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IwaOi Fanfiction Masterlist with 90+ Works

Hello! In celebration accumulating over 290 bookmarks on my AO3 account featuring IwaOi, Haikyuu S4 part 2, and @haikyuuweek2020​ (Day 7 - Free Choice), I decided to create a masterlist of all of my favorite Iwaoi fics in order to keep myself organized as well as contributing to more traffic for those works! Works are split up into genres such as alternate universe (either not childhood friends or set on Earth), angst, canon compliant (post timeskip with spoilers), canon divergent (childhood friends but divergent timeline post timeskip), high school, and university au

Formatting update: Jan 13, 2021 (spacing is wonky on the mobile app!).

Fic update: Jan 7, 2021

This is incomplete as I got distracted while re-reading a lot of these and have only gone through half of my bookmarks, but feel free to check my own page here for the rest of them! I really do hope you guys enjoy reading these and leave comments and kudos! Please reblog and like so more people can enjoy

Titles marked with (♡) are my absolute favorites and there’s a chance I cried while reading them but otherwise they’re in alphabetical order

Alternate Universe

an allegory of all the things we could’ve been

Word count: 16k

Summary: “I don’t know anything about some red string,” Iwaizumi murmurs into the cracks of Oikawa’s skin, “or even about lifetimes or fate. But no matter where you are, I’ll find you. Gods or otherwise.” Reincarnation AU

And All the Prince’s Men

Word count: 65k

Summary: “Father only loves that which he owns, and I am the one thing that can never truly be his.” Royalty AU

Built a Temple in Me

Word count: 55k

Summary: Up the mossy mountain steps, past the komainu guardians and the faded red gate, and beyond the boundaries of the green shrine—that’s where the forest and the spirit world within it lies. That’s were Hajime met him, and where their story began.But intertwining of destinies can be ugly business, Hajime finds, when their first meeting begins with blood and the too-human eyes of a beast. God Oikawa AU

Quote: It fills his heart anyway, heals the hole in his chest that had been bleeding since he cut Tooru so forcibly from him.

Cotton Breathing

Word count: 13k

Summary: Long-distance and summer only but childhood friends AU

Conquering the Great King

Word count: 105k

Summary: Oikawa's lips twitched into a smirk and he brought them hovering just over Iwaizumi's, "One time thing, Two time thing, what's it matter as long as it's not a Relationship thing?"

Quote: Oikawa's eyes twitched wide for less than a second, his knee pressed in hard against Iwaizumi's thigh, "I may be gorgeous, but I'm not a doll."

dear diary, i met a boy

Word count: 15k

Summary: Iwaizumi's first impression of his upstairs neighbor involves getting woken up at two in the morning to the sound of Oikawa singing along to trashy pop music. He'd thought it would get better, but it all just goes downhill from there. Modern AU

Desperado

Word count: 82k

Summary: Clearly Iwaizumi had a checkered past. Kyoutani has never asked about it, nor has Iwaizumi ever brought it up. He knows it’s a sore spot for his mentor, just like the gorgeous Monte Carlo he keeps hidden away is, so he leaves it alone. Out on the streets, you learn a little something about when to turn a blind eye in order to survive; Kyoutani knows better than most to leave the past of men like Iwaizumi well alone. Heist AU

Even Heroes (have the right to dream)

Word count: 20k

Summary: Oikawa Tooru, ace reporter of the superhero beat of Asahi Shimbun, hates superheroes. Or maybe he just hasn’t met the knight one yet. Superhero AU

♡Infinite Risks

Word count: 8k

Summary: “It’s my fate,” Oikawa responds slowly. He’s crying. “It’s too lonely,” Iwaizumi’s heart sounded broken. “And I’m not there with you. Not really.” Edge of Tomorrow AU

In Defense of Reptiles

Word count: 9k

Summary: In their seventh year, Oikawa is chosen to be the Hogwarts champion in the Triwizard Tournament, and Iwaizumi suffers. Harry Potter AU

Quote: “You are so spoiled,” Iwaizumi tells him, but lets him shuffle down until Iwaizumi’s hand is now running through Oikawa’s hair instead of rubbing his shoulder.

In the Telling

Word count: 6k

Summary: Muggleborn Iwaizumi could not be less impressed with pureblood Oikawa Tooru. Harry Potter AU

♡Lockdown

Word count: 72k

Summary: Within the first few months of his stay, Oikawa gets caught up in a war between cellblocks, becomes a prime target, and must decide just how far he's willing to go to protect Iwaizumi Hajime. Prison AU

♡long nights, no peace

Word count: 18k

Summary: It's the steady knowledge that Iwaizumi Hajime will always be someone that he can rely on, that no matter what the world throws at the two of them, they share in a piece of each other's soul. Pacific Rim AU

Quote: Quiet settles between them softly, like the warm pressure of the blanket, or Iwaizumi's fingers curling to lightly hold the fabric of Oikawa's shirt.

The Long Light

Word count: 36k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime's seventh year at Hogwarts begins, and begins, and begins, and begins. Somehow, Oikawa Tooru is always there. Harry Potter AU

Magic Man

Word count: 12k

Summary: Oikawa is named the most desirable wizard in France. Iwaizumi is not impressed. Harry Potter AU

Quote: You keep saying partner or them. Is it rude of me to ask you to clarify?

Meet me in the grey area

Word count: 24k

Summary: Set in a hero/villain AU with Iwa as our trusty hero and Oikawa as our charming villain

Saw You at the Fish Market

Word count: 14k

Summary: In other words, Oikawa befriends hot part-time worker Iwaizumi and tries to impress him both off and on the court, in hopes of more.

♡♡ (sing with me) A Song of Conquest and Fate

Word count: 26k

Summary: When Seijou receives a missive from Aobajousai to discuss a potential peace, its emperor Oikawa Tooru could not have foreseen the series of events that would follow. Historical fantasy AU

Similar Creatures

Word count: 53k

Summary: "What's your name?" "Whatever you want it to be."(Or, Oikawa gets directions from an attractive stranger on a street corner.). Escort AU

♡Something Like Us

Word count: 28k

Summary: Friends since childhood, Oikawa and Iwaizumi now live together, both playing for the National Team. It's no secret that athletes who are bonded perform better. So if the two of them happen to bond...It'd be for the good of the team, right? A/B/O AU

Space

Word count: 44k

Summary: Tries not to think of his rooftop garden, or the apartment he used to inhabit, or Hajime’s broken expression on the night they whispered their goodbyes before Tooru’s launch, attempting to push it all to the back of his mind behind visions of this alien world terraformed. Astronaut AU

Stop the Time

Word count: 10k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime, 27, E.R. nurse at University of Tokyo Hospital. Hospital AU

♡♡The Loyalty of A Traitor

Word count: 76k

Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime was an undercover officer with a single objective: Infiltrate the Seijoh Syndicate of the Yakuza and tear them down from the inside out. His primary target was the boss, Oikawa Tooru. The job itself was simple enough, until Iwaizumi got in too deep and absconded not only from the mission, but from the city itself. Yakuza AU

These Flowers I Stole For You

Word count: 3k

Summary: ANBU don't cry. They tear themselves apart, bit by bit, and then they stitch themselves whole again. Naruto AU

on shipwreck shore

Word count: 8k

Summary: “I’m going to murder you in cold blood and feed you to the basilisks,” Iwaizumi says conversationally. “You can’t do that, I’m your boss,” Oikawa sings, positively sparkling. “Also we’re partners, which means,” he points at Iwaizumi and leans in, “you’re stuck with me.” Detective AU

Page 305 of 304

Word count: 53k

Summary: “…she called you ‘papa’,” iwaizumi managed. oikawa just stared for a moment longer before relaxing in a smile. “yeah. cute, right? but you can call me ‘daddy’ if you want.”

Temporary fix

Word count: 12k

 Summary: “And you’ve shampooed his hair how many times now? Hmm. Yeah, that’s not technically a bromance.” A/B/O AU

Tokyo Boy

Word count: 16k

Summary: He has feelings for Iwaizumi Hajime, who probably has casual lovers just like him in every major city he visits on business. Oikawa is just his Tokyo Boy, just another pit-stop on Iwaizumi’s travels. Businessman AU

Trial by Fire

Word count: 78k

Summary: (lawyer!AU - in which Iwaizumi loves his objections, Oikawa is beautiful, and they have more chemistry than two opposing attorneys probably should.)

Watch Me

Word count: 32k

Summary: Oikawa's a cam model. It’s been a month since Iwaizumi first spoke in his chat. When they meet in person, things get complicated. Cam model AU

Angst

open when

Word count: 1k

Summary: Iwaizumi knew it was coming, but it still hurt. It still hurt when he opens one letter and drowns it in the tears he cannot keep at bay.

Chasing Paper Suns

Word count: 10k

Summary: Post-high school,     Oikawa makes it to the national volleyball team but Iwaizumi doesn't. The     next three years become an exercise in growing up without growing apart

Quote: “ ‘it’s just—I’m     just trying so hard—’‘What, and I’m not?’

Timeless (We Have 30 Days)

Word count: 12k

Summary: Or AU where you're branded 50 days before you die. But Oikawa doesn't tell anyone so now there's only 30 days left.

the weight of water

Word count: 6k

Summary: “Again,” he says, the smallest tremor in his voice, and Oikawa blinks at him a moment before smiling, soft and sweet. “Iwa-chan,” he replies, and Iwaizumi closes his eyes. “Again.” “Iwa-chan.”

Canon Compliant

Are You Listening?

Word count: 4k

Summary: 30 times oikawa said i love you and 1 time he didn't have to

Quote: “Iwa-chan, watch out for the log—!” Oikawa looked on in horror as his best friend tripped and fell flat on his face.

Edge of the balcony

Word count: 8k

Summary: Iwaizumi looks older, he realizes. Oikawa knew he had aged as well, and so did everyone around him, but the thing was when you see people often, you don't notice the subtle changes in appearance. And Oikawa hadn't seen Iwaizumi in four years.

How can this loser ever win

Word count: 2k

Summary: everyone is in stupid love with Iwaizumi Hajime and he has no idea

♡♡♡Lost in Translation

Word count: 9k

Summary: Because misfortune come in threes, Iwaizumi Hajime starts his Thursday having a screaming fight with Shittykawa, spends his lunch break listening to the UCI women's volleyball team gossiping about how Ushijima Wakatoshi had gone public about his longtime love affair with Oikawa Tooru, and closes out the day by drunkenly dropping his phone into a sewer grate.

maybe we could be enough

Word count: 9k

Summary: iwaizumi hums in reply as the car goes silent, frank ocean crooning from the speakers. they stop at a red light when iwaizumi feels eyes at the side of his face, and turns to look at oikawa.

Most people never even get a single high school rival

Word count: 5k

Summary: Team Argentina gets to know Iwaizumi Hajime (27) Athletic Trainer.

Primavera

Word count: 8k

Summary: They say it takes twenty-six years, for certain breeds to fully bloom.

Quote: Did you know that distance is only me, growing towards you?

♡♡♡rest on your laurels

Word count: 4k

Summary: In Iwaizumi’s heart of hearts, untouched by time, they are young and alive, burning with the hearth of home and bright as winter light. Unbreakable. Invincible.

♡♡♡Something Borrowed

Word count: 16k

Summary: In which Oikawa and Iwaizumi have always been a foregone conclusion to everyone else, but a massive, unanswered question to one another.

‘Til Infinity

Word count: 2k

Summary: “Hey,” he says, “that cloud looks kind of like a dick.”

Quote: “I got you ladybug”

♡♡♡ You Set Off a Dream In Me

Word count: 15k

Summary: In which Oikawa is 41 and ready to retire. He's at the top of his game and ready to find a new challenge. Turns out his new challenge is pretty familiar. It's high school, round 2.

Quote: A past with an Iwaizumi that wasn’t on the opposite side of the net, monsters on all sides, guiding a setter that had lived the dream left behind in the ruins of Tooru’s past self.

Canon Divergent

a world alone

Word count: 60k

Summary: Iwaizumi has his medical books on the musculoskeletal system. Oikawa has his research papers on parallel universes. It isn't until much, much later that they realize they have each other.

♡Almost a Stranger

Word count: 16k

Summary: Iwa-chan's leaving Kapan. Tooru's not sure he can forgive him, but he's not going to admit his long-held feelings, either. A trip to Miyajima complicates everything.

Quote: There are only two things that have ever broken Oikawa Tooru’s heart. Iwa-chan would say Tooru has no heart to break, but that’s simply untrue.

Count your blessings, it goes 1,2,3, me

Word count: 7k

Summary: He's unsettled by the undefined boundaries of their relationship so it's all his luck that he accidentally wins three wishes to be granted just for him, and all that comes to mind is Iwaizumi.

Quote: Now, as an adult, past convenience of circumstance and the haze of hormonal lust, exactly none of his feelings have worn off

♡♡♡the courtship ritual of the hercules beetle

Word count: 66k

Summary: Tooru is pretty sure he could manage the mating habits of a mosquito. It’s the mating habits of people he can’t seem to get right.

♡days fall away

Word count:17k

Summary: Except now he’s back home, so close to his old haunts and to Oikawa himself, and it's—weird.

Quote: “You and Tooru,” he begins, and then shrugs. “I was just thinking, you look at each other a lot.” And he walks away, leaving Hajime winded, and sort of aching, somewhere deep in his chest. Whatever that means.

♡here comes your man

Word count: 8k

Summary: Iwa-chan, it reads, Have a good day today! Good luck! <3 <3 <3 Suga chokes. It’s hard to imagine anyone calling the scowling and fierce Doctor Iwaizumi “Iwa-chan.” But marriage probably comes with all sorts of liberties. Doctor AU

♡♡In damp earth my body

Word count: 15k

Summary: Onscreen, the nation’s favorite setter has arranged himself so that he’s bowing, forehead pressed to the court, like he’s thanking everyone for their kindness thus far, like he’s asking for forgiveness. Hajime thinks: shit, it’s really happening

In the Business of Love

Word count: 22k

Summary: Meet Oikawa Tooru: He's a best-selling shoujo manga artist, a hardcore romantic and you won't believe where he's getting his lovey dovey fodder from...Enter Iwaizumi Hajime: He's Oikawa's best friend, a realist who also happens to be a wedding magazine writer despite not believing in romance...

Quote: A flare of pride lit in Oikawa as he watched Iwaizumi's eyes crinkle with mirth and in that yawning second, it bloomed into a warmth that bordered on a burn, forcing a bittersweet inhale.

it's been so long (nobody knows me the way you do)

Word count: 8k

Summary: Tooru hums, only half-listening. Somewhere along the way, Hajime’s palm has settled itself over the curve of Tooru’s cheek, thumb tracing over the line of his jaw.

Quote: Iwaizumi blushes even more. “That you’re here, I mean. I’m happy that you’re here. With me.”

♡♡♡Mint

Word count: 19k

Summary: It's the December after Iwaizumi’s last year in university when Tokyo welcomes him with a new ad campaign for Bright Days toothpaste, and Oikawa Tooru—fresh off a run at the 2016 Summer Olympics—has decided to grace the city with his signature grin, a flip of his wayfarer sunglasses, and the most irrepressible tag line for the signboard above.

Quote: "To be able to tell him, in the new year."  This comes under Oikawa's breath, so low that Matsukawa and Hanamaki can't hear, and the game continues.

Six-Month Lover

Word count: 89k

Summary: Iwaizumi barks out a laugh. “I’m still trying to get over the fact that you made a PowerPoint presentation about why we should date.” Oikawa doesn’t tell him the file has existed for the last twelve years, constantly receives updates, and that the original copy contained almost a hundred slides before he forced himself to get a grip.

Special Relativity

Word count: 22k

Summary: Time moves differently for people in different inertial reference frames. Oikawa goes on a two-year exploratory mission in space. Iwaizumi's been waiting for a lot longer than that.

♡♡sunset towns

Word count: 33k

Summary: In the summer of 2020, Oikawa Tooru returns home from his first successful stint as captain of Japan’s national volleyball team. In one hand, he holds the undisputed weight of an Olympic medal, and in the other, his unresolved feelings for a childhood best friend.

♡♡Thirty Years and Change (the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad)

Word count:     19k

Summary: It’s July 10th, 2024, and Oikawa Tooru is an Olympian. His smiling face airs on an NHK promo every 45 seconds. He’s captain of the national men’s volleyball team, reigning star of the professional leagues, and he hasn't spoken to Iwaizumi Hajime in two years.

Quote: Oikawa’s grin in  the last set of the morning’s game. Oikawa’s grin as they sat on their asses on a golf course. Oikawa’s grin when they were in college. When they were in high school. When they were twenty-two, seventeen, fifteen, twelve, six.

High School

Bet On It

Word count: 13k

Summary: Hajime knows exactly how shitty Oikawa's personality is, and has no scruples whatsover about betting Oikawa six thousand yen that he can't be nice for an entire week.

Quote: The whole instant-compliance thing was seriously creeping him out. Oikawa from a week ago would have made a crack about how if he'd wanted something cold, he could have just put his face on Hajime's shoulder.

Betweens

Word count: 2k

Summary: Iwaizumi is asleep in the club room. Oikawa is blindingly awake in the club room. The sun moves slowly across the sky, and Iwaizumi’s skin is gold underneath it. Oikawa watches the changing shadows on Iwaizumi’s face and thinks about nothing in particular.

Don’t think too much

Word count: 6k

Summary:  In which Oikawa and Iwaizumi have a confusing, drunken encounter and then deal with the (sticky) consequences.

Quote: As soon as that thought crossed his mind, though, Oikawa did what he always did:  exactly the opposite of what Hajime wanted

Gates

Word count: 12k

Summary: The day after their graduation ceremony, they drive to the beach at Shirahama. Iwaizumi drives, because it’s his car, and as he has told Oikawa on multiple occasions, he’d rather die than let him touch the wheel.

Quote: ‘Yeah,’ he says, because they’re on a beach, and they’re supposed to be on a metaphorical journey, and they’re supposed to be growing up, and completing rites of passage, so it’s honesty, today - just for today, at least.

♡♡i sing the body electric

Word count: 8k

Summary: It was never part of the plan, falling in love with his best friend, but then again, most things in Iwaizumi’s life that involve Oikawa rarely unfold the way he thinks they will.

Quote: But Iwaizumi thinks about Oikawa laughing with that girl in the low light of the gym, a particular kind of quiet intimacy that Iwaizumi’s only ever read about in books hovering in the air, and all it makes him feel is small and petty and spiteful.

it’s better than words

Word count: 3k

Summary: [ or : oikawa makes iwaizumi participate in three bonding activities for new friends, and iwaizumi just wants to know why oikawa's being so weird about this]

Make sure you cross the line

Word count: 4k

Summary: With graduation just around the corner, Iwaizumi knows he has to gather the courage to really ask Oikawa out.

Quote: He’s been asking Iwaizumi to go out with him every single day this past week, increasingly panicked about getting his time and attention now that they’re nearing the end of this season of their lives.

Only the jellyfish know

Word count: 6k

Summary: Their third and final year at Aoba Jousai has come to an end, and the guys decide to go to the beach the day after graduation. That day, the ocean water is salty, the watermelon is sweet, and the people are sweeter.

static

Word count: 6k

Summary: Being snowed in with all of Seijou volleyball in his childhood home brings back a lot of memories for Iwaizumi, because it's kinda Oikawa's childhood home too.

Quote: It's fate that brought them together and choice that keeps them that way. The closest description in Hajime’s vocabulary is partners, but only because Oikawa taught him what its true definition is.

Told before and told again

Word count: 3k

Summary: This is how Hajime and Tooru fall in love, through the accounts of those around them.

Quote: When Oikawa lets out a long, heavy breath, Iwaizumi looks up at him and frowns, and flings a towel over Oikawa’s head to cover his face. Then, he tugs, once, on Oikawa’s fingers, and leads him down the hallway, Oikawa walking quietly in tow.

♡we can do better than that

Word count: 16k

Summary: Oikawa and Iwaizumi go on a road trip during the summer after their high school graduation. It doesn't go as expected, but maybe that's not such a bad thing after all.

Quote: Because Iwaizumi’s known Oikawa nearly all his life and never felt anything more than vague affection usually followed by intense irritation for him. But then suddenly at eighteen years old and nearly two weeks into a very badly planned road trip, it’s like someone flipped a switch somewhere inside Iwaizumi

♡when it starts to rain, they go inside

Word count: 33k

Summary: “Where?” starts Iwaizumi.“ My parent’s old lakehouse, silly, didn’t you hear me the first time?” OR: Oikawa takes Iwaizumi to his lakehouse for two weeks, post-graduation.

reassemble it

Word count: 15k

Summary: When Tooru was six years old, he discovered—unbeknownst to him at the time—two of the most important things in his life: volleyball and Iwaizumi Hajime. It was ironic that he had stumbled upon them hand in hand—quite literally, too.

♡things that change, things that stay the same

Word count: 8k

Summary: Oikawa realizes he's in love with his best friend; it sucks for a while. (But only a while.)

Quote: Iwaizumi’s expression right now is less terrified than it used to get back then, but he’s tight-lipped with concern, and his broad body blocks out other passengers as if their stares might be a danger to Tooru too.

University AU

An Archaeology of Affection

Word count: 23k

Summary: For Hajime, it is a riddle and simultaneously so evident. It fills his chest, surging like water, paints heat up his neck. In retrospect, it eats up his days, makes them its own until it feels like his heart has always been in his throat at the smile thrown over Oikawa’s shoulder, the stilling of his fingers on Hajime’s sleeve.

closure

Word count: 22k

Summary: In his first year of university, Oikawa builds a new friendship and upgrades an old one. Or: Ushijima is not a great wingman, but he tries his best.

Quote: “On the first day of his university career, Oikawa Tooru walks into his dorm, spots his assigned roommate, and turns one hundred and eighty degrees and walks right back out. He dials a familiar phone number - the first one he ever memorized - and starts complaining before Iwaizumi even gets the chance to say hello. “Iwa-chan,” he says, “tell me why Ushiwaka is in my dorm room.”

♡♡♡galaxies, within you

Word count: 21k

Summary: Hajime and Tooru move in together at the start of university. Too bad they’re stuck with the two gremlins that haunt their apartment.

Quote: I AM A HEADASS

Hands to yourself

Word count: 11k

Summary: He missed his parents, and he missed Takeru, and Takeru's badly behaved puppy. He missed Aoba Jousai, and he missed the volleyball team. He even missed Karasuno and Shiratorizawa, just a little.

Home, and how we made ours

Word count: 3k

Summary: “No, I like it here.” There’s a rustling as Iwaizumi shifts, inching closer. “I like it here, as in this crappy apartment—with you.”

Quote: “Do your fights end up being like—you know, about actual things and then extending into toddler days and suddenly you’re accusing Iwaizumi of kissing the girl you used to like in preschool?”

in progress to you

Word count: 6k

Summary: The eventuality of Oikawa and Iwaizumi falling toward each other is dramatically lackluster. Still, it's a process to go through.

Quote: “But what if you didn’t eat my pudding all the time?” Iwaizumi asks flatly, ignoring the way Oikawa is slapping his thigh to get out of his chokehold. “Do you think I buy them for you, huh? I buy them for me, you turd.”

Like we’re made of starlight

Word count: 6k

Summary: (a look into iwaizumi hajime’s journey of falling in love with oikawa tooru, from when they’re babies meeting for the first time to young adults moving in together.)

Ninety nine percent

Word count: 14k

Summary: more than anything, oikawa tooru wants to be with iwaizumi hajime, but he's only ninety nine percent of the way there.

Quote: Their ace was lining up for the ball, knees bent and arm pulled back, just as Tooru tosses the ball……to Hajime.

no sleep in the city

Word count: 7k

Summary: Along their journey to find Tokyo's best ramen, Iwaizumi finds himself asked again and again why Oikawa is still single.

Quote: “I was only telling Hanamaki literally yesterday that your personality isn’t as vile as before,” Iwaizumi informs, slightly stiff from the way Oikawa’s got an arm looped through his own. “Why do you make me such a liar to people I care about?”

Out of nowhere

Word count: 8k

Summary: They move in together after graduation and it's doing weird things to Iwaizumi's heart. He's a little in denial about it.

Quote: Oikawa excitedly ran up to him when Iwaizumi came home with groceries the other day. Not about the food but just to say how boring everything is when Iwaizumi's not there, eyes shining, and he couldn't meet his gaze after from blushing down to his neck. He doesn't know how much more he can take.

♡♡shiver

Word count: 16k

Summary: Oikawa was always the brave one. Hajime just followed two paces behind.

Quote: “I’m in love with you,” Oikawa tells him three days after they graduate junior high, head in his lap and hands gently folded over his chest and completely and totally unconcerned that he’d just shattered Hajime’s world.

Terpischore

Word count: 38k

Summary: They’d ended up going to different universities, Tooru and he. The distance was good for them. The confession Hajime dropped in both their laps wasn’t. That’s how it’d ended – a lifetime of friendship crumbled to dust in the space of five minutes. (Or, a lesson in learning to move on from things you can't have, in finding old loves in new ways and in understanding that life is never truly simple... till it is.)

terrarium

Word count: 11k

Summary: At this point, is he really happy with just staying best friends forever? Will he be writing journals and collecting rocks forever (he will, he knows, but that is aside from the point)?

these foolish things (remind me of you)

Word count: 3k

Summary: Oikawa helps Iwaizumi move into his new college dorm.

Quote: He’s desperate for something to happen. It must show on his face because Iwaizumi blushes and looks away. The thing is, Oikawa always looks at him like this when Iwaizumi isn’t paying attention.

They say it rains diamonds on Jupiter

Word count: 35k

Summary: "You're in love with him. "Hajime considers denying it. "Yeah," he says instead.

Quote: “Share the weight of your feelings with me, Hajime wants to beg when he hears Tooru's first hitched breath. Let me carry some of your burdens”

to be first, to be best

Word count: 26k

Summary: Hajime is apparently something of a masochist, and as he stares down at the tie-dyed AREA51 T-shirt in his hands, he thinks “I’m totally in love with this asshole, aren't I?”

Undecipherable

Word count: 4k

Summary: "Koi no yokan," he says. "The sense one can have upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love."

Quote: Because for all the bravado, for all the flaunting Oikawa does, he wants Hajime by his side, and no one else.

♡we shine like diamonds

Word count: 26k

Summary: "You know Abe-kun from class?" they snicker, hands cupped around their mouths like they're passing along a filthy secret. "I hear his older brother is... gay."

Where you are (I’ll be)

Word count: 6k

Summary: Theirs is a love that starts out like a seed and it takes two sets of hands tending it for a shoot to appear. There are no dramatic declarations of love, only a pair of hands that find each other again and again and again.

Quote: Oikawa broke off into giggles as Hajime slowed the descent of his hand from a slap to the back of Oikawa’s head to a gentle ruffle of the taller boy’s hair

♡♡with every second that you could give

Word count: 9k

Summary: The journey of Iwaizumi and Oikawa going for gold.

Quote: He knows they’re too close. Iwaizumi knows it too, and they both decided to move in together anyway.

Your love is sunlight

Word count: 6k

Summary: It's Iwaizumi's birthday, and they have a talk about the future.

Quote: But Hajime doesn’t think any present could top this: them, kissing in a sun-dappled bathroom, Oikawa’s skin warm under his hands, and the promise of a life together stretched out before them.

[tarithenurse]

Nightingale - 36

Fandom: Naruto Pairing: Hatake Kakashi &/x Fem!OC Contents: Some angst and frustration and blaming and stuff. A/N: As usual, ASK or REBLOG for tag! HUUUGE thanks to all who are reblogging already <3

Ch. 36

Bursting through the hospital’s door, Kakashi doesn’t even have to ask before a comrade points him down a hallway, fingers flashing “four” and “left”. Fourth door on the left, got it. It’s hard to refrain from running and he can feel the back of his knees itch to give in to the last sprint. A few of the rooms he pass are open, showing patients that are enjoying the view of the outdoor serenity – happy despite whatever ails them and the white-haired jōnin can’t help but envy them. He hates the uncertainty.

As an ANBU, he had been praised for his skills as an assassin and his ability to gather intel regardless of the costs. Calm, logical, his personal needs always secondary to the mission, nothing was able to unsettle him as he took his time to think things through and diligently investigate or interrogate until every detail was clear to him. Then, and only then, would Kakashi study how the pieces fitted together.

It’s different now. He rushed, neglecting to ask the most obvious witness for information and he freezes with the hand hovering above the door handle. She’s fine. Cold, probably tired too. I’ll see her sleeping in a bed. Still, his worst fears are cackling inside his mind, jeering and laughing because there’s a risk this is the last moment he can make himself believe that.

Steeling himself with a deep breath, Kakashi opens the door as calmly as he can and strides into the room.

One of the four beds (the first on the left) is unused and a nurse has claimed it for the extra stacks of blankets and hot water bottles she’s tugging around the person in the neighbouring bed – it’s impossible to see who’s lying there, but the visitor’s eyes have already moved across the aisle where both beds are occupied. Judging by the size of the “cocoon” nearest, it’s either Daen or Mimura shivering there. Another nurse is dragging the curtain from around the last bed away.

“So can I go?” Uguïsu asks impatiently as she is (theoretically) revealed.

A deep sigh hints that this isn’t the first time this subject has been brought up. “Not yet.”

“Damnit, Minami,” the cocoon groans with Daen’s voice, “just let them do their job or Hatake’s gonna whoop my ass even more.”

“Not if she’s the one causing trouble,” Kakashi soothes.

They can’t see his smile and even if they could, they wouldn’t know if it’s because of Uguïsu’s stiffled gasp of happiness or her teammate’s groan.

The nurse fills him in tersely and efficient: the two men are suffering from acute hypothermia (Mimura being the one who’s worst off and currently in shock due to it) while their rookie primarily is plagued by frostbite to hands and feet.

“She wasn’t even wearing gloves upon arrival,” the nurse tuts disapprovingly, “instead, they were crammed around her captain’s feet as an extra layer.”

It turns out, according to Daen (with a few corrections from the sideline), the men had judged they’d be able to make it back to Konoha through the shelter of the forest...but instead got caught in the blizzard. When eventually it became clear that it would be near suicidal to try to continue, Mimura had used what little energy he had left to create a wall of clay leaning against a tree before succumbing, lying down on the ground as his team tried to improve the inadequate hideout. The last thing the second in command recalls from the night is following Uguïsu’s orders to bundle up tightly with their comrade, their layers combined to shield them both and ensure they shared the heat as best as possible while the blue-haired woman kept closing up the sides of the shelter with snow. He had woken up to the sounds of voices.

“Forgive us, senpai,” he laments.

In all honesty, Kakashi doesn’t feel like accepting the apology. Any jōnin worth their salt should have been able to predict the change in weather and known of the consequences that disregarding it could have. They got off light. On the other hand, there doesn’t seem to have been any ill intentions.

“They’ll be fine, Hatake-sama,” the nurse reports, “for now the men need to recover and the girl’s hands must heal.”

The limbs in question are wrapped in bandages, reportedly with a thick ointment covering the wounds from the frost. Although attended by a healer to a certain extend, complete recovery will have to take time as their are more important ailments to worry about at the hospital. Neither Kakashi nor Uguïsu complains about the decision.

“A doctor will see to it tomorrow a-”

“Tomorrow?!” the impatient patient interrupts, “I’ll have to stay here till then?”

[cherrywoes]

ichi. (acanthus.)

SAKURA GENTLY RAN HER fingers across the soft, barely there pinpricks of hair at the back of her head. The knots had been too large to untangle without time and copious amounts of conditioner, and while she lamented the loss of growth, she found she quite liked the style. There was enough hair left on the top of her head that it could easily cover the uneven lengths of hair clinging to the bottom half of her scalp. She peered at herself through a small hand mirror Tsunade had provided her and didn’t like what she found. She looked too pale, malnourished, and the once healthy glow she had when she was free had vanished. She looked every bit the prisoner they had made her to be.

Any hope she had previously shriveled up and died when she looked at the crimson mark upon her forehead. When she touched it experimentally, it zinged! into the back of her brain where she felt strange bolts of electricity bounce back and forth within and route back to the mark. It was a very harsh reminder that she was no longer Sakura Haruno—she was someone else, someone who killed her teammates because her pride wouldn’t let her admit to her own weakness.

She gave Tsunade the mirror and pointedly ignored the curious look the Hokage sent her out of the corner of her eye.

“Your trial will be as straightforward as it can be, given the circumstances.” Tsunade tucked the mirror into her pocket with a sigh. She looked tired, as well, as she always did since she had become Hokage. Using sake as her coping mechanism didn’t do her any good, either, despite her younger appearance; Sakura could see it weighing on her, the drag of age and idleness. “I don’t think there’s much you can do in your own defense except to be honest; if you’re lucky, the elders might put you in for an extended prison stay—or they could also execute you outright.”

“Isn’t that what everyone wants though?” Sakura pulled her knees to her chest and squeezed them in an attempt to comfort herself. She didn’t have Naruto to reassure her that everything was okay; he was outside of the village, tracking down an errant Sasuke—his life had boiled down into an endless chase of their former teammate. It was all he could think about the last time she had seen him, his mind focused on dragging him back to Konoha even if it was the last thing the Uchiha wanted for himself. He would hate her, too, for this. “For me to be executed?”

Tsunade frowned. “They want answers, Sakura. The families of the men and women you killed, the wives and husbands and sons and daughters—they all want to know why you did it.”

She closed her eyes, faces flashing through her mind in a quick succession. Yamanaka eyes; Hyuuga eyes; the large frame of an Akamichi, smiling, offering her slices of fruit. “I guess they’ll be disappointed when they learn it was because I lost my abilities and killed them instead because of my own stupidity.”

“You underestimate them, Sakura.” The blonde woman shook her head slowly and gathered up the worn and dirty clothes she had left hanging on the side of the basin. “They’re going to hate you for it. It’s your decision whether or not you give them further reason to hate you even more, or prove them wrong and make up for your mistakes.”

Sakura opened her eyes and stared obstinately at the wall, listening to the words unsaid: if they even accept your apology to begin with.

She didn’t expect acceptance at all.

When Sakura took her first step outside in months, the sun made her eyes water uncontrollably. It was no longer winter within Konoha—not that she had ever favored it to begin with—but autumn, the trees turning from green to a myriad of shades between orange, red, and yellow hues. The grass beneath her shoes was crisp, on the verge of decaying and preparing for the next winter, and filled the air with a familiar scent she hadn’t been sure she would ever experience ever again. The sun was comforting and warm as it surrounded her in a suffocating embrace, her skin already starting to turn rusty red with a sunburn. She didn’t mind it, though—it was almost a reminder of the life she had lied to keep and lost.

“Sakura.” Kakashi stood, waiting for her outside the doors of the prison complex. He was early and nearly on time, Icha Icha Paradise’s sienna cover just barely visible from behind his back, tucked away into his pocket. He looked as tired as Sakura felt, dark eye bags highly visible against his skin, so much so that it looked as if he had earned two right hooks to both eyes. “Are you ready? Or do you want to bask in the sun some more?”

Once, she might have thought he was teasing. But the look in his eye, the tone of his voice, all denoted that he was serious, that he would risk being late if she wanted to sit in the sun and burn just a little bit longer, to feel the freedom that had been taken from her by her own actions. She considered it, momentarily, looking to the sky. The light burned her eyes and a single teardrop fell from her right eye and slid down her cheek. “No.”

“Alright then.” He looked unsure, then, eyeing the ANBU guards that stood behind her in their respective Raccoon and Panda masks. She had never seen them before until now, but she knew that Kakashi didn’t recognize them, either, and it was most likely a deliberate move on the council’s part. “Let’s go then.”

The walk to the Hokage tower and, consequently, the council chambers where her trial would be held, was not a peaceful procession. People, ninja and civilians alike—faces she didn’t recognize, she thought with some relief, even though guilt gnawed at her heart—screamed at her, got so close that spittle flew in her face when they yelled obscenities at her. When words failed, they began throwing rotten fruit, vegetables, and even pots of molding and old food. Several slices of sour cantaloupe slid down her cheek, juices clinging to her skin, gnats flocking to the scent. Her ANBU did nothing to prevent them from chucking a pot of scalding chicken broth on her, either. They were for the public’s safety, not hers; and even so, they wouldn’t have stopped them even if they had been ordered to, she figured.

When it touched her skin, burned like acid and lit her body on fire, she didn’t scream. Burnt, acrid flesh was not a pleasant odor, and combined with the chicken broth, it sent several civilians away with nausea. She could hear them exclaiming over the stench with their faces pulled into looks of disgust, both at the people who had thrown it (fondly, because it was ‘justified’, however bad it smelled) and at Sakura as she trudged by, her skin livid red and breaking into fever. The flesh of her arm, some of her neck, and flecks on her cheek would scar, if the agonizing pain sending her brain into a white fog was any indication.

Kakashi, walking ahead of her at a leisurely pace, was forced to remain impartial. She could understand him, of course, in that aspect. The village would turn on him, too, and then he would truly have nothing left. His team was disbanded, Naruto had devolved into a man on an impossible mission and false hopes, Sasuke had left the village and become Orochimaru’s apprentice and, afterwards, his killer, and Sakura, his final remaining student, had become his protege, his perfect copy—a friend killer, a ninja killer, just as he was.

Perhaps, Sakura thought as she fixed her gaze on Kakashi’s shoes, fate worked in very obvious, very deliberate ways, and was not as mysterious as anyone ever said it was.

Sakura arrived at the Hokage tower dripping with steaming chicken broth, mold clinging to her clothes from various entrees of old food, and reeking of weeks old tea that was just on the verge of becoming kombucha. Shizune waited for them, her face harsh and pale and completely emotionless. If she had any opinion on her former friend’s crimes, she gave no indication of it, her mouth pulled into a straight, thin line, her lips as white as her face.

“They have already convened and arrived at a verdict.” Shizune’s dark eyes darted to Sakura momentarily, the pain there deep and unfathomable, and then back to Kakashi, flicking over the ANBU guards and the growing crowd rioting around the entrance of the building. “Her presence wasn’t necessary.”

Her. As if she was a thing to be spoken of, an object. Once that might have angered Sakura, might have forced her into an enraged spiel, but the only emotion she could muster up at the derogatory tone was faint irritation that was suffused by the harsh throb of the burns on her arm.

“Tsunade’s orders.” Kakashi shrugged. He glanced back at her, then at her burns, and sighed. “At least heal her. Those burns could get infected—”

“I am under order not to provide care to Sakura Haruno under any circumstances.” Shizune shifted uncomfortably at that. “As is the rest of the village. Basic necessities, and nothing more.”

Her former sensei said nothing else and Sakura refused to open her mouth and beg Shizune of all people to heal her. She should have been able to heal herself, yet she had not even a scrap of medical chakra to speak of and risked cutting off her own arm in the process. It would probably be preferable to the festering, infected blisters she would gain in the coming days—if she was even alive to experience it.

She suffered in her own silence, closing her eyes against the pinpricks of hot white light that threatened to send her into unconsciousness. It was easy to block out the pain when she was stuck in her head; her pain tolerance was high, but without the help of her seal, of Tsunade’s healing advice and her medical chakra, she was reduced to biting her lips to stop herself from squalling and collapsing onto the wooden floor beneath her feet. Blood flowed into her mouth, metallic and bitter, like the blood that flowed from her teammates’ veins.

Sakura didn’t know how long she stood there in a half daze, flanked by her ANBU and Shizune and Kakashi talking quietly in front of her in short, stilted sentences. Their opposing affections for her prevented them from talking casually; Kakashi’s guilt prevented him from hating her and Shizune’s righteous sense of justice prevented her from offering her even a shred of pity. They spoke in whispers, so she could barely make out what they were saying, but she could read lips as well as any ninja; mentions of war, famine, disease—which made no sense to her, for what could have happened in the span of five months?

“Shizune. Kakashi.” Tsunade’s descent down the staircase, assisted by the wooden handrail, was slow and awkward. She was a little too hunched over, favoring her right hip and leaning heavily on the wall to support herself. Her gaze darted to Sakura. “Sakura. You came here for nothing. The decision has been made. I’m sorry.”

Kakashi stilled to the point that she wondered if he was even breathing. “They’re going to execute her?”

“Execution… would be a mercy at this point.” Tsunade produced a scroll from her pocket. Shizune’s strangled gasp was loud enough that it caught the attention of the ANBU. It was a thin scroll, no bigger than an index finger, and lined with gold and red trim. Sakura had never seen such a scroll in all her life, but with the way Kakashi went pale and Tsunade looked so defeated, she had to wonder what fate could be so awful, so terrible that even her nonchalant, uncaring teacher would appear to be frightened and disgusted. “The orders are clear and the vote was unanimous. Sakura Haruno will be given to ANBU, given a rank within the War Operations party, and shipped to the frontlines by dawn tomorrow.”

Shizune inhaled sharply. “It’s a death sentence in its own right.”

“Sakura isn’t suited for war,” Kakashi advised, voice breaking slightly. “They couldn’t agree on anything else? Not even execution?”

Tsunade shook her head slowly, guiltily. “Execution was too clean for them. A prison sentence was a slap on the wrist. The people wanted blood—so they gave it to them. Let her spill it for the name of the village, for the people they lost, they said.”

“And what if she survives?” Sakura couldn’t ignore the thread of concern that wove through Shizune’s question. “What about after the war?”

Tsunade looked at Sakura, then, her mouth turned downwards into a deep frown. “Then she may be free; but she can never return to Konoha.”

Nothing else needed to be said. Tsunade passed the scroll to Kakashi and vanished back up the stairs to her office, Shizune following without a glance back. The ANBU removed the chakra cuffs on her wrists, and while it might have felt like a cooling sensation when it returned to her system, all she felt was pins and needles, her nodes brimming to life with malicious energy. She rubbed her wrists tenderly, avoiding the burns as much as she could, and felt Kakashi’s hand land on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.

“Come on.” He veered her towards the back exit, where the crowd wouldn’t be able to see her. “We’ll go to my apartment, fix you up, and grab some supplies. Then… Then we wait.”

Wait for her inevitable departure and then, most likely, her death, of which Kakashi would probably never hear about.

“Kakashi-sensei?” She croaked. She could feel tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, burning her lash line and a knot forming in her throat. “Can I ask you for a favor?”

He paused, hand reaching for the knob of the exit. “Of course, Sakura.”

“Take care of my parents for me, please.” Sakura blinked rapidly to clear the tears from her eyes, the pain in her arm dulled to a numb sensation. If she hadn’t lost all of the nerves in it, she would count it as a blessing, even if she deserved it. “Without me, I don’t think they…”

“Don’t worry.” Kakashi ruffled her hair with a playful hand. It wasn’t quite as effective as it had been when it was shorter, but she could feel the affection within it besides. “I’ll watch over them, Sakura, I promise you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, and he pushed open the door, sunlight spearing through the crack and enveloping her in its oppressive warmth once more.

That night, if Kakashi had any complaints about Sakura sneaking into his room and hugging him tightly, sobs wracking her lithe frame for the first time in months, he didn’t say anything. If she noticed him hug her back, tears running delicate rivers down the striped pillowcase he laid his head on, she gave no indication, pouring her soul out for possibly the last time in the safety of the arms of someone she loved.

Dawn broke, and with it, so did the remnants of Kakashi’s heart.

prologue | masterlist | 二 (ni)

[myaekingheart]

34. Don’t Go

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3

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Don't go, I can't do this on my own Don't go, I can't do this on my own Save me from the ones that haunt me in the night I can't live with myself, so stay with me tonight Don't go, don't go. -Don't Go, Bring Me the Horizon

               Desolation. Nothing but darkness and despair. Kakashi blinked awake, something heavy weighing on his chest. Dust filled the air. He coughed into his elbow. Forcing himself up, he scanned his surroundings. He couldn’t remember anything. Where was he? What was he doing? Nothing looked familiar. As he stood, he strained his eyes to focus on something strange off in the distance. A figure, apparently a child. It took all of five seconds for him to realize it was himself, but younger. And standing before him was Rin.

               A lump rose in his throat, burning. He tried to run forward but was paralyzed. He watched his fist pierce the girl’s chest in slow motion, her gasp and her cough of blood. The lightning circulating around them. Electric.

               Kakashi…Kakashi…Kakashi.

               “N-no…not again…I can’t do this again…” the adult Kakashi muttered to himself. He tried to raise his hands up to cover his eyes, avoid it, but his arms refused to move. He was trapped. Suddenly, a hot breath panted against the back of his neck.

               “Look what you’ve done” a familiar voice growled. “Look at the disaster you’ve created. Friend killer…”

               “St-stop it!” Kakashi shouted. A rush of ice ran down his spine.

               “You lost Obito. You killed Rin. You broke your promise to Rei” the voice taunted. The Copy Ninja’s heart was racing, he felt like he was going to throw up. “Failure. You’re such a failure. You can’t do anything right!” A shriek of maniacal laughter, and then a jolt of force kicking him to the ground. Before him lay Rin’s dead body, just as he remembered her. Wide, lifeless eyes and gaping mouth and a massive hole in her chest. He looked down and his hands were covered in blood.

               “R-Rin…Rin!” he screamed, scrambling to cradle her body in his arms but the moment he touched her, her form turned to ash and she was gone. He panicked, desperate to recover her, but it was no use. The figure behind him crouched down and seized his body, and Kakashi was somehow defenseless.

               “You have never done anything right” it hissed. “You break every promise you make. You couldn’t protect Rin, and you can’t protect her, either!” A cold hand gripped his chin and forced him to turn his head. Men in nondescript black cloaks surrounded a masked woman in shackles, her body bloodied and bruised. One of her captors kicked her in the face, sending her mask tumbling to the ground with a crack. She coughed, a trickle of blood dripping down her bottom lip, and gazed up at Kakashi with desperate eyes. Rei.

               Mustering all his strength, Kakashi surged forward and fought to free her. He struggled with the cloaked men before taking each of them out, then breaking Rei’s chains and pulling her close into his arms. She was all he had, his safety net. His rock. She was the last bit of hope he had left. He could not let anything happen to her. He could not let her go. As quickly as he had embraced her, though, she buried her face in his chest and cried out in pain. A crackle of lightning surrounded them, surrounded her, her body suffering.

               “R-Rei? No!” he shouted, but it would not stop. He could not stop. Tears ran down her cheeks as she struggled to breathe, her eyes glazing over until she slumped into his lap lifeless. “Rei, no, come on, you’re fine. Look at me. You’re fine” he begged but received no response.

               “Such a shame…she loved you so much, too. If only you could’ve loved her back just as much” the voice taunted. But that wasn’t true, Kakashi knew that wasn’t true. He loved Rei more than anything. She meant the world to him. She was the most important person in his life. She was the only person left. He would die before he let anything happen to her, and yet here he was hugging her lifeless body and crying for her to wake up. Running his fingers through her hair and caressing her cheek with his thumb and pressing his lips to hers as if this was some cheap, childish fairytale and a kiss was all it took to break the spell. No use. There was nothing he could do. Rei was dead, just like everyone else.

               A burst of something sinister rose up from within the depths of his chest, something the likes of revenge except he again was paralyzed and therefore could not act upon it. All he could do was sit there and cry over the love of his life’s dead body. His last hope. His only hope. His past and his future and everything in between. Gone.

               Kakashi…Kakashi…Kakashi…

               He could hear her voice in his head, and even Rin’s and Obito’s, as well. A sickening symphony of hatred and heartbreak, disgust and disappointment. He couldn’t take it. This was torture. He just wanted everything to end.

               “Kakashi! Kakashi!”

               Blackness. A hand pressed to his forearm. And then he felt a mass hover over him, his hot breath beating against her chest. She turned on the light and everything was as it was. “Kakashi, you’re sweating…” Rei commented, cupping his cheek as he forced himself upright. He rubbed his face and groaned, looked around the room to ensure everything was truly in order. Then he looked at her, and a sob caught in his throat. She was here, and she was fine. He touched her face, her arm, pressed his forehead against hers and huffed an exhausted sigh. “K-Kakashi, what’s wrong?” she asked, her voice so soft as if she feared anything louder would shatter him.

               “N-nothing” he lied, constantly feeling her as he tried to steady his breathing. “Just…just a nightmare.” Rei had never seen him this distraught before. She was almost tempted to ask him what he saw but she restrained herself. She didn’t want to force him to relive something clearly so torturous. Kakashi wrapped his arms around her tightly and buried his face in the crook of her neck, his forehead sweaty and his breath uneven. “Just please…stay with me…d-don’t leave…”

               “I-I wasn’t planning to…” she whispered, petting his hair and holding him close.

               “Promise me...promise me you won’t leave me” he begged.

               Rei tightened her embrace slightly, resting her head against his. “I promise.”

               No matter how many years had passed, there was still an immeasurable amount of darkness circulating within Kakashi’s soul. Despite the hokage’s mission, things only improved for a short while. The deeper Kakashi fell in love with this girl, his childhood companion, the darker his mind seemed to become. He was filled with new purpose. He was willing to do anything to ensure no harm would befall her, even if it meant killing the enemy with zero hesitation.  

               Besides Rei and those he had befriended in the ANBU, Kakashi barely spent any time with the others. Guy, Kurenai, Asuma, they all watched him live his life as if looking through a window: distant and closed off. Of course, Guy would break in once in a while—literally—and challenge his eternal rival but there was always something amiss. Kakashi was distant, distracted, cold. There was really only one thing they all knew they could manage. They stepped foot in the hokage’s office together, a seriousness on their faces. Lord Third knew instantly that they were here to conduct important business.

               It had been almost a week and Rei had hardly seen Kakashi, even in passing in the halls. She was beginning to grow nervous. She knocked on his door, but there was no answer. Perhaps he was just busy on a mission, she wasn’t sure. She snuck down the halls to Naru’s apartment for assurance.

               “That does seem weird” she said thoughtfully as Rei finished her ramble. “And come to think of it, I haven’t really seen him around much, either.”

               “Maybe you finally drove him away with that ratty hair and god-awful scar” a voice called from the doorway. Rei never understood why Naru liked leaving her door open. It shows I’m a friendly and welcome neighbor! she would insist. If anything, it just attracted unwanted attention. And leaning in the doorway now was the epitome of unwanted attention. Tenshi peered inside with a satisfied smirk on her face, arms crossed about her hefty chest.

               “Would you get out of here?!” Rei shouted, throwing one of Naru’s bedazzled bed pillows at her. Tenshi caught it without a moment’s hesitation, inspecting it then tucking it under her arm.

               “I’m assuming I can keep this, right?” she asked, though they both knew she wasn’t looking for them to answer. Naru rolled her eyes, leaping up and stealing her pillow back. “Hmm, guess not.”

               “Tenshi, is there a reason you’re here or do you just have nothing better to do?” Naru asked.

               The brunette shrugged and inspected her manicured nails boredly. “I just heard some commotion and wanted to come see what all the fuss was about. You know how I’m just drawn to drama!”

               Rei never thought she would ever admit it, but the way she owned up to it seemed only appropriate. With a sigh, she asked, “Have you seen Kakashi around lately?”

               Tenshi pouted as she thought for a moment, then shrugged. “No. Why? Should we file a missing persons report or something?”

               “This is serious, asshole” Rei fired back. “I’m really worried about him.”

               “Why?” Tenshi asked dumbly. “Because you know no one else would have the guts to sleep with you?” By now, Rei was furious. It took all of Naru’s strength to hold her back from attacking at full force. Naru swung her leg around to slam the door in Tenshi’s face, eliciting an offended gasp loud enough for them to hear even from the hallway.

               “Rei, I love you, but you need to calm down” Naru insisted. “Why do you let her get to you?”

               “I don’t let her do anything” Rei snapped. Naru watched her begin pacing the room back and forth as if she was watching a tennis match.

               “You’re going to make me dizzy” she said. “I know you’re nervous, but I’m sure everything is fine! Kakashi’s a stellar ninja, the hokage probably just has him running a bunch of missions or whatever. I wouldn’t worry so much.”

               “But that’s the thing” Rei started. “What if that’s not the case? What if he’s perfectly unoccupied and he just doesn’t want to see me anymore? And if that is the case, then have the past two years meant absolutely nothing to him?”

               Naru shook her head. “Kakashi loves you, I can tell. He looks at you like you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to him, I’m sure he wouldn’t just up and leave you. You know who I bet would know what’s up with him? Tenzo. I mean, they’re on the same team. They see each other all the time.” Before Rei could protest, Naru had gripped her wrist and skipped down the hall to Tenzo’s apartment, knocking musically. He opened the door, looking very tired, and ushered them inside.

               “Kakashi?” he asked, rubbing his eyes. He must have been napping or something. It was midday, but perhaps he was working late. “Yeah, apparently the hokage wanted to have a word with him a few days ago. He swung by the locker room later on and cleaned out his stuff. I think he left.”

               Those words sliced deep through Rei’s chest. Kakashi left. After everything, he was gone. She broke free of Naru’s grasp and ran down the hall, knocking frantically on his door. When there was yet again no answer, she screamed and pounded her fists against the wall before ultimately breaking down the door herself. The entire apartment was empty and spotless. Kakashi was really gone.

               She did not want to have a breakdown, and yet she couldn’t comprehend anything that was happening. Her breathing picked up, her chest tight, and she fell to her knees. What did this mean for him? For her? For them? Was it something she had done? Did she drive him away? And if she had, what did that mean for everything they had already been through? Did it really mean nothing to him? The thoughts clogged her brain, her vision growing hazy. The clacking of footsteps echoed down the hallway, then a dark chuckle.

               “So I heard Kakashi left” Tenshi replied. “What did you do, Rei? Did he really get that sick of seeing you all the time?”

               With gritted teeth, Rei clenched her fist, then leapt up, swung around, and struck Tenshi right in the face. The brunette cried out, grasping her reddened cheek, then glared back at her opponent. Rei stared at her without a single shred of remorse.

               When she finally returned to her apartment, she felt dizzy and nauseous. Things would never be the same again. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, opened a window, tried to regain her breathing. When that still didn’t help cool her down, she frantically ripped off her shirt, then grabbed a little yellow barette from her small collection of jewelry and pinned her bangs back like when she was a kid. In her reflection, she saw her ANBU tattoo and the scars lining her forearms. She traced the tattoo with her index finger, remembering the day she joined the black ops. That symbol, that swirling little design, meant so much more than just ANBU. It stood for strength, for perseverance, and more than anything for the reunion of her and her Kakashi. But what did that mean now? He was gone. She didn’t know where he went, or what he was doing, if he even still cared for her at this point. He had begged her to never leave him, that night when he awoke in a sweat, yet he was the one who ended up leaving her. She thought he needed her. She was dutiful to him. She was meant to look after him. The hokage had commanded her to do so, and her heart agreed fully.

               Rei reached for the kanzashi on her desk, itching to cut again, but paused just as the sharp tip hovered over her skin. Something in her lurched, and she threw the hair pin across the room, buried her face in her hands, and broke down.

[ladyiceflame-blog]

An Inconvenient Truth:

Chapter Sixteen: Cleansing and Contemplation

When Asaito returned to his tent, he found Oda waiting within its dismal interior.  He was sipping that horrid concoction of strange herbs and stench-laden spices that he dared to call tea. “You’re up and about rather early this morning,” the monk began, assessing his employer’s scowl.  “Are you nervous about your ‘Big Day’?” “Have I ever been nervous on any other of my ‘Big Days’?” Asaito returned coldly, taking his seat beside the tray of breakfast that had been brought for him.  “Blushing is for brides alone.” The monk chuckled lewdly before asking: “Was she blushing?” Asaito gave his court advisor a stern look before answering.  Oda’s vicarious thirst for private detail was getting more pronounced with age. “I don’t believe that the ‘Shimogakuran Spitfire’ is capable of blushing anymore,” Asaito returned, feeling no need to accommodate his servant’s irritating questions. “So...did you bring us back another little...souvenir for the cabinet?” Oda dared to press, as his beady eyes glanced at the macabre reliquary beside them. Asaito chewed his bite of quail egg tamagoyaki as he considered his reply. ‘Us?’  When exactly had Oda laid claim to what had always been understood as his prey?  The help seemed to have become truly delusional! Oda would most definitely be suffering from some tragic accident when this was over.  But who could he find that would fill the void? Perhaps one of those idiot companions of Ice Flame’s would work.  He needed to keep them busy, after all. “What I have done....or not done, is no concern of yours, you impudent lackey,” Asaito finally returned, and he stood and began to draw an infernal sigil in the air before him.  His maroon eyes flared with unwholesome balefire, as he called upon the powers granted to him by hell. The unholy rune became a jagged, festering slash, and opened a violent wound in time and space.  From this double door-sized breech, the hallmark scent of the brackish waters that surrounded the Tsuroyuni domain of Koryomizu Prefecture came wafting, accompanied by the sulphuric odors of this infernal bridge’s origins. “What is your concern is overseeing that all of my possessions get back where they belong before I finish my bath,” Asaito instructed, as dark tendrils of foul making snaked out of the void he’d opened, and began to lay hold of the furniture.  “The tent and the brasiers can stay.  Let these fools have them to puzzle over when we’re finally gone from this wretched place.” “Are you anticipating a hasty departure, My Lord?” Oda asked. “The hastier, the better,” as a large tendril carried the reliquary into the demonic gateway behind him. “I only agreed to this tedium because the Lady Ice Flame would have it no other way.  But once she takes that vow of marriage, even her patron god won’t be able to contravene my husbandly edicts.” “Isn’t a traditional marriage a wonderful thing?” Oda leered back in cruel delight. “A perfect, honeyed trap for overly sentimental women....if executed properly,” Asaito agreed.  “The toxic masculinity of this world has provided the Ministers of Hell with so many conveniences,” he smirked, as he stepped through the foul portal.

Naruto and Sasuke had both raced to scrub off the filth of the fen in their eagerness to soak in the warming waters of the farmstead onsen.  But Kakashi was taking his time, sifting through the maelstrom of emotions that had assaulted him over the past couple of days. When the laundry attendant had taken their swamp-drenched clothes, Kakashi had held onto the torn length of scarlet sash that he’d been left with when the giant heron had snapped up  Miriyume.  A strange keepsake that eerily echoed another memento of an earlier meeting of theirs: the crimson cord that had nearly drug her over an icy cliff in her homeland. Both red.  Both cut.  Both treasured tokens that would be stored in the small footlocker that housed the heavily distressed red scarf he used to wear on Anbu missions. He began to wind its freshly washed, silken length against the slightly weeping scratches of his left forearm as a physical vow to persevere.  He would pull her from danger, again and again.  However many times it needed doing. The sound of approaching voices and casual footsteps put Kakashi on reflexive alert. “–she’s very upset.” “And when she’s upset, I am more upset.” “I both know, and appreciate, this fact—“ Three men.  One’s voice was immediately recognizable, as it had been giving him advice and marching orders for most of his life. Kakashi briefly considered hiding so as to eavesdrop further, but resisted the urge out of respect for the Hokage. “—but he’s always been such a stoic person, who only became more so after successive waves of personal loss,” Hiruzen finished. “Aren’t you supposed to be a sensor-type?” the gruffer-sounding of the Hokage’s companions derided. “You’re hardly one to lecture, Yaseiarashi!” Sarutobi snapped back.  “It took you years to realize your own wife’s deep affections for you at the Temple of Fire!” The other two laughed. “Only because I could hardly dare to believe them,” the Shimokhan sheepishly returned. “But...” the third man pressed, “We digress.  Renara-sama, as well as Gekido and myself, are very concerned about this unintentional complication.  We’ve spent nearly a year planning this...” “I know,” Hiruzen stressed.  “I still have the mission request in my desk, which, may I be so candid, is the strangest damn wedding invitation I have ever received: ‘Three day camping event.  Food and shelter provided.  Open bar.  Bring your own shinobi escort...” “Gift registries are overdone....” the Shimokhan quipped.  “Yet, despite all that time I gave you to cherry-pick shinobi to bring, you chose—“ ”It came down to availability!” Sarutobi interrupted.  “And perhaps fate.  Think back, Ryuu-kun....to your last trip to my Village.  It wasn’t just an auspicious day for your son.  The Renkingen needed a trigger, and that trigger came in the form of....” “Some miniature thug knocking my Stormfly to the ground hard enough to cause her to lose consciousness!” the Shimokhan returned testily. Kakashi’s mind dredged his memories: When had the Head Ninja of the Land of Frost and Miriyume ever visited Konoha?!?  And who would dare assault such a rare diplomat’s daughter?!? “He didn’t mean to, Ryuumaru-kun,” Hiruzen soothed.  “Even Ryuuyuki understood that.  He was so beside himself afterward.  He actually needed counseling.” “Oh my gods....that WAS him, now that I think back....” the Shimokhan gasped. “It was an eventful...and fateful day,” the Hokage continued, as Matsuko parted the noren that separated the locker area from the bathing chamber.  His smiling face changed to a much more somber expression when he caught sight of Kakashi nonchalantly rinsing his silver hair.   “...and if fate is so intent on binding these two together, then let’s put this enigmatic force to work here, where it’s needed the most.  I have alwasys found destiny is a most fortunate....” the Hokage trailed off, on seeing what was possibly his most notorious jonin, naked except for a washcloth tied over his nose and mouth, washing the last of his suds down the drain. “...ally.  Ohayogozaimasu, Kakashi-san.” The Shimokhan jumped slightly as the jonin stood, wrapping his towel around his slim waist. “Ohayogozaimasu, Lord Third,” Kakashi bowed in respect.  “Also to Shimokhan-sama...Matsuko-san.” “You’re up rather early,” Hiruzen smiled broadly, in direct contrast to his two companions, who looked rather ashen.  “Especially after having such a busy night,” his keen eyes briefly acknowledging the unusual bandage on his forearm. He knew.  Of course he knew.  Hiruzen Sarutobi, ‘The Professor’, knew most things. “The Fire Daimyo is beginning to think you’ve abandoned us,” the Hokage added. “I am sorry that my ascribed duties are keeping me from paying rapt attendance at our Lord’s court,” Kakashi offered, with just a hint of sarcasm. “Just as long as you and your students remember to stand by his side at the wedding, I’m certain you will be forgiven,” Sarutobi assured, as he began to bathe. “Pah!” the Shimokhan scoffed, finally shaking off the shock of almost being caught talking about a man behind his back, and selecting a faucet beside Hiruzen, “Your Daimyo sounds like ours:  overly pampered, and utterly clueless as to the harsher realities of life.” “Pretty much,” the Hokage agreed.  “And its best to keep them that way.  Ours is fond of spectacle and gossip, which is probably why he leapt at the chance to host this event.” “Did his wife bring the cat?” Kakashi had to ask. “Of course, poor thing,” the Hokage smirked.  “Kurenai-san’s team has had to chase her down three times so far.” “Our Daimyo’s always losing track of his daughters!” Ryuumaru countered, obviously relishing the opportunity to commiserate with others on the subject of naive heads-of-state,  “Usually running off with some new boyfriend, or sneaking off to some other land for a wild night.” “Those girls are trouble,” Matsuko chimed in. “You know, they once convinced my little Stormfly that she was some hideous beast-girl, unworthy of their association?  Miri-chan made us send her to charm school on account of those brats!” Matsuko snickered, as he doused himself with water.  “Funny how the traits that they spurned were the very ones Miri-chan used to bail them out of so many of their problems.” “Will any of them be at the...ceremony?” Kakashi asked, still unwilling to call it a wedding. “Not likely, since they weren’t invited,” the Shimokhan smirked.  “Today’s events are probably a little too....coarse, for their refined tastes,” chuckling oddly to himself. “Na-roo-toe!” growled a young, stern voice from the hot spring pool, followed by the unmistakable sound of a wet towel snap, and the attendant yelp of pain. “What?!?  I was just gonna see if she wanted to talk, you pervert!  I’d never!” Naruto defended. “Speaking of ‘coarse’....” Kakashi lowered his head in apology. “Ah!  The Uzumaki kid!” Ryuumaru identified.  “I heard that he bested my girl in the Iron Chest Grappling Tourney!” “He did,” Matsuko confirmed.  “Right after she sent Gek-kun rolling.” “Where is Gekido-san?” Kakashi asked, as the others rinsed their suds and stood. “Still sleeping,” Matsuko answered. “You mean, still snoring like an asmatic walrus!” Ryuumaru amended, drawing laughter as he led the way to the pool outside.  “How do you stand it, man?” turning to his daughter’s team mate. “I usually force him to wear one of those breathing strips, but he was kinda hard to pin down last night.  You know how drinking seems to sharpen his reflexes.” “Oh gods, yes...” the Shimokhan vouched, as the four men stepped onto the wooden deck surrounding the men’s pool.  “The Whiskey Brigade had an eye on him for awhile...” Naruto and Sasuke, who had been engaged in some form of free-style wrestling, froze in place, clearly taken aback by the arrival of the other adults. “Old Wild Man-sama!” Naruto gasped, as Sasuke released his half-nelson hold on him, and contemptuously shoved him away. “Naruto!” Kakashi immediately censured, as Miriyume’s father erupted in laughter.  “You will address the Shimokhan with the proper respect!” “Its alright,” Ryuumaru chuckled, stepping into the water.  “No offense taken.  I actually kind of like that one...”  The golden-green waters were much more subdued in the daylight. “Stop embarrassing us, baka-Naruto!” Sakura scolded from the other side of the ivied dividing wall. “Are you eavesdropping on me, Sakura-chan?” the Uzumaki crooned back. “Only because there is no one else over here!” she answered hotly. “Miri-chan prefers having the hot spring to herself,” Matsuko shared.  “She can adjust the temperature to suit her comfort that way.” Under his breath, Kakashi muttered: “She’s not always so courteous of company...” “What was that, Hatake-san?” Hiruzen asked. “Nothing, Hokage-sama,” he answered, his blush looking sharper against the white contrast of his bath-mask.  “So...” looking to change the subject, “What is the schedule for today?” The Shimokhan gave an exasperated sigh, leaning back against the wall of the pool.  “You’ll have to ask Wakame-san for the specifics, but, the big ceremony is set to start at high noon, immediately following the ‘Men’s Purification Ritual,’” his hawk-like gaze zeroing in on the man sitting to his left: Matsuko.  The swarthy giant bowed his mo-hawked head of auburn hair in glum resignation. “Must I?” he pleaded softly. “Yes!” Ryuumaru returned.  “As her team mate, you are obliged as family!” “What does Matsuko have to do?” Sasuke asked from his corner of the pool. “According to tribal custom, all the male members of a wedding party must ritually immerse themselves in a natural, unheated source of water before the ceremony; to cleanse the spirit,” Hiruzen answered. “What to the women have to do?” Naruto had to ask. “Attend the bride while she sits in a perfumed bath, dine on delicacies, listen to music, and laugh at our torment,” Matsuko replied sullenly. “The years you spent in the Land of Water have seriously compromised your ‘Winter Blood’, Mat-san,” Ryuumaru admonished. “I have NEVER been a fan of cold water, Shimokhan-sama,” he admitted freely. “Hmph,” the leader of the Frost nin groused, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.  “But you’ll still be taking a dip with me and the Inuzuka.  I insist!” “Understood, Shimokhan-sama,” Matsuko sighed. “Wait a minute!” Naruto began, “You said ‘ALL male wedding party members.’  Doesn’t that include the groom?” “Clever boy,” Ryuumaru smiled, opening his eyes.  “It would....normally.  But Miri-chan has asked me to respect this man’s....reservations, regarding our customs.” The water around the Shimokhan became more agitated all of a sudden.  Like the beginning of a slow boil. “...Ordinarily, I’d drag that insolent twerp to the lake and dunk him myself...” Steam was now making Matsuko and Hiruzen clearly uncomfortable. “Alright now, Ryuu-kun,” the Hokage chided gently.  “The onsen water is hot enough as it is.” With a chagrined look, the Shimokhan gritted his teeth, and abated his emotionally triggered chakra outburst.  “Whoops.  Just feeling a little edgy...I guess.” Matsuko gave his khan a pat on the brawny shoulder, and whispered a nigh-imperceptible: “Save it for later.” “A proper bridegroom should respect the customs of his bride’s family,” Kakashi announced, causing Hiruzen to groan and hide his eyes.  “Especially in a marriage of political significance.” “I’d jump in a lake for Aunty-Priestess-Knock-Out-sama!  Datte-bayo!”  Naruto seconded, “And for you, too, Sakura-chan!” “I don’t care!” Sakura replied. “Well, I’m relieved to know that our friends in the Land of Fire would be so accommodating,” the Shimokhan smiled with the same impish charm that had been passed down to his daughter.  With Miriyume, the confidant roguishness was seductive.  With her father, it was unnerving. “Care to join us?” the grizzled warrior from the North asked, looking directly at Kakashi. Matsuko arched an eyebrow. Hiruzen looked shocked.   This was clearly an unexpected challenge that held some significance. Kakashi glanced down at the crimson length of silk on his left forearm, then met the steady gaze of Miriyume’s father. “It would be a honored privilege, Shimokhan-sama,” he formally replied with a bow, getting a look of supreme satisfaction from the Frost leader.  Matsuko smiled enigmatically.  Hiruzen let go of the breath he’d been holding. “Now, that’s the answer of a worthy man!” Ryuumaru deemed, gesturing to the gallant shinobi, and settling back into his submerged seat. “Then even you admit that Tsuroyuni is not a man worthy of your daughter,” Sasuke verbally pounced, “Yet you do nothing to stop this clearly disastrous union!” “Sasuke!” the Hokage stood, aspecting his sternest demeanor.  Matsuko cocked his head at the incredibly rude genin, A pair of jade-green eyes peered over the fence, and gulped. The Shimokhan’s fiery affinity had erupted into full display, red-orange flames forming an intimidating aura about his stocky, frame, turning the water around him into clouds of heavy steam.  His lantern jaw tight, his eyes squinted in the manner of an angry eagle. “How DARE you lecture our esteemed employer....and my trusted ally, about family obligation!” “How dare you NOT!” Sasuke shot back angrily.  “My clan may be dead, but I will hold to the principals my father taught me!   That’s why I refuse to stand idly by and watch a woman surrender an honorable name in exchange for a vile one!” “Sasuke-kun...” Naruto sniffed, ushering in a somber silence, save for the hiss of boiling water, the tell-tale creak of wooden fence-slats, and the occasional chirp of morning birds. The Shimokhan closed his scowling eyes, and took a deep breath.  Deep enough to prompt Kakashi into standing between his overly-opinionated student, and the infamous ‘Blast Furnace of the North’.  The Shimokhan’s fireball jutsu was said to rival that of most Uchiha... Following another tense moment, Ryuumaru exhaled slowly, and his nimbus of flame melted back into his body. Matsuko sank to his eyeballs in the much warmer water, and blew a stream of relieved bubbles.  Hiruzen kept his stern expression fixed upon the sharp-tongued genin.  The Shimokhan opened his eyes. “You’re the Uchiha,” he began, “The last one, so I’ve heard.” “I am,” Sasuke admitted. “Then as a representative of one notoriously passionate clan to another: NEVER insult my devotion to family again, or I’ll turn your charred remains into a diamond.  And I believe that the pair of pretty eyes watching you from the fence are wanting a little more from you than just a shiny rock.  So let’s indulge her,” he ended with a menacing chuckle. Sasuke had the good sense to look rattled, as Sakura gasped loudly as abandoned her post on the fence. “Thank-you for not roasting the boy, Ryuumaru-kun,” Hiruzen breathed. “That would be my wife’s influence on me in action,” the Shimokhan explained.  “The enfolding wings of my Angel of Serenity.  I’d have burned myself to ashes and taken a good chunk of this world with me long ago if it hadn’t been for her.” “So, your wife makes you a better person?” Naruto asked. “She does,” laying a wet cloth over his eyes and laying back.  “I have to be a better person, out of my love for her.  That’s one of the surest indicators that your marriage is a good one.” “Will Asaito-sama be a better person?” Naruto followed up. Kakashi was all ears.  Hiruzen looked down sadly.  There was no offense in the boy’s question.  Only desperate hope. Ryuumaru was at a loss of words, but Matsuko offered his thoughts: “Can’t get much worse....” the large man sighed quietly. “Then how can you allow Aunty-Priestess-Knock-Out-sama to do this?” the Uzumaki inquired sadly.  “She’s your daughter!  Tell her to stop!” “The tribes of the North are not governed like the Daimyo, or the family clans that you’re accustomed to, Naruto-san,” Hiruzen began.  “Unmarried, adult women are not bound to the wills of their fathers.  They can marry....or not marry, whomever they want.” “Shimogakuran women have all the same rights and responsibilities as men.  We value freedom too highly to be otherwise,” Matsuko added. “So why does Mir—“ Kakashi broke off, amending his honorific, “–Lady Ice Flame feel the need to get married now, to this man?” “Because the offers haven’t exactly been pouring in, and she’s begun to take it rather personally,” Matsuko responded with a heavy dose of ire.  “She’s in her third decade of life now, and beginning to feel her chances for romance are getting scarcer and scarcer.  Tsuroyuni made an offer, and she accepted.” “He comes from a noble family, with ancient ties to the Land of Water.  He has wealth, prestige, and power.  It makes sense,” the Hokage reasoned. “The hell it does,” Kakashi spat.  “I am sorry, but it is obvious that we will never be agreed on this subject.  My students and I will now take our leave, and let you bathe in peace.  Naruto!  Sasuke!  Let’s go!” As Naruto relayed the command to Sakura over the fence, Kakashi gave the Shimokhan some final words: “You have contracted my services for protection, yet bind my hands against saving the one person who needs saving here.  This is an impossible task, and I can’t bear to watch your daughter exchange vows of sake with that....monster.” “That goes double for me,” Sasuke seconded, as he exited the pool.   “And triple for me!” Sakura yelled over the fence. “And quar....quad....quag—FOUR times for me!” Naruto added as he left. “And if you think our displeasure is tiresome, just wait until Raijin-kami-sama frees himself of those fetters he was talking about,” Kakashi revealed.  “He will make the Lady Ice Flame a widow in no time.” The jonin’s parting statement drew comical shocked expressions from the trio of men: Hiruzen’s jaw went completely slack, and his pipe fell in the water.  The Shimokhan capsized, and sputtered water.  Matsuko stood bolt upright, in all his naked glory. “How do you know about Raijin-sama’s fetters?!?” Matsuko demanded, looming uncomfortably close for Kakashi’s peace-of-mind. “He....told me,” he returned, putting some distance between himself and the taller, and clearly stronger, nude man. “You....spoke, with Miri-chan’s kami patron?!”  Matsuko continued the unnerving interrogation. “To be completely honest, Raijin-sama did most of the talking,” Hatake replied, “And he seemed to take grave offense at that sleep-walk jutsu that was used on Lady Ice Flame.  I imagine his censure on the one who used it will be swift and brutal.” “How did you see him?  Didn’t Miri-chan say—“ the Shimokhan started, before Hiruzen motioned him silent. “I met him a few hours ago, when my students and I found the Lady Ice Flame sleepwalking in the bog,” Kakashi explained. “I didn’t see anyone else there,” Naruto admitted with a scowl.  “What’s Kaka-sensei talking about?” Sasuke groaned at his team mate’s ignorance.  “He obviously saw this kami when he used the Sharingan on her!” “Oh...” Naruto nodded, then looked confused again.  “Wait, what...?” “Raijin-sama must have pulled Kakashi into his spirit temple of Tetsu Yagura...” the Hokage factored for his throughly confused colleague.  “...using the Sharingan as a pathway.” “Then you have been afforded a rare honor, Hatake-san,” the Shimokhan congratulated.  “Lord Raijin has only permitted two other people into his personal realm, that I know of....my wife, and my son.  He’s not that....social.” “He’s a narcissistic psychopath!” Matsuko translated.  “He only tolerates me, and he mercilessly torments Gek-kun.” “The rebellious son of my clan’s principal god, Lord Kami Susano-o, only appears to my daughter’s closest companions....or her worst enemies.  Given as how you are still alive, I believe that you must be counted among the former.” “Is he shy?” Naruto inquired. Matsuko bit down on a laugh.  “No, just...angry.  Very, very angry.” “He adores my little Stormfly, though.” “Miriyume-chan has always had a gift for charm, though,” the Hokage acknowledged. “The gods know that I’d give that girl the last flickering ember of my being if she asked,” Ryuumaru continued, “But she’s asked for something much more challenging instead.  My support in this....venture.” Even he, it seemed, didn’t really want to call this a wedding. The Shimokhan took a moment to draw a deep breath, and emit an equally long sigh, and everyone got comfortable again. “I’ll be honest here, I’m as against this wedding as much as anyone else, but I MUST respect Miri-chan’s wishes.” “Even if those wishes lead her into a living nightmare?” Kakashi pressed. “Even then,” the Shimokhan replied.  “I have to bear witness here, as her father, as her Shimokhan, and by the esteemed custom of the Unity of Frost.” “What’s the ‘Unity of Frost’?” Naruto asked. “It’s the nindo of our Village,” Matsuko answered.  “All for one, and one for all.” “My daughter has called upon the Unity of Frost to see her through this endeavor, binding us all to assist her.  Any who fail to do so forfeit their honor as a shinobi.” “Any shinobi of Shimogakure can declare it, so long as it benefits the Village.  Its not a thing that is invoked often.  Usually only in times of battle,” Matsuko added.  “Your Unity of Frost doesn’t bind me,” Sasuke litigated, “Or any of us of the Leaf Village. The Lady Ice Flame cannot force our compliance–“ ”But I can,” the Hokage cut off the indignant Uchiha.  “Because of the debts I owe to this man, I promised him a one-time favor of including me among his resources for Frost, which he just cashed in.  As shinobi under my command, you are all included.” Sasuke scowled. “Shimogakure’s love of freedom seems to be at odds with its nindo,” Kakashi observed aloud, regarding the Shimokhan.  “Your village is truly an inscrutable place.” “Or, perhaps our love of our people runs so deep that lending assistance never feels like an infringement of our liberty,” Matsuko countered. There would be no persuading any of them, Kakashi realized sadly.  Team Seven was truly on its own here. Despite Team Eight’s similar attitudes, he could not, in good conscience, involve them further, for the sake of preserving their honor as shinobi. His own honor seemed like a ragged scrap of cloth anymore.  Threadbare and practically useless.  As for his students....? The young were generally absolved of the crimes of a disreputable sensei. “Well, my students and I have some things to attend to, so, we’ll be taking our leave now.  But, when and where exactly will this ‘Purification Ritual’ take place?” Kakashi asked.

This water was too hot, and filled with enough yuzu and mandarin oranges to qualify as a sangria.  The air inside the bridal yurt’s curtained bathing area was redolent with the scents of patchouli, ginger lily, safflower, and gods knew what else.  Her mother had given her a cup of chamomile tea instead of the cucumber-infused sake she’d requested, and that bamboo flute player’s music was starting to get on her last nerves. Still; this was preferable to being trapped in the belly of that damn giant bird.... Miriyume toyed with the team’s amber chrysanthemum charm, and took a moment to think about simpler days.  Learning sage arts from her mother.  Snowball fights followed by hot chocolate. Lying under a night sky with Matsuko, Gekido and Aoseishin and getting lost in the aurora-clad stars.  Would she ever find that kind of contentment again?  Or would this deviant sense of duty keep her perpetually wandering? And Kakashi.  That paradoxically disquieting/comforting presence now had a name.  And a rather infamous one at that.  Seeking him out had been part of the inspiration for her wandering ways. She’d never really given any thought as to what she would do when she found him, though... “You’re awfully quiet, Stormfly-chan,” Renara began, as she reached out for Miriyume’s long cascade of scarlet-tipped, orange hair, which was hanging over the outside edge of the summoned, marble bathtub.  “Especially for being recently regurgitated.  No inventive insults, no angry rants.  I’m surprised.  You always had your father’s flair for swearing....” “I’m just....thinking,” she excused.  “Lost in thought,” setting the amber token on the edge of the tub. “Ah, the Wandering Lights Stone,” the Heron Sage acknowledged, as she began to pull a comb through her daughter’s hair.  “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen it.  I remember how you three used to constantly squabble over who got to hold onto it...” “We still do,” Miriyume reported.  “It just involves more alcohol now.” “You are so your Father’s child,” Renara shook her head, as she mentally compared the coppery hues of Miriyume’s hair to a younger Ryuumaru’s; nearly identical.  But the crimson tips were direct inheritance from Grandfather Uzumaki.  She seemed to take so much more after the men in the family... “So...about the bridal path carpet....” Miriyume veered away from the melancholy thoughts that Renara had been picking up on, “You used wood from the kansugi tree....and hongmu?” “The miko found a box of it when cleaning the temple storage chamber, and I felt it was auspicious enough to merit inclusion,” the Heron sage-priestess answered, as she focused upon the fiery hair slipping through her pale fingers.  “Both are renowned for their powers of protection.” This girl....Renara worried inwardly.  SO much like her father!  Too much!  The same ardent heart. The same stubborn pride.  The same unflinching resolve.  The same profound obliviousness of what was in their best interests, despite it being right in front of them! Attempting to double-back to her daughter’s earlier musings, Renara made a suggestion: “You should visit Konoha after all of this.  Spend some time with our friends in the Leaf Village.” “Already on the agenda,” Miriyume returned.  “I found a reference in the Temple of Falling Water that spoke of the Order of the Resplendent Sun building a monastery near—“ ”That’s not what I mean, you foolish girl!” Renara scolded harshly enough to give the flute-player pause.  With a gesture, she dismissed the musician, clearly wanting a private moment with her daughter. “I am worried about you, Miri-chan.  You win allies wherever you go, just like your father, but UN-like him, you never settle in and get comfortable.  You’re always on the move.  The next town...the new adventure.  You need to slow down, let more people get close to you.” “I believe that’s bad policy,” Miriyume countered cooly, sipping her tea.  “People become more agitated the longer I hang around.  It’s a proven fact.  And I can’t build meaningful friendships with those who would find me tiresome.” “You never give them a chance!”  Renara retorted.  “The tiniest inconvenience...the slightest bit of discomfort, and you’re gone.  People need time to cultivate friendships, love.” The Heron Sage secured Miriyume’s hair atop her head with a pronged kanzashi, and stroked the skin between her bare shoulders, coaxing the pale, pearlescent white fuinjutsu seal to reveal itself. “I gave you this seal to keep the darkness from taking full hold over your heart again.  I never thought you’d use it as a social divining rod.” “Why are you being so critical all of a sudden?!” Miriyume snapped, letting the teacup fall into the bathwater, and she turned to face her parent. “Because this is a critical moment in your life!  Or...have you become too jaded to realize this?” She could sense the energy rising, before all of the water of the tub erupted upward in clouds of steam in reaction to the bather’s emotionally keyed burst of lightning.   Renara shook her head, reminded of days spent scrubbing her seemingly ablutophobic children.  Reducing bathwater to vapor had been Miriyume’s favorite tactic of fighting back. “I thought you didn’t like hot water....” Renara quipped. “I don’t.  Neither literal, nor metaphorical,” Miriyume returned, stepping out of the empty tub, collecting the amber token, and wrapping up in a waiting bathrobe.  “So if you could just go easy on my social failings, and–“ ”The struggle for making allies and peace is a noble one, but ultimately meaningless if that peace leads you to abandon the most important thing in the world!” This was Renara’s “Priestess Voice”, Miriyume realized.  A stronger aspect of the Heron Sage’s already sibylline tone that caused one’s skin to get goose bumps. Her mother had inherited a phenomenal gift for augury from their rather mysterious grandmother.  Only the inescapably stupid ignored her advice. The younger priestess’ ire melted away instantly in the light of her mother’s oracular countenance. “What thing am I in danger of abandoning?” Miriyume asked penitently, bowing her head. “The very thing that gives this world, and the practice of Ninshu, all meaning and power.  The answer is here, in the Land of Fire....and its not among the ruins of some forgotten temple.” Renara spoke the last cryptic clause in her more humble tones, concluding the moment of sublime revelation.  She then opened her arms wide, motioning her daughter into an embrace. “That man is not here by accident,” Renara continued gently.  “He is a signpost.” “With a flashing red eye,” Miriyume scoffed.  “Fate is so subtle.” “I think Fate has given up on subtly in regards to you,” her mother laughed. “I know.  Father’s child.” “And mine as well, deep down in there....somewhere,” Renara smiled, wiping a tear from Miriyume’s eye.   “You’ll realize this when you finally put down some roots, and find joy in watching them grow.”

[86quills]

Pounding Heart

Wham!

“Don’t you dare…” Sakura took a deep breath, heart hammering in her chest as she tried to keep the flood of panic at bay. “Don’t you dare die and leave me with your pervert cousin…” Because if you do, I’m pretty damn sure he’d lose his shit and then your whole fucking clan is going to murder me, revive me and then murder me again…she almost threw up at the thought.

Another powerful, chakra enhanced fist pounded his chest and then another and another.

Itachi gasped, choking on air as his back arched in pain, dark eyes wild and dilated. Cradling his head in her lap, Sakura unconsciously placed a tender kiss on his temple, sagging in relief and drawing his dazed attention. “Please don’t ever fucking do that again, Itachi…” she whispered, pumping her chakra into him to stabilize his vitals.

Shisui dropped down beside them and she had never been more happy to see him.

“He’s alive…” she assured, getting ready to haul him across her shoulders, but Shisui beat her to it.

Her eyes were already assessing the damage he’d taken—bruises and lacerations, a broken rib or two judging by his breathing and low on chakra. About to protest, Sakura bit her tongue when he shook his head and gave her a pained smile. “I’ve got him. I need you free in case there’s another war party on the loose.” In case you need to escape and leave us behind…

She tsked and stepping forward, placed a healing hand to his side to mend his ribs. “Don’t be dramatic.”

He stole a quick kiss much to Sakura’s chagrin. “It’s alright, sweetheart. Save your energy. You’re going to need it for the run back home.”

…

Sakura was exhausted. A stay-in-bed-all-day type of exhausted where the only thing she wanted to do was sleep and flop around, maybe eat if she could manage, but mostly just sleep. But damn, she couldn’t. With a tired groan, she rolled out of bed and dragged herself to the shower.

An hour later, she was walking into the Uchiha compound, mentally preparing herself for what would certainly be a very long day. She briefly wondered how she got sucked into doing this and then remembered that it was all Tsunade’s fault. How convenient of the blonde to offer up her apprentice to oversee the annual Uchiha shinobi physicals. Ugh, who did I piss off in my past life?

Personally, Sakura would’ve just forced everyone to show up at the hospital by threatening each and every one of them with low ranking missions, but ‘in the interest of clan relations’, Tsunade had given them this small inch. Though Sakura knew it was simply to shut the Uchiha elders up. 

“Sakura-senpai!”

She looked up and waved, making a beeline for where the others had set up shop. The medics had commandeered one of the many traditional homes on the Uchiha compound and had partitioned the space into smaller, private rooms for the physicals.

“Catch me up, Moegi,” Sakura said as she accepted the steaming cup of coffee from the young, doe-eyed medic in training.

“Five medics on site, including you. Rooms have all been set up and everything’s good to go, Sakura-senpai.”

“How many Uchiha are we expecting?”

“Forty-seven.”

Moegi helped Sakura into her white chief medic coat as the others walked onto the roka. Sakura could’ve killed Tsunade right then and there when she saw who she was saddled with. All fresh, doe-eyed girls. Fan girls. Masquerading as medics in training. This had to be payback for swiping a few bottles of her best sake. Granted, these physicals would be easy enough for their skill levels, but what the hell! She didn’t need to deal with puddles of goo and lovesick babies today. Suppressing a sigh, Sakura took a deep breath. She’d been doing that a lot lately it seemed.

“I demand complete professionalism today, ladies. Lose that and I’ll have no issue kicking your asses back to the hospital and calling for replacements. Absolutely no fangirling. Are we understood?”

“B-but Sakura-senpai, what if we can’t help it?”

She raised a brow, an almost scary smile curving her lips. “You’re medics. You better be able to help it.”

“It’s not fair. Sakura-senpai has had lots more experience dealing with beautiful men.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at their eager, yet nervous expressions. She certainly did have more experience, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t immune. She was still a hot-blooded female, thank you very much and only twenty five. Though admittedly, it did help to have two of Konoha’s most sought after bachelors as best friends. Their stupidity tended to overshadow their good looks however, and over time Sakura had developed a certain resistance.

“Complete professionalism,” she repeated. “Now get going. I can already feel a few patients approaching.”

“Hai, Sakura-senpai!”

It was easy enough to get through the physicals and much to her surprise, Sakura found she didn’t need to intervene as much as she thought she would. Uchihas certainly weren’t known for their chattiness and they only showed her medics the utmost respect. Polite. Quiet. Assessing. If they were amused by the girls and their admiring stares, they didn’t show it.

“Sakura…”

She looked up from her notes and smiled. “Hey, Itachi. Have a seat.” She pointed to the medical bed in the center of the room. “I’ll be over in a sec.” 

“Shizune-san?”

“Last minute diplomatic trip to Suna,” she explained.

“Aa.”

“Shirt off, please and take a seat.” 

He did as he was asked, as silent as ever. No wasted words. Finishing the last of her notes, she placed the clipboard down and walked over. She didn’t think anyone would argue about Itachi Uchiha’s masculine allure or down-right gorgeousness. He was perhaps the epitome of a Konoha shinobi. Sleek. Powerful. Devastating. So good it was downright scary sometimes. 

“How’re you feeling today?”

“Fine.”

“Fully recovered I hope after last week’s ‘let me be a hero’ episode?” Sakura smiled sweetly. She deliberately invaded his personal space by stepping in between his legs and placing a warm hand on his chest, letting her chakra flow into his body.

His dark eyes flickered, gaze growing more intense. “Fully recovered, Sakura. I assure you.”

“Good.” Sometimes these men needed reminding that despite their genius, they were all still human and needed to take care.

“Now take a deep breath. Release.”

He had a strong heartbeat. Lungs were fine and his injuries sustained during their last ANBU mission were mostly healed. Her hand lingered on his left side, fingers fluttering over the oblong green yellow bruise. Served him right.

“You didn’t heal it.” His voice was deep and even. Silently, she cursed him for sounding good enough to eat. Like dark, velvety chocolate.

“How are your eyes?”

“Fine.”

She raised a pink brow and then drew closer to take a deeper look.

“Sasuke complains sometimes about headaches after prolonged use of his Sharingan. You must experience the same thing, probably worse.” There was a lilting threat somewhere in between her soft spoken words as she rested her fingers on his temples.

“Occasionally,” he murmured. 

“There’s a lot of pressure that can build up when you’re channeling so much chakra into one area of your body. Because of this, your eyes tend to suffer a lot of strain.” Sakura then gently began massaging the areas around his eyes, smiling when he, whether intentional or not, let them drift closed. With every soft caress and stroke, she fed small bursts and sinewy tendrils of her chakra in and around, restoring and relaxing the strong pathways that fueled his bloodline limit.

“Does it hurt?”

Itachi offered a noncommittal grunt which she took as a no. “Shisui says it feels like foreplay. Figures the perv would somehow relate it back to sex,” Sakura divulged with an airy chuckle.

“You’ve done this for him?”

“Mmhmm. He saw me do it a few days ago on Sasuke and Kakashi and said he wanted in.” His silence was telling. “Are you feeling left out?” she teased, pushing back a stray lock of his long black hair.

“Hn.”

Sakura laughed as she finished up. “Don’t be. It’s something new I’m trying out. Consider yourselves my little guinea pigs.” 

Itachi opened his eyes when she stepped away.

“Better?” she asked, biting her bottom lip and suddenly anxious to hear what he thought.

“Aa.”

Sakura smiled, resigning herself to his monosyllabic answers but still feeling playful. “Better than foreplay?” 

“Much better. More like the after effects of an orgasm.” He didn’t miss a beat and she burst into a fit of laughter, shoving his shoulder as her face heated.

“It does not!”

He caught her hand and for a moment, she felt her heart stutter and butterflies rise in her stomach at the rather intimate gesture. Lacing his fingers through hers, he lifted his gaze from their intertwined hands and pulled her even closer.

“I never thanked you for saving my life.”

Sakura forced her brain to function again. “I’m pretty sure I owe you a few more lives, Itachi.”

His eyes darkened as an almost secretive smile quirked his lips, but just as soon as it appeared, it was gone.

“Sakura-hime!” The shoji screen whipped open and Shisui swept in, a black-haired whirlwind so unlike the typical, stoic Uchihas she was used to.

“Hey, Shisui,” she greeted over her shoulder before turning back to Itachi who still held her hand captive. He finally let her go though after a few insistent tugs.

“Your vitals are good, all in tip top shape, to be honest,” Sakura said, jotting down a few final notes on a paper pad she had grabbed from her front coat pocket.

“Did you get to experience Sakura’s magic hands?” Shisui asked curiously, mischief dancing in his eyes. 

“Don’t make it sound dirty!” “It was an innocent question!”

Just then, there was a loud thump from the room next door. Sakura already knew what it was and mentally face-palmed.

“Ah, Sakura-san…”

She smiled apologetically at the handsome Uchiha who appeared in the doorway, looking mildly panicked. “Don’t worry about it, Hiro.” He nodded in relief and quickly went on his way.

Shisui and Itachi both hid a smirk, but Sakura could see it in their eyes. “Pain in the asses…”

“Can’t help that girls fall at our feet. You know, Uchiha genes and all,” Shisui bemoaned, biting back his Cheshire grin.

She rolled her pretty, green eyes and whacked him on the shoulder as she walked by to attend to the puddle of medic-goo next door.

“She’s mine,” Itachi stated after Sakura had left the room, glancing at Shisui.  

He raised a brow in challenge. “Staking claims already, little cousin?”

Itachi narrowed his eyes before they both disappeared. 

Later, Sakura would wonder what the hell had happened when they both showed up on her doorstep, battered and bruised.

…

[byakuhoe]

ShiIta Headcanons

1. Itachi stays up late and wakes up early. Most of the time he’s reading something, although sometimes on warm summer nights he sits by the pond and listens to the frogs and crickets in the moonlight. 2. Itachi’s hard alter ego only shows towards other men. He sometimes puts on a facade of arrogance and even masculinity towards men who challenge him, but never towards women. 3. Shisui hogs all the space on the bed but Itachi tends to hog all the blankets. Shisui likes to spread out while he sleeps and that sometimes includes rolling right over on top of Itachi. 4. Itachi usually wakes up first and will take a few minutes to just lie there with Shisui. On occasions when Shisui does wake up first (like after Itachi returned dead tired from a mission) Shisui will prepare a hot bath and breakfast for him (which always slightly embarrasses Itachi in a good way) 5. Both of them suffer from intense nightmares. Itachi handles it by going to his zen place (absorbed in a good book or meditating by the pond). Shisui handles it by cuddling closely with Itachi as a way of calming himself down and grounding himself, reminding him that his dearest and most trusted friend is right by his side. 6. Itachi spends most of his time thinking. Thinking about all sorts of things like his purpose in the world to why people associate red with love. But Shisui also spends A LOT of time thinking about things too. Shisui is very perceptive and is an empath of sorts when it comes to Itachi in particular. Shisui can figure virtually anything out. 7. Itachi is meticulous in everything he does. Itachi could potentially be a master chess player who thinks 12 moves ahead and gets it right most of the time. 8. Itachi generally prefers the company of women, but finds it difficult to handle their attraction towards him and hence tends to prefer being alone (or with Shisui). Itachi does enjoy the company of even tempered and nonchalant men who also don’t conform to their expectations, like Kakashi and Yamato. 9. Itachi is a tea person while Shisui likes both tea and coffee. Itachi will drink coffee now and again and he always pours the sugar and cream in until theres hardly any room for the coffee. 10. Shisui likes sour foods only because Itachi won’t eat them. Shisui actually developed his taste for sour foods after being around Itachi for so long. 11. Itachi and Shisui hate horror movies as they’ve both seen more than enough horrible things. Shisui prefers comedy, romance, and drama while Itachi likes Sci-Fi and Fantasy oddly enough. 12. Itachi is relatively tall and slender while Shisui is tall and lean. Both are, however, very powerful people. 13. Itachi actually has a few phobias. Spiders is one of them. Itachi also has an immense fear of violence. However, his sense of duty always prevails. Shisui on the other hand, is as brave and valiant as they come. Shisui seemingly has no fears, and Itachi is greatly drawn to this. 14. Itachi’s arachnophobia is pretty bad. He carries a bug repelling clip on himself whenever he’s on missions. Itachi doesn’t like to kill spiders, however. He prefers to scoop them up and put them (far away) outside.  15. Although he doesn’t show it, Shisui has a fear of the dark. Not of the dark itself, but of the emotions and memories it evokes in him. It’s not bad when he has company, but alone Shisui begins to feel very heavy hearted in the dark. 16. Itachi is fascinated with thunderstorms. He can watch them for hours. Shisui attributes this to the way Itachi’s father would sit with him on the porch and watch them when Itachi was little, one of the few genuinely innocent interactions Itachi had with his father. 17. Shisui is very popular among women. His upright standards are a breath of fresh air to many women, and Shisui has never been known to look down on women in any situation, always treating women as his equals. 18. Itachi loves cats. And crows. Shisui truly loves all animals. Both of them have been known to take a detour to help lost and injured animals when they’re on missions. 19. Shisui once called Itachi “Ita” by mistake. Upon seeing Itachi’s flustered face, Shisui decided this would be a permanent tool to get Itachi to lighten up. 20. Shisui is the generally dominant one in most aspects of their lives. This is, however, achieved in a very healthy way. Itachi GREATLY admires Shisui for his unwavering sense of right and wrong, and Shisui is always quick to give Itachi his time to shine and immediately praise him for his work (which is always good in Shisui’s eyes). 21. Neither are obsessive people, however Shisui has quite the fixation on Itachi’s long, silky, jet-black hair (but then again who doesn’t?). Itachi’s closest thing to an obsession would be his desire to earn Shisui’s praise. It’s almost always on his mind and is, although he denies it to himself, one of his main drives to do things. 22. Shisui likes to do little things for Itachi. Sometimes taking a moment to point out a deer waiting quietly for the shinobi to pass, other times giving Itachi’s shoulder a good rub after Itachi returns home from a mission or just a long day. 23. Shisui invites Itachi out wherever and whenever he can. Shisui truly loves Itachi’s company, far more so than any other person. 24. Shisui has the rarest ability when it comes to interacting with Itachi. Shisui alone has Itachi’s full and unbridled trust and confidence. Shisui can get Itachi talking for hours about the things not another soul knows about him. And Shisui would listen to Itachi for eternity if he had to.  25. The two have been known to swap clothes on a few occasions by mistake, although it’s apparent quickly when the clothes don’t really fit Itachi. Itachi, of course, doesn’t say anything. 26. Itachi has a love for junk food, mostly for sweets. Its a quirk that embarrasses Itachi greatly at first to admit. (This is Canon) 27. Itachi takes painfully long showers that often result in no hot water for Shisui. Itachi felt immensely guilty when he discovered that his habit was causing Shisui to take cold showers, and Itachi began showering at night instead. 28. Shisui reads things that interest him, Itachi reads everything. 29. Shisui is a good cook, but Itachi is otherworldly in the kitchen.   30. Both of them love the beach. Shisui rather greatly enjoys swimming and is always delighted to find a starfish trapped in a tide pool. Itachi enjoys sitting on the rocks by the sea lions (who keep a watchful eye on him for a moment before deciding he means them no harm) and listening to the gulls and feeling the ocean spray. 31. Shisui is outwardly affectionate while Itachi is subtle in his affections. There are days, however, when Shisui returns roughed up that Itachi will take great care in Shisui’s comfort. 32. Shisui enjoys talking to Itachi about ideals and dreams and all sorts of fantasy like thoughts that they both have. He enjoys discussing the deeper things in life with Itachi because Shisui feels Itachi is the only one to truly understand him and his optimistic, compassionate and humanitarian ideologies.  33. (Headcanon) Shisui is two and a half years older and about three inches taller, 6′1 while Itachi is about 5′10 34. They both love lying in the grass a ways away from the village and just gazing at the endless stars, dreaming of a better world. 35. Itachi cries rather easily in fact. Itachi feels things deeply, but he hides them away even deeper. Shisui on the other hand, will cry openly if the circumstances are fitting.  36. Itachi loves a clean environment. The only exception is Sasuke making messes. 37. Shisui is actually rather lazy when he’s allowed to be. Itachi becomes restless after a while though. 38. Neither are heavy drinkers. Although Itachi’s Anbu teammates have been known to pressure him into getting a ways beyond tipsy. Shisui is a pleasant drunk who gets awfully giddy while Itachi becomes slightly more brash towards other men. 39. Itachi is very specific when ordering food and sometimes this comes off as being complicated. Shisui is rather plain, trusting the cooks judgement. 40. Itachi sometimes writes secret haiku’s about his love for Shisui as a way of tempering his feelings. Shisui often sees his little journal unattended, but would never attempt to invade Itachi’s privacy by reading it. Instead Shisui daydreams about what might be written in the little journal, and he’s often spot on.

[myaekingheart]

66. Something Intriguing Thus Takes Root

               Dusk overtook the sky as Rei ventured home. It felt nice to finally be returning to her own apartment for once, even if the empty apartment across the hall still haunted her. But she didn’t want to think about that right now. She locked Kaminoki and glanced at the sunset, a somber smile touching her lips. It would be another lonely night.

               Kakashi had been so busy lately, and she could tell he was feeling torn. I’m fine, don’t worry about me, she tried to reassure him, but it wasn’t much help. He still felt unresolved on the whole matter. The village needed him, but so did Rei. He hated to see her suffer through her grief alone.

               A dog barked in the distance and Rei pressed her hand to the pouch at her hip. When Kakashi returned from his mission, he insisted she keep the summoning scroll he gave her just in case. He didn’t expect to catch a break any time soon, and he felt safer knowing Pakkun was at her beck and call should she need him. It was the least he could do.

               She wondered where her boyfriend might be now, what he was doing, if he was thinking about her. Her arms ached to feel his touch, her mouth watering for the taste of him. She looked to the stars flickering overheard and whispered, “Please come home, soon.”

               “You’re missing someone” a voice then called; it was a definite statement rather than a question. Rei whipped around, the voice unfamiliar, but found no immediate source. Her hand snapped to the holster on her thigh, fully prepared for a fight. “Stay your weapons, woman. I’m not going to hurt you” he then said, and out of the shadows stepped an old man with a bandage across his eye. He held his arm in some sort of sling and supported his weight upon a cane.

               “Can I help you?” Rei asked, surveying the area. There was no one else in sight, and for a moment it terrified her. ANBU or not, being approached by strange men at nightfall was never welcome. Her mind flashed with a million different ways in which he could abuse her if he tried.

               “You are Rei Natsuki” he said, “granddaughter of Teiko, and a member of the ANBU black ops.” Again, he said this more as a statement rather than a question. “I have heard a great deal about you.”

               Oh, fuck, here we go, she thought to herself. “Listen, if you’re here to berate me for being psycho, I’m afraid I’m out of office and won’t be back until never o’clock” she snapped. She turned to walk away from him, desperate to get out of this encounter as quickly as possible, but then said something that froze her in her tracks.

               “Quite the opposite, actually. I think you’re rather talented, and I want to recruit you” he said. Rei slowly turned back around to face him, cocking a brow in suspicion. “In case you haven’t remembered, I am Danzo Shimura and I am in charge of Root, a subsidiary of the ANBU” he explained. “Lord Third implemented a new training program before we could meet, otherwise I would have approached you sooner. I’ve been keeping a close eye on you, and I believe you are not reaching your full potential under the fifth hokage’s jurisdiction. I would like you to join Root, and work under my command. I think you are much better suited for my line of work.”

               Rei’s heart pounded in her chest. She had, of course, been familiar with Root and heard Danzo’s name tossed around before, but this was an entirely new level. “What makes you so sure I’m a good fit for this?” she asked. She tried to restrain herself from showing her interest.

               A strange smile touched Danzo’s lips as he explained, “The purpose of Root is the total, unhindered protection of Konoha. We work from the shadows in order to keep the ultimate peace and eliminate threats before they become problems. I know of your affinity with the chameleon jutsu—you seem to be rather gifted with invisible work, which is a main tenet of Root. I also know you are much stronger than many give you credit for. I’m well aware you took down a byakugan user when you were only fourteen. Quite impressive, indeed.”

               Rei’s face turned red—she was unaware others had known about that. It wasn’t something she necessarily flaunted. If anything, she actually wished it had never happened. “Well…” she started, then asked, “I thought Root mainly recruited members from a young age. Like a lifelong program. I’m twenty-four, it would too late for me.”

               “Not necessarily” Danzo replied. “I have made exceptions for special cases.” The way he said that made Rei’s skin crawl, and she recoiled a few paces. Danzo followed, closing the distance. “I suggest you think long and hard about what I am offering. I will not do this again. You are wasting your time working under the fifth hokage. You belong in Root—unrestricted. Someplace where you can reach your full potential.

               My full potential. Had she really been limiting herself all these years? She wasn’t entirely sure. “What about my friends and family?” she then asked. As far as she knew, members of Root sacrificed everything.

               “Well, sometimes difficult decisions must be made” Danzo replied. “But would you really be happy staying stagnant the rest of your life? How much are you willing to pay for power?” A shiver ran down Rei’s spine. She chewed her bottom lip and considered his offer. She couldn’t care less for power, personally, and was unsure of whether or not she could stand to sacrifice everything. Grandma Teiko’s words echoed in her ears. You have come too far and worked far too hard to give up everything now. But what if giving up everything meant advancing in her career? Feeling the recognition she had for so long yearned for? “I know what Lady Tsunade has done for you” Danzo then said, “Deferring you from your duties for the sake of grieving. She is not doing this for your wellbeing, like she might have you believe. She is simply afraid of the immense amount of power you now wield. If you were under my command, I would implore you to use that power to its full advantage. You are much stronger than anyone else is allowing you to be. Don’t waste your time on people who are only trying to hold you back, Rei Natsuki.” Danzo shuffled forward and placed a hand on Rei’s shoulder, sending a chill throughout her entire body. Yet in that moment, something inside of her shifted. Danzo’s words began swirling through her brain, adjusting her perception of her entire life. She walked the rest of the way home in a strange, misty haze.

               Rei had already made up her mind by the time Kakashi returned. She cooked a simple dinner for the both of them, but all the whie seemed distant and distracted. If he didn’t know any better, he’d assume she was hiding something from him. As they finished their food, he finally asked, “Is everything okay?”

               “Yeah…everything’s fine” she said, though she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. She took his empty bowl with hers and approached the kitchen sink.

               “You seem quiet” he said. “Did something happen while I was gone?”

               “I’m just tired” she replied. “But, uh…there was one thing that happened.” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to do this. She really shouldn’t say anything. Ideally, she would just fade into oblivion without having to explain anything to anyone. She fully expected to be questioned the moment she revealed her choice.

               Kakashi cocked a brow and shifted to get a better look at her, asking “Oh? What happened? Was it something bad?” He quickly scanned her body, searching for any injuries he may have missed. He couldn’t catch anything. He prayed she hadn’t been hurt in other ways.

               “No” Rei shook her head. She lingered at the kitchen counter, feeling his eyes burning into her back. She didn’t have the strength to meet them. “Actually, it’s really good. Sort of like a promotion type thing.”

               A promotion? Kakashi furrowed his brows in thought. There wasn’t any rank higher than ANBU except for hokage, which he knew she had not reached. Tsunade hadn’t even been in office for a year. And even if that was the case, putting someone of her current mental state in a position of authority was perhaps the stupidest decision. He awaited further explanation, a mild panic growing inside of him.

               “I was approached with an offer a few days ago” Rei explained, “and I think it sounds really good. A Danzo Shimura flagged me down on my way home, said he wanted me to join his faction of the black ops and…and I think I’m going to do it.”

               Almost involuntarily, Kakashi leapt to his feet and shouted, “No!” Rei froze, her heart pounding in her chest. She gripped the edge of the kitchen sink in an effort to quell her anxiety. The abrupt tension was almost palpable. Sighing, Kakashi rubbed his forehead and added hesitantly, “I mean…have you really thought through all of this?”

               “Are you insinuating that I’m being hasty?” she asked, voice sharper than she expected it to be.

               “I’m not trying to insinuate anything” Kakashi replied, “I just don’t think this is a good idea at all.”

               “Well, I do” Rei replied. She turned on the faucet and began rinsing out their bowls. The minute she shut the tap off, she could feel Kakashi looming behind her, his hot breath on the back of her neck.

               “How much do you really know about Danzo and Root?” he asked. “I think if you were aware of the truth, you would have a much different answer.”

               “I know enough” she said. “I know that Lady Tsunade is holding me back from achieving my true potential, and that I’m capable of more than people give me credit for. Root can give me what the ANBU can’t. I belong there.”

               “No, you belong here. With me” Kakashi said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Rei wiggled in his grasp. “Root isn’t even supposed to exist anymore. If you go through with this, you’ll risk being branded a felon. Root does dirty work. It’s not a respectable place for a kunoichi.”

               “What do you know?” Rei fired back, pushing herself out of his grasp. “This is exactly the kind of shit Danzo was talking about! With everyone limiting me, trying to hold me back! Why can’t you just be happy for me? Why can’t you accept that I’m finally heading in the right direction? This is a good thing, Kakashi! Or are you just scared I might actually become better than you and you want to hold me down?”

               “Rei!” Kakashi snapped, voice stern. There was fury in his eyes. “I’d want nothing more than for you to surpass me, but you have serious delusions about what you’re getting yourself into. Danzo sweet-talked you into believing this was the right path, but it’s not.  Root will strip you down to nothing and force you to kill people who don’t deserve to die. People who have done absolutely nothing wrong. You’ll be forced to sacrifice everything. It’s suicide.”

               The word rang in Rei’s ears like a funeral dirge. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. She clapped her hands over her ears and groaned, shaking her head. “I don’t want to hear anything else you have to say, Kakashi” she snapped.

               “Why?” he asked. “Because you can’t handle the truth?”

               “No, because I’m tired of you spitting lies!” she shouted back. “There was a time when you were actually supportive of me. I thought you loved me. If you did, you wouldn’t be acting like such an ass right now!”

               “I’m saying these things because I love you” he insisted. “Are you really willing to sell your soul for criminal activity? You’ll never be able to see me or your parents or your grandmother ever again. Our entire future will be thrown out the window. Is that what you really want?”

               “What would you rather I do, then? Kill myself? Because this is the much better option” Rei replied. “At least this way, I can do something worthwhile with my time. And I don’t have to interact with anyone or burden them ever again.”

               This was far too much. Kakashi was beginning to really lose his cool. “I can’t stand here and watch you do this to yourself” he said. “I won’t let you go through with this.”

               “Oh yeah?” she asked. “As if you dictate my every move? You know, I think you seriously underestimate my determination, Kakashi. You put me down when we were kids, told me I could never make it as a ninja, but I did it, didn’t I? This is just the next step. If you’re not going to support me, then that’s fine, but just know I can do this with or without you.”

               What was it going to take to convince her that this was a bad idea? He glanced to the sake on top of her fridge and wondered if she had been drinking before he arrived. No one should ever make big life decisions under the influence. As he gazed back at her, crazed and manic, his heartbeat increased with every passing second. He couldn’t stand to lose her, especially not like this. Their entire future was at stake here. He thought of the ring tucked away in his dresser. He cursed himself for not having it on him now. If he did, he would get down on one knee this instant and ask her to marry him, ask her to spend the rest of her life with him, to put away these stupid ideas and choose him instead. He didn’t want to face another day without her by his side and he refused to watch her waste away in a prison like Root. His hands twitched at his sides, desperate for something, anything, but it became clear to him there was only one thing he could manage in that moment. He surged forward, ripping his mask off, and pressed his lips to hers hard.

               Rei resisted at first, then fell into the kiss slowly but surely. When he finally pulled away, she looked at him dizzy and dreamy, a sadness in her eyes. He pressed his forehead to hers and cupped her cheek. “Don’t do this” he whispered. “Don’t leave. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

               She fought back the tears that were starting to surface, tightening her grip on his forearm. “I can’t…I don’t want to…I mean…there’s nothing else I can do.”

               “You act like this is the only way out” he whispered. “But it’s not…I promise, it’s not. Just please…stay with me. Don’t forget how long you’ve wanted this. Don’t forget all those years you pushed and fought…you just wanted to prove yourself, and now you have. I was stupid to have kept my distance all those years. Now that I have you, I can’t afford to lose you. Not now…not ever.”

               “Please, Kakashi…” she whispered, her voice cracking. “Please, I just…please don’t put me in a cage.”

               Sighing, Kakashi closed his eyes and ran his fingers through her hair, holding her close. “I’m not” he replied, “But I refuse to watch you put yourself in danger like this. Danzo is lying, he’s just trying to get a rise out of you. He wants you to think this is a good idea for his own sake. He’s just going to use you. He’s going to snuff out that will of fire in you…” Here, he pressed a hand to her chest, her heart beating fast beneath his palm. “Don’t let anyone take that fire away.”

               By now, Rei couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. She broke down, falling into his arms, her face buried in his chest. “Why does this have to be so hard…?” she asked through her sobs. “Why can’t I think straight anymore? It’s all messed up…everything is so messed up…”

               “I know…I know” Kakashi whispered, pulling her into him. He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head, inching closer to the bed so they could sit down. “Just please…trust me when I tell you this is not the right choice. Danzo approached me once, too, and tried to convince me to join Root. I saw through his lies and ended up stopping him from killing the third hokage. He’s dangerous, Rei, and I don’t want you anywhere near him. If he ever tries to approach you again…I’ll kill him myself if I have to.”

               Rei buried herself in Kakashi’s embrace, her head beginning to pound. This was too much. Everything was in a haze. Why couldn’t she think clearly? She heard Kakashi’s words, but she couldn’t comprehend them. She felt weak and small and infantile. She was dependent and worthless. She cried herself to sleep in his arms and that night, she did not dream.