#i imagine that in canon they can only have the sharingan if they have black eyes like Sasuke

[avengernomore]

"Green eyes as long as their Sharingan isn't active, of course." He hummed softly, as Sakura turned red, a small grin coming to his face.

"Didn't I already say that? I would be absolutely overjoyed to have a bunch of kids... but in the end, it has to be a joint decision." He gave her nose a gentle boop. "And I would say that your decision would be the more important out of the two of us, since you would be the one carrying the child. It certainly wouldn't be fair for me to make you carry a child that you do not want, after all."

@avengernomore replied: "I’m pretty sure some of them would have black hair, at least. Who knows, though, maybe some of them will inherit your eye colour~"

"Dark hair and green eyes sounds so cute... Considering your dark hair is the more dominate gene, it's more likely a lot of them would have dark hair." She paused, then her face turned bright red,

"H-hey wait a minute! Are you saying you're okay with us having a bunch of kids??"

[uchihashisui-kun]

Half-Senju Shisui? What AU is that?

It's an AU I thought about time ago, where Tobirama once started an experiment to use his and Kagami's DNA to create a biological child for them after Kagami expresses the desire to be a parent, however Tobirama dies before he can finish it and Kagami doesn't know about it because Tobirama wanted it to be a surprise so the experiment is left unfinished until Orochimaru finds it decades later together with a lot of other things like Edo Tensei, and decides to bring the experiment to a successful end and ends up with Shisui who, by all accounts, is TobiKaga's biological son

After that Orochimaru tries to recreate the experiment to create someone with the Mokuton, but like in canon he kills a lot of kids and is chased out of the village before realizing that Tenzō was a success

Shisui is then raised in ROOT by Danzō alongside Tenzō, but, unlike Tenzō who is kept a secret from the rest of the village, Shisui is used as a spy right in the middle of the Uchiha clan

The thing I love the most about this AU is the way I imagine Shisui to look like, still with Kagami's curls but with Tobirama's sharper cut of eyes and a bit of a harder jawline, but most importantly with dark red natural eyes that make most people uncomfortable, which eventually pushes him to start wearing black contact lenses

Half-Senju Shisui also has some sensor abilities, not to Tobirama's level but still lowkey impressive, and mostly uses lightning-based jutsus to hide the fact that his main chakra affinity is water, something never seen before in the Uchiha clan

He still becomes famous mainly for his Shunshin and genjutsu abilities with the Sharingan, but he also has a much sharper mind hidden under his cute curls and he's much less of a pacifist when the situation calls for it

Danzō thinks he has him under his full control, but between his friendship with Tenzō (experiment buddies ♡), which eventually leads to him meeting Kakashi as well, and his friendship with Itachi, which initially starts as something to try and manipulate his way closer to the clan head but slowly becomes genuine and true, Shisui comes to realize that Danzō is not a good man- which he already sort of knew, but as someone raised to only listen to orders he never really realized it fully

So when Shisui tries to stop the Uchiha clan from starting a coup (he might be less pacifist but he doesn't wish for a civil war that would torn the village apart) and Danzō tries to get his eyes, it doesn't go as planned at all. Shisui realizes the ambush early thanks to his sensor abilities and being familiar with other ROOT members' chakra signatures and is not taken by surprise. He fights back. He makes sure to be as flashy as possible to get the village's attention and have everyone realize what Danzō was trying to do, which gets Danzō not executed by exiled just like Orochimaru was

That's as far as the AU has gone at the moment, but I also love the idea of an AU for this AU where Shisui inherits Tobirama's curiosity and desire to experiment and while messing with some scrolls and seals he accidentally flings himself back in time to the Warring State Period, where of course his mixed nature (half-Senju half-Uchiha) is a big deal and everyone loses their shit because "Holy fuck where did this guy come from" and "Who would ever willingly want to have a child with those bastard Senju/savage Uchiha" without, of course, knowing that he's TobiKaga's future child experiment, and I think that would be very funny

[tobiramaika]

The sharingan is just BPD.

Hey, this is coming from someone with bpd, and if this statement makes you mad double check your personality.

I mean, it's not like I have thought about obsessively, rather it's something I have just noticed.

Funny enough, there are at least five things that align, just enough for BPD diagnosis.

So let's see them.

1. Chronic emptiness

I don't think I need to explain this one, most Uchihas appear to feel empty and look cold all the time, even if they have a hard time and are full of emotions.

That's a form of burn out from the overwhelming amount of feelings that are hard to deal with.

I mean yeah, some are just cold by nature, but often even if they were sweet children, after gaining the sharingan they become emotionally numb to the naked eye.

2. Extreme amount of fear of abandonment

Yeah, you might think that's a reach, but it's there.

People with BPD tend to distance themselves on purpose to avoid real or imagined abandonment.

Madara left the village because he had suddenly believed Hashirama does not care and will leave him in the dark.

Sasuke was abandoned by his only family member after having to relive the death of his whole clan over and over what felt like years. He went out of his way to ignore everyone that tried to get close to him. He is an absent father probably because 'who knows when will they leave?'

So many people with BPD cut off communication with others because of that.

Of course, there might be more examples.

3. Special person

A special person is not someone you love and only love.

It can be, but not necessarily someone you are in love with. A special person isn't meant to be said in a lovely dovey way.

It's someone you love and hate at the same time.

For Madara it's Hashirama, for Sasuke it's Itachi, for Itachi it's probably their father, for Obito it's Kakashi.

The hate makes the condition worse. The love makes it stronger and allows one to pull through hardships.

Also, you can find the person mimic their special person a lot because without them, their self of identity is blurry.

A lot of things are blurry, in fact.

4. Explosive anger and heavy mood swings

Think of a time you saw ANY Uchiha go crazy.

It's most likely out of the blue right? Not necessarily unreasonable, but it's like a bomb.

They have held their emotions in so long and to themselves that when they reach an amount they just explode.

They can't hold themselves back at that point, or explain themselves well.

The moodwings are probably the most noticeable thing about them, it can make some unpredictable.

It's sad, because those moodswings make one be unable to make up their mind. They can last minutes, hours or days.

5. Changing values and interests rapidly.

It's not that they can't be loyal, or anything like that.

But have you ever saw an Uchiha make up their mind and stick to that entirely instead of gaslighting themselves and constantly questioning if it's the right decision?

Correct me if I am wrong, but I never saw an Uchiha not regret something.

Yeah... guess what that's a symptom of!

6. Tendency to view things to extremes

The sharingan canonically makes Uchihas to that.

In their eye there is only good and bad, black and white.

They are in a constant state of battle with themselves because they have no idea what side they are on and question if changing them is the right choice. They keep doing it though.

Like a ping pong ball ya know? Back and forth.

7. Complicated relationship with others

They have a hard time to communicate or understand others pretty often, doing things they don't mean to.

Knowing what they do is wrong doesn't necessarily stop them, because they are truly unable to control the mess they are in.

Neither are they able to control their mouth.

8. Trauma

Both the sharingan and bpd is caused by trauma.

The closer the person and more you love them, the bigger the effect is.

It's not like either one just shows up and is able to go away or stop developing. They don't.

It can be triggered more and more. Trauma, no matter how big or small. will always have an affect on it.

And sadly, with each one there is more hate and harmful/violent thoughts in the head.

9. The brain

Both of them literally demage the brain.

They are both factually disabilities, having negative affect on the brain in terms of emotions and logical thinking.

OUTRO;

That's all I can think of, and I am not saying I am right, but it's quite funny how much they align. I personally find it interesting and fun to explore.

It's almost as if Kishimoto got an inspiration from somewhere.

[drdiabolical]

And the Moon Will Bleed Anew

Chapter One: Two Eyes Are Better Than None

Fandom: Naruto x Jujutsu Kaisen // Rating: Explicit // Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence // SFW // No Smut // No Ship // dldr

Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Kakashi's Ninken, Hatake Kakashi & Gojo Satoru

Characters: Hatake Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi's Ninken, Gojo Satoru, Itadori Yuuji, Kugisaki Nobara, Fushiguro Megumi, Sukuna | Ryoumen Sukuna, Ootsutsuki Kaguya

Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dimension Travel, Hatake Kakashi-centric, Hatake Kakashi is a Troll, Angst, Blindness, Prophecy

Summary:

Just as the universe rearranges itself for the birth of the six eyes and other power altering phenomenon, so it follows that it should adjust for the inclusion of powers spat from entirely different dimensions.

Amidst the battle against Kaguya, Kakashi Hatake lands unceremoniously in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen in a fit of misguided kindness courtesy of Obito Uchiha.

He’s alone in a world full of monsters the likes he’s never seen before with meddling forces determined to involve themselves in his mission to return home. As obstacles, of course, because when has Kakashi’s luck ever deemed fit for him to find a helping hand in a desperate time of need?

At least he has his ninken.

Read on Ao3

Excerpt:

Pain, acrid in its familiarity, lanced down his nerves, originating from his eyes. An unbidden groan clawed its way up his scratchy throat and through his gummy mouth, parting his lips like great heavy oak doors, the sort that guarded the hidden chambers in the Daimyo’s estate and were barred with thick logs.

Kakashi wasn’t supposed to know about those. But there was a great deal in life that Kakashi knew when he wasn’t supposed to, and things that happened to Kakashi that weren’t supposed to.

Fearing the riot his body would put up in protest, he kept his sharingan closed while he cracked open his normal eye, only for it to stab his brain in the exact manner he was so used to from his sharingan.

“Whatever,” he huffed near inaudibly, testing his speech and finding his words scraping at his ears and his lips cracking around the syllables. Fresh blood wept from his bottom lip in a languid teardrop and, when he wiped it away, his torn gloved hands got caught on the friction of matte dried blood upon skin.

His hands slid from his bare chin and tangled in the remains of his mask, the black fabric dry and crusted and in no fit shape to be used. At least his headband was still in place, he mused as he pulled it down over both of his eyes.

He should be alert. He’d say panicked but that wasn’t his style. Those in the throes of panic were subject to impaired decision-making skills and flighty behaviour, the former Kakashi was admittedly guilty of on occasion and the latter a completely foreign feeling.

But as he catalogued how he was too exhausted to move, how his weapon pouch was almost empty, and how he had very little idea of where he was, he couldn’t find it within himself to quicken his thinking or heighten his senses. A crushing weight sat heavily on his chest and prevented him from doing so.

He thought Obito had come around, that Kakashi had gotten through to him. Foolish.

Kakashi may have spent a lifetime stood in front of that facade of a grave, sending words out to oblivion and building this terrific idea of Obito in his mind, an idol, a saint, but, to Obito, Kakashi was that same asshole who’d relentlessly bullied him in his youth and then went on to kill his comrades, purposefully or not.

As Obito was dying, lay in an alien tundra with a death bed of unforgiving ice beneath his spine, cold fingers, somehow colder than the frigid air, grasped onto Kakashi’s wrist. Obito smiled, so softly, so sweetly, a honeyed lie crystallised in blood-red sugar, as he sent Kakashi far away to a place where he had no hope of aiding his students and the rest of the shinobi world.

He couldn’t pinpoint how exactly he knew he wasn’t in the Elemental Nations, never mind Fire Country, but it was a piece of knowledge intrinsic to his very being, along with the feeling that his existence was fundamentally different now. Several somethings had shifted, and he wasn’t so sure of the composition of the world and himself within it.

With a ragged sigh, he took his freshly bloodied hand and formed the familiar sign ingrained in him from when Sakumo first showed him the Hatake ninken contract (his final gift, perhaps) and summoned Pakkun.

“Boss,” said a comforting voice tinged with worry after an uncharacteristic dark almost wet sound in place of the usual soft puff that accompanied summoning, “you don’t look good.”

“It’s the mask, isn’t it?” Kakashi croaked, a flickering smile weak as an oil lamp running on its last dregs struggling to light his lips, “I always knew I’d look terrible without it.”

“I can’t even see your face with all that blood, Boss,” Pakkun said with no semblance of humour, close to his right ear. “I’d clean it but I don’t like the taste of iron. Summon Bull and maybe a couple of the others so we can get you out of here. Hell, summon the whole pack, I think we need all the help we can get.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Kakashi said, adverse to his fingers which were already poised to summon. He’d never really been one for self-preservation, but he at least had to pretend at making an effort. “My chakra feels like… athletic sludge, and I can’t open my eyes.”

“Athletic sludge, Boss? Did you borrow that from your books?”

“No, but it sounds like I could’ve, hmm? Maybe I should try writing since… my favourite author... retired. I may be lacking in experience but I have a wild imagination to make up for it.”

“Gross. Just summon the pack, Boss.”

“You make it sound like I’m the one who should be calling you boss...” Kakashi mumbled, words slurring and tone bland but light. His bloodied fingers touched down onto concrete and that same dark sound signalled the summoning of his pack as a different darkness took hold of his consciousness.

There was an inkling in the back of his head that perhaps he might be dying, but his thoughts were so syrupy and slow that he didn’t think on his regrets, although he had many.

Read the rest on ao3

[myaekingheart]

kakashi for the ask game! :D

Oh this is gonna be dangerous xD (and also really fucking long I’m so sorry lmfao)

send me a character and i’ll list...

favorite thing about them It’s so hard to pick, but I think his resilience. Kakashi has genuinely been through hell and back and yet he keeps going. His character development in Naruto is one of my absolute favorite things, the way he starts out as this seemingly apathetic but deep down very guarded character who ultimately grows to love his students and make peace with his past and finally find some happiness. He’s the man who lost everything and still keeps going and maybe it’s just because I, too, am a depressed bitch but that’s always bee super comforting to me and felt very reassuring. Like if Kakashi can hit rock bottom but pull himself up out of that pit and find happiness and success, then so can I.

least favorite thing about them I don’t even know if I have a least favorite thing about him. I honestly love everything about him. I guess the closest thing I can get to a least favorite thing would be that I wish we saw more of him goofing off and having tons of fun like when he and Guy raced in Shippuden. Hearing Kakashi laugh and joke around was just so good for my soul.

favorite line Oh no there are so many, I can’t pick just one. My favorite contenders are: “Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu: One Thousand Years of Death!” “Behind this mask...is another mask! Pretty cool, huh?” “I’m telling you this because you don’t get it. You think you get it which is not the same as actually getting it, get it?” “Those who break the rules are scum but those who would abandon a comrade are worse than scum” “I won’t allow my comrades to die. I’ll protect you with my life. Trust me.” “It’s like an acorn.” “Sorry I’m late, I’m afraid I got lost on the path of life.” “Sorry I’m late, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way around.” “For those who follow the path of revenge, it never ends well. You’ll only tear yourself apart and even if you succeed and you get your revenge, what will you get then? Nothing. Emptiness.” “So it looks like neither of us have led a charmed life exactly. But still, we’re not all that bad off. At least you and I have found new comrades to help fill the void.” “Calm down, Naruto. Slow your breathing down” (mainly because this scene just gets me every time as someone who has had severe panic attacks for twenty years lmfao) There was also another “sorry I’m late” excuse that I don’t remember exactly and cannot for the life of me find but it was from a picture I saw somewhere, looked like it was maybe from a video game? Where Kakashi said something to genin Naruto and Sakura about the path of love or something? And they’re staring at him flustered pointing insisting “That’s...a lie!” Like I can recall the image clear as day in my head but I cannot for the life of me find it.

brOTP Hands down Guy. I mean, I ship them, too, but I just really love their friendship especially. Guy just really brings out the best in him and provides this really nice foil to Kakashi’s personality. I genuinely think Kakashi would’ve been done for if not for Guy’s loyalty and optimism. Their friendship is so fun and the two of them together never fail to make me smile.

OTP Does my KakashixOC ship count? Because if it does, then that’s my OTP. I have spent way too much time and energy on their relationship for it to not be. That probably sounds super cliche and maybe a little Mary-Sue-ish but I don’t even care, Rei and Kakashi are my magnus opum and I love them. I’m also just really, really proud of the way I’ve written their relationship. So much of their bond is informed by my own relationship with my fiance, and I think my own experiences have really evolved my understanding of what real intimacy in a romantic relationship looks like. It’s not so much about flowers and chocolates and date nights as it is about caring for and comforting the person you love, spending quality time with them, making them laugh and smile, being 110% yourself around them, and providing for them in their times of need. I have never written a relationship so real and specifically raw before, and there’s a lot of intricacies that I’ve worked in as well, that just overall make me incredibly proud of the progress I’ve made on their story, and proud of the story I’ve been creating for them in general. But if an OC ship doesn’t count for OTP, I really like Kakashi with Shizune, Guy, Yamato/Tenzo, and Iruka.

nOTP Oh god I have quite a few. I really don’t enjoy focusing on negatives nor do I want to start ship wars so I’ll keep these explanations brief. I can’t stand Kakashi and Sakura, the mere thought of it makes me *this close* to puking. I take big issue with ships in general between characters that met when one of them was a child and the other an adult, though. It just comes off incredibly pedophilic to me and makes me nauseous. The other big ship I take issue with is Kakashi and Rin but that’s more of a personal issue because their relationship, and Rin’s character in general, hit way too close to home (in a very warped and psychotically symbolic way) to some really traumatic stuff I dealt with in the past that took me years and lots of therapy to deal with, and it still trips me up to this day. It’s not anything that anyone in fandom has done or anyone who ships Kakashi and Rin with each other, it’s just a matter of me noticing parallels between the ship and my own trauma that make it incedibly hard for to tolerate content of it. Just to tack these on, as well, but I also really dislike him with Hanare from the filler episode and with Kahyo from the book Lightning in the Icy Sky. The romance with Hanare just felt really disingenuous to me like I can tolerate it, but it’s not my favorite. And as for Kahyo, I blame bad writing. The fact that the book was referring to her as “the woman who has Kakashi’s heart” literally within like two pages of them meeting really pissed me off. I couldn’t even finish the book so I can’t even speak on the rest of the relationship but I just got so turned off by the entire story in general because the romance was so unbelievable and abrupt. I feel like anyone who has read my fic, though, likely has picked up on my opinions on these, though. Not that I’m writing ship hate or anything because I’m not, but there have been little plot points here and there that have kind of touched on my feelings on these ships.  

random headcanon I have way too many but here’s one of them, I guess, though this is more a musing than a headcanon. I think, when the war is over and Kakashi can finally catch his breath, he goes through a bit of an identity crisis as he comes to terms with the fact that he no longer has his sharingan. After all, he had Obito’s eye for almost twenty years. Learning to function without it is going to be incredibly difficult but not only that, so much of his identity was founded on his secondhand sharingan. Who even is he without it? Does he even recognize himself anymore? And how can he ever live up to the reputation he’s garnered over so many years now that the source of all of his power is gone for good? Yes, he was a prodigy before the sharingan and he is still capable without it, but it’s going to be a big change and take a huge toll on him and his perception of himself.

unpopular opinion I’m glad Kakashi has never been given an explicitly canon love interest. Honestly, I don’t want him to have one. As much as he deserves to find love and start a family with someone, from a fandom perspective I much prefer him being open and available. It creates a much more flexible interpretation of him and his love life so that we, the fans, can write him however we damn well please and I think that’s pretty fantastic. I think it’s safe to say that Kakashi is one of if not the most heavily shipped character in the fandom and everyone has very strong opinions on who he belongs with and even how he idenifies from a sexuality perspective. I can only imagine the uproar that would come from finally giving him a canon love interest because you absolutely cannot please everyone. In a way, I feel like Kakashi is just a character who belongs to all of us. He is something different for every single person in fandom whether that’s someone to look up to and seek guidance from, someone to protect and root for, someone to relate to and find comfort in, someone to love and/or lust after. Or in my case a precious emotional support ninja husbando. I don’t know if he would’ve had quite the same effect on fandom if he had been canonically shipped with someone from the get-go, but I’m grateful that he never was and I hope he never will be so he can continue playing the role in fandom that he has been for so many years. That probably sounds selfish, though, but I just really want him to remain a character that belongs to all of us and is not inhibited by canon in terms of who he loves and how he identifies.

song i associate with them Again, there’s so fucking many so I’m just gonna list some of my favorites. Sign by Flow Friendships by Pascal Letoublon Hospital for Souls by Bring Me the Horizon SCARECROW by My Chemical Romance Disguise by Motionless in White-- this is a big one, especially the line “sick of wearing a mask, sick of hiding my face, sick of every motherfucker that is in my way, sick of digging for answers while you bury the truth, fuck your method to my sadness, I will bury you” like it just reminds me of ANBU Kakashi specifically, but overall his character development in coming to terms with his past and crawling out of his depression, too.

favorite picture of them Again...there’s multiple x_x

[ohayohimawari]

Kakashi Asks-Answer

Q: (From @cyabae) Do you think that Kakashi had a gut feeling that Obito was still alive? It seemed to me that he couldn’t get over Obito’s “death” whilst he was able to process his grief over the loss of his other loved ones.

A: This is such a fantastic question. Thank you for presenting me with an opportunity to climb into this ninja’s quirky brain to pave over what I think is one of the biggest holes in canon!

Throughout Naruto’s story-before and after the time skip-Kishimoto doesn’t allow the fans of the series, or Kakashi, to forget Obito. Every time we see my favorite ninja dork at his regular hangout (the memorial stone), it’s like Kishi is telling us, ‘Hey! Pay attention to this!’ Canon provides more questions than answers to this, so I’m going to rely upon my knowledge and interpretation of Kakashi’s character, as well as my imagination to resolve it starting below the cut.

First of all, Kakashi is no idiot.

He knows that he’s talking to dead people that can’t answer him when he visits their graves. He understands that death is final, permanent, having learned that lesson the hard way at a young age. The way he processes grief differs with each loss, however.

We know that Kakashi made it a point to distance himself from his father’s legacy after Sakumo’s death. In the series, I can think of only one instance in which we see Kakashi visiting his father’s grave, and it seems to be out of obligation. Further, when that angry little Kaka-brat is standing at his father’s grave in the rain, he places a flower on Sakumo’s marker while saying he won’t grow up to be like him. Ouch.

When it comes to Sakumo’s death, I think Kakashi spends a lot of time avoiding it. First, because he’s angry, later because he feels guilty (see also: Kakashi’s Legendary Self-Loathing). As long as I’m drawing from my imagination to answer this, I like to think that Kakashi comes to Sakumo’s grave more often after they made peace over a campfire during their brief visit in the afterlife.

It isn’t long after Sakumo’s death that Kakashi loses the closest thing he has to a father figure when his sensei Minato dies. This is another grave that I can’t recall (off the top of my head) Kakashi visiting. I think there are more than a couple of reasons why this is. Because he was a Hokage, Minato’s grave is already well-tended, or perhaps his remains are inaccessible (unless you’re Orochimaru). Another reason is because Kakashi has something better than a grave marker to turn to: the Yondaime’s bust carved into the mountainside that dominates Konoha’s skyline. When Kakashi wonders what kind of guidance his late sensei would offer, he looks up at his likeness. Side note: is it just me, or does that seem to give him a sense of calm? That’s a big headcanon of mine.

There’s something else that Minato left behind, or I should say someone, and that would be the main hero of the whole series. I definitely think that, although Minato’s death is an ending to a part of Kakashi’s life, it opens the door for this knucklehead to reckon with the future during his grieving process. But I have another Kakashi Ask waiting in my inbox about baby Naruto so I’ll wait to go into this when I answer that question.

This brings me to what canon presents as the most traumatic experience Kakashi has had with loss. There are countless flashbacks to the death of Rin Nohara at Kakashi’s hand before we’re given the full explanation for it. I can think of only two times that we see Kakashi visiting Rin’s grave: when he’s tending to it during a break from guarding a pregnant Kushina, and again when Tenzō is spying on Kakashi in the ANBU Black Ops arc. Although we don’t see him visiting Rin often, it’s implied that he does go regularly to her grave. He washes her marker, brings fresh flowers to adorn it, and tells her of the happenings in the Hidden Leaf.

Personally, I think Kakashi goes to Rin’s grave out of a sense of duty and keeps his visits brief out of guilt and pain (just an opinion; please don’t @ me). He can’t escape the physical moment of Rin’s death. It haunts him, frequently. He relives it more than any other experience he’s had in his fictional, angst-filled life. It seems to me that he thinks of his visits to Rin as the least he can do, after his involvement in her death. It’s all that he can do to continue to keep his promise to Obito to look after her. I’m not saying that he doesn’t have fuzzy friendship feelings for Rin, but I can’t imagine those are feelings that he’s able to maintain easily after the circumstances surrounding her death. Truly, I wonder if those visits are out of wanting to atone for his part in her death or to appease the angry spirit that Rin appears as in Kakashi’s nightmares. Probably a little of both.

The grave that is Kakashi’s home away from home is the memorial stone. Out of all the names that are etched on it, there’s only one that keeps him coming back to it. Obito Uchiha.

The million-ryo question is, out of all of the deaths that Kakashi has experienced, why is Obito’s grave the one that he turns to and returns to? Canon doesn’t portray them as the best of friends while they were schoolmates and later, teammates, so…?

This was the first peer that Kakashi lost, and that had to have rocked his little ninja world. Obito sacrificed himself for Kakashi’s sake and that too must’ve been a great big wtf moment for my precious murder baby. Also, there’s the sheer suddenness of the unfortunate boulder incident in Kakashi’s literal blind spot. I mean, wow, those reasons alone could show why Obito’s death would be next to impossible for kid!Kakashi to process.

But kid!Kakashi becomes adult!Kakashi and he’s still hovering by the memorial stone every time he gets a chance. I know that I’ve presented this dork as a creature of habit, but in this case, there’s something more to it. Two somethings, specifically.

First (to be blunt): there’s no body.

Obito Uchiha is presumed dead and for a ninja who has firsthand experience with proven death, that blows the door wide open to the possibility of Kakashi’s teammate surviving that rude boulder.

During the Land Waves arc, we see Team Seven’s leader waking up unconvinced that Zabuza is really dead. This knucklehead has more brains than chakra, and he doesn’t leave things to chance.

So, to Kakashi, presumed dead is way more alive than dead.

This is why he doesn’t just relate the news of the village to Obito like he does when he visits other graves. He asks questions and unloads his conscience there because, in his mind, he might be communicating with someone that could answer him.

But wait! There’s more. The second something is (drumroll): the sharingan.

Sharingan literally means “copy wheel eye,” and it is described as an “eye that reflects the heart.”

Kishimoto seems to enjoy beating his characters with a trauma stick, so canon gives us many (so many) accounts of how tragedy affects the sharingan’s development. However, if it reflects the heart, there are plenty of positive emotions that could affect it that simply weren’t explored in the series.

Another thing that isn’t fully explained in canon is how Kakashi and Obito’s sharingan eyes are connected. We only know that they are connected because the mangekyō awoke at the same time in each of them (this is very important btw), and because of their shared tsukuyomi/ninja dumpster. This is great imagination and fan content fodder because the possibilities of their shared sharingan are near endless.

What follows is my headcanon.

Rather than having a gut feeling that Obito is still alive, I think Kakashi allows for the possibility that his teammate survived. That becomes a probability after he learns more about the sharingan from his subordinate, Itachi and student, Sasuke.

It would be years after Obito’s presumed death that Kakashi would learn that the mangekyō is awakened by witnessing the death of the person that the sharingan-bearer is closest to. As much as I adore Rin’s character, she is not the person that Kakashi feels closest to when he witnesses her death. I believe that Kakashi is closer to Gai, or even Minato when Rin dies.

As Kakashi learns more about the sharingan, the bigger his hunch becomes that Obito survived. I’m sure he’d question how the mangekyō could’ve awoken in the first place if the person that gave it to him was dead.

This borrowed eye is surgically attached to Kakashi’s optic nerve and not his heart. So, if the sharingan is still developing, the heart it was connected to must still be beating.

More speculation, but perhaps Obito can use all of the jutsus that Kakashi has copied. Maybe snippets of Obito’s emotions are processed as information in Kakashi’s brain. It would make sense to me in Narutoverse.

So why didn’t Kakashi tell anyone that he had reason to think that Obito might still be alive?

The experiences that would lead him to think that are subjective. Kakashi is tight-lipped even when someone wants to know his hobbies. I don’t think he’d tell anyone that a mistake was made with one of the etched names on the memorial stone until he had hard proof.

However it played out, or whatever your headcanons about these two may be, the moment they faced each other from opposite sides of the battlefield was heartbreaking.

I think that when Kakashi finally saw him again, he was less surprised that Obito was alive and more surprised that he had become an enemy. *Sob*

XOXO

P.S. I actually touched upon this headcanon in a drabble that I wrote for my latest Tumblr milestone:

The Impossible 

Summary: “No one is more surprised than Kakashi when he returns from apparent death. He confides his extraordinary experience and the new mystery that has come of it at his next visit to Konoha's memorial stone.”

Pairings: Gen, none

Rated: T, no warnings apply

[sabaku-no-livna]

Is your oc a Mary Sue ?

Okay I created this test back in 2016 on the french fandom, for the french fandom but its still so funny so if you want to try that test, please do. Don’t take it bad if your oc has several points doesn't make her Mary Sue and again these are only the clichés I noted, doesn't mean I got the absolute science on how to make a good OC and that my OCs does not correspond to these clichés or arn’t Mary Sues. Beware this test is full of sarcasm and second degree. Anyways ! Enjoy !

I. The design  of the OC  For your OC to be shitty, appearance is primordial. Therefor, I made you a list of clichés that you can try to cumulate to create a perfect Mary Sue. Are you ready ? At the end we’ll count the M.S points of our own Oc.  ღ Spiky hair, must be long, more likely black, red, yellow, with two colors that MUST be extra saturated ! You can take your favorite color if you want, it will work. Why thinking further ? xD  If you put two colors, make sure they clash with each other. Your hair style must be edgy, emo, so 2012 fashion with some bangs in front of the eye, nothing original please. Its weird to be original. AND WE DON’T WANT THAT. 

ღ  Piercings and tattoos are SWAG. But not any piercings or tattoo ! The labret is swag, the septum is swag, the eyebrow is swag, the belly button is swag but NEVER on the nostril its’s a golden rule of swag. Sorry. Have you ever seen an oc with a piercing in the nostril ? Nope, then don’t do that. Don’t try to invent new things. Originality is weird. 

ღ  About the body type, you got to stick to the canons : Huge breasts, large hips and butt, narrow waist (so narrow you don’t know how she can possibly bear her own weight). 

ღ If you REALLY don’t have any design ideas it doesn't matter. Make a gender-bend of Naruto or Sasuke. IT WORKS. 

II. The back story of your OC

For your OC to fit in the story like some shit falling on top of carbonara pastas, your backstory must be as CHEATED as possible. It must affect the main manager plot a maximum, just to enhance your oc. NEVER FORGET IT : Your OC is the center of the world. 

ღ Lets start by the beginning. For the name of your OC take some name that sounds Japanese. You can even invent one, as long as it sounds Japanese its perfect. To do so, insert some “ki” “ko” “su” “shi” “mi” et you got a name ! 

ღ Here is one of the supreme principle : Your OC is the most gorgeous, intelligent and strong. Its legit ALL THE MEN IN THE PLANET are desperately in love with her. 

ღ Your OC must be paired, or have had an affair, with at least one of the canon characters (better if its a main one) of the anime. Leave Shoji and and all the other Rock Lees for the ugly ones, YOU got Sasuke and Naruto waiting for you in your bed. So here’s a list of decent crush for a Goddess like your OC : 

Sasuke, Itachi, Naruto, Kakashi, Neji, Gaara, Madara, Deidara. Others are for the ugly ones. Don’t touch it, may have diseases ... :/ 

ღ  As your OC is the strongest, she must have super badass jutsus and have a chakra of ALL TYPES AT A TIME, she must master ALL the technics, and the must is her having an demon within. If possible a demon with tails (we don’t know why it wasn't mentioned in the manga but WHO CARES ?) that would be stronger than all the canon demons combined ! OR she can cumulate all the demons. Another SWAG thing is to have special pupils. If you don’t have the creativity to invent some, just use the sharingan/byakugan, or directly the rinnegan. OR you can cumulate them. Do like Sasuke ! This guys was clever. He knows the secret of success. 

ღ  Your OC must FUCK the game, so don’t hesitate to make her a princess, a vampire, a Rage, or even a Goddess. SHE IS TOO HOT TO BE HUMAN. Regular shinnobis are for people with no ambitions. 

ღ When you have to describe her personality always indicate this : “sweet, shy, friendly, cold, mysterious, choleric, courageous.” How is it totally paradoxal ? WHO CARES ? It doesn't have to be accurate in your character in her story anyways, that’s just for the presentations. For your OC to be really obnoxious she has to have a shitty personality. She has to clash every canon characters, be a burden for everyone else, OR, the opposite, a fuckin’ Deus Ex Machina ! Your girl she would have kicked Madara’s emo ass in a sec ! 

ღ  Her relationships with the canon characters are VERY IMPORTANT. Try the hidden blood binding. It’s SOOO original. Incest is not to provide, we all love what’s forbidden by the law and morals ! But always use main characters first, and don’t hesitate to put your character in a canon team, even if you have to kick off Sakura to do so (after all who cares for her ?). And for secondary but popular characters such as Itachi, Gaara and Neji ... Well as long as they are canons and popular ! Its better if they are in the Akatsuki or Kages though ! The best thing would be to be the hidden maleficent twin of Sasuke and have an affair with him OR Naruto’s genderbend paired with Itachi. The really SWAG clans you can put your OC into if you got no creativity to create an over powered shitty clan are : Uchiha, Uzumaki, Namikaze and Otsutsuki, and Hyuga only if there is no more room in the previous I quoted. 

ღ  Your OC must have a tragical backstory, horrible and complicated, incoherent or completely empty and lacking of depth cumulating all the best clichés of the fandom. 

In the first case your OC is broken by her past traumatic experiences, which gives her a dark side, a madness within, an emo vibe. She must be complaining all the time about her misunderstood pain. 

In the second case, your OC must be cheesy, always smiling and enthusiastic for no reason, and be a little stupid. Okay VERY stupid. But well ! She has big tits at least ! So its fine. Her biggest trauma must not exceed in terms of violence her little brother finishing the Nutella. 

ღ  Or, you can also try having a SUPER weak OC. Because with Mary Sues you are either TOO strong or TOO weak. No nuance please. It would make your character too credible. AND WE DON’T WANT THAT. Your OC must be rejected by everyone, hated and underrated (#victimlol) only her One True Love will see the light behind her shaggy hair. 

ღ If you are a bit CrAzY you can invent a country where she’ll be on top, but the best is for her to come from Konoha. Stay on the right track. 

I think I gave you all the best tips I had to make an OC perfectly obnoxious. ♥ To illustrate my own sayings, let me introduce you, my own Mary Sue : 

Suskiki Uchiha ! 

Name : Suskiki Uchiha

Age : Immortal 

Team : 7 (who cares about Sakura anyways ? Lol) Family : parents : Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha / big brother : Itachi / twin brother : Sasuke / cousin : Naruto (yes its possible) Personality : Has big boobs Love interests : Sasuke, Naruto, Itachi, Gaara, Deidara, Suigetsu, Kakashi, Peter Pan, Edward Cullen and Jon Snow Story : Suskiki is the hidden sister of Sasuke. Not so hidden bc she is in team 7.  For real she is the princess vampire of and has the power of emo. Her childhood was so terrible you cant imagine. What was it ? Idk you cant imagine i said ! She supports Naruto since childhood bc they were both rejected. Why ? Bc she was too beautiful duh ! She has in her the demon Nyan cat dragon of darkness the most powerful of all ! She has both sharingan and byakugan for no reason (maybe her mom had an affair ?).  NOW LETS TRY THIS QUIZZ : 

Does your OC have : 

1)  Spiky or flashy hair ? 2)  Piercings/tattoos ? 3) Big breasts ?  4) Is she the female equivalent (physically) of a canon character ? 5) Was her name picked randomly because it sounded Japanese  ? 6) Are several canon characters into her ? (3 and more is yes).  7) Is she paired with one of the decent canons quoted before ?  8) Has she got a demon ? 9) Has she got special pupils ? Is she from a SWAG clan ? (if not you suck) 10) Does she have a special statut ? (princess, vampire, kage ...) 11) Is she “ “sweet, shy, friendly, cold, mysterious, choleric, courageous.”  at the same time ?  12) Does she have any blood binding with one of the canon characters ? Marriage doesn’t work.  13) Incestuous with one of the canons ? 14) Is she part of one of the main teams of the Naruto gen ? 15) Has she got a tragic back story ? 16) Is she bad at everything/super powerful ? 17) Was she rejected ?   18) Does she come from Konoha ? 19) Does she look like the  character she is paired with ?  20) Was she part of the Akatsuki or did she join Orochimaru ? 

So now you can count your points and it will give you a grade over 20. The closer you are to 20 the most Mary Suish your OC is. I personally tested it on Yukiko she got : 6 points. And you what is your score ? ;)

[fuckyoucanada]

Aspirations

Summary: When Sasuke was younger, he had wanted to be a star. Sasuke-centric Dark Canon Divergret AU, ObiSasu

I have to be honest, I don't really know where this came from? idk man who the hell knows what goes on in my head

"Look at the universe! What do you see? An order? Tranquility? A divine peace? You fool! You ignorant! Over there, galaxies are colliding, suns are exploding, black holes swallowing stars! Now look at the universe again! What do you see? A disorder? Chaos? Anything savage? You see a hell? Now, you see the truth!" ― Mehmet Murat ildan

Aspirations

When Sasuke was younger, he had wanted to be a star.

"You want to what?" Itachi had asked him, his voice amused as they lay side by side in the overgrown field a few minutes away from the Uchiha clan compound.

"Be a star," young Sasuke had answered, his words a whisper of awe as he stared up at the sparkling gleams in the night sky, "I want to shine bright like they do."

"You already shine bright," Itachi tells him, an affectionate smile on his face.

Sasuke doesn't reply, just continues to look up at the night sky. Itachi doesn't understand, but Sasuke hadn't really expected him to. Itachi already shined brightly. He was seen by their mother, their father, their clan, and the village. He was the prodigal heir of the Uchiha clan. He was a young genius that shone brightly among his peers.

Sasuke was no star. Sasuke did not shine brightly when compared to others. Sasuke was average and he once heard his father call him clingy. Sasuke was not independent like Itachi. Sasuke wanted affection and reassurance. Itachi was far more complacent and that was something Sasuke had yet to learn. He asked questions, where he should not. Itachi listened and people adored him for it. Sasuke tilted his head, curiosity getting the better of him, and he was dim in comparison.

Itachi was like the stars in the heavens and Sasuke greedily wished he was one too. In his darker moments, he wished Itachi was a falling star, a star that has had its time and is now descending down to the level of the other dim, uninteresting people.

He never voices these thoughts, only ever speaking admiring things about his beloved brother, but he thinks it often enough. That simple wish that Itachi would fall so Sasuke could finally rise and shine.

(In another world, the political climate of the village falls apart. Scheming and warmongering lead to rumors and then whispers of rebellion. A once bright star does what its known for and complies with his orders and then he starts his descent. He will fall and eventually he will fade, a new star entering the sky. This, however, is not that world.)

Sasuke spends his childhood wishing and growing bitter. He is often ignored in favor of his brother, and when once Itachi would placate him with broken promises of training, now the older boy is just too busy for even that. He always has a sad smile to spare him when they cross paths, but Itachi slowly grows a new life away from Sasuke and he can't bring himself to force a place for him in it. He watches as Itachi advances, his rank rising, the admiration from others flowing, and Sasuke burns red hot with jealousy.

Sasuke knows he's being a bitter asshole by the time he's thirteen. He knows his hateful thoughts are full of spite and not fair to Itachi, the teen who wants absolutely zero of the attention he gets. Still, that anger burns and burns and every time Itachi tells him he's too busy to help Sasuke, it grows bright and more intense. His spite grows nasty and malicious and by the age of seventeen, Sasuke is foaming at the mouth with repressed rage.

He has a mask, of course. He is the kind younger brother of the incredible Uchiha Itachi. He is average, when it's all said and done. He blends into the crowds, going unnoticed unless Itachi is nearby. Then, and only then, people will acknowledge him, telling him how amazing his brother is, and then they will turn away to bask in the glow of the shining star that is his older brother.

Sasuke is only a chūnin by the time he is seventeen and he is completely ignored in his obscurity. Itachi has long since moved out of their childhood home and his parents are often busy with other duties. His father no longer bothers to pretend to care and his mother's affection is absent-minded as she gushes over Itachi and Izumi, who have finally decided that marriage is in their near future.

Sasuke has lived seventeen years as a planet orbiting the Itachi star and it has long since grown old. His teammates are bright spots throughout the years, but they are not constant fixtures now that they are being assigned to different squads. Naruto is the son of the Hokage and he is bright like Itachi, although he is less of a mysterious celestial being and more of a bright sunshine. Besides, the last time Sasuke saw Naruto, he was excitedly telling Hinata that his mother was once more pregnant. Sasuke pitied the child or children. They too would be like Sasuke; a mere shade compared to a smarter, more powerful brother. Sakura cared once upon a time, her minuscule crush on Sasuke giving him hope that he wasn't as invisible as he feared, but the first time Itachi had stopped by to walk home with Sasuke after training, she was lost to him. She saw Itachi, saw his glow compared to Sasuke's darkness, and she turned from him.

Kakashi was never much of a presence to being with, his sensei's attention mostly focused on Naruto and the genius civilian girl under his tutelage. He never outright ignores Sasuke, which he admittedly appreciates, but Sasuke gets no other recognition. It is through Kakashi that Sakura gains an apprenticeship under Tsunade, the slug Sannin having recently returned at the request of the fourth Hokage. She is excited, Sasuke knows. He will see less of her until she finally stops bothering to make an effort of staying in contact. Naruto was always guaranteed an apprenticeship with Jiraiya. Sasuke is guaranteed nothing.

No one, not even Itachi, reaches out. No one takes a look at the dim star Sasuke is. Nobody cares and Sasuke is cold.

So when he is approached by a black hole, how could he honestly say no?

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

"You're invisible to them," Tobi says, his orange mask obscuring his face. His tone is similarly blank and Sasuke marvels at his emotional control.

Meeting the masked shinobi who went by Tobi wasn't a particularly memorable experience, if only for the fact that the man showed up on the brink of Sasuke collapsing from training for too long. He had appeared in the corner of Sasuke's vision just as it blurred and then he had still been there when Sasuke had eventually blinked exhausted eyes open.

"You are strong," the man had said to him, unabashed curiosity in his voice. "Yet no one sees you."

Sasuke had been on the brink of chakra exhaustion, so he had briefly wondered if he was hallucinating. "Are you real?"

"Do you often see figments of your imagination?" the man had asked in reply.

"I wish," Sasuke had muttered, eyes fluttering shut once more. "Then I wouldn't be so alone."

Sasuke had woken up in his bed, stiff muscles making it almost impossible for him to sit up to grab the cup of water pointedly left on his bedside table.

The man had returned the next evening, and all the evenings after that, always there when Sasuke's training has left him exhausted and indifferent. He introduces himself as Tobi and he watches Sasuke with one dark eye. Sasuke looks into it, sees the creeping tendrils of darkness, and does nothing to escape the net the man is forming around him. Sasuke could claim he was curious about what the man wanted, but he wasn't. Sasuke's weakness was attention paid specifically to him, so he let Tobi manipulate him to his heart's desire.

Sasuke looks over at Tobi, thinking about his observation. "Yes, I am invisible. I'm not special, not to them." There's implications in his words, that he's special to Tobi in some way, and while Sasuke can't see the man's face, he can feel the smug satisfaction he is exuding. Sasuke is unbothered. He let's Tobi believe that Sasuke doesn't see him, that Sasuke doesn't recognize the signature dark Uchiha eyes, nor the slips of scars he can see occasionally when his long sleeved shirt shifts and one unnaturally pale wrist is exposed. Sasuke doesn't know his real identity and he doesn't care to. This unknown Uchiha had chosen Sasuke to pay attention to, Sasuke to manipulate, and he was content with allowing the man to do just that.

One evening when Sasuke had stopped in the middle of training, Tobi had looked at him, eyes tilted curiously.

"Don't tell anyone," Sasuke had muttered, glancing up through his bangs. He then drew chakra towards his eyes and he physically felt the small spike of pain that came with using his Makngekyou Sharingan.

Tobi, though it went unseen, smiled.

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

"Sasuke," Tobi had whispered later, a gloved hand reaching up to lightly caress Sasuke's pale cheek. A single Mangekyou Sharingan stared down at him, benevolent cruelty swimming in their depths, "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything," Sasuke had replied in kind, his own ruby eyes staring back.

"Kill them," Tobi, the man, the monster, the abomination, the black hole had whispered into his ear. His other arm raised, his hand teasingly reaching towards his mask, the air heavy with his silent incentive.

"Yes," Sasuke had whispered in reverence as the black hole that was Tobi was revealed to him.

The man grinned cruelly at him, false affection in his eyes. Sasuke saw through him, but didn't voice it. Tobi was looking at him. Who cares what he happened to be looking at him with?

"My name is Uchiha Obito," the black hole told him, hot puffs of air against Sasuke's ear making the hair on the back of his neck stand up, "and I see you, my bright, shining star."

Sasuke sucked in a breath, panting lightly as his chest rose and fell rapidly. His vision spun and he didn't bother to fight as he, a star never seen, began to collapse into itself.

"Obito," Sasuke whispered against soft lips.

"My star," Obito whispered in kind, cold lips meeting warm, compliant ones.

(Sasuke massacred his entire clan with a smile on his face.)

[neraawritesxx]

Enigma

naruto couples event - day 2

prompt: favorite non-canon pairing // role swap pairing: kakashi x sakura genre: romance // humor word count: 4,340

summary: “She can’t be all that great,” Kakashi declared in an assured tone. “I mean…look at her, she has pink hair.”

author’s note: I have a strange obsession with age-swap AU’s with this pairing. All I can imagine is Kakashi being a cheeky brat throughout his teenage years. Here’s to my favorite copy-nin trying to awkwardly handle his feelings. 

-o-

When Kakashi was twelve, he passed her off as insignificant.

-o-

Obito whistled; a low, appreciative sound that quickly morphed into a chuckle as the ground shook beneath their feet.

"…Guys, I think I'm in love," The dark-haired twelve-year-old declared.

Rin hummed in agreement, seemingly unphased by her long-time crush's sudden proclamation of affection for another woman. After being on his team for the last five months, this was far from the strangest thing she heard come out of the Uchiha's mouth.

"She's so strong," Rin whispered in awe, short chocolate locks bouncing as her head pivoted back and forth, eyes following the spar occurring across the field.

Obito nodded his head, concurring. His Cheshire grin grew tenfold as he watched the limp body of their teacher fly across the training field, crashing into a tree trunk with a sickening crunch.

"Oh man…," Obito said, voice filled with unrepressed mirth. "She's kicking his ass!"

With every echoing twang of kunai meeting kunai, Rin's wonderment grew just as much as Obito's amusement.

"Do you think your cousin would introduce us?" She inquired, looking at the onyx-haired male out of the corner of her eye.

Obito turned towards her, tossing the thought around while his hand ran through his hair, lips drawn down in a tight-lipped frown. He was silent for a moment before he gave her a brief shake of his head.

"No," He commented, shifting black eyes back towards the scuffle going on a few yards away. "We have a better chance of getting sensei to quit eating ramen than we have of getting that ice prick to introduce us."

Rin deflated, shoulders slumping at the denial of her request.

The subject of their conversation stomped her foot with a loud, piercing battle cry and the ground opened up into a large, jagged fissure. Rin observed as the crater grew in size, attempting to swallow their teacher and his clones whole. The brunette grimaced when a piece of flying debris managed to catch their sensei in the shoulder.

Rin, ever the optimistic, then offered, "Maybe if she doesn't send him to the hospital, Naruto-sensei will introduce us?"

"I don't see what the big deal is," The third member of their party cut in with a bored tone.

Obito and Rin half turned, gazes drawn towards Kakashi, who sat a few feet away at the base of a tree. He seemed nonplused by the commotion going on around them, body lax and hunched over, sharpening his tanto with slow, precise strokes.

Obito bristled at Kakashi's nonchalance. "You're telling me that you wouldn't want to meet the Godaime's famed pupil personally?" The tone of his question was incredulous, borderline hysteric. "A woman said to be able to reduce a mountain to rubble with a flick of her wrist?!"

Kakashi remained unperturbed by the Uchiha's questions, finishing his task without so much as a glance in his teammates' direction.

Obito, never the one to be ignored, immediately went on the defensive, but before the young Uchiha could voice his continued complaints, Kakashi finally lifted his head.

The silver-haired genin flicked his gaze towards the fight, then shifted his dark eyes back to look at Obito, brow arched.

"She can't be all that great," Kakashi declared in an assured tone. "I mean…look at her…she has pink hair."

-o-

Over the next few years, Kakashi tried to understand her.

-o-

Naruto may not have been the most competent sensei, but he really wasn't that bad.

Sure, he was unhygienic most of the time, and his eating habits left something to be desired, but what he lacked in intelligence, he made up for in strength, dedication, and heart.

Their blond teacher shined bright like the sun. Obito was a lot like Naruto in that aspect; always joking, always smiling.

His sensei's lack of proper etiquette never stopped him from training his students to the best of his ability. Though Naruto's methods may have been questionable – because really, how could that bell test be useful – he still brought out the best in his students.

When Obito struggled with using his Sharingan, Naruto convinced his old teammate, Obito's cousin – or was it second cousin? Distant relative? Kakashi really couldn't keep up with the Uchiha family tree anymore – to help the young man with his family's kekkei genkai.

When Rin mentioned in passing that she was interested in studying medical ninjutsu, Naruto made sure to introduce her to certain hospital staff, who gladly took her under their wings.

When it became apparent that Kakashi was developing skills which were beyond what Naruto could teach him, their knuckleheaded teacher called up his father – the prematurely retired Fourth Hokage – to assess his ability. By the end of the day, both father and son promised to sponsor Kakashi for ANBU after he passed the jounin exams.

Since their graduation from the academy, for three long, long years, Naruto Uzumaki gave his all to his pupils. Kakashi had come to respect him immensely, despite his boisterous personality.

What Kakashi could never wrap his head around, however, was that anytime that woman was nearby – the one with the bubblegum pink hair and those vibrant jade eyes – his sensei turned into a blubbering, love-sick fool.

It wasn't just his teacher, though. She held this power over everyone.

Even Obito and Rin were both smitten with her.

The entire village knew her on a first name basis. Sakura Haruno was bright and lively and filled with so much happiness that she drew people in like a moth to a flame.

Yet, he seemed unaffected. Or at least he thought he was.

She was an enigma to him.

-o-

When Kakashi was fifteen, she kicked his ass.

-o-

"You don't like me very much, do you?"

Kakashi looked down from his perch on the tree branch. Sakura stood beneath his dangling legs, face upturned in his direction, a smile on her lips that made the corners of her eyes crinkle.

He must have been daydreaming because he didn't sense her approach. Kakashi could hear Naruto rattling off critiques while Obito and Rin sparred a few yards away.

"I don't know you," Kakashi returned coolly. "You very well can't dislike someone if you don't know them."

Sakura's stance shifted, petite hands coming to rest on her hips as her face contorted into an expression of mock hurt.

"Now that hardly seems fair, Kakashi-kun. I've trained with you on and off for the last three years. I've even been to some of your team dinners!"

The way his name rolled off her tongue made Kakashi uncomfortable, an odd twinge settling into the pit of his stomach.

He didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Just because you've been around doesn't change the fact that I still don't know a thing about you," He called down to her.

She pursed her lips in response, continuing to look up at him while seemingly pondering over some unvocalized thoughts. Kakashi immediately tensed under her scrutiny, fingers awkwardly picking at the bark of the tree branch he was perched upon. His palms became uncomfortably warm in his gloves, and he had to fight down the urge to run his hands over his thighs to quell the feeling.

Whatever it was that she was mulling over suddenly passed. Sakura cocked her head to the side, puffing at her bangs as they fell into her eyes with the movement. She was looking at him strangely, like a predator sizing up her prey. There was an odd glint in those viridian hues, and his stomach flip-flopped when her lips quirked into a small smirk.

"Fair enough," She stated in a tone that seemed a little too sweet. "How about a little spar to break the ice then?"

He furrowed his brow in confusion at her challenge, slipping from the tree branch to land gracefully in front of her.

"You want…to spar…with me?" Kakashi parroted, slowly.

With a curt bob of her head, Sakura confirmed that he had, in fact, heard her correctly. "That is unless you're too scared to step into the ring with me?"

"Oh! Kakashi's about to get his ass kicked!" Obito shouted from across the clearing, the others having halted their practice in lieu of the rising tension they sensed coming from their silver-haired teammate.

Kakashi frowned in the Uchiha's direction, the scowl pulling the material of his mask harshly against his cheeks. He looked back towards the woman in front of him, charcoal eyes taking in every detail, starting with her vibrant colored head and ending at her perfectly manicured toes.

There was no way this girl - who happened only to be a few inches taller than himself - could take him down. Something ugly reared its head, in the back of his mind, begging him to rise to the taunt. The thought of this woman challenging him, attacking his pride, didn't sit well with Kakashi. He didn't train as hard as he did; didn't dig himself out of the darkness of his late father's reputation, to be bested by some girl with pink hair.

It didn't matter that Sakura had the strength of one hundred men or that she could go toe to toe with his teacher. Kakashi himself had proven to be a difficult opponent for even Naruto at times; he could easily outsmart her.

"I won't go easy on you," The silver-haired male warned.

Her answer to his statement was a broad, feral grin.

Kakashi was sore from the spar for the following week.

That was the first time a girl had ever beaten him.

-o-

When Kakashi was eighteen, she saved his life.

-o-

He awoke to ringing in his ears and pristine, white lights blinding him.

Kakashi saw double, then triple, before he screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to gather his bearings. The world continued to spin even behind his eyelids, and he had to bite back the bile that began to rise in his throat. For a while, all he could do was lay there, prone, and force himself to breathe. He tried to remember where he was and what he was doing previously, but nothing came to mind.

After shifting uncomfortably on the lumpy mattress for a few minutes, Kakashi realized where he was.

A hospital.

Then it came back to him.

His first ANBU mission.

It was an assassination assignment; a local gangster was causing problems in a small village about two kilometers outside of Konoha. He completed his task quickly and efficiently, but he was spotted during his escape. A fight ensued, and the last thing he remembered was being thrown off balance by an explosion right before a large piece of the ceiling came crashing down on him.

He released a gurgled groan, opening his eyes once more. The harsh lighting caused him to grimace, but he didn't shy away from it. Struggling, he tried to sit up, but only managed an inch or so before the exertion became too much and he fell back with a small huff.

"Woah there, don't try and move so quickly," A soft voice called out to him.

Sluggishly, Kakashi turned his head to the left, taking in the sight of Naruto unceremoniously sprawled in a plastic hospital chair next to the bed. The blond's head was cocked at an angle that couldn't have been comfortable, but he seemed unbothered, his teacher’s soft snores filling the silence of the room.

Something soothing and warm ran across the back of his neck, and Kakashi tensed. He tried to turn his head in the opposite direction, but his neck was stiff, and his eyes began to feel unbearably heavy.

"Rest Kakshi-kun," The voice murmured. "We've got you. You're safe."

The darkness was a welcomed relief.

When he awoke again, Kakashi was unsure of how much time had passed, but it was now Obito and Rin who were with him in the hospital room.

"Oh, thank god!" Rin cried out, reaching to grasp his hand tightly between her own. "Finally, you're awake!"

"You look like shit man," Obito joked placing his hand on Rin's shoulder. The inky-haired male might have looked chipper, but Kakashi noted his stiffness, the awkward posture that had Obito standing ramrod straight. Leave it to an Uchiha to hide their real feelings behind insults. Kakashi must have looked horrible to make Obito apprehensive.

He grunted, licking his chapped lips while trying to sit up. The movement came more natural to him this time around, but he was still sore. Rin quickly scrambled to his side, offering her assistance. She helped him lean forward, taking a majority of his weight while Obito organized the pillows behind him so that he would be adequately supported while upright.

"How long have I been out?" Kakashi croaked his inquiry. He coughed after the use of his voice, then tried – and failed – to clear his throat.

Rin reached for the pitcher of water that was on the bedside table, pouring him a glass before she pressed it into his hand. Kakashi drank it greedily; the cold, crisp liquid was a welcomed relief. When he was finished, she plucked the cup from his grasp, refilled it, and then handed it back to him.

"You've been out for almost a week," Obito stated, answering his earlier question. "When you didn't return as scheduled, Hokage-sama sent out a two-man squad to retrieve you."

Kakashi mulled over this information for a moment before he asked, "Who found me?"

"Naruto-sensei and Sakura-chan," Rin chimed in. "You're extremely fortunate Kakashi, by the time they found you, you had already lost so much blood…" Her voice trailed off quietly, but the implication wasn't lost on anyone in the room.

"They raced to get you back here," Obito cut in, voice surprisingly subdued. "Neither of them left your side since they brought you back. Sakura-chan was the one who healed you. She stayed to observe your recovery over the last couple of days. Naruto-sensei finally dragged her out of the hospital this morning, telling her she needed to get some proper rest."

There was suddenly an odd feeling in Kakashi's chest, an awkward pang that caused him to squirm under the thin sheets of the hospital bed. He suddenly felt far too hot.

Later that day, after Rin and Obito had said their goodbyes, Kakashi realized that the uneasy feeling from earlier had nothing to do with his injuries.

-o-

When Kakashi was nineteen, he found out she liked dogs.

-o-

Naruto may not have been their teacher anymore, but that didn't stop the three of them from seeking out his advice when it came to sharpening their skills. Their ex-sensei wanted to work with them on tracking, more explicitly, tracking each other in case any emergency situations.

With Kakashi off in ANBU, Obito slowly getting sucked into his clan politics, and Rin delving into her work at the hospital, they barely had time to train with each other on a regular basis. Getting together again was a nice reprieve from the daily stresses that came with being a ninja.

They had just finished running a through a drill with Kakashi's ninken when she broke through the tree line. Immediately, all of the dogs were on guard, but at Naruto's cheerful greeting towards his best friend, they simultaneously relaxed.

"Naruto, your father is looking for you," The rosette stated during her approach. "I think he and Shishou have a mission for you."

"Ne, Sakura-chan, can't you ever bring me news that's not work related?" The blonde questioned with a whine.

Sakura chuckled but chose not to answer his pouted inquiry. Instead, she turned to regard the three younger ninjas with a smile on her face, "Hi guys! Training hard?"

"Hi, Sakura-chan!" Obito greeted, excitedly.

Rin rolled her eyes skyward, nudging her boyfriend none too gently with her elbow. "Down boy," The brunette reprimanded. "I swear you still act like you're a genin." She turned back towards the older woman with a grin. "How are you, Sakura-sama?"

The pinkette rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly at the honorific. "Rin-chan, we're not at the hospital. You don't have to address me so formally."

A small flush of embarrassment colored Rin's cheeks. "Sorry. Force of habit."

Sakura dismissed the apology wave of her hand. "Don't worry about it, were friends, after all, right?"

"Yo, Sakura-chan," Kakashi called, drawing the attention of everyone in the clearing. "If the knucklehead is leaving, do you want to take his place in the drill?"

A sudden stillness descended on the training grounds, four pairs of eyes shifting to regard him with varying levels of surprise. Though they had been on more agreeable terms since Sakura had beaten him in that spar four years prior, Kakashi still chose to interact with the older woman when only when strictly necessary.

It was a habit that he seemed to be breaking out of ever since her involvement in his stint at the hospital.

Before anyone could question the sudden change in Kakashi's demeanor, Pakkun broke free from the gaggle of canines, trotting over until he stood in front of Sakura, sniffing the air around her curiously. Whatever scent he discovered, it seemed to make him happy because suddenly, the pug's tail started wagging furiously.

"Boss!" The dog called in his usual gruff voice. "She smells just like my strawberry shampoo!"

-o-

Half a year later, they went on a mission together.

-o-

It was a simple B-Rank escort mission. A Konoha diplomat named Yuko needed to be escorted to the Fire Daimyo’s estate. There was an upcoming council meeting in the village and politicians were beginning voice their concerns to the Daimyo in hopes of gaining favor when it came to passing new regulations within Konoha. Naruto had been out on a solo mission at the time, and the only other person Tsunade trusted with this assignment was Sakura. Without a team of her own, the Hokage had selected Kakashi and Obito to go with her.

Rin, having become a prominent part of the staff in the hospital, couldn't be granted leave. It was terrible enough Tsunade had assigned Sakura to this mission; she could not afford to send two med-nins.

Everything had been going smoothly for the first half of their mission. The client was a middle-aged man who immediately took a liking to all three of them. Yuko was charming, trading lighthearted stories and cracking jokes with the trio to pass the time. Obito seemed oblivious, but Kakashi watched the older male's body language. There was something about him that didn't sit right with him, and Kakashi knew better than to ignore his instincts.

Yuko was overly touchy. Given a chance, some part of him was touching Sakura. Be it a hand on her shoulder while pointing out something in the forest, or their arms brushing as they walked along through the trees. It didn't matter how prominent the caress, he felt the need to touch her nonetheless. To be close to her at all points in time.

That in and of itself was an annoyance, but when Yuko's eyes started to stray from her face and began to linger on other parts of her body, Kakashi's jaw clenched. His frustration mounted further and further as he silently plotted ways to place himself bodily between their client and his team captain.

It was during this string of dark thoughts that they were attacked.

Obito immediately sprang into action, Sharingan pinwheels spinning as his evaded two incoming enemies. Sakura grabbed Yuko, hoisted him over her shoulder, and jumped back from the fray, securing a position in front of him to fend off any assassination attempts.

They may have been outnumbered, but their opponents were under-skilled, and the overall conflict only lasted a couple of minutes.

As the last of their enemies dropped to the forest floor, Kakashi immediately beelined for Sakura, who was trying to calmly placate a frightened Yuko as he clung to her in a fearful frenzy.

Kakashi stepped over a few of their downed adversaries on his way towards them, his desire to throttle the older male overriding his senses.

He didn't see the attack coming. One minute he was looking at Sakura's face twist into muted horror, the next, he was face down in the dirt with a body on top of him. There was a series of grunts, a shuffle of movement, followed by a massive thud.

Then silence.

"Are you alright?" Sakura asked softly, her voice pitched in an uneasy tone. The weight on top of him eased off, allowing Kakashi to sit up, charcoal eyes to taking in the scene around him. Obito was sitting on his hunches, checking the vitals of a ninja that Kakashi swore he had killed earlier. Next to him, Sakura was on her knees, breath coming out in ragged pants. Her face looked pained, brow furrowed and lips curled back in a silent snarl.

"Sakura-san!" Yuko exclaimed. "You're injured!"

"Now, Yuko-sama," She stated, airily. "There's no need to panic. Kakashi-kun, are you alright?"

At the repeat of her question, Kakashi nodded dumbly, scrambling to stand.

Her relief was palpable, a small smile curling on her blood-stained lips. "That's good…that's good," She hummed softly.

Kakashi dropped to his knees behind her, the tendons in his neck standing in attention at the sight of three kunai embedded in her back.

Those were meant for him.

"I need you to yank them out," Sakura gritted out, hands already glowing green. "The angle is too awkward for me to reach. Make sure you do it quickly. If you do it slowly, you risk the chance of making the wounds worse than they already are."

Kakashi swallowed and then suddenly, his world slowed down. He blinked once, but couldn't bring himself to move.

Seeing his teammate hesitate, Obito stepped closer to Sakura, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze. "I'll do it Sakura-chan."

The rosette nodded slowly. "On my count…one…two…three…"

The sound of her crying out in pain and the sight of her blood haunted Kakashi for the rest of the mission.

-o-

When he was twenty, they shared their first kiss…sort of.

-o-

The bar was dark and muggy, the air thick with the pungent scent of sweat mixed with alcohol.

Even in the dim lighting of the room and the throng of bodies, Kakashi could easily spot her.

Nestled between her two old teammates, head tossed back in a fit of laughter with a slight blush dusting her cheeks, Sakura Haruno was the epitome of beauty. She was the brightest person in the room, and his feet carried him towards her without a second thought.

Sasuke spotted Kakashi first, regarding him with mild curiosity. Sakura and Naruto noticed him at the same time, both turning on their stools to grace him with twin, cheeky grins.

"Kakashi-kun! What brings you here?" Sakura questioned.

Kakashi took a step towards her, awkwardly invading her personal space. Sakura blinked up at him in surprise but said nothing as she stared at him from under her lashes.

There was a long, drawn-out silence as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. An uncomfortable knot sat at the base of his throat, and his mask suddenly became stifling. For a moment he felt like he couldn't breathe.

"Kakashi? Are you okay?" Naruto asked from his perch, eyeing his former student warily.

Kakashi never took his eyes off of Sakura and after another moment of uneasy silence, he blurted out, "Go out to dinner me."

The reactions from her former teammates were immediate.

Naruto's jaw dropped in shock before he tried to collect himself, sputtering, "W-w-what did you just say?"

Sasuke showed no outward signs of his surprise, but his eyes narrowed marginally as he glared at the side of Kakashi's head.

"Are you even old enough to be in here?" The Uchiha questioned.

Sakura remained mute as she gazed up at Kakashi. She blinked once, then twice, before the corner of her mouth twitched like she was fighting back a smile.

"You do realize that I'm fourteen years older than you, right?" She inquired, tilting her head curiously to the side.

Not one to be deterred, Kakashi merely repeated, "Go to dinner with me. That is unless you're too scared to step into the ring with me?"

Hearing the same taunt she used on him all those years prior thrown back at her caused Sakura to release a bark of laughter.

Slowly, she pushed herself up from her seat and stood before him. In the back of his mind, Kakashi was pleased to note that he was taller than her and she finally – finally – had to look up at him for once.

Sakura seemed to know precisely what his train of thought was and tilted her chin up defiantly, viridian eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Well, I can say that this is the most unusual way that I've been asked on a date," She started, her tone laced with amusement. "But, if you want me to consider it seriously, meet me on your team's training grounds tomorrow morning. If you can finally beat me in a fight, then I'll go to dinner with you."

Before he could even think to respond, she leaned forward onto the tips of her toes and pressed a quick, chaste kiss to his masked cheek. "See you in the morning, Kakashi-kun!"

In the next moment, she was gone in a flurry of pink hair, lost among the crowd of patrons at the bar.

Kakashi didn't have time to bask in his giddiness. A large, calloused hand clamped down on his shoulder, and he was ungently dragged down into the seat that Sakura had just vacated.

"Kakashi," Naruto's tone was all business.

"We need to talk," finished the Uchiha.

It was a long night.

-o-

The following morning, Kakashi was beaten by a girl for the second time in his life.

Sakura went on a date with him anyway.

[kuriquinn]

Tomorrow

Blanket Fic Disclaimer

Title: Tomorrow

Rating: T

Pairing: None (mentions SasuSaku)

Summary:  Tomorrow, she will swear her oaths in front of the entire village, will have thousands witness her promise herself to the job. But tonight, she makes her vows to them.

Beta Reader: Not beta-read, check back at a later date for edits.

AN: I don’t know what the future of Boruto is going to bring, so for now I guess this fits only into my headcanon. I’ve tried to keep everything as vague as possible so that it can be considered canon for as long as possible, but we’ll see.

The night before the inauguration ceremony, Sarada does not sleep.

She stares at her bedroom ceiling, maddeningly awake, her thoughts skipping so quickly from one to the other that she can’t hold onto them. It’s as fruitless as trying to clutch a handful of sand in her fist while the grains slip between her fingers, and just as frustrating.

Eventually, she gives up and slips out of bed, pausing only briefly to lean over and press a brief kiss to the bare shoulder of her lover; there’s a low murmur of response, but Sarada remains alone in her wakefulness.

She reaches for clothing that was tossed haphazardly to one side hours before—she’s not even completely sure it’s hers, but doesn’t care to use her Sharingan to find out. Instead, she pulls on the garments and pads from the room in the light of the too-full moon.

Sarada sighs, feeling as aimless as she did when she was eight years old, and yet as world-weary as if she were eighty. The night feels too quiet to her, but somehow she also wants solitude.

If Mom were here, she’d know what to say, she thinks, because her mother always knows what to say. But Uchiha Sakura is at the hospital tonight, called in on an emergency medical procedure. It would be a simple trip across the village for Sarada to seek her out, to try to explain the growing nervousness she’s beginning to feel. And somehow, even if Mom was elbows deep in someone’s chest cavity, she would probably still smile at Sarada and offer her the same words and comfort as when she was little.

Not that I’d do that, because it would be totally unprofessional, Sarada decides. As for Dad…

She exhales sharply and shakes her head.

Even if he were here, he wouldn’t understand what she’s going through. He was never Hokage.

And much as he tried, comforting people we never his area of expertise, she adds, smiling ruefully and lightly touches her forehead.

She nods to herself, decisive. She hasn’t been a child for years now, and if she’s going to do her job properly, at some point she’s going to have to stop relying on her family as a safety net to comfort her.

She gazes out the living room window, studying the city that is lit by both moonlight and the buzzing downtown core. In the distance, a familiar building is almost dwarfed by the progress of the past decades, in front of the mountain emblazoned with familiar faces, and yet this structure is more important than all the rest.

Sarada nods to herself again, and heads for the door. If there’s any place she should be tonight, she feels like it’s that one.

サラダ

The Hokage’s office is completely empty, devoid of most evidence of its previous occupant. Technically, no one is supposed to be in here until tomorrow morning, when she is officially led in by her predecessor and symbolically handed over the seat of power, but she slips inside nonetheless.

It’s better than tossing and turning, and if anyone has a right to be here tonight, it’s Sarada. 

Though I’d better talk to the ANBU tomorrow about how easy it was to walk in here, she notes to herself.

Just because she’s as good as she is at infiltration doesn’t mean the city’s black ops should be so lax in security.

She makes a slow, quiet procession through the officer, breathing the familiar air of the room and examining cracks in the wall. She’s not sure whether they were put there by age or by Lady Tsunade. Or even her mother during spirited arguments with Uncle Kakashi or Uncle Naruto.

Or even me when Boruto was being a pain in the ass.

She smiles at the memories, able to recall with perfect clarity every moment she and her genin—and later chūnin and jōnin—teammates spent standing before the Hokage. Reaching out, she trails hands across the surface of the (unnaturally) clear desk, and traces her finger along the edge of the lone picture frame that remains on the desk.

It has been here since the tenure of Lord Sixth, and she has no intention of removing it, though her family has its own well-loved copy. She doesn’t need to look at it to know the faces within, four of the most important people in her life grinning (or scowling) up at her.

See? No need to bother any of them tonight. They’re always going to be watching over me anyhow, she tells herself as she slowly moves around the desk. She considers the chair there—a run-of the mill, squeaky and old thing that really is due for replacement—and then carefully slips into it.

Gingerly, she allows herself to relax into it, but is unable to suppress a shiver at the feel and the knowledge that after tomorrow, this will be hers.

Tomorrow.

She gives a shuddering sigh and leans forward, elbows on the desk, fingers threaded together. Resting her chin on the interlocking digits, Sarada closes her eyes and allows her thoughts to meander.

She thinks about the place of the Hokage, of what she has witnessed by her own eyes and through Boruto’s words, and Mom and Dad’s and Uncle Kakashi and Uncle Naruto’s and Grandmother Tsunade’s stories.

She thinks about the Will of Fire, and what it means. What being Hokage will mean not only to her and her family, but to Konoha. Of the life she will lead here, of the places and people and things she is giving up doing this job. As hard as it is to know there are certain things she will never experience, she knows that this job is worth that sacrifice.

But will I be enough?

Missions have brought her throughout the country, throughout the entire continent; she has seen so many walks of life, the mundane and the amazing, the ordinary and the unseemly. But is that enough experience? Will she be able to stand in the face of the unexpected, and not fall?

Something like panic lances through her.

What is she suppose to do if there’s a war, or an attack from beyond the planet, or a natural disaster that dwarfs the efforts of her and her people?

She can imagine the voices of the people crying for help and what if she’s inadequate to help them? What if one day she has to make a choice between which people to save and which to sacrifice?

What if she is expected to choose between a loved one and a stranger?

Can I make that right decision?

And even if she does, is she destined to break her heart doing it?

When Sarada opens her eyes, she feels as if the previous Kage are all looking down on her, waiting for her to answer that. In a way, they are, their portraits looming at her from across the room; Lord Second seems particularly judgemental.

Pushing back the chair with a tiny squeak, Sarada gets up and crosses the room. Standing in front of the painted portraits, she examines the faces of her predecessors. She only ever met three of these individuals, but they have all had a lasting affect on Konoha…and, somehow, on her personally.

She swallows, then squares her shoulders like Mom always does, narrows her eyes like Dad, and faces the judgement of the past. Tomorrow, she will swear her oaths in front of the entire village, will have thousands witness her promise herself to them.

But tonight, she makes her vows to them.

“Honorable Kage,” she begins, starting respectful, and then frowns, because she sounds meek and fearful and not at all like herself. She continues, a little louder. “Tomorrow I’m going to become one of you. And I know I don’t have as impressive a legacy as any of you did when you became Hokage. I’m still young, and I haven’t seen half of what any of you did in your lives.” She pauses, eyeing Uncle Kakashi and Uncle Naruto in particular. “But I think that qualifies me for this position in a way none of you ever were. Because I lived in a time of peace and safety. And I can’t think of anything that is worth more protection than that. I can’t imagine a life different from this one, and I don’t want the people under my care to have to either.”

She wets her lips, a little nervous now, and stands before Lord Hashirama’s portrait.

“I promise I will protect those weaker than I, even though it might be contrary to the will of the daimyo or even my own heart, because I am the guardian of my people first, and a politician second,” she tells his image. She knows of his strengths and weaknesses from history books and Grandmother Tsunade’s bedtimes stories, and she knows that despite the peace he engineered, his rule was not perfect. “I will not be blinded by my esteem for friends and family, and I will nominate advisors and successors based on ability and the strength of their hearts. And I will not let the fears of others the future of Konoha.”

She pauses, and then turns to the picture of Lord Tobirama.

“I will enforce the rules at all times and though I will take into account the spirit of a person’s intentions, I will punish those who do not uphold the law,” she tells him. “If I falter in this duty and break the law myself, I will submit to the judgement of the people who placed me in this office.” Then her eyes narrow, and in a less formal voice, colder tone, she says, “And I will prove you wrong about the Uchiha, and ensure the distrust that you left to spread through this village never happens again.”

She moves on to Lord Hiruzen.

“I will keep the Will of Fire burning in my heart, and use it to guide my actions and decisions, to protect all the children of our future,” she promises. “And though I will take into account the recommendations of the leading members of this community, to live in a way that honours the village and our guiding spirit, I will not pander to the fear and restrictions of tradition when it comes to person or even a family’s wellbeing.”

Her thoughts fly to what Dad and Uncle Naruto told her of their childhoods, of the isolation they felt, all of which could have been different if this man had chosen to act.

To Lord Minato, she offers a simpler, yet powerful oath.

“I will act with humanity and kindness, in the interest of people and not in the interest of power,” she tells him. “And if the time should come that I must, I will put my own life on the line to protect others, the way you did.”

Grandmother Tsunade—Lady Tsunade—looks just as imposing as in life, a crease in her eyebrows that as always, challenges Sarada to do better.

“I will never ignore a cry for help,” Sarada tells her firmly, “though I might suffer for it. The rich and the poor will be the same in my eyes, and if man or woman looks to me for salvation, I will not—can not—deny them. I will do everything in my power to help them.”

Facing Lord Kakashi, she says, “I will be bound to operate within the law and not outside of it, and will not turn a blind eye to the wrongdoings of another. Even if it comes from within the office of the Hokage, the elders of the community…or a friend or family member.”

She knows that his first months as Hokage were fraught with that exact challenge, and though he strained every loophole possible, he still adhered to the rules of the village and led with integrity. 

“At the same time,” she adds, hesitant, “I won’t forget the lessons you taught me, and my parents and Uncle Naruto before me. I will never break the trust of those precious to me.”

Standing before Lord Naruto, she can’t help but smile. Because she learned the most about what it means to be Hokage from this man.

“My honour and word are both as strong as a mountain and as fragile as glass,” she tells him. “For what I say is my bond, and stronger than any metal. But trust is easily broken and lost, and if I lose the trust of the people, I lose the privilege of leading them.” Then she smirks at him and raises her fist out before her. “I will not run away, and I will never go back on my word. That is my nindō.”

She faces him a second longer, and then turns to the eight frame; it’s empty, a blank canvas waiting to have the next face emblazoned within its borders. Sarada smiles at this, imagining the image that will one day rest there, and lowers her fist.

She pauses, mouth dry, out of breath and heart racing, as if she’s just finished a non-stop courier mission from here to Suna. Her entire frame shakes, stomach fluttering with nerves.

The silence in the offices is one of expectation and, somehow, consideration.

Is it her imagination, or does the wind that enters through the window whisper like voices of the past? The room feels too close, as if filled with people, and yet logically she knows she’s the only one there.

And then suddenly there’s a break, as if the whole room has stopped holding it’s breath, and the tension slowly drains out of her body. She can’t explain it, it’s not conscious, but for some reason it feels almost like…

It feels like approval

There’s a creak somewhere behind her, and she whirls around, Sharingan blazing to life at the possible threat, or perhaps just in reaction to being caught talking to a bunch of dead people. When she sees who it is, she pauses.

Boruto leans in the doorway, scarred and smirking in his usually roguish fashion. Behind him, Mitsuki’s eyes gleam in the moonlight, brows raised in his familiar appraising yet teasing manner.

“I figured it would be you in here,” Boruto says. “Can’t wait to get started, huh? Already showing up early for the job?”

“Someone has to,” Sarada quips, a feeling of warmth and happiness suffusing her at the sight of these two. They have laughed and fought and bled together, and for all of her promises to the previous Kage, she doesn’t think she can do her best without these two pillars of support beside her. “Remind me to bitch at you tomorrow about how easy it was to sneak in here. Some protector from the shadows you are.”

“Oi! You were supposed to be in bed, asleep! If I’m going to be keeping an eye on you, the least you could do is make it a little easier for me, believe it!”

“That would go against the nature of things,” Mitsuki says mildly. He cocks his head to one side, studying her for a moment, and then asks, “Did you find what you were seeking here tonight?”

Sarada pauses, glances back at the portraits, and then smiles.

“I did,” she says, feeling much calmer than earlier. But then she frowns. “But I still don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep tonight.”

“Ugh, there go my plans,” Boruto complains. 

They all head from the office together.

“Shall we get a hamburger, for old time’s sake?” Sarada suggests. “I don’t think I’ll have as much time for that in the future.”

“Don’t be stupid, you’ll always have time for hamburgers.”

“Are they even open at this hour?” Mitsuki wonders. “I’d prefer just a cappuccino.”

“Right, because you’re much more sophisticated than the rest of us,” Boruto complains, stretching his arms behind his head as he goes. “Forgot.”

“Well, I am.”

“You guys still drive me crazy,” Sarada sighs, closing the door of the office behind her.

Their banter fades away from the moonlit office, leaving it once more quiet and undisturbed.

Somewhere in the unseen ether, the presences that witnessed the night’s events and the oaths of an earnest young woman, muse that the future will be well-guarded indeed.

つづく

So, I don’t know what the fate of Sasuke or Naruto will be, whether either of them will die or both, so I tried to keep things vague. And I don’t really ship anyone with Sarada, so I tried to keep that open to interpretation too.

クリ

[pushpressure]

Part 7 of Sasuino Post

My post 6 pretty much went into how the marriage of Sasuke and Ino worked with Sai included to keep clan traditions still working and how it shaped the children but now I want to focus more closely to the family itself. 

Being parents:

(Ino)

(Sasuke)

(Sai)

- I just imagine Sasuke and Sai trying to be the best dads they can be because they know they are socially awkward without the best family history (Sai being adopted to become a tool by Danzo of all people and Sasuke having a loving but also verbal abusive father with a mother he wasn’t close with).

-Sai honestly thinks any child coming out of Ino is beautiful even if they aren’t his because he never saw blood as something important (Shin wasn’t his biological brother but has been that one emotionally link that prevented Sai from completely losing his heart). As a father, Sai is just careful and learns from his children as he grows into a father. Almost anything they do, anything they feel, anything they dream, he wants to know and understand why and be supportive where it was appropriate. He doesn’t punish his children immediately. He talks, lets them cool down and work out solutions.

-For Sasuke, he actually can’t help avoiding his kids due to having the anxiety that he might become someone worse than his father and that his past may influence his children into making the same stupid choices. He doesn’t want to destroy them like his clan had bought destruction upon themselves because of a lie. He knew that he had to be a father in order to restore his clan and to pass down techniques but anything else within his culture seemed toxic. His children and Inojin at first thought they did something wrong to make him dislike them, but when the partial truth is told, they feel pity. They do their best to cheer up Sasuke with gifts and lots of love like how Sai, Ino, Uncle Naruto and their friends do for them. Sasuke is always overwhelmed by their kindness and is proud to see how they recreate the clan without him being too much involved.

- Ino is basically the normal parent who treats the kids as normal kids. Scolds them when appropriate, encourages them to do their best, have fun and embarrass them, and makes sure they take their time maturing since a flower that grows too quickly won’t be prepared to adapt to their changing environment.

Now welcome to the kids (I can’t draw for the life of me and using gifs would be awkward for me, so please accept the Mega Anime Avatar Creator versions):

1. Inojin Yamanaka - Him and his canon counterpart pretty much share a lot of similarities, but this Inojin actually has siblings, so he’s a lot more thoughtful for those younger than him. He does grow up to take over the Yamanaka clan but only becomes a part timer at the Analysis team since he rather work on computer designing for video games and movies.

2. Kotsume Yamanaka (Uchiha) - Her name means otter in Japanese, and it’s a nod to itachi’s name meaning weasel. Both belong to the weasel family. She’s vibrant and sociable just like her mother, but unlike both her parents, she doesn’t like to rise to a serious challenges due to her fear of failure. She’s willing to work hard to become good at something, but doesn’t like to put it to the test without teammates. However she will rise to solving a good mystery since she is prone to curiosity and discovery that she constantly wonders off and sometimes even gets in trouble. Her life is all about spontaneity and never about the future which can be both a good and bad thing.  

- She’s born with Sasuke’s hair, and just like how Ino looks nothing color-wise like her father, Kotsume has her blue eyes but darker.

- She’s a very loving person. She accepts anyone and is sympathetic to many except for those who are abusively controlling. She’s literally someone who is easy to open up to, bring into your home, or even shop for despite just meeting. This gives her huge leverage for her mystery-solving days.

-Kotsume’s hobby is creating different things from blankets to clothes that she always brings fabric and a sewing kit with her for just-in-case purposes. She also has scrolls to summon up helpers.

- Despite being the oldest Uchiha sibling. she’s the last one to gain her sharingan until her thirties when tragedy struck for her closest friends. The sharingan has always been activated at a young age for the Uchiha clan, so no one knew that it would throw her into clinical depression since her body can’t easily adapt to the physical change, so she always takes medical pills to balance herself. 

-She’s the child who will grow up to travel the world as an artist and probably an unintentional detective.

3. Renge Yamanaka (Uchiha) - Her name means “Lotus Flower”. Ino had Sasuke pick a flower he liked so she could come up with her name. Renge takes more after Sasuke where she prefers to train and spend time alone in peace. However unlike her father who is a lone wolf who used to crave power, she was heavily influenced by Kakashi-sensei, so she’s humble with her skills. And from her mother, she shows great social skills and maturity for a leader. 

 - She is born with Sasuke’s eyes with platinum blonde hair from her mother.

- Despite her distant yet kind nature, she’s actually very vain and a clean freak. If someone does not keep their appearance to a 100% or at least bring some good character with it to put it to a 100, then she deems them to not be worth her consideration. She always makes sure her family members are properly clean after a mission and will always be the person who will wash a person’s back. Because of this, she’s the one in charge of helping Sasuke wash up after coming home.

- Her hobby is photography and also mosaic art since her favorite aesthetic is how broken things that are deemed useless can become something beautiful when bought together. She basically lives for the aesthetic that she has scrolls that’ll summon lights and all the necessary materials to give her the right look for her photos that she posts them in her anonymous blog. She’s famously the #AestheticNinja.

- She gained her sharingan at the age of fifteen when a mission went wrong and her teammate was killed. She had witnessed death before, but this death was far too sudden that the shock activated it, and her perfect fighting choreography was thrown out of balance until Kakashi and her father helped her regain it. Ino helped her progress emotionally to handle the ptsd she formed.

- She continues on to become a shinobi after graduating from being the academy. Naruto picked her to become his anbu when she enters her twenties since she continues to show her efficiency in a mission and her ability to overcome tragedy.

4. Takara Yamanaka (Uchiha) - Her name was inspired by Sasuke’s usage of hawks such as Garuda. She is by far the girliest of the Uchiha sisters and has no interest in being a ninja. Although she’s very skilled with medical ninjutsu and creating poisons like Shizune since they can come in handy if someone were to kidnap or attack her for being an Uchiha. Other than that, she rather be running the flower shop, shopping and going to the dance club with friends.

- She has black hair like her father, but she makes it wavy because it makes her look cuter. Her eyes are shaped like her father’s but the color is more like her grandfather’s eyes that were a greenish blue. This picture doesn’t show it well, but she’s the chubbiest of her family but not as chubby as Chouchou.

- She’s the closest to Ino where the two spend a ton of time together when her mother is not on a mission, that it helps her act as the mediator of her siblings. If they have a problem, she’s the easiest to approach to about this sort of thing since she has the least amount of problems and more free time. She doesn’t like being involved in drama or complicating things. She disregards making up any rivalry with any of the females despite how her mother tells her that it creates a special bond. If pushed, she will become violent but with her words, and words won’t affect her since she accepts who she is and loves herself despite her flaws unless they truly present themselves as a real problem. This does give her a distant and superficial first impression, but it just shows how well put together she is. She knows when to have embarrassing fun, when to work hard and will work with others even if it meant lowering her pride, but she won’t let anyone walk all over her. - Her hobby actually ranges from creating poisons to perfumes, shopping, and even a bit of painting like Sai and Inojin, but her main interest is pottery. Of all her family members, she has the most deft hands and the best self control which made her a natural with medical ninjutsu. She upgrades the Yamanaka flower shop into also a place to buy beautiful pottery. She also gets her siblings involved in improving the store and designing her pottery.

- Despite not wanting to be a ninja, she actually gained her sharingan at the tender age of five when Ino had been heavily injured during a mission that required surgery. The tense atmosphere and the panic of her siblings caused her to awaken it. Sasuke had helped her understand the sharingan and how to master it, but she had only ever used the sharingan if ever confronted in a serious battle which is rare since her older siblings will protect her.

- She becomes the CEO of the Yamanaka flower shop and expands its business beyond Konoha and from just selling flowers. Of course when running a business, things can become superficial with money involved, but she always try to keep things to a genuine level where she always makes the world see what she wants to make now with the best advertisements.

As for the future of the Uchiha Clan:

The Uchiha clan by name actually dissolves with Sasuke. Considering that it was the descendants of the Uchiha who took away the peace that Hagoromo worked hard to create and that Sasuke continued that line of misguided hatred.

So instead, Renge and Takara who will become mothers (Kotetsu has no interest in being a parent) will change their last name together to create the new Sannai clan. Sannai is a combination of the kanji Yama (山) from Yamanaka and Uchi (内) from Uchiha. It can mean the same as Yamanaka: In the mountains, but it can also mean within the grounds of a temple.

Renge acts as the leader of the clan, where she teaches her and Takara’s children about the history of the sharingan, the importance of humility, love and teamwork. 

The Sannai clan would continue to expand with those teachings but some will integrate with other clans inside and outside Konoha, and thus incidentally, it kind of forms into its own belief system like Taoism that openly teaches only the basics of the Yamanaka clan’s telepathic technique so people could connect in a deeper level. 

And just like its namesake, temples are created for the clan within the mountains that’s open for anyone who wish to learn about it. Of course, it doesn’t disconnect itself from the world. They take world matters to the temples, and like an appropriate school, create a ton of debates and create leaders who will try to do something about the problem without the use of dictatorship. 

Their main goal is to instill the true feeling of love that isn’t run by obsession or lust. They also try to make people tolerant of each other despite having different opinions that could be insulting. 

It’s basically a great place for people with emotional issues to go to.

So that’s what I wanted to state. I know not many are charmed with OC children but these three have been knocking in my head. 

So Thank You for reading! 

[elsakey]

Boruto Ep. 18- What I Liked

Lemme tell you that I was totally excited for some Uzumaki family time today, and this episode did not disappoint!!

1. Naruto eating at Ichiraku Ramen with his son

I loved this because you could tell simply by Boruto’s initial reaction how important this is to him. He was earlier ruminating on how his father being Hokage meant that he didn’t have a lot of time for the family anymore, and though this simple outing took him by surprise, he definitely wasn’t opposed to it.

This part of the episode also did a good job of subtly highlighting the troubles between Naruto and Boruto. As mentioned in an earlier episode, Naruto is a bit unsure on how to be a true father to Boruto. This is not only because of the demands of his position as Hokage, but also because he has so little experience with being fathered himself at Boruto’s age. 

It also could be that Boruto’s adolescence may be proving a puzzling problem for him. (I know as a big siser I was having trouble on how to relate to my own siblings when they were getting Boruto’s age and older- I can only imagine what parents go through!!) And then there is the suspicion that he doesn’t know his son as well as he’d like to.

As for Boruto, I think some of his frustration comes from the act that Naruto insists on treating him like a kid, and yet he has to deal with the very mature realization that Daddy can’t be there for him all the time. This was somewhat touched in the movie novelization too--Boruto understood that his dad couldn’t always be there for him, he understood that the mature thing to do was to just deal with it, but he still couldn’t help the pain and anger he felt. It’s almost a ‘I want to be treated like an adult, but I don’t want to be an adult’ kind of mentality, IMO.

So the slight awkwardness of this dinner really helped highlight the problems they have, which will be resolved during the time of the movie. 

Plus, it was amusing how a) Boruto was so tsundere about spending time with his dad, b) Naruto was the pot calling the kettle black (”You need a more balanced diet!”), c) Naruto actually told his son about his and his mom’s first date there (!!!), d) Hinata as the Queen of Gluttony. YAAAAAS. HER EATING SKILLZ ARE CANON!!

This dinner really was a major highlight of the episode for me.

2. The Uzumaki Family taking care of HImawari

It was precious how this family is dedicated to their littlest sunflower. Boruto really is a wonderful big brother. I also liked how pleasantly surprised he was when Naruto came home early to tend to his daughter.

Plus, that fight between rice porridge and hamburger steak?? HAHAHA Naruto and Boruto were both two mischievous lads there! And Hinata was boss in how she gently repimanded both of them. “Now you made your mother mad.” HAHAHA oh Naruto.

3. Day of Hokage flashback

The main thing I liked about this flashback was the new stuff they put in. I was seriously amused at how Naruto’s friends got him wasted the night before his inauguration ceremony. It was nice to see how Hinata was taking care of him, and that Boruto had stayed up the night before to see his daddy come home.

Plus I never saw Naruto’s face that red lol.

(AND I got more Shikamaru & Naruto brotp moments I will take everything I get, thank you!)

Other Stuff:

- I admit I wish that there wasn’t so much of the recap of the OVA, if only because I wanted more new stuff (guess I’m greedy haha). 

- SO next episode starts the Sarada adventure! I’m more looking forward to seeing all the kids interact with their dads than anything else. (Sorry fam, but you know I’m not much of an Uchiha fan...unless their name is Sarada. Plus the Gaiden was boring to me when they tried inserting another ‘Sharingan clone’ enemy alongside baby mam drama and...yeah. Bad taste in my mouth.)

 But bring on the different dads interacting with their kids! Can’t wait for Sai/Inojin and Shikamaru/Shikadai and Naruto/Boruto especially.