#her auntie sakura looks out for her a lot

[beddybites]

Ok so what can you tell us about those obamitsu fankids if they aren't just random cool designs

omg.... uhhh lets see... i dont have any names for them so I'll just label them with their birth order!

obamitsu family...... feel free to make up headcanons abt them too idm!!!! free real estate

eldest daughter / first child

she's close with her father and regularly aids him due to his blindness

her mom, aunts, and uncles tell her all about how she has her dad's eyes, so it became a feature she takes great pride in

she's close with her aunt Shinobu, who sorta takes her under her wing. she is also close with her uncle Kyojuro and likes hearing stories about her parents

she and her younger sister (second eldest) are close

second eldest daughter

she has her mom's appetite and love for sakura mochi, thus the pink & green hair

sensitive like her dad and a bit defensive with everything

Uncle Nemi is her favorite. he would babysit all the time when she was little

she doesn't get along with the middle child. they have a obanai & giyuu dynamic-- second eldest thinks her younger sister is entitled and isn't grateful for anything their family does for them

third eldest daughter / middle child

she looks a lot like her grandpa (Mitsuri's dad) / mostly inherited genes from mitsuri's side of the family

she comes across as bratty , but in actuality, she's got awful middle child syndrome

close with her Uncle Gyomei... Gyomei gifted her the beloved cat plushie when she was a newborn

she's closer to her aunts and uncles than she is with her siblings-- middle child moment

fourth daughter / second to youngest

quiet like her dad, but friendly like her mom

she would play with Kaburamaru ever since she was a tiny baby. the two are very close

she's timid and not talkative whatsoever, so she tends to keep to herself or clings to one of her parents (usually Obanai)

when she does come out of her shell, she will play with her Uncle Muichiro or Uncle Senjuro-- on rare occasions, her Uncle Tengen and her aunties... she likes playing dress up with them, though she usually needs to be encouraged to do so!

she loves her baby brother!!!

youngest child / only son

the baby ... he is a mama's boy and he loves his big sisters to death

got most of Obanai's looks, though he did inherit his Mom's moles and personality

curious and sweet little guy

his favorite babysitter is his Uncle Muichiro

his least favorite babysitter is his Uncle Rengoku, purely because of how loud and eccentric he is most of the time

he learned from his Mama to kiss his Dad's scars. whenever Obanai holds him, the baby gives him a little kiss on both eyes, then both cheeks, mimicking his mother. Obanai tears up every single time

im so fond of them. obamitsu u will forever be famous. and ur children are real. idc what canon says. family

[yuritsukikage]

I’m having a mix of heartfelt sadness and some sense of anger (towards a certain company) right now

I know I’m mainly a Precure fan over here but I started my journey into the Japanese language, anime and manga when I first picked up and rented that Sailor Moon S DVD at a local hobby shop.

As I was watching the Region 1 DVD, I made a decision to try to watch it in another language because the old Pioneer DVD had both English and Japanese. I, a wee little depressed year 9 student was blown away by the voice acting from the Sailor Moon Japanese voice cast that I decided to look them up on the internet and find out the women behind these iconic characters.

What I realised was these women were not only around both my parents’ ages. They were in other anime that I literally grew up in, watching their anime in English. I decided to watch some of my childhood anime in those languages, just to hear how they performed. Spoiler alert: They we’re amazing.

And that’s how I started my journey into pursuing learning the Japanese language all the way to University where I graduated with a degree in that field.

The Sailor Moon Japanese voice cast were like those aunties (yes I am Asian) or older sisters (depending on the region) that you never knew but you connected with them through the anime that you have watched over the years. You watch them grow older seeing their public photos on news sites and social media through the events they attended, as you, yourself grows older.

The fact that we lost one of them in the 8th of September 2024 will be one of the most heartbreaking things to find out for me and a lot of people this year. Coincidently the shock announcement came on the birthday of one of the beloved Sailor Senshi makes it even more tragic.

Emi Shinohara was an fantastic seiyuu/voice actress. She worked in a lot of people’s childhood shows, many of us would have known her for her role as the ever reliable, ever strong Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter in the 90s anime of Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon (90s Sailor Moon for short). Others would have known her for Kaho Mizuki from Cardcaptor Sakura or if you’re old, B-Ko from Project A-Ko. However the majority of people (anime normies) would have mostly known her as the voice of Kushina Uzumaki from the Naruto Shippuden anime.

Her later years in life would really reflect on her roles she would later have with the aforementioned Kushina. A lot of younger seiyuu would have known her in Fafner (I hear that anime a lot on Twitter through some of the seiyuu involved and I know the character designer for Gundam Seed worked on the designs).

Probably the roles that really stood out for me personally asides her roles in Sailor Moon and CCS, would be an obscure 2007 anime called Claymore. That anime was one of those that the unfortunate case of “manga was still ongoing while the anime was airing situation”. However props to the casting staff involved in this anime because they brought in a chunk lot of veteran seiyuu that would get to show off their years of experience into this one single 24 episode anime. Emi Shinohara was no exception to this! She voiced the ax-crazy, hella insane, ultra mega bitch Ophelia and oh boy it was a ride and an experience to listen to her voice from the beginning right to the death of her character. I personally would recommend watching this anime for the voice acting in there, not for the anime itself because of its situation at the time.

Her music prowess was no joke either. Of the original 5 seiyuu of the Sailor Moon cast, she was definitely the most experienced and you can clearly experience it though the Moon Revenge live for a Christmas event that happened 31 years ago. She has released her own albums during the 90s as well and 100% she slayed on every character song that came to her during her active years in the 90s

I really cannot believe that Emi Shinohara has left us. The Sailor Moon community is definitely in mourning right now for this iconic voice actress. Our heart goes to her husband, Tokusatsu actor Hiroshi Watari and their only son who made a heartfelt and saddening message to Shinohara’s own personal Twitter account.

And our hearts also go towards the remaining 4 seiyuu of the original Sailor Moon voice cast, who out of the two who have social media, are currently in a state of devastation and sadness to have lost a fellow cast mate who they have worked and truly bonded together on the 5 years of Sailor Moon’s airtime from 1992-1997.

In particular fellow cast mate Rica Fukami who she considered Emi Shinohara as her twin, having being born on the same year, month and day. To the point they even have their own duo name together back in the 90s as Funky Twins, where they last year held a 3 day fan live together. Who would have thought that this would be the only time they would be together for such a special occasion. Let’s not forget the constant amazing and interesting quote tweets interactions between the two of them since Shinohara started her Twitter account a few years back from the constant birthday congratulations, to recently finding a hidden Sailor Moon treasure while Rica Fukami was in the middle of decluttering. The fact that we will never get this kind of interaction ever again is heartbreaking but it will live on through the past interactions that they have shared together.

I will briefly mention my anger towards Toei for losing this once in a lifetime opportunity to reunite the original 5 Sailor Moon voice cast for the 30th anniversary of the franchise. The fact that their last public reunion together was for a DVD commemoration in Akihabara, late 2009 has given me this sense of anger, frustration and sadness inside me that I will never forgive them for. And we will never have an opportunity like this ever again.

With that part out of my head. I will now leave this insanely long message with a single part of a message that Emi Shinohara’s son has written in that post on Twitter, “the name ‘Emi Shinohara’ will continue to live on as long as people remember her voice and the roles that she has portrayed”

Thank you Mrs Emi Shinohara for the past nearly 40 years of service to the anime and voice acting industry. We, the fans, will never forget you and we definitely will look back to the voices and songs that you have given us over the years. Rest in Peace. 🕊️💚

[jaemified]

SNOWED IN ! [ep.iii] | forced proximity

“literally hate you jeon wonwoo”

a barista xu minghao x receptionist reader smau

‘welcome to first class resort’

previous | MASTERLIST | next

updates ; every saturday-monday (new schedule bc work is kicking my ass</33)

synopsis ; after a long first week of their first quarter at work, y/n and her department just want to go out for burgers before being snowed in the hotel thanks to an unexpected snowstorm.

🏷️ ; @minhui896 @snowcake666 @kissesfrmwonwoo @wonqr

couldnt tag ; @/heelarious @/minghaossv

note - if u see those blank pages below this then the tweets ur phones not glitching its just to fix the format:)

read below the cut !

before any of the staff realized, their first week of the new quarter had flown by, and it was time to go home for the weekend (or, just saturday since they had to come back sunday).

the first concierge/receptionist unit (aka miyeon, y/n, minnie, chan, soonyoung, sakura, and mingyu) finished cleaning up their stations, before miyeon and y/n went to explain the night shift to the manager of the second unit from the other department.

“finally, just barely 20 minutes overtime. its only 10:20 but does anyone want to go for a late dinner with the other staff from our department?” miyeon suggested to her team of 6.

“yeah sure, ill need to find seungkwan first? he’s my ride home.” chan said as he started to walk down the hall as soonyoung called out, “make sure he brings down all of his staff too!”

“alright is that a yes from everyone else?”

“except for me, my auntie is visiting from japan and i need to be the one to pick her up from the airport.” sakura said while waving at everyone as she walked towards the exit.

the unit began to converse amongst themselves as they waited for the other staff in their department before they felt the ground shake the walls harshly, the winds howl as their speeds increased and the front doors be pushed open.

“earthquake! everyone get under the desk!” miyeon yelled out, her staff being her priority as manager.

they all took cover underneath the receptionists desk before hearing a loud thud after a few minutes, leaving the glass on some of the doors shattered.

everyone got up to see what the noise was, only for their faces to freeze in shock.

“s-snow?!” minnie exclaimed. “there wasnt any snow in the forecast this week at all! and its barely the first few weeks of winter..”

“im sure you’re just as shocked as any of us are. i hope sakuras safe, im just glad she got out. uh- y/n! call sakura while i try to reach seungkwan and josh? and someone go to check out the side and back doors! don’t go alone! the powers iffy right now.” miyeon safely instructed off the top of her head, trying to remain calm in front of her staff.

you pull out your phone, dialing sakuras number as you tap your foot repeatedly against the floor in impatience and worry.

she picked up after the first few rings, “hello?”

“sakura! where are you? are you okay?”

“no, yeah im fine. im just off the side of that bridge a few miles away from the hotel. but the real question is, are you guys okay?”

“you felt it? we’re fine. splitting up duties to ensure safety. and why are you off to the side off the bridge? i assumed you wouldve been at the airport already.”

“everyone in seoul felt it. but i think it hit you guys the hardest since it came closest from that direction. you know, some cars were flipping over as i was about to pull out the parking lot!”

“just glad youre safe, but if you see the hotel, how bad does it look like we’re snowed in?”

“pretty bad.. looks snowed in on all sides and that wall of snow is so tall it goes beyond the 9th floor. that’s at least 7 meters thick going outwards.”

“shit. alright. i gotta go, but get home safely okay? bye!”

after getting off the phone with sakura, y/n goes back as she sees some of her coworkers returning from opposite directions after looking at the exits.

“theyre all blocked. completely. the garage tunnel is entirely blocked through the stairs, elevator, and side door too.” mingyu and soonyoung reported with minnie following not far behind despite being told not to go alone.

“should we call the police?”

“ill try, i just got off the phone.” you said, but just as you swiped emergency call, you immediately had no bars. “what? anyone else have service?”

everyone pulled out their phones and held it in the middle so you could see, “guess the signal just dropped.” you muttered as you dialed 119 anyway.

‘we’re sorry, the person you are trying to reach is-’

“has anyone noticed chan hasnt come back yet? its been like, well over 20 minutes.” mingyu questioned while looking around the darkly (and eerily) illuminated halls.

as mingyu walked closer, he let out a loud scream as he saw a big snd ominous silhouette coming towards him before he realized it was the rest of the staff from their department.

miyeon walked passed mingyu, playfully slapping his back before meeting up with the other managers seungkwan and josh.

“hi wonwoo.” you smiled, wrapping your arms around him brightly as you were now reassured your childhood best friend was safe now that he was in your arms.

“hi y/n. you’re not hurt or anything right?” he asked while looking around your body as he kept his hands on your shoulders.

“no im completely fine. what took you guys so long to come out though?”

“we still had a lot to clean up, but then chan went to kwans restaurant then jun just HAD to make a quick meal for him before coming to us and it always takes long if the cafe is the last stop.”

after everyone discussing what had to be discussed, such as agreeing to try calling for help in the morning, etc, etc, wonwoo announced to everyone they’ll have to check out rooms for each other and that they had to be paired up into twos.

so of course, he made you and minghao be ‘roommates’ for the time being.

“are you serious??” minghao whisper shouted as he pulled wonwoo into a corner, watching as everyone walked towards the stairwell.

“you were the only two left.” wonwoo shrugged, playing it off even though he was aware minghao clearly knew about his schemes.

after climbing 29 flights of stairs (seeing as the elevator broke), you were all beyond exhausted.

so, you took your room key from miyeon before following minghao to your shared room.

you opened the door and sigh in relief as you saw the two beds separated by a nightstand, taking off your shoes before lying down.

minghao ran a hand through his hair as he walked out from the bathroom to get himself ready for bed.

he went under the white sheets and muttered a grumpy, “dont even try talking to me.” before turning out the light, leaving you with your thoughts in the darkness.

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Tsunade

There’s a lot of things to love about Tsunade. She’s one of the strongest female character’s in the entire series as well as being a very damaged character who’s fighting just to get through every day.

She comes back to Konoha and takes the job of Hokage because of a kid she has only just met and procedes to lead the village for five years through some of the worst fights it has had to deal with. It’s under her leadership that Konoha works with the other villages, and unlike her Sensei she is actually unafraid to put the elder’s in their place.

Epic moment’s for Tsunade are numerous, but i’ll try not to get too carried away.

(Movie only) Poking Kakashi in the face and reminding him that accusing Naruto of attacking A, and thus throwing him into prison, was HIS idea and he has no right to judge her for being harsh (he looks like a scolded child. I love it. The auntie vibes are STRONG in this movie)

Speaking of Kakashi, remmember when she found out that he died and she proceeded to destroy one of the pillers on the roof of the Hokage’s mansion? Because i do and i LOVE it. Tsunade has seen enough death in her life but that doesn’t stop her from taking a second to morn Kakashi’s death and literally destroy something in anger (also while looking for pics i saw a conversation about how her destroying that piller wS representative of Kakashi’s death being the destruction of a piller of Konoha and oh boy i had FEELINGS).

Also, just the whole Pein attack in general was some bad ass Tsunade. I think Hashirama is the only other Hokage who could have protected Konoha and saved as many lives as Tsunade did. Her skills really shone through her as well as her connection with Lady Katsuyu.

(Anime Only) showing Ino and Sakura what she looked like when she was younger. Tsunade looked so proud of herself while she was showing off her younger look. It’s clear that she just loves looking young and that her keeping herself looking younger has never been about sexual appeal but just enjoying being young. If she could turn back time and be 12 again i think she would, and not just to save Dan and her brother.

Caving in Madara’s Sussano. This woman stood there and listened to Madara bad mouth her for the crime of not being as talented as her grandfather and instead of crying over it she proceded to destroy every judgement Madara made against her. She got stabbed through the abdomen and cut Madara’s sussano sword and shoved it out if her body. She got cut in half and still healed the other Kage’s using Katsuyu. SHE PUNCHED MADARA’s SUSSANO, A NEAR PERFECT DEFECE, AND SHATTERED THE RIB CAGE. Sure she was never going to win that fight, but damn did she do some major damage.

The fact that she taught Sakura to gamble? Delightful. Love master and student bonding over non training activities.

Calling Kakashi stupid for how he faced Itachi? Fair. Man didn’t know what he was getting into because he didn’t have all the necessary info, but she’s still valid for calling him out on acting before thinking. He was so protective of Asuma, Kurenai and specifically Sasuke (and then Naruto when he realized Itachi was actually there for him) he just threw himself into a fight. Tsunade had every right to call him dumb.

Telling Naruto his only disease was being dumb XD one of my fav moment’s ever. Boy was not ready.

(Book only) yelling at Gai for ditching his position to catch a ride on the fancy new air balloon/plane. Also, her asking Gai to tell them what Kaiyo looked like always felt hilarious because this man forgets all the faces and i can only imagine that it was a stressful af conversation to have.

(Book only) ‘Kakashi take my job’ ‘no’ Kakashi take my job’ ‘no’ ‘kakashi take my-‘ ‘fine’ ‘ABOUT DAMN TIME’

[kayssweetdreams]

One Big Crazy Loving Bruno Family

(AKA: How the Wonder Stars met Kaylo's family)

The Kids walked down the street to Kaylo's address again. The pink haired girl had invited them over for a small get together to celebrate her getting into the Barnum Naka School of Performing Arts most advanced singing program (a very prestigious matter, even by her standards) and her family was throwing a party to celebrate.

"I wonder if her Aunt is gonna be there!" Leo said. The kids wondered the same thing, after all, Catilin Bruno owned one of the most successful and popular sweet shops in Timeville, and she was Kaylo's aunt. "She probably is. Along with the rest of her family." Emma told him. Rebecca nodded "Yeah! I mean they're probably proud of her for getting in. I know I would if I was accepted into the worlds most advanced art program." She said.

When they finally arrived at the Bruno manison, Mei knocked at the door, waiting for the pink haired girl to open the door, only instead to be greeted by a Japanese man, with glasses on his face and a kind smile. "Hello. Are you friends of Kaylo?" He asked. The kids nodded before he welcomed them into the house. What met them was the loud thumps of music playing from somewhere, as well as a lot of people mingling with each other.

"So you guys made it!" The kind voice of Thea Bruno caught their attention. "Hi Mrs Bruno! Thank you for inviting us!" Emma said "Oh it was no problem, Kaylo was insistant that you came, she's really excited about this after all." She said, helping Catilin Bruno pull a desert cart out. "Yeah. That and it gives her a reason to go nuts with sweets." She said jokingly.

The kids chuckled at her quip before s few younger children came running to the cart "YAY!! SWEETS!!" They cheered before another woman, holding two babies came in front of them "Not Yet. One at a time, we didn't have dinner yet." She said in a gentle, but firm voice "OK Auntie Cherry" the said, but not without one of them grabbing a cupcake. "I see You Lola You're not invisible." She said in a joking voice. The little girl giggled as she ran off, cake in tow.

Leo shook his head at the number of kids that ran through the house, before one of them came up to him and the others "Hi! I'm Haru! What's your name?" She asked "I'm Leo. Are you Kaylo's...sibling?" He asked, confused. Haru Giggled "Nope! I'm her Cousin! Kimi is her sister though!" She said. "My siblings are over there!" She said, pointing towards three other kids, with the Japanese man from before "That's my Dad Koto! And my siblings Hana, Kyary, and Sakura!" She said, pointing at each one.

"Alright! Do you know where we can find Kaylo?" Rebecca asked "She's helping Grandma and Grandpa get ready to come down." Haru answered. A loud wailing got all of their attention "Haru? Can you grab Mia and Tia's bottles please?" The same caring voice from before asked "Hang On! I got it!" A somewhat panicked voice said. "Oh thank you Melody. You really are a godsend." The caring voice said. "Heh...No Problem Aunt Cherry...I've dealt with Finn before, this is nothing." The voice panted out.

"That's Melody, her family and her brother came by to celebrate as well." Haru explained. "Hey...I think I remember her. Ba-A friend of ours said she had met her and her brother before." Trisha Jane said, keeping the part about the Balan Theater, and the maestros that ran it out of the sentence. "Oooooh! Well, that makes one, Melody used to be a big scaredy cat at one point, and then she was seen singing on a stage in front of a lot of people." Haru said.

"Now Haru, stop telling them embarrassing secrets." An older voice said. Behind the kids sat MORE children, the older one glaring down at Haru "I was just saying. These are Jenny, Julie, and Lola." She introduced. "You must be friends of Kaylo. Pleased to meet you." Jenny said, while Julie already began hugging them. "Let's play! Let's play!" She squealed, pulling Mei's hand "Come on now Julie, they're looking for Kaylo, they can play a little later." Jenny said, gently pulling her away.

Julie pouted before Emma crouched down and said "We can play soon, after we find your cousin. Ok?" Julie nodded her head before she ran off with Jenny and Lola. Suddenly, another girl came running down, holding a small game console "Anyone up for a game of Splat Attack?" She asked. The kids looked hesitant before Trisha Jane raised her hand "I'll play you." She said "OK!" The little chirped, before plugging in the console to a nearby TV.

As it turns out...she was good at Splat Attack. Winning at LEAST 6 games. "How?! How are you THIS good?!" Leo asked in shock "Well. I AM a good gamer. Name's Kimi Bruno." She said, a bit of pride in her voice. "Oh! You're Kaylo's little sister aren't you!" Emma exclaimed, remembering what Haru said. "Yep. My big sis is almost ready. She's almost done with Grandma and Grandpa." She said.

"I hope mom isn't giving her a hard time. She has a habit of not wanting to wear her 'important clothes' as she puts it." A older woman said, still holding the two babies "Should...we go up and help?" Leo asked. Another Man (probably another uncle) shook his head "Nah. Kaylo can handle it. I've seen Krista melt whenever Kaylo's eyes get big, and she does the 'Please don't make me cry' look. After that, she does just about anything." He said, while tinkering with a small toy robot in his hands.

"We're coming!" An aged female voice said before a blur came barreling down the stairs "Krista Dear! Wait!" An elderly male voice yelled as a loud "WOOHOO!!" Was heard and an very elderly woman came sliding down the stairway rail "Grandma Krista! You know that you can't do that! Your old!" A familiar voice said. The kids looked up to see Kaylo, along with an older man rush down the stairs to the cackling woman.

"Oh I'm not that old yet! I'm not gonna father Time stop me yet!" She said as Kaylo and the man helped her off the ground. "Kaylo!" Mei called out, getting the pink haired girls attention. Kaylo smiled as she saw her friends Watching the display "Guys!! You made it!" She cheered, tackling them in a hug. "Yep! We weren't gonna miss this!" Leo said as she put them down "I hope my family didn't give you a hard time. " Kaylo said, a small blush on her face

"Actually, They're all really nice. But your sister is really good at video games." Emma said. Kaylo playfully rolled her eyes "Huh...Show off." She said before a Bell was heard "Dinner Time everyone!" Thea said as everyone headed towards the dining room "I guess we'll have to put more introductions on hold, it's time to eat!" Kaylo cheered as the kids followed her to the dining room.

The Brunos may be many, but they really are a large, crazy, loving family

Mei belongs to @sundove88

Rebecca belongs to @thehypercutstudios/@thehyperrequiem

Trisha Jane belongs to @lovelyteng

[hana-akari]

Sarada had such a bright, and excited smile on her face. It was clear she wasn’t there against her will or forcing herself to be there but genuinely was just happy to be with him.

She looked so much like him and Sakura but when she smiled, it really made the features she got from Sakura glow. Sarada looked so much like Sakura did when she was Sarada’s age. Really, the only features she got from Sasuke was her dark hair and eyes. Admittedly, Sakura was minorly disappointed that Sarada didn’t come out with pink hair but Sakura wouldn’t change a single thing about Sarada. She loved her the way she was.

Sarada allowed Sasuke to lead the way but she knew the layout of the compound like the back of her hand. Growing up, she spent a lot of time running around the grounds, exploring it. It always felt just so empty yet sometimes she could have swore something was watching over her while she ran around. She only vaguely knew what happened to her clan. Her parents spared her the gory details but she knew her uncle had his reasons for what he did and she needed to know that Itachi was a good person. 

Sometimes Sarada found herself wondering what things would have been like if they were all still alive. Would her grandparents like her? What kind of person her uncle was? What the compound was like in its full glory? At times she wanted to talk to her Papa about her family but she knew it was a sore subject. She still couldn’t help but be curious about them. 

“That would be him. I think he has a weird crush on me too.” That or he’s trying to use her to get to her papa. Sarada hasn’t been very happy over Boruto’s odd obsession with her papa. It made her feel somewhat possessive, even if she knew he would never choose someone over her. She just didn’t like someone moving in on her papa when they had a papa of their own. The Hokage no less! “I still haven’t forgiven him for trying to peep on me while I was in the shower. He claims it was an accident but I don’t believe him.” Boruto deeply regretted those actions after Sarada got dressed and beat him bloody.  And then he got his ass chewed out by her mama.

“I so would have worked better with them! But… I like Mitsuki. I like being on a team with Mitsuki.” Sarada turned a small shade of pink, looking away from Sasuke so he couldn’t see, “I think I like, like Mitsuki…” She admitted, pausing for a moment, looking back up at Sasuke, “When did you know you had feelings for Mama?” Sarada has always heard her mama’s side of the story but never her papa’s. She was so curious to hear his side given he was so good at hiding how he’s feeling. Her mama claims he’s easy to read but Sarada has yet to master that.

Sarada’s eyes squinted as the compound became a blur of colors and shapes the moment Sasuke removed her glasses. Because he let go of her hand, she grasped the back of his shirt now unable to see much of anything, “I know but I’m scared someone is going to break them. Auntie Karin gave me this pair. Mama has been suggesting we go to a professional to get them adjusted.”

Her eyes blinked a few times once he placed her glasses back on her face. It took a moment or two for her vision to adjust again. The world once again became clear and she could make out details of things. Sarada adjusted her glasses, and then grinned, “Oh, this is much better!” They were still a bit big but not sliding down her nose nearly as much,

“Thank you, Papa!”

It warmed Sasuke's heart to see Sarada's excitement. For all that he has to deal with day-in and day-out, the idea that he was only dragging his child around against their will brought him an imagined agony.

Onward, he walked with her over towards the garden side of the compound, listening to her woes.

" Hm, Naruto's kid? " He couldn't forget a name like that, but the visage evades him ever so often. Naruto didn't keep any photos of them, nor wife, in his office. At times, Sasuke seems to have forgotten that he had children at all.

" If I had a say on the arrangement, I would have placed you with Ino and Shikamaru's sons. " Yes, he's thought about this many a time. Though, the schooling committee seemed to have disagreed with him whenever he mentioned it. Something about barring parents from writing in children destiny- or whatever flowery language they imposed on him.

" We need to get your glasses adjusted, " he mentioned, taking them off for a moment to pinch the middle nose guard, hoping that it will hold a bit more steady on her face. With that, he gave it a clean as well before returning them.

[arty-e]

Could we potentially say that Clover’s husband is getting cucked?

Oh buddy you have nooooo idea

This guy is being so cucked so badly it’s painful

[sakura-gyarugal]

Akatsuki headcanons nobody asked for ^^ mostly modern ones

Kakazu has lucky socks for when he goes gambling

Sasori tans really bad. He turns bright red. To which Deidara laughs at since he tans perfectly.

Hidan’s hair is crusty from all that gel he uses. Like man doesn’t wash it was it till the weekend.

Kakuzu secretly likes drag shows.

Deidara has an hearing aid but keeps taking it out so mostly uses sign language

Konan and Itachi have cooking competitions and the rest of the Akatsuki are the judges. They both become scary so the Akatsuki are wary who to pick as the winner.

Orochimaru is non-binary they’re also into drag.

Deidara is a vegan since he likes animals so much. He definitely judges when he sees one of them eating meat especially in front of his birds.

Sasori is allergic to peanuts

Kakazu has many sugar babies but is super cheap with them. He only gives extra to Hidan <3

Hidan has a cult on Twitter but 85% of it is him on separate accounts 💀. He gets banned every month.

Obito has a prosthetic arm and eye. But sometimes he forgets to put on a patch or his eye. When starts getting weird looks then he realizes XD

Pain and konan have lots of pets mostly dogs

Deidara and konan steal each other’s clothes with zero remorse. In fact they meet up with each other with each other’s clothes on.

Konan: is that my shirt?

Deidara: those are the boots I’ve been looking for

Konan: dude

Deidara: bro

Sasori likes murder mysteries and is into taxidermy(very interesting hobbies put together)

Kisame’s food is always getting taken. Like he hides his food in the ceiling and floor boards and it still gets taken.

Kisame: alright who ate my leftovers?

Deidara with a mouthful of rice: I don’t know man

Zetsu: with a chicken wing in between his mouth: not sure

Hidan with sauce all over his mouth: uh did you check the outside fridge?

Zetsu is anti vegan because they think plants feel pain. Deidara and Zetsu constantly fight about animal rights and plants.

Konan is very much into spirituality and stuff to which Hidan thinks is creepy. When he gets on her nerves she threatens to curse him.

Kisame is an activist to animal rights mostly marine though

When Obito first met Deidara he tried sign language and accidentally said something rude with his hands and Sasori was just like: 😦 while Deidara was like: gasp

Pain and madara fight over who’s the better “father” of the Akatsuki. Madara tries to win them over by presents. Like this mf really bought Deidara,hidan, and sasori a car. It currently just sits there at madara’s place

Kisame may seem intimidating and like nothing gets to him but he hates spiders. Like jump onto the table cuz of them. Itachi is always the one to kill it.

Itachi secretly follows his brother or gets bodyguards when his brother is out the home. Sasuke has been known but hasn’t said anything yet.

Konan is a pole dancer. Deidara and Hidan go into her closet and wear her 10 inch heals. Hidan eventually broke an arm trying to walk in them.

Sasori forgets to blink so the Akatsuki have to remind him to

Sasuke hates being around the Akatsuki he tries to avoid them as much as possible.

Did I mention sasori has a very detailed obsession of murder?

Itachi got the worst asthma. Whenever he gets stressed he’s reaching for his inhaler which is all the time.

Kakazu Works 3 jobs he doesn’t even need three jobs but he’s obsessed with money so…

Kisame has a bunch of cultural tattoos from his village

Zetsu likes to hiss at people💀

Madara is that rich aunty that never gets invited yet still comes and ruins the entire function.

Itachi has too much time on his hands so sometimes he sews sweaters for Sasuke to which Sasuke always wears 💗

Sakura: Sasuke it’s 90 degrees please take that sweater off before you have a heat stroke

Sasuke: I can’t…

Naruto: why? It looks dorky anyways

-naruto later went to the hospital for a broken nose. Don’t disrespect Itachi’s sewing🙄

Obito is honestly a jello mess around rin no matter how long they’ve been dating.

Obito, deidara, Kisame, and Konan all like kpop. Like they really be out here jamming to fancy by twice!

Hidan is illiterate…I’m sorry but that man can’t read to save his life

Kakuzu eats meat raw….yeah raw. He’s too lazy to cook it all the way. Cuz money is time or however that quote goes

Konan grows a single grey hair every time she’s with Hidan. He makes her head hurt but they’re buddies when they go to bars

Itachi is brutally honest he just says it in a kind way so it doesn’t come off too hard. 😌

Deidara and Sasuke have mad beef with each other. They wore the same slipknot shirt one day at the mall…(they were both shopping for eyeliner)

Pain has tattoos of all of the Akatsuki members names since he feels he’s the dad of the group. Of course kakazu was like…I’m older than you

Kakazu doesn’t understand memes like at all.

Kakazu: I had the worst yeet today or whatever y’all young people be saying

Hidan: ?????

Sasori is a picky eater. He only eats chicken tenders and strawberries. He only eats kisame, Itachi, and konan food because the rest suck at cooking

Hidan learned sign language to curse Deidara out when he realized he was deaf.

Nobody: Hidan curses you out in sign language

Itachi wears the thickest brim glasses ever

Kisame sleeps with lots of plushies. He likes the comfort :)

Obito and pain like to gamble but they both cheat and both haven’t figured it out yet…idiots

Konan and rin go shopping when they’re boyfriends are gambling. They love talking about their idiot boyfriends over a cup of coffee or tea while spending all their money

Sasori’s room is filled with vintage dolls. Deidara has a hard time sleeping at his apartment especially since sasori likes making dolls that look like him😭 like sasori this why you get zero ho

Sasori also makes voodoo dolls with strands of his hair. He’s so weird lmao

Orochimaru has a boa constrictor… no they should not have one but they do cuz they can

Zetsu favorite movie is the human centipede

Madara hates orphans 🤣 but fr

Hidan and Deidara fight with kids. They really be getting offended on what an eight year old said

Obito likes romantic movies. Kakashi clowns him for it and that the fact he likes kpop.

Konan has secretive piercings

Hidan: so where else do you have piercings

Konan: places you will never see

Hidan: inside your ear?

Konan: ….no

Kisame weight lifts. 🎶He’s buff he’s really really buff🎵

Itachi has five minute teeth routine for all the sugar he eats

Hidan washes his face with dish soap 😟 while Deidara, Itachi, konan are having a thirty minute skin care routine

Zetsu has eaten their pet fish before…um yeah

Rin is girlboss Obito is male wife

Orochimaru goes to jail every month and gets bailed out every time

Sasori uses cursed images to express how he feels since he’s bad at wording them. So if he’s in a bad mood he’ll show a really weird photo that expresses anger. It doesn’t work 90% of the time.

Zetsu: so it’s a cat with milk on its face

Sasori: yeah

Zetsu: and that represents what exactly?

Sasori: …I feel depressed

Zetsu: oh now I kinda see it

Kakazu likes watching the Akatsuki fight so he brings up controversial topics just to see everyone fight as he drinks his wine. Free entertainment

No one likes orochimaru yet he still comes to every event. Which is just awkward for everyone

Obito Tries to seem more young with slang and memes yet it’s just awful

Obito: we’re going to get lit at this party? Right homies?

Deidara ripping out his hearing aid

Hidan: Dude what?

Rin getting second hand embarrassment

Konan crying with laughter

Lol these generally don’t make sense but it was fun coming up with them! I literally love the headcanon of Deidara being Deaf and Obito and sasori being super awkward cute guys..they try their best. And konan and rin being best friends is literally my favorite thing ever

[kankuroplease]

Chiha Uzamaki Tattoo Au Headcanons?

Took a liking to singing as a small child and wanted to do every play and musical her school had to offer.

Looks up to Naruto and his never quit attitude, still thinks he’s a dorky idiot, but a good guy.

Thanks to all her natural talent and vocal training, she’s quite good at singing. She’s still a little shy/humble about being asked to do it in the spot

Her first non-school performance was for Mikoto’s birthday celebration and ever since then, She’s performs at the upscale Uchiha lounge every other month and earns a nice chunk of cash

Which goes straight to her sneaker collection because she’s a sneakerhead 👟

Chiha also wears the pearl necklace her mother’s friend gifted her for the birthday performance all the time.

Goes to the Uchiha owned night clubs with her friends because they really are the best in town. Only downside is she runs the risk of getting caught by Sasuke who, for some reason, thinks he can forbid her from going

Unlike her brother, she knows he’s a Yakuza. Their mom’s are friends. C’mon, she’s actually safer in a Uchiha club where everyone that matters already know who she is thanks to that birthday gig. Plus who is going to try anything on their territory??

Takes revenge in the form of visiting Naruto and eating all of Sasuke’s snacks she can find

Gets along better with Itachi than Sasuke, Itachi doesn’t care if she’s at one of his clubs and is the one handing her cash. It’s smart business; beautiful people bring him more customers and as long as she isn’t interfering with his business, it’s none of his business.

Hates her sandwich place job. especially when Naruto shows up acting like he’s going to order something different. He gets the same thing every time but waste time humming to himself and she has to tell her coworkers he’s off limits.

Loves Sakura to pieces because Sakura has always been nice to her. She would hold her hand when she was little and help her with her homework whenever she came over. She is like her cool big sister 🥹

Got nipple piercings because why not? Naruto was taking forever to finish a tattoo and she was bored/Sakura was available to do it.

Not a fan of her godfather, what is he doing still writing smut at his big age 😭

Very sociable, lead singer of the family band, studying music, trouble maker™️, loves her beauty sleep

Not afraid to try new makeup looks

Still lives at home and will toss herself at the foot of her parents bed to vent because they usually have great advice and she has a lot of thoughts. Doesn’t matter if they were cuddling or reading, they made her have to live in this world, so they can hear about the bullshit

Tried to help her mom with gardening, but has no green thumb. She’s distraught over the basil plant she killed.

Her mother and father help make her stage dresses. They sort of learned how to sew for the kids Halloween costumes and found that it was fun/cheaper to make Chiha’s dresses

Makes Naruto sleep on the floor or he has to take Sasuke’s room when she stays at his place. She woke up to Shisui sipping coffee and watching the sunrise once when she was sleeping on the coach. That scared her half to death, so nope. No more living room crashing for her.

Likes going to “uncle” Kakashi’s because of the dogs. Actually their dog walker sometimes as it gives her scary dog privilege

Also “uncle” Obito lets her drive his Polaris Slingshot around the block (and only around the block, no speeding kid) and “auntie” Rin lets her borrow some of her mini dresses for going out.

Kakashi still can’t decide who was the worse kid to babysit as a teen, Naruto or Chiha

Makes faces even when she thinks she isn’t and hates when people point it out. Like, it’s not her fault she can’t hide her emotions 💀

Really likes chocolates and making chocolates

Falls asleep easily during car rides

Invites Naruto to her musicals and recitals because she knows he’ll come and him being there made her less nervous as a child. Now she just expects him to be there and will probably be a little mad if he wasn’t.

[goodlucktai]

Could you write something about natsume getting a hug?? Just, from whoever n for whatever reason. I keep thinking about how no one ever really hugs him n it makes me sad

x

The absolute last person Joji expected to see today was Natsume Takashi.

Joji slows to a stop on the corner of the street, a block away from the train station, and stares shamelessly.

It's been a decade since the last time he saw Natsume, but he recognizes him immediately. Of course he does. His light hair and eyes aside, Joji has thought about him on-and-off since junior high.

Joji remembers that rainy day when he was thirteen, an empty desk in the middle of his eighth grade classroom, Ito leaning over in his chair to whisper, "Did you hear? Natsume was in the ER. He almost died. The police are looking at his foster parents."

It was as if he'd been plunged into a pool of ice water. He sat there, frozen, while their teacher called them to attention for homeroom and announced that Natsume wouldn't be in their class going forward.

What was the last thing Joji had said to him? "It's no wonder your parents didn't want you." Why the hell had he said that? A book, if he remembers right. He'd lent it to Natsume and Natsume gave it back all water-damaged, like he'd gone for a swim with his backpack on. Natsume's eyes were on his hands, on the ruined book, and he'd tried to apologize, said he'd pay for it, but Joji just snatched it away, ticked off.

"This is what I get for trying to help you, I guess. It's no wonder your parents didn't want you."

Joji is almost twenty-four now. He's going into pediatrics. His fiance, Sakura, is a foster parent. She is currently the proud and fiercely protective mother of two beautiful twin girls.

Sora and Miu are terrified of adults and they go everywhere together and sometimes they make up stories. Sometimes they lie, about why their uniforms are torn, why they're home late, why their lunchboxes are covered in dirt. They have this look in their eyes sometimes like they're just waiting to get hurt again.

Sakura has the patience of a saint. She never raises her voice. She stitches their torn uniforms, replaces their lunchboxes, and, on more than one occasion, has marched into their junior high school and threatened the staff with physical violence if her babies come home with bruises one more time.

Needless to say, Sora and Miu adore her. It took them longer to warm up to Joji, but they're there now; no longer flinching when he moves in their direction, greeting him happily when he comes over for breakfast, smiling shyly when he staggers into the apartment underneath the weight of two giant stuffed rabbits that cost nearly half his paycheck, because it's their birthday, Sakura, they need them.

Joji tries to imagine someone telling them "this is why your parents didn't want you" and goes absolutely breathless with rage.

Natsume glances up from his phone to look right at Joji, as if someone had pointed him out. Caught staring, Joji shuffles in place for a moment, and then squares his shoulders and heads over.

He's expecting the Natsume of his memory; he's expecting him to curl his shoulders and duck his head, the way Joji's girls still sometimes do when a stern auntie wants to talk to them.

He's not expecting Natsume to level him with a clear, politely confused gaze. He pockets his phone, and shoves his hands into the front pockets of the cardigan he's wearing; a size too big, like something he borrowed out of someone else's closet, but it's a charming look on him. He's dressed well, in dark-washed jeans and white high-top sneakers, and his silvery hair is long, probably long enough to fall past his shoulders if he didn't have it piled up in a bun. There's a squat calico cat at his feet, glaring up at Joji with judgmental green eyes.

"Can I help you?" Natsume asks kindly. His voice is a shock to the system; Joji remembers him like it was yesterday.

"Oh," Joji says, stymied. It never occurred to him that Natsume might not recognize him in turn. "Um, I'm Watanabe Joji. We were classmates in eighth grade."

"That's right," Natsume says with gratifying quickness. He looks a little embarrassed now and returns Joji's short bow. "Sorry, it's been a long time."

And we weren't exactly friends, he doesn't say, but that common knowledge sits neatly between them.

"Ten years!" Joji replies with some forced enthusiasm. "Is that why you're here?"

"Sorry?"

"The, ah, reunion this weekend? Ito, from our homeroom back then, put together a whole thing. Our whole class is getting together for dinner and drinks."

It occurs to him that Natsume might not have been invited. Joji thinks that's less because he isn't welcome and more because Ito almost certainly didn't have his contact information. The few times his name has come up, Joji's friends have gone quiet and melancholy. A few of them are parents now, or aunts and uncles at least. All of them know better than they did when they were mean, shitty little teenagers.

Joji opens his mouth to assure Natsume that they'd love to have him, but Natsume cuts him off with a laugh.

It's not a mean laugh. It's not unfriendly in the slightest. But it stings anyway, because Natsume is laughing out of pure disbelief.

"No, no," he says, waving a hand, "god, no. Could you imagine?" he adds, glancing down at the cat. The cat huffs, settling a little more solidly against Natsume's ankle. "We're just passing through, actually."

"We?" Joji asks dumbly. Did he mean himself and the cat?

It's Natsume's turn to get cut-off, this time by a long, drawn-out shout of "Takashiiii!"

A short, russet-haired young man around Joji's age comes barreling down the sidewalk toward them at a flat-out run. Joji's first inclination is one of alarm, but Natsume steps forward with his arms outstretched, and the stranger collides with him in an embrace that looks like it hurts.

Natsume is laughing again, but it's softer this time. It's the warmest sound Joji has ever heard him make.

"What's this for?" Natsume is saying, patting him on the back.

"Just missed you," his friend replies.

"You saw him twenty minutes ago, Satoru," comes the exasperated call from further down the road, and Joji glances over to find a small group headed their way, laden with shopping bags.

"Yeah, exactly," Satoru says, leaning back without letting go, just enough to gaze up at Natsume with a cheeky grin. "I'm all Takashi-deficient. It's pretty serious."

"Sounds serious," Natsume replies, and agreeably keeps an arm wrapped around his shoulders as the rest of their group catches up.

A tall, dark-haired man stoops to pick up Natsume's cat, and it settles agreeably in the crook of his arm. The brown-eyed woman beside him lets out a coo, shifting all her bags to one hand so she has one free to scratch it behind the ears.

"We're being rude," the dark-haired man says in a soft, pleasant tone. "Who's this, Takashi?"

Natsume introduces Joji as an old classmate, giving absolutely none of their history away in tone or expression, but somehow all of his friends seem to clue in to something anyway. Their collective demeanor shifts, in an unidentifiable way, even if their polite smiles don't slip an inch as Takashi introduces each of them in turn.

All but Nishimura Satoru, still tucked up against Natsume's side, who gives Joji a positively poisonous look.

"Okay, Satchan, you're going to lose privileges if you can't be nice," Kitamoto says dryly, and extracts him from Natsume's person with a deftness that speaks of years of practice.

"Nooo," Nishimura says, but it's curbed quickly by Shibata shoving a bag at him and snapping, "Carry this! It's that stupid lucky cat statue you just had to have, and it's heavy!"

"It looks just like sensei! Tooru loves it, too!"

"I do," Taki admits.

It's a warm afternoon, right at the end of August, the sky turning golden with the beginnings of dusk. Joji still manages to feel cold.

He grew up, but Natsume did, too. He always regretted what he did, he always wondered if Natsume was okay, wherever he went, but Natsume hasn't seemed to spare him a second thought. He's got his own friends now; bright, kind people who look like they'd raise hell for him. Who run to meet him.

Joji missed the chance to have a place in Natsume's life. He's a footnote, now, and not a very good one.

"Jojojojo!"

The bright voices have him spinning around, forgetting everything else, and he lights up when he spots Sora and Miu waving at him from the other side of the street. Sakura has a firm hold on their jackets so they can't go spilling out into the street until the pedestrian crossing sign lights up, and then she releases them like a couple of eager hunting dogs.

Natsume's friends shuffle to one side politely, and Joji steps forward to catch his girls when they reach him. They're so beautiful and he missed them so much, this weekend they were away to visit Sakura's parents. He kisses them each on the head, and then kisses Sakura on the head in the name of fairness, and it makes all three of them laugh.

Taki coos just like she did with the cat, hands clasped together under her chin.

"What sweet girls!" she says. "Are they yours, Watanabe?"

"Yes," Joji says proudly, putting one arm around each of their shoulders. They've come so far, not hiding behind him from the group of strangers, even if they press into his sides shyly. "This is Miu, and this is Sora. We're adopting them."

Sakura shifts her weight imperceptibly, a barely-there tell. Waiting, he knows, for the surprise, or outright condemnation. She's dealt with a lot of bullshit for taking these kids in, from family and ex-friends and even total strangers. It rolls right off her, and she usually gives as good as she gets, but she hates when Sora and Miu have to hear it. They don't deserve to hear it.

Joji will have to explain it to her, later, why he brought it up. Why he knew it would be safe to bring it up in front of these strangers.

Sure enough, all their faces soften immediately, a gentle transformation. Natsume crouches, gazing at the twins with an expression that Joji remembers from his childhood. The delicate resilience, the willingness to reach out even if he got hurt.

The look on his face ten years ago when he handed back that ruined book, owning up to his mistake and trying to fix it, buying Joji a replacement even after Joji said something unthinking and cruel.

"I was adopted, too," he says.

"Really?" Sora asks quietly.

"Really," Natsume tells her. "My parents died when I was little. I wasn't an easy child to care for, even though it wasn't my fault, so I got passed around a lot. It took me a long time to find my place, but I found it. Did you find yours?"

"I think so," Sora says, glancing around Joji at her sister.

"Me, too," Miu adds.

Sakura clutches Joji's hand hard enough to bruise. She won't cry here and now, but he already knows it's going to be an ice-cream-for-dinner kind of night.

Natsume looks up to meet Joji's eyes when he says, "That's good. I'm glad to hear it."

It's forgiveness. Joji hears it plain as day. He didn't get a chance to ask for it-- isn't sure he deserves it-- but there it is, freely given. And it's reassurance, too.

When Joji's daughters used to curl their shoulders and duck their heads, it would always tug at the memory of a boy he used to know, who was as kind as he was desperate for kindness.

Now, he thinks, when his girls are making a mess of the kitchen trying to follow a pancake recipe with their friends, or dragging a stray cat inside with big, hopeful eyes, it'll remind him of this afternoon. Natsume's clear, bright eyes, and the protective cluster of friends surrounding him.

The world wasn't fair to him; it left a mountain in his life that he had to climb, complete with all its pitfalls and crumbling paths and bad weather.

And here he is on the other side, goodness intact. Smiling. Loved.

He found his place. Sora and Miu found theirs.

And god, if that doesn't give Joji hope for everyone else.

"It was nice to see you," he says thickly, hoping Natsume hears his honesty. "Don't come to the reunion, that was-- a stupid thing to say, but-- would you-- dinner?"

Natsume hears it. He tilts his head, considering, and then says, "We missed our train, anyway."

"And I'm starving," Tanuma says agreeably. Clearly, he says it more to agree with Natsume than anything.

Nishimura is the hardest sell, watching Joji with hard eyes. But then his gaze dips to Sora and Miu, and all his sharp edges go soft, like butter melting in the sun. After a handful of tense seconds, he visibly gives up on his anger with a huff. His friends, watching patiently, all give absurd little cheers when it's clear he's on board.

"Fine, but if you live farther than three feet away, we're getting an Uber," Shibata threatens, rustling the shopping bags in his hands with annoyed fervor.

They drift in the direction of Joji's home, and Kitamoto talks Shibata down from the Uber with the promise of ducking into a 7-Eleven for ice creams instead, and Taki and Sakura are fast friends, rolling their sleeves up to compare tattoos-- Taki's is a strange, occult-looking circle that Joji makes a mental note to ask about-- and Tanuma lets Sora carry the fat cat, while Miu pets it with reverent fingers.

Natsume walks beside Joji, calm and unhurried, with Nishimura on his other side. He grew up with so much grace.

"Can I add you to the class groupchat?" he asks without thinking.

"Good luck with that," Nishimura butts in, not unkindly. "He's the most unreliable texter you've ever met. He left me on read for like two days once, and we live together."

"You'd have better luck with an email," Natsume says apologetically.

It's more than Joji thought he'd get; they exchange contact information, in the middle of this chaotic, noisy group making its way down the street toward the well-lit combini on the corner and then, beyond that, home.

Natsume doesn't seem to have any interest in reconnecting with his old classmates, and Joji doesn't blame him for that. Even though it will certainly piss Ito off to be kept in the dark, even just for a few days, Joji decides it's for the best.

Nishimura's goodwill can't be stretched that far.

[drtenebres]

who are the most developed/most focused on characters right now??

Thanks for the ask!! It’s hard to say who is the most developed character right now, due to so many brain cells trying to work together, but we’ve all got our own individual ones we’re working on that we feel the strongest about !

@shslstraws :

blah blah blah this is where jude talks about oumota -Snelly (SHAAAAADDUPPPPP -Straws) 

Kaito (My beloved) - A commonfolk who was oblivious by the magic world around him until he inevitably is pushed to it, by living his new life as a Tenebroso werewolf. The cause for how he became a werewolf is unknown, and he tries to keep away from his friends and family to protect them from this “curse”. Kaito gets in a mix of mages and eventually meets with Kokichi, a plague doctor who claims he can cure him. He slowly realizes and comes to face the reality that is Tenebres. 

Kokichi (Most developed??) - A mage who lived in an orphanage until he gets adopted by two mages, Nagito and Hajime. Kokichi dreams of being far powerful than both his dads and going back to recruit the other orphanage kids to his upcoming organization. Until he gets a set back when he takes things too far with the magi academy, he gets demoted to a Plague Doctor; a low status of a mage. It is until he meets Kaito, on one of his duties, and believes if he figures out the mystery behind Tenebrosos, he will earn the right to regain his place back in the academy. 

Shuichi (Most Focused on ATM) - Born from the great Kyoko Kirigiri and Makoto Naegi, there are a lot of expectations put upon Shuichi since he was very young. The expectations were too high and too heavy to carry that Shuichi decided to leave behind that life and the Kirigiri name. He meets up with Rantaro who gives him the ability of a werewolf, and thinks he can finally start anew. Until he faces the same problems with being a werewolf and being part of a pack, Shuichi decides to live amongst the commonfolk with his new friends Kaito, Kaede, and Maki by his side. 

@baylardian-1 :

Kyoko (Most focused on) - A detective who grew up working under a large magefolk entity in the specific branch that deals with magic-based crimes. Kyoko is telepathic with a hindered use of magic due to a strange curse covering both of her hands. Because of her ability to read minds and the overwhelming loudness many voices can create in her head, Kyoko prefers working alone. Eventually she retires from her occupation and becomes a private investigator alongside her husband Makoto.

Hifumi (Most developed) - A hamster familiar most closely resembling a smitten patsy for Celestia Ludenberg. Not having many friends he impulsively chose to follow a pretty girl one day and has never ceased. Initially out of threat, Hifumi would perform healing spells for Celestia after her hunts in addition to take care of her every beck and call. Nowadays their relationship takes on a more unspoken respect and fondness for one another.

Mukuro (My beloved) - A Tenebroso werewolf nearing closer to being 400 years old in age. Born a mage alongside her younger twin sister Junko, many events surrounding their past are shrouded in mystery. As a Tenebroso she has an unnaturally extended life. Mukuro is naturally covered in scars and physically looks to be reaching her mid 50's-early 60's. She is most often however seen to be disguising herself as a young girl.

@snellymain :

Kiyo (Most developed) - A socially reclusive vampire with a guilty conscience and a sworn duty to feed by killing swiftly rather than turning anyone else into a vampire; since he hates his vampirism and his sister that cursed him with it. Has a huge fondness for humans and anthropology after his controlling sister's hatred for them caused him to have extremely limited interactions with them. Ends up committed to a mage named Angie while the unwanted spirit of his sister began haunting him after many years of being dead.

Mahiru (Most focused on) - A standard mage with very little powers and a high respect for her non-mage mother, matching her disdain for her mage father. She got into photography as she had no attachment to her underwhelming magic, until her mother urged her to go to an academy so she wouldn't let her powers go to waste like her father did. After doing so, being out in the world more, she met Hiyoko and Hiro; in which she happily adopted the former and angrily married the latter.

Angie (My beloved) - A healing-based blood mage raised communally on an island, she heals others wounds with their own blood and often secretly takes their blood for her own use while doing so; mostly to feed her partner Kiyo, but she also has a fascination for blood of her own, initially being a result of her village's blood sacrifices and now a result of her blood magic. Generally a loud nuisance, though a medically helpful nuisance, in her academy.

@samsquatchem :

Doodle + blurb done by Snelly ♥

Yasuhiro (Their beloved) - A nomadic powerful mage with a wide variety of powers, mostly focusing on clairvoyance and near-limitless telekinesis; generally wanders around getting money wherever he can but spending it horrendously, ending up in a constant flat circle of time. He’s basically homeless; not out of poverty but what he considers convenience and tax evasion, for the most part and bums around Mahiru’s place. Close friends and a father figure to Hiyoko, (much to Mahiru’s initial dismay) the two bond over their shared tendency to wander and be in a new place every week + magic that neither know how to use properly, she became quickly attached to him due to him being the first person to talk to her after she ran away from home. Hiro is able to see the future but unable to speak it verbatim or else the opposite outcome will come to fruition, he can only nudge clients in the right direction of his visions. Most people think his magic is a scam and he’s the most useless mage ever.

@sutexii :

Chiaki (My Beloved) - A wooden mask enchanted with a human soul, powered by dream juice and magic robotics. Created by Chihiro to live in the dream realm (where u go when u sleep + also where the killing games take place) to gather data on it for Chihiro’s research, and help those in it travel safely. Has a deep fascination with the unpredictable and strange, and enjoys seeking out new knowledge wherever she can. Still likes her games, and while originally given access to some to help entertain those she’s traveling with, she just ends up hoarding them herself.

Tenko (Most Focused On ATM) - Commonfolk w/ a smidge of monster that comes out when her anger peaks. Abandoned due to said anger issues as a child, and taken in by Aoi and Sakura. She had a very Ghibli idyllic childhood, having adventures with friends and delivering donuts for her mom. Learned martial arts from her mom, taking a particular liking to Aikido, and through it learned to control her anger. Follows childhood crush Himiko around to protect her, leading to her entering the less than legal artifact smuggling trade with her later in life.

Aoi (Most Developed) - Water elemental with a love for baking donuts and raising/rehabilitating carp. Married to Sakura, having met when she wandered into the pond in her family’s abandoned dojo and decided to stay to fix it up, motivating Sakura to fix the rest of the place up in turn. Very carefree, friendly, and laid back, loves kids and taking on the “fun auntie” role. Never worked on her humanoid appearance much at all until motherhood, Tenko enters their life and it became hard to hold back a feral monster baby with fins.

@Soupcifer_ :

Nekomaru (Franken-maru) (most developed) - A reanimated corpse who was brought back to life thanks to the help of Kazuichi and Mikan. Unfortunately, he has amnesia and thus no recollection of his past friendships and family. He's a lot more quiet and mellow in comparison to his old self which makes him seem pretty dull, but in actuality he's being rather attentive and simply trying to understand everything that's happening. He does a lot of behind-the-scenes work when no ones looking like cleaning up after Kazuichi and setting reminders for Akane (still a team manager at heart).

Gonta (My beloved) - A vampire raised by werewolves. He only recently came to terms with being a vampire as he lived most of his life assuming the form of a wolf. He has an obsession with bugs, classic literature, and vintage clothing. Gonta likes to follow around a few of his friends, Angie and Korekyio (wink), and be of assistance whenever he can. He unfortunately has trouble dealing with his vampire nature sometimes due to only having lived with werewolves, so he often turns to Korekiyo for help.

Chihiro (most focused on) - An electric elemental! Chihiro is the creator/parent of Chiaki and Monomi. They have a passion for creating things that run on electricity and magic and as a result created their two lovely daughters (that and to investigate the dream realm). Chihiro also has the ability to possess electronics and machinery! Despite being incredibly small, they can emit a surprisingly large amount of energy which makes possessing large or complicated machinery an easy task.

[dxkk1104]

part one:

(⁃childhood friends to lovers, with drama

⁃angst

⁃non-massacre au

⁃tw: emotional abuse, mature content, domestic abuse)

Dinners at Sasuke's house were always enjoyable.

Mikoto was in charge of preparing the food, assisted by Sakura. Sasuke laid out the cutlery, while Naruto ran around the table with Shisui.

Only Itachi and his father were sitting on the couch, watching TV. Sasuke's brother had

been having a lot of coughing fits lately and couldn't strain himself, and Fugaku was spending all day at work.

"Will you finally calm down?" Sakura heard Sasuke's angry voice.

He was clearly fed up with Naruto interfering with his duties.

"Oi, don't be so indignant anymore, Teme."

Stirring the salad, out of the corner of her eye she noticed the same expression on Sasuke's face that said: One more word and you're dead. She laughed in spirit.

Recently, Sakura noticed that her friend had a problem expressing his emotions. The pressure his father was putting on him, and as a result, he began to as well, was too much. Sasuke complained that he was insufficient, and treated every failure as a curse. Outbursts of aggression or silence were caused by his father's inability to express his own

feelings, as well as Sasuke’s mother, who always tried to justify his father and his frequent recent absence.

"Sakura, please put this platter on the table."

"Okay, Auntie."

Having placed the dish in the center of the countertop, Sakura returned to the kitchen. They quickly tackled the rest of the food and after just a moment, the table could be seated.

Pumpkin soup was served by Shisui with the help of Naruto. Next came the main course brought by Sasuke, and finally dessert.

They ate appetizers, putting tomatoes, olives and other snacks on their plates.

"Do you think if we fail the mission again, Kakashi will suspend us?" asked Naruto with his mouth full.

Sakura turned her head to the left to look at Sasuke. Uchiha made a disgusted face.

"Me and Sakura didn't do anything wrong. You're the one who fucked up."

They felt Mikoto's burning gaze. Sakura sent the woman a fake smile, trying to control the situation. Mikoto shied away from cursing at home.

"It was an accident!"

"You are an accident."

"Sasuke-kun.", she hissed.

The boys looked at each other disdainfully. Sakura had long since grown accustomed to their disputes. She cut off a piece of salmon for her plate, deeming the discussion closed.

She handed a quarter of the fish to Sasuke. Sakura enjoyed sharing the food she prepared herself. Uchiha scooped a piece onto a fork. Before he put it in his mouth, he spoke to Fugaku, who had only been talking to Itachi and Shisui since lunch began.

"I was the best of the group last time, father," he waited a moment. Fugaku took his eyes off his eldest son and waved the hand.

"Congratulations." Sasuke squeezed his fork tighter, "And you didn't have trouble with one mission recently?"

Sakura noticed how his hand began to tremble slightly. Sasuke did not answer his father. Tense with anger, he looked down at the plate. Sakura grabbed his thighs, adding support. The boy's muscles relaxed, but after a moment, as if realizing what he had allowed his friend to do, he moved his leg away.

"It could be saltier." he said deliberately, wanting to defuse the anger he got from his father's attitude, but not paying attention to who he was hurting.

Sakura went back to eating with a heavier heart.

…

It was a hot afternoon. Sun was shining fully, providing not a bit of shade. Sakura had finished her day at the hospital and was heading home.

Stomach admonished her for missing a meal. Sakura turned right, finally deciding on ramen. In the distance, she spotted Sasuke with Naruto. They stood and talked, and the blond laughed, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Are you finished yet?" she asked, appearing right next to them.

"Aa."

"Great!" Sakura clapped her hands "I was going to go for ramen alone, but since you two are free now we can walk together."

Naruto threw his arm around Sasuke's neck and looked at Sakura with amusement.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, but I'm the only one who can go. Teme is meeting a girl."

Sakura's heart froze. Sasuke had never been the type of person to go out somewhere with others, much less girls.

"I'm only supposed to help her." he rolled his eyes "You make a big deal out of it."

"You rarely help anyone." Naruto commented.

He laughed at his friend’s irritated face. Sakura, for her part, stood and couldn't gather her thoughts. Naruto was right, Sasuke practically never does favors for others. Not once, at least, did he help her.

"Maybe you would also like to help me? I've been having a little problem lately" she fired out. Out of jealousy? Did she want to see if he would agree? Why did she do that?

Sakura felt herself blushing. After all, she didn't even have a problem with anything.

"I'm out of time this week."

"Ah, yes. It’s okey."

Her stomach rumbled again. "Then shall we go?" Naruto poked Sakura in the side.

"Yes, yes," she smiled sadly at Sasuke. Oh stop making an idiot of yourself, she scolded herself in her mind, "In that case, I'll see you on my birthday."

"Aa." he mumbled and set them down alone. Naruto took Sakura's hand.

"Do you know that I'm just laughing at him? If Sasuke were to be with anyone, it would be you, Sakura-chan."

"You've been telling me that for almost six years."

Naruto didn't speak up. They walked three blocks, silently heading to the restaurant. Suddenly, a boy ran out from around the corner. He bumped into Sakura, scattering cards on the ground.

"I'm so sorry." he raised the head, and blue eyes bore into her green ones.

"It's all right." she said kindly. The gray-haired man picked up the cards and, apologizing once again, ran on.

…

There was barely room on the table. Chips, drinks, jelly beans and crisps took up the entire countertop. In the kitchen, Sakura had set out alcohol and pizza.

Naruto and Ino arrived early and helped her open the door for guests. Sakura didn't invite many people. She wanted her 18th birthday party to be held in quiet company.

The guest list included Sasuke along with his brother and cousin, as well as the rest of the people from Konoha's eleven.

"Where should I put it, Sakura?" Itachi appeared in the kitchen

He carried two nets with, of course, food from his mother. Mikoto took too much care of everything. Sakura would have to return the favor by stopping by for dinner after her birthday.

"Here." she pointed to the vacant kitchen counter "And where is Sasuke?"

"He'll be here in a minute. He was still getting ready when we left."

Shisui suddenly ran into the room. In his arms rested a large pink teddy bear. He hugged Sakura, handing her the gift.

"I thought of you when I saw this," he said. "Am I still a child to you?" she laughed.

"That's a silly question. You will always be that twelve-year-old Sakura-chan to me." he stroked her head, mussing her hair.

The doorbell sounded in the apartment. Sakura looked at Itachi, and when he nodded, she moved to open it herself this time.

Sasuke looked nice in a black shirt and belted pants. He combed his hair back, though a few strands still fell over his face. He handed Sakura a small box.

"Thank you." she opened the contents and a beautiful gold necklace appeared before her eyes. From the chain dangled a small daffodil "It is.... beautiful."

"I'll tell my mother you liked it." Sakura only now noticed the second package held by Sasuke, "It's from me."

She put the box down on the table next to her and picked up a small bag. A bottle of alcohol, a new pair of gloves and a greeting card - 'Happy Birthday, Sakura' - lay at the bottom.

"Thank you." she put down the gift "There is food and drink. Help yourself."

Sasuke directed his steps to the kitchen. Sakura felt a small sting in her heart. When had he changed so much? She had known Sasuke for a long time, and until she was sixteen, he had always been a much more open person toward her, despite the difficult relationship at home.

They were friends, and as friends do, he often told Sakura things he wouldn't reveal to anyone else.

So what changed their relationship?

"Show me how you move that good ass of yours, Sakura!" shouted Ino, who from a distance could be seen that she was already a little drunk.

The girl spun to the rhythm of the music, and with her the rest. Only Itachi and Sasuke were sitting in the kitchen. Sakura wasted no time, she let herself be swept up in the fun.

Alcohol was pouring, music was ringing in the ears, singing was drowning out the tunes.

It was approaching three in the morning. Three people had left Sakura's apartment, heading to bed before tomorrow's work. Itachi was among them. Two others had gone to sleep in the guest room, while Ino and Shikamaru had disappeared somewhere. Shisui, for his part, sat over a vomiting Naruto.

Sakura, sipping the last of her drink, sat on the countertop. Sasuke was standing next to her. He was wandering somewhere with his thoughts.

"What are you thinking about, Sasuke-kun?" she didn't know what had tempted her to ask the question.

"About Itachi," he replied automatically. Sakura then took the conversation further.

"He's somehow been more pale lately. What's wrong with him?"

Itachi's illness was not a taboo subject, but the boy's deteriorating condition was conspicuous.

"He's dying." Sasuke drank sake all at once "And I can't do anything about it. No one can."

"I can. In two months, I'll finish training with Lady Tsunade, and I'll be able to take care of Itachi. I will keep him alive as long as I can, I promise."

Sakura jumped down from the countertop, grabbed the sake bottle in her hand and poured herself and Sasuke a full one. They shouldn't drink any more. Their speech was slowly becoming difficult to understand, and their gait was becoming more and more twisted.

She laughed, sipping. Even on Sasuke's face dawned a gentle, barely visible smile. His face had not been so relaxed in a long time.

"It's late. There's a spare room upstairs." Sakura drank the sake all at once, croaking.

Sasuke did not resist, just followed the girl. They entered the room, the air thickened.

They knew they would regret it. It was as if they could intuitively predict the future.

[sunflower1experiment]

Bursts through the wall

WASSUP BITCH! I REQUEST A LOT OF STUFF SO WHY NOT ADD THIS. DANGANRONPA X CHILD WARRIOR OF HOPE READER. LIKE THE READER IS EITHER NAGISA, MONACA, KOTOKO OR JATARO. DO THIS IF YOU WANT, of course platonic. Also sorry for the wall. I really like how you write and I have no motivation.

Does the Junko wave meanwhile fading away.

SUCKA THAT MY WALL!!! 😭 jk

WARRIORS OF HOPE READER X DANGANRONPA

Hina and Sakura

“AWHHH YOU’RE SO CUTE!” She squished your cheeks a lot, “HEY STOP! I’m the ultimate leader! Quit it! STOP! I NEED TO WORK IN THE GYM AAAGHHHH!”

She gives the best hugs (Y/N) why are you tripping! Plus Sakura and Hina are your new moms now.

Sakura usually carries you around whenever you’re worn out. Or Hina let’s you relax on her back while she does push ups.

Sometimes whenever you feel a bit left out though the best mom’s in the world give you gentle hugs and kisses.

“Hey mom-“ Hina cried when you called her mom. “Um…Ma-“ Sakura is officially your ma now: oh and she had to have a quiet moment because you called them mom!

“MY MOMS ARE LIT!” You’ll yell every time someone asks about your mom’s, “AND I’M NOT MAKING A SCENE! YOU ASKED AND STARTED JUDGING! AGHH!” Now you’re vigorously running laps around the gym room. Your mother’s watched in silence. “…..I worry for them.”

Chiaki and Ibuki

“So you two are my new older aunts?” Ibuki grins, “YEP! How does it feel to have two cool aunts.” You poker face, “Welp…couldn’t be worse.” Chiaki gently punched your head that day.

You’re smart so they expected some smart remarks, but you didn’t. You just kept to yourself and worked until Chiaki told you to relax: she then let you sit on her lap.

Nap time? Okay so why did Ibuki have to sing a lullaby just so you could name? And the lullaby wasn’t even gentle it was loud: so Chiaki came around the corner and played a calm game for you.

So you enjoy relaxing now: sorta, you’re very rigid around them. They always checked on your health, cared for you and you just think about how you’ve tried so hard to have them killed. The thought of the time you were being the warrior of hope sorta made you feel bad, “Hey you okay?” You nod then lean on Ibuki’s arm.

Toko and Komaru

“Weeee!” You ran with your arms spread out around your new mom’s. “(Y/N) watch where you’re going-Ooh!” Toko yelped as Komaru scooped her up immediately, “Sorry. She was going to ram into you.”

You’re the wild actress and well they love that about you. It’s just you try so hard to protect so many cute things: other girls, boys, animals even bugs. So they called Gonta and Gundham to get them, other kids would have clubs with you so they felt better about not having any friends.

“Whatcha makin.” You smile and continue crafting gently telling your moms to avoid peeking. “Here you go mom!” Toko held the paper, “A poem…” you then gave your other mom a crafted snowflake. “I love you guys!”

Your uncle Byakuya babysits you and you like to bombard him with gifts too. Does he keep them? Heck yes, he just won’t admit it. Just don’t ask about the paper frown on his head, he’ll personally berate anyone who asks. Kyoko however is your favorite rich aunt, but you always bother Makoto your other uncle about her. “Why won’t auntie Kyoko let me do her hair!?” Makoto snickers. “Sweetie last time you did she cried.” Kyoko had the same hairstyle you gave her for quite awhile.

Best family in the world. But your favorite mom is neither, because she lets you avoid nap time sometimes…or they both sleep with you or Komaru sneaks off to steal candy.

Mondo and Taka

“Blaaaahhh.” You paw at Taka with your mask then climb in his arms. “Yes?” You stare, then bite his arm and cling to him. “Mondo he’s biting again.” Mondo picks you up. “Kid we told ya! Quit the hitting or Imma ground Ya, Taka is not a giant chocolate bar.” You huff, “But he looks like one.”

You’re a quirky child, they love you but wow do you have no filter. “Papa Mondo, do you and dad always hold hands? Because you guys seem to have aggressive thumb rubbing moments too.” Taka stops rubbing his husband’s knuckles. “What that got to do with drawing us?” “I CANT DRAW DAD!” Mondo made you sleep in his arms after that. Nap time sucks!

You occasionally wait for uncle Hiro to walk in with Leon so you could jump them. But Hiro keeps predicting it and Mondo just carries you like a football. “Cranky boy five o’clock.” Taka chuckles before taking your mask off. You look around, “I feel naked.”

“Well you need to take this off sometime.” He then kissed your cheek. Kisses are now your favorite, you try to give it to everyone. Sometimes when you see Mondo you kiss him on the head and point at Taka. “Now smooch my dad!” They blush. “PUCKER UP PA! PUCKER UP!!”

Makoto and Kyoko

You have a strange smile, Kyoko took a liking because you knew how to keep a straight face during the scary times of adoption. But you were still an evil little gremlin and had the remnants of Junko’s plan in your head.

So they carefully taught you how to do better. You keep a Monokuma bot around to hug when you feel upset, “I wanna cuddle…” Makoto sweats. “Um-“ “(Y/N) wants cuddles!” You cuddle into him.

Kyoko doesn’t do cuddles but she does acknowledge your small achievements and efforts. Sometimes pats on the head is all you get until you one day sleep beside the woman. Makoto takes pictures of you both.

“When is aunt Komaru coming?” Makoto chuckles, “Soon.” And soon she did, with Toko and Kotoko. You drag Kotoko away and spend time with her since she’s the “love of your life” she gives the best hugs and nuzzles. Sometimes you both are found asleep on the floor in the middle of drawing.

Makoto is the pushover dad when it comes to physical affection. Kyoko just lays you on her chest and relaxes beside you, “I love my adoptive parents. They’re better than those demon parents and my demon brother!” They love you too, and still working on your mental state.

[vesperlionheart]

Mamihlapinatapei - The look between two people in which each loves the other but is too afraid to make the first move. For KisaSaku. :D

KisaSaku & a belated happy birthday for @darth-salem-emperor-of-earth!

(Sort of a companion fix to This One)

‘In matters of inheritance in the land of Kirigkure, the country is old and small enough to cultivate its leftover practices from the oldest days, when Kiri citizens had to fight tooth and nail to protect what was once only a small fishing inlet. Their monarchy equivalent is selected from the previous ruler and approved by a majority vote from the three departments.’

“It shouldn’t count until an official hearing is held to conclude such matters,” Sakura grumbled to mostly herself. Mei was the least sympathetic out of all her supporters when it came to Sakura’s mood and opinions on her stupid country inheritance.

When Mei heard Sakura’s grumbles she only giggled and added another ‘grievance’ scroll to the ever increasing pyramid of incoming missives that would need to be addressed by the end of the day. “Honestly, you have no one else to blame but yourself. What did you expect would happen when you arrived on our borders with all of Tsunade’s tutelage and the copy nin’s keen sense for seeing underneath the underneath? You thought we’d let you go?”

Speaking of Kakashi made Sakura remember the old man’s poor advice: “Just go and check them out. Get in a few fights, drink a little and show them how terrible of a leader you would really be.”

That had worked out terribly.

While Sakura was legally considered a citizen of Kiri, she had grow up outside its boarders and adapted to the culture of the Fire Country where it mattered to have manners with strangers. Her strategy had been to walk in with a buzz and a beer in hand, provoke a shop keep, fight a swordsman-a legendary swordsman-and curse her way out of town. Everything had been going tremendously well, except actually it hadn’t. Kiri was wet in more ways than one and Sakura had unwittingly impressed more than just a few curious eyes with her tolerance of the local booze. Shit talking was seen as a greeting amongst Kiri locals, and fighting might as well have been synonymous with hugging.  

“They’ll kick you out soon enough and you’ll be back home before you know it.”

For not the first time, Sakura lamented Kakashi’s backhanded advice. When she berated him about it later on he only congratulated her on the revitalized economy, the updated hospitals, and all her efforts towards dismantling the caste system. Sakura’s protest that she never meant to do any of that fell on deaf ears.

The trial month was nearly over and plans had already been made to install her as their Mizukage, a position that would put her on par with her one time teacher, the Hokage in the Land of Fire. There was a lot of pomp and ceremony the elders were caught up in that pushed back the actual initiation-but the decision had been made and Sakura’s will was not enough to reject the concessions of the Trident-or the three seats of the Mizukage’s cabinet.

Mei made up the executive branch of the Trident, while the seven swordsmen made up the military branch. Yagura was the head of Economics and the mouthpiece of the Elders who weighed tradition against advancement. Sakura’s job would be to balance all three of their voices and carry the responsibility of any decision they came up with. Only a 3 to 1 vote could overrule a Mizuekage’s executive orders.

“Have you chosen your Second Shadow, yet?” Mei asked.

“I’m actually hoping that if I don’t that this whole party thing can get called off,” Sakura sassed back to Mei, already half finished with the next scroll and all but made up on her finial verdict for the request it presented.

“Have you looked at my boy?”

“Chōjūrō is a sweet kid and will make a fine swordsman one day,” Sakura answered diplomatically.

“But…?”

Sakura looked up and glared. “He’s as shy as an Angel Fish and he still somehow came up with the idea, completely on his own with no help from anyone, to wait for me in my hotel room in a silk robe and slippers and nothing else.” Sakura’s tone was heavy with sarcasm. “I don’t take kindly to attempts of coercion.”

“The kid just wanted your favor and you would hold that against him?” Mei playfully teased.

“I didn’t appreciate it, Mei. Don’t bully your boy into my bed.”

Mei rolled her eyes and picked through the finished missives Sakura had set to the side. “He needed the encouragement. He wouldn’t have done it, even though he wanted to, without some help.”  

“I’m not like you, I don’t enjoy robbing the cradle.”

Mei snorted. “Okay then, babe, tell auntie what your type is?”

Sakura paused and looked up over her next scroll. “Why?”

“Can’t you just believe I’m curious? Why do you have to sound so suspicious of every one of my questions? I’m honestly just curious.”

Sakura’s expression turned blank but Mei didn’t seem to care. “Sure, and my answer would have nothing to do with an attempt by you and the elders to set me up with a nice local boy who will convince me to stay. Suuuuure.”

“So if you’re not interested in our little prince, what abut the naughty type. Suigetsu doesn’t have anyone right now.”

“I thought you were trying to convince me to stay, not scare me off. That starfish can’t keep a relationship on lock for more than a month for a reason, and it isn’t the fault of any of his partners.”  

“So the naughty type is a turn off. What about the daddy type?”

Sakura’s face made an expression of horror. “Gross.”

“Not literally a daddy, don’t look at me like that. You might be surprised so don’t knock it till you try it. I’ll put that down as a ‘maybe’ for now.”

“Please don’t.”

There was a knock on the door and Sakura shouted out for them to enter before Mei could even turn around. A half second later Sakura realized her mistake when she saw Mei’s gloating face. The office already felt like it was Sakura’s.

Damn.

“What?” Sakura barked a bit rudely when Yagura stopped in front of her desk.

 “There’s an issue with deployment.”

“Why are you telling me this? Aren’t Kisame and Zabuza usually the ones who tell me what’s shit with their nin?” Sakura dropped her scroll and leaned back in her seat before waving for him to continue. “What is it?”

If Yagura was bothered by her rude address he didn’t let it show on his face and he never let it carry over into their conversations outside of work. “More of the Kaguya raiders are making issues for the settlements but we don’t have the resources to send out anyone to deal with it. Kisame and Zabuza are both off on missions you approved.”

“This really requires an S ranked response?” Sakura asked, knowing there were few others who could do what Kisame and Zabuza did. If Yagura was asking for either of them he deemed the threat S ranked.

“I’ve already written up the details of the response we’d need.” Yagura produced a thinner scroll and Sakura took it as it passed over her desk.

“If we didn’t have one of the swordsmen on this we’d need at least two dozen nin and we just don’t have those kind of numbers right now.”

“What’s the best we can do?” Sakura asked while rolling back in her chair to check the chart on the wall with a dozen different secret symbols that helped keep her up to date on the military numbers. It showed how many nin of different rank were deployed, how many were wounded, how many were undercover, and how many were available for deployment. It still took Sakura a minute to decipher everything on the chart but she would have it like a reflex by the end of the month.

“Eight.”

Sakura made a face. Eight was a really low number and it was her fault they were in this situation in the first place. She had gambled and played the number game with her nin. Kiri always needed a coalition of soldiers to defend it in case of invasion, and so even if there were over two dozen shinobi at home, she couldn’t touch those.

“Kisame is due back this afternoon, how time sensitive is this issue?”

“It depends on how much the lives of these colonists matter. They’re notorious for skirting on tax payments and regularly sell their produce to rival groups before our citizens.”

“But they are our citizens,” Sakura clarified. They lived outside the walls of Kiri and were largely bitter old marsh farmers and fishermen, but they were culturally more Kiri than Sakura.

“It would be a shame to loose their assets,” Yagura honestly answered. “The Kaguya clan would only grow emboldened if they took over the rest of this territory for themselves.”

Sakura was already standing, pulling off her robes. “Mei, tell Kisame to head over to the settlements as soon as he gets here, even if he’s on fumes. Just the sight of his big blue mug will send some of them running.”

“What are you doing?” Mei asked, eyes wide.

“I’m dealing with this. I still have my rank from Konoha. I should be sufficient with these four,” Sakura said while showing off the mission scroll with her name and four others filled in. “I’ll let them know personally. Yagura will-”

“I understand. I’ll stand in until you’re back.”

“You can’t leave, you’re our Mizukage,” Mei agrued. “That’s against customs. If you fall-”

“I’m not Mizukage yet and you still can’t tell me what to do,” Sakura warned before stalking out of the office with hands itching for a fight.

Hours later her Kabutowari was soaked with blood on both ends, both the hammer and the axe head had been fed enough blood and savagery to sate its appetite for carnage. Sakura was proud of their success and how cheep it cost. Not a single soul on her unit had been seriously wounded or lost and that was quite an accomplishment considering the Kaguya attacked in bands of eight to twelve.

“It’s cause we got to fight with our Mizuekage that our moral was so high,” old man Jinin cheered, looking ready for a stiff drink and maybe an audience who could listen to his tall tales and elaborations on the day’s battle.

Haku came up beside Sakura and touched her elbow to get her attention and she leaned in while he whispered the status of the nin’s health along with the injury inventory. It was a new step Sakura wanted utilized when units emerged from battle. If hospital records could be updated with a complete list of all injuries-including those treated and healed on the battlefield- it would help in future diagnostics.

Haku had helped develop the program and sell it to the other medic trained min. He had been invaluable in helping roll out new changes and on the battlefield his skill set had complemented her fighting style well, since he was more of a long range fighter while Sakura liked to deal damage up close.

“We’re good to go then,” Sakura sighed. “I’m tired. Someone treat me to hot saké once we’re back,” she playfully whined only to get a roar from the men and women on her team. 

Haku kept close to her side and walked with her until they got to the natural mist. Sakura gave the signal and the rest of her team blurred into the fog and took off like birds in a dive, unseen and deadly.

“You wanted to ask me something?” Haku queried.

Sakura was about to say yes but something else caught her eye and she pat Haku’s back in dismissal. “It can wait until after we’re back. I need to catch Kisame up but I’ll see you at the Drunken Whaler.”

Haku turned and saw Kisame emerging from he fog with the blood and grime from his last fight still stuck to his uniform. The two locked eyes and Haku nodded first before taking off.

“So, are you slipping for any particular reason or are you just getting old?” Sakura teased while approaching Kisame.

“Hey, no jokes about my age when my boss orders me to pull a double shift. Slave driver actually expected me to do some good here. Shows you what she knows.”

“Maybe she just wanted you to see what she could do, ever consider that?” Sakura teased back, shouldering her Kabutowar’s axe end on her shoulder while she carried the hammer half with an idle swing in her left hand. The weight never bothered her but she wondered how her weapon would react to a new pair of hands.

“How willing are you listen to your bad ass boss?” Sakura asked.

“You mean my hard ass boss?” Kisame teased back. “Dunno, it depends on the request. Does it involve drinking?”

“Eventually all decisions and requests involve drinking, but not yet. We can get sloshed at the Drunken Whaler with the rest of them but before we get that far…” Sakura rolled the axe head off her shoulder and held it out. “Wanna trade?”

Kisame whistled low and reached up to rub at some of the blood on his chin with the heel of his hand. The twilight was creeping in but the clouds were heavy and low so everything shaded in tones of gray and diluted yellow. Sakura saw a fragment of that sunken gold color in Kisame’s shark eyes when he looked at her weapon, but she wished he’d been looking at her.

He reached over his shoulder and rolled Samehada off his back, letting the bandages drop. The trade off was as natural as any other tradeoff would be between the swordsmen. If the seats hadn’t been filled Sakura might have replaced Haku as a swordsman, since she had a legendary blade and he didn’t. If she had been a swordsman she might have had the chance to do this earlier and with more than just Zabuza’s Kubikiribōchō, but she wasn’t a swordsman and this wasn’t a guaranteed thing.

“Thank you,” Sakura said before Kabutowari finished leaving her hand.

“Careful with him, Samehada can-oh, ya know, never mind. He’s a bitch that’s roll over for anyone with tasty chakra, I shouldn’t have worried for ya,” he chuckled while watching the handoff.

With issue, Sakura held the massive blade level and admired its scale pattern in the gray twilight. There was a delightful shiver as it sucked on her chakra and swallowed it down like a drunk with fine wine. Sakura could feel it purr not unlike how Kabutowari would in her mind once they were linked.

“Let’s see how you like this,” Sakura cooed before swinging Kisame’s blade against the wind and  stepping into the dance she had first learned for Kabutowari with minor adjustments since she was wilding Samehada in one hand. She felt it tense and almost cut at her hand but settled down as it realized what she was playing at.

Samehada cut into the fog and then shaved it down into a finer mist before wrapping it up around Sakura the way the first swordsmen would, back in the old days when chakra was still too wild to name and gods dared to walk amongst the children of men.

Through the mist and over her shoulder Sakura could see Kisame have fun on his own, dancing through the same steps with her two handed Kabutowari, showing mastery of the finer points in spite of his bulk. At first glance Kabutowari seemed too heavy and burly a weapon to expect any delicacy with, but if one wanted to unlock it’s full potential they would have to know more than just the brutal steps that wrought the most damage, they would need to know how to dance and make both the axe and hammer sing.

She watched Kisame twist through her steps like a ghost of her old master’s memory and watched, transfixed, as he let go of the axe side to swing around and snap back with perfect timing.

“Jealous?” the voice in her mind purred. Samehada helped himself to a drop more of her chakra as she paused in her steps.

“No, I know Kabutowari is my blade and he’ll return to me in time. There’s no reason to be jealous of your master for handling my blade so well.”

“Didn’t mean Kabutowari,” Samehada chuckled so deeply it made Sakura’s mind feel like a cavern with no end. A half second later she realized what Kisame’s blame meant and she giggled, almost manic at the implication.

“No,” she hissed through his stifled giggle. “No way, not you too. Leave me alone and let me have my fun.”

“Don’t see a reason you can’t have it both ways,” Samehada teased, poking at her palm but doing no real damage.

It wouldn’t hurt her if she could hear its voice and give him her chakra to sip on, but even if tried she’d be able to heal such a modest attack. There wasn’t any real danger to her from Samehada, but she felt unbalanced by his words enough to step out of the old steps and swing the monster blade down against the earth with a surge of chakra that split the earth.

She heard his excited cheer and delighted cackle as he served as the conduit to her legendary chakra release. Sounding almost drunk it asked for her to do that again but Kisame was already laughing at her and that was the only sound she could pay attention to.

“I think I’ve had enough fun for one night,” Sakura said with a tired laugh, hopping over to Kisame’s side with his sword. The exchange was easier this time but before Kisame could press Kabutowari into her hand their fingers touched enough for Sakura to feel where all his blisters had hardened into callouses. Even down the sides of his fingers she could feel the evidence of his devotion to the blade and she wondered, wickedly, what it would feel like to be handled by hands like that.

“Naughty,” Samehada purred to her before their link was severed. Sakura felt her face roar with heat and embarrassment, which she tried to play off by jumping back with Kabutowari and a nervous chuckle. Her weapon purred in confusion and almost understood but Sakura sealed him away into one of her pocket dimension before he could scream out the truth like an echo in her mind.

Damn, dirty thoughts-this was all Mei’s fault for planting the seeds in the first place.

Sakura ran her hands through the fog and then combed them through hair, grateful for the cool the almost night allowed. She knew she didn’t have a ‘pretty’ blush like some other girls. She went beat red and it was almost impossible to hide.

“We should head back, we’ve held back long enough the others might get worried. Plus, I wasn’t exactly quiet just now,” Sakura said.

“Aww boss, don’t make this old man run all the way back after I ran all the way out here only to be late,” Kisame playfully whined.

“What, you want to walk back. That’ll take forever,” Sakura said.

“Not for the whole while, but we can run off later. Can’t we just take it easy for a little while?” he asked.

Only because he asked Sakura agreed.

After a minute Kisame spoke up. “So the word going around is that you haven’t picked a second yet. Don’t you have any ideas or is no one willing to take on the load? You’re kinda a slavedriver.”

“I’m still thinking about it.”

“What are you thinking about.”

Sakura made a face, not knowing if he was teasing or being serious with his question. “It’s so different compared to Leaf, I mean this second almost feels like a marriage partner according to Mei, and it’s kinda serious enough that the thought process is similar. You pick someone and then they’re with you the whole time, nearly day and night, and that’s similar to how Shizune was for Tsunade, but…I don’t know, the cultures are different.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” Kisame chuckled. “When Kiri loses a kage it’s tits up and everything goes to shit real quick-we know because we’ve seen it more than any of the other hidden villages. More assignations mean more hard lessons learned.”

“But does it have to be one person? Tsunade had ANBU who were rotated out all the time.”

“Yeah but that’s such a shit idea here. If I wanted to kill the Hokage I’d just impersonate an ANBU and wait in rotation until I was alone with-ah, don’t give me that face, I’m just saying hypothetical things.”

“It’s not so easy to infiltrate ANBU.”

“You say that like we haven’t ever done that,” Kisame snorted and then when he saw Sakura’s face he laughed. “Nothing so bad, boss, nothing so bad! You’ll see for yourself when you get access after inauguration, but those ain’t your people no more. You are ours.”

There were a few too many things making Sakura’s gut church with complicated feelings. What Kisame said about belonging to Kiri was right and it hurt, not because she hated being accepted, but because of what it meant for her ties to everyone back home-back in Konoha. Tsunade and Kakashi were her teachers but they couldn’t call her their disciple anymore. For the sake of the future of their foreign policy, Sakura had watched as the steps were taken to cut her off from the village hidden in the leaves until there was only one place she could run to. It wasn’t a vicious thing and there was nothing personal about it. Sakura actually understood why they did what they did-changing out the codes and locking her out of accessing ANBU updates.

Kiri was supposed to be her home now…her village.

“Boss?”

“You know you can call me by my name when it’s just us,” Sakura said instead, trying to sound annoyed so he didn’t misunderstand the meaning of her words and think she wanted him to speak to her familiarly. “Boss makes me feel like an old lady.”

The other feelings that made her gut churn came from the last thing he said to her. “You are ours.” Someone once said the people in Kiri were a people who knew loss to well to share decently in the future, thus they were a possessive people who coveted many things.

“Then Haruno kun-”

“Haruno kun?” Sakura sputtered. “What are you my uncle? No-ugh, you’re-oh man I had a teacher who would call me Haruno kun in school back when we were in the academy. You’re banned from the ‘-kun,’ if you’re gonna tack something on at least make it sound cute.”

“Sakura chan?” Kisame playfully called out, pitching his voice high and squeaking out the title.

“Never mind, I take it back, just Haruno or just Sakura, but nothing else. Gosh, I thought someone said that in Kiri they didn’t have manners or shit. Just call me whatever, I don’t care,” Sakura said even though she cared.

“Then Haruno, who do you think would be a good candidate for second. You’ll pick from the swordsmen right? Where else would you go?”

“Mei wanted me to go with her boy Chōjūrō but can you see that working out?”

“That jellyfish?” Kisame hooted. “He’s as shy as an Angel Fish. You’d eat him alive for breakfast.”

“I live to entertain,” Sakura mocked with a silly bow. “But you’ve got a point about pulling from the swordsmen. What would that do to your seats? Would you replace whoever left or take in someone new?”

“Maybe Chōjūrō,” Kisame joked.

“He’s an excellent fighter, he just doesn’t have a future in politics,” Sakura defended. “I could see him growing into that role.”

Kisame watched Sakura a half minute longer before saying anything new. The sun was half sunk into the horizon and all the mist seemed to choke on dying colors as they waded through the distortion.

“You have someone in mind, don’t you?”

“I have ideas but I don’t want to have ideas since I don’t like this whole set up. If it was up to me and the elders didn’t insist on tradition, I’d just have the Seven of you on rotation as my guard.”

Kisame made a thoughtful sound. “That could work as a back up, but you know how those old tradition fogies are.”

Sakura rubbed at her neck and looked ahead. “I need a drink. Race you back?”

“Ah, but I’m all tired from-” Kisame never finished his sentence since he chose that moment to flash step forward and take off running. Sakura cursed and raced behind him but came last and ended up having to buy a round for everyone at the pub.

When Kisame woke a week later he was wide eyed and energized, which was a rare thing for him these days. He normally hated mornings but the sight of his fresh dress uniform hanging up was enough to make him remember why today was such a big deal. It wasn’t just any other day, it was Sakura’s inauguration.

The whole of Kiri was hyped as fuck for a new Mizukage like Sakura, one who revitalized their economy and recovered their crumbling hospital system. The fact that she was the wielder of Kabutowari made it feel like a long lost child coming home from the war with spoils to share with the whole country. Sakura felt like she had always been theirs, like Kiri had always been her home. Even when she had been trying to piss people off and get out of the inheritance she had fit in too well. Her brash personality and strong convictions made her-

“Perfect,” Kisame said out loud, a little too caught up in his thoughts.

He grimaced a the sound of his thoughts and moved to wash up before dressing for the day. He needed to finish waking up or else he was bound to say something else equally stupid. Today was too important to look like a fool.

In short order he was as handsome as he’d ever get with an ugly mug like his and dressed for the occasion. Samehada fit into the latch carrier on his back and outside he saw the others waiting in the courtyard to the mansion where Sakura would start her procession.

Already, people were filling the streets in hopes of catching an eyeful of their new Mizukage on her first day on the job. Some were selling flowered crowns and wreaths as the newest trend had been to emulate Sakura’s flowery good looks. Young girls were cutting their hair like her and boys were dreaming about an impossible future among the swordsmen because of her. There was a building that had been painted with a modest mural of Sakura trees and different blooming flowers in celebration. The love his people had for her was everywhere.

“You’re not late,” Suigetsu taunted.

Kisame punched the younger boy in the face, ignoring both Suigetsu and his brother in favor of seeking out Zabuza. “Hey, you hear anything yet?”

“No one here knows who’s getting the nomination, that hasn’t changed,” Zabuza answered.

“Did you sign the consent form?” Haku asked, lookin up at Zabuza first and then Kisame. The consent form was basically a way those with the qualifications could put their name in the hat that Sakura could pull from.

“On day one, brat. Why, you didn’t?”

“I…I mean I eventually put my name in for consideration. I think I’d do well at it,” Haku answered, steeling his words towards the end even if he kept glancing back at Zabuza.

Between the seven of them, the only one Kisame seriously considered a challenge was Zabuza when it came to winning Sakura’s second. The pair of them were the strongest, arguably, and had a good working relationship with others. But, between the both of them, Kisame knew he was the only one who had been on Sakura’s side since day one when she first arrived. Even if Zabuza had been won over and was loyal now, no one had been in Sakura’s corner like Kisame.

Kisame thought his chances were good.

“Get in your dame spots,” Ameyuri snapped with a dangerous edge. Since Sakura had cured Ameyuri’s disease the kunoichi was near fanatical in her devotion to Sakura. When Kisame pretended to drag his feet Ameyuri snapped her sharpened teeth at his face and he backed up with a chuckle.

The doors to the mansion opened and the elders filtered out before Yagura and Mei. Yagura and Mei paused at the top of the stairs before joining the elders in the courtyard where their respective bodyguards were stationed. That’s when Sakura emerged at the top of the stairs to the mansion and the moment Kisame thought his heart was going to stop. 

The robes had never looked so good on anyone before. Underneath the white and blue folds a soft dress of flaring gray and white, detailed with pearls and accented with a thick mother of pearl gorget around her neck, like the kind samurai would wear of a heartier material. It was ceremonial but Sakura wore it like armor.

The bells on her hat tinkled as she descended the steps and took her spot at the head of the group. Her painted lips were pressed into a hard line and her jaw was set with determination, but she still looked soft where it counted.

Kisame caught her eye at one point and it made his smile grow when the corners of her eyes crinkled for him.

“Haruno Sakura…” one of the elders began.

The ceremony lasted no longer than twenty minutes before Sakura was told to turn around and address the others. “And in line with the traditions of our ancestors, I will honor them with this choice and accept a second. Should I ever fall may their strength be measured by the gods and men,” she recited perfectly. Then she locked her lips and held up a hand before adding, “and in addition to a second I will be installing a rotating support guard for the Mizukage, with the blessing of the elders who safeguard our traditions. Every member of the Seven Swordsmen will rotate into the role of a tertiary figure of my inner circle, behind my second.”

Beside him Ameyuri gasped in delight, suddenly filled with hope that even if she wasn’t chosen she would still be able to serve her idol.

“Mizukage, your pick for second shadow?” one of the elders prompted.

Sakura nodded and the bells on her hat tinkled. “For my second shadow I have chosen Yuki Haku to serve me. Yuki Haku do you accept?”  

That…didn’t… make sense. Kisame snuggled to hear what Sakura said next as Haku approached her and knelt before accepting the mother of pearl pin with the symbol of Second Shadow. Haku said something back to her, maybe in thanks, but all Kisame could hear was the rush of blood in his ears as his gut churned in a grief he couldn’t understand.

[ariannjs]

NEW YEAR’S GIFT | A SasuSaku FanFic (One Shot)

Happy happy new year, everyone! Thank you so much for all the support you've been giving me as I continued writing for SasuSaku last year! Writing is highly therapeutic for me and seeing your comments uplift me even more. Thank you for making 2020 bearable and survivable! Y'all are encouragements to me!

I don’t post much on tumblr anymore since I’m more active on Twitter, AO3, and FF, but here’s a new year fic for y’all! 

Hope you enjoy this fic! :D God bless! - A ------

“It's been a tradition, Sakura-chan. We either open our Christmas gifts on New Year's Eve or get another gift for everyone specifically for the New Year that's why Sasuke told you to give your Christmas gift today.”

Sakura remembered Itachi's words when she first joined the Uchihas for their New Year's Eve celebration five years ago, back when she and Sasuke weren’t married yet. She smiled at the memory. Every year after that, she found herself giddy with excitement to buy gifts for the whole family – one for Christmas and another for New Year.

This year was a bit different because she only bought Christmas gifts for everyone, which she already distributed on Christmas Eve. She smirked as she stepped inside their car. She watched her husband place his gifts for his family inside the trunk. 

For the second time that day, Sasuke asked, “Are you sure you didn’t forget anything, Sakura?”

“Yes, Anata. Don’t worry.” Then she heard him close the trunk with a loud thud.

When Sasuke got inside the car, Sakura bit her lower lip to restrain a smile, trying her best to act as normal as she could. Her husband glanced at him from the corner of his eye before revving the engine. Then with a sigh, he pulled out of the driveway so they could go on their way to the Uchiha Manor.

Their travel was silent except for the soft volume of an Electro-pop Rock track in the background. Sakura’s eyes were fixed on the snow-soaked surroundings. Sasuke peeked at her every once in a while as he silently tapped the steering wheel with his fingers. 

After a few moments, he was the first who broke the silence. “Sakura.”

“Hm?” His wife met his eyes and smiled. For a moment, Sasuke swallowed hard as he took in the way she looked at him. He cleared his throat and quickly shifted his gaze to the road. 

“N-nothing.” Whatever he intended to say went down the drain. He gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“Are you sure?”

“Tch. Annoying.”

Sakura grinned, shaking her head. “We’re already married and you still call me annoying? Seriously though, what did you want to say?”

“Stunning.” Sasuke cleared his throat. “Y-you’re stunning.”

Sakura’s eyes widened while a tinge of pink dusted her cheeks. Then she chuckled. “Thank you, Sasuke-kun. I’m glad that you still find me attractive even after three months of our marriage.”

Her husband scoffed. “Sakura, I will always find my wife attractive.”

“Even when I get fatter?”

“Aa.”

“Even when my acne breaks out every month?”

“As if that matters.”

“Even when my hair turns white?”

“Tch. Of course.”

Sakura reached out to pinch his cheeks, which made him groan.

“Sakura, I’m driving.”

“You’re weirdly sweet today.” She giggled.

“And you’re weirdly happy today,” Sasuke replied, his eyes not meeting hers.

Sakura tilted her head to one side. “I am?”

“Yeah. You’ve been smiling a lot as if you’re hiding something,” Sasuke finally said.

“Wait, what?” Sakura’s chuckle filled the car. “I’m just happy because it’s the New Year, Anata. And I’m spending it with you!”

Sasuke just sighed and let it go as he turned to the last street towards the Uchiha Manor. Sakura, on the other hand, just smiled to herself again.

 When they reached the manor, Izachi – Itachi and Izumi’s son – welcomed them by the door. “Auntie Sakura! Uncle Sasuke!” The child exclaimed while giving them both a tight hug. “You came just in time! It’s time for the gifts!”

“Oh, it is?” Sakura looked at him with fondness as he tugged her hand, with Sasuke following suit.

True enough, gifts were scattered on the floor near the huge Christmas tree in the living room. Embraces were exchanged with the rest of Sasuke’s family before the couple found their spot on the floor.

As usual, Fugaku and Mikoto proceeded in giving their gifts first. Izachi was giddy to open not only his gifts but even the ones that his mother and father received, making the atmosphere lighter for everyone. 

To Sasuke and Sakura’s surprise, they received two big studio monitors from their parents, the ones that they were planning to buy for their Music Studio at home. Sasuke’s smile was so wide that Sakura even poked him to tease him. 

When it was Izumi and Itachi’s turn to give their gifts, Izachi took the packages and handed them to his aunt and uncle. Sakura gasped at the designer bag that she received from Izumi, while she almost cried when she opened the pair of headphones from Itachi.

“I needed a new one so bad! This is so timely, nii-san!” She exclaimed.

“I’m pretty sure Sasuke has an even better gift for you, though.” Itachi chuckled, earning a glare from his younger brother. To redeem himself, he called for his son to give their family’s gift to Sasuke.

Sasuke’s eyes widened upon opening the box containing a new high-end MIDI keyboard controller. “You bought me the new release? Thank you, nii-san, Izumi-nee.”

Itachi smirked. “Anything for my foolish little brother. Now, what’s your gift to your wife?”

Sasuke shot a glare at him again but ended up sighing when he noticed her wife’s soft gaze.

“I told you it’s okay if you don’t give another gift to me, Anata.”

“You need this, though.” Sasuke handed a wrapped box to her. “Open it.”

Sakura did as she was told. Then, she gasped. “Sasuke-kun!”

Sasuke smiled. “You like it?”

“How could I not like a new laptop with specs fit for producing?”

Sasuke chuckled as he watched how Sakura took out the laptop from its box.

“Thank you, Anata. Thank you so much.” She bit her lower lip. “Are you ready for my gift now?”

Sasuke’s forehead creased. “You didn’t bring anything, though.”

Sakura released an exhale and then faced everyone in the room. “My New Year’s gift for everyone is…” She glanced at Sasuke again, smiling from ear to ear, before she announced, “I’m pregnant.”

Izumi and Mikoto instantly hugged her and congratulated her while Fugaku and Itachi smiled. Sasuke, however, felt as if something was stuck in his throat while he stared at his wife.

When Izumi and Mikoto returned to their seats, Sakura warily turned to Sasuke. “Aren’t you happy, Anata?”

Sasuke simply stared at her, then after a beat, his lips caught hers.

Their family cheered as they shared a passionate kiss. It felt like their wedding day all over again.

Sasuke pulled away and rested his forehead against Sakura’s. “So this is what you’ve been hiding, huh? How could I not be happy? I’m going to be a father because of you.”

Tears brimmed Sakura’s eyes as she gazed at her husband.

Sasuke smiled. “This is the best New Year’s gift I’ve ever received.”

[pain-somnia]

Akatsuki Gift Exchange 2020

Title: a pack comes calling Rated: General Audiences Disclaimer Prompt: “Anything with Sarada and Itachi and or Madara would be lovely, like any interactions at all between them”; some fave genres: Family/Friendship, Fantasy Day’s Notes: here’s my fic for the @akatsuki-gift-exchange 😊 I was selected to be the secret santa for @lorna-likes-skittles I hope you like it a lot. I wrote the Uchiha family as a pack of wolf shifters and made this a modern fantasy au~ AO3 Link

a pack comes calling

The air was beginning to have the sharp quality that marked the change of the season. It bit at his skin when the wind blew, stinging his cheeks.

There had been many winters in his life, but they all blurred together as he got on in years. Madara sighed as he lifted his head in the direction of  the tree line of his pack’s territory. He could hear their breaths, smell their unique scents.

The burning sage of Fugaku.

The fresh balsam that blended with the cedarwood of Obito.

The lavender and vanilla of Izumi.

The smokey cloves and orange of Shisui.

The bergamot of Itachi.

The Uchiha clan had dwindled in numbers through the years. Some had been lost as they fought for their decreasing territory. Others had forgotten who they were and lost their way.

The floral notes of wisteria marked the approach of Mikoto. She dressed him in her comforting sweet scent as she wrapped him in a blanket. Unlike the others in his clan, he was more susceptible to the cold and it had gotten worse as he aged.

“Would you like your tea now?” Mikoto asked him as he felt her adjust the blanket around his body to block out the cold.

“I will wait until it’s closer to sundown.”

It was the night of the full moon and as an older wolf, the shift took more out of him. His bones could no longer take the transformation and a tea with monkshood as an ingredient had to be made to ease the pain. Running in the woods was a game for a younger man. He mostly spent the nights he was forced to shift curled up on the engawa, letting the breeze ruffle his silver streaked fur.

The rest of the clan members were in the forest, marking trees and getting rid of hidden dangers. It wasn’t the Wolf Moon, which was tradition, but tonight marked the first night that the new pup would join them as they frolicked in the forest and  learn the Uchiha land.

And there it was, the unmistakable stench of human mixed with apples and daffodils paired with the dewey grass and earthy green tea scent of the former youngest in the pack. Swirling between them was that same sharp human scent━although much more muted━blended with black tea and cinnamon.

“Madara-ojiisan,” chorused the pair of voices, one low and husky and the other sweet and soft as petals. He bowed his head slightly in response, waiting for the third voice.

“Hello, Madara-ojiisan,” came the clumsy trill of a toddler, followed by the uneven steps that children take, heavier on one part of the sole in a way that made them graceless.

Keeping his head bowed, Madara waited for the press of a tiny nose against his own. The contact was soft but carried the warmth of a fire that all of Izuna’s descendants carried in their blood.

“Sarada,” he murmured in greeting.

With his sight lost to him, Madara could not see the markings of the Uchiha in the pup, but it was there in the delicate note of dying embers that none of them could escape.

Madara once believed it was his duty to fan the flames and watch his clan rise, to strengthen the sparks. That it was his duty to make sure his family was strong enough to answer the call.

Little hands braced themselves on his knees and a small form settled into his lap. Madara wrapped the blanket around the both of them, trapping the warmth Sarada brought with her.

The marriage of her scent with his crisp mountain air and black pine scent brought memories of past winters during the few moments of peace. It was the scent of a time when he and Izuna were still children and taking in the comforts of their grandmother’s home when they took shelter from the snow.

It was the smell of family.

.

.

Flurries of snow stuck to his lashes. Itachi had been outside in the cold long enough for his body to be too cold for the snowflakes to melt when they touched his face. He closed his eyes and lifted his face to the sky, reveling in the peace the snowfall brought.

“Itachi-jisan!”

The peace had to come to an end, but the interruption wasn’t unwelcome. He turned his face back in the direction of his parents’ home and opened his eyes. Bundled up for the cold weather, his niece waddled toward him. If she heard the calling━which was likely━all of the layers would become unbearable in a few hours.

“It’s snowing!”

“Did you greet our uncle?”

“Yes!”

Sarada leaped into the air when she got closer to him. Itachi lowered himself in order to grab her from the air, lifting her up higher by the armpits. She squealed in delight, giggling as he lowered her so she could kiss her nose to his in the submissive gesture of pups.

“I missed you,” Sarada cooed in her high, child pitch. Itachi looked down at her with fondness. When the dark of night settled in, and the full moon there would be a forced shift and he could already hear the way she would yip in her wolf form.

“You should get your dad to bring you out to the country more often.” Itachi had raised his voice so his younger brother, Sasuke, could hear him from where he and his wife were walking on the edge of the forest.

Sasuke lifted his head towards him, mouth opened and ready to retort, when a red blur leaped from out of the woods, narrowly missing him and Sakura. Itachi sighed as he watched the russet wolf slipped from a crouch onto her back, presenting her stomach in a sign of submission towards Sasuke.

“Why are you already in wolf form, Karin?” Sasuke snapped, holding Sakura up by her elbows from behind her.

If the Uchiha pack was dwindling, the Uzumaki clan was practically nonexistent. Uzumaki Karin and her cousin Kushina were the last of the Uzumaki wolves. Kushina had one son and he never felt the call━a risk she had taken when she had decided to mate with a human. Karin had joined their pack a few years ago, not seeking to be part of a breeding pair, but the option was there whenever she and Itachi decided that was a path they wanted to take.

“Karin-neesan!” Sarada waved her arms around excitedly from Itachi’s hold.

“Karin-neesan?” Itachi frowned, cocking his head in confusion.

“Yup! Karin-neesan said she’s a big sister not an auntie.”

“Of course she did.”

Itachi followed the wildflower splashes that Karin released with her excitement. She bounced around Sakura, pressing her snout into Sakura’s midsection.

“Does your mother have something to tell us?” He whispered into Sarada’s ear, pressing his nose into her cheek and making her giggle. Karin had a much stronger sense of smell than he did so he wasn’t upset that she had made the discovery first.

Sarada cupped her hands around Itachi’s ear and attempted to whisper back to him. “Sarada is going to be a big sister.”

“That’s exciting.” Itachi adjusted his hold so the four year old was sitting on the cradle of his left arm. “You know what else is exciting?”

“I get to stay up past my bedtime tonight?” Sarada gasped excitedly, clapping her hands together.

“Yes, you do.” Itachi guided her into the woods, taking care not to trip over any raised roots. “And do you know why?”

“Hmm,”  Sarada hummed, rocking her head side to side with the sound. She raised her hands up and flexed her fingers. “Is it because of my nails?”

Itachi took one of her small hands in his own and rubbed his thumb along the small digits, tracing the curve of her sharp nails. “It’s because of your claws.”

There had been an incident in a playground where Sarada had accidentally scratched another child. The mother had been understanding and had actually offered Sasuke a pair of nail clippers to use. Sasuke apologized again and took Sarada home as quickly as possible.

Examining her hands when it was safe, he discovered that the top of Sarada’s pudgy toddler hands were covered with thick black hair and her nails elongated and sharp.

It demanded a call home. His real home.

“I like it here, Itachi-jisan.” Sarada sighed, lifting her head skyward and closing her eyes. “It smells so good.”

“It’s better than the city, that’s for sure.”

Itachi remembered his childhood. He remembered running through the woods and lying in clearings with Shisui and Izumi. He remembered playing tag with Sasuke to teach him how to shift from human to wolf and back.

It was all done here. This was home, this is where family should be together.

When he was younger, all Itachi wanted was to run away to the city. He wanted to live with the humans and never shift. He planned on taking the monkshood tea every full moon, and just sleep through the call that sang in his blood.

And for the first few years of adulthood he did just that. He went to university in the city and ignored the feeling of homesickness he figured was normal for all uni students. Visits home were rare, mostly done for holidays, and they were enough for him.

But there was a loneliness he could not shake in crowded places.

It wasn’t until he had to take a trip for work that had him in the mountains that he realized what had been missing.

“Mama said we might move here,” Sarada murmured out of habit. They never raised their voices in the woods, especially not during the day.

The two of them walked deeper into the forest. Itachi walked with Sarada as a guide as she sniffed the air and patted tree trunks and called out the names of different family members that had marked them.

“This is grandpa.” Sarada pressed her chubby cheek against the tree and drummed her fingers along the bark. “It smells like the gray-ish leaves Mama uses in tea sometimes.”

They continued walking, Shisui and Obito having joined them when they reached the creek that marked the boundary they had set up for Sarada’s first night in the woods. It was as the sun was setting lower that Sarada began to complain about feeling too hot.

“I don’t like it,” she whined, her hair sticking to her cheeks from all of her sweat. Her face flushed red from her fever despite the fact that Itachi had removed her coat.

“I know, I know,” Itachi attempted to soothe her, rubbing his hand on her back.

Despite the insistence from everyone that her facial features were just like her mother’s, Itachi was reminded of a time over two decades in the past where he was doing the same for his younger brother. With her tiny face scrunched up in discomfort, Sarada reminded him so much of Sasuke when he had first shifted. He had complained so much about the heat and stripped himself in their backyard long before the sun had set.

Sasuke had also been an early bloomer. He had heard the call before the Wolf Moon and had shifted three months earlier on the Harvest Moon. The Cold Moon was only a month early, but Sarada was proving to be her father’s daughter.

Brushing her wet bangs out of her face, Itachi smiled softly at his niece. “How about we get you some tea?”

His mother was ready with a pot of monkshood tea on the engawa when they made it back to the house. Madara was already drinking his first serving.

Sakura perked up from where she was bringing out another blanket for Great-Uncle Madara. She set it by him and placed his hand on the blanket before rushing towards them, arms outstretched.

“My poor girl.” Sakura took Sarada from Itachi’s hold and Sarada pressed her face into the crook of Sakura’s neck, grateful for the feel of her mother’s cool skin.

Itachi grabbed a second teacup from the tray his mother had brought out and filled it. The tea was an Uchiha family recipe that helped young pups and the elderly with the effects of the forced shift that came with the full moon. It also helped when they had to hide their shift in populated areas. A strong brew made one drowsy and sleep the night away so that they didn’t run the risk of falling victim to their instincts in a dangerous place.

“Some of the monkshood tea might help.”

Sakura eyed the teacup warily but took the offering regardless. Itachi had to resist rolling his eyes in annoyance. He was sure if it had been anyone else, she would have taken the cup without any hesitation. His relationship with his sister-in-law wasn’t the best━they were tolerant of each other, but she still hadn’t gotten over the way he had tried to drag Sasuke back home and away from the life he had built for himself in the city. Itachi wouldn’t have pushed the matter if he hadn’t believed it was what was best for Sasuke.

But tonight wasn’t about them or even Sasuke. It was about Sarada.

“Maybe,” Sasuke fell back on his butt and took a seat next to him, not caring for the snow, “you need a pup of your own?”

Itachi scoffed around the hair tie he held between his teeth. He had been in the middle of braiding Sarada’s hair so that it would be away from her face and neck. Sakura had placed a cold compress to her forehead, but there wasn’t much else they could do.

“If I was worried about my own pups, I wouldn’t have time for Sara-chan.” Itachi pinched at Sarada’s cheek and blew a raspberry against the other, making her giggle. “Right?”

“Right!” Sarada chirped, nodding her head seriously.

The temperature dropped with the sun and Sarada finally relaxed, the chill of the winter breeze a relief on her overheated flesh. The relief came but so did the excess energy building up within her. Itachi had to keep her from running off toward any rustling distraction.

Her excitement sent splashes of black tea and cinnamon into the air. Itachi always enjoyed how their scents related through tea, even if it was a loose connection.

“Will you show me how to hunt?” Sarada raised her hands up to mimic claws and pulled back her lips to show off her gums in a snarl. She growled playfully at him until he reached for her ribs and tickled her.

“Not tonight. You’re still too young.”

Sarada sighed in disappointment, her small shoulders drooping. Pouting, she fell back so she was seated in Itachi’s lap, her back to his chest. They enjoyed the silence and the snowfall for a moment until Sarada sat up, alert.

Itachi could feel the rise of his hair on his arms as his flesh rippled with goose pimples, but he kept his eyes on Sarada. He knew what this feeling was, had years of this feeling, but it was new to her. Sarada’s head moved from side to side as she searched for the source of what made her so jittery. It had been so long since Itachi had seen a new wolf pup feel the call.

Itachi had dealt with the forced shift for over twenty-seven years. That was over 324 moons of turning into what Madara called their true form. The heat that had once been too much to bear, he now embraced and let it settle inside of him.

There was high pitched whine and Itachi turned to the source and found a much larger black wolf than him nuzzling the curled up form of his niece. Sarada was trembling, the change a much slower process for her as she didn’t know what to expect and was fighting against it even with the sedation properties of the monkshood tea.

The large wolf━Sasuke━pressed his snout against Sarada’s cheek and made small, reassuring grunting sounds deep in his throat. Matching the sounds, Itachi pressed his own snout to the underside of Sarada’s jaw and licked. Slowly, Sarada’s whimpers ceased and her trembling settled to a few odd twitches. She was still in the half human, half wolf state but she was much calmer.

As much as she reminded Itachi of Sasuke, he needed to remember that Sarada was her own person. Sasuke took to being a wolf much easier and he had embraced his shift immediately. As excited as Sarada was to be with her family, the shift was frightening her.

“Pa...Papa…” Sarada’s voice was swallowed by canine whimpers as her snout and throat fully formed. Sasuke tore at her clothing as her limbs transformed into those of a wolf and she became entangled in the fabric. Itachi helped speed up the process by ripping at her leggings.

By the time they had freed Sarada of her human clothing, she had finished shifting. She shook her body, spraying snow everywhere and shaking off the remaining pieces of her clothes. Sarada spun in circles, chasing her own tail and when she tired of that she nipped at the air around Sasuke’s and his tails.

She ran around the yard, stumbling over her own legs, but righting herself up and running as if she never fell over to begin with. She circled around her father and Itachi before bounding up the engawa and rubbing against the sleepy form of Madara. Madara lifted his head and nipped at her ear in warning and then snuggled under his blankets when Sarada scooted away from him.

Sarada crawled towards her mother and threw herself at Sakura’s lap. Sakura cooed at her daughter, scratching at the space between her ears. Sarada enjoyed the affection until she no longer could stay still. She leaped off of the engawa and dashed towards her father and uncle, yipping excitedly.

A howl came from within the woods. The others had already made their way into the forest when they felt the call to shift. Howls soon followed from other members of their pack. Sarada looked towards the trees and back to Sasuke and then Itachi. She nodded towards the tree and bounced around them in excitement. Sasuke bowed his head in a nod and Sarada shuffled into a proper sitting stance. Raising her head towards the sky, she howled━high and at some pitches weak, but it was a howl.

From the forest, howls were returned.

Itachi nudged Sarada with his snout, pushing her towards the forest. She needed no more encouragement and raced towards the tree line where the howls carried on.

Family was beckoning her forward.