#go to narusasu version please and ignore this one then

[isolavirtuosa]

A Public Affair, Part 2: Shikamaru

[fanfiction] NaruSasu

Cheating has consequences.

[Previous Parts]

Part 2 under the cut:

 2: Shikamaru

             Naruto came into the office looking frazzled.  It reminded me of when we were kids, when every little thing that was going on in his head showed on his face.

           “Can we have the room?” I said, eyeing the ANBU who were standing guard.

           They both turned to Naruto, who nodded at them.

           “We’ll be outside the door.”

           Naruto flopped onto his chair and groaned.

           “What?” I asked, cutting to the chase.  I knew that I really didn’t want to hear what was about to come out of his mouth, but he needed to get it out.  The thought of him unleashing it on someone else was not a good one.

           “It’s bad,” Naruto said quietly.

           I stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

           “Ughhhh,” Naruto said, burying his face in his arms.

           “Naruto, we have a lot to do today.”

           Naruto peeked up at me.  “Can’t you clear my schedule?”

           “No.”

           “Gaaaah,” Naruto said, leaning back in his chair again.  “Shit, what am I gonna do?”

           “I can’t really advise you when you haven’t given me the details.”

           Naruto shot me a weary look, looking much more like the Seventh.

          “What happened with Sasuke?” I asked, rubbing the bridge of my nose.  I really didn’t want to know.  Okay, a small part of me wanted to know.  But it was just all so annoying to deal with, and we didn’t have time for it with the big summit coming up, and the unrest in the Land of Waves.  Then there was the impossible task of getting Konohamaru ready for his inauguration within the next year.  My plate was full, and I didn’t need more extra-marital Naruto and Sasuke drama to add to it.

           “We made love!” Naruto finally said.

           “You’ve been fucking for months.”

           “Yes, fucking.  We’ve been fucking.  But last night.  Oh my god, I can’t believe that happened.”

           “What are you trying to say?”

           “I’m saying that Sasuke and I made love.  We even kissed.  Oh my god, we kissed.  With tongue and everything.”

           “Finally,” I muttered.

           “What do you mean, ‘finally’?!” Naruto cried, flailing around.  “It was a mistake, a huge mistake, and it can’t ever happen again!”

           “Naruto, just stop,” I said, shaking my head.  “This has gone on long enough.  You need to acknowledge that you are in love with Sasuke, and you are cheating on your wife.”

           “What?!” Naruto cried, flailing even harder.  “I’m not… I definitely don’t love that selfish bastard.  I love Hinata!  My wife!  An actual woman!  The love of my life!  You know that.  And we’re just…  I mean, he’s really good at giving head, and he’s always offering, so…  Well, no, it’s not what it sounds like!  I’m not using him, I mean I do stuff for him, too.  We mutually do stuff together.  It’s not love-”

           “You are in love with Sasuke, and you’re cheating on your wife.”

           “Stop saying that!  How many times do I have to explain-”

           “Naruto.”

           “I’m not cheating on Hinata, she’s my everything, and-”

           “Naruto.”

           “Sasuke is my friend, that’s all.  Well, my best friend.  But that’s all.  All that other stuff… it’s just what guys do.”

           I didn’t even have to say anything.

           “What?” Naruto said, his lower lip sticking out in a pout that I probably hadn’t seen in 20 years.

           “So how does that work, exactly?” I asked.  “I say, ‘damn, Naruto, I’m really hard and I don’t feel like bothering Temari, so can you take care of this for me?’  And you say, ‘Yeah, of course, man, that’s what friends are for.’”

           Naruto’s pout deepened into a sulk.

           “Just admit-” I started to say, when there was a knock at the door.

           “Come in!” Naruto said enthusiastically.

           I frowned at him.

           “What the hell is this crap about the Land of Waves?” Sasuke asked as he walked through the door.

           Naruto froze.

           “There’ve been a lot of rogue ninjas spotted there,” I said.  “Seems like ninja-on-civilian crime has increased in proportion.  We’re looking into why they’re gathering there.”

           “And you’re just telling me this now because…?”

           “We only got the report yesterday.”

           “When am I headed out?”

           We both turned to Naruto, who was still frozen.

           “What’s with the stupid look, dobe?  I asked you a question.”

           “Oh, uh…” Naruto trailed off.

           “Is it just me, or is he being stupider than usual?” Sasuke asked, glancing towards me.

           “Can’t argue with that,” I agreed.

           “Shikamaru, get out,” Naruto said, finally finding his voice.  “Please,” he added for good measure.

           I stared both of them down before leaving.  We had had one too many discussions about how the hokage’s desk was not an appropriate place for sexual activity.

           “You’re the only person who busts in here without knocking,” Naruto had tried protesting after the fourth time I caught them in a compromising position.

           “It won’t happen again,” Sasuke had interjected, and it hadn’t.

           But something was in the air today, and they were either heading towards a big fight or another misappropriation of the hokage’s desk.

           What had Naruto said earlier?  ‘We made love.’  ‘We even kissed.’

           I moved brusquely towards the conference room.  Documents for the upcoming summit were spread across the table. I got to work going through them, all the while my mind was running through possible ways to deal with the Sasuke situation.

           Naruto and Sasuke were part of the most intricate game of shogi that I had ever witnessed.  The game had stretched out over the years, but Sasuke finally had Naruto in check. The next move could decide the game, and I had to decide if I needed to intervene.

           “Shikamaruuuuuuu!”

           I glanced up from my work as one of the interns came running in.  “Yes?” I asked calmly.

           “It’s the hokage and Uchiha Sasuke, sir!”

           I sighed, putting down the folder in my hand and heading back to the office.

           Sasuke was standing on one side of the room, his single arm resting against his chest in his updated version of the ‘cross arms, ignore Naruto’ pose.

           Naruto stood on the other side of the room, an ANBU pinning him to the wall while he ranted and struggled and in general acted a damn fool.

           “Hokage-sama,” I said, leveling Naruto with A Look.

           “He started it!” Naruto yelled.  His lip was split and his eye was black.

           “You’re behaving like a child, Naruto,” Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

           “You’re both acting like you’re twelve,” I informed them.  “You can go,” I said to the ANBU.

           “Yeah, you can go, let me at ’em,” Naruto said, his eyes glinting dangerously.

           The ANBU hesitated.

           ANBU weren’t used to a juvenile hokage who behaved like an idiot.

           “It’s fine,” I reassured her.

           “Apologies, Hokage-sama,” the ANBU said, bowing as she withdrew from him and disappeared.

           “Now where were we?” Naruto asked, cracking his knuckles.

           “Sit down and be quiet,” I said, closing the door irritably.  “Is it so much to ask for a quiet workday?  I’m not a damn babysitter.”

           “I’m the hokage, you don’t tell me what to do,” Naruto said sulkily.

           “You two are idiots,” I said, shaking my head.

           “I resent being grouped together with that moron,” Sasuke protested, eyes narrowed.

           “Then stop being ridiculous,” I said.

           Sasuke let out a puff of air to signal his exasperation.

           “Ha, you’re as stupid as me,” Naruto said, seeming very content.

           “Moron,” Sasuke muttered.

           “Wanna say that to my face?” Naruto growled, clenching his fist.

           “I just did.”

           “I do not have time for this,” I muttered.

           “Then leave,” Naruto said, making a dismissive gesture.

           “Do you two want to get caught?” I spat out, finding myself losing my own temper.

           Sasuke looked at me evenly.  Of course he wanted to get caught.

           Naruto just looked confused.

           “Anyone with half a brain would be able to tell that your mouths are swollen from kissing, those bruises on Sasuke’s neck are clearly hickeys, and Naruto’s split lip is the result of being bitten, not punched.”

           “Oh,” Naruto said, scratching his nose.  “Yeah, well, things kinda got outta hand earlier.”

           “Out of hand…?” Sasuke muttered.

           “Yes, bastard, I thought that fucking on my desk was a little out of hand.”

           “Felt good, though,” Sasuke said, tilting his head to the side and staring at Naruto.

           The look in Naruto’s eyes suddenly went feral.

           “Sasuke, you need to leave,” I said, opening the door.

           Sasuke shrugged and sauntered by me out the door.  “I’ve got better things to do, anyway.”

           Naruto watched him go.  Then he turned to me, frowning.  “Why?”

           “You can’t think straight anymore when Sasuke’s around.”

           “That’s not… true…” Naruto said, tasting the lie in his own words.  He flopped onto his chair with a dramatic sigh.

           “What were you even fighting about?”

           “I told Sasuke he’s not leaving the village, and then he said that I can’t tell him what to do, so I pulled the hokage card, which made him all bitchy, so we had sex on the desk…  Sorry about that, but anyway, after that he told me he was going to the Land of Waves, and I told him I was sending someone else, and then he said that he’s not a bird in a cage, and I was like duh, who even would think that, and then he started getting mad, so I got mad, and then I don’t really know what happened, but the ANBU came in and I tried to kill Sasuke, and then you came, so that’s the story.”

           I sank down into one of the chairs in front of Naruto’s desk.  “Naruto.”

           “I know, I know,” he groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose.  “What’s wrong with me?”

           “You’re in love,” I stated flatly.

           Naruto let out a long breath from his nose, then looked up at me with a pained smile.  “I think maybe I am.”

           “Admission is the first step to recovery.”

           “I didn’t know,” he said quietly.  “I really thought we were just friends.”

           “But now you know?”

           Naruto hesitated, before nodding his head.  “Yeah.”

           I studied the sad look in his eyes.  He was calmer now, more himself.  “Then what are you going to do about it?”

           “What can I do?” he asked, sounding defeated.

           “You can leave your wife of twenty plus years, or you can send Sasuke away.”

           “Those are my choices?”

           “Those are your choices.”

           There was a knock at the door.

           “Come in,” Naruto called.

           Konohamaru came in, and the two prepared for their daily meeting.

           I went back to the conference room, ready to get back to work.  It was hard to push the hokage’s infidelity out of my mind, though.  If it came out that Naruto was sleeping with Sasuke, there was going to be a negative backlash against Naruto himself and ninjas in general.  He was our leader, and he was expected to behave in a certain way.

           I thought of Naruto as a kid, always smiling as he dragged everyone into his light.

           My stomach clenched.

           This was about what was best for Konoha.  It was my job to make sure that everything ran smoothly, and that the office of the hokage was not marred with scandal.  All those years of doing the job acceptably would be down the drain with a hokage cheating on his wife with a former traitor who was also a man.

           It was all such a pain in the ass.

           Naruto’s retirement is what started it all.

           He’d told Sasuke and I together, then taken out an old bottle of whiskey from his desk and started filling glasses.  It had been comfortable and companionable, and when one drink turned to ten, I hadn’t really thought anything of it.  We all felt strangely free, like a burden had been lifted.

           Then Sasuke got that look in his eye, that same damn look from when he was twelve years old and wanted Naruto’s attention.

           “You suck at drinking, usuratonkachi.”

           “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Naruto demanded, slamming his glass on his desk.  “I’m the hokage, bitch.  I can drink you under the table.”

           I blinked slowly, realizing that Naruto had the same damn look on his face.

           Sasuke snorted his disdain, Naruto flailed around and yelled, and then they both started pouring each other shots and downing them.

           “I’m gonna… go…” I said, taking my leave without either of them noticing.

           The next morning, I found Naruto asleep on his desk.

           “You didn’t go home last night?” I asked after shaking him awake.

           “Oh, god…” he groaned, dropping his face in his hands.  “I can never go home again.”

           “Why?” I asked, straightening up some papers on his desk.

           “I think I had sex with Sasuke.”

           I paused.  “You think?” I asked, clarifying.

           “Does oral count?”

           “Yes.”

           “Oh,” Naruto said, looking even more downcast.  “I had sex with Sasuke.”

           I should have been more surprised, but anyone with half a brain knew that Sasuke had been in love with Naruto for years.  And anyone with half a brain would have also noticed that that the way Naruto treated Sasuke was as more than a friend.

           Fortunately, most people in Konoha did not meet the half-brain requirement.

           I was already going through all of the possible contingencies when I asked, “So what are you going to do?”

           “Bury it deep and forget it ever happened?” Naruto suggested hopefully.

           “You don’t just forget about someone you have such strong feelings for.”

           “Feelings?” Naruto said, wrinkling his nose.  “Who said anything about feelings?  We were drunk.  It didn’t mean anything.”

           And that’s when I remembered the horrible truth that out of all the oblivious people in Konoha, Naruto led the pack.

           “Actually…” Naruto paused, perking up.  “It really didn’t mean anything.  Ha ha.  What was I worried about?  It’s not like I love that bastard or anything.  So it wasn’t cheating.  Oh, man, Shikamaru, I’m so glad that we had this talk.”

           That was the beginning of Naruto’s rationalization of his affair.

           I should have made more of an effort to put a stop to it, but it was oddly refreshing to have a hokage who was always smiling and laughing all of the sudden. Naruto was visibly happier, and I couldn’t bring myself to interfere with that.

           Now here we were, with the oblivious hokage finally realizing that he was in love with his mistress, and the proverbial shit was about to hit the fan.

           I hadn’t done my job properly, and I needed to take responsibility.

           I went into Naruto’s office after everyone else had left.

           He looked up from his paperwork wearily.

           “We need to talk,” I said.

           “I’m sending Boruto to the Land of Waves.”

           I stared at him.

           “He said he wants to do what Sasuke does, so why not start him off now?”

           I stared harder at him.

           “It’ll be a good-”

           “And Sasuke?” I cut in.

           “He’ll stay here and help m-”

           “Send him to the Land of Waves.”

           “I just tol-”

           “He should go with Boruto.  If it’s a training mission, then Boruto should be with his teacher.”

           “Yeah, but-”

           “Was there a specific reason for Sasuke to stay in the village?” I asked, giving him a hard look.

           Naruto met my gaze evenly.  “I need his help in preparing Konohamaru-”

           “Send Sasuke to the Land of Waves.  There’s no reason for him to stay in Konoha.”

           “Is that your advice as my official advisor?”

           “It is.”

           Naruto looked pained.  “I see.”

           “It’s the best course of action,” I said, then took my leave.

           It was what was best for Konoha.  I just wasn’t sure it was what was best for Naruto.

           Two days later, Sasuke and Boruto set off for the Land of Waves.

           Naruto waved them both off with a smile that strained at the edges.  Then he went back to work.

[fruitysmellz]

Naruto: The Last RETOLD

Alright, so I caved in and watched Naruto: The Last because I’ve heard both good things and bad things about it. All in all, I thought the movie was “okay-ish”, I mean it really did have its good and bad points. 

Good points: DUDE THE INTRO WAS AMAZING! Also, the designs? Everyone looked GORGEOUS!

Bad points: The story was… heavily lacking, in my opinion. They should have studied the characters more because it almost felt like… well, it felt almost like everyone wasn’t themselves at some point. I wouldn’t call them totally OOC, but there were just some things that needed reworking.

That said, this post’s aim will be… TO REWRITE NARUTO: THE LAST, fruitysmell version (LOL).

Now, I’m going to cut this post. If you’re curious about how I’ll rewrite the whole movie, click ahead! If not, feel free to ignore. But please, bear in mind this is all an opinion. I would like to read your thoughts, just don’t start with flames because I’ll end up ignoring it.

Also, this will still follow canon couples. 

Lastly, this is tagged as an opinion. If it somehow waltzed in your ships’ tags, again, feel free to ignore this.

With that said, let us begin!

Like most canon pairings, NaruHina (NH) has had its development. Compared to others – say, NaruSaku, SasuSaku, NaruSasu/SasuNaru – however, this ship’s moments are pretty scarce. 

But that doesn’t mean this ship can’t sail. 

With good writing (and proper execution), NH could have been a wonderful pairing. Unfortunately, Naruto: The Last (NTL) failed to deliver, and I believe the first mistake Kishi (and maybe SP too?) did was kill off Neji.

Neji fans: *standing ovation*

Now let’s review the dreaded chapter that was 614, shall we? When Hinata once again tried to shield Naruto from the incoming attacks, Kishi should have made her actually defend herself and Naruto. I mean, she did the whole “I will shield you with my body” routine way back in the Pein arc, you think by now Hinata may have learned a thing or two, amirite?

Now, in that scene, there could have been two plausible scenarios.

(1) Hinata uses Kaiten or her Twin Lion’s Fist (??). I’m not really sure if I remember correctly, but Hinata hasn’t learned Kaiten, right? So this was perfect opportunity for her to let the readers see that she managed to overcome this weakness by (a) finally showing off her Kaiten or (b) making a point that her Twin Lion’s Fist was just as formidable as Kaiten.

This opens a new door for Hinata’s character. One that will make her a perfect candidate as the Hyuuga heiress.

(2) Her father defends her and dies in the process. When NTL started, we see Hinata being bullied by… unknown children – which was questionable, mind you, because Hinata isn’t just a Hyuuga, she’s from the MAIN. She should have been escorted at least, seeing as she is from the Main and she is a child. 

But I actually want to delete that scene in NTL because Hinata’s main bully isn’t an unknown child (or children) making fun of the Byakugan. It was her own father (and maybe Neji, but Naruto took care of that).

So when Hiashi puts his life on the line for her, this makes the readers understand that her father is asking her to forgive him for all the things he has done and said to Hinata. Also, this is good drama. Imagine, a father and a daughter finally reconnecting, only for the father to die. Wow. What a way to go Hiashi. Number (2) is actually my favorite route, you know?

Anyways.

With either scene happening, the new route opens. Hinata becomes the perfect candidate of becoming the new heiress to the Hyuuga.

And this is where I want NTL to happen – setting the movie not in the moon, or whatever, but in the Hyuuga household itself.  

Now then, remember one of Hinata’s biggest lament? It was not being to stand by Naruto’s side, and instead, hiding behind his back. And although Hinata wants to fulfill this wish of hers, she is now the Hyuuga heiress, and as such, has too much to handle in her hands, even if the war already ended two years ago. So Hinata vows that to stand by Naruto’s side, she will lead the Hyuuga and make sure that she and her clan will support Naruto (who will be Hokage some day) fully. 

Hinata thus introduces her plan of abolishing the Caged Seal. Naturally, this causes an uproar in her clan.

(This also explains that Hinata and Naruto hardly interact by this time frame – Hinata is too busy with the clan, while Naruto is slowly being trained as a future Hokage.)

Both Neji and Hanabi are her firm supporters (I kind of want these two to be a part of the Hyuuga council, if there is such a thing tbh), and this sort of creates a rift in the Hyuuga. The Main want their privileges still – the Branch want equality. So while Hinata has the Branch’s full support, the same can’t be said for the Main.

So what does the Main do? They plan to overthrow Hinata. This is where Toneri is introduced.

Toneri is a Hyuuga from the Main, and like everyone else doesn’t want his privileges taken from him. So he disguises himself as one of the few Main members that befriend/support Hinata. However, he is merely doing this so he can gather information. You know, sneaky stuff that sneaky villains do.

Basically I’m just irked that the movie subtly implied that the Branch, if uncontrolled, would spark a revolt that’s catastrophic and this is why the Main subdue them via the Caged Seal.

Anyways.

I haven’t really ironed out all the details, but I just want to set NTL in the village of Konoha and not anywhere outrageous like the moon (how did they even breathe there? and why was there gravity???). I want NTL to showcase Naruto’s strength in politics (because we already know his strength), thus making him a perfect Hokage candidate. I want NTL to be the movie where everyone in Konoha 12 (and Sai) get to have a role and where teamwork happens.

I just want NTL to be the movie where we get to see what happened before they all grew up and had kids.

(Like Chouji and Shikamaru becoming both the clan leaders of their respective families and also functioning as representatives of Konoha to Cloud and Suna, respectively – thus explains how Chouji and Karui met and all. Ino and Sai are pretty much covered with their novels, right? Kiba and Shino helping out Hinata, thus strengthening their bonds and their families’ bonds.)

And lastly, I just want NTL to show Neji all grown up too, becoming the rival of Lee when it comes to playing with Boruto and Himawari with Gai cheering on the both of them. And then Tenten wins the match anyway by giving the kids real kunai (LOL).

To summarize, I just want NTL to be the movie that ends a few of the plot holes. Not making more of them.