#is that Shino's actual love of insects becomes just his own thing

[lexpressobean]

The thing about writing fanfiction for me is that once I start a multi-chapter fic (tho I've only ever posted a grand total of 2 ever lol both still unfinished rip OTL) I apparently never brainstorm enough. Or too much! 'Cause by nature I live for "what ifs" and it's wrecking me lol, I can't move on...! But this is a Modern AU setting and now I can't stop developing Shibi and Shino in a general sense (and Shibi's involvement is very minor compared to other characters too like I need to chill??) But I guess this goes for my Modern AU in general, so here's are some thoughts no one asked for!

One big HC I have is that Shibi is a well renowned musician, and Shino also has a lot of talent in music as well. This is because in my head, though Aburame and their hive can communicate to some degree, they're also known to be affected by their respective Aburame's emotions. And they audibly buzz and get excited by it all and I seemed to unfailingly liken all that to vibrations, like of musical sounds, and then it kinda leads up to that fidgeting a person might do when they get very emotional or passionate but can't voice it because they need to stay quiet or simply don't know how to talk about something. In general I think both Shibi and Shino are decent enough communicators when it matters, but they ARE pretty quiet people. And I feel like one of the best ways to release and express otherwise pent up emotional tension and energy is by straight up blasting music to drown out everything else. And it feels even MORE satisfying by the end of it when you're the one who was actually putting out the notes!! Anyone can make noise, but truly inspired music is such a trip! Every single note accounted for (even the "rest" notes!!) symbolizes 1 kikaichu and so just the idea of being able to read and produce music and bringing it all to life just makes complete sense to me and fills me with serotonin when I think about Father/Son jamming sessions between them...!!!

more specific nonsense under the cut because idk how to shut up lol

And! And despite this being a Modern AU HC thing, it looks like Shino's actually been shown to semi(?)canonly play an electric guitar, and I've become fond of the idea of Shibi's first instrument being a bass guitar too~

Of course if that's the case, OBVIOUSLY Shibi would be a multi-instrumentalist. Obviously. And what I've been thinking is that by the time Shino is an adult. Shibi'd be a seasoned Film Score Composer. I feel like unless you're quite the music or movie fan, or work in the business, you probably aren't gonna be super into the composers in comparison to the actors and directors that work on the same movie lol So to the general public, Shibi Aburame isn't a name that brings out stars in anyone's eyes. But if you know, you know, and boy does Shibi have his work cut out for him. He's in demand for lots of those box office hits.

Also YES Shibi can sing, and he knows it, the man isn't the least bit shy to acknowledge it! But he never committed singing as a major part of his career as much as playing because that's just the kind of guy he is. These days he won't sing unless it serves a purpose in brainstorming for his next project or if he's in the privacy of his car/home, but even then it's more just soft but super accurate harmonizing on his part to a radio or stereo or whatever. But if Shino ever needed comforting, especially as a small child, he'd never hesitate to lull Shino back into calm with songs that he either liked or maybe made up together if the situation was appropriate. And ocassionally he'll start to sings at Shino as a means to annoy his son because why talk when you can sing to get your point across?? He's not always a serious guy, sometimes he can get soft too...!

Shino? Can also sing and play well without much effort at all. Though Shino didn't take it up as a career like Shibi did, and not as many instruments, Shino is definitely his father's son and is just as musically inclined. He could've if he wanted to but found he a had a strong preference to percussion and string specifically, and even then prefered plucking and strumming versus bowing strings, but his favorite bowed string is a cello! And being part of the newer generation, he might mess around with a laptop software/button pad/launchpad if he's feeling particularly inspired or wants to challenge himself a little more. But his bestest baby is the first electric guitar he bought on his own ;o;

Shino is more likely to sing at any given time in comparison to Shibi, but he's still usually alone, whether wiping off the board after class, doing chores, or maybe grading papers. Kiba and Hinata have both caught him doing so since they first met him, and Hinata compliments his talent when she does, but Kiba starts to dis his choice of music when he realizes Shino sings a lot older or obscure music "like a fucking hipster!" Shino doesn't dis Kiba's personal taste in music as much as disses Kiba for his lack of open mindedness and it makes Kiba rethink everything when Shino is able to play the melody of every song Kiba throws at him the first time he comes over to his house. Shino is very eclectic in his taste of music, but some of Shino's favorite genres for singing are indie pop, blues (especially older ones), and the occasional toned down but no less accurate musical number or power ballad just imagine him whisper singing fcking "Jukebox Hero" while he's scribbling notes vvvvrrmm.

Unlike Shibi or Shino, Torune isn't so big on making music as he is listening and writing poetry/lyrics DON'T TELL ANYONE SHHHH FCKIN SH. It's not that he doesn't have talent, he can also sing rather well and owns karaoke night, he is karaoke king! It not quite a discipline problem as it is a drive thing as he never seriously touched more than two instruments. He can manage about 4 chords on guitar, just enough to impress, but oddly enough he was drawn to and became terribly enamored with Shibi's vibraphone. He studied that thing profusely and whenever he comes back to visit from college and after, he always comes back to it and plays it as if he never skipped a day of practice. Will probably own his own vibraphone at some point for sure! So scratch that, it's simply a Family Jam Session I guess!

Idk, I'm ranting again lol

[kankuroplease]

Can you tell us more about Katsura and her relationships with Shino? :)

Well this came out longer than expected BUT it is sectioned (not proof read, so oops). Hope you enjoy 🖤

About Katsura

For starters, she’s very aware that she’ll never be this great kunoichi. She’s not from a major clan that has special techniques, her chakra is barely above average, and her size is a disadvantage.

So to compensate for what she sees as short comings; She trains, studies, and tries to keep up with her teammates/not be a burden.

Will train with her sister even past her team training exercises.

Katsura is very logical about things. There’s always a logical explanation or way of handling things.

Loves writing and will carry a notebook to write in wherever she may go.

She also enjoys dressing up just because on her off days.

Doesn’t want anyone to look at her though. It’s annoying and uncomfortable to her when people she doesn’t know pay her too much attention.

She isn’t proud of it, but she has played dumb and showed some skin to get information on missions. It’s amazing how idiotic some people are over cleavage 💀

Very envious of civilians with soft hands and has definitely invested in creams to try and help with her callouses

She has been helping at her grandparents bakery from time to time for as long as she can remember.

Its one of the reason she bakes so much. She doesn’t want to get rusty~ the other is it seems to make her friends happy.

Never had a crush before Shino and just assumed she wasn’t capable of feeling like that. Genuinely curious how people can just develop crushes on people they don’t really know.

Gets really excited when one of the beetles she raises does well/finds a mate. Like she is so proud of her beetle-companion.

Also gets very upset if it gets flung off a branch by its competitor or mate. She will pout and try to soothe said beetle-companion.

Beyond ticklish. Tries to hide it but even the slightest playful touch of her neck will have her laughing and snorting.

Touch starved, honestly. Will never admit it but she loves hugs. They make her feel warm and fuzzy.

She doesn’t remember her mother at all because she was so young when she passed away, but she still will visit her grave to ask her to watch over her father. He’s getting old and he’s still a recluse.

Absolute morning person and likely to want to crash before 8 pm if she’s not on a mission

Poisonous~ no but fr, she’s crafted her own poison to coat her sword in

Her sword is her baby. Custom made just for her by her father. No one is allowed to handle it for the previous reason.

How It Started

When she met Shino, it was simply by chance. Her dad told she was small but strong like a beetle.

And unfortunately, the beetle he compared her too got away before she could observe it and collect information on it properly.

So she went searching for her escaped beetle and ran into Shino.

Who told her he had no seen that bug but told her where can probably find one.

She was highly insulted but her father raised her not to let her emotions take control of her actions

So she let it go (sort of) and followed his advice. Which did lead her to her first pet beetle

After that, she made a point of saying hi or waving to Shino whenever she’d see him around for helping her out.

And they built a friendship over the years and all was fine with the world. They’d go bug hunting and Shino became someone she really respected and enjoyed talking to.

She could listen to him talk about insects all day because he sort of lights up and his knowledge was pretty impressive

And his voice is nice too~

Also, she really liked his dad too. He was so kind and even accepted cookies she had baked for Shino before realizing he was on a mission.

She totally loves Shinos bugs (before she realized she loved Shino)! even asked their names. Not that she would remember all of them or even recognize one from the other, she was just very curious about these special little guys.

It took the coming of war for her to realize just how much Shino actually meant to her.

And she didn’t expect to survive the war either. So she put all her feelings in an origami beetle that she gave to Shino.

It wasn’t like anyone unfolds them anyways, so it’s safe.

But by some miracle, they both survive.

Now she’s blushing heavily whenever he’s around because ‘oh no’, yes she’s always been aware his conventionally good looking but this feeling keeps growing and now his looks are a burden on her heart and mind

She was honestly pretty embarrassed about that origami beetle he still has sitting a little too close to light for her comfort.

All it would take is for him to look at it in the light to see her confession and she’s not even supposed to be alive to face this possibility.

Tried asking her father what he liked about her mother and none of that matched her (soft figure and extroverted bubbly personality) and Aori gave her ‘the talk’ while completely red faced.

And once she told her teammates, they basically told her to stop being a chicken and just tell him how she feels.

now Katsura does find that just telling him would be the most logical thing to do… but it’s easier said than done.

What if he doesn’t feel the same? Can they still be friends?

Shino pricked up on her not so subtle changes in behavior and wasn’t sure what to make of it.

She’s standing closer, stealing glances when she thinks he’s not looking, jumping a bit when he’d call her name, blushing and losing train of thought whenever their hands accidentally brush, etc.

He’s almost certain he knows what all this means, but maybe it’s just wishful thinking?

Katsura has always smiled easily for him and never seemed to forget him no matter how long it took for them to see each other again.

Maybe it was the way she always was so proud to show him her latest beetle she nurtured from larval or how she seriously always told his beetles to take care of him for her before any missions no matter how small.

Perhaps it was the fact that she always told him she thought he was amazing

Maybe it was the way they both could comfortably enjoy each other’s company without words

Or maybe the way she fussed over the children’s novel she was writing.

The way she always made sure other acknowledged him in group settings by mentioning him or asking him questions.

Her snorting laugh that she’s so embarrassed about had grown on him too. Also made it easy to find her

But at some point he’d developed a crush of his own, so it would be great if she felt the same.

It’s not until Kiba discovers the origami beetle and ask who gave him the love letter

Shino’s like… love letter?

Kiba holding it up to the light so Shino can faintly see the writing in it.

Kiba guesses it’s probably from that mean little thing that always seems to be around Shino these days. In fact, he’s pretty sure it’s her because of the faint scent still on it.

Shino looks calm on the surface but inside, Shino.exe has stopped working. Some quite a few bugs are escaping and kiba is cackling because he f**kin’ KNEW IT!!

Now they’re both acting strangely with each other trying to figure out their timing but what better timing than during one of their forest walks?

Shino waits until they’re absolutely alone (None of his bugs spotted Katsura’s nosy teammates) and Katsura is distracted by if her beetle is ready to find a mate/leave home.

She’s humming to herself that this one doesn’t seem to want to leave when Shino murmurs he can’t blame the little guy. He wouldn’t want to leave her side either.

Queue Katsura turning red and telling him not to joke like that, because she might get the wrong idea.

He tilted his head before asking her why would joke about that? He likes her, and the rest was a blur as her heart was beating too loud to hear everything he said outside of the end of his confession.

Of course she said yes too loudly and then asked him to repeat what he said because she wants to know remember his words forever 🥰

Them as a couple

Once they become official, nothing much changes honestly

They still go on bug hunts and walks in the forest, but will to hold hands while doing these things now.

Shino isn’t into too much PDA of course, but he doesn’t mind her cuddling up to him in private. In fact he welcomes it.

Katsura is the first one to say ‘I love you’ and she’s not shy about saying it.

Will leave him notes to read each day if either one of them has a particularly long mission. (they are numbered and yes she expects him to wait and read them)

He’s also been the subject of several questionable dishes because baking is her thing, not cooking. She is very sorry, Shino.

They both decided she should to stick to cookbooks for awhile after the last random dish

Garden picnics are something they both enjoy whenever their schedules allow and Katsura actually knows how to prepare foods for such an occasion

Shino will have a few more butterflies than normal join them because he knows it will make her smile.

Took them awhile to share a passionate kiss because, they’re both patient types and were waiting on the other to take the lead

But once they did and she heard his beetles buzzing— and he sighed against her lips that was it, she practically jumped on top of him and then apologized profusely later

Shino knows she’s capable, but will still get things down from higher shelves for her.

Katsura loves tracing shapes in Shino’s palms and can/will fall asleep holding his hand. His hands are always so warm and calming to her

She knitted them matching sweaters for winter because she really liked the idea. They didn’t turn out perfect but Shino wore his anyways and made her whole day!

Shino was very supportive of Katsura retiring to take a bigger role at her grandparents bakery and pursue writing. It’s something she always enjoyed and he’s ngl, the thought of them having more time together made him happy.

Katsura was also very supportive of Shino becoming a sensei! What a cute job and she could get intel of what kids may be interested

Both of them would still rather eat at home but will go with their friends. Katsura is more likely to convince Shino it’s good to socialize every once in awhile… although if he wants her to be more selfish with him, she will gladly do so~

Overall just a really sweet couple that’s over the moon about each other 🖤

[spellcasterlight]

Yo! Hope you’re good! Just a funny moment that popped into my head this morning.

The thought of Shibi having to give Shino the talk about “safe sex” when Shino starts dating Tenten.

And Shino’s face just being: H-how d-did..😳🤭

And Shibi shrugging: I may be old, but my ears still work

Oh, the double speak Shibi could do, just to embarrass his son. 😂😂

Hi Loveable Lion Anon! 😊

I’m gooddddddddddddd! I hope you are too! ❤️

Oh, my goodness this actually (kind of) falls into an idea about standard kunoichi birth control I was having and wrote into a current WIP (weird thought right?) 😂

I laughed so hard at this mental image! I kind of image it going something like:

Shibi: “Shino I wish to speak to you about; Tenten; and your; advancing; relationship.”

Shino: *Long winded speech about how he loves Tenten, and knows it’s right, and that he’s ready and that they don’t need to talk about it*

Shibi: “We still need to; speak; about it.”

Shino: “...But I do not; wish; to...”

I’ve already written down notes for a full one shot because this will be both a brilliant and a hilarious story! 😂

Putting the rest of my answer under the cut simply because of the length of the answer!

So I made some notes for my own personal birth control headcanon that will go into a story I’m working on!

"I do not have; because; I have never done; anything; like that before I do not; have..."

Tenten leaned more into his side. "Protection?"

"Yes," Shino's entire form deflated with relief, as his fingers came up to run through just the tips of her hair. "Yes; exactly."

The Aburame looked openly confused when the weapons mistress actually laughed combined with an understanding noise.

"Ohhhhh! You don't know?" Shino only look more perplexed. "Has Hinata never told you?"

"I guess she might have been pretty embarrassed about it when she was a Genin," Tenten smiled knowingly before explaining. "When kunoichi graduate from The Academy, when we officially become active shinobi, we start yearly birth control. You get an injection once a year, you have a wicked fever and really painful cramps for a few days but then you can't get pregnant for nearly a full year."

Shino looked down at the floor, absorbing the information, running his thumb absentmindedly over her bare arm.

"I; marvel; at the medical possibility," he complimented in such a Shino type way it made her grin. "But is that not slightly; extreme?"

Her smile faltered for a second before she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"There's bad people out there Shino, you know that. Bad people do bad things; especially against women and children," the hand, previously gently resting on her arm, gripped her so tight in the blink of an eye. "It's not a perfect world but that's what we're trying to change right?"

She felt his head lean on top of hers.

"I guess I have been; sheltered; that way. Forgive me; I did not even; think; of that possibility."

"Hey," Tenten raised her head making the insect tamer raise his own, her hand came up to cup his cheek, he looked so sorry, like he had done something wrong. "It didn't occur to you Shino because you're a good guy," she leant in to place a gentle, affirming, kiss to his lips, the hand on her arm came up to slide against her jaw, holding her to him. "Don't apologise for being one of the good guys."

Thanks for the cool ask! ✨

[darkdevasofdestruction]

My Clarity ~ Shikamaru x Kitsune

A little fic in which Shikamaru isn’t the only kid who gets advice from his dad through Shogi.

Honestly tho, I’m in my exam session, 9 exams, thankfully, only 2 more to go next week, and I have a burning urge to re-watch all of Naruto for some reason, and my love for this beautiful Deer boy resurfaced very VERY powerfully.

Oops.

Little fox, little fox, what are you hiding behind that sly, cheerful smile of yours?

Little fox, little fox, why are you all alone?

Little fox, little fox, what's going on through your mind?

Little fox, little fox...Do you wanna play?

---

Shikamaru always knew there was something off with the red haired girl in his class -

She just seemed too perfect. 

She was beautiful, she was smart, she was talented, she was kind, she was helpful, she was selfless..

And his parents were best friends with her parents, so they would often meet up for play dates and whatever.

No matter how much he tried to avoid her like the plague, she didn’t give up, and whenever he asked her why the hell she wanted to hang out with him so bad, she’d just say

“Because I like you, little fawn.”

That stupid nickname, that soon turned into “Deer boy” irked him big time...But in a way...

He was the only one to whom she gave nicknames, so he felt kinda special.

Actually, he was the only one with whom she actually seemed completely genuine...So maybe he should actually enjoy it?

Yeah, why not, right? 

She’s not so bad, after all, and if he gets to learn something form her, all the better!

----

“Scrub it off. Clean it off. Take it off. Claw it off. Rip it off. Saw it off. Carve it off. Rinse it off. Wash it off. Cut it off –“ the obsessive mutterings went on and on like grating. She was trembling, not even realizing her cheeks were soaked, not from the rain, but from the tears her beautiful green eyes that now resembled a rainforest, were producing.

 What was going on? This can’t be happening…This was supposed to be a simple mission with her dad and her dad’s best friend…It was just a B mission at most…How could things escalate this much?

 Being a ninja, she knew things are dangerous and would put you in impossible situations…That you can even lose your life or your friends and comrades…But…

Why now…? Why so soon…?

She’s barely 10 years old…She wanted to go on this mission to see how beautiful the world outside the Country of Fire is…But this…?

 “Scrub it off. Clean it off. Take it off. Claw it off. Rip it off. Saw it off. Carve it off. Rinse it off. Wash it off. Cut it off –“ she continued rambling, standing there, on her knees, on the wet grass, all muddy, all bloody, not having moved from there for at least a whole hour, so much that she almost thought she started growing roots into the ground.

 “Scrub it off. Clean it off. Take it off. Claw it off. Rip it off. Saw it off. Carve it off. Rinse it off. Wash it off. Cut it off –“ she went on and on and on with no stopping, with no equivalent of time and space, of self, of body, of identity. She was lost. She was not only broken, but completely shattered. She was blank.

 “Kitsune, that’s enough. Snap out of it. He’s dead. We have to get out of here before the enemies find us. We’ve been here enough.” the man who was her dad’s best friend went on his knees in front of her and grasped her wrists, pulling her hands away from her eye sight so she will stop looking at her father’s blood. “He’s not…He’s not…He can’t be…He can’t…He won’t…He wouldn’t…Leave me…No…He’s just…R-Resting…Don’t mess around with me…” instead of focusing on her hands that were painted with clotted blood, her eyes were now in the vision of the body laying in a pool of its own blood, its chest being cut to access the heart. “I know it’s impossible to accept this, but your parents wouldn’t want you to die here because you froze up. Let’s go home. We’ll get his body in a scroll and I’ll arrange for a funeral.” the man tried to reason with the child, who, in turn, moved for the first time since the incident. “HE’S NOT FUCKING DEAD! STOP LYING TO ME, SHIKAKU, HE’S NOT DEAD!!! HE CAN’T BE DEAD! HE’S NOT! I HEALED HIM! I RESTARTED HIS HEART! HE’S NOT DEAD! I DIDN’T LET HIM DIE! HE’S TOO STRONG TO DIE! HE WOULDN’T LEAVE ME AND MUM! I’M TELLING YOU, HE’LL GET UP ANY MINUTE NOW! I DID EVERYTHING BY THE BOOK! JUST AS THE MEDICAL NINS TAUGHT ME! I DID NO MISTAKE! I DID NOTHING WRONG! I’M SURE!” the red haired girl lashed out at the man, shrieking so loud that her throat felt raw, almost bleeding, her emotions pouring down harder than the rain as she shook hit the man’s chest and shoulder, but he could only look at her with pity in his dark eyes, almost imagining his own son, should that have been him on the ground. “It’s not your fault, Kitsune. You did everything you could, but sometimes, there is nothing anyone can do. Some injuries are so severe that they can’t be healed, even if you are the most skilled healer. It wasn’t your fault, it was the enemies’ fault.  I promise you.” the Nara put the ANBU captain’s corpse in a scroll and picked the girl up, running back to the village and reporting to the Hokage.

 The girl was lost, had no idea what to say, what to do, what to feel – Not when Shikaku was explaining what happened to the Hokage, not when he broke the news to her mum, hell, not even when she was staring at a beautiful picture of the three of them together, at his funeral.

 No children were allowed at the funeral, as per her request – She didn’t want any pity, and she wanted to give no explanations.

She wanted nobody involved. Things were bad enough as they were.

So the only people from the school who knew were the teachers.

Not Shikamaru, not Hinata, not Sasuke, not Shino…

Nobody.

Definitely nobody.

 Her dad wasn’t dead, after all.

She didn’t kill him.

She did everything she was taught to do.

She did the cardiac massage, she was sure she felt his heart pumping again, she definitely saw him breathing…

…Right?

She did, didn’t she?

She didn’t imagine it, right?

She didn’t try to get his heart to pump again when he was already irreversibly dead…

…Right?

  ----

The little red haired girl smiled dazzlingly at the children in her class, who were also her friends. She knew she was the most popular girl in the whole Academy, but she didn't let it bother her, or change the way she behaved with everyone - Everyone was equal in her eyes, even if they were obnoxious or annoying - And in turn, she got invited to everyone's birthday parties or hang outs, and so on.

But most of the time, she couldn't go to those hang outs because she was constantly training with her parents to become an excellent ninja, and in the future, a member of the ANBU - It wasn't only her dream, but her parents jobs too.

ANBU captains

What greater honour could there be?

While other 10 year olds were playing around, she was hanging around adults, learning how to perfect her fighting styles, ninjutsu and genjutsu, but not only -

She wanted to learn medical ninjutsu, she wanted to help people, to save them, for all the times she heard all those scary stories from her parents and their friends...How they lost people, comrades, partners, friends...Because in the Great War, there was barely any medical ninja around to save them...

She couldn't allow that to happen - Not on her watch.

"Okay, class. Today, we are going to do a team activity, and we need 2 captains. Who wants that position?" Iruka-sensei asked his class, and, as expected, most of the kids nominated Kitsune, while Sasuke, Naruto and Kiba wanted to be captains themselves, and Sakura and Ino nomitated the Uchiha. This class' dynamic was always the same, and in a way, this exhausting routine was sort of comforting for the red haired fox-like girl. "Kitsune, Sasuke, step forward. As Kitsune was nominated by the most of you, she will choose first."

"I choose Shika!" in front of the class, the girl with sparkling green eyes grinned enthusiastically as she extended her arms in front of her, as a way of cordially inviting the friend she cherished the most, despite all the gasps of shock she received.

"Sh-Shikamaru? Kitsune, why not choose me first?! I'm so much stronger than that guy who just sleeps all day and is too lazy to move!" Naruto yelled at her, but she merely sweat dropped and chuckled awkwardly.

"But Shikamaru is the smartest in this class and I believe we get along very well. When forming a team, you don't have to always get the ones who are more energetic or physically stronger, but the best strategists and those with whom you can create a perfect synergy and your abilities and skills compliment each other. Having Shika on my team means that we're definitely going to win against Sasuke's team!" the girl shrugged casually, ending her explanation with a sly, incredibly fox-like smirk - One that screamed 'Victory'.

"Uh...Thanks for picking me, I guess." Shikamaru awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, before muttering his usual catch phrase "What a drag..."

Sasuke glared at the girl, despite knowing very well there was barely anyone with any kind of potential in this class, but he got around to choosing Kiba. Then, Kitsune chose Shino, while Sasuke got Choji. Kitsune got Hinata and Sasuke could barely stop himself from facepalming, but chose Sakura. Grinning at the brunet captain, Kitsune chose Ino, so Naruto was stuck with Sasuke - It was the perfect plan.

The two groups went out in the forest, in the opposite parts, and had 15 minutes to come up with a plan to steal the Captain's bandana.

"First of all, I'd like to apologise to Shika for not being able to get Choji as well. I know that the Ino-Shika-Cho formation is incredibly powerful, and that the three of you would have had an amazing synergy, but there's that. However, I'm happy that we have Shino with us, I'm sure the insects are going to scare off both Sakura and Naruto...Which reminds me, Naruto an Sasuke are going to work against each other most of the time. With Shikamaru and I as the strategist, Hinata’s Byakugan and the maturity and knowledge of Shino and Ino, we are going to make the perfect team. Besides…Ino, if you show off how strong you are, and you beat Sakura in the process, I’m sure you’re going to impress Sasuke!” Kitsune clapped her hands together, charming all of her team mates, as per usual. “Oh, but Sakura doesn’t stand a chance! She will swoon over Sasuke-kun all the time and will be completely useless! That Naruto will screw everything up for Sasuke-kun and will be loud enough to give away their position, and I’m sure he’ll argue with everyone, especially Kiba. And Choji eats all the time, I doubt he’ll do much, especially if he sees how everyone argues among themselves and does nothing good. He’s a pacifist, y’know.” Ino grinned condescendingly as she berated almost everyone in the enemy team. “Very well, then I will tell you my plan, and when I’m done, I’d like you to tell me your insight and how to perfect it, if you have any ideas. The main idea is to distract Sasuke while Shika uses his shadow to immobilize Sasuke, so I can steal away the bandana. Ino, you have to stay away from Sakura, so you won’t bicker. I need your Mind Transfer jutsu. Hinata, your Byakugan will be detrimental in finding out everyone’s location, and I have faith in your fighting abilities. Shino, of course, apart from the fact that I’m sure your insects are going to scare away some of those guys, you are a very strong fighter and very intelligent as well.” Kitsune explained simply, and everyone seemed to nod in agreement. “Actually, I think Ino, Hinata and Shino should stay together, at least in the beginning. Ino can incapacitate one person for a short amount of time, so if she stops Sasuke, I can catch him in my shadows, and you can steal away the bandana, while Shino and Hinata fight the others. Those two are sensory types, so they can find out everyone’s positions and the bugs can guide us to them.” Shika pointed out, which made the red haired girl widen her eyes at him in shock for a few seconds, only to grin widely and almost literally glow in happiness. “You’re the best, Shika! It’s always so great hanging out with you! Come on, 15 minutes passed, let’s go and win this!” she cheered to hype the others up, and it worked well enough, and it seemed to give them a little boost of confidence.

 And so, they went to the middle of the forest while Hinata and Shino searched for the enemies – Who they easily found – And Kitsune and Shikamaru split up around Sasuke in a pincer formation. Just as planned, Naruto easily gave away his position, so Shino and Hinata went to fight or scare away Sakura and the others who went down faster than expected, considering they were all split up, not in groups.

When Sasuke was the last one standing, Ino used her Mind Transfer jutsu on him, Sasuke immobilized him and the fox girl stole away the bandana.

 However, just as they were making their escape, Sasuke got out of his immobilized state and went to attack the group – The fox girl gave shadow boy the token of victory and told him to take the team away and make their escape, while she quickly beat the Uchiha and went back to them, only to see the Nara didn’t actually go with the others, but returned to make sure she was okay.

 “Very well played, everyone. Now, the 2 captains, shake hands, and you can all go home for today.” Their teacher smiled at them, while also pointing out the obvious problems in the other team. “Hey, about about we go to the BBQ place to celebrate our win?” Ino asked, smiling triumphantly. “We can invite Sasuke too, since he tried his best, but he didn’t have a team.” Was her plan, and everyone seemed to agree – Of course, the other team wanted to join as well, so there was that, but…

“Oh, uh-uhm…S-Sorry, but I can’t come. I, uh…My parents and I are pretty busy today, haha. But I hope you have fun for me as well! Take care, guys, see ya tomorrow!” Kitsune chuckled awkwardly, rushing to go home and train with her parents.

 However, she didn’t come to school the next day. Or the one after…Or the whole week, for the matter.

She was absent for almost 2 whole weeks, for the matter.

Until she wasn’t anymore.

But when she returned, she was as radiant as always.

For those who weren’t as observant as Shikamaru, that is…

What was he supposed to do, anyway? Go and confront her? No way, that would be a drag…And besides, if she wanted to talk, she’d come to him…Or someone, right?

 The biggest shock of his life was, however, to come home one day from school and finding a certain red haired girl playing Shogi with his own father, and they seemed to be very comfortable with each other? And they were smiling?

“Hey, Shika! Welcome home! Oh, you got here just in time, I and your mum managed to finish cooking earlier! Go and eat something, you don’t want the food to get cold, right?” Kitsune waved at him, smiling sweetly, but the boy could only stare at both of them, incredibly confused, his eyebrows raised so far up that they almost got into his hairline. “Wh-What are you doing here? Dad, what’s going on? Why are you playing Shogi with Kitsune?” the poor boy asked, his head almost snapping from going back and forth. “Oh, w-well…I was pleasantly impressed with your intelligence and strategy, so I came here to praise you to your dad! Also, my mum said she always enjoyed learning and playing Shogi with him, so I thought I’d give it a shot too! You should have heard her, honestly, Shikaku beat me again at Shogi, you should have seen the new stunt he pulled today! It was completely revolutionary, we could totally use it in our next mission!” Kitsune laughed lightly, trying to calm the boy down a bit. “You have to be careful, son, she might just win against you if you slack off too much.” Shikaku teased his son, who could only groan and leave to eat. “Tsk…What a drag…Troublesome woman…” the boy muttered, leaving the place that got immediately much darker. “You can stay for dinner, Kitsune. We can call your mother as well, if you want. I doubt she’d have been up to cooking anything after what happened.” the Nara sighed deeply, crossing his arms and looking attentively at the frail girl in front of him, who may as well be close to shattering. “N-No…I-I…I couldn’t…Do this to her…I’m afraid…Something’s coming…Something incredibly bad…If I’m not there, who knows what will happen…Uhm…Thanks for today, Shikaku. I appreciate it. And he would have as well. See you tomorrow.” She got up and left the place in a hurry, going back home.

However, as soon as she opened the door, she called out to tell her mother…Who didn’t answer. Worried, the red haired girl went to the kitchen, hoping to do some cooking for her mother, who may have been still resting in her room…

But the sight in front of her shook her to the core, for the rest of her life… And since then, the last thing Shikamaru saw of her was her fox necklace that she left over to Shikaku the next day she went for a Shogi play.

He hated to admit it, but this woman…This woman, he actually missed, but no matter how much he pestered his father for an answer, he would only say  “Soon”.

What was such an enigmatic and vague answer supposed to do to reassure and inform him in any way that he will meet her ever again?

He never even had the time to play Shogi with her, or chat properly, hang out by the field to watch the clouds go by…And graduate together, maybe even get put in the same team…

He couldn’t believe this was really happening, and for a while, he actually hated the girl for just leaving like that, without even saying goodbye to him.

Oh, if only the poor boy knew the truth…

  ----

Years passed, Shikamaru was already the first Chunin from his class, they already went in enough missions as teams, and were old enough to see the world in new eyes…Yet nothing could compare to what their parents saw in the Great War, so they were still green ninjas, unaware of the true horrors of this world.

 He was already 16…He couldn’t believe 6 years passed since he last saw that little firecracker named after a cute fox that he used to call “friend” in his Academy days. Every year, when the day of her departure came by, he’d take the day off and go to the spot they would both spend time, watching the clouds – And for some reason, he would always see a fox shaped cloud.

 It was such a drag.

 However, on the 6th year, his father stopped him from going to the field, instead, asking to play Shogi, something that confused the boy greatly, but he decided he should listen to what his father had to say.

 But never, in his life, would he have expected that his father finally saw him as old enough to tell him what happened to that mysterious girl who disappeared so suddenly.

He told Shikamaru everything that happened on that mission gone wrong – The Kirigakure ninjas attacking them, Kitsune’s father saving her and dying in the process, and the little girl snapping, going on a rampage, and when returning to her father’s side, she tried to revive him for so long, that he thought he wasn’t going to be able to pry her away from his body. The shock that completely stunned her, seeing herself in the reflection of the cold water, trying to scrub away the blood from her hands – Blood that wasn’t there anymore, but she kept seeing it – She tried and tried and tried to wash it off – To even claw it off – aggressively scrubbing away with her nails, leaving trails all over her arms.

 And that day, when Shikamaru caught them playing Shogi – When she got home, she saw her mother hanging in the kitchen – She couldn’t take it anymore. Her mother loved her husband so much, that she couldn’t handle being without him anymore, nor could she handle staying in the same house with the daughter who looked so much like him.

 Her mother committed suicide.

 It was a clear sign to Kitsune that she should get the hell out of Konoha, before she would lose herself completely.

But even then, she held Shikamaru in her heart, which is why she asked Shikaku to give him her necklace before she left.

 She had no idea where she wanted to go, but she had to.

 And that day, when she played Shogi, the strategies she took, influenced by Shikaku’s aggressiveness in the game, made the both of them realize that the deer boy was too precious to her to sacrifice, as a mere Shogi piece.

So she left to get better and protect the last person she loved who was still alive.

And Shikamaru felt guilty for resenting her for 6 years.

 ---

“I wonder who’s our other team mate. Lady Tsunade didn’t say much about this person.” Ino asked, dangling her feet, bored, staying on a tree branch. “I heard it’s a girl!” Choji munched on his crisps, not really caring much. “Dad said it’s some ANBU captain or something. What a drag, that means this mission’s going to be more difficult than before…” Shikamaru groaned, slouching down. “As usual, you come up with the best strategies. It’s weirdly nice working with you again, and –“ the angelic voice of a woman was heard by the trio, who immediately perked up in curiosity, as in their field of vision, Shikamaru’s father walked by, wearing a relaxed and joking smile on his face, side by side with a much shorter individual, with long hair, kissed by fire, dressed in the usual ANBU outfit, with a fox mask covering her face, and a few weapons strapped to her back. “Is…Is this our team  mate?” Ino gasped at the beauty in front of her. “I sure hope so.” Choji chuckled, nudging Shikamaru, but the boy could only stare at her, frowning, unable to utter any word. “Here’s your team, Kitsune. I’m sure you missed being around your friends –“ but Shikaku couldn’t finish his sentence, for as soon as the girl saw the brunet boy, she got rooted to the spot for a few seconds, before squealing and throwing herself in his arms, hugging him as tight as possible. “Shika!!!”  she cried out, twirling around with him, not wanting to let him go. “I missed you so much, Shika~!” “K-Kitsune…? Is that really you…?” poor Shikamaru couldn’t even hug the girl back because of the extreme shock he was in, but his father’s chuckle snapped him back to reality. “Yes, silly, it’s me! I’m back.” The girl quickly took off her mask, putting it to her waist belt, flashing the same dazzling white smile of hers – The same one that completely stole his heart many years ago. “Remember me?” “Y-Yeah, ‘course I do, uhmm…” he tried to stumble over his words, despite the blush creeping on his face. “My…! You grew up so much! And you’re absolutely gorgeous! …Eh…~? Look at you, you’re so cute with red cheeks! And you’re even wearing my necklace! I’m so happy, Shika…! Your parents must be so proud to have the smartest and prettiest child in the whole Country of Fire, right Shikaku~?” the red haired girl giggled teasingly, making the poor deer boy so flustered that he had to fry her off and look away, while his friends and dad were laughing at him. “What a troublesome woman…! Tsk…Stop being so familiar with me, you’re annoying.” Shika tried to fend off, but the girl feigned that annoying puppy dog eyes that she always did when she was little and she wanted to spend time with him. “Th-Then…You didn’t miss me, Shika? At all? Not even a tiny bit?” she asked in the most pitiful voice, pouting and getting closer to his face, which in turn, killed him instantly. “…Fine, yeah, maybe, whatever. Let’s go on our mission.” The poor boy grumbled, walking ahead of everyone, not even bothering to say goodbye to his dad, as his friends were already teasing him and laughing. “He’s so cute~!” the girl grinned, carefree, following his lead.

 The road to the mission’s point was filled with light chatting and some catching up, but for Shikamaru, the situation was different – Every word she uttered, he analysed and scanned, as if looking for any string of white lie that sewed together a perfectly made up story.

 She wanted to learn a more diverse range of skills so she went to learn from other Ninja villages and random renowned rouge ninjas and samurais…

And, allegedly, 2 years prior, she returned and joined the ANBU, and chose only the longest missions that led farthest away from the Country of Fire.

 How dubious…

  “Shh, stop, here we are.” Kitsune stopped abruptly, crouching down on the branch carefully, squinting and watching like a hawk every one of the grouped up ninjas, almost as if she was peering at them under a microscope – Every micronic detail, she sketched in her mind and carefully created a plan to take them down, before snapping her fingers once to draw her team’s attention towards her. “See that guy with blue hair, tied up, and black eyes? That’s our guy. We capture him, and kill everyone else. Easy enough?” despite muttering in a low voice, her piercing gaze didn’t move for not even a single pico-second. “But…Kitsune…? I don’t mean to sound doubting…But there must be at least 50 ninjas out there, and they seem to be at least Chuunin level. And weren’t Kirigakure ninjas supposed to be bloodthirsty and to be using poison?” Ino asked, obviously very worried. “They aren’t Kirigakure ninjas, but yeah, you are right about those guys. These ones are in disguise, but not great ones, I’d have to say. See that guy with orange hair? His sleeve is raised up, and a brown tattoo can be seen, which indicates they are from Iwa. Very annoying and strong. Those stupid guys have an Iwakage who can eradicate everything in sight with that stupid particle-something jutsu of his…And they have an explosion department…Thank God I didn’t remain in Konoha…” Kitsune muttered, the corner of her mouth raising into a triumphant smirk that meant she was going to create a blood bath. “Explosions?! How can we protect ourselves against that?” Choji was almost comically trembling, eating crisps even more rapidly than before. “Unfortunately for you, neither has a Lightning chakra nature, so we can’t actively deactivate them…However…I trained with the best puppet master in the world, who so happens to have as a partner the most fanatic, yet talented bomb artist, so I know how to go against these guys. Shika, Ino, I want you to make sure you get the leader away from the group. Since you can get in his body, just say you need to pee or something, and that you’ll be back, which is when Shikamaru will use his shadows to get him towards us, and then three of you will protect him, while I kill this lot, got it?” she asked, finally snapping from her hawk-like self and taking out her weapons, soaking them in poison with a wet cloth. “That’s not the best strategy, I’d say. We do nothing, while you do all the work. I am more than one-man hit, y’know? I grew up and trained too. I can get at least 20 of those guys.” Shikamaru’s annoyed voice perked up, surprising the girl, who could only blink and look at him with big, almost fawn-like eyes. “I never doubted any of you for a second, and if it seemed that way, I apologise sincerely. Thing is, I’m an ANBU, and out of all of you, only you, Shikamaru, promoted to Chuunin. Now, I’m not saying that these grades matter, because they don’t, but at the same time, I’m responsible for you, and I don’t want to go home with one of you dead in my arms, and having to hold your funeral. I told Tsunade to let me do this alone, but she insisted I pair up with you. I want you all to promise you won’t get in my way and attack, unless necessary, got it? As I said, I absolutely REFUSE to get your blood on my hands, capiche?” Kitsune’s voice became very dry, dark and poisonous very fast, which made the blonde and chestnut haired ninjas gulp and nod fiercely, while the brunet only frowned in anger. “We aren’t 10 year old anymore, Kitsune, and neither are you. This ain’t the mission you went to 6 years ago, and nobody will die on your watch, got it? If you keep being afraid of taking risks, you’ll fail.” Shikamaru got closer to her face, arguing her plan. “Shikaku told you what happened, didn’t he? Well, I should have known, it was bound to happen. Nonetheless, as I said, I’m the leader of the team. You do as I say, or you go home. I will have NOBODY’S blood on my hands. Now go do your jobs and do NOT put yourselves in danger unless I say so.” Kitsune, for the last time, warned the trio, then got up, took off her konoha forehead protector and switched it to a rogue-one, then put back her fox mask and raising her arms up, she attached chakra string to each and every ninja, except the target. “Now, Ino, Shikamaru, go get him.” She commanded in such a dark and monotone voice, almost as if she suddenly transformed into the villain of the series.

 Despite disagreeing with the plan, the two did as were told, and very easily, lured their victim into the perfectly placed trap, and now, the trio were his guard.

Further, Kitsune grinne widely behind her mask, chuckling and jumping down from the tall tree, as she used her fire chakra to burn the string, and in turn, the victims they were attached to. With incredible speed and agility, she jumped in the middle of the group and started slicing left and right mercilessly, losing herself in the bloodlust that was surging through her veins, her mind completely away from reality, but in a whole new universe – Of killing strategy.

 …That is, until familiar voices – Screams, rather – Resounded through the forest, which completely snapped her away from her concentration, and in turn, getting cut and scratched in various places.

 Her eyes saw it easily – The leader escaped their grasp and ran to attempt to kill her, but Shikamaru tried to fight him, and failed, and now Ino was trying heal him. But she was crying. She wasn’t a good enough medical ninja yet. Kitsune knew that feeling all too well.

  “Scrub it off. Clean it off. Take it off. Claw it off. Rip it off. Saw it off. Carve it off. Rinse it off. Wash it off. Cut it off –“ kept going into her mind, unusually loud, almost throwing her off her game.

With a raw growl, close to animalistic, she saw red in front of her, and burnt everything in her paths, slashing, dashing, cutting and ripping apart every living being there, sans the leader, whom she managed to immobilize and knock out with the help of Choji. Without sparing any second, she ran to Shikamaru’s side and fell to her knees, roughly pushing Ino aside.

It was an impulsive rush of rage, for she snatched away her mask and forehead protector and threw them as far away as possible, before shrieking at the deer boy for being so stupid.

“Scrub it off. Clean it off. Take it off. Claw it off. Rip it off. Saw it off. Carve it off. Rinse it off. Wash it off. Cut it off –“ those words just wouldn’t stop screeching at her.

“YOU FUCKING IDIOT, SHIKAMARU, I TOLD YOU TO BE CAREFUL, DAMN IT! I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU!” she gripped so tightly at her hair that Ino thought she was going to rip it all off. “If you dare die…I will never forgive you. Never, you get it? Never. Not you. Of all people…You’re the last one alive…So you can’t. I refuse to allow you that. You don’t have the permission to leave me. Ever. Got it?” the red head growled lowly, getting one of her hands inside his chest, performing cardiac massage, and cursed herself for remembering that mission long ago, when she had to do the same thing with her father – But this time, Shikamaru was still alive, and she was sure this time around – No more lies or delusions.

  “Scrub it off. Clean it off. Take it off. Claw it off. Rip it off. Saw it off. Carve it off. Rinse it off. Wash it off. Cut it off –“ she needed bloody therapy, she knew that, otherwise those words were going to be the death of her.

With her other hand, she used her other hand to prop up his head and give him CPR, once again, cursing herself for having to do something like this, when she hoped everyone would remain safe and she would, one day, share a sweet kiss with him – Not have to save his life like that.

  “Scrub it off. Clean it off. Take it off. Claw it off. Rip it off. Saw it off. Carve it off. Rinse it off. Wash it off. Cut it off –“ they were louder and louder, causing almost a physical discomfort, as if someone was grating her brain.

Once, twice, thrice, and more, so much more – Sasori taught her healing ninjutsu well, and she was confident in her abilities, but there was always that speck of fear and PTSD that was creeping in the back of her mind, reminding her of her past failure.

But the puppet master was an excellent teacher, and she, in turn, was a hard-working and diligent student, so there was no way she was going to put the man she loved on the list of people she let die.

  “Scrub it off. Clean it off. Take it off. Claw it off. Rip it off. Saw it off. Carve it off. Rinse it off. Wash it off. Cut it off –“ SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP

“Argh…Too close…” a hand suddenly pushed her aside weakly, and a cough snapped her out of her focused mindset – And blinking away to reality, she realized that the Nara boy was sitting in front of her, breathing normally, and coughing a bit, wearing a scowl on his face.

  “Scrub it off. Clean it off. Take it off. Claw it off. Rip it off. Saw it off. Carve it off. Rinse it off. Wash it off. Cut it off –“ the threat is over now, you can stop already, he’s not dead...Like your parents.

“…Oh thank goodness…” Kitsune groaned, letting herself fall on her back, looking up at the sky, her nails digging into her arms now, trying to snap herself back to reality completely. “I won’t forgive you for the stunt you pulled.” She muttered absent-minded, not caring about anyone around her anymore. “…What a troublesome woman. She’s gonna scold me all the way back home. Great.” Shika tried to chuckle, lighting up the mood, but the red haired girl was already on her feet, tying up the target and carrying it, walking in the direction of the village, without saying another word – Her face now again, covered with her mask, showing that she didn’t want to be approached in any way. “Shikamaru, you insensitive idiot! You, jerk! Is that how you treat the woman you love?! She was just worried about you, and you throw away words like that?! Go and apologise right now!” Ino shouted at him, nagging him like she was his mum, so much that the boy could only sigh and drag his hands down his face in annoyance and resentment.

And he actually tried, for once, to reconcile properly, but the only words that she told him were “You have to rest properly when you get home.” And then she just rushed farther and farther ahead.

And that’s just what he did, as the girl guided him home, let the others go to theirs as well, while she went to the Hokage to report to the mission.

After taking a nap and resting, as advised, he left his bedroom and went to the kitchen, seeing his mother frowning, which confused him.

“What happened?” he asked, knowing something was up. “Well…Nothing, really. Your dad is playing Shogi with Kitsune…And I just remembered her mother and the good times when we were friends. Too bad the good ones always die first.” Yoshino sighed, sweeping absent-minded. “Uhm…Y-Yeah…I guess.” He muttered, not having a clue what to say in such a situation. “Won’t you be a dear and tell her to remain for dinner? Poor girl, she’s been all alone since she was 10…I can’t imagine how horrible it must have been…” but she stopped herself before saying anything more that would have upset her, so Shikamaru left the room, believing that letting her just be would have been better.

 However, instead of making his presence known, he decided to just open the door ever so slightly, enough to peep from behind and watch the interaction going –

Kitsune was sitting in front of the Shogi table, her head slightly hung, her outfit still unchanged – And she said no word, but it wasn’t clear if she was listening to his father either.

  “You can take off your mask now, Kitsune. The mission is over. You can get dressed in Shikamaru’s clothes. Why don’t you sleep over?” Shikaku tried to get a response out of her, even beginning the match, but she seemed to be in her own mind. “No.” she finally muttered after a while, yet she made her move as well, almost robotically. “Kitsune. The mission is over. You can relax now. You are allowed to. You did well and nobody got hurt. Get out of your mission-mind,  you’re home now.” The man tried again, but it was clear the aura around the girl became more and more agitated. “Shikamaru almost died.” She pointed out bitterly. “As far as I’m concerned, my son is sleeping in his room as usual. He didn’t complain about his team leader, nor of any injury or danger. If he is fine, so should you be. You can’t take anyone’s pain.” His father spoke again, and with each word, he found himself nodding in agreement. “I ALMOST KILLED YOUR FUCKING SON, SHIKAKU! ARE YOU DEAD? ARE YOU BRAIN-DEAD?! GET ANGRY! YELL AT ME! BEAT ME UP! SCOWL, CURSE ME, INSULT ME…FUCKING DO SOMETHING! YOU ALMOST HELD YOUR SON’S FUNERAL BECAUSE OF ME! I am the one who killed your 2 best friends, and now I almost killed your son too! Why aren’t you reacting in any way?!” the fire outburst of the girl scared the boy out of his wits, flinching when she slammed her fist on the Shogi  table, breaking it in two, all pieces getting propelled in different directions, as she shouted at the irritatingly-calm man in front of her. “I will do no such thing, Kitsune, because, first of all, I am not mad at you. It was not your fault, I tell you now, the same as I told you before. It wasn’t you who killed your parents, nor was it you who endangered my son. We are all ninjas, and we serve with our lives on the line. Unexpected surprises always happen, and we can’t predict everything, but we can do our best to avoid them.” Shikamaru’s heart was close to bursting with emotions and words that he wanted to let out, as he felt his fingers digging deep into the wood of the sliding door. “I. Almost. Killed. Shikamaru.” The girl hung her head down, prying away her mask and throwing it away in disgust, her long, fire-red hair completely hiding her tear-stained face. “I argued with him. I insulted him. I cursed him. I yelled at him. In the end, he almost died…Because of me. And…It was just like back then. Almost perfectly like back then. They weren’t paying attention, the enemy escaped, he tried to protect me and got hurt…And I got soaked in his blood. My hands was grasping his heart, and I was helping it pump more and more blood…I was helping him breathe…And all I could do was pray…And pray…And pray again…That he won’t end up like them…But I’m selfish, Shikaku. I didn’t think of you, nor that I almost killed your son. I was only thinking about my own self.  I’m selfish and I don’t deserve him.” Her voice become so soft, so broken, as she trembled and sobbed in her hands, not being able to stop the flow of tears and emotions from running astray. “Kitsune…Shikamaru doesn’t hate you, nor is he blaming you for what happened. Stop blaming yourself for things that were inevitable. The most important thing is that you were able to save him and bring him back home safely.” His father sighed, yet his eyes were looking with understanding at the pitiful girl – He knew very well the heartbreak of loss and he didn’t wish it upon anyone, especially such a sensitive young girl. “Scrub it off. Clean it off. Take it off. Claw it off. Rip it off. Saw it off. Carve it off. Rinse it off. Wash it off. Cut it off...That’s the only thing that kept going through my mind, over and over and over again, and I couldn’t stop it! Just like back then...I couldn’t control it. I swore I was going crazy. I was sure he was going to die, and I would remain with his blood on my hands for ages, no matter how hard I’d try to wash it off or even burn away the skin on my hands.” she was shaking so much now, digging her claw-like nails deep into her arms, dragging down and scratching her skin, almost giving herself a sort of comfort, knowing she was still alive, and so was Shikamaru. ”You have nobody’s blood on your hands, Kitsune, understand that. It wasn’t you who killed your parents, no matter how you put it. You tried to save them, but they were beyond saving from anyone. There was nothing you could have done.” Shikaku tried to remind the catatonic girl once again. “…If Shikamaru dies, all the people I ever loved won’t be on this Earth anymore…So there is no reason to live anymore…No matter what, Shikamaru, out of all the people in the world, MUST live. If he gets in danger again, I think I’ll go insane.” She gritted her teeth as her hands made her way into her hair, gripping at it painfully, until the whole world stopped – And once again, time and space were absent from this house –

“I think he feels the same about you.” Shikaku smiled, seeing his son frowning at the girl from behind the door, and motioning to him to get out of there and take the reigns properly, like a man. “What would you know?!” she sneered at him, snapping her head up, only to see the man getting up to leave, and, to her surprise, a pair of arms sneaking around her, pulling her into a tight hug from behind. It was the deer boy, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck.

“You’re such a troublesome woman, you know that, right? When I said you were going to scold me, I was hoping you’d do that. I hoped it would help you relax and vent away your frustrations. I never imagined you’d get so upset over it. Sorry I screwed up your plan, neither of us were paying attention to our target…We were worried about you so we were looking at you…I’m sorry.” He spoke in the most sincere voice she ever heard him speaking, and she couldn’t help but start crying again, turning around and letting herself melt in his embrace, burying her face into his chest and gripping tightly at his shirt. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I screwed up everything – From 6 years ago, to even now, I’m so sorry, Shika. I should have told you everything, but I couldn’t and I screwed up everything.” She kept apologizing over and over, but the boy couldn’t understand why, so instead of saying anything, he cupped her face and placed a short, yet very soft and sweet kiss on her lips, hoping to snap her out of it. “Stop blaming yourself for nothing. I won’t die, and you won’t die, okay? We’re the smartest people around, I’m sure we can screw with everyone. Just the two of us, together. Now, come on, get up, fox girl. It’s getting late, and mum’s gonna yell at me if we don’t go eat dinner while it’s still hot. Let’s find you some comfy clothes.” He helped her get up and guided her to his room, giving her a loose white Tshirt and some comfy pants. “Well…I guess I make even leisure clothes look fashion.” She admired herself in the mirror, posing and grinning in amusement, making the boy chuckle. “Yeah, ‘course you do. But, before that…Here. It just wouldn’t be fair if I was the only one wearing one.” Saying that, Shikamaru took out a deer necklace from his pocket and put it around her slender neck, before taking his own fox necklace from under his shirt, and letting it dangle out to compliment hers. “…Haha, you kept it. How nice. I don’t know about you, but if you ask me, we can’t get more soulmate-y than that.” She chuckled, squishing his cheeks and pulling him into a deep kiss that was more playful than anything, yet still dazed him a bit, as he let himself get dragged to the kitchen where his parents were waiting for them. They smiled at each other seeing the two teenagers smiling so carefree, so happy at each other – And those symbolic animal necklaces, almost dangling towards each other, like Yin tried to get closer to Yang, and vice versa. “Tomorrow, we are SO going to go and make fun of Ino and Sakura for being obsessed over Sasuke, when we have the perfect relationship right here! Ha! They’re gonna be so jealous!” she smirked mischievously, and the boy could only shake his head, but chuckle at her nonetheless. “What did I get myself into…You troublesome woman.” He nudged her playfully, and it was one of the first times that anyone around saw him not so lazy. “Fine, fine, we can go to BBQ after with Choji, if you want. Sounds fair enough, doesn’t it? My treat.” She flashed him a charming smile, and he could only shrug in agreement. “You’ll get broke, but you said it, can’t take it back now. You clearly forgot how much Choji eats.” Shikamaru teased her, but she only smirked wider. “I lived as a bounty hunter for years before I got back, Shikamaru. I could buy a villa right now. I’m sure I can afford a meal for my friends.” She flipped her hair and winked playfully at the boy next to her.

The next day, just as promised, she dragged her new boyfriend around to brag about him and how awesome he is, and all that, all while he would just blush and grumble in the background, but at least the BBQ hang out was fun and they had a good laugh, as all friends do.

When all was over, she had him go by to her home to get a neatly wrapped, big gift from her living room, and then went back to his home, before handing him the present.

“Here, open it. It’s not the best…But I’m sorry for my outburst. It was uncalled for, and I’m really, really sorry for destroying it. This…This was my parents’ Shogi table and…You should have it. And my parents were best friends with your parents…So yeah. Please take it. And I’m sorry again.” She urged him to open it already, and inside, as she mentione, a beautiful Shogi table, on the back of it, her parents names being carved, inside a heart. “O-Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. You can have your dad shave it off, cover it, or something, I don’t mind. It’s yours now.” She awkwardly scratched the back of her head,  but the boy merely shook his head. “No, it’s perfect as it is. Come on, why don’t we go out in the forest? I’m sure you want to see the deer.” He carefully placed the Shogi table on his futon and guided her out. “And we can watch the stars in your garden tonight?” she smiled at him sweetly. “Yeah, sure, we can do that. Sounds nice.”

[jdkloosterman]

SQUAD A: Primary function--assault and destruction. Operative 07, codename ""Delilah" Previous attempts to recreate Hulk-like abilities have invariably met with disaster due to the accompanying berzerker rage.  The Section 11 scientists took a different approach and instead tried to replicate the work of Dr. Samson, tying the particular super-strength of the Hulk to the length of the subject's hair.  Trace genetic samples of the Red Hulk were used in experimentation on a test subject.  Project deemed a partial success, though "Delilah" still has high levels of aggression and can be difficult to control, particularly if her hair length is not maintained within optimal parameters.  Operative 01 has displayed a marked affinity for her, but so far experiments involving attempts at breeding have met with no success. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: "Breeding?" Are you serious with this?  Damnit, those eggheads are messed up.] Operative 08, codename "Waif" "Waif" is unusual in not coming from the usual pool of test subjects, but is in fact the natural daughter of one of Section 11's lead scientists, Dr. Yamanaka.  Her powers emerged at a young age uncontrollably during a traumatic car accident that killed one of her closest friends.  Her powers were uncontrollable and destructive until the implant could be successfully installed.  Though Dr. Yamanaka has attempted, since, to speak with his daughter, she does not seem to recognize him or anyone from her old family at all. "Waif" is one of the few operatives in Section 11 permitted to wear non-standard gear, as disruptions to her daily routine have been observed to have a negative impact on her stability. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Guy lobotomized his own daughter.  No wonder she won't talk to him.] Operative 09, codename "Samurai." "Samurai" is a clone created by Dr. Akimichi, spliced with DNA from the metahuman Blob. His armor is developed based on intense study of the metahuman Juggernaut and his armor.  Though docile and responding well to direction, "Wamurai" has little initiative of his own.  He also does not speak, and only communicates through "Waif."  He has been observed to have a calming impact on her, hence why the two are paired together.  "Samurai" also carries a series of steroids and stimulants for use in high-stress combat situations, and has received military training. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Love this kid.  Like a minature tank.] *Note: Given the volatile nature of the group, they require extensive coordination.  Dr. Nara's "Deer" AI has proven useful in this task, supplemented by Shadow drones capable of observing and compiling data.** **Further Note: Dr. Nara's "Deer" AI has been flagged for review after numerous incidents displaying near-sentience, including several statements curiously similar to Dr. Nara's late son.  Director Danzou has ordered an investigation into thJA)djs&(*Yhiue---------RECORD DELETED

SQUAD B--Primary Function: Infiltration and Recon Operative 03: "Gemini 1" Gemini 1 is not suited to intense combat situations unless supported by Gemini 2.  Her primary skill set is stealth, infiltration, and cyberops.  Similar to Gemini 2, she possesses hyper-optogrophy and can see in multiple layers of the spectrum, including infrared, ultraviolet, and x-ray. Energy blasts from the palms are able to target internal organs. Tests have also confirmed a psychic link between her and Gemini 2, wherein information and even physical pain can be conveyed between one and the other.   Gemini 1 has also been observed to have a notable attraction to Operative 01, which might possibly be useful. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Who authorized that test, and how was "physical pain" determined?] Operative 04: "Gemini 2" Gemini 2 is the twin of Gemini 1 and possesses all her abilities.  He has a much higher combat aptitude, and has been noted in field operations to have a particular protective instinct involving Gemini 1.  It has also been noted that Gemini 2's combat effectiveness dips noticeably when confronted with anti-citizens Kusanagi and Green Beast.  Confrontations should be avoided. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Who did we get these twins from, I wonder. Probably from one of the "clinics."] Operative 05: "Weapon K" Weapon K is the most successful emulation of the Weapon X project thus far.  Though it is still difficult to maintain complete control, and the adamantium binding process was not entirely successful, still he retains the all-important healing factor acquired from Weapon X, as well as the heightened senses. Weapon K handles the majority of combat situations that Squad B encounters, though he is indiscreet and tends to leave a mess behind. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Just something not right about this boy.] Operative 06: "Shino Entity" It has yet to be determined whether Shino Entity is, in fact, a budding psychic who was consumed by insects and gained control of them, or merely a strange collective of psychic insects under a shared delusion of once having been human. Investigation is ongoing, though attempts to isolate and inspect individual insects of the hive mind have been counter-productive, as Shino Entity has invariably become aware of the isolation and dissection of members of his hive mind.  Accordingly, invasive experiments have for the  moment been suspended to ensure his ongoing collaboration.  His skill set is incredibly valuable and unique, however, enabling mass recon on a almost simultaneous response, and while not suited to combat, is essentially indestructible. Shino Entity requires little care save maintenance of the containment suit and a daily piece of rotten meat.  This seems sufficient to have earned his cooperation, along with a curious affinity for the other members of Squad B--though it still has not been determined how he manages to speak. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: I don't really care where he came from.  As long as he keeps up his work, he can call himself Shino or Lord Nelson for all I care.] LEADERSHIP TEAM Commader Kakashi: Field Commander.  Last living member of the original Section 11 team, Commander Kakshi has been declared not fit for combat due to the injury suffered to his eye during the Apocalypse Incident.  He now serves Section 11 in a supervisory tactical role, planning out missions to accomplish goals as set by the rest of the leadership.  Though not strictly required, Commander Kakashi makes a habit of deploying with the Section 11 Operatives whenever possible, a practice which Section Chief Danzou has cited him for numerous times. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Let the old man complain, I'm not sending kids out there without backup.] Dr. Tsunade: Head of Mutagenic Studies.  Dr. Tsunade left a promising career at Tokyo University to lead the medical and study wing of Section 11.  She is in charge of monitoring the operative's physical state and the nature of their mutations, as well as any new mutations that arise.  Dr. Tsunade's connection to the program is more than professional, as her grandfather was closely involved in its creation, a fact which may have weighed into her decision to join.  Dr. Tsunade also considers herself in charge of the operative's well-being, a matter which has also led her to clash with Section Chief Danzou. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: The lady should be in charge from everything I've seen.  Though what she did to the meeting table makes me wonder if her studies have been leading to more practical applications of mutagens, recently.] Dr. Inoichi: Section Chief Danzou's successful recruitment of the famous "Ino-Shika-Cho" team may be considered one of the great accomplishments of his administration. Dr. Inoichi joined the program out of desperation to find some solution to his daughter's newly awakened powers, and his two friends followed him.  A neurology specialist, Dr. Inoichi has done groundbreaking work regarding metahuman psychics and extra-natural brain structure.  He devised the device which currently helps his daughter to keep her powers in check, which is currently under development for possible use against enemy psychics. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Why does the record note this as an accomplishment of Danzou's? Inoichi joined us because of his daughter's accident, Danzou had nothing to do with it.] Dr. Shikaku: Shikaku, a renowned specialist in artificial intelligence and computer learning simulations, joined the program alongside his friend. His algorithms run much of the training programs that the operatives use, as well as much of the predictive software crucial to Section 11's smooth operation.  The death of his son left him emotionally distant and he has a noted reluctance to meet with any of the operatives outside of Inoichi's daughter.  Much of his work since joining Section 11 has been on his prototype ASI "Shika" and its proxy drone. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: I swear, that thing almost seems sometimes like it's actually senti303@..%$)(~~~- ERROR DATA CORRUPTION... Dr. Chouza: The final member of the Ino-Shika-Cho team, Dr. Chouza's specialty runs more in the physical arena than either of his friends, primarily involving force multipliers such as the Hulk and Blob. His "Choji" clone program has potential to create an entire army once the formula has been perfected and the laboratory repaired. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: Chouza's heart isn't in this, and that laboratory will never be fixed if he has anything to say about it.] Section Chief Danzou: Despite his near-fatal injuries from the Apocalypse Incident, Section Chief Danzou has transformed Section 11 into an elite fighting force in the wake of his predecessor.  The current roster and focus of the division is entirely due to his guidance.  He has a noted tendency for keeping his plans to himself and frequently overrules his leadership staff. [COMMANDER'S NOTE: There is reason to believe that the old man has an even more dark-ops organization on the side, for missions he considers too sensitive even for Section 11.]

[britishassistant]

But I Like One Piece (11)

The scar on her lip is kind of a pain.

It feels strange for one thing, tough and bumpy, making her aware of its presence every time her mouth shifts or when she gets too excited while talking or when she yawns too widely.

Of course, once she’s reminded that it’s there, she want to fiddle with it. But for some reason whenever she gets bored enough to do so, Naruto or Sakura or whoever’s sitting closest to her will grab her arm and say “No.” in a Very Stern Voice.

It almost feels a little demeaning. Not quite, but almost.

What is demeaning is Uchiha glaring at her, and demanding, “Are you some kind of coward?”

She blinks, thermos of miso halfway to her mouth. “Beg your pardon?”

He eyes her disdainfully. “We’re going to be ninja. We fight to kill our enemies—”

“I’m going to be a pirate, actually.” She interrupts.

Naruto snorts softly into his rice.

“—Pirates kill people too, shut up.” Uchiha hisses.

“Wait. Is this about the biting thing?” She asks, incredulous. Surely not. Uchiha is a clan kid. He should know how this works—

Uchiha sniffs imperiously. “You’ll just drag me down if you always need Sakura to save you from a fight.”

Apparently not.

Robin give her strength.

“Hey!” Kiba yells. “Sakura beating up Ami was totally badass. Mizuki-sensei shoulda given her a medal instead of detention!”

Sakura goes as pink as her hair as Akamaru yips in agreement, mumbling something about it not being a big deal around her second stick of dango. She does return the fist bump Kiba offers though.

“That’s not the point.” Uchiha retorts dismissively. “The point is we’re going to fight and kill as ninja— don’t.” He stabs an accusing finger in her direction and she raises her hands in mock surrender. “And Ketsugi never fights back. She says stuff, but then she runs away, or lets other people take care of it, or hurts herself. It’s weak, stupid cowardice.”

The last word is said with such vehemence that it’s hard for her not to flinch.

“Well, it’s not like I have any choice.” She snaps, irritably.

Uchiha scoffs. “What are you talking about?! The only thing stopping you is your own stupid, cowardly ideas about pacifism!!”

She blinks, trying to process that last bit. “What? What on earth are you on about?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know!” He screams, all but jumping out of his seat, “It’s just like him! I’m not watching another one—not when I can stop it!!”

Uchiha looms over her, glaring down, chest heaving from the force of his yelling.

She has no idea what he’s talking about. She feels more worried for him than insulted at this point.

“Hey Shino.” Chouji cuts in, munching on his second onigiri. “There are insects that don’t get along with your bugs, right? Ones that weren’t born in your hive?”

Shino tilts his head, letting his insects eat bits of strawberry from his daifuku off his finger. “That is a technically true statement. Why? Because while my kikaichū do not have natural enemies in the way ants and termites are opposed to one another, there are several species of insect and arachnid that would prey upon them, which have been utilized by imitator clans in other hidden villages.”

“Right.” Chouji continues. “So, let’s say you found one of these bugs that eats them had injured one of yours. Not killed, but injured. What do you do?”

Shino stiffens, but replies, “I would exterminate it. Why? Because it has proven itself a viable threat to my colony.”

“Wh-that doesn’t mean anything!” Uchiha interrupts. “It’d have to be one of Aburame’s bugs attacking another of the same hive, since Ketsugi was born here, so—”

“No I wasn’t.”

Uchiha actually has the gall to shoot her a disbelieving look. “Yes you were.”

“No I wasn’t.” She hisses, leaning forward. “I was born in Iron, like my father. One of my earliest memories is him and my mother leaving the country, on the run from something that made it better to drug their baby rather than let me cry and have whatever it was find us.”

A hush falls over the table.

“That would explain why you’re here, in Konoha.” Shikamaru says slowly. “Even if it’s not the closest to Iron, it’s one of the strongest hidden villages, so pursuers would have trouble trying to get through our defenses.”

“And guess what happens if the village decides me and mine are too much trouble to live here anymore?” She snaps, taking a swig of her miso.

It’s gone lukewarm.

Uchiha’s turned pale, staring blankly down at his bruschetta. He slowly sits back down.

“So...” Kiba says, feeding Akamaru some pork belly. “Are you, like, some kinda lost princess or something?”

“What? No, of course not.” Ino and Sakura’s eyes take on a worrying gleam. “I said no. I’m not. No. Stop that. Stop it right now, the pair of you.”

“We’re not doing anything~” Sakura sing-songs, hands clasped against her chest.

She squints at them, lips thinning. “Lies.”

“Hey hey, Mayu-chan,” Ino says, leaning forward. “If you just happened to be a lost princess or daimyo’s daughter hiding from a usurper’s assassins, you’d totally hook your best besties in the entire world up with some hot princes, right?”

“Does Naruto even like princes?” She replies, bracing herself against Sakura’s playful assault on her shins and Ino’s tossed napkins. “Ow, ow, I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”

“Aw, what! I wanna meet a prince, believe it!” Naruto whines, though his playful tone sounds a little strained.

“Tough.” She sticks her tongue out at him. He blows a raspberry back in response.

“So who were your family in Iron?” Chouji asks, passing her an apple slice.

She shrugs, handing him her cookie. “Just one of the many, many samurai clans who serve the Iron daimyo. Like the Kiryuuin, the Kurogane, the Kishi, the Kageyama, the Kihote, the Kikuchi, the Kaname, the Koremune, the Kusakabe, and loads of others.”

“Do all of these clan names start with ‘K’ sounds?” Hinata asks.

“...No.” She says.

“Could you give us an example one that doesn’t?” Hinata asks.

“...The Okashi.”

“What the heck, that doesn’t count! They just slapped an ‘O’ in front of the ‘Ka’!” Kiba complains, Akamaru barking his agreement.

“You’re the last person to say anything about ‘K’ names.” Shikamaru replies.

“You’ve not got much room to talk either, Shika-kun.” Chouji ribs, nudging his friend.

From there it devolves into a debate about how many “k” sounds are in whose names, and who has the right to criticize an excess of “k’s” based off of that. So far, only Shino and Hinata are awarded that honor.

Naruto isn’t as active in the conversation as he usually is, only responding when addressed directly, staring into space when not.

Uchiha doesn’t say much at all.

Naruto goes straight to the swing-set outside the Academy once the day ends.

She follows him, watching curiously as he clambers up to stand on the swing, looking up at something behind her with a solemn expression on his face, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

She goes up to the tree and sits between its roots to wait.

Lee comes out of the Academy, and come striding towards them. “Greetings Mayu-chan! Naru—”

“Ssh!” She hushes, jerking her head towards Naruto.

Lee instantly clams up, a quizzical expression on his face.

She shuffles a bit to the side and pats the ground next to her, and he plops down to sit cross-legged beside her.

“What’s Naruto doing?” He whispers to her.

“I don’t know.” She whispers back. “But he’s concentrating really hard, so I didn’t want to disturb him.”

Lee nods in understanding, then waves silently but with great enthusiasm at a girl with her hair in buns who passes them.

She seems like a nice girl, because she waves back.

They play five rounds of rock-paper-scissors, four of which Lee wins, and one of which results in a hushed debate about whether “gun” is a “youthful” option in this game, before Naruto finally speaks.

“I’m gonna be the Hokage, believe it.”

They look up at him, standing on the swing, jaw set in determination, hair swaying in the breeze that swirls a few leaves past his face.

“...Okay? Weren’t you always going to be Hokage though?” She asks, not quite seeing where he’s going with this.

“Wh—yes, but s’more than that.” Naruto says, exasperation evident in his tone.

He lets go of one of the swing’s ropes, and gazes down at his clenched fist. “I wanted to be Hokage ‘cause old Jiji’s the most respected person in the village. Everyone loves him, an’ he protects everyone, because everyone’s his precious people.”

He looks at them, eyes bright and painfully earnest. “But even though everyone in the village is precious, some’ve them’re still so mean to you, and to Otou-san and to Okaa-san, just for being from somewhere not here, f’r bein’ different, an’ that’s not fair. So I wanna be Hokage, so I can tell them not to be mean. I’m gonna be Hokage so you don’t have to bite yourself anymore, and so we can all always go home to Okaa-san and Otou-san and Gai-sensei an’ eat tortoise bread. So everyone can be happy, and understand I’ll protect everyone, no matter what, believe it. What foods we like is more important than where we’re from, right?”

Oh.

Oh.

She swallows around a lump in her throat. “Right. T-that’s exactly, exactly right.”

Lee gives a great sniff, fat tears rolling down his cheeks. “Your resolve is highly youthful, Naruto! I am sure you will even surpass the Yondaime when you become Hokage!!”

Naruto rubs the back of his head, grinning widely.

Then a stronger gust of wind rocks the swing and he teeters dangerously, arm windmilling as she and Lee lunge forward to catch him, try to cushion his fall somewhat.

She’s partly successful as Lee’s lunge ends up knocking Naruto off the swing entirely, the pair landing on her with a thud that drives the air from her lungs and leaves her wheezing.

“Ow.”

They end up half-limping home.

Otou-san is dozing on the couch, and he blinks awake drowsily at their chorus of “we’re home,” only to tilt his head in sleepy confusion.

“What happened to you three?” He asks, nodding towards her dust and bark covered dress as he picks a few leaves off of Naruto’s clothes, before pulling aside some of Lee’s hair to see the faint bruise where the swing swung back and clocked him in the head. “Did you all get into a fight at the Academy?”

They share a glance.

“N—” Lee starts.

“Yes.” She hastily cuts in, “Big fight. Very nasty.”

Naruto nods vigorously along with her. “Yeah, there were loads of missing nin with huge swords an’ killer laser jutsu an’ stuff.”

“That does sound scary,” Otou-san says, gently ruffling Lee’s hair with bandaged hands. “Lee, why don’t you go get an icepack from the freezer for that bruise? They’re on the top shelf.”

As Lee nods and trot off to the kitchen, her father shifts to sit more upright on the couch. “What were missing-nin doing at the Academy anyway?”

“They thought Mayu-chan was a lost princess, so they were tryna steal her for ransom.” Naruto replies, kneeling next to the couch so he can receive hair ruffles as well.

“Ah, I see.” Otou-san smiles, obliging him. “Mayu-chan, your mother is waiting in the back yard to do that.”

“Already?” She grimaces. She’d forgotten— thought she had more time...

“You don’t have to.” Otou-san urges softly. “There’s no shame in not doing it. I never did when I was your age. We could tell—”

“No.” She says firmly, fists clenched. “I-I want to do this too. Just—let me go prepare, alright?”

Her father nods slowly, his face solemn. She turns and climbs the stairs, ignoring Naruto’s worried stares or his queries about what was going on.

Sanji and Brook give her courage. Let it be over quickly, at least.

“Done.” Okaa-sama says, and she can barely contain her shudder of relief.

Her mother hands her a mirror, brushing stray bits off her shoulders. “Just as it always is, see?”

She keeps her gaze on her newly trimmed fringe and the Nico Robin cut brushing her shoulders, pretending she doesn’t see the shorn, wet slivers littering her clothes and the ground around her.

“Thank you, Okaa-san.” She smiles weakly, gratefully accepting the hug she receives and trying to ignore the pit of guilt in her stomach.

“I don’t get it.” Naruto says, sitting on the threshold of the back door. “What’s so bad about a haircut?”

“Well, for samurai, long hair is a mark of honor.” Otou-san says, hands folded into his kimono sleeves. “To have it cut off is a sign that you are no longer a samurai, which is highly dishonorable for lots of people in Iron. Mayu-chan has the spirit of a true samurai, so she hates having her hair cut.”

“Is that why you still have long hair, Jirou oji-san?” Lee asks, sipping on a cup of juice while holding a half-thawed ice pack to his head.

Otou-san tries to do an overdramatic flip of his braid, making the two boys giggle when it just ends up smacking him in the arm. “My hair is far too lustrous to be cut by the likes of sword or scissors!”

“Care to prove it, dear?” Okaa-san challenges, brandishing her scissors playfully.

Her father retreats back into the house in mock-fear. “You’re one of the lights of my life, darling! Even in the Pure Lands, my love for you will burn brighter than the sun!”

Her mother shakes her head. “And mine for you will shine brighter than the moon. Now inside, all of you, so we can begin making dinner.”

The discussion about hair continues through the preparation of hamburger steaks with sautéed greens.

Naruto and Lee are suitably amazed by the idea of women in Iron wearing their hair practically down to their ankles. Her brain just keeps conjuring up a mental image of Kumadori from CP9 in a woman’s kimono, with his long pink hair and kabuki poses.

“Doesn’t their hair get dirty, Mayu’s Okaa-san?” Naruto asks, almost dropping the patty he’s throwing between his hands.

Her mother shrugs. “I’m sure it must do— I was just as surprised as you when I saw it after I married your Otou-san and moved into the clan compound. I must confess, I never really understood the fascination for long hair that a lot of people in Iron have.”

“Do they not wear it like that in Kiri, Chie oba-san?” Lee says, depositing his chili flake-and-paprika-filled hamburger into the hissing frying pan.

“Oh, they can.” Her mother says, finally taking Naruto’s hamburger off him when he fumbles it again. “My baby cousin Mei had hair down to here.” She wiggles an elbow as she deposits the patty into the pan. “But since her hair was so thick and wavy, she found it a headache to deal with. Mayu-chan’s lucky she got her father’s fine hair, even with my color.”

“I love this color.” Otou-san declares, leaning over from stirring the spinach to plant a loud, wet kiss on Okaa-san’s cheek.

She pretends to gag as Naruto snickers, while Lee watches the display of affection with bright, shining eyes.

“Anyway.” She interrupts loudly. “Otou-san, what are we going to do for practice with the bokken? We were gonna move into fighting opponents before—”

There’s a moment of awkward silence as everyone tries to avoid thinking about what “before” signified.

“Well, you don’t need to worry about that, Mayu-chan.” Her father says, smile a touch too wide and gleeful. “I’ve made arrangements so we shouldn’t be thrown off our planned course too much. You may even pick it up faster!”

She understands the reason behind his glee the next morning.

She wishes she didn’t.

“You can’t be serious.” She says to her grinning father.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” He beams. “This is the perfect way for you to get used to fighting an opponent. You need to learn how to adapt what I’ve taught you to counter a variety of fighting styles, given that it’s unlikely every opponent you face will be playing by the same rules you are.”

“Yosh! Well-said, Jirou-san!” Gai-sensei cheers, far too energetic for someone who’s just made them to do thirty laps around Konoha on one leg.

He finishes warming up and takes up opening position for Strong Fist style. “Now, Mayu-chan! Your aim for today will be to land a single blow on me before I disarm you! When you succeed, we will move on to landing two consecutive blows, then three, and so on until you are able to spar against me properly. Are you ready?”

The feeling of imminent regret is an old and familiar friend by this point.

She tries to make sure her grip on the bokken is as solid as possible. “Ready.”

By the time her mother opens the back door, she’s lying on her back, panting from the effort of trying to stand, and the bokken is lodged at the top of the neighbor’s tree.

She hadn’t even landed a hit once.

Even with her father yelling “helpful” advice like “Go for the hands!” once chakra had come into play.

“You have a visitor, Mayu-chan.” Okaa-san says.

“Ah, greetings young Uchiha! How are you this most youthful morning?” Gai-sensei asks cheerily, like he isn’t half-way to scaling the garden fence to get her weapon back for her.

She turns her head to the side, just in time to catch sight of Uchiha staring at the green-spandex-clad wonder that is Gai-sensei in silent stupefaction.

She wishes she had a camera so she could capture his expression.

Uchiha shakes his head, as though to disperse the shock of acknowledging Gai-sensei’s existence, then looks around until he sees her on the ground.

“What are you doing?” He asks, brows drawn down like he’s personally offended by her presence.

“Dying.” She tells him flatly. “Lee gets Habu-san, and Naruto gets all my cookbooks. He’ll eat way too much ramen otherwise.”

Uchiha glances between where Gai-sensei is making a lot of rustling noises and at her, considering. “Can I have the sword?”

She snorts. “Like shit, that’s Sakura’s. You get the all purpose flour.”

Her father sighs and kneels down to offer her an arm up. “Language, young lady. You did very well today.”

Her legs wobble under her and it’s a fight not to collapse right back down.

Gai-sensei leaps from the tree with a yell, rolling and neatly popping up in front of them with a thumbs up. “Yes! Once you stop freezing up in the face of jutsu, you’ll land a blow on me for sure, Mayu-chan!”

Uchiha shoots her a look that is extremely judgmental. “You couldn’t even land one hit?”

“Shut up Uchiha.” She says, taking the bokken back from Gai-sensei with a tired nod. “Why are you here, anyway? Is there a problem with cooking today?”

“We’re not doing that.” Uchiha drops his voice a few octaves. “I’m giving you the opportunity to prove your fighting spirit. You versus me. No politics, no cowardice. No holding back.”

The wind picks up, a cold draft that swirls leaves between them.

“Do you want me to die? No.” She says, leaning on the bokken. “I’ve spent all morning getting my a—”Her mother clears her throat pointedly. “—My butt kicked. I need a rest. And food.”

“Wh—I’ll give you food!” Uchiha blusters. “A-and it’s not just you! I���m fighting everyone!! You can rest while I fight Lee or Shino or something!”

“SUCH YOUTHFUL SPIRIT!!” Gai-sensei bellows, throwing an arm over Uchiha’s shoulders. “You truly are a paragon of your clan’s sense of camaraderie, young Sasuke! I would be honored if you would allow me to witness your battle with Lee!!”

“Young Sasuke” cringes away from the spandex’d arm. “No. No adults allowed. They’ll just hold us back.”

Gai-sensei wilts.

“Mayu can take some pictures of the fight for us!” Okaa-san adds quickly. “She’ll be happy to do it, won’t you Mayu?”

Gai-sensei immediately perks back up. “What a youthful idea, Chie-san!! Mayu-chan, be sure to capture these expressions of Youth as best you can! We’re counting on you!”

He shoots her a vigorous thumbs-up as her mother goes pink and swoons.

“Ah, I think our camera’s in a drawer over here—” Otou-san darts into the house, muttering under his breath about where he last saw it.

She stares blearily up at them. “Can I have a shower and some breakfast first?”

By the time she comes back down from her shower, the atmosphere feels very...awkward.

Lee’s arrived, and has been armed with their family camera on a thick cord around his neck. It’s what she’d consider an old one, big and bulky, that prints out its photos from a little slit on the bottom.

He waves to her, his mouth full of rice. She gives him a little wave back.

Uchiha is sitting stiffly in Naruto’s chair, staring down at an untouched plate of tamagoyaki like it’ll hold all the answers to the universe.

Okaa-san is washing dishes, back tense. She hands her a plate without a word.

Otou-san’s mouth is drawn, bandaged hand curled into a loose fist. He doesn’t even seem to notice Gai-sensei’s hand on his arm.

Gai-sensei smiles at her, but it’s strained. If she didn’t know any better, she’d almost say it was worried.

She wants to ask what happened in a cool, sneaky way that wouldn’t make the situation get worse, like Robin or Nami or Sanji or Brook can. But she’s not smart enough for that.

So she shovels egg and rice into her mouth, trying to eat as quickly as possible.

She wishes Naruto was here. It’s not fair the Hokage gets him for practically the whole two days on these weekends.

She kicks Uchiha’s ankle under the table. When he yelps and glares at her, she nods towards his plate and mouths “EAT”.

He scowls at her, but finally takes a bite, chewing aggressively.

They clear their plates in silence.

“I guess we’re heading out.” She says, after putting their dirty dishes in the sink. Uchiha just grunts and heads straight for the door.

Even Zoro has better manners than that kid.

“See you later Gai-sensei, Jirou-oji-san, Chie-oba-san!” Lee yells, holding the camera tightly. “Mayu-chan and I will fight with all of our youthful spirit today!”

“Lee!” Gai-sensei cries, tears streaming down his face. “You’ve worked so hard in training...I know all your youthful efforts will allow your strength to blossom!!”

“Gai-sensei!” Lee yells back, beginning to cry himself.

“Lee!”

“Gai-sensei!”

She chuckles despite herself. “I’ll make sure to get a lot of good pictures, Okaa-san, Otou-san.”

Her mother catches her face in a soapy hand, thumb stroking over her cheek. Her eyes are impossibly sad, for some reason.

“We love you, Mayu.” She says. “You know that, right?

She smiles. “Of course I know. I love you too. Even more than Luffy loves meat.”

The worry on Okaa-san’s face melts into fondness. She leans forward to plant a kiss on her forehead, then steps aside so Otou-san can wipe the soap off her cheek with a tea-towel and plant a noisy kiss there instead.

Uchiha makes an impatient noise in the hallway, so she and Lee shout their goodbyes as they follow him out of the door.

Lee really likes the camera.

It took him a little bit to work out the settings to keep the photograph from being under or overexposed, but now he’s merrily snapping away at anything that captures his attention.

Which, so far, has included a bunch of pink flowers, a dog, a bird in its nest, a couple of ninja outside a weapon shop, an old lady in a pretty kimono who called him “a very nice boy”, and three babies in matching ninja-themed prams.

“Can you stop that and get a move on?!” Uchiha snaps. “There won’t be any film left at this rate.”

“Ah! Not to worry, Uchiha-kun!” Lee digs around and pulls out three black capsules of the stuff from...somewhere. “Jirou-oji-san was nice enough to insist I take extra!”

Uchiha groans and slaps his hands over his face as Lee catches sight of a curry restaurant and snaps a shot of its sign.

“Aw, lighten up Uchiha. Let him have his fun.” She ribs gently. “Where’s the harm?”

He stops in the street. When she looks back at him, he’s trembling slightly, fists clenched.

“Fun doesn’t make you stronger.” He sneers, “It’s a weakness that sets you up to be killed.”

He strides forward and body-checks her out of the way, stomping off down the road.

She stares after him, more than a little disquieted, scratching at her scar before following.

She stops and stares.

Along the top of the Uchiha compound there are katana, naginata, sai, spears, daggers, arrows, knives, staffs with kunai tied to the top, even what looks like a fishing pole.

All of them have been bound to the top of the exterior wall by copious amounts of black wire and tape, rusting or ornamental blades jabbing at the sky like a hedgehog’s spines.

Lee lifts the camera and snaps a picture.

The rest of their lunchtime group is standing near the entrance to the compound, also gaping at the wall’s spiky additions.

“Ah, Sasuke-kun!” Sakura says. “Um, what’s all this?”

Uchiha scoffs. “I know you’re a civilian, but even you can recognize traps, can’t you?”

“Aren’t traps supposed to be hidden?” Kiba mutters, Akamaru whining on top of his head.

Uchiha pushes open the door, pausing to unhook what looks like several tripwires and other mechanisms. “Even that man wouldn’t be able to get past all of this. He wouldn’t even dare chance it!”

They all begin trooping inside, only for Uchiha to quickly turn and say, “Step exactly where I step if you don’t want to die.”

There’s a veritable web of tripwires crossing the path through the compound, spidering haphazardly up trees and the sides of buildings. Several of the abandoned stores have been rigged with what looks like the sharp things Uchiha couldn’t mount on the wall, alongside what she thinks she recognizes as rudimentary explosives.

Usopp preserve us, she thinks as they gingerly pick their way through the tangle after the last Uchiha, who may have gone off the deep end while they weren’t looking.

Shikamaru mutters “Troublesome,” like an oath.

[ssa25]

Day 3: Post War (Sasuhina month 2019)

@sasuhinamonth

The first time he actually noticed her as a woman, was when all of them had gathered at their favourite barbecue place for dinner and drinks. Apparently, they did that a few times a year to catch up amidst their busy lives. But it was a first for him. His travels for repentance had kept him away for a good part of the two years, since the end of the war.

It was the sound of her laugh, her drunk laugh to be precise, that made his head snap in her direction. If she was Team 8's kunoichi before, now she was the woman with the pleasant laugh. He did not know if it was the alcohol in his system that made him react to her.

"Kiba~kun, stop refilling my glass…", even her whine was soft. "I hate not being in control of my senses.. . It isn't very becoming ... of a future clan head."

He could appreciate her uprightness. And the warm tone of her flushed cheeks. He had to force his eyes away from her, but his ears strained to hear more of her.

Her canine-loving team mate laughed boisterously, "I think you are already past that limit Hinata~chan."

The third member of their team, Aburame Shino was already out of his senses, as he slept with his head down on the table, his insects buzzing around his head.

She seemed shy, unlike the other kunoichis of Konoha. But that did not mean that she was incapable. She looked like someone who had silent determination, not loud proclamation of their bravado like his team members. She caught his interest, as fleeting as it may turn out to be.

Over the next few days, he heard bits about her during casual conversation between Rookie Nine. About how she volunteered at the hospital two days a week. And at the local orphanage every once in a while. About the hushed speculation that she planned to step down as clan head as soon as Hanabi was of age. Unconsciously, he formed an opinion about her in his head.

The second time, he noticed her out of the crowd, was during his grocery run at the market. He saw her covered in the most conservatives of clothes, not a sliver of skin showing which was in stark contrast to her new ninja uniform, which hugged her curvy petite body in an appealing way. But her civilian clothes were all dull colours. Although if you looked closely with a discerning eye, they were woven with the most expensive materials, as was expected from one of the wealthiest ninja clans in the Fire Nation. She looked happy and content picking out from fresh produce. No outward display of fame or power, as she smilingly greeted the humble stall owner.

It was after the third time his eyes drew to her, that he decided that he wanted to know her more. On his way to visit his older brother's grave, very early one morning, he heard her soft voice greeting the old frail man upkeeping the cemetery. He was sure she must have felt his presence too. And true to his thoughts, a few seconds later, she turned in his direction and bowed her head in acknowledgement with a kind smile.

She went about her business, without so much of a second glance in his direction. She cleaned the headstone, before laying down a fresh bouquet of handpicked flowers and lighting a few incense sticks. Silently, she clasped her palms together and offered a prayer. 

Unaffected by the world around her, she was a vision, and he stared shamelessly. His eyes traced the name on the tombstone. Neji Hyuuga. Jounin. War Hero. And her cousin. There was something melancholic yet beautiful in the way her thick lashed eyelids opened but lowered again as she sat still staring down, as if she was having a wordless conversation with her departed cousin. The one who died saving her.

Maybe, he too, saw her worth to be infinitely more than what was apparent on the outside. 

He decided to wait outside the crematorium gates for her. It took her a good few minutes, to meet him outside, her hypnotic gray eyes looking at him warily.

"Is something the matter, Uchiha~san?"

"Hyuuga Hinata, what do you think about my past sins?", he asked her bluntly. She blinked her eyes a few times, her frown making her confusion evident. 

"I-I beg your pardon?" 

"You heard me. What do you think?" 

She stared at him as if he was missing a screw or two. But after a few seconds of contemplation, she squared her shoulders as she answered. 

"Unforgivable.", her voice was almost soft as a whisper, but it was clear enough for him to hear.

Her answer managed to satisfy and worry him. She was impartial to him, that was a good thing in his books. Yet it made him wonder if she found his efforts at making amends to be pointless. If she would decline his offer in disgust.

As if reading his mind, she began to elaborate. 

"Your past sins are unforgivable. But you also helped save the world from the strongest foes we have ever faced. A-and you are trying to atone for your mistakes by helping people in need across all lands. Good deeds will not erase your dark past. But in the end, if they manage to outweigh your sins, then it means that you have learnt from your mistakes and you will continue to do what is right, what is just. Your sins might be unforgivable, but as a human you deserve a chance at forgiveness. T-that is what I think."

"So you won't hold it against me, if I decided to ask you out?" 

Her eyes widened like saucers. "A… A-Ask me out?" 

"Is there a problem?" 

"Umm… N-No… But… I like someone else.." 

His face soured, as did his mouth at the mention of the fact he had come to realise and he had tried to downplay it. 

"Yes, I'm aware of it. But I can be very convincing. How does 9 o'clock dinner at the new tempura place sound?" 

"Eh?!!", she was positively pink by now. "I-Is this some kind of prank, Uchiha~san?" 

"I'm not Naruto. I don't pull pranks. I'm Sasuke. Call me by my name."

"Sa… Sasuke~san, why are you doing this?"

"Are you going to pretend you don't know the reason behind asking someone out?"

"B-But this is like.. So out of the blue." 

"It's not. But you are always preoccupied elsewhere with something or someone."

Now she looked ashamed as she cast her eyes down. "B-But I can't do that to Sakura~san."

"Let's discuss more on this at dinner. I will arrive at the Hyuuga estate at half past eight to pick you up." 

With that he vanished into thin air, as Hinata was left flabbergasted. She had to pinch her arm to discern if she was dreaming.

Hiding somewhere to avoid the date was impossible, this was Uchiha Sasuke after all. 

" Oh well… ", she muttered. "It's just one date, and then I will tell him clearly, that he's not my type."

Little did she know, that ten months later, she would be eating her own words, as she walked down the altar to marry him. 

xxx

Note: Wasn't very satisfied with how this turned out. But I can't edit this anymore than I already have. As usual, apologies for the delay.

[pastelninjaimagines]

★☆♡♥♦ൠ for my boys Shino and Sai? Maybe Gaara and Hinata too? Sorry if this is alot

Shino 

★ - sad headcanon

When Shino’s upset he doesn’t show it. He internalizes it and anyone looking would just assume he’s his normal stoic self. He’s definitely a bit broody and when he’s sad he’d prefer to be alone. 

☆ - happy headcanon

Shino is happiest when, you guessed it, he’s surrounded by his insects. One of his favorite things to do is categorize them. Literally nothing makes him happier than spending his time doing that. He even names them. Like he remembers every single one. Idk how but it just makes him to happy to do it. 

♡ - romantic headcanon

He’s clueless when it comes to romance. Doesn’t know a thing about it. What is flirting? Shino doesn’t know. He’s awkward and would rather just stay silent than talk to his crush. He’d have to swallow his pride and ask Kiba all these questions, and then question Kiba’s common sense because do you really pretend your yawning to put your arm around your crush Kiba that doesn’t sound right. He’s hopeless. 

♥ - family headcanon

I think Shino would be very close with his father. His father was the one to teach him all about insects and he has fond memories as a child of him and his dad going to search for bugs with his dad watching fondly as Shino ran around with a butterfly net. Shino was a cute kid y’all. And as Shino grew up he stayed very close with his dad, who supports him in everything he does. 

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon

A quirk that Shino has is that every morning before he gets out of bed, he has to count to thirty. It’s his way of bracing himself for the day, especially when he knows he has to deal with a lot of people. He gives himself that thirty seconds of preparation before getting out of bed in the morning. 

ൠ - random headcanon

He can’t stand the cold. At all. So to prevent himself from getting the shivers, he always bundles up, even if it’s like 90 degrees outside this boy is in a jacket, pants, he might even have gloves on and you bet he’ll be wearing layers. It’s unnatural af. 

Sai

★ - sad headcanon

When Sai is sad, it comes from his feelings of emptiness and loneliness. His biggest fear is being left alone and abandoned. When in a group setting, if he feels like he’s not really apart of it, if they are ignoring him (whether subconsciously or they actually are) he just wants to fade into the background and he will leave to be by himself. Sai doesn’t have to put up with that. But he doesn’t really fall into self pity, he’ll shirk it off pretty quick and go back to his smiley self if confronted over why he left. He just doesn’t like feeling that way, like he’s not even there to people. He doesn’t deserve it. 

☆ - happy headcanon

Engaging Sai in conversations about his art makes this boy glow with happiness. He can ramble about his art for hours so please, do it. He will be a blushing, giddy mess if you complement his drawings like wow he’s so cute and appreciative of it. When he’s talking about things that make him happy he’s just so smiley and radiates happiness, like make this boy’s day and let him ramble to you. 

♡ - romantic headcanon

Sai is very by the book when it comes to romance. At first, he never really knew what to do, until he consulted the romance section of his local bookstore. He legitimately takes all of his ideas about romance straight from sappy romance novels. So yes, you will get fancy candlelight dinners, and walks under the moonlight, and rose petals covering the bed, because that’s what Sai is convinced what romance is. 

♥ - family headcanon

Shin was the only family that Sai had ever known. Whenever there was a festival going on in town, Shin would convince Sai to sneak away from wherever Danzo was keeping them and go and enjoy the festival. These were some of Sai’s fondest memories growing up because he and his brother could act like the children they actually were, playing games, eating good food, watching the festivities. Looking back on those memories, they glow with a shiny fondness. 

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon

Sai is nothing but quirky. He does this thing where he rehearses full on conversations in the mirror, pretending to be in different situations, filling in what the other person would say, etc. These conversation can go on for a full thirty minutes. Like he’s for real. He also totally practices different facial expressions in the mirror too. He wants to know what he looks like when he’s smiling, laughing, scowling, etc. so that he can make the “perfect expression.” 

One of Sai’s hobbies, besides painting/drawing, is practicing calligraphy. He has super good handwriting and he loves to just sit down and copy different texts into his absolutely beautiful handwriting. He finds it so relaxing and a way to be doing something without much effort. 

ൠ - random headcanon

He loves being amongst nature. Not only does it fuel his creativity, but it makes him feel very peaceful. He’ll wake up early, even on his days off, to go for a morning stroll through a garden or even a wooded area, soaking up the silence and the early morning radiance of the world just waking up. It starts his day off right and when he doesn’t do this in the morning he tends to be grumpier. 

Gaara

★ - sad headcanon

Pls don’t make this cinnamon roll sad. He’s too precious. He’s the type to isolate himself. He also has that single tear aesthetic going on. But he will cut himself off from literally everyone when he’s feeling particularly down. He doesn’t want to talk about it, doesn’t want any mention of it. He’s an internalizer of his pain and doesn’t want to burden anyone with it. Eventually he’ll work himself out, normally he has to go out in the desert and work out his emotions by himself there. What he does is a mystery to everyone but him. 

☆ - happy headcanon

Gaara loves hugs. Almost nothing makes him happier. He was so touch starved for most of his childhood, that literally any form of physical affection makes him so, so happy like he’s just glowy and smiley for the rest of the day when someone gives him a big hug. 

♡ - romantic headcanon

Gaara is more cutesy than romantic. He loves holding his s/o’s hand, especially when they’re out in public. He also loves kissing their knuckles. He blushes so hard. Also nose kisses. Yes. He’s a cutiepie. 

♥ - family headcanon

So obviously, when Gaara got older he became much closer to his two siblings. He has a very teasing relationship with Konkurow. Like they’re always on each other about one thing or another, but it’s all in good fun. Especially because Konkurow is very protective of Gaara. And so is Temari but in a much more obvious way. She is sort of Gaara’s mother figure, especially because she is the eldest sibling. They have a very good dynamic, Temari’s always reminding Gaara of things he’s forgotten and Gaara always manages to make Temari smile no matter what kind of day she’s having, he always brightens her mood. 

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon

Gaara really likes gardening. He’s got an army of succulents and cacti. They litter his office and his bedroom to the point that both Temari and Konkurow have said that he doesn’t have room for more. Gaara ignores this and goes and buys like 20 more to take care of. He’s got an amazing green thumb. He often volunteers in Suna’s greenhouses, and he’s somehow able to tend to plants that even professionals have a difficult time cultivating to make it so the plants are now thriving. It’s a wonder to everyone who works in the greenhouses. They don’t know how he does it. 

ൠ - random headcanon

Gaara is 100% band from entering sand sculpture competitions. It just wouldn’t be fair considering he can bend the sand to any shape with his will. So no participating in sand sculpture competitions for him. But he will be a judge. And he’s very critical, except when he’s judging a kids competition. Then he always gives everyone a solid 8/10 because how could he judge children? They all have such potential. He’s a softy. 

Hinata

★ - sad headcanon

Hinata is a crier. Whenever she’s sad, she tries to get as far away from prying eyes and just let the tears flow. She really can’t help it. She curls up in a ball, holding herself makes her feel better. And after she’s had a good cry, most of the bad feelings have left her, like she’s expelling all of that negativity through her tears. 

☆ - happy headcanon

The littlest kind gestures make Hinata so happy. Oh you held the door open for her, you’ll receive the biggest smile. Oh, you helped her pick up something she dropped, again you are graced by an angelic smile. It just puts her in such a good mood for the rest of the day to witness any good deed being done. 

♡ - romantic headcanon

Hinata is a hopeless romantic. So when she finds herself in situations that she had fantasized about for years, like a cute date, or finally kissing her s/o, she becomes a blushing mess, like as red as a tomato. She becomes so flustered it’s adorable. She also has all these ideas in her head that she herself tries to make happen, but she always ends up “messing up” aka it coming off as perfect and romantic, and then feels bad. Her s/o has to explain that everything she did was perfect and then she becomes a stuttering, blushing mess again. 

♥ - family headcanon

Hinata didn’t always have such a great relationship with her dad, he was very hard on her during her childhood, until he had a change of heart and accepted her for the person she was, not who he wanted her to be. Now he’s extremely doting on her, but a little less protective of her, he lets her do her own thing. But he’s her shoulder to lean on and her comfort always and he loves when Hinata comes to consult with things going on in her life.

Hinata and Hanabi get along very well. Hanabi is also very protective of her big sister, she gets very fierce if she sees anyone disrespecting Hinata in any way. Hinata taught Hanabi how to crochet and they bond over crafting and they are their going out to eat partners. Hinata loves to go clothes shopping with Hanabi and pick out outfits for her little sister to try that the younger girl would never pick for herself. Hinata loves to get Hanabi little gifts whenever she goes shopping alone too. 

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon

She love to crochet, and along with that Hinata is very crafty in general. Also she’s great at baking. One of her favorite things to make is chocolates. She makes them in really cute shapes and likes to get creative with them. Her favorite thing is to make things for her friends and loved ones, so you bet for special occasions they are getting knitted sweaters with cute saying stitched on them, long crochet scarves, and homemade chocolates. 

ൠ - random headcanon

Hinata is really good with small animals, like kittens, bunnies, birds, small dogs (though akamaru is the only big dog she is comfortable around). They always just find her and she could pet them for hours and hours. She sometimes takes strays home (to her father’s chagrin) and takes care of them for a while until finding them a good home. 

[hoe-imaginess]

Shino Aburame scenario please? He's a favourite character of mine that feels so unloved

I did a modern high school AU scenario draft if that’s cool bc I just love those AUs and it seemed to work so like???? Scenario drafts work well with modern AUs idk why. And I assumed you wanted it with a s/o but I started this as a reader insert my bad? Hopes this is okay

Shino scenario draft

You’ve known Shino for years. Ever since you first started school, you can remember him being there.

You can remember him finding slugs and beetles out in the school yard, showing them off like prized possessions and making girls squeal and run. You remember how he answered every science question correctly without fail, making you and your other classmates feel either incompetent or annoyed. He had a habit of rubbing people the wrong way sometimes. But not you.  

It was in high school that you two first had a class together. It’s then that you started watching him. He piqued your curiosity. There was so much to him. Shino was always so standoffish. But why? You know he has friends. A lot of them, judging by the niche he’s acquired over the years. Naruto Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, Shikamaru Nara, and a number of others that to you never seemed like a crowd Shino would mingle with. Yet he seemed to fit in without much trouble. But still, for a guy with so many friends, he was so… to himself. Why? Was he shy? Anti-social? You could never figure it out.

Bothered by his habitual silence, you take initiative one day and speak up.

“Hey Shino… how did your science project go?” Not that you were truly invested in the answer, but you had heard his project gained major praise from the science department. It was something about the metamorphosis of moths compared to butterflies. You didn’t understand the hype yourself, but you wouldn’t expect anything less from Shino.

Although he’s mildly surprised by your question, probably because you two haven’t spoken beyond partner work all this time, he still offers you the courtesy and answers you.

“Fine.”

“Oh.” The brevity of his reply isn’t surprising, but you forgot how flat his tone could be. “That’s good.”

The atmosphere doesn’t change after that. It’s almost as if your initiative meant nothing at all. It doesn’t offend you. It doesn’t annoy you. The fact he replied at all is enough to make you happy.

~

Conversations with Shino don’t become much easier as the year goes on. But at least he’s giving you the time of day.

He still keeps to himself for the most part, but you get more and more out of him each passing day. Mostly snide comments under his breath. Sometimes about other kids in class acting up, sometimes about the teacher being incompetent. As cold as these comments might seem, they always make you chuckle. At least you’re beginning to see what kind of guy Shino is. Whimsical in his own respect, and much more fascinating than you previously thought.

He would never admit it, but he’s starting to think the same way about you.

~

Shino is in your class again the following year. He seems familiar enough with you that he willingly chooses to take the seat next to you on the first day.  A blessing in two respects, since science is your worst subject, and his forte. Now he’s your lab partner. You’re certain that will save you from a low mark this year. And, it again provides you the opportunity to get to know him better.

He can still be rather withdrawn at times. If you dare strike impulsive conversation during class, even if it’s just a silly comment, he ignores you. It’s as if the lecture is his only focus. In fact, he even chastises you one day.

“You should be paying attention to the lesson,” he tells you, after your attempt at a sly joke fails to resonate.

It startles you, but doesn’t upset you. If anything, it’s amusing. For whatever reason, over the time you’ve really known him, his attitude does nothing but amuse you. He probably expects it to be intimidating. Authoritative, even. He wants you to take him seriously. But you can’t. He’s too… cute.

You just smile a knowing smile and turn your attention back to the teacher.

~

The year goes on. Shino is much friendlier… or at least, his version of friendly. He doesn’t seem to brush you off as easily as he used to. It’s as if you’ve gained his trust. Although, that might be a reward for entertaining his bug affinity and asking him questions throughout your science class together. No matter how adverse he seems to conversation, if you ask about a bug, he’s more than happy to answer. In fact, you’ve never seen him talk as much as he does than when he’s telling you about insects.

It’s a little weird, but you like it.

Already convinced that Shino is the reason you were getting good marks in science, you had to persuade him into partnering with you on the big upcoming project. He didn’t seem very enthused at the prospect. As far as you knew, he preferred working alone. So you were surprised when he agreed.

You catch up to him as he walks home one day. “Shino!”

He seems off-put by the way you run up to him, but he turns to give you his attention, nonetheless.

“_______.”

“Are you busy? I thought we could work a little on our project now.”

He pauses. He’s mildly concerned that you’re becoming much too persistent. It’s a little annoying. Yet he can’t find it in him to ignore you. “It’s a Saturday.” Of course you can’t see his expression behind the glasses, but his tone lets on to the hesitance. “Don’t you have things to do?”

“Nope, not really. I would rather get started on the project. Besides, we’re both free.”

“I never said I was free.”

“Well. Are you?”

Another pause.

“Yes.”

“Well, good! Where should we go?”

Your enthusiasm visibly confuses him. Maybe you were coming on too fast. But you can’t help it. He’s being more compliant than usual and you have to take advantage of that.

“I don’t know,” he says.

“Your house maybe? If that’s okay? It’s close, isn’t it?”

He wants to ask how you know where he lives, but he’s too busy thinking about the proposal. He’s reluctant. His parents probably wouldn’t mind. They were always so busy with the family business. The house was probably empty anyway. Besides, you were just his lab partner. That’s it. Nothing wrong with a lab partner coming over to his empty house on a Saturday evening, right?

“Sure.”

And you two are on your way.

~

For a week, you see Shino every day after school to work on the project. You two work well together, for the most part. But his strange attitude has been puzzling you.

One day he’s open and comfortable; the next, he’s closing himself off. The routine is tiresome. His cold nature bothers you. Before, it never did. You didn’t even bat an eye at the demeanor because it was all you had ever known. But now, it’s upsetting. You had finally cracked his shell, only to be pushed away once again. What was going on? Had you done something to regress?

These little moments of confusion are remedied when he goes soft around you. It’s the little things. Asking if you’re hungry, offering to cook for you. Asking you about yourself, something he had never done in the years you had known him. It makes you happy, thinking that he might actually care. To see this side of him feels like a gift.

~

The routine becomes something you look forward to. Working on your project doesn’t sound so tedious as the days go by. All seems well, but there is one afternoon where his demeanor makes you shift uncomfortably in your seat.

He’s been quiet, almost too quiet. Every time you try to talk to him, he offers no reply. At most, a little grunt, one that suggests you not speak again. At first, you think he’s just busy concentrating. But then you realize he’s actually trying to ignore you.

This continues for a few days. Was something wrong?

You have to ask for your own sake. “Is everything okay, Shino?”

“Fine.”

But that’s not a normal response. If everything was fine, he might have asked a reason for the inquiry. That’s how he was, quick to question your curiosity if he thought it was unsolicited. So no, everything isn’t fine.

Was he upset with you? Was he annoyed? Perhaps with your worth ethic? Not that you slacked and left the workload to him, but Shino was a man who didn’t forgive ignorance. Especially when it came to his science and bugs. If you didn’t understand something, he would rather do it himself than take the time to explain. You had pointed out before how unproductive that was, but he didn’t seem to take you seriously. His arrogant undertone wasn’t new. But something was definitely off as of late. Whatever glow of potential friendship you had once felt is dwindling… and it hurts, in a way.

“You’re acting strange,” you point out to him, knowing it might be a little too bold.

“No I’m not.”

But he is. He most definitely is. You don’t think he’s even looked at you once since you came over that day.

“Is everything alright?” You keep pressing because it’s the only thing you know how to do with Shino.

“Fine.”

But it’s not.

“If you don’t want to work on the project today that’s fine with me.” You wonder if he’s tired. He worked so hard all the time. “We can just take a break. Are you hungry? We can—”

“If you don’t want to do any work then just say so. Just leave. I can do it on my own.”

You stare at him. The words were spoken with such bitter spite. It almost didn’t sound natural. “What?”

“I don’t have time to waste.” He writes something down on his lab report, seemingly unbothered by your confusion and fluster. “I’ll just finish this myself. I’ve done everything up to this point anyways.”

Now the confusion shifts into frustration. “I’ve tried to help, Shino.” Were you at fault if he prevented you from contributing? “But you act like I’m… stupid.”

“You’re not.” But there’s no reassurance or repentance in his voice. He still won’t even look at you.

“Then why can’t I help?”

“You obviously don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Okay, then teach me.”

“I don’t have time. It’s easier if I just do it on my own.”

“But then you complain that I’m not helping. You see how this isn’t working out, right?.”

Finally, he looks at you. Even behind the dark lenses of his glasses, you can feel his scrutinizing gaze. Not hateful, but not soft either.

It frustrates you more than it intimidates or disappoints you. All you’ve done up to this point is tolerate his attitude. Stayed out of his way when necessary because you know his personality can be assertive every bit as it can be reticent. What had you done to warrant this?

“Shino, we’re partners.” You surrender the anger that almost takes over your tone. “I want to help.”

“If you want to help, then just leave. I need to do it on my own. You can go home.”

You’re about to protest again, but the reality of the situation hits you. Maybe you were just a nuisance this entire time. Someone whose company he tolerated, not enjoyed. Had you been going about this the wrong way? Blinded by your own excitement? You hadn’t even stopped to consider whether or not he was as content as you were being ‘friends’.

You do as he says. You leave, with your heart hurting the whole way for some unknown reason.

~

He doesn’t talk to you at school the next day. You don’t say anything to him either, too scared to start conversation.

It saddens you to think you’ve ruined what was there—no matter how small it was. You thought you two were getting close. Closing the gap that kept you from friendship for so long. But maybe you had overestimated the relationship.

You try to think back on the whole thing. You two had conversations aside from the project. Fun conversations, at least to you. Conversations friends would have. He seemed to open up around you. Wasn’t aloof and quiet like he was with others. Hell, you even sat with him at lunch some days and saw how he interacted with his friends. It didn’t seem very different from how he was starting to treat you. You felt special. You felt happy.

So what went wrong?

Maybe it was too much for him. Maybe you came on too strong. Maybe he was only enduring you for your portion of the project. That seems logical enough. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve lost a friend… which should make this easier, but it’s not.

You didn’t even know him that well. Why did it bother you so much? Why did you dread going to class and seeing him every day since it happened? You didn’t know. But the mix of guilt and anger was certainly taking its toll.

~

The first time he talks to you since the incident is the day before your project is due.

“Is there anything else you want to add to the project before tomorrow?” His voice is so dull and detached, it hardly sounds like a question. He’s not even looking at you.

Still, it’s a futile question. Why would he give you the courtesy when all he had done up until this point is criticize your participation? A sharp retort is caught on your tongue. You’re sure he would have one in response. But you were too emotionally drained to test that. You couldn’t fathom tarnishing your relationship with him any further—if it could even be called that at this point.

“No,” you tell him. “It’s whatever you decide.” You hope your tone isn’t as brash as it sounds in your head. He doesn’t seem to notice. Regardless, he still won’t look at you.

“Fine.”

Then class is over, and he leaves you sitting there. Confused, guilty… and yearning.

~

You get the highest mark possible on the project. You don’t thank Shino, though you wonder if he’s expecting gratitude. If he is, he doesn’t make it apparent. He doesn’t seem interested in speaking to you again for a long time.

You’ve learned to accept it. Something went wrong, obviously. What exactly, you don’t know. You stopped trying to guess. 

It hurts for a week or two. Fortifying your relationship with Shino had been encouraging. You looked forward to seeing him every day. It actually made school bearable. Now, it’s back to enduring. All while trying to ignore the tension between you two now.

He surprises you one day after class by asking if he can speak to you alone. You think about declining. Politely, of course. Politely as you can, given the bitterness that has gathered with your situation. But you somehow can’t deny him.

You two wait until the classroom is empty. Even behind his glasses, you can see his discomfort. His demeanor is stifled by hesitation.

It’s a long moment before he breaks the silence. “You’ve been very quiet in class.”

You stare blankly. You hadn’t expected that. Was he serious? Is that all he had to say?

“Well… yeah.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Something wrong?” He couldn’t possibly be so oblivious. He was either repressing the friction he had caused or hoping you had forgotten about it already. Thin chance. “You mean besides the fact you brushed me off and didn’t talk to me for a month?” The spite comes through more than you intended it to, but it’s too late to stop now. “Of course there’s something wrong.”

“I didn’t brush you off.”

“Then what would you call it? You made me feel stupid. You didn’t have to be like that, Shino. All I wanted to do was help.”

His expression doesn’t seem to change. Nothing about him changes. You would have thought that such contentious words would instigate him, but no. He looks as if he’s studying you.

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” is all he says.

You would consider it an apology, if his tone wasn’t so indifferent. It made you feel unimportant. Like a nuisance. Which was the reason your little dispute had been so hurtful in the first place. Why Shino’s opinion of you was so critical, you didn’t know. But that’s just how it was now. And although you want to be mad at him, to pour onto him the mix of resentful emotions that had amassed over the weeks, you can’t.

If you really think about it, you knew you were at fault too, for expecting too much out of him. Everyone knew Shino was not an easy guy to deal with. He never had been. It was foolhardy to assume that working on a project together would remedy that.

“I know I can be difficult,” you say. It damages your pride, but it’s true. “And maybe I wasn’t the best partner. I’m sorry. You just made me feel so… irrelevant. If you didn’t want to work with me, why did you agree in the first place?”

Shino thinks. He could argue and remind you that your persistence was what made you two partners. He hardly had any say in the matter. But your question still remains. Why had he agreed if he knew you would be a nuisance? You had always annoyed him a little. Most people did. But it was different with you.

When you left that day, after he snapped at you, he didn’t feel a sense of relief or accomplishment. Not like he normally did when he ridded himself of a distraction. 

He felt regret. 

Pride aside, he always had a difficult time admitting when he was wrong. He was so used to chastising others for their errors that he had forgotten how it felt to feel guilty about his harsh words. Regret wasn’t something he felt often. But now, it’s too bothersome to ignore.

“It’s… fine,” he says.

You look at him, unfamiliar with such a civil response. “What?”

He sighs inwardly. Giving up on his pride was a great defeat. “You don’t have to apologize.” It did make his own apology—if that’s what this was—a little easier, though. “If anything, I was the bad partner.”

He doesn’t sound insincere. He sounds like he really means it. It’s almost enough to make you smile a little. “Are you sure about that? That doesn’t sound like you.”

Even if he’s not, it seems like a shame to hold any anger toward you. It’s not your fault. How could you know you were subject to his confusing emotions as of late? He didn’t know how to feel about you. He never has. He knows now that’s what prompted him to treat you so coldly. A defense mechanism to combat whatever odd feelings of fondness he had felt for you over the past few years. But he couldn’t tell you that.

“Are you mad at me?” he asks evenly.

It’s such a silly, innocent question. It didn’t sound like a question Shino Aburame would ask. You want to say yes, because truthfully, somewhere you are mad at him. Mad at him for treating you so callously. For making you feel so strongly for him.

“No,” you finally concede with a sigh. “We just got off on the wrong foot.” Almost two years ago, you think to yourself. He’s quiet after that, as though he’s waiting for you to carry the conversation. Maybe to salvage the civility you two are desperately seeking. “Maybe next time we’ll have to fine different partners.”

“Maybe.” And that’s all he says. Ever the taciturn one.

You nod in place of vain conversation. The demeanor between you two isn’t entirely mended, but it’s much more comfortable now. It’s odd how so few words on Shino’s end can remedy your mood. You don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing.

“So… do you want to make it up to me?”

Behind his collar, he frowns. “What?”

“Do you want to make it up to me?” He probably can’t detect the teasing edge to your voice. And that’s fine. It’s more fun that way. “You can take me to eat. I’m starving.”

You’re met with silence. Obviously, the humor doesn’t reach him. 

“Why would I do that?” he asks, flat as ever. 

“It’s the end of the week. You don’t treat yourself to good food at the end of the week?”

“No. Not usually.”

His dull attitude makes you laugh. It always has. You’re just glad you can enjoy it again.

“That’s fine then,” you say, a smile on your lips. The wind is picking up outside. If you don’t get home soon, you’ll be caught in the rain. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You’re hurrying in the other direction by the time he replies. “Yeah. I’ll see you.”

~

That next week, Shino does make it up to you. He asks you out to dinner.

[this-is-a-true-trump-card]

Shino Is An Underrated Strategist and Fighter

Stayed calm when Zaku attacked, and blocked his punch with one arm. You could argue it's not impressive because Zaku isn't a strong Taijutsu user, but consider that Shino has never seen Zaku fight, so being able to calmly judge his opponent's attack and blocking it with one arm is an impressive feat. Shino himself is known (only by fandom) for being not so good at close range.

Got up from a high pressured blast of wind direct to the face. It was aimed right at Shino's skull, he hit the ground hard and rolled. He should have been at least bruised, but there’s not even a scratch.

Managed to get his bugs behind his opponent without them or anyone else noticing, despite it being a large and open area. (although this does make sense because if a guy in front of you has skin "leaking" bugs you'd be likely looking at him and not anywhere else. But still, at least one person should have been have noticed)

Got his bugs inside Zaku's wind holes without the opponent or anyone else noticing. It makes sense if you consider that once again, everyone would have been distracted by the guy "leaking" bugs through his skin or the other guy yelling about "you should always have a trump card, right!!?"

But then Shino explains that he planned to stuff the wind holes with bugs at the start of the match. That is, before he even actually saw Zaku use his wind attack. All Rookie teams saw Dosu attack with his sound and Zaku throw a kunai at Kabuto, but Team 8 is the only rookie team to not see Zaku's wind attack. Which means that Shino countered an attack not only before even first seeing it but as soon as he knew who his opponent was. How did he know they were wind tunnels? They could have easily created fire or water. Even if obvious, how'd he know he could a) tank it safely at point blank and b) his insects could block it? Seriously, Shino, you have expendable insects to "test the waters". Why did you need to use your face?

Oh, by the way, Shino hid a secret true trump card under a false one. That’s Shino method of fighting. He lures you with a false colony of insects to use as a distraction from the real insects moving in for the attack. The insects in plain sight to Zaku and everyone was the distraction, the insects in Zaku’s arms was the real threat. He does the same thing to Kankuro, as I’ll explain later.

Also. How did Shino get behind Zaku so quickly? Before he was a few steps in front.

No one else considered that Zaku was pretending to be crippled. Even Dosu, Zaku teammate, was pleasantly surprised. It's not that Shino knew Zaku wasn't handicapped (he may have), but that Shino is naturally a cautious person (his first words in the series is him telling Kiba they shouldn't run ahead in the FoD because it was dangerous). He was the only one there not to think "this guy only has one functioning arm" and instead told his insects to block those dangerous wind holes. As in, he took consideration that the “broken” arm could still attack.

Sasuke didn’t even notice Shino had been tailing him all this time. neither did Kankuro or Temari. That’s some Ninja level shit right there.

By the way, just before Shino makes his appearance this scene happens.

Quote from Narutopedia: “Pakkun has shown to have an incredibly sharp sense of smell, even by canine standards. He can regularly determine what type of scent he is picking up, how far away it is, and how dangerous the person is.”

But Pakkun couldn’t smell Shino. All he could smell is a “clump of numerous scents”. You could write this off as a sort of “Rule of Mystery” thing (who’s this unknown “thing” that isn’t even human”?), but it also shows the possibility that the Kikaichu’s scent overrides the host’s natural scent making it easier for an Aburame to ambush their opponent or escape from those who use smell to track.

Now this begs the question. Could Kiba, with his “better than a Nin-Hound” nose (revealed during the Shippuden Itachi Pursuit arc) smell Shino over the numerous scents of insects?

Shino managed to tag Sasuke without the latter being aware. As far as part one goes, the Kikaichu don’t seem to be fast movers. This is why Shino has to use distraction in order to capture and defeat his opponent. They seem to become faster in Shippuden, though.

Both opponents are ready to attack, waiting for the other to make the first move. Which Kankuro does without warning. Can you see how Karasu sort of just “flies” towards Shino with considerable speed and how quickly Kankuro deploys those poisonous blades.

But as quick as Kankuro is to attack, Shino is just as quick to evade.

Notice in the first panel how close Karasu is now to Shino, and how Shino reacts to Karasu opening its mouth but has no idea what’s to come? In the last panel Kararu fires off two blades at quick session while not being too far a distance from Shino.

And Shino manages to evade it. Kankuro is trying to kill Shino by attacking without mercy in quick session without warning. And Shino, so far, has dodged all attempts.

Take notice that even though the blades were at close range and flying at fast speed, they don’t penetrate straight though the insect clone.

Remember when I said that Shino uses his insects to distract the opponent from his real intention? Yeah, here’s another example. And, as you’ll see, that won’t be the last.

Also, the fight hasn’t been that long and Shino has already worked out Kankuro’s weakness to close combat. Shino had only seen Kankuro fight once previously. Remember that Kankuro originally forfeited to Shino in the second round in ordered to hide what Karasu could fully do. All anyone knew what that Kankuro used Karasu to switch places, because, as Shino states, Kankuro can’t handle close-range. So the sudden use of poisonous daggers is new to Shino, yet he still manages to avoid them. Which shows that even though close-range isn’t Shino’s strength either he’s certainly not as weak to it as most of the fandom think.

Apparently, trying to kill your opponent with poisonous daggers is not considered “how jutsu is used in a real fight!”, but a poisonous smoke bomb is.

Anyway, Shino is hit by the poison gas bomb. And clearly was unprepared for it.

Shit!

After Shino’s apparent death the scene cuts over to Hiruzen vs Orochimaru, and Iruka rounding the children to a safe shelter. But when it cuts back to Kankuro and Shino, this ^ is what happens. Shino, possibly with another clone, escaped Kankuro’s next attempt at killing him.

How did Shino know he could stop Karasu by jamming its joints? Because he’s observant and a damn great strategist, that’s why.

Notice how Kankuro just remembered the insects feed on chakra, even though Shino explained it to everyone when he fought Zaku? Well, as you’ll see this isn’t the only important thing about his opponent Kankuro forgot.

So Shino wasn’t prepared for Kankuro cutting the strings, but clearly he has an alternative planned.

“You’re too careless!” Kankuro, stop. Have you not learned to stop underestimating Konoha Genin yet?

I love Shino and am glad he’s alive, but this scene is bullshit. When a projectile is fired off from such a speed as Karasu’s head, momentum should allow it to continue forward, even though you cut off it’s power source (chakra strings).

How Shino beats Kankuro is the same as how he beat Zaku. The first insects attacking were only a diversion.

Remember what I said that Kankuro forgetting the important detail that Kikaichu eat chakra isn’t the only important thing about his opponent Kankuro forgot? “How could you know where I was with just one bug?”

“You’re too careless!”. < A quote from Kankuro earlier in the fight.

Take note that Kankuro is completely immobile. If you ever need an idea of just how quickly the insects eat chakra once they manage to get on their target.

Anyway, notice how tired Shino is at this point? How out of breath he is and how he can barely speak?

Well, while he succumbs to the poison gas he only does so until he’s certain Kankuro is immobile.

I’ve seen too many people downplay Shino’s part in this fight because “he almost died to poison if not for his father”. But not only did Shino dominate the entire fight, avoiding all but one of Kankuro’s attempts to kill him, he continued to fight even when dying. Also, Kankuro needed help from Temari. He couldn’t move without her. And Shino was never trying to kill him. Chakra exhaustion requires only rest to replenish one’s chakra reserves.

Do you see how fast Shino’s insects move from his sleeves to the tree “Tobi” is perched on? If you thought they were slow before, they’re clearly not now.

Kakashi telling Naruto that Aburames don’t focus their attacks on a single point, I feel as if he’s also talking to the fandom, because what Naruto is thinking is exactly what most people argue when it comes to Shino’s fighting style. Just the opponent could avoid the insects by jumping out of the way, or even using a jutsu against it.

And what Kakashi is saying about Aburames taking control of a wide large area is not something that Kishimoto had Kakashi explain because their was no evidence shown beforehand how Shino fights. Kakashi is explaining something that’s been evident since Shino’s fight with Zaku and Kankuro. With Zaku Shino took control of the arena, with Kankuro he took control of the forest. No matter where the opponent is, how they try to avoid the insets, Shino has already made the battle area his own.

The insects always respond to Shino’s commands instantly. Further prove that they are not slow by any means. They started off as a liner jutsu and now Shino has spread them to take control of the entire area, as Kakashi stated and as shown in part one.

Another misconception of Shino’s insects is that they’re easy to avoid provide that you are fast enough (very common versus Neji and versus Kiba) . Here Kakashi says it isn’t possible. Once the bugs surround you, capture is inevitable.

I understand that this is all hype for Shino by Kakashi (and Kishimoto) and that they insects are probably avoidable outside of the Space-Time jutsu “Tobi” is about to use, but I like to remind you that canonically the only evidence of opponents being able to escape from capture is “Tobi” using Kamui, a Space-Time Jutsu and Naruto using Kyubi chaka to escape from Shibi’s (Shino’s dad) insects.

Any other method is speculation.

Humans in the Naruto world have always survive the impossible, because they’re ninja. Leaping through fire, escaping explosions, drowning, and so on. But you can guarantee that the insects will always be expendable. Even though they, too, are ninja insects and should likely therefore be able to survive what real life insects can’t.

Here the Kikaichi cover the entire opponent in order to prevent movement. The opponent cannot run and is unable to move their arms to use a jutsu. Any opponent without Space-Time jutsu or Kyubi chakra would be unable to escape at this point.

Here Shino explains that is isn’t possible to escape with high speed movement. Fast opponents like Neji or Kiba could try and avoid the bugs, but the insects would just still continue to pursue the target until capture. Escape, as Kakashi said, is impossible.

See how Kakashi wasn’t expecting “Tobi” to escape with a Space/Time jutsu. That in any other situation Shino would have successfully captured his opponent.

Just like with Kankuro, Shino shows that he can react quickly to unexpected close combat attacks.

While Shino’s target here is a mindless Jubi clone, and that with any other opponent he wouldn’t be able to plant a bug as easily as this, you only need to remember my explanation of Shino’s fighting style versus Zaku, Kankuro and “Tobi” to understand that Shino figuring out a way shouldn't be much of an issue.

Even though most of the fandom thinks it’s a great idea to argue that a opponent faster than Shino who excels at Taijutsu such as Neji or Kiba, would beat Shino purely on speed and taijutsu alone, let me remind you that it would be a horrible idea. Going close-range to an Aburame is suicide. You give Shino the easier method of capturing the opponent you were debating for. Shino can either defend with his insects, having them instantly surround and cover his opponent, or he can opt to faux punch (like he did Kankuro) but instead of a tracker female bug it’s a flesh-eating Kaidaichu.

Hopefully, showing that his bugs and he are not easily avoidable/defeated by opponents who are highly fast, excellent at Taijutsu, or have nature Jutsu. And helping to remind readers that Shino is, in fact, a strategist. That he fights the same way as Shikamaru does. He also acknowledges his weakness, covers them, and uses the area his fighting in to his advantage.

[recentanimenews]

THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Bugs Out in Episodes 148 - 154!

  Welcome to the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! I'm Paul Chapman, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we broke out of Ninja Jail with baka-brothers Fujin and Raijin and witnessed Mizuki unveiling his public fursona in Episodes 141 - 147. This week, we continue with a bug hunt of epic proportions and a mission to free a mining town from the predations of a clan of maniacal murderers in episodes 148 - 154.

  It's a week of strong openings and questionable conclusions as we continue to wade hip-deep through the filler arcs, where the animators did their own thing while giving Masashi Kishimoto and the Naruto manga a chance to catch up. We saw some cool character development and interesting villains, but can the series keep up the pace, or will our hopes go splat like a bug on a windshield? 

  Two of our valiant shinobi are currently off on their own secret missions, but let's see what the rest of the Crunchyroll Features team thought of this week's episodes!

    One of my objections to the last batch of filler was that the writers didn't give Naruto and company any clues for tracking down Orochimaru and Sasuke, so the plot felt like it was just fluttering about. These episodes give the group a smaller goal that ties to the larger one. Does the hunt for the Bikochu feel more substantial as a result, or is it still filler all the way down?

  Kevin: It’s definitely filler, and filler with an unsatisfying resolution at that, but my main complaint was the same as in the previous batch. I wish that the bigger plot wasn’t being shoved into the filler arcs. Since the plot isn’t going to advance until Shippuden, we know that any arc dealing with gathering information about Orochimaru and Sasuke will end in failure. Just take out Orochimaru, have the mission be from some generic client and change nothing else. Suddenly the filler arcs can have actual tension, since we don’t know how they will turn out.

  Carolyn: I hated this arc so much. I would go back to Land of Tea in a heartbeat. The whole thing felt very contrived, sort of pointless, and I could have done without the ending completely.

  Joseph: I was okay with this filler for the most part, and I kind of liked learning about the Great Bug Wars of the past. The end gag rendered it totally pointless and made it the absolute definition of filler, though, so I shan’t be fooled again.

  Danni: I mostly liked the bug-catching arc, but they’re dooming all these filler arcs to pointlessness by trying to tie them all to finding Sasuke. The mission failing because Naruto farted completely undercut what had been a great set of episodes.

  Noelle: 100% still filler. This was definitely weird, because it felt like we were getting something that’s still filler but relatively substantial, but nope, it threw that tone out the window. I wish they’d commit to the something if they’re going a particular route.

  Jared: It’s still filler, but at least it kind of went in a different direction than look at what Orochimaru’s done this time. It probably would’ve been a fine arc if the end of it didn’t happen, but at the same time you can’t give them an overpowered item like a bug that can find Sasuke in the midst of the filler.

    Although they can't progress the main story, filler arcs can give more screen time to supporting characters, such as Shino and Hinata. How do you feel about Shino's leadership in hunting the Bikochu compared to Shikamaru's leadership in the Sasuke retrieval mission? Does seeing a wide range of personality types and strategies appeal to you, or does it drive you buggy?

  Kevin: Shino’s never been one of my favorite characters, so I’m tepid on him as a leader, especially since his leadership style is mostly to let people do whatever, until they do something wrong and he orders them to stop. Shikamaru might not have given all of the details, but both the characters and audience could tell that all of his plans were well thought out. In general though, I quite like seeing more development for the minor characters, even if I don’t necessarily like the characters themselves. It’s exactly what I asked for last week!

  Carolyn: I felt like overall the leadership was pretty directionless. But that’s very likely because the mission itself had no direction. I do like seeing other characters fleshed out more, though.

  Joseph: Shino feels like the kind of person who doesn’t communicate orders well but still expects everyone to know exactly what to do and how to stay in line. I’m not a big fan of him as a character, but I like his powers. I much preferred seeing more of Hinata.

  Danni: Let’s just say Shino needs to work on his communication a bit. I am glad that we’re getting to see more characters in action through the filler, especially Hinata. She basically got the development Sakura didn’t get in the earlier filler.

  Noelle: I think it’s good to showcase different types of leadership, because for the most part, Shikamaru did things pretty well. Shino, by comparison, is much less effective, and I think we needed that contrast. Not everything has to, or should, go smoothly. Also, isn’t everyone like… 13 or so? Having efficient leadership skills that young is pretty rare.

  Jared: I’m glad we’re seeing a bunch of the other characters get some time to shine as the filler becomes Naruto’s journeys with his pals. I kind of liked Shino’s leadership in regards to Naruto because he was just straightforward with him and direct in a way that tried to find a way to make him think more rationally than just going full speed at all times. I wouldn’t say he’s a great leader, but he seemed to know how to reign in Naruto at times which is effective.

    Aside from her duel with Neji during the Chunin Exams, Hinata hasn't done much that is buzz-worthy yet. How do you feel about Hinata's treatment here? Does her dedication to training and her progress in mastering new Jutsu skills counterbalance her being kidnapped and taken hostage by bees?

  Kevin: Hinata is one of the characters that always seems to be kind of weak, at least compared to the people around her, but then either through willpower or a new technique shows how awesome she can be. The kidnapping didn’t even bother me much, since it fed directly into her development for the arc and led directly to her saving the rest of the team.

  Carolyn: I don’t mind the bees! Bring on the bees! But I hate the fact that yet another girl on this show is trying to better herself to impress and/or keep up with a boy.

  Joseph: BEEEEES! I thought Hinata was handled decently here, though I can see what Carolyn means by her motivation. I did like the fact that she broke herself free from captivity.

  Danni: I don’t mind her getting kidnapped considering she gets free entirely of her own ability and single-handedly saves the day. Now she just needs to learn how to fight bees by doing sick revolver tricks.

  Noelle: Like everyone said, I didn’t mind her being kidnapped because she takes action instead of being helpless. The end result may be clunky, but that’s because Kishimoto’s source material leaves a gap between some characters, so some ‘catch-up’ will unfortunately happen.

  Jared: I’m glad she was able to get some time to show off her improvement and cool new skills since she’s been MIA basically since the Chunin Exams. Although, like others have said, her reasoning of wanting Naruto to just look in her direction is a bummer.

    Last week we discussed how cartoonish Mizuki felt and how his backstory didn't need to be linked to Orochimaru. This week we've got two new sets of villains: a group of insect-master shinobi who want to restore their fallen clan's glory, and a group of gold-hungry, cackling psychopaths who bury people alive for fun and profit. What's your take on these new villains? Are either of them the bee's knees?

  Kevin: The bee villains could’ve been pretty good, but the arc felt much more like it was Hinata’s story. The clan rivalry was mostly good window dressing, and the main plot had the problem I mentioned earlier where Naruto needed to fail so that he didn’t accidentally find Sasuke too early. The other group were obviously just pure evil, but I was completely fine with that. Especially in filler arcs, the writing can get away with the occasional “evil for evil’s sake” type of villain. Then we learned about Ranmaru the bag child, and my interest plummeted.

  Carolyn: Man, I loved the creepy as heck funeral cult villains. There was some very, very accurate emotional abuse going on there, “I remember those good times” when referencing the villager’s loyalty. Messed up stuff.

  Joseph: Shotgunning all of this filler at once is kind of like rushing to complete all the side quests in a game before taking on the final boss. It’s cool to see the expanded world but you know at the end of the day you’re just running bread and milk errands for everyone. Thematically, I’m more into the funeral cult villains. I didn’t really think they lived up to their potential, but the whole living funeral thing was cool. Honestly, I was just glad to see some villains that weren’t driven by Orochimaru’s vile promises for once.

  Danni: While I wouldn’t go so far as to say they’re good villains, the bee clan at least had understandable motives instead of an unquenchable thirst for blood and hunger for Frosted Flakes like Mizuki there at the end. Raiga though...oof. I’ll admit, I’m very into the whole funeral cult thing. It feels like a setup that would fit well in the dark and absurdly humorous world of Golden Kamuy. Then they revealed Ranmaru to the world and their backstory felt so wooden and nonsensical that if you told me it was written by an AI that had been forced to watch the Zabuza arc 10,000 times and told to recreate it I would believe you.

  Noelle: I don’t think they’re exactly good villains, but they are a touch different than what we’re used to seeing so far. If everyone’s motivations ended up being the same (i.e. power or Orochimaru), things would start to get dry pretty fast. Some variety is good, even if the end results are debatable.

  Jared: I thought the bee group was probably the best we’ve seen thus far throughout the filler. Their backstory felt like you could’ve seen them in the non-filler as just one off villains rather than some of the others we’ve seen. Raiga and Ranmaru were just super weird in a good way. It kind of broke down when it basically just decided to parallel Haku’s story from the beginning, but having Naruto and pals try and stop a weird funeral cult is kind of wild in a way I wasn’t expecting.

    The scenario with Raiga and Ranmaru directly references the earlier story arc with Zabusa and Haku. Do you expect the conclusion of this arc to evoke similar emotions, or are the writers just droning on about their previous work?

  Kevin: I expect that they are trying to pay homage and hoping to pull off another emotional scene, but I highly doubt that it’ll work. Zabuza was a mercenary who took in a child with special powers as something to train into a tool to fight for him, and Haku was an orphan dying in the snow who grew attached to the first person to actually aid him. We got to know them via a few scenes spread throughout the arc. Raiga is a psychopath who buries people alive because he thinks funerals are great who picked up a child because the child somehow knew about his past, and Ranmaru has a poorly defined sickness and even more poorly defined powers that seem to give him something close to omnipotence. We learned about Ranmaru as he exposed his backstory to the team, and we will likely finish this arc next week. It’s not impossible to illicit the same kind of emotional response as Zabuza dying next to Haku, but it’ll be really difficult since Raiga and Ranmaru simply don’t have as much character development as the original pair, and don’t have as much time to develop their relationship.

  Carolyn: Zabuza was undoubtedly abusive but had some kind of attachment to Haku. Raiga does not have any attachment to Ranmaru. Raiga only cares that Ranmaru is obedient. The second that changes, it’s all over.

  Joseph: I appreciate the callback but I don’t expect much of a payoff. Actually, ever since Naruto’s fart finale I’m just going to go into these arcs knowing the conclusions will be dissatisfying. Naruto at this moment is very Saturday morning cartoon, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s not where I’m going to go for emotional highs and lows until it’s back on track.

  Danni: This isn’t even close to approaching the emotional heights of that arc with Haku and Zabuza. I’m still struggling to make sense of the whole Raiga/Ranmaru situation. This kid is just totally fine with Raiga killing his entire village, somehow knows everything about Raiga, and on top of that just...lives inside a sleeping bag? It felt like I was trying to watch that episode with a raging fever.

  Noelle: It was an attempted copy, but it didn’t work. It’s hard to pull off good emotional payoffs with filler, but especially so if the core is missing from the material. Zabuza and Haku mutually cared about each other, which is why the ending felt so heart-wrenching, whereas Raiga and Ranmaru just feel kind of there? Different emotional setups won’t work in the same kind of payout.

  Jared: I’d say it’s more of them being like hey look at this thing we did before, remember that?! We’ve certainly already seen it happen before in the filler and I doubt this will be the end of it, but it definitely doesn’t hit the same emotional points that the Zabuza and Haku portion did. If anything, it made me remember how good that was and miss that the show probably isn’t going to be able to pull off that kind of writing until Shippuden.

    And finally, what are your high points and low points for the series this week? Bee serious.

  Kevin: High - Hinata’s new Gentle Fist style. I’ve always liked Hinata and wished that she was able to be awesome more regularly, so having a major focus of the arc be on her was already a good start for me. Then showing her constantly training and occasionally hinting at her having some kind of new technique was great to show her seriously trying to improve. The culmination of her creating her own variant of Neji’s Rotation and then being able to adapt it to be either defensive or offensive looked silly, but the effects were amazing. My only complaint is that since this is filler, I don’t think it ever comes back, and I wish that it got more development.

  Low - Ranmaru. I was going along with the arc until Ranmaru’s reveal. Sure, the villains were outright evil, but I’m okay with that as long as they’re consistent. Ranmaru doesn’t break that consistency, but everything about him makes no sense. If he’s always in that house and has no one else, how has he fed himself? What exactly is his sickness? Are his powers full on jutsu, Kekkei Genkai or something else entirely? What even are his specific powers? An entire flashback dedicated to giving Ranmaru’s backstory somehow raised more questions than it answered.

  (Dis)Honorable Mention - Lee referring to his notebook to learn about the Hidden Mist Jutsu. My issue with this isn’t this specific moment, but rather thinking back to the beginning of the show versus now in relation to jutsu. Early on, Kakashi reprimanded Naruto for casting a jutsu in plain sight where his enemy could figure out what he was planning and counter it. Now, we have entire strings of hand signs out in the open (in the previous week’s arc), and so much down time that people can go research what jutsu they’re under before being attacked!

  Carolyn: High point: These bug puns. Thank you, Paul. Low point: A tie between that stupid, stupid fart and Hinata dedicating herself to her ninjutsu to impress her dad and Naruto. Have goals, ladies!

  Joseph: High point: It’s a tie between Hinata’s development and living burials, which I’m a sucker for. Low point: Gotta be the end of the bug hunt. I love a good fart gag but Naruto has never had one and this was the worst. Fart in my face once, shame on you. Fart in my face twice, shame on me.

  Danni: High point is easily the direction in episode 151. All of this filler has come with many more downsides than upsides, but we’re beginning to get some episodes with their own standalone flair to them. I imagine that working on original arcs rather than adapting manga chapters maybe grants the team with a little more creative freedom in their cuts and storyboards. The low point was Naruto farting on the bug. Like, dude, you just messed up your best chance of finding Sasuke. How are you not devastated by that?

  Noelle: High point, I think is Hinata starting to work on her own merit. Canon didn’t spend a lot of time with her, but here we can see that she is trying, she is just as determined as she is in the Chunin Exams, she just needs some time to shine. Low point, the fart ending. Really? Really?

  Jared: High point would be Hinata defeating bugs and getting to show off her new technique. Also the return of the goodest of boys Rock Lee and him fighting while unconscious was a good goof. Low point would easily be the fart gag that ended the Bikochu arc. Just a bad way overall to end what could’ve been a serviceable plot point.

    COUNTERS:

Bowls of Ramen: 2 bowls, 3 cups

“I'm Gonna be Hokage!”: 0

Shadow Clones Created: 45

  Total so far:

Bowls of Ramen: 49 bowls, 6 cups

“I'm Gonna be Hokage!”: 52

Shadow Clones Created: 548

  And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto! Watch Naruto today!

  Here's our upcoming schedule:

- Next week, on June 21st, KEVIN MATYI will push onward into what the fillers have to offer.

- June 28th, JOSEPH LUSTER brings us to the Land of Birds!

- July 5th, DANNI WILMOTH gets nautical in the Land of the Seas!

  CATCH UP ON THE REWATCH!

Episodes 141-147: Mizuki Strikes Back!

Episodes 134-140: The Climactic Clash

Episodes 127-133: Naruto vs Sasuke

Episodes 120-126: The Sand Siblings Return

Episodes 113-119: Operation Rescue Sasuke

Episodes 106-112: Sasuke Goes Rogue

Episodes 99-105: Trouble in the Land of Tea

Episodes 92-98: Clash of the Sannin

Episodes 85-91: A Life-Changing Decision

Episodes 78-84: The Fall of a Legend

Episodes 71-77: Sands of Sorrow

Episodes 64-70: Crashing the Chunin Exam

Episodes 57-63: Family Feud

Episodes 50-56: Rock Lee Rally

Episodes 43-49: The Gate

Episodes 36-42: Through the Woods

Episodes 29-35: Sakura Unleashed

Episodes 22-28: Chunin Exams Kickoff

Episodes 15-21: Leaving the Land of Waves

Episodes 8-14: Beginners' Battle

Episodes 1-7: I'm Gonna Be the Hokage!

  Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!

Have anything to say about our thoughts on Episodes 148-154? Let us know in the comments! Don't forget, we're also accepting questions and comments for next week, so don't be shy and feel free to ask away!

  -----

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

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