#itachi: i don't see why it matters

[sailornymph]

hihi!! may we have first kiss/first date hcs for some naruto men (your choice!)

i really like your writing, thank you for doing my previous request <3

cinnamon girl; naruto various

synopsis — first date with sasuke, shisui, gaara, kakashi

content warning — sorry for responding so late! your support is appreciated and thank you <3 i hope you don't mind that i went ahead and turned it into short pieces instead of hcs

♡ sasuke uchiha : first kiss

“i heard naruto and kiba talking about sasuke, he has officially moved back to konoha,” your best friend, hinata, told you.

“why are you telling me this, hinata?” you asked, as her face turned red. fidgeting with her fingers, she glanced at you.

“he asked naruto how were you,” she said.

“of course he did,” you frowned. he had some nerve, sure, he had his issues, but you were willing to support him through it all. you could easily let it all go, you were only children, when you began dating, but hearing how much none of you mattered to him, when he was with orochimaru wounded you.

waving at hinata as she entered the hyuga estate, you continued on your walk home. passing ichiraku’s ramen shop, you rolled your eyes, hearing naruto’s voice.

“was that y/n?” he asked, loudly. turning your head, you made eye contact with kiba before he moved his head back. they whispered amongst themselves when he revealed himself. sasuke uchiha approaches you in his usual dark apparel.

“y/n”

“sasuke,” you crossed your arms.

“would you like for me to walk you home?”

“you were going to do that anyway”

“not without your permission,” he shook his head, looking down. raising your eyebrows for a second, you were shocked. maybe hinata was right, he was actually on a road to redemption.

“i guess,” you mumbled, turning away.

“way to go, sasuke,” naruto cheered before he was shushed.

“i was told you asked about me,” you spoke up, as he silently followed you.

“it's been a while,” he answered.

“i wonder why”

“i’ve made mistakes, i am not proud of the path i’ve gone down, i'd like to make things right, including with you,” he said, shifting his eyes, his cheeks turning pink.

“i mean nothing to you, does that sound familiar?” he asked.

“yes,” he mumbled, unable to meet your eyes.

“you hurt me, all i wanted was you, i cried many nights, torn by what was said”

“i wish i could-

“did you mean it? those words you said that night?”

“i needed to hurt you, the best way i knew how, for you to let me go,” he admitted.

“but is that how you felt?”

“never, so many nights, i’d sit and think of when you'd visit me, bringing snacks or just to hang out. i missed you, but you couldn't go down the path i was headed”

“you're an idiot,” you sighed.

“i know,” he agreed.

“what have you been up to, since being back in the hidden leaf?”

“picking up missions, i actually leave in a few days, but i hoped we would run into each other before then”

“why?”

“so that i could…it’s nothing,” he said, continuing to walk you home.

in the comfortable silence, you felt stunned by the change in his character. he was mature, holding himself accountable, and he looked so handsome letting his hair grow.

“well, thanks,” you said, awkwardly, going to unlock your door. nodding, he turned to leave, as you faced him, watching as he left.

“hey sasuke,” you called out, taking big steps to get to him, as he turned around. practically leaping into his arms, you kissed his lips. instantly, his arm was around your waist, kissing you back.

“i wanted to take you somewhere when i return from my mission,” he confessed, as you pulled away.

“then it’s a date,” you nodded.

“see you then,” he whispered, watching as you turned to leaving, going back inside.

♡ shisui uchiha : first date

“there he is, he’s waiting for you,” your best friend, otsuni squealed, as you made your way into the uchiha compound. he leaned against a tree, talking to his friend, itachi when he suddenly looked your way.

feeling your face burning, you turned to otsuni, to avoid his gaze, but she only smiled at you.

“he’s coming this way,” she said, making you look. he said a few more words to itachi, the young boy nodding and walking away, as shisui approached you.

“y/n, how was the mission?” he asked.

“it was fine,” you shrugged as if you weren't screaming in excitement on the inside.

“i should get home, i’ll see you later, y/n,” otsuni said, waving.

“bye,” you said, before facing shisui.

“if i’m not mistaken, i was promised a date, when you returned,” he crossed his arms, a smirk on his lips.

“is that why you stood right by the gate? you were waiting for me?”

“what can i say, i’m excited,” he laughed, making your heart flutter.

“would you like ice cream?” he continued.

“sure,” you smiled, following him.

it felt like a dream, when shisui approached you, asking you on a date. you’d known him for as long as you could remember, being a part of the same clan, but you never associated with him. he had always been more advanced going on to become a jonin, while you remained a chūnin.

you didn't think he was serious at first, questioning his motives, but he reassured you, saying how you had been in his mind as of lightly and you wouldn't get out of his thoughts, so he figured he could give it a chance.

“when will you test to become a jonin?” he asked, suddenly.

“i didn't really plan to, i’m not a prodigy like you”

“but you have what it takes and i could help you”

“i don't know…”

“i think you will do great”

“you seem persistent about me becoming jonin”

“not persistent, but i think it would be nice to go on a mission or two with you,” he winked, as you both approached the counter. ordering your ice cream, you began to reach for your wallet, when he handed the girl the money.

“i could've paid”

“what kind of date would this be, if you paid,” he said.

“well…thank you,” you said, following him, as he went to sit at the picnic benches.

licking your ice cream, you moaned at the sweet treat. it hit the spot, as the sun shines brilliantly on you, even sitting under the tree. glancing at shisui, you stopped licking, noticing him staring at you, a grin on his lips.

“what is it?”

“you're so beautiful, i’d love to be your boyfriend, if you'd let me,” he said, reaching to wipe the ice cream from your cheek.

“it’s only the first date,” you raised your voice, your face burning in embarrassment.

“then i better leave a good impression,” he laughed, licking his ice cream, while staring into your eyes. god, this man was interesting.

♡ gaara : first date

wiping his palms on his leg for the millionth time, he lowly huffed. he was nervous, waiting for you to join him. much to his dismay, joy, you entered his office. gulping, he smiled softly, as you beamed at him.

“gaara, how has your day been?” you asked, opening the door, the lunch bag on your arm.

“i am fine,” his eyes widened at his voice cracking.

“that's great, are you ready to leave?” you asked, sitting down.

“one moment,” he nodded, standing to put on his kazekage cloak.

“h-how has your day been, y/n?” he asked, as he went to open the door for you.

“wonderful, i've been so excited for our date, i could hardly wait,” you said, making his face turn red.

“i didn't mean to make you embarrassed in any way,” you gasped, as he turned his face away from you.

“you're fine, i’m glad you’ve been having a good day,” he mumbled, as the both of you left his office. walking in a comfortable silence, you planned to go to a ramen shop, while he was on a lunch break.

as you began to walk, he slowed his steps a bit. you didn't notice, but he could see the curious stares from everyone. why were you even with someone like him? he was healing from his past, but he never thought he would end up with anyone until you moved to the village hidden in the sand. you spoke to him every morning, as he walked to the office, while you were on your way to the flower shop.

at first, he stared confusedly, as you smiled at him, waving while saying good morning, maybe you were speaking to someone else. then he finally built up the courage to raise his hand, waving back, his heart pounding as your smile widened. a potential new friend? he oftentimes let his mind drift to you and wondered if you wanted to be his friend. then one day, there was a knock on his office door, his secretary peaked in, telling him that he had a guest. suddenly, you made your entrance. you formally introduced yourself to him and told him you heard so much about him and you'd love to be his friend.

for months, your friendship blossomed, until you asked him to join you for lunch, as a date. hesitantly, he accepted, hoping this was not a prank, but you couldn't be more serious.

“i am starving,” you said, as you smelled the aroma of the ramen.

sitting across from gaara, your eyes scanned the menu, before telling the waiter what you wanted, watching as he wrote it on the ticket.

“what are you getting, gaara?”

“i am not hungry,” he said, making you pout.

“do you not like this place? we can go someplace else if you’d like,” you offered.

“no, i just don’t have much of an appetite,” he said, as you nodded furrowing your eyebrows.

“so tell me what is it like being kazekage?” you asked, excitedly. looking into his eyes, you see that he was glancing up, a few people giving him weird stares.

“hey, you have no idea how excited i’ve been for this date,” you smiled, reaching to touch his hand, getting his attention.

“i just-i don’t understand why you would want to be on a date with me,” he mumbled.

“you’re cute, the prettiest eyes and gaara, your heart is made of gold, what’s not to like? i don’t care about strangers looking at us weirdly, i just want to enjoy your company, can i do that?” you asked, smirking as his cheeks turned red.

“y-yes, that’s fine,” he blushed.

“great, will you order something now and stop acting modest, i was hoping that this would be the beginning of many wonderful dates,” you laughed happily as he nodded, waving for the waiter to come back.

♡ kakashi hatake : first kiss

‘i can't believe i’m late,’ kakashi stressed, as he made his way to the park. he was the one who brought up the free time in his schedule to spend with you. yet here he was, running late, with time working against him.

as he sped up his steps, he could see you coming into view. the sun was setting as you sat alone in the grass. you picked at the nonexistent lint on your dress, your fingers carefully turning the pages of the book.

“y/n, sorry i’m late,” he said, sheepishly, scratching his head, taking in how you looked physically relieved.

“kakashi,” you said his name breathlessly, closing the book.

“i didn't think i would end up so late”

“i understand, at least you made it,” you smiled.

“you look pretty, what are you reading?”

“thank you, and uh, romance, a friend of mine recommended it,” you blushed.

“you like romance?”

“not this one, he is in love with her and she can't see it, it's frustrating,” you sighed, looking up as you felt his eyes on you.

“what?”

“i can't look at you?”

“can i see your face, kakashi?” you whispered. discreetly, he looked around before, he lowered it a little, making you smile.

“you're very handsome,” you said, holding his cheek. not saying a word, he leaned forward, pressing his lips against your own. your finger going to his hair, and his hand snaking around your waist. moaning lowly, as he broke the kiss, pulling his mask up in the process.

“that was our first kiss,” you said, subconsciously leaning toward him, biting your lip.

“was it nice?”

“your icha icha reading has certainly paid off,” you laughed, as his face turned red.

“are you hungry? dinner is on me,” he offered, holding out your hand. accepting his hand, he pulled you close, hoping you wouldn’t notice the deep blush on his face. he couldn’t remember ever sharing such a lovely kiss with anyone.

[badgalsasuke]

My thoughts on the Naruto ending

So I had said I was gonna post about my feelings and thoughts regarding the Naruto finale that might contain a few hot takes for some people, so here it is.

THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG POST.

The Naruto ending is universally disliked, there's not doubt in that. Veteran SNS shippers don't like it because Naruto and Sasuke end up with women they don't love and aren't attracted to, and believe Naruto and Sasuke could've end up "single" with no ships confirmed; younger SNS shippers that weren't there when Naruto was still coming out believe they should've ended up together even though that could have not been plausible due to the manga industry quite conservative practices. Het!shippers on the other hand, believe the ending is bad for two different reasons: the first being that some believe that Narusaku and Sasukarin would've made more sense than SS and NH (some say just Narusaku and Sasuke should've stayed single); the second being that although they like SS and NH and the potential they believe these ships have "but wasn't explored further", Kishimoto can't write romance so he messed up both ships, making them bland and barely romantic.

Another reason why the ending is disliked for non-shipping reasons and mostly by Sasuke stans, is that even though in the couple chapters before the 700th one Naruto and Sasuke talk about changing the shinobi system, we see in Boruto that the system has not been changed at all and instead Naruto and Sasuke are reinforcing it despite all the oppression and suffering they were put through it in its name. We even see Itachi, the man who committed genocide being lauded as a hero for his actions and zero reflection on Konoha as a genocidal State. Oh and the Hyuga clan still practices slavery.

So here I come to say the following: Naruto's ending makes sense.

Now before y'all tear me to pieces let me explain myself. The first time I read the finale I thought it was stupid, one reason being that the ships make no sense no matter the angle you try to look at them and the other reason being that Sasuke was now working for the same State that murdered his clan with Naruto now as the head of that same State and making no changes to the Shinobi system (not a very good look on him, right?), so I thought for many years that the ending sucked.

Then The Last, Boruto and Sasuke Retsuden came out and all I could think was "woah this is all really shit from the butt".

But then one day when I was thinking about the manga as a whole, mostly because I was starting to realize that Kishimoto was being intentional in his writing of Naruto and Sasuke's romantic bond and it wasn't accidental like most of the fandom thinks, I just started connecting dots and trying to make sense of the whole story and seeing how the ending fitted into that. I'm someone that whenever it comes to literary analysis and criticism always tries to think about what was the author intention before I label something as bad because it wasn't my personal preference how something was written.

And that's how I realized what there was theme to the Naruto ending is. It's all about conformity.

Now, don't get me wrong the Naruto ending still has flaws, two big ones in my opinion, which I'll point out further down the post, but what I want to do is show you the forest because I feel the fandom is mostly focused on a couple of trees when it comes to the finale. I want you to see the thread of events Kishimoto created and how he was trying to keep it as in character as possible.

So first things first. If you've read Kishimoto interviews over the years then you would know what was the ending he had envisioned: chapter 698. He talks about how he wanted Naruto and Sasuke to have their final fight, make ammends and change the shinobi system together. He achieved two out those three things he intended.

In a quite controversial interview that most of the fandom likes to ignore, Kishimoto stated that he had no emotional attachement to Naruto and Hinata as a couple and it was Studio Pierrot who had pitched the whole thing about The Last movie. He also states that he decided to make NH endgame after Shippuden had started and he had also considered Narusaku as well, but then in another interview that came later he started saying he had intended to make NH canon since the very beginning. He was constantly contradicting himself in these interviews over the years. Kishimoto has also expressed his distate for SS and Sakura's character in general in different interviews.

So what I personally believe is that Kishimoto's editorial, Shueisha, made him change his statements because saying he had no plans for NH and it was Studio Pierrot idea was quite damaging to the franchise (no wonder the interview got kinda buried too, lol).

I think the biggest challenge for Kishimoto was giving the editorial, the studio and most of the fandom the het!ships they wanted without compromising as much the characters the story of his manga revolves around, Naruto and Sasuke.

So we get to ch. 699 where I believe Kishimoto is laying the ground for the finale we ended up getting.

In ch. 698 it seemed like Naruto and Sasuke had been able to resolve their issues and been able to talk about their feelings for each other. Something Sasuke repeats in ch. 699, a chapter entirely narrated by him. However right at the end of ch. 699 we get what seems to be a regression of what we had seen in the previous chapter.

It is implied that Naruto and Sasuke had an argument off-screen hence why Sasuke thought Naruto would not come to see him and bid him farewell before his atonement journey. What was the argument about is never really explained, some fans speculate Naruto was upset about Sasuke going on an atonement journey considering Naruto had pleaded for Sasuke to not be imprisoned and saw no reason for Sasuke to go on a redemption trip. I personally believe it had something to do with Naruto failing to come to terms with his feelings for Sasuke because, as we see right away, Naruto gives Sasuke back his headband and Sasuke says he'll keep it until they have their real fight which is interesting, to say the least, because didn't we just see their real fight the literal prior chapter? basically, we're being told Naruto and Sasuke haven't been able to truly talk about their feelings and put into words what their relationship really is about hence why Sasuke keeps the headband. As long as Sasuke has the headband, it will mean Naruto hasn't been able to truly accept what he feels for Sasuke. In essence, ch. 699 is Kishimoto retconning ch. 698 to give way to what comes later.

After chapter 700 came out we started getting so much content, both filler and canon, that tries to explain how we got there. Let's start with The Last, the movie that tries to explain how the heck Naruto ended up with Hinata.

The Last is sort of a hybrid, it's written for the most part by Studio Pierrot employees who had the idea in the first place and Kishimoto corrected a few things here and there and is also what for me, makes the ending flawed for one big reason: Naruto's character assassination.

Naruto is a shonen manga that's more focused and concerned on it's emotional battles and communicates it to the audience through it's physical battles rather than the powerscaling stuff Naruto dudebros would have you thinking the manga is actually about. So this means that Naruto, its main character, spends the entire manga learning about his feelings and putting them into words. That's what his story is mainly about; learning to love and to be loved.

The Last undoes this in the stupidest way possible. To give Naruto an excuse on why he always ignored Hinata they intend to make the audience believe it's because "Naruto doesn't know what love is" by writing Naruto not being able to differentiate between loving someone and liking ramen. This is absolute nuts. We know that Naruto understands what is love, what is not love and that love doesn't come out of nowhere, we see that when Sakura fake confesses to Naruto, he's able to spot right away she's not being genuine because he understands those three things. So this is the first flaw of the Naruto ending for me.

The second flaw is the dismissal of Kurama and Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki. I find the most embarrasing thing about The Last to be that they had to put Naruto through a genjutsu so he could hallucinate "memories of Hinata being there for him but he was too dumb to notice" but it's even worse once you remember that Naruto canonically should not be able to be put through a genjutsu in the first place. Studio Pierrot had to break rules of Kishimoto's universe in order to give NH some mediocre development and to me this will always be the worst part of the finale. If you can't make a ship work within the universe rules, then why make it a thing at all?

Some people didn't like that Hinata is totally useless in the movie, but for me this is not a flaw, as it is entirely in character with who she is in the manga. Making her a mary sue out of nowhere on the other hand, would be a flaw of the story.

Now that I've talked about what I think are the flaws of the Naruto ending, let's talk about the things that work in The Last (and I believe is where Kishimoto put his input) to make the finale make sense. The first one being that Sakura is the one that pushes Naruto to be with Hinata. In the manga we see several times Sakura is insecure about Naruto and Sasuke's bond and being jealous of Naruto's spot in Sasuke's heart. Even Hinata is baffled by Sakura wanting to help her and asks her why she's doing all that because she knows they're not friends. We then see Sakura think about Sasuke (who's also conviniently excluded from the movie) and simply say "we, girls, should support each other", she wants Naruto out of the picture so she can have Sasuke for herself and she succeeded. It's also important to note that once Sakura got what she wanted she no longer pretended to be a friend of Hinata, she didn't even kept close contact with Naruto either as we see in Naruto Gaiden, Sarada and Naruto don't know each other like that at all, if Sakura was being a genuine friend to Hinata and Naruto, she would've kept her family close to Naruto's but she didn't.

One more thing that I find works about The Last is that Naruto doesn't passionately fall in love with Hinata, but instead is constantly guilt-tripped into liking her, which is more true to his character. You have a man already struggling to accept his sexuality, who also has his deceased mother's expectation of marrying a girl and on top of that is a pathological people pleaser, of course he's gonna marry the first girl that tells him she loves him. It makes sense this all happened while Sasuke was not in the village. Naruto panicked about his sexual identity and rushed to marry an "acceptable woman" in the eyes of the people whose approval he craves, as we see in the special chapter Kishimoto wrote that came out after The Last: the villagers fawning over Konoha's hero dating the Hyuga heiress.

Likewise, Sasuke not attending Naruto's wedding helps the ending not be as contrived or out of character of them. Kishimoto never wrote anything on why Sasuke skipped the wedding as far as I can recall, but in the episodes that Studio Pierrot made dedicated to Naruto's wedding we see a Sasuke completely absent and detached from the event, something Naruto dudebros use to dunk on him because that made him a terrible friend from their perspective, but as usual they're not paying attention to the full narrative Kishimoto is creating here.

Making Sasuke be happy for Naruto and attend his wedding and give him a gift and all that crap, would've made het!shippers and Naruto dudebros happy but it would be at the expense of his character and the story Kishimoto was writing. Remember, Sasuke had kept the headband all these time until he could have his real fight with Naruto, meaning he was waiting for Naruto to be honest about his feelings for him, so him not attending Naruto's wedding is a way to communicate to the audience (at least the part that's paying attention) that Sasuke is heartbroken by the news.

I believe this is why Kishimoto designed adult Sasuke the way he did and makes him dress the way he does as an adult. All black and depressing. I also believe that Sasuke will stop dressing that way the minute he and Naruto have their real fight, if they ever have it, that is.

Additionally, Kishimoto nailed making NH canon before SS would be canon. Naruto, as I stated before, is the one that struggles with his identity and feelings for Sasuke and the one that has the expectations to marry a woman so it makes sense that he would be the one to marry a woman first. SS becoming canon first wouldn't make sense because not only is Sasuke more outspoken about his contempt for Sakura, whereas Naruto remains polite and neutral to Hinata's feelings, but Sasuke also has no reason to be with Sakura if Naruto is still available, in fact, Kishimoto making Sakura be the one to chase Sasuke after Naruto's wedding because Sasuke never came back, as we see it stated in Naruto Gaiden ch. 10, is also in character for both Sasuke and Sakura, instead of writing it the other way around like SS shippers wished, y'know their whole thing about Sasuke coming back to the village for Sakura and apologizing to her because he didn't realize how much he actually loved her because he was trapped in the darkness blah blah blah (I think this is what happens in filler novel Sasuke shinden lol).

If Naruto is not available, then Sasuke is in a very emotionally vulnerable position and Sakura took advantage of that. You see the narrative Kishimoto is creating here? There's a thread to follow on why stuff happened they way it did.

Now, I mentioned before that the theme of the Naruto finale was conformity. Here's where I explain how:

The first thing is Naruto's physical appearance. Kishimoto liked to draw a young Naruto all punk and grunge. He even had already made a design of adult Naruto where Naruto looks, well, cool and HOT.

Yet, for the actual finale he gave us an ugly Naruto, but also a Naruto that looks tired and exhausted. How does this tie with the conformity theme? when Naruto was young he used to go against the rules, defy expectations people had of him, tell authorities to fuck off. Like, when he was told to give up on Sasuke when he was 12, Naruto responded "If giving up on Sasuke makes me wise, I'd rather be fool my entire life", this man was a rebel. But as an adult we see him become the head of State that continues to reproduce the status quo that had once oppressed him. Naruto turned apathetic, his appearance reflects his attitude.

And this is consistent with the narrative Kishimoto's been crafting. Just in the same way Naruto conformed to society's expectation when he married a woman he doesn't love and barely knows, he also conformed and succumbed to the shinobi world status quo. It would *make zero sense* for Naruto to revolutionize the shinobi world while married to princess slaver Hinata Hyuga, that'd be an oxymoron, completely contradictory narrative wise. Certainly, Naruto always struggled to find an ideology, to put it in some way, when it came to Konoha and its ninjas practices and had a messed up perception of its villagers (see: the whole Dark Naruto mini plot) but he still wanted to change the shinobi world WITH SASUKE by his side, once the story established they don't end up together and Sasuke isn't by his side, Naruto doesn't care anymore.

This is why I don't find strange that Kishimoto wrote Naruto oversleeping in the eve of his name day as Hokage, a day Naruto had once dreamt about when he was a child. The spark is gone.

But the spark isn't just gone for Naruto, it's also gone for Kishimoto. Naruto didn't even attend his name day because he was knocked out by Himawari. This is Kishimoto being petty. He spent 15 years writing a story where the goal was to see Naruto become Hokage and he knew how anticipated this moment was and he still went and ruined it for the fans anyway. Naruto dudebros were furious about this, but not once did they stop to wonder about the implications of this, what it said about Kishimoto's relationship with his work if it had gotten to the point he went and "fucked it up".

Naruto cared about the state of the world before he became indifferent to it. This is why when Sasuke stans complain about Naruto not actually caring about Sasuke's trauma but can never really explain why Naruto is like that as an adult. They try to pretend Naruto never cared but this is a lie, kid and teenage Naruto was compassionate to Sasuke's trauma and pain even if he didn't always managed it in the best way possible. So, I always feel like they're missing this particular piece of the puzzle: if Naruto can't be his true self then he cannot change the world and neither can Sasuke.

Because the same thing occurs to Sasuke. One blog once posted that Sasuke not caring about his child is out of character, but Sasuke not caring about Sakura's child is very much in character and I feel that sums up Kishimoto's writing of both adult Sasuke and Naruto. This passiveness you wouldn't imagine from their younger selves, takes a hold of them once they become adults and gradually "get in line" to be a part of the real world. Sasuke doesn't care about his child because he had her with a woman he doesn't even like or respect. Sasuke is stuck in time still holding onto that headband, hoping he and Naruto will one day have their real battle.

Sasuke uses the forehead poke, a gesture he always hated, on his wife and child because he, just like his brother to him, wants to distance himself from them. Sasuke now serves the same village that plotted the mass murder of his clan and family because why not? his brother is lauded as a hero for killing his entire clan after all. Sasuke too, has conformed.

I actually wonder if this is in some way linked to modern Japanese culture. Japanese culture and society are deeply conformist with everybody is always trying to fulfill roles imposed in them, always trying to achieve what is expected of them. It could also be about how adulthood sucks the passion and hopes out of the youth (Kishimoto started writing Naruto when he was 24 and finished when he was in his forties). And of course, the closeting of queer people leading miserable lives as pretenders.

If Sasuke is meant to end up with Sakura and Naruto is meant to end up with Hinata then Kishimoto cannot make them happy marriages and give them happy families, he also cannot keep Naruto and Sasuke as revolutionary outcasts that stand up against the status quo, that fanservice would be out of character and out of theme.

This is what I mean when I say the ending makes sense, once you see the finale is all about conformity the thread of events becomes understandable and more heartbreaking too. You don't have to like it, but I do think we have to understand where is Kishimoto coming from when he wrote it the way he did.

The Naruto fandom wanted black and grey from Kishimoto and that's exactly what Kishimoto gave them, black and grey.

EDIT: I've written more on how the conformity theme starts to become present in the series as far back as in Neji's death, check it out HERE

[cosmic-glow]

Request: "May I request soft akatsuki headcannons for a reader who loves to bake and cook? It's a passion of mine, and a great stress reliever! There's nothing I won't try and try to make!"

Notes: First of all, I'm sorry it took me so long to respond 😭 I also like cooking and I completely agree with you! I hope you like what I wrote, good reading!

"Are you hungry, love?"- Akatsuki

Warnings: no pronouns; no use of "y/n"; pure cuteness. Gender: Soft Headcanons. Characters: Itachi; Kisame; Deidara; Sasori; Kakuzu; Hidan; Zetsu; Tobi/Obito; Pein; Konan.

Itachi Uchiha

He always offers you help in the kitchen.

He is very picky when cooking for someone but is easily satisfied with whatever you cook for him.

He feels obligated to return the favor by cooking for you too. That's why he took charge of breakfast, always waking up before you to prepare what you like.

Likes hot foods and pasta. Loves handmade sweets.

He prefers traditional foods, but accepts trying new flavors when he's with you.

He loves going out to buy new ingredients with you, he knows a lot about the subject and would be of great help.

Kisame Hoshigaki

You know that popular saying that the best way to conquer a man is through his stomach? It applies very well to this man.

He likes to be spoiled with food and will be grateful for it so.. please cook for him.

His heart feels warm when he comes home and smells something delicious you are preparing.

He likes foods with a sweet and sour taste, and he loves meat. He also loves sweets, so it's not hard to please Kisame.

He loves trying new flavors with you. If you want, he'll even help you in the kitchen, but he's not very good (he's a bit clumsy).

He'll find a way to say thank you, whether it's washing the dishes, giving gifts, taking you out to eat, all of the above, whatever you prefer.

He's the kind of guy who would eat what you prepared even if it was completely burnt if he knew you put effort into it.

Deidara

He likes fast food, but is very happy when you cook for him.

Thanks to you, he's starting to eat more healthily, because he has a childish palate and is very resistant to exploring new flavors.

He likes spicy foods because are like an explosion in the mouth.

"I have to say, honey, your cooking is an art!" - he says with his mouth full when he really likes it.

One of his favorite moments of the day is when you're eating something you've prepared or he's bought, watching a movie and talking about anything.

It's something very simple, but if you make a cake just for him on his birthday, he'll feel so loved that he might even cry a little.

(Sometimes he brags to the other members about having such a skilled s/o in the kitchen).

But please keep this boy the hell away from the kitchen! When I say he's a complete chaos cooking, it's because the kitchen almost always explodes! Literally!

Sasori

He often forgets that he still needs to eat due to his puppet body, so he's grateful that you remind him. He still needs to eat a little every now and then to ensure a bit of vital energy or something.

And yes, that was the lie he invented to not disappoint you. And regardless of whether you believed it or not, he always eats your food, even though he knows how much work it will take to clean his insides afterwards (don't worry, he'll probably come up with something to solve this).

Understand, he lied because he knows how important cooking is to you, he sees how much you work at it, but had the misfortune of being with a guy who doesn't need to eat… but he couldn't risk hurting you for something that's his fault.

Sasori only eats your food and no one else's, no matter how much they insist.

He likes foods with strong spices, he no longer feels flavors in the same way as when he was a human.

At the end of every meal, he politely thanks you for the delicious food and offers to help with the dishes.

Kakuzu

He likes hot, very hot, and traditional foods. Doesn't like sweets.

He's great in the kitchen and sometimes cooks for you too, as a thank you. Kakuzu has many years of experience in the kitchen, take the opportunity to ask questions and get some tips, he may not show it but he really likes to help you.

Maybe you don't know, but Kakuzu practically never eats out, he knows that some people want him dead and could easily poison his food. So for him to eat everything you prepare without hesitation is really a great show of trust.

He is very silent while eating, but he doesn't mind if you want to talk about your day, he will be listening to every part.

He really appreciates your food, getting involved and asking about the spices you used, how you prepared it, he really likes it when you test a new recipe.

Always at the end of every meal he thanks you for the food and gets up before you to clear the table and wash the dishes, a silent way of thanking you.

Hidan

Spicy and crunchy foods and sour desserts, it's true heaven for him...

As incredible as it may seem, Hidan is very picky about his food, it's unbearable to go out to eat with him, it seems like he always makes a point of finding some flaw.

But it's the total opposite with you, he eats everything you prepare without complaining too much, just teasing you a little as always. Except if he is angry with you for some reason, then he will be impossible, no matter what you prepared, he will not eat it.

Hidan has a very annoying childhood palate, so don't force him to eat something he doesn't really like, like vegetables for example.

You'll probably have some arguments about him drink any kind of blood but not wanting to eat the soup you made (for example), but it won't change anything.

Whenever you enter the kitchen, Hidan follows right behind to find out what you're going to prepare and also because he loves to annoy you while you're cooking. He tickles you, bites you, hugs you, kisses you and even steals some utensils to disturb you before you kick him out of the kitchen.

Zetsu

He likes meat a lot, in fact you thought it was the only thing he could eat.

He is very impatient and even hugs you trying to convince you to let him eat before you finish.

"I don't care that it's not ready yet and it's raw, I'm hungry, love. Let me eat it just the way it is."

Not a very good critic of your recipes, he will eat literally anything you put in front of him and thank you for it.

You are the one who teaches him to have a more refined palate and he loves trying new flavors with you.

Zetsu grows a vegetable garden just for you, with everything you need fresh and tasty for your recipes.

Tobi/Obito Uchiha

Tobi >loves< sweets, make sweets for him and you'll have him curled up in the palm of your hand.

Both Tobi and Obito don't like spicy food.

He feels so loved when you cook for him <3 (a tip: prepare ramen for him when he's sad, it'll make him feel better).

Whenever he comes home early he brings you some sweets he bought at the bakery as a treat.

This is another man who is very easy to win over with his stomach. He'll feel very special if you tell him you've prepared something just for him. Make him your guinea pig for new recipes, he really doesn't mind and always gives you great feedback.

He always offers you the first bite out of respect, he is as happy to see you eating and talking about how tasty it is as he is to eat something you prepared.

Pein

Pein went through long periods of starvation as a child, so as much as it may seem, he isn't very picky about what he eats.

Likes hot and spicy foods. Hate sweets.

He is a great fan of your food, even if you've accidentally burnt it or overdone the seasoning, he'll be happy to eat something you've lovingly prepared.

Due to his work as leader of Akatsuki, he often forgets to eat properly. It's you who show up at his office and remind him to eat, with something you've prepared in hand, he's really grateful for your care.

He is always attentive to your needs. Did you like a cuter utensil kit than the ones you have? Are your. Wanting new seasonings? Suddenly they appear in your pantry. Everything you need.

Pein always makes it clear how he likes you to cook but that he doesn't want you to be overwhelmed with it, so he does everything to make this task easier for you, including ordering something from restaurants for you to eat and enjoy your free time together.

Konan

He likes mild sweets and, ironically, spicy foods. (Please make sweets for Konan, she likes a lot).

She will always feel like she is bothering or burdening you when you cook for her.

Konan isn't that good in the kitchen, so she's grateful to have a s/o who cooks so well. Sometimes she watches you cook to try to learn something, in an attempt to return the favor one day.

Buy a lot of sweets for you and make a point of always keeping your pantry well stocked so you don't have to worry about buying ingredients.

As I said, Konan doesn't like to burden you, so very often she takes you on restaurant dates.

Konan loves the culinary tours you plan, she could listen to you talk for hours about techniques, recipes and ideas. She loves seeing how excited you get talking about it.

Sorry for any typos;

Buy me a coffee?

Masterlist

[animeyanderelover]

Hello🎀Can I request Tobirama,Madara,Itachi,Shisui,Sasuke,Pein,kakashi and Obito with a darling that tries to escape often?Thank you 🧸

Tw: Yandere themes, possessive behavior, obsession, delusional mindset, clinginess, paranoia, gaslighting, controlling behavior, mind break, violence, punishment, isolation, abduction, death

Tags: @shumidehiro @swagenemyartisan

Darling tries to escape often

Madara Uchiha

🌑​Whilst Madara could easily put a stop to those futile and silly antics of yours, he decides to entertain them instead. Much to the dismay of the elder of his clan who can only view your impudent behavior with discomposure as the spouse of Madara Uchiha should know to behave better. If other clans would find out how little respect you show your own husband, they would surely laugh at the lack of discipline Madara gives you yet he is aware that only a very brave or stupid soul would dare to say such words within his earshot. When the eldest of the Uchiha clan confront him about his lax behavior and question him desperately why he encourages those outrageous shenanigans of yours, he reveals laconically that you'll never be able to run away, no matter how hard you may try. He could easily crush your silly attempts to escape him but that would be so awfully boring. Isn't it much more entertaining to let you run around to entertain your little hope of freedom only to stop you within the last second. His confidence to never prevent your attempts is ultimately just a flex of the power he holds. He assures the elder though that if you were to ever step out of line, he will see it through to correct your attitude.

Tobirama Senju

🌊​Tobirama finds himself quickly reaching the end of his patience due to your troublesome defiance. Yes, he understands your frustration and he knows that the abduction isn't something pleasant yet he expected more from you. How long do you intend to keep this childish attitude up? Your behavior is unfitting for someone he plans to marry. The frustration grows whenever he receives a new report from the Anbu that they had to stop you from escaping once again, visibly dragging his mood down for the rest of the day. If you refuse to behave, he will treat you accordingly as more and more restrictions are placed on you until you are forbidden to leave the building he keeps you in. You ridicule and embarrass him with your exhausting antics to the point where he doesn't want to introduce you to his own clan. You don't listen nor do you want to settle for any compromises. One day he eventually just snaps when he receives another report of the Anbu with the most reckless attempt you have ever done to escape. As soon as he returns to the Senju compound, he berates you harshly. Yet it isn't until he threatens you that your family will bear the consequences that you truly listen in horror to him.

Pain

🌧️​Pain is unforgiving against anyone who stands in the way of his goal, merciless against anyone who goes against him. Nagato's clear paranoia to lose you results in Pain desiring control and obedience from your side yet your stubborn behavior clashes with those demands on multiple levels. If you would have been anyone else, you would be dead. Whether that is something to feel relieved about or not is up to debate though. Even Konan who expresses more kindness and empathy for you can't save you at one point as you never give up in your attempts to flee from the tower you are held as a captive. She still tries to somehow convince Nagato to go easy on you yet a threat just snaps as you do it again and again. He has been going too easy on you. Otherwise you wouldn't attempt an escape as easily as you do. He will teach you what happens from now on so that you will consider the idea the next time much more carefully. From broken bones to psychological torture to eradicating the people you hold dear to your heart, there are many ways for Pain to force you into obedience. Whether you see him as a monster or not for what he is about to do, just remember that you are responsible for it.

Kakashi Hatake

📖​Kakashi has neither the time nor the patience to deal with your reckless and unwanted stubbornness. You seem to enjoy giving him a constant headache, don't you? He didn't know that you wanted to have him play pretend with you by acting like an immature kid. If you insist on acting like a brat though, he will do you the favor and treat you like one. Whether he locks you up or has to use chains or ropes to constrict you, your fierce determination to remain a troublemaker remains. Kakashi is far too possessive and protective to let you ever leave him though and his ninken are constantly summoned to detect your smell and track you down. If he wouldn't be so busy as a Jonin and later on as a Hokage, perhaps Kakashi would show a tad bit more patience but time is a luxury he cannot always afford. He has to find more effective ways to force you in line, even if he knows that this will only alienate you further away from him. He gives you one last warning though before his patience completely crumbles, his Sharingan staring through your soul as he reminds you that there will be consequences if he catches you again. Would you prefer a broken leg or the vision of a genjutsu?

Obito Uchiha

🔥​As much as Obito's delusional infatuation wants to reject the reality, a part of him is unable to deny that it is your fear of him that has led you to attempt to flee multiple times already only to be swiftly stopped by him. It breaks him mentally and spiritually to witness those fearful eyes looking at him yet he knows that it isn't your fault. It is the world and the people inhabiting it that have brainwashed you to believe that he is the bad guy you have to fear so even throughout his shattered insanity, he remains sickly sweet to you whenever he catches you and brings you back. The sweet kisses of comfort only make your chest tighter with growing panic though. Black Zetsu suggests that he should punish you for he is making a fool out of himself by being so lenient to you yet Obito warns him coldly to never mention such an outrageous idea again in his presence. He could never hurt you after all. Although perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to show you what might happen to you if you would run away from him. The genjutsu he puts you through from that day on tear your mind apart yet this is reality he is showing you so you can see the world and the people for what they truly are. Do you understand it now?

Shisui Uchiha

🍂​Even if Shisui is the one who is quite tolerant and lenient under normal circumstances, his attitude changes after you have seen behind his facade. He has to be more careful with you from now on and your defiant behavior only makes the situation worse. He is regarded as a natural talent, works for the Anbu and has to serve the vilage. This means that it could take weeks for him to finish a mission and he knows that you would never sit back and wait for him. You would use that chance to escape as far away as you can. It is already a bit of a challenge to keep the current situation a secret from other people whenever he has to catch you quietly in yet another failed attempt of yours to run away and he can't even remember how often he had to have a stern conversation with you, the normally light air around him gone and replaced by silent tension. Eventually he finds himself considering to use Kotoamatsukami on you, his Mangekyo Sharingan ability. Shisui is fully aware that he would manipulate your mind by using it. On the other hand you would never know that and it's not like he would actively influence your feelings for him. It would merely be a little push to make everything less difficult.

Itachi Uchiha

🍡​For Itachi the situation is quite difficult to handle because he knows what would happen to you if you were to be caught by someone. The connection you have with him would never allow you to live normally again as there would always be someone who would come for you to lure him out. It is solely his fault and he harbors guilt for it and will most likely do so for the rest of his life. Yet you are still here, abducted by him because his desire was stronger than his guilt. He as taken a lot of time to explain everything to you in hope that you would understand yet your stubbornness also seems to be stronger than everything else. Itachi finds himself silently giving way to despair because he knows that the next mission of the Akatsuki is only a question of time and most disheartening of all is that you know it too. You're just waiting for him to leave so that you can escape for good. Even if he knows that he has no right for your love, a part of him still feels hurt by the fact that you wish for his absence as much as you do. He can't let you run away though. It is too dangerous and he is far too selfish. Don't think that you will have a chance just because he will leave for a mission.

Sasuke Uchiha

💙​Sasuke has little to no tolerance for the defiance you put up as you do literally everything to escape from him. He is fully aware of his unbearable behavior and possessive attitude that smothers to the point where you feel like you can't breathe but he doesn't care. He just wants you. His attitude is condescending and his words are hurtful and sharp whenever he yanks you back harshly as he has stopped you from yet another unsuccessful escape attempt, his grip tightening with each plea and whimper of yours to let go. You really want him to hurt you with the way you get on his nerves, don't you? You could have just said so to begin with instead of failing so miserably in your poor attempts to outsmart him. Sasuke will put you very quickly back into your place and he does so by using violence and fear as nothing else seems to work with you. He doesn't feel guilty about it either when he spills your own blood and scars your skin and breaks your leg so that you won#t be capable of running away from him to begin with. Stop your crying, he'll be responsible enough to take care of you afterwards. He does hope that you have learned your lesson though.

[dee3312t]

Why Sasuke's Physical Beauty Matters

Thinking about this again, Sasuke’s characterization is super interesting to me, especially how he’s physically characterized with his beauty.

Firstly, I think his extra stylized, iconic “duck butt” hair is integral to his character. It’s spiky and edgy, meant to be rebellious. He’s the ultimate revolution. Even Naruto and Itachi had pretty normal hair! But in Boruto, Sasuke's hair looks plain and flat (neutral terms--not a diss to other people with this hairstyle). The edges are completely gone--matching his newfound conformity and detachment.

And further, why is he canonically attractive and what does it mean? I think the army of Sasuke admirers Kishimoto depicts throughout OG Naruto and Shippuden adds to his characterization as the anomaly—the one who goes against the grain. He questions the chunin exams and analyzes why and how they take place. He challenges the status quo in Konoha. Kishimoto actually keeps up with this motif whereas he seems to forget about other motifs (ahem, the Hyuga clan curse).

Sasuke's beauty also emphasizes his determination and focus. He could have had anyone he wanted but remained disinterested even as an emotional teenage boy. Kishimoto even has Sasuke call it out when Kakashi brings up Sakura’s feelings, with Sasuke literally saying, “I don’t see why I should love her and why she should love me.” (Now, I will add an important caveat that in an ideal world, I don’t think he’ll stay this disinterested forever, because Sasuke too deserves love and healing once he’s ready for it and grows up more. People don't stay stagnant, and trauma deserves to be healed).

Sasuke is fiercely single-minded and driven, and is a character that acts as a foil to the protags, the main narrative, and Kishimoto furthers these motifs through Sasuke's physical characterizations.

[ccwritesninja]

The Departure-Itachi

A/N: This is a longer chapter that I hope you guys enjoy. Thank you guys for all the sweet comments and questions!!! I love talking with you guys so don't be ever be shy if you want to talk about the fic!

CW: SMUT, Minors DNI 18+

Read on Ao3

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

You were shrugging on an extra sweater when a soft knock sounded at the door of your hospital room. A perpetual chill seemed to have settled in your body since waking up. A bizarre side effect of Itachi’s genjutsu, maybe?

“Come in.”

The door slid open, and Kakashi limped inside. “Yo.”

“Hey.”

“So you threw yourself in front of Itachi, huh?”

He studied you with admonishment in that dark grey eye. You crossed your arms over your chest. “Why are you looking at me like that? You did the same thing.”

“I have the sharingan.”

“Well, clearly it wasn’t much help.”

“He could have killed you, Y/n.”

“He could have killed us both.”

Kakashi slid his hands evenly into his pockets. “To be honest, I’m not sure why he didn’t.”

He leaned against the doorway, still eyeing you carefully. He was gauging your reaction, likely trying to figure out how mentally damaged you were from the encounter.

“I can’t imagine that was easy. Having to fight him.”

You tilted your head. “I’m sure it wasn’t easy for you either. You were our captain.”

“I wasn’t in love with him.”

A heavy weight had settled between your shoulders. Itachi wasn’t a monster. Despite the things he had done, he hadn’t wanted to harm you or Sasuke. He was simply playing the part, no matter how far he had to go with it.

You weren’t sure you could have done the same, made the choices he had, but you didn’t blame him for it. You couldn’t.

You didn’t want Kakashi to do that either.

“He didn’t want to hurt me.”

Kakashi blinked. One of his silver brows shot up, a betrayal of his typically well-hidden emotions. Of course he thought you were insane.

He shifted against the doorframe, likely trying to figure out a polite way to ask what the hell was wrong with you. “Naruto told me what happened. If it was anything like what he did to me…”

You closed your eyes, drawing in a deep breath in through your nose. 

“I have to tell you something.”

“You do?”

“This has to stay between us.”

The deep lines of a frown were visible under his mask. “Alright.”

You sat back on the edge of the stiff mattress and told Kakashi everything. He considered your words carefully, and you were grateful for it.

“How do you know Itachi was telling the truth?”

“Because the reason he gave Sasuke never made sense. And you know what Danzo is like.”

Kakashi did. The man had convinced him to spy on the Hokage as a teenager. He had attempted to pluck his sharingan straight from his head. He was a conniving, brutal soldier who desired to protect the village at any price, even at the cost of some of its own citizens.

He could see how gentle, quiet Itachi might have been swayed to give up his entire clan in exchange for the promise of peace. His sense of duty to the village was strong, and his desire to protect his little brother was even stronger. Danzo wasn’t above threatening a child, or even killing one.

Sasuke’s life could have very well been at risk. It likely still was, if Itachi had been telling the truth.

“This can’t leave this room,” you reminded Kakashi. “If Danzo found out-”

“It’s our heads on a platter.”

—

Despite the sense of constant unease that bit at your insides, things seemed to improve over the next couple of months. Sasuke wasn’t isolating himself as much. He seemed to actually enjoy the missions and outings he joined his teammates for. 

He even requested that you return to your weekly movie nights. The event had fallen to the wayside for the past year, but you were picking it back up again. Even Sakura and Naruto joined a few times, and they brought Kakashi along with them. The compound hadn’t seen so many visitors in years.

It felt nice to hear the house full of laughter and friendly voices.

“Is the popcorn ready yet?” Naruto called from the living room.

“Almost!”

“You’re so slow,” Sasuke complained.

You carried the wooden bowl in from the kitchen and swatted his hand away when he tried to reach for it. “And you’re so not getting any.”

You lifted the bowl over his head and handed it to Kakashi. Sasuke rolled his eyes and slumped back against the cushions next to Sakura. 

“Keep it away from his rude little hands.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Tch,” Sasuke muttered. “Traitor.”

“Y/n and I were teammates first,” Kakashi reminded him.

You took your seat next to him and grabbed the remote, hitting play. Jiraiya’s Tales of a Gutsy Ninja had been adapted into a movie the year prior, and you were curious to see if it was any good. The book hadn’t sold as well as his others, but the story was solid. You and Sasuke had rented it from the video store earlier that day, despite the deadly eye roll he had given you.

“Oh come on! You used to love that book!”

“I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“Well we’re not going with a scary movie. Kakashi doesn’t like them, and I don’t want to give Naruto nightmares.”

The kid was still terrified of ghosts, after all. Despite having the power of the nine-tailed fox inside him, he still acted like a regular twelve year old boy.

So Tales of a Gutsy Ninja it was.

You settled in beside Kakashi, wrapping a fuzzy blanket snugly around your body. Naruto leaned over Sasuke, snatching a handful of popcorn from the bowl. He half-crawled over his teammate in the process.

“Get off me, loser!”

“Sasuke, be nice to your teammate.”

“Kakashi-sensei, will you please pass the popcorn?”

“Sure thing, Sakura.”

The man held the bowl over Sasuke’s head, watching with a crinkly eyed smile as the boy glared at him.

“I’ll share some of mine with you, Sasuke,” she offered.

“Whatever.”

Still, he took the offered snack from her hands. You smiled to yourself. A dizzying wave of nostalgia washed over you. 

Movie night wasn’t just a tradition for you and Sasuke. It was something that began years ago, for you, Shisui, and Itachi. Sometimes Tenzo and Yugao joined too. You even managed to get Kakashi to show a few times, though those had been far and few between.

It was a pleasant feeling, sitting there with Sasuke and his team, but you couldn’t help but feel like someone was missing. It was silly thought, stupid even, to hope that he could be there beside you. Itachi was still a rogue nin. He hadn’t shown his face in months. 

You hadn’t even caught sight of a summons since the attack. He was clearly staying away. 

Was it fear of getting caught after his and Kisame’s attempt to take Naruto? Or was it guilt for what he had done to you and Sasuke?

You weren’t sure, but, despite everything, you ached to have him beside you, to snuggle against his side like you used to do. You always ended up falling asleep on him halfway through the movie. He never seemed to mind.

Kakashi suddenly shifted, accidentally brushing his hand against yours. He stammered out an apology, flushing up to the tips of his ears. He really was afraid of intimacy.

Sasuke shot him a dirty look. 

“It’s fine,” you assured Kakashi.

You shifted further against the arm of the couch, giving him a little bit more space. By the time the credits rolled around, you were out cold. You woke to the smack of a pillow hitting you in the face. 

“Sasuke,” Kakashi admonished.

“She always falls asleep!”

“You little…” You sat up, rubbing your eyes and glaring at Sasuke.

You formed a series of hand signs, and spit a torrent of water into his face. The satisfied smirk dropped from his lips. He was now sopping wet and shoving his damp bangs out of his eyes. Naruto and Sakura giggled. 

“Walk your friends out please.”

He grumbled something under his breath and followed them out the front door. 

Kakashi stretched, shoulders cracking, and rose from the couch. “I can help you clean up.”

You shook your head. “It’s alright, Kakashi. I’ve got it.”

“Are you sure?”

“They really didn’t make that much of a mess.”

You scooped up the stray pillow and the extra blankets you had pulled out. You began to fold one, and Kakashi stepped forward, grabbing the other end to help you.

“Thanks for inviting me tonight.”

“Of course. You’re team seven too.”

“Still, it was…nice.”

“It was.”

“If you ever want to…” He trailed off, seeing the sudden flash of panic in your eyes. “Never mind.”

You offered him a sad smile, pulling the folded blanket from his hands. “I’m sorry, Kakashi.”

“It’s alright. You’re still in love with him.”

You bit the inside of your cheek and nodded.

“I understand. Has he shown himself lately?”

You shook your head and sighed. “Not once. And I still…it’s silly, right?”

You prepared yourself for the judgmental glance, for the pragmatic speech, but none of that came. Instead, Kakashi simply shook his head and offered you a crinkly-eyed smile.

“No. Not silly. Matters of the heart never are.” He let his hand fall onto your head, ruffling your hair, like you were one of his genin. “Call me if you need anything.”

And then he was gone, slipping out the door after his students. Sasuke returned a few moments later. He helped you sweep up the stray popcorn and straighten up the sofa, and then slipped into his room after a quick goodnight.

When you finally slid beneath your own covers, sleep evaded you. You tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. The bed suddenly felt too vast and too cold for you to be laying in it alone. You ached for Itachi’s warmth, for the peace that lying in his arms had always provided you.

It wasn’t fair that he couldn’t be here now, helping you raise Sasuke, joining you for his team’s events. It would be simple if you could just forget about him. If you could let him go and move on, and take Kakashi up on his offer. 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple. There was nothing wrong with Kakashi, but your love for Itachi was seared into your heart. It would never leave you. No matter what happened, no matter how long he disappeared for, your heart would always belong to him.

—

In the weeks that followed, Sasuke’s good mood remained. He still had the attitude of course, but the crushing darkness he had been leaning into was nowhere to be found. Hope fluttered in your chest for the first time in months, and you allowed yourself to think that maybe the battle with Itachi wouldn’t have any long term effects on him.

Then the escort mission happened.

Naruto and Sakura returned from the Land of Tea with an unconscious Sasuke in their arms. Genma showed up on your doorstep and announced past the senbon between his lips that Sasuke had been injured, yet again.

Once you were sure he would be alright, you pulled Naruto and Sakura out into the hall to demand a detailed explanation of the mission. They told you that Sasuke had been defeated by another shinobi named Aoi, who taunted him about being a disappointment to the Uchiha clan. In the end, Naruto defeated him while Sasuke was unconscious.

When you tried to broach the subject with him in the hospital, he shut you down immediately. He refused to even speak about it, leaving you frustrated and nervous. The medics wanted to keep him in the hospital for observation to ensure that Aoi’s lightning chakra hadn’t inflicted too much damage. You offered to sleep there with Sasuke, but he insisted you didn’t. You made the trip to and from the compound several times a day to bring him food and check up on him.

It was during one of these visits that you recognized Kakashi wandering in your direction, a book leveled in front of his face. You called out to him.

“Oh, Y/n.” He lowered the copy of Icha Icha. “I was just about to stop in and see Sasuke.”

“Me too.”

A loud crash echoed through the air. You and Kakashi both tensed, looking around for the source of the noise. It appeared to be coming from the roof of the hospital. A cloud of flame suddenly erupted over the building.

 A fire-style jutsu? 

You and Kakashi launched yourself up the concrete. You raced up the side of the building, praying to every god there was that this didn’t have anything to do with Sasuke.

Angry, shouting voices began to echo down as you got closer. Your stomach twisted as you realized one of them was his.

You made it to the roof, landing just beside Kakashi. 

To your horror, Naruto and Sasuke were racing toward each other. Sasuke’s chidori glowed blue in his hand. Naruto had formed his rasengan. Sakura was running toward them, likely intending to intervene and stop them. 

You and Kakashi bolted toward the fight. Your fingers closed around Sasuke’s wrist. Kakashi grabbed Naruto. In moments, you were throwing them apart, tossing them to opposite sides of the roof. 

They slammed into a nearby pair of water tanks, crushing the metal and causing water to pour onto the roof.

“What do you two think you’re doing up here?” Kakashi asked, his visible eye narrowing. “That was a little intense for just a sparring match, wasn’t it? What’s wrong with you two?”

Sasuke glared and yanked his hand from the crumpled metal. Naruto brushed himself off, looking guilty.

“Sasuke,” you snapped. “What were you trying to do, kill him?”

His dark eyes narrowed as he stared up at you. He said nothing. His shoulders were still rigid with tension. His eyes flickered between you and Naruto, as if weighing the consequences of going after him again.

Guilt gnawed at your insides. Yes, Sasuke was stubborn, but you had never seen him act so recklessly. 

All the progress he made after Itachi’s attack had clearly been erased. His confidence was shaken once more. This had only solidified his need to become stronger, to have vengeance, and he was willing to hurt his teammate to achieve that.

“You need to watch this sense of superiority you have.” You felt anger building in your chest, but you couldn’t stop it. “That chidori wasn’t the size you’d aim at a comrade!”

He muttered out a soft sound of annoyance. Your temper flared. 

Didn’t he understand how serious this was? He could have hurt not only Naruto, but Sakura as she attempted to get between them. Not to mention the property damage they’d inflicted upon the hospital.

“When are you going to grow up, Sasuke?” 

He didn’t respond. Instead, he walked over to the edge of the roof and backflipped off of it. You fought the urge to roll your eyes as you glanced over at Kakashi. He looked pained.

“I’ll go after him,” you muttered.

You tailed Sasuke through the village, keeping a safe distance back so that he wouldn’t notice you. He paused on a tree branch to catch his breath, and when he did, you took advantage of the opportunity. You pulled some ninja wire from the pouch on your hip and bound him against the heavy trunk. 

Sasuke squirmed, struggling against the bindings in a panic, but you quickly hopped down in front of him.

When you landed, he shot you a murderous glare. “I didn’t think you’d sit still for a lecture.”

His dark brown eyes glinted with something feral. You sighed. 

“Let it go,” you said softly. “You have to forget about revenge.”

“What?” he snapped. “How can you say that after everything Itachi’s done to you?”

You closed your eyes in frustration. You didn’t blame him for asking it, but the question was a difficult one to answer. Itachi had destroyed their family. He had changed the course of Sasuke’s life, and yours, forever.

“Listen to me,” you begged. “You can hurt Itachi. You could kill him with your bare hands, and it will not make a bit of difference. You’ll tear yourself apart. At the end of the day, you’ll still feel empty.”

Sasuke stared up at you, dark eyes studying yours. “Are we still talking about me?”

Your breath caught in your throat. Sasuke was too perceptive for his own good.

“No. I’m telling you this because I’ve lived it. Don’t make the same mistake I did. You can’t fill that hole with more death and pain. It doesn’t work that way.”

He frowned, shifting his eyes away and studying the tree bark beneath him.

“It didn’t matter that I got revenge, because my entire life fell apart around me anyway. The only reason I’m here now is because someone else pulled me out of the dark.”

“Itachi?”

 “Yes.”

Sasuke scoffed. “And look where that got you.”

“It got me here, with you, and that’s something I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

“If you could change things-“ he began.

“I can’t, Sasuke. And neither can you. All you can do is move forward. Become stronger, not to defeat Itachi, but for yourself and the people you still have left.

You leaned forward, poking him sharply in the center of his chest. “You’re what matters, not Itachi.”

He glanced down at the bark. Shame swam in his eyes.

“Promise me,” you pleaded. “I’ll teach you anything. Any jutsu I know. I’ll train you harder and I won’t hold back. Just promise me you’ll let this go.”

He drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment. “Okay. I promise.”

Your shoulders slumped in relief. You released the wire, reeling it back in. “Alright. I have to head out for my mission soon, but I’ll see you when I get back, okay?”

He nodded, still resting back against the tree. You reached down, ruffling his dark hair. 

“I love you, Sasuke.”

You headed off toward the compound, knowing he wouldn’t say it back. You didn’t expect him to. Sasuke never returned the words. He showed it with his actions instead. Wordless glances, small gestures. That was how Sasuke told you that he cared, that he loved you as much as you loved him.

You knew he did, but you were never sure if that would be enough for him. Your love couldn’t bring his family back. It couldn’t erase the horror he had been through. 

You prayed it was just enough to give him a little bit of hope, to make him believe that peace could be found in the rubble. Ironically, the thought was something that Itachi had instilled in you, years ago. Maybe Sasuke would one day believe the same.

—

Your mission to the Land of the Sea went off without a hitch. It only took a few days to escort the merchant ship to its destination. You were joined by Raido and Anko, both capable shinobi who made excellent teammates. You even managed to return to the village an entire day ahead of schedule. 

The three of you finished the mission report in the Hokage Tower and arrived at Lady Tsunade’s office to drop it off. When she began to dismiss the team, she called out to you. “Y/n, will you stay behind for a moment?”

You nodded, exchanging a worried glance with Anko before she and Raido departed. The door fell shut behind them softly. You felt the tension in the air as soon as they left.

“Would you like to sit down?” Tsunade asked. The look on her face was grim. 

“No, that’s okay.”

Had you done something wrong?

She took a deep breath. “Sasuke Uchiha left the village the night you departed for your mission.”

You blinked, staring at the Hokage as if you weren’t sure exactly what she was saying. “Left?”

“He was seen departing with four ninja from the Hidden Sound.”

Panic flared in your chest. A sharp ringing failed your ears, as if a bomb had just gone off. It may as well have. 

“Orochimaru took him? We have to-“

Lady Tsunade held up a hand. The rest of the words died in your throat. Her honey brown eyes took on a hard edge that choked you into silence.

“Despite the fact that we believe he left willingly, a team was sent to retrieve him. But they failed in their mission. Sasuke almost killed Naruto in the process.”

“What?” The word left your throat as a strangled gasp.

The memory of Sasuke attacking Naruto on the hospital roof flashed in your mind. The anger and hatred burning in his gaze hadn’t been lost on you then, but had he really meant to kill him that day?

Maybe he had, and you were just too blind to see it. 

You couldn’t separate the current Sasuke from the sullen little boy that used to beg to cuddle after nightmares. The one that was still terrified of losing you. 

“We believe he’s seeking out Orochimaru in order to increase his own power.”

Your heart was slamming in your chest, heavy with the knowledge that Sasuke had turned his back on the village. That he had turned his back on you to join a monster like Orochimaru.

Your legs trembled. You resisted the urge to sink to your knees, instead choosing to grip the hard wood of Tsunade’s desk.

“I know this is unpleasant news. You have given up much for Sasuke.”

“No…” you whispered. “No, that’s not…I’ve never…”

She gazed at you with pity in her eyes. She pursed her lips, glancing toward the ANBU guards stationed at the entrance to her office.

“Is there someone we can call for you?”

“There’s no one.”

“I see.”

“What if I go after him myself? I can hunt him-”

Tsunade’s lips were pressed together in a grim line. “We can’t afford to send another jonin out of the village on an extended mission. There’s no guarantee you could find him quickly, and we’re still too vulnerable.”

You closed your eyes. 

“I’ll keep you stationary in case he returns.”

“There’s no need for-”

“Take a few weeks for yourself.”

The harsh edge to her voice told you that it was an order, not a suggestion. She likely didn’t trust your judgement in this state, and her assumption was fair. There was also no guarantee you wouldn’t go rogue from the mission and still attempt to search for Sasuke.

Still, you ached for an assignment. The thought of staying in that empty house without Sasuke, while Orochimaru could be doing anything to him, was already driving you mad. But Tsunade’s decision was final. You knew there was no room for argument.

“Thank you, my lady.” Your voice was nothing more than a hollow whisper.

“Genma can escort you home if you’d like.”

“There’s no need.”

You slipped out of her office, running completely on autopilot as you made your way through the village. The sun was too bright. It beat down on you as you drifted down the streets, paying no attention to anything in front of you. 

You must have bumped into several different people, but you barely noticed. All you could think about was Sasuke. His promise had seemed sincere the day you departed. You thought he would at least think about giving up on his quest for revenge, that he was truly considering your words. 

You had been naive.

The house was quiet and still when you entered. As you stepped inside, you realized there was a scroll sitting on the front table. You snatched it up and tore it open, knowing that it was from Sasuke. Tears filled your eyes as you scanned the page. You pressed your fingers over your mouth, suppressing the sob that threatened to erupt.

Nee-san, 

I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you from Itachi, and I’m sorry for breaking my promise and hurting you like this now. I will get stronger. I will be able to protect you one day. When I restore the Uchiha clan, there will always be a place in it for you.

Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.

Sasuke.

You sank to your knees in the doorway, unable to hold yourself up any longer. The peace you fought so hard for Sasuke to attain had slipped right through your fingers. No matter how hard you fought for it, for him, your worst fear came true. 

He was gone.

—

Itachi sat at his desk in the Akatsuki hideout, drumming his fingers on the dark wood and debating with the demons inside his head. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t return to you. He swore he would stay away, refusing to draw you any further into his web of misery.

He fully intended to keep that promise, but the latest report from his summons set him on edge.

When the bird arrived, there was an eerie silence in the home that lasted for days.

Sasuke was no longer coming to or from his training sessions. An extended mission, perhaps?

He hardly saw you either. You didn’t leave the house once, and all of the curtains were drawn. The bird could hear you occasionally moving through the halls, but it was none of your usual bustling around. It was like you were a ghost in your own home.

Had something happened to Sasuke? To you?

One morning, his summons watched as Kakashi ambled through the deserted compound. The man walked over to your front door and knocked.

He tried repeatedly for about ten minutes, softly calling out to you. The look on his face was grim, almost guilty as he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked back down the steps.

Itachi’s summons could sense your chakra in the house. He was confident Kakashi could do the same. You were ignoring him, but why?

As he passed the branch the crow was resting on, Kakashi glanced up. He met the crow’s beady eyes, almost staring through them, as if he was looking right at Itachi.

A sick feeling churned inside his stomach. Something terrible must have happened, for you to be isolating yourself inside the house and ignoring your former captain.

Kakashi held the crow’s gaze for a moment before glancing back toward the main house. Then, he turned and slipped out the front gate.

Itachi was going to have to break his promise.

—

The next two weeks passed in a blur. You slept for most of it, hidden away under the darkness of your covers. The sun rose and set outside your curtains, but you paid no attention to the time.

Sasuke’s bedroom door remained firmly shut. You couldn’t bear to look in and see his empty bed any time you walked past. It was still neatly made from before he departed the village.

The space he had left in the home haunted you like a ghost. There were no loose weapons to trip over, no TV blaring loudly to interrupt your meditation. No sharp-tongued retorts or badgering for new jutsu.

Just silence. Dust.

You heard knocking at the door a few times, but ignored it, pressing the pillow firmly over your face to drown out the noise. Kakashi kept showing up to check on you, but you couldn’t face him. If you opened the door, he would want to talk about Sasuke, and you couldn’t stomach the thought.

In the end, you couldn’t protect Sasuke from the Uchiha’s curse of hatred. 

Why did you assume you could?

“Y/n.”

You heard the low rumble of Kiyoshi’s voice before you saw her.

She padded over to the bed in the dim light. It was growing dark outside.

Her soft, wet nose bumped against your palm. You ignored the gentle touch, drawing your hand back and under the covers.

“I didn’t summon you.”

“Pakkun sent for me. Kakashi said you haven’t been answering the door.”

You closed your eyes, burrowing further into the blankets. Her hot breath huffed against your face as she came closer.

“He is worried.”

“I’m fine.” 

“You are clearly not fine. When was the last time you bathed?”

You ignored her, pulling the comforter back over your head.

Her teeth sank into your ankle, tugging you down the mattress until you landed onto the floor with a thump. You didn’t even protest. You stared up at her pitifully, still tangled in your sheets.

“You are a sorry excuse for a kunoichi,” she muttered. “If someone attacked right now, they would cut you down in seconds.”

“I don’t care.”

Her resounding snarl caused you to flinch. “Stupid girl! Get off the floor or I’m dragging you into the shower myself.”

You simply stared at her, misery plain on your face. “There’s no point, Kiyoshi.”

“So you’ll just let Orochimaru have him then?”

“He wanted to go,” you whispered. “He wants power and strength. I can’t give him that.”

“Pakkun said there is a three year timeline, that Orochimaru will only take Sasuke’s body after that time.”

“So?”

Kiyoshi bared her teeth once more. “So you have three years to convince him to come home!”

“Lady Tsunade forbade me from going after him.”

She snorted. “When has that ever stopped you? I seem to remember you defying the direct orders of your captains many times.”

“This is the Hokage,” you muttered. “I doubt she meant forever. Just until the village recovers. Then you will be free to search for him.”

Your hands curled into fists. If only it were that simple. Even if you found Sasuke, there was no guarantee that he would return to the village, even for you. What could you possibly say to convince him, if you hadn’t been able to before?

Kiyoshi latched onto you again, causing you to yelp as she dragged you across the wooden floor.

“If you won’t pick yourself up,” she mumbled around your ankle. “I will do it for you.”

True to her word, she dragged you into the bathroom, despite your protest. Finally, you sat up, shoving her furry head away. 

You pushed yourself up from the tile and stepped into the shower. You tossed your clothes to the floor and allowed the steaming water to run over your back. Despair still sat heavy on your shoulders as you ran through all of your possible options. You had thought about this for weeks, over and over.

If you tried to take Sasuke back by force, Orochimaru would tear you limb from limb. If you tried to convince him to return, Sasuke would likely refuse, at least until he achieved the power he so desperately ached for.

At that point, would he still work with Orochimaru? Would he be strong enough to protect himself?

“Wash your hair too!” Kiyoshi called. “It’s greasy!”

You sighed, but did as she said.

When you stepped out of the shower, towel wrapped tightly around your body, she trotted over with your toothbrush.

“You have it in your mouth!” 

“Not the brushing part,” she grunted through her clenched teeth.

Exasperated, you yanked it from her jaws. You stood in front of the mirror as you squeezed out toothpaste, staring at your haggard appearance. 

You looked utterly exhausted, and you felt it too. Despite all your time hiding away in bed, you were barely sleeping. Even when you managed to fall into a restless doze, you were plagued with nightmares.

You saw Orochimaru torturing Sasuke behind your eyelids. You often woke with the sound of his screams echoing in your ears.

Kiyoshi urged you to eat something, and you placated her by slurping half a thermos of soup. Finally, she let you be, with the promise that she would return in a few days.

Once she disappeared into a puff of smoke, you settled back into bed. You fell into a fitful sleep once more, sinking back into the nightmares.

—

You woke several hours later to the sound of distant shuffling. For a moment, you were sure you were still dreaming. No one else had been inside the house for weeks. Sasuke wasn’t there. He wasn’t coming back.

You allowed your eyes to fall shut once more, ready to sink back into the haze of exhaustion.

That was when the noise came again. This time, you were sure it was real. Soft footsteps, and the unmistakable sound of the fridge opening and closing. Condiment bottles and glass jars rattling slightly against the plastic.

You shot up. Only one person would be fumbling around in the fridge late at night.

Your bedroom door was thrown open as you stumbled out of your room and headed toward the kitchen. He was standing there, a dark-headed figure, illuminated just barely in the glow of the fridge bulb as he crouched in front of it.

“Sasuke!”

Itachi straightened, turning at the sound of your voice. He hovered there, guilt clouding his expression as he met your gaze.

You deflated like a balloon. Disappointment, heavy and bitter, settled inside your stomach. You wanted to slump against the wall and sink down to the floor.

Sasuke hadn’t come home.

“Y/n.”

When Itachi spoke your name, it was barely more than a whisper. Confusion washed over you.

“What are you doing?”

He let out a shaky exhale. “I know my presence isn’t welcome-“

“No. I mean…what are you doing in the fridge?”

“Oh.” He gestured to the brown paper bag on the counter. “These were just sitting on the porch.”

You blinked. He was putting away the groceries Kakashi had left?

You stood there, dumbfounded at the sight of him doing something so casual and domestic. The last time you had seen Itachi, he had broken your wrist in one fluid motion. Now he was carefully placing yogurt and tomatoes onto the shelves of your fridge.

He let the door fall shut with a soft click. When he turned back to you, he didn’t step forward. He leaned back against the counter, resting his hands on the granite.

“Something has happened.”

It was a statement, not a question. He must have been watching, but you hadn’t caught sight of any summons. Not that you had been leaving the house much.

“Sasuke.” Your voice cracked. “He left the village.”

Itachi blinked. “He left? Where did he go?”

“Orochimaru.” The name dripped with venom as it left your lips.

“He went to him willingly?”

You didn’t answer. You were too stricken to speak, to even offer him a nod of affirmation. Instead, you dropped to your knees. They hit the wooden floor as you buried your face in your hands and began to cry.

Itachi was at your side in an instant. Distance be damned.

You glanced up when you heard him approach, tears still dripping from your eyes. He reached out, intending to wipe them away. You flinched back as he reached forward. 

He froze, letting his hand hover in the air for a moment. Guilt washed over him. Did you think he was going to hurt you? Or maybe it was simply your body’s reaction after what he had done to you.

Itachi moved forward, slowly. When his thumb gently swept the tears from your cheeks, he realized it was the latter. The soft sigh that left your lips confirmed that you weren’t afraid of him.

“I am sorry,” he murmured. “For everything.”

A choked sob left your throat. “I failed him.”

“No,” Itachi breathed, reaching for you. “No, that’s not true.”

He tugged you closer, and you didn’t stop him. You let yourself be pulled flush against his warm chest, let him hold you as you sobbed.

“He’ll kill him, Itachi.”

He shook his head, running a hand softly over your hair. “It will take more than Orochimaru to kill Sasuke.”

“He’s twelve, Itachi. He’s a child.”

“We were children too,” he whispered.

Your watery eyes met his. For a moment, they were glazed over with distant memories. You were suddenly a little girl again, back on a muddy, rainy battlefield. Small, frightened, and far too young to have blood dripping from the end of your blade.

“I didn’t want that for him.”

Itachi closed his eyes. “Neither did I.”

“Maybe I should have told him,” you said softly. “Maybe it would have changed things.”

Itachi shook his head. “It would only have endangered him. Danzo is still-”

“I’ll kill Danzo myself.” Your voice trembled with sudden anger.

After all, he was the reason for all of this. He was the one who had issued the ultimatum to Itachi in the first place.

Surprise flashed across Itachi’s face. You knew what it meant to kill a high-ranking official like Danzo.“You would become a traitor to the village?”

“There’s nothing here for me without Sasuke.”

Itachi frowned. “What happens if he returns?”

“What happens if Orochimaru kills him?” you shot back bitterly.

“It will not happen. I’ve always known Sasuke would surpass me one day. He will not allow himself to become a vessel.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. I know because he’s my brother, and he’s yours as well. His will is strong because that’s how you raised him. It will not be broken.”

You shook your head. “I have to get him back. I don’t care what it takes.”

Itachi’s arms tightened around you. “Then you will.”

You looked up at him, meeting his firm gaze. Itachi had always believed wholeheartedly in your abilities and the strength of your heart. It was the reason he had fallen in love with you, the reason he trusted you to raise Sasuke. If anyone could bring his little brother back into the light, it would be you.

Your lips suddenly slammed against his, needy and breathless. The sensation was dizzying. It caught him off guard for a moment.

But soon, his fingers came up to brush against the small of your back, urging you closer on instinct. Your thighs settled over his hips, creating a delicious friction that set his skin ablaze. You reached up, tugging at the dark, silken strands of his hair.

The two of you parted for air, and Itachi brushed his lips against the edge of your jaw before pulling back. Your face was still wet with tears.

“We shouldn’t,” he murmured. “You’re upse-“

You cut him off with another passionate kiss. Itachi let out a strangled gasp as your teeth grazed his bottom lip. Every coherent thought suddenly flew from his mind.

He was suddenly standing, his hands resting under your thighs as he scooped you up and wrapped them around his waist. He groped along the hallway, stumbling a bit as he attempted to move without breaking the kiss. 

His heel bumped against your bedroom door, pushing it open as he carried you into your room.

The heat of his body pressed you down into the soft mattress. You felt the weight of his hips against yours as he slid his tongue into your mouth. He was already hard.

Your body bucked in response. One his hands slid under your shirt, tracing the smooth skin of your hip before traveling further up.

A soft gasp escaped your mouth as Itachi’s fingers grazed your nipple. He swallowed each new moan with another kiss, savoring the way you squirmed beneath him at the simple touch.

He began to make his way down your jawline, peppering kisses into the hollow of your throat. He slid the shirt from your body, intending to dive right back in. That was when he noticed something.

“Is this one of my old training shirts?

You flushed. “It’s comfy…”

He laughed softly at your bashfulness. “Wear it as much as you wish.”

His lips found their way back to your neck, continuing their downward path. 

Your body lifted from the mattress as he sucked at the sensitive skin of your breasts, eagerly leaning into the sensation. His fingers slipped under your sleep shorts, sliding beneath the fabric of your panties.

They delved into your slick folds, and his thumb began to toy with your clit.

“Itachi,” you gasped, fingers tugging at his hair.

He groaned as you tugged, and pulled his hand away. You let out a small whine, upset at the loss of contact. He huffed out a laugh against your lips and began to pull your pants and panties down.

“You truly missed me that much?”

You nodded, brushing your lips against his. “It’s been so long.”

“Since me? Or since you’ve…”

“Both. Not since our last time.”

Itachi blinked, hovering over you for a moment in shock. “There’s been no one else?”

“No,” you admitted. “But it’s okay if you-“

He shook his head. “No. No, there’s been no one but you. I just…I would have thought…”

“Every time I got close enough to someone, it felt wrong.”

Itachi leaned down, capturing your lips once more.

“Then we’ll make up for lost time.”

He kissed his way down your body, stopping to nip and suck at the inside of your thighs. He reached up as you began to squirm, pinning your hips back down against the mattress.

“Itachi,” you breathed. “Stop teasing.”

He hummed noncommittally against the supple skin, before he decided to stop torturing you.

The moan you let out when he began to lick and suck at your clit was far more satisfying than your squirming.

He slid two thick fingers into your soaked core, and you whimpered at the stretch. It had been so long. Too long.

You rocked your hips against his hand, bucking against his mouth, and he cooed in appreciation. “You need me this much, my sweet girl?”

The only response you gave him was a frantic nod.

You cried out as he lapped at your clit, relishing the feeling of his fingers curling inside you. He continued his punishing rhythm, reaching up to palm your breasts. He tugged at your nipples, causing you to let out another whine.

A sweet warmth began to pool in your stomach as he coaxed you toward your first orgasm. Itachi took his time with you, refusing to rush as he stroked your fluttering walls and dragged his tongue along your slit. He wanted to savor your sweet taste.

He tugged moan after moan from you until you were white-knuckling the sheets and grasping at the silky strands of his hair. 

Everything else was fading away, disappearing into the ether until the only things that existed were you and Itachi.

You were grasping at him, frantically attempting to ground yourself to something solid as your thighs trembled and rocked around his head. 

One of Itachi’s hands came up to thread through yours, pressing it down into the mattress and pinning it there. His fingers squeezed your own, steady and insistent, urging you to let go for him.

And you did.

When your orgasm finally ripped through you, you came with a shudder, crying out his name.

Your one-handed grip on his hair tightened, tugging him down. Itachi didn’t stop. He continued to work you past your orgasm, tongue still buried in your folds. It wasn’t until you were shoving weakly at his head and attempting to squirm away that he pulled back. 

Soft kisses were pressed against your sticky thighs, before Itachi made his way up to your mouth. The taste of yourself on his tongue was intoxicating. You would never get enough of the way Itachi worshipped your body. He chased your pleasure doggedly, harder and faster than he had ever chased his own.

“Itachi,” you breathed.

“Yes, my love?” he murmured against your lips. 

“I need you inside me.”

He was more than willing to oblige you. The rough pads of his fingers brushed against your knees, spreading you open once more. He reached down, grasping the base of his cock. Pre-cum oozed from the head, smearing across your folds as he slicked himself up with your wetness. 

His lips slotted over yours. His tongue slid back into your mouth as he began to ease inside you. Itachi moved cautiously, keenly aware that it had been years since he last stretched you open. Despite the dizzying need to slam inside you and take what he had been craving, he held back. 

Itachi was patient. Gentle. So gentle that, soon, you were wiggling your hips and begging for more. And who was he to deny you?

He began to thrust into you, gripping your hips so tightly that you knew there would be bruises there later from the pads of his fingers. The intense darkness of his eyes had given way to the glowing crimson of the sharingan. The tomoe began to spin in lazy circles, and you knew he was memorizing this moment for later. 

All of it would be captured in painstaking detail. The blissful flush of your cheeks, your soft whimpers, the feel of your walls clenching so beautifully around his cock. Itachi would picture it all  as he stroked himself in the shower, wishing he could be back between your legs.

Your ankles locked around his back, urging him closer as your walls fluttered around him. He grabbed one of your legs, hitching it even further up on his hip. A guttural moan flew from his lips. Judging by the way your eyes rolled back into your head, the new angle was hitting the perfect spot for you too.

Itachi listened to you whimper and keen beneath him. He shuddered as your nails began to scrape down the soft skin of his back, leaving bright red marks in their wake. He wanted you to scratch him up, to brand him as yours.

His thrusts soon grew quicker, shallower. He breathed your name, burying his face in the crook of your neck as he came. The warmth of his seed spilled inside you, pulling a soft moan from your lips. The bliss of being this close to him set your body ablaze.

Itachi leaned up, pressing a passionate kiss to your lips. “I’ve missed you so much.”

You nodded, brushing your lips against his. “Me too.”

“Not just this,” he murmured. “Everything about you. All of it.”

“I know, Itachi. You don’t have to explain.”

“Can I hold you?”

“You don’t have to ask.”

He pulled out of you and came to rest on the sheets beside you. You shivered at the loss of heat, but he was quickly pulling you against him, his chest at your back. Itachi brushed his fingers against your mussed hair as he curled around you. 

He could feel the rapid rise and fall of your chest under his arm. You were both still breathless. His lips pressed soft kisses to your face, brushing against your jaw, your cheek, your forehead.

You laughed softly as he pulled the sheets over your body. As the sound left your lips, you realized that this was the first time you’d felt anything but misery in weeks.

Itachi closed his eyes as he nestled closer to you, breathing in the scent of you.

A soft gurgling noise caused him to open his eyes. 

“Have you been eating?” he murmured into your hair.

“A little.”

A displeased hum left his throat. “We’ll have to do something about that.”

“Not now,” you muttered, reaching up to brush your fingers over the hand resting on your bare stomach. “Just lay with me.”

Itachi wanted to argue, but he could already feel the soft lull of sleep calling to him. You were so warm in his arms, so content. He hadn’t laid like this with you in years. It was better than anything he ever could have dreamed up, better than any illusion his sharingan could craft.

He sighed against your neck, pressing one last soft kiss to the skin before he drifted off.

—

He woke later in the night, with a familiar, unpleasant ache in his chest. Moonlight peeked through the crack in your curtains as Itachi untangled his arms from your body. He bemoaned the loss of your warmth immediately, but it couldn’t be helped.

He slipped into your bathroom and shut the door softly behind him, just in time to erupt into a coughing fit. He spit blood into a wad of toilet paper and paused, listening for any indication that the noise had woken you. You didn’t stir. 

He flushed the evidence and rinsed any remaining blood from his mouth. You already had enough on your mind with Sasuke, and he didn’t want you worrying over him.

Soon he was sliding back underneath the covers, smiling to himself as you curled back into him. Your cheek came to rest on his muscular chest as you snuggled against his body. You sleepily mumbled his name.

“I’m here,” he whispered, stroking his fingers over your hair. “I’m here.”

[dubiousanon]

ItaNaru ItaNaru ItaNaru ItaNaru ITANARU ITANARU PLSSSSSSS

Itachi shouldn't want it.

He knows it's wrong, that he has no right. To covet another is a privilege a man like him shouldn't be afforded after all he's done, and yet he can't seem to help himself. It gnaws at him, makes his fingers curl and his teeth ache.

When he first met Naruto Uzumaki, he hadn't thought much of him beyond a faint relief that Sasuke had a teammate who clearly cared for him. His fierce loyalty had been admirable, his tenacity a weight off Itachi's shoulders, because he knew that no matter what happened, Naruto wasn't the type to stop for anything. If Sasuke needed to be brought back, Naruto would be the one to do it.

There'd been a steady assurance in knowing that. There still is, even now. Itachi isn't sure how things turned out this way. If you'd told him a year ago that Sasuke would come find him not to kill him, but to bring him home, he wouldn't have believed you.

Yet here he is. In a village that can't look him in the eye, who shies from his presence anytime he deems to draw near. They fear him. They look at him with hate, and Itachi knows it's the very least he deserves.

They don't want him. Even Sasuke wants nothing to do with him, and Itachi understands why. Itachi having reasons hadn't made it right. He'd been a child, but he'd been a shinobi all the same when he made his choice. Sasuke is well within his rights to never speak to Itachi again if he doesn't want to. As of right now, that seems to be where things are heading.

Under constant ANBU watch, Itachi lives in isolation. There's a sinking feeling that comes with so many hateful eyes on you when you dare step foot outside. The guilt he feels mounts down on him harder and harder, except—

Except for when he's around. Because for some reason, against all odds, Naruto is there. Right when Itachi feels his lowest, he's always, always there.

He's so bright he's blinding. He's loud, stubborn, and unapologetic about it. With hair like gold spun silk and eyes like blue lakes, there is no hesitation in the way he beams up at Itachi anytime they meet. He doesn't seem to think at all before he crowds into his space, enthusiastically babbling about his day and all that had gone on in it.

He lights up when he spots Itachi, like seeing him somehow makes his day that much better. He bounces over, like they're old friends, like Itachi hadn't once sought to capture and kill him. It's bewildering to the point of being paralyzing.

The unspoken strength Naruto exudes is subtle unless you know to look for it. He's sharper than you'd expect, and Itachi feels lost anytime he peers down at him. Naruto has no reason to show him any kindness. As Sasuke's friend and teammate, he shouldn't.

Yet, he does. And the craving Itachi gets for it gets stronger day by day.

It would be so easy to reach out and touch him. It terrifies Itachi to know that Naruto would probably let him. When was the last time anyone wanted to be around Itachi? When was the last time someone smiled at him, free of cruelty? When was the last time someone looked at him and saw something worth caring about?

Itachi doesn't mean to. He really, really doesn't. He's just exhausted. His life has been one tragedy after the other, and he feels helpless in the face of such gentle, devoted kindness. Naruto treats Itachi like he matters, and Itachi's throat goes dry at the mere thought.

"You still haven't come to Ichiraku's with me." Naruto says it like an accusation, his blue eyes narrowed and cheeks puffed with indignation. "I know you're not a fan of walking through the village, and believe me, I get it. But this is ramen we're talking about. It's worth some hate."

Itachi's eyes trace over the bridge of his nose. His fingers twitch with the urge to reach out and cup his jaw. He imagines how big his palms would feel spanning Naruto's waist. How warm he'd be if Itachi let himself get closer. What he'd smell like, what he'd taste like if Itachi dipped down and—

"Apologies." Itachi says a few beats too late to seem natural, his mouth dry. "I'll come with you now, if you wish. I'll even pay."

Naruto looks suspicious, his nose scrunched up. Itachi memorizes the expression with his heart in his throat. He can feel his pulse racing in a way it never has before. Naruto is right there, and he's looking at Itachi like he sees him.

It's silly. It's just a meal he's being invited to, but it's Itachi that Naruto wants to eat with. He's willingly sought him out, and that alone is enough to make something in his chest swell. He doesn't know why Naruto bothers. Itachi isn't worth it.

"You do know I eat a ton, right?" Naruto asked skeptically. "Like, half my body weight levels of a ton. Just so you know what you're signing up for."

Itachi is dangerous. He's never thought himself a good person, and this only seems to solidify that. The tan expanse of Naruto's throat draws his gaze. The easy smile on his face, the familiarity in his voice. When Naruto leans closer into his space, eyes peering up at him expectantly, Itachi's head spins.

It's wrong to feel this, but it's been weeks. Building and building inside him, like water behind a rickety dam. Itachi is as weak in some ways as he is strong, and he can't help it.

"I know." Itachi says, his voice distant in his own ears. "I don't mind. It's no bother."

Itachi wants to swallow the kindness he's being given whole, wants to keep it safe inside him. He feels like an addict aching for another dose, and the mere thought that he could somehow lose this makes him want to grab Naruto and never let go. Naruto has given him something priceless, has somehow found worth in a man who realistically has none.

"It's your wallet's funeral. Believe it." Naruto reached down and grabbed his hand with such ease it made Itachi's breath catch. Their fingers laced. Naruto beamed at him, bright and bold and so, so kind. All for him. "But also, no take backs. Let's go!"

Itachi has always been selfish. He has given immeasurably, but it's always been for his own wants. He can feel something sparking in him. If Naruto gets any closer than he already has, it might just take light.

Itachi wants. And when Naruto scoots his stool closer, their legs bumping, his smile big, oblivious to the way people stare at Itachi in horror, he wonders what might happen if he let himself take.

[kakashixhatakesxwhore]

A Dream From Another Universe

Pairing: Itachi x f!Reader

Summary: Itachi from the canon universe has a dream, about how things could've been if other things were different.

W/c: 1.9k

Warnings: Swearing? Lil touch of angst? Nm.

A/n: given kakashi and itachi tied and won that lil vote i did, here's this! anyway, lmk how y'all feel, it's supposed to be bittersweet.

Masterlist💿

And, suddenly, it was the early evening.

Dark oak furniture was scattered around the living room, accompanied by a mix-matched variety of sitting pieces. A purple, crushed velvet arm chair sat on one side, while a pink-green-and-white recliner resided on the other. They framed a plaid couch that faced a roaring fire. From somewhere in the room, probably from one of the overflowing bookshelves, a sickly soft piano melody drifted through the air; such a vivid sound, Itachi could nearly see the soundwaves as they came.

He didn't question the homely scene; simply, he enjoyed the warmth, and thanked every star he knew the name of.

Nightmares tortured Itachi, too horrifying and heart-wrenching for the true level of the feelings to ever be conveyed by any verbiage. They carried on to his waking hours - though his world had become a blur, the memories came back clear as day. He deserved it, every terrible feeling, and he knew it well.

But, this was not a nightmare.

And he hoped to imprint this scene into his mind - even if it was only a hazy dream, and he had never seen that furniture nor heard that music before in his life.

However, he wasn't entirely sure he deserved... this.

Especially when your fuzzy figure materialized in the middle of the plaid couch, your head tucked down. Glistening in the firelight's reflection, your hair curtained your face, a little longer than he remembered it to have been.

His heart stuttered within his chest, clenching with the force of a thousand lonely nights.

Just as he began to begrudge you for hiding your face from him, your head turned so casually, but with such a remarkable grace that this was surely you.

"Come 'ere, Itachi," you purred, your voice just as melodic as he remembered.

Hearing his name from your lips brought him to life within the dream.

Without speaking, he swept over to you, making long strides across the foreign living room. As he moved, he drank in every feature of yours, the features that made his heart pound, those that he hadn't seen in years, but could never, ever, forget.

Stars above, you were beautiful.

So, very beautiful.

He sat on the couch, taking the cushion to your right, still silent, while a deep frown carved onto his face. You let Itachi stare at you with clear vision, doing so with such a gentle smile.

As he looked into your eyes, he noticed every star he had longed to see, within them, twinkling with adoration.

His heart ached within it's prison. How badly he missed making you smile, how awfully he yearned to watch the glimmer in your eye. The slopes of your cheeks were so perfectly defined by the firelight, while it also smoothed your skin to a marble texture. You resembled a statue, a carving; something that an artist poured hundreds of hours into to render entirely perfect.

"What's the matter, sweet boy?" You chuckled after an unknown amount of time had passed.

That... cripes, Itachi felt like he could cry. He would do anything just to hear that little pet name on his conscious ear.

What a fool he was. He claimed to hate that name, way back when; but, now, he was dreaming about those words. A strange brand of self-hatred came over him, tinged with guilt. Why could he not have made more time for you? Why-

"I-ta-chi," you enunciated in a sing-song voice, bringing Itachi's eyes to your lips. "Talk to me - you seem totally spaced."

"I'm okay," he whispered. "Don't worry about me."

You shook your head and reached over your lap, grabbing the bookmark that rested on the coffee table. As you slotted it between your pages, you chuckled, "I always worry about you, my sweet, sweet boy."

Were you dreaming about him? Was that why he was having this dream?

No, Itachi thought. That sounded too hopeful. 

Besides, this could still turn into a nightmare, the other shoe could still drop.

"Are you... is it happening again?" You asked with a certain compassion in your cadence that made Itachi's shoulders relax.

He shook his head, "Is what happening again?"

With a slight huff, you heaved the book onto the coffee table, then turned yourself to face Itachi fully, crossing your legs on the couch.

"Which nocturne is playing, right now?"

The question caught him off guard.

Hesitantly, he shrugged, "The... third... nocturne?"

You sighed, and he knew he answered wrong, "What about yesterday? Do you remember what we did?"

"No," he answered honestly, but so very intrigued. "What did we do yesterday?"

"Well," you started with a smile. "You won three tickets for a baseball game, so you, Shisui, and Sasuke went to the ballpark, yesterday." As you drew breath, Itachi's lips quirked. "You hell-raisers came back here, post-game, and I made dinner. A nice okonomiyaki for everyone."

"Oh, yeah?" Itachi murmured, no edge in his voice at all, just sheer tantalization.

You grinned, capturing his eyes with yours, full of stars, "Yeah."

"Then, what happened?" He asked, though he didn't even recognize the gentleness in his tone.

"Then, we played a few rounds of dice," you laughed lightly, shaking your head as if you couldn't believe he was having you revise the night. "I stole the pot twice, and Shisui declared that I was cheating. I wasn't, of course, but I dropped out and came over here, anyway, until the boys left. After that-" You shrugged, "-we shared a nightcap, before we got nice and cuddled-up for the night."

Fuck, this really was a dream.

Itachi was left to merely wonder how his mind could possibly conjure up something so...

"That sounds..." He searched for the word, but the one he wished for didn't exist. Shaking his head with a small smile, Itachi sighed, "Perfect."

"I bet," you mumbled, looking over his face carefully, your gaze as light as a feather. "I think my Itachi and I have the best lives of any of us, and that's why this always happens to him. Do you speak to your me?"

What?

"I beg your pardon?" Itachi said, voice confused and almost child-like as his brain fizzed.

You just smiled, and simply told him, "It's like a gift, to you, I suppose... Sometimes, when my Itachi gets too tired, too stressed, too whatever, one of you comes to me. You, like, switch places."

Okay, now his brain was really starting to lose the plot of the dream. It was going so well-

"I'll have you, for a little while," you went on. "And you'll have me, for a little while. It's like the stars are giving you a taste of the good life - one of you called it a reprieve, I think."

"I'm sorry," Itachi huffed, a short laugh in his breath. He shook his head, "I really don't understand."

"That's quite alright, sweetheart, you don't need to. All you need to know is that I love you, and your me loves you - and an infinite number of other versions of us love each other, too."

Perhaps untrue, hopefully not - Itachi was just happy to hear you speak, and to hear such foreign words of adoration.

You grinned peacefully, "So, what do you think?"

"Think about what?" He asked.

Motioning around the living room, you laughed, "What do you think of our place? What do you think of me? How does all of this compare to you and your Y/n?"

"I think you have a lovely home," Itachi started slowly, looking around the room. "And I think... you are lovely." His eyes returned to yours and he couldn't help but smile as he said, "But I can't bring myself to compare our situations."

"Probably for the best," you sighed contentedly. Then, looking at Itachi with a cocked brow, you asked, "What do you want to do, Itachi?"

A hundred- no, a thousand things flitted through his mind.

What did he want to do? With you, anything.

"I- I don't..." Fool, this is a golden opportunity. "I just... I want to hear you speak, that's all."

"What do you want me to speak about?"

"Tell me about us, about our lives, together."

"Well, tomorrow, we're..."

It was spectacular.

Itachi was amazed.

He doubted the overall verity of the situation, as one should - but, there was no doubt in his mind that this was the most splendid gift he had ever received. If there were other universes, with other Itachi's and other Y/n's, he was glad that at least some of them seemed to be living the way he wished. Not everything in every universe could be a bowl of peaches and cream, but it was a real motherfucker that this Itachi had to go through the muck and back, and to still be one of the ones who lost you along the way.

For what felt like both six hours, and six minutes, you verbally illustrated the grand adventures the two of you had gone on, and about the adventures you had planned.

It truly was everything he had dreamed about, and a strange jealousy had crept it's way up Itachi's neck.

"And, guess what," you prompted, legs stretched out over Itachi's lap as you spoke on and on.

"What?" He acquiesced, his fingers lightly drawing obscure shapes on the thin skin of your shin, letting his eyes trace every line in your smile.

With an extension of your left hand, he ripped his eyes away from your face to see a rather large, diamond ring on your fourth finger. It glimmered and shone, seemingly polished to the exact standard of blinding reflection. Upon your hand, the ring almost seemed heavy, and numbers started flying through Itachi's mind as he assessed the piece of jewelry, pondering the monetary and karat worth of the rock alone.

"We're getting married in the Autumn," you told him as he gently took your hand in his to get an even closer look at the ring. "You proposed here, at home - then, we went on a proposal tour."

Allowing himself to laugh lightly, Itachi repeated, "Proposal tour?"

"Yeah," you beamed. "We went around to our favourite places and you proposed to me again and again. We got a bunch of free desserts out of it, and a lots of our favourite shopkeepers started regularly giving us discounts."

"Who thought that up?" He asked, letting the lopsided smile rest on his face.

Taking your hand back, you motioned to yourself from head to toe and claimed, "Yours truly."

Itachi laughed again, though the vibrations almost felt as foreign as this living room. You smiled, eyes dancing around his face like he was the one who possessed a priceless beauty. The two of you stayed like that for a little while, yet - merely staring at each other, with gentle grins plastered on both of your faces.

Until...

"You have to wake up, now, Itachi," you hummed, sitting up properly as you looked at him with such a gorgeous, bittersweet smile. He never wanted to forget your smile, nor the way your lips wrapped around his name so softly, again, "Itachi."

"Why?" He asked, forlorn.

Meekly, you giggled and told him, "I miss my Itachi."

"I don't want to leave you," he said, almost petulant, but with a candied voice, thick with a heavy array of emotion. "I don't... I don't even see my Y/n, I just... I miss her."

You chuckled warmly, "I wish you had more time with her, sweet boy."

"Me too," he murmured in defeat. "I love you."

"I'm sure I love you, too."

Before he could offer any further farewell, his vision went white, then suddenly black.

He could smell a wet metallic tinge in the air, and he sighed quietly as he laid in the cave, not wanting to open his eyes, for fear of losing the image of you that was seared into the insides of his eyelids.

Itachi missed you terribly.

[abattre]

why do people keep saying that Sasuke has NEVER won a fight on his own😐

He clearly beat Naruto fair and square when they were twelve😐

He also killed Deidara. Deidara didn't just blow himself up because he felt like seeing the afterlife, he was defeated and he was too prideful to die at hands of itachi's relative. He only has two options : Die at Sasuke's hands or kill himself😐

Sasuke also killed Danzo. Man was running away pathetically for his life, and they still won't call that a win? He also was left with no choice : kill himself or let Sasuke kill him😐

I guess auddently context dosen't matter anymore? Either do it by hands or it dosen't count??? If they want a character who has never won a fight on his own for real they should really check out Kakashi

i think it's largely fall out from mass mischaracterisation in fandom spaces & the sasuke resentment thing they have because they project onto naruto. but also like... a distressing amount of the fandom just doesn't understand how to interpret the story's content itself, even the things that are presented at face value to the audience are weirdly incomprehensible to them. but regardless, there's such a heavy-handed bias against sasuke that most people don't care if their arguments are actually coherent to the narrative or context, because they just refuse to attribute anything remotely positive to him if they can help it

like vote1 was a pretty even match but with how much naruto had been improving in the previous arcs, a lot of people were angry that it didn't pay off the way they wanted. they don't want to admit he lost because naruto is chiefly a self-insert and him getting beat hurt their pride. also the idea that sasuke's curse mark is a plot device power up that demerits his win....... actually so funny because naruto does exactly the same thing with the kyuubi chakra and the hypocrisy kind of just goes right over their heads there. they don't think sasuke really won the fight because he was fighting with an advantage, which like.... sorry to say but you're gonna have to revaluate a lot of naruto's wins with that logic because he leeches chakra from kurama 24/7 to give himself the upper hand. either they both get power-up cheats or neither of them do idk

and it's the same sort of thing with the fight against deidara, with the plot armour argument. sasuke winning was even less clear-cut to them i guess because it was mostly a tactician's ploy rather than an easily power scaled battle..... no one wants to admit he just outsmarted deidara but that's literally what happened lol. sasuke has an incredibly good battle iq and we see it pretty consistently throughout the series starting in part 1...... i don't think it should be that contentious honestly. sasuke was a prodigy, he was always smart enough to win that way

the danzo fight was inevitably going to play out that way because sasuke was already stronger than most of the cast by a good margin at that stage of the story, and him winning against danzo specifically served an actual narrative purpose. like, danzo having 11 sharingan didn't mean he actually knew how to use them and that was the entire point. hard to say if it was really supposed to be a commentary on the desecration of the clan foretelling danzo's failure in his fight against the last uchiha because of everything else kishimoto did in that arc....... but regardless, sasuke won because he was the actual uchiha and that does mean something thematically in the story so. idk why everyone is obsessed with needing sasuke to be weak, but whether they like it or not, it's just not true

[theheirofthesharingan]

It honestly makes me really sad when I see Sasuke fans insulting Itachi… :(

Those people are just a bunch of hypocrites who won't see their own hypocrisy in the mirror and realise how absurdly stupid they look.

They think there's only one character in the entirety of Naruto who was manipulated and hated and used and his entire personality was his trauma response. Because, the same logic applies to Itachi as well.

9 out of 10 times if you defend either of them, you're going to use similar kind of arguments: they did wrong things and plenty of them are unjustified. But you can't ignore the emotional context and psychological aspects of both the characters.

Whenever Sasuke fans defend him, this is exactly what they're doing. Explaining his psychology. Why he did it, rather than just he did it. But the moment you bring in Itachi with the same arguments, they throw a fit. Because in that case, Itachi's actions are presented as raw incidents with no context and psychological aspect. He just did it.

They act like he killed people because he wanted to. He traumatized Sasuke "for funsies". He wanted to use Kotoamatsukami on him because he can't see Sasuke having a life of his own. A control freak.

They ignore everything else as long as they can carry on with their hateful lies.

Once again I'm going to repeat this. They use Sasuke's experiences, fears, trauma, and sufferings to explore Sasuke. They don't take Naruto, Sakura, or even Karin's experiences to analyse him. But they use Sasuke's experiences, psychology, and sufferings to analyse Itachi too. No way they need Itachi's experiences to analyse Itachi, right?

They want to prove Itachi is bad, evil, Konoha bootlicker and shit like that, because the worse Itachi is in their heads, the better Sasuke looks.

They get angry that people see Itachi as a good person or as a martyr, as if any interpretation of his character without their approval is wrong.

These people behave exactly like Sasuke haters, it's just they're hating on Itachi.

God forbid they EVER see anything from Itachi's point of view. Because as a Sasuke fan, they only need to see from Sasuke's eyes and no one else's.

I used to do this when I was 14-15 years old. My favorite characters and their feelings mattered only and anyone who hurt them was bad. I think at one point you need to get out and see the world isn't as black and white.

Itachi had feelings too, and sure they weren't spoonfed to you, but there were tons of instances explaining his reasoning and psychology, and that's why people love him.

Sasuke fans who hate Itachi come across as nothing but hypocrites. And the gatekeeping, that is, who can write pro Sasuke posts, is disgusting too.

"Oh, you write pro Itachi posts? Should not be writing pro Sasuke posts." And then the harassment, hate asks in the ask box. It's a lot of headache.

To summarise, it's better to block those haters. You'll be able to explain literally every accusation against Itachi from their arguments, but they're not ready to listen to that. I myself have had to block most of them, which is what made Tumblr bearable for me.

[big-lotus-energy]

Alright, Itachi Uchiha thoughts, here I go:

Before I start - I'm aware I don't know all the background on Itachi and the Uchiha Massacre yet. I'm currently at around episode 150 of Shippuden, so I've seen the Sasuke and Itachi fight and "Madara"s explanation to Sasuke about what Itachi did and what actually happened there, so take what I say with a grain of salt in that regard.

So I do really love Itachi as a character. I think he's fascinating and I think his story works really well. But I also think what makes this work so well for me is that Itachi isn't right.

But he thinks he is! Oh does he think he is. Itachi believes at every turn he takes that what he is doing must be done, that he is the only person who can do it, and that he can only do it in one way.

And THAT'S what makes the character click for me. The other part of this is his goals. Itachi wants peace, actual peace, for Konoha. He wants the people to live, he wants to avoid conflict, he wants them to thrive. He wants Sasuke to survive, by any means necessary.

So he kills his clan, convinced it's the only way to bring peace. And when he can't kill his brother, he does the only thing he can think to do - make sure he grows strong, by any means necessary, so that no one could ever hurt him. And he believes that the only way to keep protecting the village is to make sure no one ever finds out the truth and does everything in his power to make sure of that.

He believes he has to take all of this on, he believes he has no other choices, he does thing after thing that he himself considers unforgivable - all with a certainty that this is how he saves them all. That he can preserve their happiness, their peace, Sasuke's life - if he just plays it right, and destroys himself in the process.

But Itachi never held all the cards. And he was so terribly misguided from the start. He was doomed to fail, and he believed so strongly that only he could fix it all, no matter what that means for him - that he couldn't see how wrong he was. That he couldn't see any other paths. And that's the tragedy. That is why I like his character so much.

Itachi Uchiha wasn't a hero. I don't even think he considered himself one. But he could've been. He aimed for the good of everyone, and just wanted his brother to live. If only he wasn't so, so, wrong about what needed to be done to get there. If only he had seen another way.

I have more to say about him but I shall leave it at that for now. I will gnaw on him for a good while yet i KNOW IT

[vulpisnocturna]

Hey, how are you ?:)

I love your writing, it simply makes my day whenever I see a notification from you. 💖

I don't know if you write Madara, buuuut I just read the ex boyfriend Itachi request and I want to ask you the same scenario with him.

If you don't like the idea or if you're uncomfortable with it, I apologize

Hi lovely, I’m all good, I hope you’re doing well :) Thank you so much, means the world 🤍

And of course, Madara’s not my go to but I don’t have any issues writing about him. However, this may be more yandere ish than Itachi’s just because of Madara’s personality and entitlement lmao

Warnings: yandere Madara, obsessive love, possessiveness, jealousy, emotional manipulation, murder of threats to Madara’s inexistent relationship, toxic ex

I do not condone any of this in real life, this is fiction and purely entertainment. If you are likely to be triggered by any of this, please avoid interacting with this post.

-When he hears you say you want to break up, it doesn’t register. Why would you say something so ridiculous? He can’t compute. He’s imagining things, obviously. There’s no way you’d say that to him. You don’t love him anymore? That’s preposterous. He treats you like a goddamn queen. He’s handsome, rich, buys you everything you want, makes you scream in bed, protects you with his life, he even cleans and cooks for you. Him. Uchiha Madara. Just for you. So it’s not possible. It’s just not-

-Whilst this tirade is going on in Madara’s head, you’ve left. And he hasn’t even had a chance to reply. Now he’s angry. All the heartache he’s feeling, he’s shoving that down and replacing it with anger. How could you do this to him? Leave him when he dedicated his entire life to your happiness? No. No, absolutely not. He’s getting you back, no matter what he has to do.

-He’s too proud to have a conversation with you. He won’t let you see he’s hurting. No, you’ll have to come back to him and say you made a mistake

-He stalks you. Constantly. Tells himself it’s for your safety. After all, only he can protect you. None of your friends are capable of doing that

-He starts by sweet talking your family. He’s always there, talking about how you are on a break, and although he respects your choice, he still misses you and hopes that you are happy. Your family loves him. He’s such a doting man, powerful, from an incredibly good clan, and he clearly loves you. What the hell were you thinking leaving him, y/n?

-Once he’s done that, he goes onto talking to some of your friends. Yes, you are still together, but you’re just on a break. You confront him at some point and say he’s clearly missed the point and you have broken up with him. Madara says he’ll give you some time to think on it. You wouldn’t want to make hasty decisions

-When you start dating another man, the depth of his fury is immense. The next mission he goes on, he’s MIA. Nobody knows what happened to him. Madara comforts you, saying that it’s tragic, but that you shouldn’t have expected someone so weak to survive long in that world. After all, not everyone is like him.

-When it happens to the second man you are with, and Madara shows you proof that he was on a mission on the other side of the country, you can’t take the pain anymore. It’s just horrible to feel that kind of dread all the time with someone else. With Madara, you were never afraid. After all, only Hashirama was stronger than him in the whole world. And he treated you well, you can’t deny that. But he was so jealous and possessive…

-When suddenly you’re on a mission and you’re overpowered, you think you are going to die. But he saves you. And suddenly, you think you see what you once saw in him again. That kind of reliability, the strength, the confidence and the underlying anchoring love that guides his actions. Yes, he’s never stopped loving you. He’s still looking out for you. And maybe, just maybe, you want to be his once again.

-Madara knows he’s nailed it when he sees you walking towards his house. He acts all surprised and asks you if you’re sure, and that of course he loves you and wants to make you happy, but what if you are not? But his plan worked. And you’re happy, and he doesn’t have to race across countries to murder vermin anymore

[belit0]

Hi!! Hope I'm not bothering you!! But may I request, Itachi, Madara and Indra meeting their S/O for the first time, And their S/O always wears a blindfold but when they take the blindfold off, they have the same eyes as Gojo from JJK

Hello there!! Never a bother!

I never watched JJK, so I had to do a little graphic research on Google to find out what Gojo's eyes look like, lol.

(I hope this is okay? 🤠)

Indra

Personally, I am inclined to think Indra as a person who prioritises beauty, hegemony, perfection to his standards. At first, he would be insulted by (Y/N) covering her eyes. What does she have to hide?

It hurts his ego to know he cannot enjoy the completeness of his special person, needing to own her wholeness.

"How come you won't show me your eyes? You're mine, I need to see them, it's not a request." (as a five year old, if I may…)

He won't force you to reveal them, but he will get more and more annoyed about it. The longer you delay, the less attention he will pay, until you feel so bad that you have no choice.

When you finally show them to him, he will be dazzled by the beauty of that crystalline blue, unwilling to admit he wasn't expecting such a surprise. You'll probably steal his breath away, and he'll have a hard time coming to.

Madara

Impatient as a child. He needs to reveal the mystery of those eyes, he's an Uchiha, you can't argue with his need to know what colour his special someone wears.

He'll resort to creative ways of trying to get the blindfold off. He'll want to surprise you when you least expect it, spying on you in the shower, or some other moment when you're off guard.

Of course, he doesn't succeed, since you're not careless about it. "(Y/N) please, what could be so terrible about showing me your eyeballs?!"

He starts to get really frustrated about it, so much so that he leaves you no other option other than showing him in order to get him off his insistence. At this point, he thinks you have violet eyes.

You stun him to such an extent he activates his Sharingan just to match the uniqueness of your orbs, wanting to keep up with those gorgeous eyes.

Itachi

The definition of patience. He won't pressure you or get annoying for you to show him, he'll give you your space and freedom to handle the matter as you see fit.

"Not to intrude, (Y/N), but may I ask why you don't wish to show them?"

Being someone who also wears special eyes, he completely understands the situation of not wanting to reveal them rashly, or hide them because of people who may want to use them in the wrong way.

He will wait patiently, and support you, respecting all the time you need.

Eventually and when you reveal them, he simply smiles at you with sincerity, acting naturally so as not to make you uncomfortable, as if he has known you for years without restrictions.

[joltai-showa]

No because Obito is so stupid like that if you want to be several raccoons in a trench coat maybe don't have a theme between all of them, it's only a matter of time before someone connects the dots.

Speaking in DnD terms: the average intelligence in Naruto world is like 8 at best, and anyone above that value is considered a bloody genius and believed to have the sexiest brain in the land. Not that it means they are objectively smart lol.

But I think that's just due to the simple rule "a story can not be smarter than the people writing it". I am not saying this to be mean to Kishimoto and his team, but the man admitted in the interviews that setting up plot twists is not his strongest suit.

But yeah, the fact that Obito at no point in his 17 or so year long run got caught is ridiculous. Some things are outright "must have been the wind" levels of absurd. The massacre after Rin's death? Oh yeah, certainly Kakashi, don't mind the fact the guy has no recollection of it and there's a giant fucking christmas tree with Kirigakure's shinobi's corpses now sprouting from the ground, that stuff's always been there. Meeting Ame gang in his Gurugurugelion? That Obito is still 14 at the time, meaning a 154 cm twerp. Real Madara is about 180 cm btw, and Obito as an adult is 182 cm🤗 Konan and Nagato didn't think it weird how their shadow leader had a sudden growth spurt a few years after their meeting?

Everything about Blood Mist. Just. Just everything about it. Also Mei should have been held back by the rest of the Kages during the summit, cuz she has about a billion reasons to whoop Obito's ass back into the red puddle under the rocks stage there and now.

Also the duality of the Uchiha massacre with "oh nooooo I was seen by Itachi! The horror! I guess now to get him to cooperate with me and not reveal my presence in these events I must murder all of my relatives! This is certainly a reasonable course of action correlating to my greater goals!" -> gets caught meddling with Uchiha corpses like 3 days later by fucking Danzo of all people. And Danzo not raising this shit to Hiruzen for... reasons. Apparently Uchiha Madara or his copycat are not a gigantic fucking issue for all branches of power in Konoha.

Tobi's absurdity is legendary, but honestly the manga would have been so much worse off without him. Bless Tobi, the best iteration of adult Obito🙏the bisexuality is not enough to heal his writing problems, but goddamn does it make him funnier. The best scientists in Konoha and the best strategists in Ame can not wrap their minds as to why the hell the leader of Akatsuki just doesn't fucking yoink all the Beasts solo, but rather be in a strange borderline BDSM relationship with a random femboy twink from Iwagakure. Like, that was not a thing with Madara in the annals of history.

Also before I forget, but I remember seeing a very heated discussion on Youtube regarding one scene that SOMEHOW also created a plot hole: the Tobi trolling the Sasuke retrieval squad scene. Hinata with her Byakugan is just THERE. Byakugan CAN SEE through the mask, Hinata SHOULD BE seeing Obito's smug mug. It's generally baffling that Mr. "I will not take off the mask for 17 years" is so chill about Hyuga generally existing when they are one of the biggest problems for his identity's secrecy (and he already got caught once with the Byakugan, albeit it was because of his genjutsu on Yagura and Ao being the secret Byakugan snatcher) and after he helped with the mass murder of his own family - I guess Obito not being able to pinpoint what exactly is wrong with enslaving your relatives during the War Arc was a commentary on how much he likes the Hyuga clan, I guess? Lmao

And if you ask me "Well, what does it matter if Hinata can see Obito's face, she doesn't know how Madara looked, so she can't say that anything is wrong☝️🤓" - THERE IS A GIGANTIC FUCKING STATUE OF MADARA IN THE VALLEY OF THE END. HUMONGOUS. LARGE. COLOSSAL. ENOURMOUS. MADARA'S FACE THERE IS THE SIZE OF PLUTO. BRING ANY HYUGA THERE AND PUT THEM IN FRONT OF OBITO, AND THE DOUBLE TROUBLE CAVE DWELLING DUO'S PLAN IS BUSTED. EVERYONE WILL IMMEDIATELLY KNOW THAT UNDER THE MASK IS NOT MADARA, BUT SOME DUDE WHO IS ABOUT A 100 YEARS YOUNGER AND LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE CHEWED ON HIS FACE.

Anyway, back to the DnD terms: I guess Hinata's intelligence stat dropped to 0 in that scene and Obito had something to do with that, otherwise there's no sensible explanation to how this scene even exists.

But yeah, it's absurd how Obito managed to stay undiscovered for so long. Borderline looney tunes shit. And that's not covering his attire (that's pretty much always something black and covering most of his body because Kishimoto didn't plan shit and there are moments where Obito reveals his obviously artificial parts and no one bats an eye, which is less of an issue in the shinobi world) and his masks which for one a) always reveal he's missing one eye - why the fuck are you showing your enemies a pattern that can make you easily recognizable and why are you showing them that you have a wound there b) always fucking ORANGE in some capacity. I remember reading that in the night orange is actually one of the hardest colors ro see, but no one is supposed to see you in the first place! Why are you wearing masks with the same unusual color?? Your enemies will realize you are the same asshole from before! omgggggggg

If Obito wasn't an Uchiha carried by the plot, his ass would have been busted like every six months. I love the iconic orange Tobi mask, but goddammit Obito get your shit together and wear a standard ANBU mask. At least you won't be standing out like a sore thumb like that

[sklives]

About team Hebi/Taka and team seven

Part 02

So this led us to team Hebi and team Taka… ok ok, I know it's the same group of people and all, but hear me out.

Well, in chapter 344 Sasuke made an interesting allusion about snakes and hawks and so then called Orochimaru a snake and Sasuke himself as a hawk.

But then the first name he gave to his team was hebi (snake). I don't know if everybody is aware of the fact that the names Sasuke has chosen it's linked to how he sees the world.

Hebi, as a snake, Sasuke has one only target and it is the only thing he could see in front of him. Sasuke walks on the ground having a limited perception of the world he lives in.

At the moment Sasuke learned the truth about Itachi he also became aware of the corruption in the world, so as a hawk, he started to fly and have a better perception of everything that happens beneath his eyes. So then he became Taka.

And he had two moments as Hebi and Taka. Hebi with Itachi and Danzo and Taka with Tobi and when they revived the Kages.

Well well well… This can also be applied to the other members of the team.

Each of them has an objective. Suigetsu wants Kisame's sword, Karin wants to stick around Sasuke and Juugo has some kind of duty to see if Sasuke is strong enough to be Kimimaro’s memento.

And everything changed when Itachi died.

I don't know if we can assume that Juugo knows about Sasuke's past, but surely Suigetsu and Karin knew.

It wasn't shown, but for sure Sasuke had told them what happened and again they had to choose to be with him or not because the reason why they were reunited was to find Itachi, however, now the story is different, so then they stayed and fought for Sasuke's purpose.

And that's why I like so much team taka, each of them has something in common with Sasuke, as if each of them reflects a bit Sasuke's history and trajectory, so this the reason why they stood with him no matter what, they understood him (even more than Naruto, sorry)… that's why Kishi has this urge to create a team for him.

Who will follow Sasuke? People that are equal to him.

And the same goes for Sasuke. He acknowledged them because he knows they share the same pain and loneliness and that's what makes them strong.

And the point is: the moment all of them change for taka we could see their real intentions.

Karin and Juugo databooks shows it clearly.

Kishi himself wrote questions for the characters and that's great because in the next databook he answers those same questions.

For Karin

We already knew that Karin had feelings for Sasuke, but at the beginning we saw the characterization of a fangirl with pervert thoughts, and unfortunately, the data release of her first databook was made one year after her debut in manga, so unlike Juugo and Suigetsu, Karin’s past background was never mentioned in the manga. So, basically the databook series was released in the middle of volume 43 and 44 at the moment Hebi became Taka, so eventually we had the first information about her.

Her heart and mind was with Taka and she never felt loyalty towards Orochimaru, she stayed in ottokagure because of Sasuke, but why?

Her databook came at the moment she turned in Taka showing us her true self and true history.

This leads us to the other databook where we learn about chapter 480, the reason why she stayed with him, demonstrating a selfless love and showing her real intentions as a Taka member.

It's important to point out that the last databook series was released close to the last chapter of the manga.

So at the end we learn her history and why she felt so close to Sasuke.

With Juugo we had something more subtle. His first intention was to see if Sasuke was worthed to be Kimimaro's memento, so he needed to see with his own eyes because for him only Kimimaro's wishes mattered so in the beginning Juugo was testing Sasuke's intentions.

The translation is kind of weird and has a huge difference between the Brazilian Portuguese translation, it says “but then a light shines, the one for whom Kimimaro gave his life… Sasuke. So Juugo came out of his own isolation to test Sasuke’s power.”

Here we don't see nothing new from the manga

But here Juugo had finally recognized Sasuke's power and wishes, not only as a memento, but as the person Sasuke was. So we can assume that this changes began after Itachi's deaths when Sasuke's purpose changed, at that moment Juugo’s changed too.

For that, my point of view is the thing: Juugo didn't know about Sasuke's past, but at the moment he was aware of all of the history he just wanted to be the person Kimimaro was to him and this lead us to another detail in Juugo's changes as a Taka.

This painel here

Ladies and gentlemen, Juugo was putting Karin's wishes above Kimimaro's, and therefore, he was thinking about Sasuke's well being too. So this is a markable point for his character guuys, can you see why?

Juugo no longer protects Kimimaro's interests which were the same as Orochimaru's, he is no longer a Hebi (or what we saw in my previous post) that he is no longer Orochimaru’s Hebi… He is now part of Taka and he does everything to protect Sasuke's will.

Another thing that is very important to point out is that part in the databook it says “Imprinting in these eyes Sasuke's existence, he pushes forward towards the ninja world in turmoil.”

Juugo is described as a gentle person that doesn't wanna fight or hurt anyone, but for Sasuke he made sacrifices and fought whenever it was necessary…

Suigetsu, he was more difficult to understand because he had one and exclusive goal that never changed, so he said to be with Sasuke to have a chance to capture Kisame's sword and that it was when he was a Hebi.

But when his first databook came out we got to understand why he wanted that so bad.

This dream wasn't exclusive his and he didn't only wanted to collect swords, his dream of rebuilding the seven ninja swordsmen came as a result of his brother's death.

And those same informations repeated in his last databook.

But, unfortunately, all his path was a waste of time. Kishimoto just forgot about it and somehow he didn't know what to do with Suigetsu after all, not only him, but team taka as a whole and that's so sad. Actually, at the end, Suigetsu got the executioner ‘s blade back? I Don't remember that.

Anyways, Suigetsu turned out as a Taka in the moment we discovered about his brother and it seems his brother was his only bond, somehow he extended this bond with the rest of team taka at the point of sacrificing his own life for them. I believe that the moment Suigetsu knew about Itachi, he thought about his own brother and wanted to fight for Sasuke's purpose too.

He wasn't just looking for swords after all, in the end he was looking for freedom too.

Read this one {∆}

That's it, team Taka is a resemblance for Sasuke, they were written exclusively for his trajectory and each of them can understand Sasuke better than anyone.

That's why they tag along and stay together. Unfortunately they didn't have a place to return, and even though Kishimoto gave ambitions and goals to each of them, in the end, Team Taka remained in the same place that took everything from them… Just like Sasuke as well.

Suigetsu could have returned to his homeland, Juugo wanted to stay in the land of lightning and Karin... Well, in a universe where Sasuke can't be with her, many possibilities to reconnect with the past or start over.

[chasing-posts]

I have very complicated feelings about Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Growing up I really liked the old man. He was presented in the first half of Natuto as a very kind, caring and compassionate old man who had a hand in teaching EVERYONE in the Hidden Leaf. He was a super strong bad ass who was well respected, funny, stern and had a quiet dark side from being a ninja. However one of his flaws was that he could never give up on the people he loved, no matter ehat they became. Its why he let Orochimaru go the first time after he found him doing illigal experiments in his layer, its why he cried when he saw Orochimaru sacrifice his own students for the edo tensei.

Watching his funeral used to be a top ten saddest moment in Naruto, but then... everything changed when Itachi's backstory is revealed. We learn he's not as kind as he appears, that he was partially responsible for the death of the Uchiha clan. We learn about Danzo's multiple coup attempts and Hiruzen just...letting it slide. In fact, letting MULTIPLE Danzo incidents slide, letting Danzo's entire career slide, which was basically war crimes on steroids.

Because of his passiveness, he ends up enabling Danzo to do whatever he wanted. He becomes guilty by association, even though Kishimoto made sure to point out that Danzo is responsible for all these atrocities... but because of their close connection and his abilities to stop him but never doing so, Hiruzen's reputation and character was destroyed. Especially in the eyes of the reader.

And part of me knows he deserves it. That he, by proxy is responsible for the Uchiha genocide and letting things get as bad as they did...

But then, I see an episode where he hangs out with little Naruto and tells him stories over a camp fire and my heart melts. I see clips of him talking to kids at the ninja school about stories of the past and how they can apply themselves and I'm smiling. I see him die looking at Orochimaru who's cursing his name and demanding his arms back, and remembering when the monster was just a young boy, still kind. And hik smiling as he passes away

I wonder if Kishimoto always planned for this reveal about Itachi? I feel like to make Itachi the tragic anti-hero, Hiruzen and his reputation had to be destroyed. But the narrative never treats Hiruzen as evil or berates him for what he does. He's never truly called out even when he's brought back via Edo Tensei. He still has genuinely kind moments to almost everyone in the series. Everyone still has mostly good memories about him.

At the end of the day, I just don't know how to feel about him. I wish the Itachi reveal never happened. That he was written to be a villian like he appeared to be at the start of the show. Then Hiruzen's character would not have been dragged through the mud and I could view him as a flawed but genuinely good character who lost his way. Which I think was the writer's original intention.

I'm not defending him it's just...complicated.