and for the first time in days he wants nothing more than to curl up into someone and cry. To stop acting like the tough Shinobi, to stop being the Cold-blooded killer everyone thought he was.

He couldn’t move though; it hurts to much. Everything hurt too much.

His eyes focused on the gravestone once more, tracing over the words that he had carved into it with his own weapon. The name he had always thought he would see a memorial stone along with others. The name of a hero.

He wasn’t sure how long they sat there; he had lost track of time long ago. All he remembered was the moment that Gai had finally gotten to his feet and picked Kakashi up in his arms. He made no protests, there was no point. If Gai had decided it was time for them to go home, he didn’t get a say in the matter.

He’d visit again tomorrow. Maybe then he could finally apologize.

Maybe then he could find a way to make it up to his father.

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The bushes Rustled, signaling Kakashi’s arrival. Gai looked over at his friend from the gravestone, a soft smile on his face when he saw the Jonin standing there in silence. He knew he would come here; he always did.

“Waiting for me?” Kakashi’s voice is weak, sorrow dripping through his words as he stood there with his hands by his side and sadness in his eyes.

“Always” Gai smiled up at him, watching as he slowly made his way over to his side and took a seat beside him. His eyes immediately searched out the name on the gravestone, reading it repeatedly as his entire body slouched.

“When does it stop?” He had never heard Kakashi ask anyone that question before, maybe because he had always thought he needed to be the strong shinobi. The unbendable and unbreakable.

Slowly, their eyes met, and Gai could see the pain deep inside. Kakashi was tired, he had been for years. He was tired of the pain, tired of the loss. Even Gai had to wonder some days how much more the universe planned on taking from the other man. Hadn’t he lost enough already?

“I don’t know.” It’s a poor answer, but the only one he can come up with. He had no idea when any of it ended. The war, the death, the struggles. There was no foreseeable future without any of it, but he knew Kakashi had lost more than enough already. He didn’t need to go through this pain anymore. “but I do know one thing.”

“And what’s that?” he smiled his usual smile and reached out to slap Kakashi in the shoulder.

“I know that your father would be proud” He said softly “that he’d be glad you stayed on your path after everything, that you continued to fight for the leaf.”

Kakashi instinctively reached up to touch the symbol on his head band “I don’t fight for the leaf.” A soft admission, something he likely wouldn’t dare to tell anyone else. If he did, he’d be shamed just as his father had been.

“Well,” Gai thought about it for a moment “then you have to fight for something. If you lost all purpose you would have…” he choked on the words. He never wanted to think about attending Kakashi’s funeral. Of having to bury his best friend and say goodbye.

The thought made him ill.

“I fight for him.” He looked back over at the other man, smiling when he noticed that Kakashi had turned his attention back to the gravestone in front of them “I fight for the village he had wanted to protect, for the ideals he wanted to nourish and grow.”

“An honourable reason to fight” he smiled, his breath catching in his lungs when Kakashi looked back over at him.

“And you…” the words are soft, almost too soft. If Gai hadn’t been paying attention he might have missed them entirely.

“You…” he blinked, shocked by Kakashi’s confession. “For me?”

“You and Minato Sensai were the only one’s who cared.” It’s not far from the truth, but Gai is sure he could list others who have shown their worry and care for Kakashi over the years. “You’re the only one’s who stayed with me no matter what, who tried to help me. I fight for my father’s ideal Village, and I fight for the village that will one day look at you and see the amazing ninja you are.”

He reached out slowly, laying a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder for comfort and grunting when the other Ninja finally collapsed into him. He didn’t say anything, wrapping his arms around the other man even as he felt the tears staining his spandex. There was nothing to say, not right now at least.

[553butterfly553]

Second Chance (An Itachi Uchiha Love Story) 11

Missing

About a week flew by. It went by rather quickly. It was full of laughter and happiness, well as much as the Akatsuki can be happy and laugh. Speaking of them, the Akatsuki members all have grown attached to Serenity and she's gotten attached to them. Even Kakuzu and Hidan eventually began to like the little girl. They all accepted their names and that she was going to be there to stay. It was a little worrisome at first when certain Akatsuki members interacted with Serenity, but everything turned out okay. Currently, Serenity has recruited most of the members to play hide and seek with her. She informed me that she was a big girl now and she could hide on her own, so reluctantly, I allowed her to do so. I was deemed the seeker and was now searching through the mansion for those who decided to play. It was pretty much everyone, except Kakuzu and Sasori. I haven't found a single person yet due to me not using my sensory abilities, but I had a feeling I was coming across someone soon. I was searching every room, other than Kakuzu and Sasori's rooms. No one was allowed to hide in them. So that left me currently in the kitchen heading into the living room. “Where are you people?! This is getting ridiculous! I'm going to start cheating now.” I muttered out loud, however before I could start sensing the people around me, Deidara popped out of a cupboard. “That's not fair, hm!” “Found you!” I called out pointing at Deidara with a laugh. “Now you have to help me find the others.” “Dammit, you really are a bitch, hm!” He realized that I had tricked him into exposing himself. He went along with it anyway though. So now it was Deidara and I searching for the rest of them. The next person to be found was Obito. He'd hidden in the living room behind one of the couches. Not a good hiding spot, but hey at least he was playing. After that was Itachi, who'd hidden in the infirmary, along with Kisame who also hid in there. Neither knew that the other was there though, so it was a surprise for all of us involved. After that, we spit up into two teams and began searching. I was with Itachi and Deidara, Obito and Kisame were together. “Should I just start sensing people? It'd go a lot faster if I did so.” I looked over to Itachi, who thought about it for a moment and then nodded his head. “You might as well, or else we might actually be here all day.” Itachi finally responded simply. I nodded my head and began to sense those around me. It wasn't that large of a radius, but I was now able to find someone. I believe it was Hidan. He managed to worm his way into the ceiling and was crawling around up there. So, I led Itachi to where he currently was and knocked the ceiling tile out of place, causing the religious man to come crashing down. “Ow! You fucking bitch! I swear to Lord Jashin I'm going to fucking sacrifice you!” Hidan yelled out once he recovered from the fall. I helped him stand up but refused to help him brush off all the dust and possible spiders he now had on him. “How did you fucking find me?!” “...I heard you?” I replied more as a question than a statement. He just looked at me and glared. “You bitch, you sensed me, didn't you? Who let the fucking sensory ninja be the seeker?!” Hidan was outraged, but eventually got over it and helped us search for others. Eventually, we met back up with the other group, who now consisted of Nagato and Konan. Meaning all the Akatsuki members were now found. “Wait, no one found Serenity?” I questioned when I realized that she was the only one left now. I tried it sense around to figure out where she was, but I didn't sense her at all. “We need to search for her, all of us.” Itachi had a hint of worry in his voice now. So, we all split up and searched the entire mansion. I sensed around and couldn't find her at all. No matter where I went, I couldn't sense her presence. We all ended up meeting up in the entrance, only to find the ANBU there unconscious. “What the fuck is going on?” Hidan grumbled when he realized that something was up now. We all began to truly worry now. I went over to one of the ANBU and realized there was a note attached to him. “What does it say?” Itachi questioned as he approached me to see what I had in my hand. “It says, 'I have our daughter now. You were foolish to ever let her out of your sight. Tell Mei that if she doesn't step down as Mizukage, I will kill Serenity. You have until tomorrow to decide.'” I responded as my voice and whole body began to shake. My knees went weak and I nearly fell to the floor. However, Itachi kept me standing and took the note from me. He reread it to himself in disbelief. “How could anyone get in here without us knowing?” I mumbled mostly to myself. “We need to report this, but first we need to wake up the ANBU to figure out what exactly happened here.” Itachi took control of the situation. He ordered Kisame to wake up one while Itachi woke up the other. Once awake, the men explained that they were attacked by other ANBU and were easily taken down due to their initial shock. That was all they remembered. “I see...” I couldn't believe it. That must mean that some of the ANBU had defected to Ao's faction. We hadn't considered that before. “I need to go tell the Kage what happened. I'll be back.” My voice was void of emotion as I walked out of the door, ignoring the calls from Itachi and Kisame asking me if I was alright. I couldn't think of myself at that moment anyway. It didn't matter if I was alright or not, I just needed to do my job and notify the Kage of the events that'd taken place. Then we figure out what to do, and only then would I be able to worry about whether I was alright or not. “Oh, Adryn, what's gotten you all worked up?” Lady Mizukage noticed how upset I was immediately as soon as I'd gotten in the room. “Ao has Serenity.” I then explained the situation to them and told them everything that I knew at that moment. “So, what should we do? Obviously, you can't step down as Mizukage. So we need to form a plan of attack.” “We will use the Akatsuki to attack Ao and force him to give Serenity back one way or another.” Lady Mizukage stated instantly. “Do you think the Akatsuki would be alright with that?” Lord Hokage questioned as he doubted her plan. “They love Serenity, so yes, they will. Plus I have their trust, for the most part, so they'll probably do as I say.” I explained to them. “Alright. Tell them about the attack and we will send you out tomorrow.” Lady Mizukage confirmed the plan. “Why tomorrow?” I demanded, instantly angry. “You are too in your emotions right now, you aren't thinking straight.” I wanted to argue with her, but she was right. I was practically vibrating with emotion. So, I just sighed and turned around to head back to the Akatsuki members. “Adryn, we will get Serenity back and take care of Ao for good.” “I know we will.” I agreed with Lady Mizukage and then left the room. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to head back to the mansion, but I knew that I had to, to inform them of the situation. So, that's where I went. “Adryn!” Kisame instantly approached me once I got in the mansion. He and Itachi had been sitting there, waiting for me to return. “Hey Ki,” I muttered as I walked towards him. Itachi was right next to Kisame as the blue man reached me. “What's the plan?” Itachi asked immediately. I looked at him and could see the urgency in his eyes. “Tomorrow we'll all go get Serenity back and deal with Ao.” “Why tomorrow?” Kisame questioned curiously. “I'm too emotional right now.” It was taking everything I had to not break down right now. I wanted to just collapse to the ground and scream or cry or both. “What can we do to help?” Kisame was clearly worried about me. I looked at my very best friend and just blankly looked at him. “I think I should just go home for the day. I don't really feel like being around anyone.” “I don't think that's a good idea. You shouldn't be alone.” Itachi stated instantly as he took hold of one of my hands. He tugged on it, getting me to follow him. He then led me and Kisame to the living room and sat down on the couch, making me sit down with him. “'tachi?” “He's right. You should be with us. We all cared about her too. We all feel how you do.” Kisame spoke up as he sat on a chair across from us. “I am her mother though. It's my job to keep her safe. What if she's going to be hurt or worse?” “I don't think Ao would really hurt her. He's her father, there must be some form of love there, right?” “I know he won't hurt her,” Itachi muttered finally. “I also know we will get her back and she'll be alright.” “If you say so...” I mumbled softly. I just looked at the ground, unsure of what else to say. “You have to think positively, Adryn. Don't you trust us?” Kisame reached over and took my other hand. “We will get her back and she will be just fine.” Having both men I adored tell me such a thing seemed to help bring me out of my darkness. After the darkness began to clear, a wave of exhaustion hit me. I couldn't help but just lean against the couch. “Okay, I believe you, both of you. Now can I get some sleep? I suddenly feel so tired.” “Very well, we'll walk you to your room.” Itachi stood up, causing me to stand up, which then caused Kisame to stand up since we were all linked by our hands still. The three of us walked through the halls linked together. We passed Hidan and Kakuzu, which were both showing clear confusion at the situation, but Kakuzu kept Hidan silent. Once we were at our rooms, Itachi opened up my bedroom door and let go of my hand. “We will explain the plans to everyone else. You just get some rest.” “We'll wake you when everyone is ready in the morning,” Kisame promised as he let go of my other hand. I nodded my head and entered my room. I chose to not lock it this time, as I felt

that everyone in the mansion wouldn't even try to hurt me. I just walked over the bed next, and then fell into it, barely covering myself up as I did. I didn't fall asleep right away. Instead, I dwelled on the situation. My precious daughter was missing and I didn't know where she was, or what was happening to her. I just hoped that nothing bad was going on with her. I hoped that somewhere deep in Ao's heart, he loved our daughter and wouldn't dare hurt a hair on her head. With those thoughts in my mind, I fell asleep. ~ “...Adryn... Adryn! Hey, it's morning, wake up!” I shot up in bed, but the force caused me to tumble out of the bed and hit the floor. “Fuck that hurt...” I grumbled as I slowly picked myself up from the floor. I looked up to see the worried faces of Kisame and Itachi standing over me. Both men instantly went into action and helped me up off the floor. “Are you alright, Adryn?” Itachi questioned as I dusted myself off and fixed my clothing. “I'm just fine,” I muttered, slightly embarrassed. “The Kage have given us the orders to head out with some ANBU when we're ready. So, let's go.” Kisame stated, causing me to snap my head up to look at him. “Really? Now?” “Yes, now, like right now. Everyone is in the entrance hall waiting for us.” “Oh, okay then.” I nodded my head and began to leave the room. I paused to turn around when I realized that they weren't following me. “What's up?” “Are you sure you're ready to fight Ao? It might not end the same way as last time. You might have to kill him.” Itachi questioned as he turned to look at me. I just smiled at him. “If it means getting my daughter back, I'll do anything.” With that, the three of us headed out and made our way to everyone else. “What fucking took you so long?!” Hidan yelled as soon as he saw us. “I literally just woke up a few fucking minutes ago, Hidan. So shut the fuck up.” That seemed to be enough to shut the man up. Also, Kakuzu telling him to shut up seemed to help the situation as well. So, with everyone, including a few ANBU to guide us there, we headed out. I stayed with Itachi and Kisame like last time. No one spoke this time around. Everyone knew the gravity of the situation. They knew that this could very well be life or death for Serenity. So, with silence in the air, we made the hour-long journey to where Ao's hideout was. We never made it there before, but this time we did. He seemed surprised to see us, as it took a minute or two for everyone to exit the hideout and for the fight to begin. The Akatsuki and ANBU all began to fight with me entering the hideout. I had to take out a few men here and there, but nothing serious. No one seemed to pose a threat to me. With the Rinnegan I'd awaken before, normal men weren't a threat to me. It was fairly easy to get to the room where Ao and Serenity were. “I never expected you to come here like this, Adryn,” Ao stated as he held Serenity in his arms with a kunai to her throat. “This was a stupid plan.” “Your plan was the stupid one, Ao. To think that I wouldn't do anything necessary to get my child back. You are the true idiot in this situation.” I growled back instantly. “Mama!” Serenity cried out terrified at the situation. “Is this really my father?” Her voice quaked as she spoke up. “Yes. Serenity, Ao is truly your father. However, he will kill you. So that makes him a terrible father. Just keep thinking of Itachi as your Papa. He'll make a better father to you than Ao ever could.” “Be silent! You think I wouldn't be a good father to our daughter?!” Ao yelled out, immediately angry at my words. “Dude, you're threatening to kill her right now. That makes you a terrible father.” Ao seemed to think about my words, before pulling the kunai away and throwing Serenity off to the side. “Fine, I'll just kill you instead.” That began a fight between Ao and me. Attack for attack, we seemed to be fairly even with each other. That was until he was able to get the drop on me and cut my arm with the kunai. It was only then that I realized that the weapon had poison on it. I was immune to poison, but instantly something felt wrong. I collapsed to the ground and began to cough up blood. “This poison is specially made just for you.” “Mama!” Serenity instantly ran over to me and began to panic. Ao stepped closer to us, and she picked up one of the Kiba blades and held it out in front of her. “Stay back!” That was when Ao and I both realized that her eyes had changed. They were now Sharingan and were filled with anger and fear. “I won't let you hurt Mama!” “Alright, I won't hurt her anymore. She'll die soon enough anyway.” With that, Ao left the room. Moments later, Itachi and Kisame came bursting into the room. They saw me on the floor and Serenity looking at me with fear in her eyes. “What happened?” Itachi demanded immediately. Serenity began to tear up as she explained all that'd happened to me. However, I slowly began to sit up and made it to my knees. “I'll be fine. He forgot something important.” I muttered as the coughing subsided. “Mama?” Serenity looked at me confused, but I just smiled at her. “I regenerate instantly. Any part of me that dies will just come back. My blood will eventually overcome the poison and I'll be fine. I just don't think I'll be able to move for a little while.” “I'll carry her. You carry the kid.” Kisame instructed Itachi as the blue man approached me. Itachi did as he said and went to Serenity. Kisame gently lifted me into his arms, and once Itachi had Serenity, he left the room with Itachi following closely behind. “What all happened while I was gone? Is it all over?” I questioned to Kisame as we made our way through the hideout. “Most of them surrendered. The rest were killed. They will be taken back and locked away for the rest of their lives I guess.” Kisame responded simply to me. I nodded my head and sighed. “What's wrong?” “Ao got away again. I couldn't stop him or even kill him. I failed.” “We got Serenity back, that's all that matter in the end, right?” I thought about Kisame's words for a few moments before nodding my head. “You're right, thank you.” ~ After we made it back to the others, we all headed back to the little town we were living in. The traitors were indeed all locked away and would probably stay there for the rest of their lives. So with that situation finally behind us all, everything went back to normal. With one exception. A few days after the situation with Ao, Itachi called me into his room to have a private conversation with him. I was very nervous, but accepted his invitation and entered his room, with him closing the door behind us. “What did you want to talk about, 'tachi?” I questioned when I finally couldn't take the silence any further. Itachi walked over to his bed and sat down, then motioned for me to sit down next to him. I followed his request and sat down on his bed next to him. I looked over at him, extremely confused. I watched as he took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts before finally speaking to me. “I am growing feelings for you, romantic feelings.” Itachi finally said after a long silence. I just blinked and stared at him for a moment as I processed what he'd said. “I realized my feelings a little while ago, but then things happened and I never got the chance to confess to you. However, after seeing you coughing up blood, it scared me and made me realize that I needed to tell you before anything else happened. I no longer will hide my feelings for you and I would like to continue to grow them with you.” I had to think about all he'd said before I finally spoke up. “I'm glad you told me. You can't imagine how happy hearing all this from you makes me.” “Then what I'm about to say is probably going to make you happier. I would like to officially become your boyfriend. If that is alright with you.” Itachi looked directly at me, causing my heart to skip a beat. This was so strange for the both of us. We had never had this type of conversation before and Itachi had never expressed his true feelings to me before. So this was all new territory for both of us. “I'd like that a lot.” I finally admitted with a smile on my face. Itachi seemed to relax slightly after I spoke showing that he was most likely nervous to have this conversation with me. “Let's take things slowly, it's been... a while since either of us dated anyone.” Saying it's been a while was an exaggeration considering Itachi hadn't been with anyone since before he had to kill his clan, and I hadn't been with anyone since before the war. “You read my mind. I was about to say the same thing.” Itachi spoke up as he looked away from me. He then seemed to think about something. “How will Kisame take this?” Oh boy, that's a good question. “I... hope he'll take it well, but I guess we won't know until we tell him.” “Would you like to tell him now?” “We might as well, but you have to be there too for moral support.” I smiled again at Itachi and he gave me a slight smile back as he nodded his head. So, we both got up from his bed and left his room, with Itachi guiding me to the living room where Kisame was with Kakuzu and Hidan. “You two disappeared and were gone for a fucking long time, what were you two doing?” Hidan demanded as soon as he saw Itachi and I. “Were you fucking?” “Of course not, Itachi isn't that type of guy,” I responded, before realizing that I totally just outed myself as that type of girl. “We were just talking is all.” “You and he finally got together, right? You're dating?” It was Kisame who'd spoken up, stopping Hidan from making any more remarks. Itachi and I both looked over to our friend and studied his face. There was no hint of anger or malice in his face at all, nor his voice. “I'm not angry or upset, don't worry.” “Are you sure you're willing to lose to Itachi?” Kakuzu questioned the blue man, who just smiled over to him. “I'm willing to let her go, to ensure she's happy. Are you okay with this, Kakuzu?” “What a stupid question, all she was to me was a whore.” Kakuzu's answer made me frown, but I didn't say anything back. “Careful, you should talk about Itachi's girlfriend like that. You don't know what he'd do.” Kisame warned with a smirk on his face. I couldn't help but smile at his words as well as I looked over to Itachi, who had nothingness on his face. “You good?” I had to ask Itachi instantly. He just looked at me and gave me a soft smile, however, something was hidden within it. “Everything is just fine.” There was a hint of strain in his voice, but I wrote it off to him just being tired. I had no idea that was the start of everything falling apart.

[angelrider13]

Count the Shifts

TItle: Ripples on the Water Chapters: 2 / ?

Summary: In which Rin becomes a jinchuuriki, Obito gets hit with some hard facts (literally), and Isobu is absolutely done with all this bullshit.

FF | AO3 | Master Fic List

Isobu had vague memories of this.

Ever since the Bijuu had been sealed, he’d been with Kiri.

There was only one instance where his host was from somewhere else. A girl, he remembered, with a crude, flimsy seal that had cracked and crumbled so easily in the face of his fury.

But Isobu was calm now.

There was no mindless rage at being sealed yet again, as being used as a tool yet again.

Not this time.

The girl was of Konoha, she is of Naruto’s village.

And she had died the first time around.

He remembered the lightning, searing, burning, ripping through this girl’s chest as she chose death over setting him on her village.

He remembered the owner of that lightning – the boy with silver hair and one eye of red and the horrified grief on his face. He remembered Naruto’s love for the man who would become his teacher.

He remembered fading, his chakra dissipating as the girl’s life fled her body, remembered the fury that filled the clearing and the appearance of another boy he later became far too familiar with as he pulled his host’s strings.

He remembered all of it and he wasn’t going to let it happen again.

Not again.

If he could change this – this one thing – the ripples would be felt for ages.

He had promised.

So when the seal was completed and the girl released to Kakashi, Isobu turned away from the fragile seal that held him and looked towards the seal over the girl’s heart. The one that prevented her from speaking of him, from warning anyone of Kiri’s – Madara’s – plans. The one that drove her to return to her village, to release him, to destroy her home.

Isobu turned to this seal and threw his might against it instead.

The chakra that made the seal what it was recoiled and hissed, digging its hooks in tighter, coiling, squeezing, strangling.

Isobu growled and pulled at the taint, burning it out, corroding it away.

He could feel the girl’s desperation and knew that he was running out of time.

He reached for that place in his mind where his siblings dwelled, where they were all connected, and he pulled. He showed them what happened Before, felt them understand why this needed to change, why he could not fail.

Saiken and Gyuki surged forward the same moment the girl threw herself onto lightening; they had the best regenerative powers and started repairing flesh the exact moment it was destroyed. Matatabi and Son Goku took the lightning and redirected it – away from vital organs and towards the seal and the tainted chakra screeched as it was burned away. The others funneled chakra to him and Isobu circulated it through the girl’s body to keep it alive, to keep it functioning, long enough to heal.

He felt the girl fading out – not dying, not yet, not again – falling unconscious. He pulled her under and put her to sleep, pushing her consciousness down while his own rose up to take its place, his siblings watching through his eyes.

He’d had enough.

Enough puppets and tools and plots.

He’d made a promise.

For better or worse, this girl was his jinchuuriki.

He would not let her die.

Not again.

Obito was cold.

Before, whenever he was angry, he always, always burned hot. He yelled and he screamed and he hit and he kicked until he was either beaten or calmed down. Before, anger always meant fire. It meant ashes and smoke and hot words and searing pain and seething glares.

That was before.

Before he watched Kakashi put his hand through Rin’s chest.

Before he watched Rin throw herself on Kakashi’s attack.

Before the lightning and the smell of burnt flesh and the blood dripping down Rin’s chin and the horrified tears streaming down Kakashi’s cheeks.

Now anger meant something different.

Now it meant ice.

Now it meant cold and unfeeling and numb.

Now it meant single-minded, blind, unending fury that froze his heart and blood.

When the Kiri nin broke into the clearing, Obito didn’t hesitate. His chakra surged, exploding outward in wooden spikes and roots and branches – piercing, strangling, tearing.

Rin was dead.

Rin was deaddeaddead.

They killed her.

They killed her so he slaughtered them.

Their blood was like everyone else’s. It was warm and sticky and redredred and he didn’t care.

Rin was dead.

His eye burned but he barely felt it. He barely felt anything besides cold. He was numb.

Rin was dead.

Rin was dead.

Rin was dead.

Rin was…sitting up.

Rin was dead but she was sitting up and looking at him.

Guruguru gasped. “She was dead, we saw,” he said, puzzled, “But now she’s not.”

“Rin,” he croaked, reaching out to cup her cheek, wrenching back in surprise when his fingertips passed through her.

Right, that had happened. He’d noticed that nothing touched him, not since he’d started attaching. But this was Rin. Rin was different. Rin was safe. Rin was not dead.

Rin who was watching him with gold on red ringed eyes.

Rin who was healing so quickly, he could see the wound in her chest closing.

Concentrating, he reached out again and this time, his hand met skin.

Rin smiled at him, bright and happy, just like always.

And then she put her hand through his chest.

Obito stared at her, eye wide, lips parted in shock. “What?”

“Relax,” Rin said, and that was not Rin’s voice; it was too deep, too rough, not right, “This won’t kill you – I just need to get rid of that annoying seal on your heart.”

And then he saw Rin’s chakra flow change, the color was wrong. He remembered it even though he’d only seen it once before (lavender, soft, bright, the perfect color for her, shhhh, don’t cry Rin) and this was something different. Something else, something greater was seeping into Rin’s chakra coils. It poured out of her body, forming a cloak around her, flowing up her arm and –

It burned.

Guruguru screamed and unraveled, releasing him and without him there to hold him up, Obito fell. Not-Rin caught him, cradled him and the searing chakra gentled as she withdrew her hand from his chest.

Obito didn’t understand.

“I don’t – what are you –?”

“Hush, boy,” Not-Rin said, strange-wrong eyes watching the way Guruguru wreathed on the ground as if in pain, “I will explain in a moment. First, I must deal with the creature.”

She laid him down carefully and Obito watched the chakra that cloaked her surge and then she was on Guruguru. He could do nothing but watch in shock as she cut into his friend, his companion these long months, over and over until there was nothing left.

It was easy to call forth chakra.

The girl’s body reacted to it automatically, channeling it into the hands and sharpening it so that it can cut through flesh with ease. Not how he would normally do things, but Isobu was very satisfied by the feeling of sinking the chakra scalpels into White Zestu’s flesh.

Logically, he knew that White Zetsu is just one of many – a victim of Kaguya, a minion, easily replicable.

But emotions were not logical and Isobu still remembered the exhaustion in Naruto’s face when he smiled at them that last time, the way his entire body seemed to sag under the weight that only he was left to bear. All nine of them knew that Naruto had died. Died to free them, to save them, to give them this second chance. But he still died.

And that made Isobu burn.

He channeled all of that rage and grief and pain into his host’s hands and used it to crush White Zetsu until he was nothing but dust.

Only then did he turn away.

Only then did he return to Obito’s side.

The boy was looking up at him, wide eyed and horrified. Isobu sank to the ground next to him, checking over the hole in his chest and was pleased to see that it was almost healed.

He had mixed feelings on Obito – they all did.

The man they knew had caused them nothing but pain. Sought them out and ripped them from their hosts one by one to create a weapon that would give him a false world. A lie. He saw them as tools, had treated them as such. Thought them mindless and emotionless and nothing but things to be used.

But then he turned away from the lie and gave them to Naruto. Gave them to Naruto and shielded him and protected him until it killed him.

The man Obito was had been the enemy, the enslaver, the monster in the dark.

But he had also been the ally, the shield, the spark that starts an inferno.

Isobu knew the man that Obito was.

He did not know this boy.

“Rin?” Obito asked, voice soft and creaked and broken.

Hm, so that was the name of his host.

“Rin is sleeping,” he said.

Obito’s eye narrowed, Mangekyō Sharingan spinning slowly. “Who are you?” he demanded, struggling to sit up.

“The Sanbi,” Isobu said because working with the humans was one thing, he was not going to start handing out his name to everyone. No, the first to get his name was going to be his host and until then he would be nameless.

Obito paled. “What – how – ?”

Isobu sighed and gestured to the boy’s chest. “The same man who put that seal on your heart had me sealed into this girl,” he explained, because he remembered this, remembered how wrong it was, remembered how it didn’t make sense, even if he was only distantly aware of it the first time around, remembered the man that Obito was screaming at Madara as they clashed, “They put the same seal on her heart and controlled her so that she would release me in your village. She chose to take another way out,” he said gesturing to the mostly healed wound in Rin’s chest.

Obito frowned. “But…you saved her,” he said, though it sounded like a question.

“I did,” Isobu answered, “You may make of that what you will.”

Obito eyed him, licking his lips before carefully asking. “What did you mean about the seal on my heart?”

“It allows the person who placed it to control you, perhaps not your mind, but it can control everything else.”

“He set me up,” Obito whispered, eye narrowed, anger flickering across his face but not surprise.

Isobu snorted. “Of course he did. Madara has been lost in the thrall of your clan’s curse since the moment he took his brother’s eyes.”

Obito’s gaze snapped over to him in surprise.  “You know about that? That’s part of the clan’s most closely guarded history!”

Isobu gave him a flat look. “I am a millennia old being; you think your clan can stop me from knowing something?” he said dryly.

“Ah,” Obito said sheepishly, “Right.”

Isobu rolled his eyes and pushed up to his feet, frowning as he wavered slightly. He would have to rest soon. His host’s body was already far past its limit. Still, Isobu didn’t like how spread out they were right now. He walked over to Kakashi, scooping up the unconscious boy into his arms as best he could and all but dragged him over to Obito.

“Is he alright?” the boy asked.

“You didn’t seem to care before,” Isobu said flatly, making Obito flinch, “He’s fine, just chakra exhaustion.”

He knelt down, curling up between the two boys who he’d known as men, who Naruto had fought with in that distant future-past, Rin’s hands taking each of theirs in hers in a way that felt so natural, Isobu had to wonder at this girl.

“What are you doing?” Obito asked warily as the chakra cloak receded.

“I am going to sleep,” he said simply, “Rin has reached her limit and if I push her much longer, I could damage her. She needs rest. Reinforcements will be here soon.”

With that, Isobu closed his eyes and retreated.

Obito stared down at his teammates.

Rin was alive.

She was alive because of the demon inside her.

The demon that Madara put there.

To hurt his village. His home.

To hurt Rin.

Because of him.

Obito wasn’t stupid for all that he might seem like it. He knew exactly what he was thinking when he thought Rin was dead. He would have remade the world for her, would have gone with Madara’s plan because it would give him Rin back.

Just like Madara wanted.

Guruguru had let him out of the cave so that he would see Rin die. So that he would lose faith in the world.

And it would have worked if the Sanbi hadn’t interfered.

Obito had no idea how to even comprehend that. He’d just had a conversation with a bijuu sealed inside the girl he loved. A bijuu who was apparently far more than then mindless chakra monsters they were made out to be.

His eye drifted over to Kakashi.

“You didn’t seem to care before.”

Obito felt his stomach churn. He’d completely ignored Kakashi, hadn’t even spared him a single thought. The boy looked exhausted and worn down, bags under his eyes and a gray pallor to his skin. He remembered the way Kakashi had put himself between Rin and the Kiri nin, how he worked himself to this point to keep Rin safe, to keep his promise. He remembered the way Kakashi had screamed after Rin had thrown herself onto his jutsu. Remembered seeing Rin’s bloody smile and the way her lips formed the word ‘sorry’ through the eye he’d given to his teammate.

His teammates.

He released a shuddering sigh. “So much for never abandoning my comrades,” he muttered, bitterly.

Never again.

Never again.

He looked up as multiple chakra signatures entered the clearing.

He met their stunned eyes with a weak smile.

“Obito?!”

Ah, Genma. He’d gotten pretty tall these past few months.

He waved sheepishly at the older boy even as the Konoha nin swarmed him and his team, speaking to him, but he was beyond caring. He ached all over and his head hurt and it was kind of freaking him out that he no longer had a hole in his chest. Their words washed over him, not registering at all. They checked over Kakashi and Rin and he was only able to clench his hand weakly around Rin’s as they tugged them apart.

Genma zeroed in on him when he started listing to the side, hauling him up and throwing Obito’s arm over his shoulders.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Genma growled, “Kakashi would kill me if I let you get away now.”

For some reason, the very thought made him grin like an idiot. “Would he?”

“Yes,” Genma hissed, “Fuck Obito, you haven’t seen him. Him or Rin. God, and your sensei. No, you are coming home. You are six months late, asshole.”

And Obito laughed, perhaps a little hysterically, but relief settled deep into his bones.

He was going home.

His host was sleeping, no longer in danger of fading.

His host was young but now had the chance to grow older. She’d been gifted a second chance just as they had.

His siblings had retreated now, content in the knowledge that they had succeeded. They had dropped a stone in the pond and now they must wait to see how the ripples spread.

He was old, older than most humans understood and he knew what it was to be patient.

His host slept.

Isobu waited.

[mummapaintstheblues]

From A Bench In Konoha

3AM prompt! Week 3 Day 3 KakaSaku month! This is a very weird and out of my comfort zone kind of thing. I mean... I wrote a whole fic from the point of view of a bench... You know that one that Obito and Rin sit on, and Kakashi hangs out around? That one. I hope it isn’t too weird for you but I AM TRYING TO EVOLVE DAMMIT. (I can’t answer any questions about why the bench is thinking, sorry, I might be going insane)

Also, I read some intense smut today that ruined me. So 2k of FLUFF.

Despite the temperature of the night and the first flecks of snow beginning to fall upon its back, there was no lack of warmth.

Not that a bench could feel warmth to begin with. But this was not the kind that provided mere heat. This was the warmth one felt in the presence of loved ones, a comforting kind that dispelled goosebumps elicited by the darkness of the night. Not physical by any means but no less a force of nature.

While benches didn't have any concept of time it was aware that this was an out of the ordinary occurrence.

All the busy ones (which is what it referred to them as, how was a bench to have any concept of names after all?) had long since retreated to wherever they went. The bench liked to think that they were constantly moving, as they appeared to be during the day, until the moment they saw a special place to sit.

But when the pinpricks of light speckled in the distance the people seemed to have no time to sit here. They gravitated to that light and stayed away until the warmth of the sun reappeared, leaving a lonely bench waiting toward the gates of the village for its next special person to stop. And it certainly had its favourites.

One was currently seated in the trees above. The casual rustling of pages was usually his giveaway, but it was very dark so there was no way he could be staring fixed at the bound papers he always carried. Instead he just simply sat, completely still, sighing every so often and murmuring to himself or to the carved mountainside.

This was one of the all time favourites as far as people went. The one that made regular visits throughout the year. Long ago he sat with others on the bench, but now he was very alone. Or with that overly energetic one.

That was how the bench managed to tell them apart. The noisy one, the one that stuttered around the noisy one, the one that never smiled.

The favourite person in the trees had always been the lonely one. All his people had come and gone, sometimes the bench considered itself the only constant. Something horrible must have happened again for him to be visiting at this hour.

With delight the bench registered another warmth, a very familiar one too. Not as regular a visitor as the other special person, but still a favourite nonetheless.

Not many people spent a whole night sleeping on a bench outside after all, and it wasn't likely to forget that.

She sighed as she sat, shuddering a little at the cold, or something else. A lone tear fell upon the seat. The crying one. That's right, she'd been crying that night as well.

“Sakura?”

“Kakashi sensei… sorry I didn't see you. What are you doing up there?”

They knew each other. Interesting. The lonely one jumped down to stand just in front of the crying one. What the hell was a Sakura anyway?

“Oh, you know. Normal night time activities.”

“Sitting in trees?”

“Yup.”

“It's 3am?”

The Kakashi shuffled in a gesture that made the crying one huff in a sort of way that might have been a laugh. But it didn't entirely stop her flow of tears, they broke through the brave facade tumbling onto the concrete.

“Hey, what's going on? It's been awhile since I've seen you like this.”

She sobbed, he sat beside her. The bench registered the tentative and reluctant way he put a hand over top of hers.

It became difficult to discern the words she sputtered out after that. 'Nothing we could do’ seemed to be the punchline before her entire being crumpled into misery.

“I guess you don't lose a lot of patients, being so good at what you do.” The lonely one was obviously at a loss for words, and it was easy to tell, it wasn’t as if he’d ever spoken much to anyone else. He seemed to be more comfortable talking to inanimate objects than people. “I can’t promise you it will ever get easier Sakura, or if time will lessen the burden. Time has a funny way of bringing that pain back to the surface sometimes, even years later when you don’t expect it. But I can guarantee one thing…”

“What’s that?”

It was a rarity to have the lonely one smiling as he spoke.

“Well, a lot of good things will happen. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or next week even. But they will happen, and keep happening too, you can’t stop them. Bit by bit it will allow you to breathe again and then it won’t all be so bad. Trust me.”

The crying one had stopped crying. Wiping the water marks left by tears with her free hand before patting the larger one of his that still enveloped hers. With a nod, and an almost smile, she sniffled before she spoke.

“I think that’s the best compliment you’ve ever given me sensei.”

“That would be about right.” He sounded mildly irritated and her smile faded. “It’s true, you are very good at what you do. The best, so I’ve heard.”

A grin. The bench felt warmer.

“You really know how to sweet talk a girl huh?”

The smirk at her words faded quickly. He was still displeased at something unspoken, though she seemed to be much happier. Whatever it was caused him to shift, and tense, almost taking his hand away from hers. But she seemed to understand how this one worked, intertwining her fingers with his in such a way it was impossible for any escape. They were looking at each other now in a way a bench would probably never fathom.

“Sakura, I’m sorry…”

It was difficult to tell exactly what he was sorry for by the sombre tone in which he spoke. The girl shook her head.

“It’s alright. You never need to apologize to me sensei, for anything.” A nod of understanding passed between them. Obviously he had been apologizing for more than one thing. “Besides, I’m not that girl who needs to fish for compliments anymore. I’m all grown up.”

“I noticed.”

A soft chuckle from the both of them as she leant over to nudge his shoulder. Then there was silence for a while. Comfortable and quiet. The bench revelled in having its people so close during what was usually a cold and lonely time of night, it wondered if they both felt that way too.

“You never said what you were doing out here, in a tree at 3am?”

“You never told me why you came here either.”

There was another look that passed between them and an exasperated sigh escaped the girl.

“Fine. I’ll go first.” A nod of agreement. “I just... come here sometimes. Not often, just when everything seems hopeless and rockbottom. Like that night Sasuke left me here on this bench.”

“The first time or the second time?”

“Ha ha, very funny.” It did not sound funny in the slightest but the bench never claimed to fully understand humans. “The first time, to be exact. It reminds me of how far I’ve come. Makes me feel a little less hopeless, I was hoping for that tonight. That second time was a mutual understanding, by the way…”

“Oh really? Understanding huh?”

“Yes. He understands that should he even attempt to breathe too closely to me again, I’ll punch him so hard they’ll have to find the atoms of his stupid pretty face before they reconstruct it…”

Laughter, from the both of them. A small shuffle closer. It was a cold night after all. Their arms were touching now and there was a new kind of warmth.

“So.”

“So…?”

No words, but Sakura (so he kept calling her) made a face at him.

“Oh right. Why I’m here. Well, I could make some excuse about falling asleep on that branch this afternoon, but truthfully…” It seemed difficult again for him to form words. A shuddering sigh, a swallow. “Honestly, I couldn’t really tell you. I find myself here a lot when…”

He trailed off. She finished the sentence for him.

“Things come back to the surface?”

A nod.

There was silence again for a moment. Broken by a voice that was in a completely unfamiliar tone from the lonely one. At least unfamiliar for the bench.

“Back in the day, before… well. I used to spend a lot of time here with my old team. One of us was always never far away from this spot. We used to fight to get here first some days.”

“You mean Obito?”

A nod, and another pause.

“I forget sometimes that you actually met him. The Obito I remember was quite different to the one you met though.”

She smiles again. It doesn’t falter as she speaks.

“Would you tell me about him? The Obito that you knew?”

For some reason it feels like a heavy request, especially in the nervous way she grips her knee with her free hand and the heavy exhale from Kakashi. A longer pause. This girl seems to know to be patient with the lonely one, sympathy from a fellow lone wanderer perhaps. But she had always been the most loving and caring of the favourite people, highlighted that night she begged the dark and lost one to take her with him. The bench was glad that he had left her behind on its safe surface.

Kakashi appeared to be thinking. His words bubbling out at first as if they had been carefully weighed and measured before breaking.

“I don’t know what to tell you. He was certainly one of a kind. If I had to go into detail, I’d say he was more like Naruto in our early Team 7 days, but now that I think about it he was a little like you as well.”

“What, a crybaby know-it-all?”

He laughed.

“Crybaby definitely. And a know-it-all too I suppose, as in he thought he knew everything but, like Naruto, was wrong about ninety percent of the time. His enthusiasm was flawless though.”

There was more laughter. Their knees were now brushing against each other as the lonely one kept talking. He talked so much it was too hard for the bench to follow what was happening. But it didn’t need the words to understand the communication between them.

He spoke, of funny things judging by the way the girl laughed, it was nice not to see her not crying for a change. He babbled about other things that seemed to be quite serious or frightening in the way she gripped his hand tighter and gasped a fraction. Then it turned to sadness, at some particularly painful part he had just stopped talking, unable to continue. He sat hunched over as if the words deflated him, escaping without his express permission rendering his body useless.

Sakura leant into his shoulder, it almost caused him to startle at the contact, just the smallest of jerks could be felt.

“Your Obito sounds like a good person.”

“Mmm.”

“Thank you for telling me about him.”

A small nod. There seemed to be no words left in the lonely one to speak anymore. Sakura knew exactly how to ease him and break the tension.

“Just a small query. How is that lady still allowed to own cats? We were looking the damned things for her ten years after you and your team!”

A small chuckle. This was obviously to do with the funny thing from earlier that had been hard to follow.

“Now Sakura, that’s no reason to give up on the entire species. Even if all cats are terrible creatures.”

“Oh, right. Dog person. I forgot. Still, I guess some people have more money than sense.”

“There’s that too. I think it’s more that people just shouldn’t own cats.” Another chuckle from the both of them. “Well it’s true isn’t it? There’s no loyalty, you get nothing in return for the partnership, they keep trying to leave you…”

“Like Sasuke?”

Dead silence. It was getting hard to follow again, she shifted her head off his shoulder to look him in the eye.

“Did you… just compare him to a cat?”

A nod.

Suddenly there was lots of laughs. Proper eye watering laughter, the kind that would have made the bench laugh too if it had any inclination or understanding on what was going on. Or what laughter was to begin with. It seemed happy though.

It continued for a bit, until it began to peeter out. Sakura nudging his shoulder again, they were pretty much lined up next to each other on that bench now. When he nudged her back and caught her eye something changed. It was palpable. Even to the bench.

The last few shakes of laughter disappeared as their faces now inched ever closer together, until they too were touching.

There was a muffled kind of silence that was not unfamiliar, people had been known to commit this kind of thing while sitting here on occasion. It was an action that seemed to be pleasant for both parties, even if it was a complete mystery.

A sigh, a muffled moan, the shuffling of clothes and bodies. Like they were devouring each other. When their lips parted they still kept their faces close, touching everywhere else. It was a heavy pause as they panted together from the activity.

“What was that?”

He spoke so quietly in between breaths, like he wanted her to be the only one to hear his voice. Like he was terrified of anyone else overhearing, a ludicrous concept at this time of night. She pretended to look thoughtful with a smile that didn’t seem likely to disappear, her arms were wrapped around his neck.

“Well, you did warn me something good would happen. Figured I should give it a head start.”

He was now smiling too, in a different way than ever before. In an open way.

“Thank god. I’ve been waiting for months to…”

He was cut off mid sentence by her lips. They appeared to be melting into each other. It was that bright and comforting warmth again, but tenfold. None of them felt the cold of the snow falling, felt the cold of loneliness or the night air, none of it. There was only warmth and happiness. After minutes of this shuffling and electric silence, Sakura abruptly stood, there was a questioning stare.

“Kakashi, it’s 3am.”

There was a begrudging nod and he stood too. Then she leant on her toes to whisper something in his ear.

“Come home with me?”

It was a question. A grin graced his features before he nodded and pulled the mask back to its usual spot. Stealing her hand they disappeared into the darkness, towards one of those little specks of light, a bench back to its regular night time solitude.

It was pleased that the lonely one now was not so lonely, someone was with him. And the crying one was no longer crying either. Huh.

It would need another way to tell them apart now.

Kakashi and Sakura. That would do.

[fiction-queen-blog]

Story of Kakashi in the Hogwarts AU?

Kakashi Hatake’s Background Story 

KakashiHatake is a brilliant and fearful wizard. He was a former auror and quit about fouryears ago and took the position of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher atHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  

His storybegins with his mother walking out on his father and him. She is said to be amuggle, making Kakashi a half-blood. His father was an auror, during one of hismission something went extremely wrong. He had given away valuable informationto a dark wizard ( Orochimaru)  in orderto safe the lives of his comrades. His actions were not appreciated, not evenby the wizards and witches he saved. He was fired from the auror and his becamea laughing stock for the wizarding world. He had committed suicide a year after,leaving his  6 year old son orphaned.

Kakashi wastaken to an old witch who had no intention of actually caring for Kakashi. Sherather enjoyed the money she got from the government for being the “Guardian”.  Kakashi didn’t despise her, he appreciatedshe left him alone most of the time. However, he had missed out on theattention and love only a parent could give. He was not good with other childrenand often kept to himself and his books.  He was incredibly anti-social.

He startedHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when he was 11 years old. He wassorted into Slytherin. His first couple of years in school went without muchtrouble. He was an excellent student and especially good at Defence Against theDark Arts. Tobirama described him as a bright boy, but incredibly lazy. Kakashidid not protest with that statement. Because of his good charms and spell work manysaw Kakashi as their rival. Some in good faith, such as Guy Might. Others notso.

In hisfourth year, Kakashi asked Iruka Umino (A second year Hufflepuff) to the ballwith him. To almost every students surprise. A lot of girls were surprised thatKakashi was apparently not into girls, but felt slight relieve that he ignoredtheir flirt attends because of his sexuality and not because they weren’t goodenough. A lot of the boys thought of Kakashi sexual preference as a flaw and thoughtthey were better than him because they were straight.

Iruka Uminokindly declined Kakashi’s request. He told Kakashi he wasn’t ready forsomething along those lines. Kakashi didn’t take it personal, but it did hurt nevertheless.A lot of people in the school already knew by then Kakashi was gay and whenasked he wouldn’t deny it either. Sometimes he would make a joke when somebody politelyasked him to make sure it weren’t just rumours. Mostly along the lines of

“Bye.”

“Oh he isbi��  

“No I amleaving, I am gay”

Nobody everdared to bully him or call him names because they knew Kakashi would simply hexthem and probably get away with it.

During hisfifth year, he decided to drop out of Hogwarts in the middle of the year. He didnot give a clear reason when Headmaster Hashirama tried to convince him to stayand finish his education. Kakashi was too stubborn to listen. But most rumoursabout him leaving were about Iruka Umino now dating a Gryffindor girl. Othersaid it was because he wanted to be a dark wizard. Yet others said he knew hischances for getting a job after graduating were small since he was openly gayand he was now starting a homosexual revolution.

Kakashididn’t stay with his guardian from that point. He packed one bag and went on traveling.He got money from doing jobs at local villages. It mostly involved dark-creaturesterrorizing the village and the ministry not responding to their needs. Becauseof this, Kakashi learned a lot about dark creatures than he was ever taught fromtextbooks. He had fought several Boggarts, Acromantula, demontors, trolls,werewolves and even dark wizards.

He was 17when he was in a small village and heard rumours about a dragons taking theirlivestock at night. He offered to take care of the dragons in exchange for somemoney. The village agreed since the ministry didn’t seem to react to any oftheir owls they send.

Kakashiwent to the forest, but didn’t find any dragons at all. What he did find was amysterious hooded figure waiting for him in the middle of the forest. Theentire situation felt pretty bad. The dark wizard was Orochimaru. He toldKakashi how he admired his talent in magic and his neck for the dark creatures.He tried to persuade Kakashi that the wizarding world was wrong and corrupt andhow they would never accept him and he would die being a nothing more than a drop-out.

Kakashi wastoo stubborn to listen. He told the man how he didn’t care and rather lived ina fucked up society than whatever he was planning on doing. Orochimaru tookoffence in that. He tried to persuade Kakashi once more by involving hisfather. Kakashi still did not budge.

Orochimaruwanted to use the imperial curse on him. Kakashi defended himself and duelled Orochimaru.He was not  strong enough and was beaten miserably.He got a scar on his left eye from the fight, but rather wanted to die thanbend a knee for the dark lord.

He got luckyas a team of aurors arrived, though he didn’t remain conscious long enough to witnessthe entire battle, but he did remember bright blond hair.

He woke upat the hospital that night. He had no idea what happened, but he grabbed hisstuff and was ready to leave the room. Minato Namikaze apparated in his room,asking Kakashi if he was feeling already good enough to just walk out. Kakashididn’t care for the men, he actually got very annoyed by his pretend caring. Hethought the man had a lot of guts standing there and judge him while not evenknowing him.

However,Minato Namikaze heard a lot about Kakashi Hatake. He had actually kept an eyeon him after hearing some villagers tell him their problems were already solvedby Kakashi. He knew since Kakashi was so young, a dark-wizard that had beenfrequently showing up, but was not yet seen as a level one threat by the prime minister,was going to go after Kakashi next. That is why he kept eyes on him.

They had avery serious conversation that night. However, Kakashi did not end up staying.He still left.

Not to say Minatowords were in vain. It did cause him to think deeply. He decided to go back toHogwarts. It took him only 1 and a half years to graduate from that point. He joinedthe Aurors after.

He becameclose to Minato, since he was the person that convinced him to finish schooland join in the first place. Minato had mentored him for a great deal and madehim the man he is today. He had finally gotten somebody that generally caredabout his well-being, something Kakashi never had. It was hard for him thetrust people, but he came to do so with Minato and his wife. Their bond was so strong,Kushina and Minato had made Kakashi the Godfather of their son.

Later hegot offered a position as D.A.D.A teacher and he took it for several reasons.One of them being that he could keep an eye on Naruto and protect him as he isa jinchuriki.

Three yearsago, Hashirama Senju asked Kakashi to personally hand Sasuke Uchiha his letter toHogwarts and help him gather his supplies. Kakashi had heard the rumours about thelast Uchiha, but wasn’t sure if they were true at all. The job sounded easyenough so Kakashi accepted. He did not expect to be knocked out, tied up andshot at. He promised himself to never do another house visit again.

One goodthing did come out of it. He met Obito Uchiha and was quickly head of heels forthe muggle and this time, does not back off without even trying.

[vesperlionheart]

Pompeii 49

History has been, is, and will forever be, a fickle thing. How will history remember the days of upheaval that trail out from the cortex of a single mistake? How will the readers of history interpret these events?

Ash continued to fall through Pompeii, warm like bursts of sunlight, and where they touched blight was no more. It touched their bodies and suddenly their armor was old, like it had been old for ages. Scratches and dents that had never stayed now stood out. The metal weighed heavy on his body, fitting poorly.

Beside him, he could hear his brother stripping and decided to follow suit, saying nothing. A small pile of discard armor grew at their feet, rusting away as soon as it lost contact with their body.

“Sakura!”

He looked up in time to see his brother making the mad dash through the trees to the desecrated shrine. Determined to follow close behind, he spared only a single glance over his shoulder for the boy made out of shadows that they had managed to save from a fate far worse. He would wake in his own time, free of blight or sickness. The whole of Pompeii would soon wake up in much the same way thanks to the ash blessing.

‘More than they deserve,’ he thought darkly.

He had been watching along with his brother for far too many months as each one passed with a little more of her smile, until Sakura was left with a pitiful fragment of her usual cheerfulness. They didn’t know what they did to her when they accused her, they had no idea how their accusation had cut deep enough to wound her psyche.

That had been what Kaguya wanted. When the ceremony to keep her sealed for another year failed that had been the beginning of it all. But, wonder of wonders, what had been impossible centuries ago, before record, before ancestors, before warnings, was now finally realized. An unkillable monstrosity was laid to rest.

Indra turned to follow his brother down the path, racing to catch up. The way was familiar, but where once upon a time there had been a neat clearing with a shrine and lake, now there stood a shattered alter and a twisted, heavy peach tree that loomed over a slowly draining pond. The healing waters were receding with no guarantee they would ever be seen again.  

Ashura had already reached Sakura’s side and was calling out to her when Indra knelt down on her opposite side. He pulled her to him and stared down at her unfocused gaze, glassy from the ash and sweat clinging to her lashes.

She tried to say something but her voice didn’t make it past her lips.

“That’s enough, rest well. Thanks to you, Sakura, Pompeii is safe,” Indra said.

Her eyes slid completely out of focus and her eyelids fell all the way as the rest of her body sagged into his arms.

Ashura made a strangled noise deep in her throat and reached to tug at the scraps of shirt around her neck. She wore a collar of bruises, blooming into color with the promise of darkening later on. There was blood in places where her clothes ripped too, likely the result from being thrown around like a rag doll.

“How could she do this to her?” Ashura asked out loud, cataloging each injury and bruise. “It’s brutal.”

“The old gods typically are not less, and you should know better than to put such a thing past our grandmother,” Indra answered while folding Sakura closer to his body with care.

The sight of her made him shake in anger. Her back was bleeding in places from minor scratches in too many places. He could see bruises growing underneath the surface of her skin like far off galaxies drawing closer into view. Like his brother, he was more distraught than he remembered ever being when he saw the state their favorite person was in.

“She’ll recover, won’t she?” Ashura asked as he stood to follow his brother.

Indra looked to the water that were once a source of healing and frowned at how dead it now seemed. Ashura understood the look and leapt for what was left, scooping up some of the water into cupped hands to bring back to Sakura’s form. He washed her arms and back this way, but whatever magic had once existed in the water was null now.

“It’s not working,” Ashura panicked.

“That’s not the only thing we can do for her. Grab the other one, the companion, and take him with us.”

Ashura moved to grab Yamato and turn the man over to better haul up into a fireman’s carry. “Where are we going?”   

“Pompeii will provide a haven. Come, we should leave this place least grandmother’s blight linger in some ill way.”  

Ashura grunted in understandment, shuffling the man on his shoulders until he became comfortable. “I doubt there is anything left if we’re both here like this. Grandmother’s curse wouldn’t have lifted with anything less.”

Indra hummed in agreement, growing distracted by the cluster of ashflakes that lingered on her long lashes. He blew them away and wished he could do the same for the cuts and bruises making a collar on her neck. She had never seemed more frail or small.

The pair passed the scarred places of earth where they once made battle. They passed the sleeping body of the Nara boy who had dared raise a hand against their Sakura, and they passed several crumbling trees that seemed burned out from the inside. The edge of the forest soon came into view and the two brother made a beeline for it.

“Brother,” Ashura called. “Can you see it, can you tell now what Sakura is?”

Indra refused to blush. “Don’t be crude in such a situation. I wouldn’t dare pry after all she’s done to help us.”

Ashura huffed, less embarrassed by the request. “You have greater insight than I do, brother, and you were blessed with those eyes of yours. I through that you would be able to see what was hidden from you before after everything that’s happened.”

Indra hated how the temptation grew inside of him to peer through the veil of his blessed sight and see the unseen, if only that meant he could know Sakura greater. When they had first met he had distrusted her emphatically and tried repeatedly to devise her true nature. Was she a forest sprite or nymph, was she something older, a foreign god from forgotten or desecrated lands?

The boy she called Shikamaru was so easy to see through. He knew the Nara were Shades, masters of shadow and the great manipulators of darkness. Their offspring was no different. He could see the truth of many others who traveled too close to their perches.

The Senju were all fey, the Uchiha were all tengu, that silver haired one tied to the one named Obito was a golem. The redhead woodcutter was a Golem Warlock. The blond girl who called out to Sakura was a Swan Maiden. They were all so easy to see through. Even the Storm God Pein could be perceived with some effort. He had not encountered an individual he could not see through until…

Sakura.

“It doesn’t matter anymore that I can’t see what she is. She’s something far greater than you or I and what’s more, she’s the creature we owe our lives to. I’ll not ask or pry again. Should she wish to share that with us, it would be my greatest pleasure, but I dare not demand what I do not deserve.”   

“You’re so old fashioned. You make it sound like I asked you to do something nasty,” Ashura chuckled dryly. “I just wanted to know her a little better.”

When Indra looked back he could see that his brother was more depressed than he sounded. Ashura tried to summon a brave front but walked with a weight that came more from his heart and less from the new, physical body.

“Ashura,” he softly called. The younger brother lifted his head only a fraction in response. “We will have plenty of days to get to know her better in our own ways with our own voices. Don’t despair. Pompeii will provide.”

Ashura blinked and straightened, looking at something past his brother’s shoulder. “Provide something like that?”

Both males looked as one as a structure shimmered into focus, here and then there. The brick exterior and ivy growing up the side made it look like it had always been there, always been around, but it rested in the middle of the field between the tree line and the town, far from any road or conventional footpath.  

Indra saw the veins of magic running all throughout the structure and nodded, detecting nothing nefarious about it. The book that sat dead in her backpack was meant for the building, their magical signatures were the same.

“Come, it seems provisions have found us,” Indra said, holding her closer and mounting the first of the steps leading up to the library entrance.

The doors were already opening in their own for the brothers.  

-

Hashirama had his arms folded into the sleeves of his outer robe where they wouldn’t be a distraction to those who knew him well enough to see how white his knuckles were with tension.

“Is that who I think it is?” Minato Namikaze asked stiffly. Beside him Kushina reached for his arm to hold onto as she drew her body closer. Her eyes were wide in a terrifying way.

“If you mean is that the body of Kaguya Otsutsuki who we have been bothering to seal away each year, then the answer is yes, that is who you think it is,” Hashirama’s wife Mito answered cooly. “Count yourself as one of the fortunate few who are so blessed as to walk away from this with your life in place. I have heard a rare few have been so lucky in ages past.”

“No shit, it was the reason we were keeping her sealed I thought,” Shikaku Nara huffed.

The father looked back over his shoulder at his son who sat apart from the group with his head in his hands. Shikamaru had refused to turn around after seeing the shadow play of the whole ordeal the first time. He hadn’t said anything when they called to him, and Shikaku was only mildly worried about what this would mean for his son later on. He was a father, after all. But Shikaku had faith that, eventually, Shikamaru would recover from whatever trauma he was currently dealing with. Now wasn’t the time to rush that sort of healing. The others could wait if they wanted anything more from his son.

“Shikaku,” Hashirama called out. “Show us the shadow play once more.”

Behind them all Shikamaru flinched and held himself tighter. It made Shikaku’s lips draw thin to do something he knew was hurting his son, but there was no choice. It was Hashirama, after all.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Back it up and get out of the way.”

He drew up his magic and hooked it to the natural shadows surrounding the area. Like fabric figures they rose up, forming the outlines of the characters who had run through the forest clearing no more than four hours ago. As long as it was within a day Shikaku would be able to make the shadows show him what happened.

The shadow figures stiffened and then all at once each began to move to their places and play out a scene they had seen several times already. He kept his magic flowing as one figure threw another and then gripped it tight. There was no sound and there was no color, but it was interesting how the brain filled in those details once the shapes and sizes made sense.

Kaguya dove forward, knocking Sakura back against the trunk of the tree. Her hands clasped around Sakura’s neck, claws biting into the soft flesh there. Sakura flailed wildly as streams of blood pooled out from beneath Kaguya’s fingernails, soaking into Sakura’s shirt. Sakura turned the knife in her hand and drove it into Kaguya’s side.

Naruto’s father gasped as if he could actually hear the wound being made.

“And here is where we think she drops Sakura to go to the figure in the tree,” Hashirama intones. He watches the shadow play like some great detective, internet on unraveling every mystery.

“We think it’s Yamato,” Shikaku supplied.

It was what his son told him he heard Sakura say before this whole fight happened. It made sense. Most people knew how devoted the copy was to the new doctor, so it wasn’t too hard to believe that she would be equally devoted.

“We think so, yes,” Hashirama grunted, eyes going dark.

They watched the climax of the fight as Kaguya’s shadow drifted down with a branch sticking out of her head, falling until the shadow lay atop the corpse of the woman they had already discovered. Her body was soaked with ichor that had already been witnessed on multiple accounts from trees cut open. Shikamaru had been seeing the gold ichor for months along with everyone else.

‘And you did nothing!’

“She gets up though, she’s able to do that much,” Minato supplied helpfully. As the words were out of his mouth Sakura’s shadow crumbled against Yamato and slips down, only to be scooped up by two new shadows who leave the area.

“The knights,” Hashirama grumbled. “Who are they?”

“The armor is old, whoever they were. The metal is disintegrating in our hands when we try to touch it, so there’s not a lot we can do to identify it,” Minato said before looking back over his shoulder at his silent wife. Her eyes were still wide and her hand was a vice on his arm.

“Are they a threat?” asked the eldest Senju. “What do we know about them other than they appear only at the end and spirit her off to...nowhere.”

They had followed the shadows until they climbed what seemed to be stairs into a void of space where shadow could not follow. The trail was impossible to track after that.

“They don’t seem to be a friend to Kaguya, if that is what you are worried about. They saved my son, even after he tried to stop Sakura. I don’t think they are figures we need to worry about right now. We-”

“But they took her,” Tobirama interjected, voice hard like his eyes as he stepped through the trees into the clearing. The group turned as one to greet him without words. It is clear the younger Senju has more to say. “They have Sakura right now. That’s more than enough reason to seek them out and track what we can of them. She was hurt.”

“She’s not a danger like we thought she was, we don’t have to do anything,” Hashirama replied. His voice was softer only for his brother.

Hours earlier Tobirama had awoken as fit and healthy as ever, barely remembering the sensation of sickness only to discover the branch of cherry blossom he cherished in a jar had withered away into white ash on the windowsill. Like everyone else who had fallen sick, there wasn’t even a trace of illness left in his body.

Hashirama had never seen his younger brother so desperate for something, and he hated how this new emotion was so painful to watch bloom. More than just desperation, Tobirama felt an overabundance of guilt towards Sakura, also a new emotion. It didn’t help that no one could tell Tobirama what had happened to the wrongly accused savior of Pompeii. Even if she did adore that abomination, Hashirama was willing to look past that all for the sake of his brother who was helpless to the blooming of his long still heart.  

“We’ll find her. There aren’t a lot of places she could go in that sort of condition. With all the able bodies someone is bound to spot something,” Minato said.

Tobirama’s red eyes flashed as he growled. “We need to expedite the search. We have no idea what sort of wounds she may be suffering from after encountering such an ancient creature.”

“If she was able to stand up to Kaguya and hobble away I’m sure she’ll be fine-”

Tobirama slammed a fist into the side of a tree and Shikamaru shook, curling up into even a tighter ball.

“It’s not good enough that she’s fine. She need to be found!”

“And we will,” Hashirama interjected. “This is not something we will leave to others. You and I, brother, will seek her out together in our own ways. Who can deny our skills?”  

“Meanwhile,” Mito interrupted sharply. The group turned to stare at the older red haired woman as one. Mito’s hand was raise to point to where Kaguya laid. “What should the people be told of this. Pompeii clamors for answers, even now. Some believe Sakura was killed that they are all now better and others don’t know what to think.”

Shikamaru was still shaking, but his nails dug deep into his scalp like an effort to try and keep him still. It was enough to make his father worry.

“We’ll put a stop to those rumors, we won’t let them go on like that,” Shikaku said, turning to look at Hashirama next. “They will believe you if you go out and tell them what we saw here.”

Hashirama looked from the youngest Nara to his father. “Yes, that is one way to do things, but please understand how sensitive the situation is. We have to be careful about what we tell the people. I don’t want to stir up unnecessary worry.”

“You want to put a spin on this?” Minato guessed.

“That makes it sound like something underhanded. I want to manage the most sensitive information. I am not a liar, you know that is not a Senju trait.” Hashirama tried out another polite smile reserved for fundraisers and campaign speeches. “I’m not here to spread information or cause a panic. Let me manage this message to the public.”

“Oh, is that what we’re doing now?”

The group minus Shikamaru turned to watch Tsunade step into the clearing. She wore all black and the diamond on her forehead pulsed with purple energy.  Her hair was braided back like she was prepared for something a bit more strenuous than her usual routines.

“Tsunade,” Mito whispered, unable to raise her voice after all.

The blonde woman scanned the group lazily before her eyes set on Hashirama. “I should have known they would leave this in the hands of the best deceiver incapable of lying. What sort of spin were you planning, old man? What were you planning on leaving out?”

Hashirama swallowed. “The people don’t need to know it was Kaguya.”

“You mean they don’t need to know it was your fault all this happened in the first place. Instead of addressing the issue when you first noticed it, you played politician for the crowd and endangered us all. That brat has been bearing the burden of your mistakes all this time and you plan on denying her justice.”

Tsunade took a step into the clearing, disrupting the air with a crackle of her own magic. Shikaku noticed it a second too late, but her magic was already ingesting the shadows of the area and learning everything the shadow play had told them. Before he could stop it she was done.

“Tsunade, don’t be rash,” Hashirama warned.

“You’re smart to be wary, but I’m not the one you should be threatening with your big boy tone,” she mocked. She set a hand on her hip and tilted her chin up so she was staring down her nose at him.

Mito stepped up beside Hashirama and glared at the other witch. “Don’t do something you’ll regret. Your reputation in Pompeii is-”

“I don’t give two shits about something like that,” Tsunade hissed angrily, cutting the older woman off. “And maybe if you lot learned a bit from me we wouldn’t be in this mess, but we are and there's nothing we can do to go back in time to change it.”

“People don’t need to know,” Hashirama tried again.

“People are learning it as we speak. You owe this much to her and to everyone else. All the people you’ve deceived are entitled this truth.” She bared her teeth.

Hashirama breathed deeply. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret later, witch. You’ve been allowed to wander so freely thanks to good grace.”

“You want to try threatening me you should try using some threats that mean something. You’re not as powerful as you think you are, old man, and the winds of change are blowing.” She waved her hand at the dead body of Kaguya. “And we’re rooting out the rot where we find it, so make sure you’re not a cancer we need to cut out before you go threatening others of the same.”

“Do you know where she is?”

Tsunade leaned back to look over at Tobirama and frowned. The aggression that ran through Hashirama like a taut bowstring was unrecognizable in Tobirama. The younger brother was agitated, but in a very different way.

“What does that matter to you?” She narrowed her eyes at him and there was a spark of purple there to match the glow of her diamond. “It was your little branch and bud that made this whole fiasco possible, so don’t think I’ll tell you only for you to try and paint yourself into a victim. You don’t get to do that after blaming and doubting her.”

“She’s hurt. All that can come later, but she left this area heavily wounded and was carried off by two figures. Do you know who they were or where she might be now?”

“I doubt she’s in anymore danger.”

“She’s hurt. Someone should make sure she’s taken care of!” Tobirama exclaimed.

Tsunade huffed loudly and shifted to fold her arms across her chest. “Don’t think you’re the only one capable of such a thing. Without you, there are still plenty of individuals who are willing to care for and cater to her needs. She may be a bit of an idiot and an airhead about some things, but there are too many rejects hungry for affection to not break themselves at her feet for another taste of her mercies. I won’t expect an illustrious Senju to understand this, but you’ve degraded and cast too many into the darkness in your hubris. If you underestimate Sakura that’s your fault, but she is far more loved than you could understand with your limited emotions.”

“There is no need for insults here,” Hashirama interjected. He took a step forward to put himself in between Tsunade and his younger brother. He pulled himself up with all the authority he had left in him and narrowed his eyes at her. “You can go and tell whoever you like what you saw here. It doesn’t make a difference or not. This won’t matter in the long run the way you think it will.”

“Maybe that’s what you believe, but Pompeii is tired of putting up with a functioning cancer in its body, and the time for surgery is now. Maybe you’ll survive the cull, but don’t think things aren’t changing around here.”

Tsunade lowered her head and a moment later the rest of her body folded into a space between here and there, and winked out of existence.  

“I’m sorry, but she stole my shadow play and-” Shikaku tried to say but stopped when he saw Hashirama’s hand.

“That’s enough for now. We need to draft a narrative for the Uchiha before their damn birds reach this place. She can tell whoever she wants to, it’s all just shadows in the end. It’s not enough to do what she hopes.”

“Still….” Shikaku looked back at his son. “This matter is far from settled.”

“Agreed,” Hashirama said before turning to face the corpse and raising a single hand under his chin. Root work began to grow up around the body at his beck and call. “ For now, we must deal with this body. Someone can say it burned up at the touch later on. Stand back while I cage it for later.”

-

Sakura felt the hand at her throat and choked on a breath before her eyes shot open. The trees were gone and the forest wasn’t a forest anymore, but a long bedroom with old fashioned wallpaper and victorian molding.

She felt movement at her bedside and turned, facing it only to see the face from before-the one that had been there when she slipped away.

Mari!

She tried to say his name but all she could feel was the vibration of her throat. There was a sound somewhere but it wasn’t close. She tried again, tried to call out to him, to ask him what had happened, to as where was she, but her voice was so far away, trapped someplace she couldn’t hear but yet still felt.

She remembered her ears ringing like there were nails being hammered into them and reached up to feel her ears, not knowing what else to expect. She scraped at her ears and felt the touch, but there was no sound, even when she tried to claw her ears open there was no sound. She couldn't hear anything!

The knight with dark hair and darker eyes reached for her hands and pulled them away from her ears before she could scratch them raw. He held her hands together in one of his own and she felt his other knuckle brush the side of her face, where tears stained her skin.

She couldn’t hear it, but she could read his lips well enough to know what he said. “Shhh, don’t cry. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

“I can’t hear anything,” Sakura said, not knowing if she spoke or screamed the words. She made them in her mouth like she knew how to do, but she had no idea if he understood her or not.

His eyes softened and the knuckles under her tears brushed across her ear before going back to her face, where more tears were starting to flow. Slowly, he inclined his head until their foreheads were touching and then he closed his eyes.

There was a presence in her mind and she pushed back at first before the warmth of it made her relent and allow it access. When she opened her eyes she could still feel the presence someone inside of her.

This time, when he moved her mouth, she heard him.

“I’m sharing my ability to hear with you. Now you hear what I hear. I’ve only done this for one sense. Are you still able to see and feel and taste without issue?”

Sakura swallowed and then weakly nodded. “I-I think so. Who-Mari, it’s you, isn’t it?”

A soft secret sort of smile melted on his face. “Yes, that’s me, but I am also called Indra. You called my brother after the daffodils but his name is Ashura. We were the knights you were so kind to.”

Sakura felt a new thrill of joy upon seeing one of the two knight brothers in the flesh before her, finally out of armor.  “It’s so good to see you, but I still have so many questions. What happened?”

“You saved all of us.”

Sakura laughed and sagged forward a bit. “No, really, what happened, because I don’t remember much of it.” But the images came back and she had to swallow when she remembered the things that made her retch the first time. She remembered killing Kaguya and then…

“Yamato! Sai, are they alright?” Sakura asked suddenly, a new feer blooming in her heart.

“Annoying so, both companions you’ve mentioned are alive and well enough to bother us constantly about your status,” Indra grumbled. “Both are up and walking around the library least the drag us into further trouble with the head librarian here.”

“Library?” Sakura looked around her, searching for a clue that would tell here exactly where she was. “I didn’t know there were bedrooms this nice here.”

When they dragged Sai into the library, leaking from his wounds, they had deposited him on the nearest couch and Sakura hadn’t thought to go exploring further than that. But the Library was odd and mysterious and she couldn’t believe that if it wanted to, it couldn’t just grow an additional room to provide what was needed.

Sakura braced with the heels of her hand and tried to sit up but gasped at the pain stretching across her abdomen and back. With a whimper she fell back into the blankets, cradled by Indra who was too fast to not be attentive to her pain. She looked down and saw her sleeping pajamas were clean, but thin enough to make out the bandages through. She pulled the hem of her shirt up and winced at the parts that weren't bandaged.

“It looks so ugly,” she whined, forcing herself to laugh as she dropped the hem and looked away from all the marks marring her body. Scrapes and scratches and bruises made her into something hard to look at.

“You are more than your scars, and I could never see you as anything less than radiant.” When he looked up at her the black color of his eyes was almost red, like desert bloodstone.

She felt like he was seeing into her when he stared at her so intently. She had to blush. “I-I’m nothing so special, but I’m glad you all are safe. How long have I been recovering for?”  

“A couple of days. Since we brought you to this place most of the people in town have recovered. No one is still suffering from Kaguya’s curse.”

Sakura sagged in relief. “Then Ino and Naruto and all the others are safe. That’s all that matters. I was afraid nothing had changed while I slept.”

“When Ashura was on watch yesterday you started to wake up but fell back asleep again. You’ve been restless all day and I’m afraid it might be because of the pain. I’m sorry we were not able to do more this time.”

Sakura touched her ear and grimaced. “Is this… permanent?”

He swallowed, looking lost. “I’m sorry, but it’s beyond me. I am no doctor.”

Sakura snorted at his words, unable to help herself. “Right, no, I’m sorry. That’s my job. I’ll have to ask Shizune to give me a check up. If it was a normal accident I would say there’s a chance my hearing comes back, but I still don’t understand completely what she did to me. She was in my head.”  

“But you did what no one else could. Despite everything you were triumphant. These scars will heal at least,” he said, brushing his knuckles across the bandages around her neck.

“My friends and family are safe, that’s all that matters. It’d be nice if my hearing came back, but I’d rather it be like this than how it was before.” Sakura closed her eyes and let her head fall back into the pillows.

“Ashura has been waiting for you to wake. I feel selfish, monopolizing your time like this. Are you well enough to speak with him or should I leave you to rest some more?” Indra asked.

She remembered the cheerful knight that reminded her so much of Naruto, waving wildly to her while darkness rolled behind his blade at the end of her journey. Daffodil.  

“Please, if he’s here, I want to see him,” Sakura said, chest going light at the thought.

Ashura smiled, squeezing her hand in reassurance or maybe thanks. She heard everything he heard as he stood from his seat and exited through the door. She heard him call out, she heard what he heard, ‘Is she-?’ ‘Yeah, and she’s asking for you.’ She even heard the hurried footsteps on hardwood floors.

When the door banged open she turned her head across the pillows to see the other of the two brothers standing there, eyes wide and watery, hair a ruffled mess behind a simple cloth headband. The smile that spread across her lips was so easy and that only made his tears come faster.

“Sa-ku-raaaaa!” he cried, dashing over to drop down loudly beside her bed and drape his arms across her form. She hadn’t meant to but she grunted at the touch and he flinched in reaction.

“Imbecile,” Indra hissed, smacking Ashura upside his head. “She’s still hurt. Don’t be such an oaf with her.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Sakura laughed. “I’m not that hurt, you just surprised me a little. Ah, but it’s so good to finally see you in the flesh, Daffodil. How are you?”

Ashura’s face colored as his eyes watered even more. He tried to breath it out and steady himself but it came out sounding more like a choke. He melted at her bedside and weakly reached for her hand like it was made of glass. “I was so-oo-oh sc-scared Sakura. You were so small and still. I was so scared that I wouldn’t be able to speak to you like this. I would have traded being a stupid empty suit of armor if I knew what would happen. I’m so sorry you’re hurt!”

Sakura laughed, squeezing his hand back in reassurance. “Don’t think about it like that. It’s not like you giving up what you are now would do me any good. And really, there are worse things than scars. I’ll heal, that’s no big deal, but what about you? You have a body now, that has to be weird.”

Ashura bent down and kissed her fingers and then pulled back to laugh when she flustered at the touch. “Yeah, it is nice having a body again. I had forgotten what it felt like and what I was missing out on.”

Sakura couldn’t help it, but she felt compelled to flick his forhead, so she pulled out of his hold and did just that. He reacted way too dramatically, falling backwards in a way that made her laugh.  

“Sakura?”

She heard the voice and it was like a knife in her heart because it was the most lovely sound, only for it to be something she might never hear again.

Yamato appeared in the doorway, looking out of breath with a pale Sai trailing in behind him. Further back in the hallway there was the top of Shizune’s head and maybe even Sarutobi’s.

Yamato didn’t wait for her to say anything, but dashed to the opposite side of her bed and fell atop her like a feather, slowing just enough to be soft enough to do no damage.

“Stupid girl,” she felt him mutter into her shoulder. That area was growing damp and she didn’t dare point that out, already knowing the reason for his tears. “What a stupid, stupid girl. What were you thinking?”

Sakura looked up and saw Sai lean against the foot of her bed, looking happy but tired. He was doing so much better than he had been when she last left him.

“I was thinking about making sure my family stayed safe. I wasn’t going to let her take any of you away from me, duh,” Sakura huffed with a roll of her eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Really, Yamato, what do you take me for?”

“I’m sorry,” Yamato gasped, pulling away. She hadn’t noticed it until just then, but his hair was just past his jaw line now, long and healthy. Stands of it stuck to his cheeks where the tear trails stood out.

“Don’t be,” she tried to say.

“I’m sorry she did this to you. It’s not fair, and it’s because of me. That was the whole reason you were there in the first place. You would have been fine if I hadn’t been a distraction-a weakness for you.”

“If that’s how you want to go about labeling yourself, then fine. It’s a weakness I gladly accept.”

“Sakura-”

“No,” she cut him off with a single finger raised. “Not your turn to talk. Listen to me first. I’m not invincible and I might not be the baddest bitch you see in town, but we all have a weakness or two, so I’d be proud if my weakness was my precious people. And honestly, hon, how many people are so lucky to have their weakness also be their strength? I would have gone there on my own, anyway. Don’t think anything was your fault.” He looked away and when she saw his jaw shiver she reached to hold it and pull his face back towards her. “Promise.”

“You were almost killed.” He still shook in small ways as he forced himself to speak. “You don’t even know who she was or what you did.”

“I saved my family,” she answered without hesitation.

Yamato sagged into her side, burying his face in the covers around her hips. When his shoulders shook she reached out to scratch her fingers down his spine and up again, calming him back down.

Across from Yamato, Ashura glared lightly and huffed loudly. “I was also really scared for you Sakura.” Ashura scooted closer to the opposite side of Sakura and leaned in a little. “Never been more scared in my life.”

Sakura hummed, seeing through his words straight to his true intentions. “I’m sorry I scared you.” She reached out and ran a hand through his wild hair, scraping his skull with her nails just enough to cause a pleasant tingle.

“Are we going to have to put up with these new intruders?” Sai asked blandly, fake smile slipping into place as he nodded his head at Indra.

“Seeing as how we are the only fully healed, capable bodies in this building, It should be more like us putting up with you,” Indra shot back.

“That might be a little hard, since we’re already maxed out on spaces in our family and you would just be a nuisance. You already have a sibling, so be content, flower person. Find your own place to crash.”

“We did,” Ashura huffed from beside Sakura. “The library likes us just fine. If you don’t approve pack your own bags.”

“Now now,” Sarutobi cut in, sliding past Shizune and Indra to enter the room with his hands up. “There is plenty of room here for all of you as long as you need it. You were all welcomed for a reason and we don’t have to be picky.” He turned his smile off and instead looked to Sakura, frowning slightly at the bandages he could see. “Speaking of welcoming, there are two others just outside who are debating coming in. Should I go out to welcome them in or leave them alone?”

“What, who are they? I’m fine but I don’t know if I’m ready to defend myself to people just yet,” Sakura answered. She remembered too well what it looked like when people made an effigy of her to burn in the streets.

“That’s alright, these two are fine,” Shizune cut in. She waved to Sakura before disappearing to open the front door and do what Sarutobi suggested.  

“How are you feeling my dear?” Sarutobi asked, looking back at Sakura.

“I’ll feel better in a few days. What is it they say after a crash. It hurts worse later on, right? Ah, I think that’s where I’m at right now.”

Sarutobi chuckled at her good humor and easy smile. “Oh, I’m not sure what they say about things like that, my dear. You’re the doctor, after all.”

Outside there were footsteps and the room seemed to widen as two different blond, blue eyed people poked their heads into her room.

Sakura felt dizzy at once.

“Ino, Naruto! You’re alright!” she cried, nearly getting out of bed only to wince and fall back down, unable to do that much.

The cried her name as one and plowed through the other individuals in the room to get to her bed and collapse at her side. Sakura hugged them as well as she could and then paused them away to look them over for signs of sickness, but aside from some weight loss they were perfectly healthy and bright.

“Quit worrying about us,” Ino cried through her thick tears. “You’re the one stuck in a bed now, you dummy.”

“No one would tell me what happened to you when I woke up. I thought something terrible had happened and you left or something, and I still don’t get it cause the old man ain’t talking, but I didn’t think it would be like this,” Naruto babbled, freaking out at the sight of all her bruises.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Sakura sighed.

Between the group of them, minus Indra who was content to let Ashura speak for him, the group went over the events pertaining to the Pompeii Plague caused by Kaguya, starting with the botched binding ceremony/ritual and going to the final confrontation. Naruto was oddly quiet when Yamato, Sai, and Ino recounted the details of how so much of the town turned on her and blamed Sakura for the sickness...including the entirety of Naruto’s family.

“People are still looking for you,” Ino added at the end.

“We were too, but we didn’t know where to start because the clinic is a mess, like it’s gone-gone.” Naruto made a cutting motion with his hand across his neck.

“We didn’t have a lot of leads to go on when we found this place. I’ve never been here before but Shizune was at the door and it was our best shot so that’s how we got here and...yeah, that’s the story,” Ino added.

“Looking for her? Who exactly is looking for Sakura?” Yamato asked, tone dark. Sakura didn’t miss the way the other boys in the room tensed, ready to go if the need arose.

“Lots of people...most everyone actually. Tsunade stole a shadow play and has been broadcasting it non stop in all the shadow places, replaying the showdown with illusionary magic to add color and textile. Now everyone knows what happened and only a few wacko hold outs still believe it was all a trick on your part,” said Ino.

Sakura meant to ask something more but the room around them shivered and Sakura felt queasy all of a sudden.

“What’s that?” Naruto asked, panicking.

Sarutobi cursed. “Someone has managed to enter the library uninvited.”

“That’s possible?” Shizune hollered, bracing against the wall.

“No, not unless they managed to follow behind someone else who was invited….” Sarutobi’s eyes and word trailed to Ino and Naruto and the whole room tensed at the implications.

The library had revealed itself to Naruto and Ino, allowing them to enter, but the magic that hid it between the here and there didn’t matter if someone was already on the stairs outside with one foot in the door.

Sarutobi turned on his heel, ready to expel the intruder but stopped short when he saw who it was in the doorway.

“I don’t think you should be here,” the old man intoned, drawing himself up as best as he could.

“No, I’m pretty sure this is exactly where I need to be.”