#kakashi and the three dwarfs

[bellesans-merci]

“Sakura,” Kakashi called to his sweetly humming wife, pointing with utter bemusement to the two boys huddled against each other on the couch with faces so flushed they were nearly steaming from their ears. “Why are Naruto and Sasuke sharing a shirt?”

The woman deftly slicing vegetables at the counter didn’t so much as spare him a glance, though a pleased smile pulled at the corner of her lips as she deposited carrots and onions into a bowl.

“They were fighting,” she said simply, a shoulder lifting so carelessly he almost felt dumb for asking, “and we do not fight in this house.”

His lips twitched as he read the stretched out words printed boldly on the red cotton, wondering who she’d sweet talked into making an extra-extra-extra large shirt that said “I LOVE YOU” and just how she’d managed to strong-arm the two idiots into it.

He bit down on his lip to keep the laugh bubbling in his chest from spilling over, until the door to their guest bathroom opened and Sai calmly walked into the living room dwarfed by a pink shirt with, “I’m sorry ☹️” embroidered in white across the chest.

The boy looked so unbothered and yet, was very obviously burning at the tips of his ears, that Kakashi couldn’t contain the loud bright laughter that startled his team and beaded tears at the corners of his eyes.

He laughed, and he laughed.

He laughed as he took his place at the stove, he laughed as he donned his puppy printed apron, he laughed at the playful nudge of Sakura’s elbow in his side.

Kakashi’s heart thumped with so much joy and laughter, that the rush of it was almost electric. It warmed him from the apples of his cheeks to the tips of his toes, sparking in his chest like the eye of a storm, and it felt a bit like breaking just as much as it swelled in completion.

This, this was a home—this was his home.

He swiped his fingers at his eye and told himself that the moisture there was from the humor found in the betrayed glares of three pre-pubescent boys, and not because he’d been chasing this feeling all his life.

[ll33c0ji1]

Just found out if you search ‘team seven midgets’ you get Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Who is Snow White if not Kakashi with his seven (three) dwarfs that pester him for his attention.

[asian-hero]

Aizawa x Reader, where Aizawa's a full-on gentleman to his S/O? I can't see him actually being a 100% gentleman but the thought is wholesome- Please and thank you!

A/N: Hi I made this slightly more as a doting partner rather than a gentleman, I hope that’s alright! I feel like I took a few liberties with this one, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless

Also, he’s literally a reincarnation of Kakashi Hatake, aka the love of my life, so it’s safe to say that I love this man with all of my heart

Summary: Aizawa Shouta was not, by any stretch, a gentleman. All of his coworkers knew it, his students knew it, and he didn’t try to deny it. That’s why, when you stop in to drop off your forgetful husband’s lunch, the entirety of U.A. is shocked to see their scruffy, irritable teacher, turn into the worlds largest sap

Words: 1,651

If you were to ask anyone to describe Aizawa Shouta in one word, the most common answers you’d get would be sleepy, apathetic, reserved, or stern. But, there was no way, that any student, staff member, or civilian, would describe him as a gentleman. 

They weren’t wrong, per se. After all, Shouta was a rather gruff man, a little rough around the edges, and certainly unkempt. To an outsiders perspective, it almost seemed that he was unfit to teach, with how many hopeful students he’d expelled in the past. It also didn’t help that he seemed more like that hung over uncle at a family gathering that no one wanted to invite, but felt obligated to and didn’t think would show up. Though, to his students, they could see a bit of his softer side, no where near what you saw on a daily basis, but they saw that he wasn’t the man that everyone said he was. Even they could see how the seemingly grumpy man had a paternal instinct when it came to his students, albeit a little begrudgingly, but still, there were times where he acted more so like a father than a teacher. 

Despite this, if you asked Shouta’s students about whether or not they believed the man could be a typical doting partner, it’d be a hard no from all of them. It just, didn’t look right when they imagined it. How could their typically cold and abrasive teacher be a loving and doting partner when it came to his romantic relationships. Actually, how could their teacher get into a relationship in the first place? It didn’t seem possible to them. 

So, you can imagine the looks on the entirety of the U.A. faculty and students when you stepped onto school grounds, Eri’s little hand in one of yours, and a lunch box in the other. While walking onto the campus, you could feel the stares of everyone burning into the back of your skull, as if trying to figure out who you were. It wasn’t surprising, of course, as you and Shouta had never been too flashy and open about your relationship. Not only because it would put a rather large target on your back, but also because it was just the way the two of you were. You were okay with keeping your relationship quiet. However, just because the two of you kept your relationship quiet, didn’t mean that you were going to let your husband leave his lunch at home for what seemed like the twentieth time. No, if he was going to be forgetful, then you were going to deal with it like any loving wife would, by bringing it to him. Besides, he did say that he wanted you to come in at some point to talk more about rescue missions, so why not kill two birds with one stone?

A small tug on your hand pulled you out of your thoughts. Looking down at the small girl, you squeezed her hand gently.

“What’s up?”

“It’s Deku!” She stated, pointing towards a green haired kid.

Following her line of sight, you saw a face you recognized very well. It was the kid that Shouta would always talk about. The “problem child,” he called him. The one who broke all of his fingers in a fight during the sports festival. He seemed to notice the two of you, as he broke out into a smile, waving at Eri while walking towards the two of you.

“Eri!” He exclaimed, kneeling down to her height, “It’s nice to see you!”

While the little girl ecstatically greeted the boy, even pulling her hand out of your own grasp, you couldn’t help the small giggle that came out of you. It seemed to cause the boy, Deku, to finally look up at you. Standing up, he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Ah, sorry about that! I didn’t realize you were with her,”

You shook your head, your smile still playing on your lips. ���No need to worry,” Extending your hand, you introduced yourself, “I’m (Y/N), it’s a pleasure to meet the hero Eri’s always talking about.”

He seemed to grow even more embarrassed, if that were even possible. Shaking your hand, he introduced himself as Midoriya Izuku, though he said that Deku was just as fine. Grabbing Eri’s hand once more, you pursed your lips, looking towards the gigantic school that seemed to dwarf the three of you. Looking back at the boy, you smiled.

“Hey, you’re in class 1-A, right?” It was merely a formality, you knew he was in 1-A.

When he nodded his head, you spoke once more, “Could you show me where it is? I need to speak with your teacher,”

It didn’t take much from you to get Deku to agree with you. After all, since you were already on campus, and had a guest pass, he figured that you were safe enough. As the three of you walked down the halls, you made small talk, asking about how his classes were, how difficult his teacher is, and many other school related things. You even heard from him about how he made candy apples for Eri one time, and although you already knew that story, it was nice to hear about how hard he worked to make the school festival enjoyable for her. 

By the time you had reached the classroom, it was nearly time for class to start. As you entered the classroom, you were taken aback by how noisy the class was. All of the students seemed to get along fairly well, with the exception of a few individuals, but even then, they seemed to be dragged into some conversations. When Deku went to take his seat, you saw as he was bombarded by two girls, most likely curious as to who he just walked in with. You decided that, rather than to stand in the middle of the doorway, you’d take a seat next to Shouta’s desk. Pulling Eri into your lap, the two of you waited for the man to come in, though it didn’t take long for him to enter. 

About five minutes after your arrival, the door to 1-A had opened once more, revealing your tired-looking husband. The entire class went silent, and it took him about ten seconds to realize that no, he wasn’t dreaming, and yes, you really were here, in his classroom. Walking towards you, he kneeled down, checking you over.

“Are you alright?”

You tilted your head to the side, a confused look on your face. “Of course I am, why do you ask?”

Starring at you for a few seconds, he sighed, placing his hands on your knees. “You never come here, I got worried.”

Letting out a noise of realization, you grinned. Pulling out the lunch box from underneath your chair, you held it out towards him. “You forgot your lunch, again,” As he took the box, you frowned in mock annoyance, which Eri copied, “This is like, the twentieth time, Shouta. You need to take better care of yourself.”

He rolled his eyes, but an uncharacteristic smile appeared. “You’re one to talk. It’s supposed to be cold today, yet here you are, no coat, and in a short sleeved shirt.”

Before you could even rebut what he said, you felt his scarf fall over your shoulders. Looking back at him, you raised an eyebrow. He took a few more seconds to make sure that you were covered before he spoke.

“Can’t have you getting sick now, then I’d have to do all the work.”

You scoffed, waving a hand at him, dismissing him. He let out a laugh, before standing back up and rubbing your shoulder.

“You can stay, maybe do a lecture a little later. Oh, and if you need anything, just ask me, okay?”

When you agreed, he looked towards his class, getting ready to begin the day.

“Alright, let’s get started—“ He stopped himself, letting out a long and tired sigh, “What is it, Kaminari?”

“Who’s the lady?”

The rest of the class seemed to perk up at the question, looking both at you and Shouta. Deciding to poke fun at your husband, you stood up, made sure that Eri was comfortable sitting, and then stood next to him.

Waving your hand, you introduced yourself once again. “Hello, I’m (Y/H/N), but as a civilian I go by Aizawa (Y/N),” You paused as gasps of disbelief filled the air, “I came to bring my husband’s lunch and to talk to you about rescue missions.”

As the class began to get progressively louder, questioning why this was the first time hearing of you, and how no one recognized such a popular hero, you turned towards your now embarrassed husband. Wrapping your arms around him, you gave him a small peck on the cheek.

“Sorry about that, I just can’t help myself.”

Once again, he rolled his eyes, but he didn’t seemed to be mad, so you supposed that was a good sign. Before going back to settle his class, he rubbed his hands along your waist, something he did when he wanted to be near you, but also wanted to be subtle about it.

“Thank you for lunch. Why don’t we share it during break later?”

When you smiled, he felt as if there were a million butterflies that were bursting from his heart. As you went back to sitting down, Shouta offered you his sleeping bag, zipping up you and Eri before shutting up his class.

Yes, Aizawa Shouta was by no means, a gentleman. It was an indisputable fact about the U.A. teacher and pro hero. However, if you were to ask his class, they’d tell you that not only was he a great teacher, but he was a doting partner as well.

[phlebasphoenician]

Fic Writer Review

Thank you so much for tagging me and inviting me to play, @silverutahraptor!

This is fairly long so I’m putting it under a cut.

1. How many fics on AO3?

99 as of today!

2. Total AO3 wordcount?

558,120.

Of that, 481,556 was in 2021.

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Okay, this is a lot!

Naruto (88)

Original Work (4)

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling (4)

Mulan (1998) (1)

The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien (1)

The Lord of the Rings (Movies) (1)

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) (1)

Sleeping Beauty (1959) (1)

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - James Thurber (1)

Jurassic Park - All Media Types (1)

Aladdin (1992) (1)

Brave (2012) (1)

Frozen (Disney Movies) (1)

The Authority (1)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) (1)

Beauty and the Beast (1991) (1)

Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands (1)

Philip Marlowe - Raymond Chandler (1)

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (1)

Fruits Basket (Anime 2001) (1)

Pet Shop of Horrors (1)

Tangled (2010) (1)

The Little Mermaid (1989) (1)

ヒカルの碁 | Hikaru no Go (Anime & Manga) (1)

Fruits Basket (1)

Cinderella (1950) (1)

Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types (1)

Moana (2016) (1)

4. Top Five by Kudos?

Escape and Evade (Madara/Tobirama)

Silence is Golden (Tobirama/Izuna)

Caught and Captured (Madara/Tobirama)

Life Come to Life (Tobirama/Izuna)

Wild Wolves (Kakashi/Iruka)

5. Do you respond to comments, why/why not?

Oh, I always respond to comments, and usually within 24 to 48 hours! I love chatting with people about my stories and it often sparks new ideas or helps to conceptualise free floating world building/characterisation which is wonderful.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

That would be a tie breaker.

Either A World Well Lost (Harry Potter, surprise pairing) or Love Wears a Mask (Naruto, Danzou/Kagami). Both of them are tagged 'Dead Dove: Do Not Eat' for a reason.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Yes, I do!

The craziest one that I've ever written is The Secret Lives of Marilyn and Susan Short, an homage to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber as well as a commentary on the concept of the Mary Sue in fanfiction.

8. Have you received hate on a fic?

Yes.

I don't mind constructive criticism as a rule, but I've received comments and commentary that definitely crossed the line into rudeness, or that seemed intended to hurt and be destructive.

Some of them, especially on Escape and Evade, actually made me afraid to write about Mito or from her perspective for fear that I would get yelled at again. In several cases, I felt compelled to write long comments defending my authorial choices.

It probably didn't help that Escape and Evade was the first time that I'd written fanfiction in 15 years.

Needless to say, it was not an enjoyable experience for me.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, I do!

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully, no. At least not that I'm aware of! I don't think I'm a popular enough author for that kind of thing to happen.

11. Ever had a fic translated?

Nope!

12. Ever co-written a fic before?

Hm, kind of?

People have thrown lines at me which I've spun into stories, and I've worked with the fantastic @kurakura0-0 on fiction and art collaborations!

On a less deliberate note, I also wrote Ariel for which the amazing @good-grievance wrote a sequel, and we published them as a single story because they made better sense that way. However we didn’t really set out to collaborate on it.

13. All time favourite ship?

I don't actually have one!

I'm a multi shipper and I don't really have an OTP in Naruto which is the fandom that I'm currently the most active in.

I couldn't choose amongst all of my fandom ships for a favourite either.

Instead, I offer my oldest ship, the ship that I've had since I was a wee little fan - Gambit/Rogue. My second oldest ship would be Charles/Erik. X-Men was my first fandom.

14. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

I only have three WIPs that I'm partway through publishing on AO3, and one of them is only a WIP because it ran into the new 75 tag limit and bounced! 🤣

It's actually complete, and the other two are actively being published. I’m committed to publishing a chapter a day on my main series.

All of my other WIPs (of which there are many) are just waiting their turn to be worked on. None of them fall into the category of being unable to be finished.

I only have one work that I've tagged 'Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued' and that's A Third Wish for Miranda, an original fiction work that would be about novel length if I ever finished it. I still like it quite a bit and I'd love to finish it, but I abandoned it because it ran into a plot hole that I had no idea how to fix. When I wrote it, I didn't have the skills to take it any further. Perhaps someday!

15. What are your writing strengths?

Oooh, I'm not sure! The ability to deconstruct my writing and troubleshoot it when I'm having issues, perhaps. Alternatively, world building.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh, too many to count!

My paragraphs are far often too short, my writing isn't as visceral or descriptive as it should be, my smut isn't hot enough or is too repetitive... there's lots of areas that I want to work on!

17. What are your thoughts of writing dialogue in other languages?

I wouldn't mind it, and I often include words in my writing that are from languages other than English. However, they need to be there for a reason and they must be penetrable to the reader.

I could see myself writing two characters speaking in a foreign language in front of a third character who isn't supposed to understand them for example.

18. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter in 2005.

19. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh my, I don't think I could choose!

If I absolutely had to pick, I'd probably say To Tempt a Target simply because it was a story that was so hard to write, but also a story that I put so much of myself into.

Tagging, but only if you want to, no pressure ❤️: @longliveustherecklessandthebrave , @woofgang69 , @heyitswrenn , @hidendumbassvillage , @greyduckgreygoose , @emilx311 , @sqbr , and anyone else who wants to!

[bakubabes-tatakae]

The Uchiha In The Leaves (Part Five)

Author’s Note: If anyone wants to be added to the taglist feel free to let me know! Happy to do it for anyone!

(Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

Summary: What happens when Y/N finally returns to the Village Hidden in the Leaves? Her life is flipped upside down when not only does she find the man that’s awaited her return, but she finds someone she thought she’d never see again.

AO3 Link

Part One, Part Two:*NSFW Ahead!*, Part Three, Part Four

Part Five:

Word Count: 3971

*Y/N’s P.O.V*

As we walked Naruto and Sasuke fought to see who could walk the fastest. Naruto had been trying to prove himself to us since we left the pier. He didn't want to think that he was weaker than Sasuke after what had happened with the Chunin earlier.

Naruto stopped and suddenly started looking around. "Over there!" He pointed to a bush and threw a kunai into it.

We all stared in shock, wondering what he could have seen and then we grew angry. Kakashi began to scold him. "Naruto, those are kunai knives. Those are dangerous."

Tazuna was angry at this point. He began to shout. "Stop trying to scare us you stumpy little dwarf!"

Naruto ignored us and continued to scan the bushes. "There's something over there!" He turned one way and then back the other. "No, they're over there." He took another kunai out of his pants and threw it into another bush.

Kakashi and I looked over at him and then to the bush. Naruto always found a way to cause trouble or freak someone out. Sakura ran up to Naruto and punched him in the back of the head. "Quit it Naruto."

“Why'd you do that? Someone really is following us, I mean it."

“Yea right. Quit lying and acting like a dumb kid."

As the two of them fought, Kakashi and I walked away from them and into the bushes. There was a rabbit lying in front of the tree that the kunai had hit and he looked stunned.

Sakura ran over to us and looked at the rabbit. "Naruto, look what you did!"

Naruto looked freaked out as he stared at the rabbit. "A rabbit!" He ran over to it and picked it up, cuddling it and apologizing to it.

Kakashi and I walked back the other way and looked around. Something was wrong. Kakashi leaned over and whispered to me. "That's a snow rabbit. They only have white fur during the winter."

I looked up at him. "That rabbit was raised indoors then, away from the sunlight. Do you think someone is using it as bait?"

"The Jonin is already here, they have to be." Kakashi scanned the tree line, being careful not to give the Mist ninja the idea that we knew they were here. Suddenly Kakashi perked up a little. "He's attacking."

I stopped in my tracks and turned to Tazuna and the kids. "Look out!" A giant sword came flying from the tree line and we all hit the deck, it just barely missed us. It stuck into a tree a little ways away and the Jonin from the Mist Village jumped down on it. As I noticed who the person standing in front of me was, I froze.

5 years ago:

I walked through the tree line of a village. I wasn't sure where I was, all I knew was that I needed to find him. Itachi needed to be held accountable for what he had just done. I kept seeing it in my head. Mother and father lying on the ground, covered in their own blood. Sasuke, as scared as I had ever seen him, crying and pleading with Itachi not to hurt him.

Before I knew it, I had wandered through the gates. I knew that I still had blood on my clothes. I was a sight for sore eyes. A rugged man carrying a giant sword on his back walked over to me. He was wearing a headband, he was a ninja of some kind. I could barely focus on what was going on around me so when he reached out and stopped me I jumped into action.

I whipped my arms up and slammed them into his, breaking his hold. "Back up." I put my hand together, ready to use my fire jutsu if necessary. When I finally focused I saw what was on his headband. I had somehow wandered into the village hidden in the mist.

The man held his hand up in front of him, showing me that he wasn't going to hurt me. "I won't hurt you, I want to help you. What's your name?"

I hesitated. Should I really tell him who I was? Would that make Itachi find me? I did need to find him after all. "Y/N."

He put his hands down a little. "Just Y/N?"

I started to put my hand down to stop my justu. I was feeling calmer than I had before. "Tell me your name first, then I tell you my last name."

He smiled a little. "Zabuza Momochi."

I had heard that name before. My father had told me a story about a boy with that name. Was this the same one? Either way, I was always true to my word. "Uchiha, I'm Y/N Uchiha."

Present Day

Kakashi stared at him, anger all over his face. He looked over at me and he could see the shock. "Y/N." He put some edge in his voice to try and snap me out of it. "We need to protect the kids, snap out of it. I know who this is."

We all stood still. Kakashi began to talk to him. "Well, well, if it isn't Zabuza Momochi, rogue ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist."

When he said which village Sasuke looked over at me. I tried to look like I didn't know him, but I think he read it all over my face. When had Zabuza become a rogue ninja?

Suddenly Naruto started to run forward. Kakashi and I both threw a hand out to stop him. Kakashi tried to sound serious, his voice had a little growl to it. "You're in the way, get back."

"But why?"

"He's not like those other ninja. He's in a whole other league. If he's our opponent, I'll need this." Kakashi started to move his headband off his eye that held his Sharingan. He looked over at me. "You might want your too, Y/N. This could be treacherous."

I was still frozen where I stood. I couldn't take my eyes off him. He wasn't in his uniform like I had seen him in every day when we were in the village together. Now he was just in a pair of light blue pants, a couple of sleeves around the bottom part of his arms, and his headband. It was odd.

Zabuza looked behind him. "Kakashi of the Sharingan eye. Did I get that right?" He looked from Kakashi to me. "Long time no see baby girl." I saw Sasuke tense when he realized he was referring to me. "How have you been Y/N?"

Sasuke started to move forward and I threw my arms out and grabbed him. "Sasuke, no, stay back." I turned him around and tossed him backwards.

Kakashi took control. "Quick, manji formation, protect the bridge builder. Stay out of this fight. We taught you teamwork,now it's time to use it." Finally Kakashi pulled his headband completely off his eye, exposing his Sharingan. I closed my eyes and balanced my chakra, ready to bring mine out.

I could feel the power building in my body so I began to focus it on my Sharingan. When I opened my eyes I could feel the power radiating through my body and from the shock on the kids faces I could tell that my eyes had changed and so did Kakashi's one.

Zabuza taunted. "Looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action."

Naruto butted in. "Everyone keeps saying Sharingan. Can someone please tell me what the Sharingan is?"

Sasuke began to explain. "Sharingan is a rare power, it resides in the eyes. The use of this visual jutsu or dojutsu can instantly see and comprehend any genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu, and reflect the attack back on the attacker. The Sharingan is a special, rare form of dojutsu. However, there's more to the Sharingan than that. A lot more."

Zabuza spoke to him. "You got it right boy, but you only scratched the surface. The Sharingan can analyze the opponents technique and then copy it to the smallest detail."

Suddenly mist began to cover all around us, making it hard to see. Kakashi was staring at me, clearly wondering what Zabuza had meant when he had spoken to me. I had never told anyone outside the Village Hidden in the Mist about us. The only reason that the village knew was because we had lived together.

3 Years Ago

Zabuza came up behind me as I stood at the kitchen sink, jumping me. I had known who it was by the muscles in the arms so I relaxed. He grabbed my waist and turned me around. "Good morning." He had a small smile spread across his face, even under the mask that he made himself. Zabuza put his hand under my chin and lifted my face to his, kissing me through the mask.

"Good morning." I smiled back at him.

He was already dressed for the day. He wore his ANBU uniform just like he did every morning, this morning he was up and ready earlier than usual. "I'll be gone for the day."

"They have you leading a mission?" I despised it when he went out without me. The thought of losing anyone else was heart wrenching.

"I'll be fine. I promise." He kissed my forehead and went over to the dining room table, sitting down in one of the chairs. "I always come back to you, don't I?"

I sighed. "I know, I just hate it."

He gave me an apologetic smile and stood back up. "I promise I'll be back before it gets dark." He held the back of my head and pulled me to his shoulder, kissing the top of my head.

"You better be.” I looked up at him. "I'm going to hold you to that."

He turned and headed for the door. Zabuza opened the door, but before heading out the door he turned back around, standing in the doorway. "Y/N?"

“Yea?" I turned away from the sink and put the plate I had picked up to wash back down.

He smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too, Zab." With that he closed the door and the house was mine. He hadn't even been gone for a minute yet and the house already felt lonely. It left me alone with my thoughts, always wondering about the same person.

Present Day

Zabuza began to taunt Kakashi. "As for you Jonin, in the assassination unit of the Hidden Mist, we had a standing order to destroy you on sight. Y/N on the other hand, we've been told to go easy on, don’t want our secrets getting out."

I cringed as he said the words and a shiver went through my whole body.

"We had a page for you in our bingo book Jonin. It called you the man that copied over a thousand jutsu. Kakashi the copy ninja. And we have something personal to settle." Zabuza looked over at me and smiled.

Kakashi looked taken aback by that last statement. He had never known that Zabuza was the man I had been seeing in the Hidden Mist. I had never told him.

Naruto broke the silence. "Wow, that's so cool."

Zabuza bent down on his sword. "Enough talking. I need to exterminate the old man now." The kids all ran in front of him, kunai out and ready. "So I'll have to exterminate you first, eh Kakashi? So be it." He looked over at me again. "She won’t do you any good. She's still in shock. Never thought you'd see me again?"

I swallowed hard. Zabuza grabbed his sword out of the tree and jumped away. He landed on the water and I looked over at Kakashi. "He's on the water." He was building up his chakra. I had seen it a thousand times. The mist got thicker and he vanished.

The kids all seemed concerned. "Sensei's, who is he?" Sakura was the most worried.

"He'll come after us first." Kakashi looked over at me, clearly wanting me to tell them who he was. "You clearly know him better than you let on." I could tell that Kakashi's anger and annoyance with me was rising.

I sighed again. "Zabuza Momochi, the ex-leader of the Hidden Mist's assassination unit. He's a master of the silent killing technique. As the name suggests it happens in an instant, without sound or warning of any kind. It's so fast that you pass from this life without realizing what happened. The Sharingan cannot fully neutralize it, so don't lower your guard. Not even for a second." They all looked scared.

“If we fail we all lose our lives.”

Sakura was angry now. "How can you say that Kakashi-Sensei?"

The mist got thicker. We couldn't see the kids anymore. "I don't like that we can't see the kids anymore Kakashi."

Suddenly we heard him talking. "Eight points," Kakashi and I searched. "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys, heart. Now which will be my kill point." He had to be by the kids. Kakashi took his chakra and made it flow though his body, taking away the mist with a breeze. We had a line of sight with them which made me relax a little bit.

Sasuke looked terrified. I wanted to run over to him, instead, Kakashi and I spoke to him. "Sasuke!" Kakashi's voice broke him out of his trance.

I tried to relax him. "Calm down!"

Kakashi tried to reassure him. "I'll protect you with my life, all of you. I will not allow my comrades to die."

Deja-vu ran through me, hearing Kakashi say that made my skin crawl. If it was a precursor to the last time he said it, then this wouldn't end well. I turned to Sasuke. "If it's the last thing that I do, he will not lay a finger on your little brother. You have my word. Trust us."

They all relaxed a little until Zabuza spoke. "I wouldn't be so sure." Zabuza popped up in the middle of all of them. "It's over."

Kakashi and I zeroed in on him, our Sharingan taking over. "I've got him, you get Tazuna and the kids." I nodded to him and we both jumped into action. Kakashi jumped into Zabuza, throwing him backwards. I jumped and rounded all the kids in my arms, then jumped back and grabbed Tazuna."

When Kakashi jumped backwards into Zabuza he had taken out a kunai. It was now jabbed through his stomach. We all sat silently. Instead of blood dripping from the kunai, it was water. A clone. The real Zabuza popped up behind him, ready to cut him down with his sword. I panicked. "Kashi, behind you!"

Zabuza swung his sword. "Die!" As the sword hit him he turned into a puddle of water. Zabuza looked even angrier. Kakashi came up from behind him, putting a kunai to his throat. My heart almost leapt out of my chest. He had done it. Kakashi spoke. "Don't move." I could hear the anger radiating off Zabuza. "Now it's over."

As I watched my first serious love with a kunai to his throat I began to panic. I wanted to close my eyes. I couldn't watch this. We all stood in a circle around Kakashi and Zabuza. I couldn't bare to see the two of them at each other's throats. All the feelings that I had thought were gone toward Zabuza came back at the sight of him near his end.

Kakashi was proud of himself. "You're finished."

All three of the kids were excited, cheering him on, but then I heard something. a chuckle came from Zabuza, something that was never a good thing when he was in a battle. I had heard that same chuckle a thousand times when I was on missions with him. "Finished..." He chuckled some more. "You really don't get it do you. Your technique is nothing but a crass imitation. I'll never be defeated by a mere copycat ninja like you." I could feel my blood boiling as he taunted Kakashi. Kakashi growled at him, which made him laugh even more. "You are full of surprises tho. You'd already copied my water clone jutsu when you made your little speech. Very skillfully executed. You made your clone say those words to draw my attention while you hid in the mist, waiting for me to make my move. Nice try, nut I'm not that easy to fool."

I could see Kakashi's anger rising in him and then we saw Zabuza fade to water once again. "Kakashi, it's a clone, behind you!" Zabuza swung his sword and Kakashi ducked just in time. As his sword embedded itself into the ground Zabuza sent a kick Kakashi's way, nailing him in the side. As Kakashi went flying through the air I couldn't help myself anymore. "KASHI!" Zabuza picked his sword up from the ground and went running after Kakashi. I looked at the kids. "Stay with Tazuna, no matter what happens."

I jumped into action. I threw spikes in front of Zabuza, causing him to stop in his tracks. I jumped down on the other side of the spikes with my hands ready to start a jutsu. A flashback hit me as I stood in front of him. This was the same as the night I first met him. "Zabuza, don't do this. Let us go. If not for the sake of these kids, then for me."

Zabuza stared at me. "Do you really think I'm going to let your little boyfriend go just because you asked me to Y/N? How stupid do you think I am?" I could see all the kids in the corner of my eyes stare when Zabuza said the word 'boyfriend'.

"I don't want to fight you Zab." I began to slowly make the hand signs for the fireball jutsu. He ignored everything I had to say and readied himself. Serpent. Ram. Monkey. Boar. Horse... Did I really want to do this to Zabuza right now? I didn't have a choice. Kakashi was down and out at the moment and I had to hold him off. Tiger. I held my hands to my mouth in a cup and blew. I heard Zabuza panic a little. "Fireball jutsu." I heard him jump back as my flames hit the ground, causing a small crater. I couldn't see anything through my flames, one of the only down sides to the jutsu.

Suddenly Zabuza came at me from the side. "Forgive me Y/N." I looked over as I saw his foot come flying toward me. I put my hands down and threw my arms out, blocking his foot just in time. His fist came at me next. I had forgotten how fast Zabuza was. I grabbed his fist with my hand, a major mistake on my part. Everyone knew that I had made a mistake as soon as I did it.

I heard Kakashi from behind me come out of the water. "Y/N, look out, his foot!' Before I had even realized it his foot had met my rib cage and I was sailing into the tree.

I heard Kakashi trying to come out of the water, but Zabuza was quick. "Water prison jutsu."

Kakashi yelled. "No!" He was trapped in a ball of water, floating just above the water.

I picked myself up off the ground and grabbed my ribs again. They were in even more pain than they were before. A medical ninja would do some good right now. I tried to stand up, but dropped to my knees as soon as I did. They were definitely broken this time. I could see Kakashi's eyes on mine and I could feel the kids’ stares. I fought through the pain and stood up.

Zabuza looked down at Kakashi. "This prison is made of water, but it's as hard as steel. It's hard to fight when you can't move. So much for the great Kakashi."

I walked over near the water. "Zabuza, let him go. You can't hurt him without hurting me."

Zabuza chuckled. "I'll finish you off later, but first, your little friend needs to be eliminated." Another Zabuza popped up in front of the kids and I. The terror on their faces was like a book cover. One of their sensei was trapped and the other could barely move without falling over. I had to save the kids. "You think that wearing that headband makes you a ninja? When you've hovered between life and death so many times it doesn't phase you then you may call yourself a ninja. When you become so deadly that your profile is entered in my bingo book you then may be called a ninja. To call upstarts like you ninja, is a joke." Zabuza disappeared as the mist got thicker.

A foot came out of nowhere, kicking Naruto in the neck and sending him flying. I was beginning to feel useless. "Naruto!" His headband came flying off and he landed on the side of me.

Zabuza stepped on his headband. "You're just brats."

Kakashi started to yell at us. "Listen to me! Get the bridge builder and run! You can't win this fight! He's using all of his power to keep me in this prison so he can only fight you with this water clone, but the clone can't go far from his real body. If you get away from him then he can't follow. Now run!"

I could feel my panic turning to anger as I listened to him. Not anger at Kakashi, but anger that I couldn't do anything, anger that I couldn't convince Zabuza to stop. "Kashi, I'm not leaving you."

"Go! Forget about me! Get your brother and the others and get out of here! Think about him!"

Suddenly I heard Sasuke yell. "We've got to do this."

Zabuza chuckled. "So this is the little brother you always talked about. How cute."

Sasuke took off at a run for him. I winced through the pain and ran after him. "Sasuke, no!" Sasuke threw his ninja stars at Zabuza, who dodged them with ease. Sasuke jumped into the air and sailed toward him with a kunai.

Zabuza reached up and grabbed Sasuke, holding him by the throat. "Too easy."

Sasuke squirmed under his grip. "If you hurt him Zabuza, the last thing I do with my life will be to end yours!" I jumped toward him with my kunai. When he saw me coming he launched Sasuke to the side and braced himself for my impact. He dodged me and ran in front of Naruto. Naruto tried to get away, but landed on his bad hand, causing him to stop completely. He looked down at his headband that Zabuza was standing on again. Naruto stood up and was clearly angry. He took off running for Zabuza.

Kakashi screamed from inside the water prison. "Naruto, no!"

Zabuza chuckled. "Fool." He hit him and sent him flying backwards with ease. When he came back he had his headband.

Naruto stood back up and put his headband on. "Hey you, the freak with no eyebrows. Put this in your bingo book. The ninja that will become Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, he never backs down." I could see that Zabuza was shaking his head with anger, he was getting annoyed. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke and Naruto were scheming, I could tell. "Sasuke, listen up, can you hear me?"

Sasuke looked up. "Yea, I hear you."

"I've got a plan."

"So you're finally thinking about teamwork, huh?"

"Alright now, you guys, let's go wild."

Taglist 💕 @nubiadethemyscira @nimeryaa @o-franzii-o @chidori-mint @fan-g0rl @ari-hatake15​

Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight: *NSFWish Ahead!

Updated: 5/8/2020

[vesperlionheart]

Songbird -KakaSaku

Original Ask:

You mentioned Paolo Sebastian and expect us to pick just one?! I tried to narrow them down. 2016 AW Reverie dress 14. 2015-16 SS The Nightingale dress 07 (All the grey/silver wing dresses are amazing.) 2014-15 SS Sirens of the Sea dress 09. The first and second dresses in the 2019-20 AW collection, too. I would also like to tell you about my absolute favorite designer/collection: Hassldriss 2019 SS Ashes. Gives me ethereal, mythical creatures and goddess vibes, thought you'd like it, as well.

Sakura scurried up over the cracks in the rock face and used her momentum to keep her from pitching sideways into the deep valley below. Her hands were rough and held her in place when she paused to catch her breath, reminding her to be proud of her harsher features.

It had been several years since she had moved from the lord’s house with her mother to the outskirts of the Fire Country’s boundaries. Gone were the paved roads and tall buildings with fancy doors and glass windows. The mountains were as rough and rugged as her hands making it no place for a young lady to grow up.

But Sakura wasn’t a young lady.

“Just a little farther,” she told herself instead of looking down.

Her mother had been a maid and in her youth she had warmed the bed of men she shouldn’t have, thinking it would get her ahead. When it didn’t she took her small child with unnatural jewel like eyes and fled to the outskirts. It wasn’t much longer before the harsh climate took its toll on them with Mountain Fever, something only Sakura survived.

The screeching cry of a large bird made Sakura pause on the cliff and listen, waiting to hear more, but the cry was only an echo and there was no sign of the thunder bird who nested in the cracks.

A little while later Sakura pulled herself up onto a ledge and rolled onto her back, breathing hard. The air was thin and there was only so much a person could acclimate to on their own. The climb had been treacherous, but the reward would be worth it.

Sakura rested a minute more before pulling herself up and crawling over to the long nest, easily three times her own size. Inside were the loose feathers left behind that shimmered and gleamed in the pale light. Sakura loaded her pack, amazed by her luck. The thunderbird had left behind so many beautifully colored contour feathers and even some strong flight feathers. When Sakura handled them they greedily reflected the light like they were the only thing in the room allowed to.

Sakura was careful to pick her way around the nest and keep her contact with the boundaries of it to a minimum. Thunderbirds had an excellent sense of smell, after all.

She worked quickly, until her pack was full and then went back to squeeze some more feathers into her pockets. It had been a day’s labor to scale the mountain and two days worth of travel by path to the place where her climbing could begin, far from the village where she lived.

She should have left as soon as her bag was full.

Sakura felt the static in the air and then tasted the tang in the back of her mouth. She looked to the cliff opening and saw thunder clouds in the distance, dull and silent but no less dangerous. She scrambled to the edge, but the screech made her cower on her knees, holding her ears from the nausea.

In the shadow of the storm clouds the mighty bird soared more like a bullet and less like a beast for his den.

Sakura did all she could to roll out of the way and pin herself again the cave wall, hoping she might not be noticed in his den.

The silver bird banked and then touched down, filling up the cavern with his size as it stalked towards its bed with talons as large as Sakura’s torso. She held her breath as it paused and turned white with it stiffened.

The feathers down his back ruffled as it turned, opening its wings part way to block her path as it rounded on her, his gray black eyes charged with lightning.

It screeched again and the sound made Sakura cry out in pain, holding her head as she crumbled to the ground.

“Please my lord, forgive me!” she cried through her tears. “Please, forgive me, forgive me.”

With a strength she didn’t have, Sakura forced her body into a deep bow, pressing her forehead to the stone as more tears fell free to stain it underneath her. She was at his mercy and if the stories were to be believed, the thunderbirds were no more merciful than any of the other beast gods.

“Little morsel, you come into my home, into my nest, with greed in your heart,” it roared with a voice like thunder. He flapped his mighty wings once to shake them out and then bent his head lower. “I smell your fear but it will not save you. Produce your weapon and end your own life if you can.”

Sakura trembled. “My lord, I have no such weapon. I swear I meant you no harm. I-I would never. Please, I beg you to abate your anger against me.”

“Liar.”

“I swear it to you, I never wished you ill.”

It roared with magic, making her bones tremble. “Then why have you dared the wrath of my mountain to post yourself in my nest and lie in wait for my return? Why hide yourself?”

Trembling, Sakura removed her bag and flipped the front flap open. The glare of light from the discarded feathers was bright enough to see without removing. “I am no such fool, but I am a thief and I am a coward, I came here in your absence to plunder your cast offs. I-I meant to leave before your return but I was too greedy. Forgive me, forgive me!”

Some of the electricity in the air snapped and then lessened. The bird flapped once more before taking a step forward to inspect her bag, sniffing it and then nudging it with his beak.

“Filthy cast offs, you risked your life with such a climb for this? None of these feathers hold any magic. What use could you have for my mess?”

Sakura swallowed. “A dress. I wished to sew them into a dress.”

The bird said nothing, but Sakura heard it shift closer. His shadow fell over her and then there was a tingle as his beak nipped at her hair and then nudged against her back. She kept still as it searched her over.        

“You are a dirty human who lives close to the land. What use would you have for a dress with my feathers?”

Under his shadow Sakura swallowed and forced the words out. “I…I wish to sew for myself a wedding dress, so I might…so I might be married at the Crossroads.”  

The bird pulled back. “A barbaric tradition,” it boomed. “A human turning itself into cattle? There is no nature that can explain such things.”

“I don’t have any other choice,” Sakura admitted with distress as more tears fell. “I have debts to pay and-and I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t take care of those who saved me like how I am. If I’m-if I’m married a husband would take on my debts and my family would be fed. There’s nothing else I can do.”

The bird nipped at her hair again, still so close. “You climbed my mountain and made it into my nest but you cry like a lamb and claim uselessness? The humans have fallen further than I had first assumed if they can not see your value.”

“Please, let me leave with my life, my lord. I can not leave my parents alone on this earth just yet, not until I’ve paid back my debt to them. I beg you, please, I beg you.”

The bird made a noise that was like a chuff before  pulling back and flapping hard.The breeze made her flinch.

“Not tonight, little one. You tremble worse than the leaves in my storms. You cannot climb in your current state. Come.”

Sakura almost squeaked in distress as she was picked up by the back of her shirt and lifted into the air before being set down into the middle of the nest. Sakura looked up, shocked as the silver gray bird turned about, circling her before folding his wings and curling down around her. “My lord,” Sakura squeaked.

“Sleep, you will have no peace until you do.”

“Here?” Sakura asked with a voice that pitched high.

She heard the thunder bird rumble in delight at the sound she made and somehow that only embarrassed her. It turned its head and stared up at her with eyes more black than gray. He was a god beast, one of the ancient creatures and it dwarfed her in every way.

“You wish to defy me?” it teased.

“I-this is-this is your nest.I couldn’t-”

“Your eyes are very old,” it interrupted her, looking away to readjust. “I remember with the first gods still walked between the clouds. I’ve not seen such clear eyes since then, but yours come close. You’re not some princess, are you? I thought only the royal families bred with the last traces of divinity.”

The question made her squirm. “I’m nobody, my lord.”

“Everybody is somebody.”

“Not me.”

It turned to face her once more, staring hard until Sakura ducked her face and blushed. She only looked up once she felt the tug on her curls as it pulled with his beak to get her attention.

“Your name?”

“S-Sakura.”

“Just Sakura?”

“My mother’s surname was Haruno, but I don’t know my father so…so just Sakura.”

“Fitting. You look like a flower.”

“My lord,” Sakura breathed, covering her face with her hands as it rumbled in mirthful enjoyment of her honest distress. It was an immortal so of course it would enjoy teasing such an insignificant creature like her.

“You may call me Kakashi, enough with your silly human titles. You owe me no such allegiance, and I’d like it better if we were friendly.”

Sakura swallowed, running the name over in her head before daring to form it with her own lips. “Kakashi.” It sounded so simple, too simple for such a revered creature  

“Very good. Now sleep, Sakura,” it rumbled, sounding more like distant thunder.

So she did.

When she awoke in the morning she felt far more rested than she should have for falling asleep in a bed of sloppy down feathers and twigs. There was no sign of the thunder bird-of Kakashi-but her bag had been left untouched and her stolen feathers were still stuck inside her pockets, so she didn’t question it further.

It took another full day to climb back down the mountain until she was on solid ground once again, and then another two days more traveling down the long, winding paths carts and horses never traveled anymore. All the shrines and crumbling churches lay empty along the roadside, forgotten even by pilgrims.

When Sakura arrived back home Ino and her parents all wept on sight, claiming she had been gone too long and everyone thought she had died. Overdramatic as ever, Sakura let them fuss until they were content before showing off her finds.

“Oh Sakura, no…” Ino whispered, eyes wide with fear.

“We can’t all be lucky and fall in love with good people,” Sakura teased back.

A month later Sakura was done with her dress and Inoichi had his cart ready with wildflowers to sell at the Crossroads. Ino and Sai stood outside, watching her leave with the same solemn faces.

“They’ll get over it, they have each other,” Sakura laughed to her adopted father as he yelled at the horses to move.

“They also had you, but now they don’t. Don’t think they’ll get over it so easy,” he grumbled.

“I…easy or not, they’ll get over it because they have to.”

Inoichi bent his head to hide his tears under the cover of his wide brimmed hat. “Our debts shouldn’t be for our children to worry about. Sakura-”

“I’m not your child, Inoichi,” she interrupted softly, making him jerk, “and this is my choice.”

He swallowed thickly and shook his head. “We can still turn back,” he whispered.

“And you can still be killed for not paying back your money lenders. Don’t ask me to make that choice, you know what I’ll say,” Sakura whispered back. “I’ve come this far, let me face this as I see fit.”

Inoichi didn’t speak up again, but Sakura noticed how he didn’t rush the horses even when the roads allowed it. When the reached the Crossroads he grabbed for her hand one last time and kissed her knuckles, crying over her fingers. “Forgive this old man for his foolishness,” he said.

Sakura reached up and kissed at the corner of his eyes where the wrinkles caught most of his tears. “I loved you and I always will, father. Thank you for letting me go.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really,” Sakura laughed before slipping off the cart.

With hours to go before the bidding, Sakura arrived at the Matchmaker’s early and was let in with a few whispered words. Once inside she was seen to, examined, prodded, interviewed, cleaned, and redressed in the handmade gown.  

“You’re one of three, but you’ll be last since…well…” the matchmaker’s eyes slid down Sakura’s figure and then up again, settling on her eyes. “…we don’t get such rare beauties this matured very often. You’re quite the holdout. What’s the reason?”

“A family debt,” Sakura answered honestly, long since numb to the looks and questions. “When is the noon bell?”

“Not for another half hour, come let’s take you to the lounge where you can have some tea. It’s good for the nerves.”

Sakura allowed herself to be led away to a dainty little parlor where two other girls, both younger, sat drinking tea and avoiding the stale sweets offered on a silver tray. Both frowned when they saw Sakura walk in but neither said anything.

Absently, Sakura noticed both girls looked younger in person compared to their posters. It seems the artist had painted them as more mature to attract more of an audience. Sakura hadn’t seen her own posters, but the painting they were based off of had been flattering enough even if it was only from her shoulders up.

A voice just outside made it through the doorway for each of the three girls to hear.

“It’s a better turn out than the last one.”

“Forget the last season, this is bigger than all last year’s crowds.”

“What do you expect when it’s only once a season they turn out?”

One of the girls made a sound that betrayed her youth and Sakura felt sorry for her, but not sorry enough to open her mouth and lie. They were going to be sold off, they had signed up for this, and the chances of any of them being happy with what came next was slim, no matter what the matchmaker said.

Outside the noon bell rang like a death knell and the first girl stood when the door opened. She held her head high and marched out in a swirl of lavender colored fabrics to the roar of an excited crowd.  

The bidding took five minutes, but the preamble was ten times that. Sakura could hear how the girl was led around stage and talked up, listing the number of instruments she could play and languages she could speak, but little else.

She didn’t go for a poor price, but it would likely be the lowest since she was first.

The next girl stood when the door was opened. She stared straight ahead and marched with less grace, but as her virtues were read off to a frenzied crown the stiffness mattered less and less.

Her bidding took less than ten but more than five minutes.

When the door opened again Sakura saw the attendant laughing. “The crowd’s only grown,” was his excuse.

Sakura swallowed her nerves and threw her head back. She had climbed the Spine of the world, plucked feathers from the nest of a thunderbird, and slept under his wings. This crowd would not frighten her.

“This way,” the attendant said.

Sakura put one foot in front of the other, measuring her pace the way she’d seen noble ladies do. Through the short hallway and out onto the stage she followed the attendant out with a mask of indifference. The Crossroads’ open square was packed and all the nearby buildings had faces in their windows.

When she had been a child she had enjoyed the thought of being considered beautiful.

Now all she could do was curse it.

The matchmaker waved to the attendant and Sakura squared her shoulders as the long fur coat was pulled from her shoulders. The crowd’s reaction was understandable as she stepped forward into the light.

The cut of her dress was low, reaching almost to her navel as the bodice was crafted out of the thunder bird’s silver feathers. Glittering feathers hugged her waist and covered her hips, but did little else as the dress morphed into glittering see-through fabric that hid nothing of her figure from view. When she was asked to walk across the stage, the crowd roared at the sight of her, her indecency, her immodesty, her beauty, her legs, the swell of her breast, the dress, the way she reflected the light…

“And she sings, ladies and gentlemen,” the matchmaker cooed in mock adoration. “What a little songbird. Who wouldn’t want to have her in his own golden cage?”

“Sing!” the crowd demanded.

In reaction the matchmaker motioned to the attendant who had pulled out a simple hand drum. When he struck it the drum gave a solid thud that repeated and repeated and repeated. With every strike the crowd quieted until they were silent.

Sakura shut her eyes and inhaled.

On the next strike she let her voice out, low and rolling. When she sang she sounded like the mountain, loud and booming with highs and lows an eagle could soar through. The language was an old one that sounded as lost as the forgotten religions and shrines left at the base of the Spine of the world.  

Spellbound am I, am I

The wizard bewitched me, bewitched me

Spellbound deep in my soul, deep in my soul

In the heart glows a burning fire, a burning fire

The song morphed until it was less lyrical and more a testament to her range as she held a note up high and kept it aloft until the last sudden beat of the drum. Then all at once there was silence.

When she opened her eyes the crowd before her was just as spellbound as her parents the first time she sang for them-before they made her swear never to again.

What a horrible daughter she turned out to be.  

The crowd broke like a dam and the roar was deafening but Sakura refused to flinch. She was numb to it as the matchmaker rushed to the front of the stage and motioned wildly for the crowd to quiet.

She couldn’t get them under control for a good five minutes as they screamed for more. She tried to read off more of Sakura’s qualifications, but it seemed no one was interested in anything beyond her song.

“Then the bidding for our songbird…”

Sakura closed her eyes as it began.

Her price climbed rapidly until it became apparent only two men in the crowd had enough of an estate to shoulder the expense. From 300 Krown (a moderately rich man’s yearly salary) to 500 to 700 her bridal price climbed. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized her cut would be large enough for Ino’s family to live comfortably on for the rest of their days.

“Five thousand Krown!” a new voice boomed.

Sakura raised her face and saw further back a man flanked by attendants, all dressed in the same dark uniforms trimmed in silver. In the afternoon’s sunlight the medals on their breast pockets gleamed, making them all look impressive.

At the front was a man with dark eyes and silver hair that betrayed his youthful face. For a noble he seemed too beautiful.  

The crowd grew quiet.

In the history of the Crossroads the bridal price had only exceeded 1000 Krown a total of three times, but the highest bid had been three thousand five hundred and paid for by the envoy of the emperor. This man was unrecognized and bore no such crest. Who could have that sort of money?

“Sir?” The matchmaker squawked.

He waved to one of his guard and he rushed forward with a small metal box. He opened it for the matchmaker to peer inside, only for her eyes to boggle.

“My master is good for the money,” the man holding the box chuckled before shutting the lid.

“Th-that…is…is there anyone who opposes?” the matchmaker asked once more, sounding numb.

Neither of the other two nobles raised their hands as they glared across the crowd at the newcomer. There was a low murmur through the crowd before the bell rang out, signaling the sale.

Sakura shut her eyes and followed the matchmaker off the stage into the rooms where her sale would be finalized. She sat on the couch watching as several iron chests came into the room, carried by three identical servants. Inside each chest was 1,500 neatly stacked bars of Krown. The last 500 came in a smaller chest.  

It took several minutes for the chests to be counted and the money organized. Sakura closed her eyes and ignored the stares of the three identical servants who watched her where she sat. Her silence and seeming indifference seemed to amuse them.

Then the door opened once more for the silver haired man to enter. His fur collared cloak trailed after him like a pair of long wings, flapping around his legs with each of his long strides. Up close he was even more handsome and Sakura prayed that didn’t mean he was cruel too.

She stood as he entered and met his gaze head on. A different servant bent to talk with the matchmaker while he stared down at her, eyes creasing in the corners even though his mouth didn’t bend in any such smile.

“Then, your mark sir?”

Sakura inhaled sharply and readied herself for the branding all bought brides went through. Some saw it as a mark of pride, but others recognized it for what it was-a shackle.  

“I will not brand her,” he said, speaking with a voice so deep and full it filled the whole room.

“-B-but she might run. A mark is traditionally what-”

“I will not brand her,” the young lord interrupted more firmly. He took a step closer to Sakura then reached for her hand. “But let this serve as my testament.”

Sakura watched as he slid a rose gold colored band onto her ring finger. When she looked down she saw the massive emerald in the center, flanked by a multitude of smaller diamonds.

She stared up at her to-be husband with wide eyes that only made him smile more openly.

“Mah, I’ve been waiting too long for someone I could spoil to my heart’s content. I’ll never give you a reason to run, Sakura.”

“What… what is your name, my lord,” Sakura asked, feeling a bit light headed at the prize on her finger and the message it carried with it. She wasn’t a prize, she was a bride. If she wanted to run her ring would pay her way several times over, and he knew that.

He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “Hatake, but you may call me Kakashi.”

She didn’t have the breath to ask any more questions as his servants stepped up to finish the paperwork that allowed him to take her. He folded her under his arm and lead her out of the room, through the halls, down the stairs, and into the awaiting carriage.

Inside there was a dressmaker’s box on one of the seats he encouraged her to open. She lifted the lid with trembling fingers and gasped at the sight. The same silver feathers that she had sewn together to make her dress were crafted into a similar bodice that complemented a much fuller skirt.

“Your wedding dress. This one served its purpose for our engagement but,” Kakashi kissed the back of her shoulder as he stood behind her, “us old gods are terrible about showing off our extravagance.”

“Kakashi,” she breathed again, not daring to believe it.

He hummed cheerfully. “Yes?”

“Thunderbird…Kakashi.”

“One in the same, my dear.” He ushered her into her seat and sat down beside her. “I’m glad you remember me. Sometimes they don’t. When witnessed in our divine beast forms there are only certain brains that can hold onto the memory. But you,” he kissed under her left eye, “you, are worth far more than gold could buy. I’ve not seen such eyes in many thousands of years.” Kakashi leaned over and kissed under her other eye, reaching for her hand to hold as he did so.

“Why did you do that, though? You…you’re not human, so what could you want with me?” Sakura asked, still feeling light headed even as he kissed the side of her neck.

“I said so, didn’t I? The humans are fools to not see your value, but now you’re mine and I’m yours and we have lifetimes to enjoy together.”

His voice made her feel like melting. As powerful and old as he was, she still felt safe next to him. He was an ancient god who could tear her apart in an instant, but she knew she had never been safer.  

“Lifetimes?”

“I’ve waited too long to have a mate to spoil. I won’t let you go so easily, not even to death,” he promised darkly before bending her down to kiss deeply, lips to lips.

Later that night Kakashi stirred in bed and growled at the presence behind his bed chamber’s doors. His wife was warm in his arms and there was nowhere else he’d rather be. But his stupid servants wouldn’t leave until they had given their report, so he detangled himself and dressed in a simple robe to greet them at the door, making sure the bed curtains were drawn to save Sakura from sight.

“What?” he growled low, promising thunder and pain.

“It’s done, sensei.”

Kakashi exhaled forcefully. “And?”

“As you wished, the lost revenue has been recovered and the Crossroads razed.”  

“The people?”

“After her family left we… took care of them.”

Kakashi scoffed at Naruto’s soft tone. He was too young to understand how sometimes these things needed to be done. They were divine beasts, they didn’t need to feel sympathy for the masses.Their feelings were meant for precious few.  Just because the humans had forgotten that didn’t mean they had to. Naruto had a long way to go before he could be trusted with his own dominion.

“It’s their fault for looking at wasn’t theirs to behold,” he commented darkly, shifting so more of his body filled the gap between the door and the jam. “Is that it?”

Naruto nodded.

“Then make yourself scarce. Don’t show up unless I call for you again. I don’t plan on attending to any business for the next…couple of weeks.”

“We’ll cover it.”

“Yes, you will.”

And with that Kakashi shut the door on his student. When he drew the curtains back he chuckled at how Sakura had rotated onto her back, fingers curling in her sleep for something she could no longer hold.

He brushed aside the stray feathers and pulled back the covers to slip in and reach for her hip. She turned to him easily and he kissed her shoulder in thanks as she melted against his side.

“Mine,” he breathed in tired fascination. “My precious songbird.”

SS The Nightingale dress 07 (All the grey/silver wing dresses are amazing.)

Engagement

Wedding

[auberghyn]

Elysian Fields

Rating: M (T for now, but there will be eventual smut) Pair: KakaSaku

Tags: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Worldbuilding, Romance, Eventual Romance, Eventual Dram, Travelling, Humor, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Sexual Tension, Wizard!Kakashi, Biker!Sakura, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Inspired by MMORPG Ragnarok Online

Quick SpeedPaint/Photo Manip by me

Chapter 1: Sawbones

A healer's duty goes beyond improving abrasions and maladies. Besides your everyday affliction ranging in severity, a healer is also responsible for the safety and well-being of their comrades. So when Sakura was asked to take over for her grandmother as field surgeon, it was an honour she hoped to fulfill.

Sakura expected long travels to the neighbouring city of Taki, where the surgical headquarters was located. She figured if transportation was too vexing, she would have to move to make work within easy reach. The Haruno Matriarch owned an old mint-green Konoha Roadmaster motorcycle that she had refurbished and given to Sakura as a parting gift. Although the automotive vehicle came with a few tiny scrapes that resembled claw marks on the rear fender, Sakura didn’t mind them. Rather, she appreciated the stories the remnants held. The scuffs piqued her interest. She would have loved nothing more than to hear each one's story, but her grandmother always answered the same way: a chuckle and "It's best to find out for yourself, my child"

Huffing in slight disappointment, Sakura deduced that they were probably from wild cats lurking in the deep forests of Taki. Whether she was right or wrong with her assumption, it temporarily sated her growing curiosity. With the inherited motorbike in her possession, at least transportation was doable now. As Sakura sped through the almost empty highway’s bike lane, with the moving truck a safe distance ahead of her, she recalled her overprotective mother, Mebuki, nagging the moving crew’s ears off to give her daughter enough space to travel and avoid any accidents. Before they set off northbound, she gave the men a hundred bucks as an apology. She had all the crucial necessities packed, including the wolf plushie from her childhood she had snugly tucked inside her bike’s compartment. All she had to do now was get there. Adrenaline coursed through Sakura’s veins at the thought of starting her career. However, if she were completely honest with herself, she was scared. Delighted to the core, yes…but she had doubts lurking in the back of her mind: the question “Will I ever be good enough?” plagued her constantly, especially after the wrongs that she worked so hard to right. There came a point where she had gotten involved with the wrong crowd during her adolescence. As she and her family constantly moved from town to town, it was difficult for her to find her place. Sakura was sure she never would have gotten out of that rut without her grandmother’s intervention. Sakura knew very well what the older woman was capable of, her fury infamous and threatening. But at Sakura’s most vulnerable, she’d sat her down and spoken to her in a manner that Sakura would never forget. The older woman, in her utmost sincerity, had instilled the Will of Fire in Sakura: To follow than to control. To listen to others who have been shunned. To keep her head high despite of adversity. And to keep standing tall despite losing ground. Sakura didn’t quite understand them back then. Like majority of the teenage populace, she only cared about technology, love interests, mind-numbing television, and junk food. It took her years to make her realize its significance and for her efforts to finally come to fruition. At the day of Sakura’s academy convocation, her grandmother, a typically stern woman, had been brought to tears. She’d pulled Sakura into a bone crushing hug, sobbing against her granddaughter’s dark green gown, telling her how proud she was that Sakura had come so far. Sakura remembered her saying, “The will of fire is strong, it runs deep. It’s a reminder that, despite our mistakes, we can draw our inner power, and that’s when we bloom. To serve a purpose and evolve into who we truly are, and that’s what matters”

A smile slowly tugged at her lips as warmth began to unfurl within. The travelling winds might have been chilly, but the memories gave her comfort on her long journey.

 —♦—

Once they arrived, the movers immediately set to work, helping her unload some furniture, boxes and bins of clothing, kitchenware—basically everything she needed as a starter, according to her doting mother. She poured them tea and helped with the other objects. It wasn’t long before the last box into the house.

Once she’d paid them, Sakura retreated to her new apartment to get ready for bed. Though the clock only struck seven time and the sun was still high in the sky, it had been a long day. She decided it was best to take a step back and relax before starting her new job tomorrow. That night, she slept blissfully like she hadn’t slept in years. Tomorrow for sure, there would be a tonne of adventure awaiting her, and she was ready to face it head on.

 —♦—

“Just keep going straight. It’s gonna take a while, but you’ll get there” Sakura had awoken that morning filled with purpose. She’d pre-packed her bag before she’d even moved in so the only thing she had to do was take a shower, put her uniform on, and ride to the headquarters. But there was one problem: Although she admitted she may have overslept a tad more than expected—which was a little disgraceful on her first day—the receptionist had informed her to head to the nearby headquarters where the group was currently settled, which would take no longer than a ten minute commute. The woodlands she was encroaching on eased her mind from her tardiness. As she raced along, she took in Mother Nature’s beauty. She thought Konoha, with all ts vast forested land, was beautiful, yet it was almost outmatched by the otherworldly backdrop of Taki, with its lush greens and azure waters. Completely lost in thought, it only took her a split second to realize a whirling blue light appear in front of her. She felt the air shift as she passed through the portal, to which she noted, felt like melting meringue, warm and glutinous. But there was nothing sweet about the way her bike bounced against the uneven terrain, catching her off guard and rattling her whole being. When she regained focus, Sakura was utterly speechless, blinking quite a few times in disbelief. Before her was a canyon so vast it dwarfed Iwa’s Great Gorge of the West. Sakura thought that she was dreaming, there was simply no way that she had been coursing through the woodlands a moment ago. Now she found herself speeding on what seemed like a suspended narrow bridge that stretched for miles. Up ahead was a slight curve to the path, and with Sakura too dumbstruck in the moment, she accidentally skidded off to hurtle down the canyon. She figured she’d wake up any second now, still in utter disbelief that all of this was real. She was probably having one of those dreams where she thought she was late for a very important event that day and would wake up an hour or two than originally planned, but as seconds passed and she starts noticing her descent coming to an end she began to panic. Sakura had a moment to herself, where she criticized her life choices down to the smallest of details. She’d also started to wonder when everything went downhill. Was the deliverance she received a figment of her imagination as she lay wasting away in a former friend’s bedroom? Had she hallucinated all the events that had happened in her life: leaving her childhood friend behind to move to a different city, her grandmother’s intervention, her turning her life around and graduating with the highest honours in the academy? Sakura felt despair mixed with delirium like a rancid cocktail. If she was going to phase out from this kaleidoscopic nightmare, would she be back in Samui’s place wasted, filled with no purpose and re-live her stupidity. If she was indeed hurtling downwards harsh jagged rocks raised like swords of judgment, then so be it. “At least I have lived a good life… I think” she whispered to herself, the air whistling through her garments. Within seconds she would be just a pretty stain on the ground, her Indian Roadmaster bike would be somewhere a few feet away from her body in the same mangled state. She accepted death, yet as darkness loomed over, the wind shift as if something had snatched her in mid-air. When she came to, she was sitting on a padded basket-woven armchair, a plush throw pillow sitting on her lap, and what seemed like a fox-owl hybrid curled under her feet. “Kami, what was she thinking sending her granddaughter off without an escort? Does she want her to die?” “Nah, that’s unlike Tsunade. We found a mine under the bridge near the exit. Neji and I had to disarm it before it causes any unwanted damage. Everything was fine but you had to be a GIANT bag of dicks and pushed her off” “I didn’t push her on purpose! I noticed a trap the second before she ran over it so I had to do something!” “You could’ve just grabbed her, Kiba!” a crack of a whip and a man yelping in pain finally jostled Sakura out of her daze and looked around to see three people in various states of undress. “Are you okay? You’re Sakura, right?” she turned to look at the woman crouched beside her, “I’m Tenten” she said, placing a hand to her chest. She then shifted in her place to point and introduce the other two in the room. Neji, who Sakura presumed hadn’t spoken a single word, stood in an imposing manner, his long brown hair gently framed his steely gaze, his pale pupil-less eyes unnerved her. Sakura took notice of the peculiar flesh-coloured mark on his forehead, wondering if that was a birthmark but it was highly unlikely due to the symmetrical pattern splayed across his skin. Green eyes then focused on Kiba who decided that he wasn’t interested in the commotion anymore. His messy dark brown hair swayed as he plopped on the couch. Sakura could have sworn she saw sharp fangs peek through his slightly parted lips as he grumbled, nursing the red gash across his chest, probably from Tenten giving him a good lashing for pushing her off the ledge. I mean, he deserved it. I could have died, you know? As she was about to speak, her eyes flickered towards a sudden movement in her peripheral vision and caught site of a tall man wearing nothing but navy-coloured breeches. The plains of his stomach where a wondrous map of lean muscle despite the numerous scars and bumps probably from the battles he had partaken in his lifetime. Her eyes traveled upwards to see amusement in mismatched eyes. Her cheeks began to pink as she realized she was gawking. Sakura heard shuffling from behind her and three voices greeting the man in unison. “Captain” Sakura’s gaze darted between the three and the stranger. The man sauntered towards them from the hallway, the sway of his hips precise and nimble. There was something about his gait that caught her attention, it reminded her too much of the wolf documentaries she loved to watch as a kid, how those predatory animals would prowl, the air around them absolute.

Sakura sensed the change of ambience and tried to displace the blame for rapid heart rate to the previous incident. Try as she might, her cheeks pinked before his presence, and she knew it would be unwise to wear her emotions so freely, especially when she was face to face with authority.

Regaining her composure, she finally stood and bowed as she greeted in respect, it was the only way to remind her of their differing status.

But the man chuckled, however, and she would have snarled had it not for the fact that her voice trembled mid-speech.

“At ease, Miss Sakura. I see you finally decided to join us” he teased, drawing his hands behind his back as he watched her lips curl slightly upwards with a grimace. She admitted her fault in hopes of being forgiven, but his steely gaze chilled her, “Just to let you know, we don’t tolerate that kind of behaviour here” there was a snort immediately followed by a weak yelp emitted by one of the three people behind her, Sakura was tempted to take a look but the captain had thrown her off guard by his question. “Do you even know what Tsunade’s role was before she left?” he asked, brow arching. She would have scoffed, however there was a certain truth to his words. What was Tsunade’s role? Pursing her lips and loathing the way he assumed she didn’t have a single damn clue, to which to some extent he had a point, but she stood her ground nonetheless. She huffed with her chest out and answered. “Yes, she was a highly skilled field surgeon—“ “Field surgeon,” he cut her off, eyes squinting and lips forming a thin line at the word as if it tasted odd just by saying it, “Here in Elysium, we call them Sawbones” “Sawbones?” Sakura asked, feeling a hint of regret for the short pause she took. She would have asked about Elysium as well but it would only confirm his belief of her naivety. He eyed her with deep intent before taking a stride towards the high ceiling window that she was sure wasn’t there a moment ago. He folded his hands behind his back and looked on, the glass slowly clearing, and Sakura’s breathe caught in her throat. “As you can obviously see, this isn’t the human world” he deadpanned without so much as a glance her way. It took her moments before the air grew dry around them, followed by pinpricking sensation against her skin. She looked down on her arms and could almost see tiny hairs standing on end. Confused and unnerved, she glanced at the three people behind her who seemed unaffected by the current in the air. When she looked back did she knew what, or rather who was causing it. When Sakura thought she was dreaming awhile ago only to be deduced by the rapid descent and the alarming knowledge that she was going to die, watching the silver-haired captain emit purple lightning coursing through his body is what convinced her that she was indeed back at her new apartment, still curled up in a ball and nuzzling against her wolf plush. There was just no way all of this was real. Soon, Sakura felt the need to sit down and alleviate the overwhelming urge to pass out. Authority be damned, she needed to rest. But her body betrayed her, and she crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap. The four figures stood in silence, the current slowly faded away. “I think you overdid the introduction there, Kakashi” Tenten scolded, the utter disappointment evident in her tone. Kiba doubled over, roaring in the background. Neji rolled his eyes, obviously fed up with playing along, but he would be lying if he denied the fact that it was anything but funny, “I can’t believe she didn’t know what Tsunade does” Kakashi, knelt in front of Sakura to scoop her in his arms, chuckling as he want to set her on the warm daybed by the window. “I can’t believe Tsunade didn’t brief her on the situation at hand” Kakashi said, a huffing in amusement. “You know Tsunade, she can be pretty secretive. Still, you didn’t have to go overboard with being a complete douchecanoe. If Tsunade finds out about this, she's going to ram your wand through your skull” Kakashi let out a hearty laugh at Tenten’s flowery quips. “Maa, maa, Tenten you don’t have to be like that, I’m your captain” “True, you are the captain, but I’d also like to think its because of you being captain that Tsunade retired early” Suddenly the atmosphere grew a little grim, Kiba immediately stood to excuse himself, with Neji following close behind. It was too late for Tenten to retract her statement, what meant as a lighthearted quip somehow struck a nerve in Kakashi but he kept calm despite the steely glint in his gaze. “I’m sorry, I went too far—“ Kakashi lifted a hand to stop her, “That’s alright. Anyway, we have he rest of the day to ourselves, see to it that you enjoy your afternoon. I’ll wait till she wakes up” “Certainly, captain” Tenten left the room in haste, leaving Kakashi with Sakura. He lifted his hand slightly above his hips and languidly pushed downwards an inch to grasp the backrest of the chair that he just conjured up with the gesture. He settled down then pulled a book and reading glasses out of thin air. It wouldn’t do all of them good if he was on edge for the meeting once Sakura wakes up from her fatigue. Flipping to the page he last read, he began to read the passages.

[kuriquinn]

Telanadas [14/19]

Cover Page & Disclaimer:

first chapter

Author’s Note: For once I’m proud of the action scene, so that’s something :P Also, I once again changed some aspects of the game to be less confusing for the story. Canon sticklers need not complain :D

“So…” Kakashi’s slow, speculative drawl is what brings Sasuke back to the present. “This is…new.”

His tone is innocent, but the raised eyebrow is not.

Instantly, Sasuke is several feet away from Sakura, refusing to look at her—refusing to look at any of them as his mind races to process what just happened.

Confusion, pain and rage war within him. Before his eyes, he can still see Itachi’s face, preternaturally and maddeningly calm. It is the same way he looked the night he slaughtered their people.

Bile rises in the back of Sasuke’s throat, because how did he let himself get so drawn off-course? Traipsing along on a useless quest like this, to save the life of a jumped-up shemlen noble? Justifying it with a childish notion of improving himself? How exactly was he intending to accomplish this? By absorbing the talents of others through osmosis?

He needs to return to his mission, to leave this place.

Fists clenched, he glances back at the door they came through, past the archway and the riddle chamber. The way is now shut. Kakashi said the only way out is through, and Sasuke decides that as soon as they are finished with this foolhardy expedition, he will leave.

He has become weak beside them and forgotten himself.

“Sasuke-kun?” Sakura prompts, the note of concern causing a muscle in his jaw to clench.

 Just how much of that weakness is because of her?

He does not answer, instead turning to Kakashi. “Whatever nonsense you are spewing, we do not have time for it.” He jerks his head to the chamber before them. “We are halfway through this travesty of a trial, let us be done with it.”

Kakashi’s eyebrow raises higher, but he does not offer another comment.

“Actually…” Sakura begins faintly, but a beat later her voice comes as strong as ever. “I don’t think that was a test just now. I think…I think it was a reward.”

Sasuke cannot help looking back at her now, if only to shoot her a disbelieving look.

“You call that a reward?” Naruto demands, voicing his own reservations.

“In a way, it was,” Kakashi says, standing beside Sakura. “A chance to face the past is a rare opportunity not offered to all who seek it.”

“Are we going?” Sasuke interrupts, impatient. He heads for the left side of the antechamber, not bothering to wait for the others. There is another arched doorway before him and he makes his way toward it—

Only to freeze when he sees the unexpected individual on the other side.

At first, he wonders if he has come face to face with a particularly clear mirror. His identical image stares back at him, the only discernable difference in the blank cast of the eyes. But he finds no glass here, and the rise and fall of the other elf’s chest is out of sync with his own.

The rest of his party catches up, pausing behind him. As they near the archway, shadows appear beside Sasuke’s double: facsimiles of the other three.

“That’s…us,” Naruto points out, nonplussed.

“It seems we are meant to battle ourselves,” Kakashi muses. “If that is not symbolism, I do not know what is.”

“Tch. It’s irritating, is what it is,” Sasuke says.

“We still have to get through it,” Sakura reminds him.

Naruto hefts his sword and shield. “Well, they won’t take care of themselves. Let’s get busy!”

Sasuke shrugs—there is not much else for it—and steps over the threshold.

Instantly, his doppelgänger fires an arrow in his direction, forcing Sasuke to duck and those behind him to scatter. He does not pause in his advance, raising his own bow and sending a volley of arrows back. Sasuke’s comrades regroup, quickly clashing with their own doubles.

In close quarters, Sasuke and his twin clash with daggers, hacking and slicing at each other, lashing out with hidden blades or sharp kicks to vulnerable body parts. Each of these is blocked with ease, and their strength is so equal they end up staggering backward and away from one another. Only to dash forward once again.

Up close, Sasuke notices that though their faces are blank and lifeless—like puppets controlled by a string—their opponents are deadly and quick.

Every strength he has, so does the other, and wherever he compensates for weakness, his double does as well. In the periphery of his vision, he notes Kakashi trading blasts of magic with his doppelgänger. Fire cancels out ice, electricity renders waves of earth to nothing but dust in the air. Naruto and his clone trade blows of shield and sword, their movements telegraphed like a dance, while Sakura and her twin grasp each other by the hands. Both dwarves try to wrestle the other to the ground but cannot break the stalemate.

“We can’t keep doing this!” Naruto grunts, ducking a swing of the shield from his opponent.

Sasuke does not want to agree, but he has little choice. Their doubles will probably never tire, and he does not have the luxury of waiting around to get a lucky shot. Especially when that lucky shot might be against him.

“We need to treat this as any other attack,” Sakura calls out. “The same way we face any group of enemies.”

Take out the mage, then pick off the ranged fighters while distracting the foot soldiers.

There is no need to speak this plan aloud, as they have been fighting together long enough to know what tactics work. Naruto steps up his speed, knocking his double momentarily off-balance, and takes a swipe at Sakura’s opponent. While he engages the enemy dwarf, Sakura takes a run at Sasuke’s twin, distracting him long enough that Sasuke can slip into the shadows. He sneaks up behind Kakashi’s copy, fitting another arrow. In a perfect world, once they defeat the enemy mage, Sasuke and Kakashi can rain down a hail of arrows and magic on the remaining fighters.

But that is not what happens.

Naruto is soon overwhelmed by the combination of his and Sakura’s clones, thrown backward by their force and reduced to simply dodging. And Kakashi’s doppelgänger might be trading blows with their mage, but it does not stop him from trapping Sasuke in place with a paralysis hex.

As the elf waits helplessly for the spell to wear off, Sakura falters in front of his double, unable to deliver a crippling punch to the back of his neck. The other Sasuke takes advantage, lashing out behind him with a knife that she only just dodges, the blade cutting across her cheek. The doppelgänger tries to follow up with a lethal slash to her throat, but Sasuke deflects this with an arrow as the paralysis hex dissipates.

Only to find himself knocked painfully across the face with the blunt edge of the enemy mage’s staff.

Stars circling his vision, Sasuke backs away, trying to reorient himself. He slips back toward the antechamber, taking cover behind the large statue there.

He is not the only one; soon the rest of his comrades are beside him, cradling various injuries and fending off attempts by their doubles to follow them into the small room.

“Can I just say…what the hell?” Naruto demands, blood streaming from his nose and mouth where the edge of his opponent’s shield clipped him. “Are we really that tough? No wonder no one’s ever beat us yet!”

Kakashi and Sasuke take their places at either end of the room, hovered in the shadows of the archways to guard from magic and metal projectiles. Sasuke discovers he must pick up a lot of the slack because apparently Naruto’s double uses more Templar abilities than the real one does. It dispels any of Kakashi’s larger invocations with ease.

“This trial is not just fighting ourselves,” Kakashi muses. “It is fighting our best selves. Imagine yourself at your most focussed, your strongest, most well-rested…”

“Compared to starving and exhausted and bleeding internally?” Sakura grumbles, frustration colouring her normal cheer. “We should still be able to do this. They’re us for Stone’s sake! We know our own weaknesses better than anyone!”

“And so do they,” Sasuke says, sending a volley of freezing arrows out to stop Sakura and Naruto’s clones from coming closer. “They are not regular opponents. Regular tactics will not work here because we are not regular individuals. Each of us have specific skills and talents that when used in conjunction with each other makes it a difficult force to beat.”

“So, you’re saying they’re stronger together,” Naruto suggests, and then groans. “Well, no shit! Why do you think we swapped opponents? To separate them and make ‘em easier to beat!”

“No,” Sasuke replies as Kakashi creates sends a fireball at Sasuke’s double. “You have been trying to exploit the weaknesses you know. Not the ones you might not.”

“That makes no sense!”

“Oh!” Sakura blurts, staring at Sasuke in surprise. “Yes—yes it does!”

“I believe an explanation is warranted?” Kakashi suggests, summoning a blizzard into the other room. It will not last long, especially with Naruto’s twin able to nullify it, but it will buy them time.

“Sasuke’s an assassin! He tried to kill us all before, so he would have to know our weaknesses,” she explains. “I look out there, and I see my friends. I see your strengths and maybe the most obvious weaknesses. A blind side or a weak ankle. But Sasuke…you had to find the unexpected weaknesses when you were hired to kill us!” They wince as Kakashi’s double sends an invisible rock through the air, making the entire chamber shake dangerously. “Tell us—how would you kill us, if you still had to?”

Naruto makes a startled choking noise and Kakashi looks grim beneath his mask, but Sasuke knows what she wants. He nods.

He turns his attention back to the individuals barring their way, and he orders his mind to disassociate from the people beside him. To see these familiar faces as nothing more than targets.

“You must do as I say,” he orders. “Do not question it, just do it.” When the others nod, Naruto warier than the others, he goes on: “This is what needs to happen…”

His mind races with every detail he has unconsciously collected on these people since they met, thinking of every scenario and personal failing that can be exploited. As he outlines what amount to his early plans for murdering each of the other three, Naruto grinds his teeth and Kakashi’s brow furrows. Sasuke does not allow himself to even acknowledge Sakura’s reaction.

With the plan set, they take one last moment of relative safety behind the wall, and then rush forward as one. Kakashi and Sasuke, as usual, offer cover for Sakura and Naruto to get to their doubles. To the unknowing eye, their tactics are the same as earlier.

As they fight their individual battles to stalemate, Sasuke remains keenly aware of everyone else’s position. He tracks when his comrades subtly and slowly move into a formation. At last, Kakashi’s doppelgänger is on one side of the chamber, while the other three are herded away from him.

That’s it!

“Now!” Sasuke orders, ducking the blow of his double and somersaulting toward his enemy, firing off three arrows as he rolls to his feet. The enemy burns the shafts to cinders, but Sasuke does not let up, sending volley after volley onward to keep him busy. Meanwhile, Kakashi telekinetically blasts Sasuke’s double, sending him flying across the flor. Sakura and Naruto disengage from their opponents and make a break for the enemy mage while Kakashi summons a freezing blast over the other three. He focusses his assault on Naruto’s double—if he is too immobilised, he cannot use his Templar abilities to nullify the magic.

Sakura and Naruto zero in on Kakashi’s double from both sides, while Sasuke pelts him with arrows from greater and greater distances. Cloaked in the shadowed corners of the room, he searches for an opening. Kakashi’s clone deflects the missiles, using his staff to keep Naruto and Sakura out of his range as he does so.

“Sooner would be better!” Kakashi calls, maintaining his onslaught of ice on the three enemies as he speaks. There is a worrying edge of exhaustion there, suggesting he is running out of mana.

Naruto’s clone twitches, but Sasuke cannot allow himself to dwell on that. Instead, his eyes trail the arc of the enemy mage’s staff, trying to catch the patterns and repetitions in its movement, the openings in the sweeping motion—

There!

He lets one arrow fly at just the right time, and it slides through the air, sneaking through a gap before the mage’s staff can deflect it. It slams into the man’s breastbone with a sickening wet crack that sends him staggering backward.

“Finish it!” Sasuke orders. Though he senses hesitation on both Naruto and Sakura’s faces, they move forward in unison. Naruto shoves his sword forward, punching through the mage’s abdomen, and Sakura’s axe sweeps out, lopping head from shoulders.

The body slumps with a nauseating sound, its head several feet away.

Naruto swears in disgust, and Sakura’s free hand goes to her mouth in horror, but they do not have time for feelings.

“Pull yourselves together, it is not him, you fools!” Sasuke snarls, because they do not have time to give in to sentiment.

“R-right,” Sakura says, and hurries past the mage’s body.

Naruto’s double has finally thrown off Kakashi’s spell and emitted a blast of purifying energy to dispel the magic. The Templar has a tendency to pop up where they do not want him, having all of Naruto’s skills when it comes to speed. Sakura and Sasuke both have an eye for his weaknesses and flank him together. Meanwhile, Naruto makes a play for Sakura’s double, distracting her. It should be easier this time without his doppelgänger backing her up, and with Kakashi keeping Sasuke’s twin occupied by several blasts of arcane power.

The Templar ends up being more of a challenge than Sasuke expected, focussing his efforts on eliminating who he considers the weaker opponent. Taking out the archer is, of course, the preferred opening strategy of their group. Sasuke’s teeth rattle as the edge of the Templar’s shield catches him in the head, for once being a hair too slow to dodge it. Dizzy, he sees the flash of a blade heading for him and knows he will not be able to move in time to avoid critical injury.

There is a wordless yell of rage, and the templar folds from behind as Sakura tackles him, knocking him to the ground. As they wrestle on the floor, the struggle causes Naruto’s double to lose his helm. Sakura takes quick advantage of this, delivering one final, solid punch downward.

Blood spurts and bone breaks, before the familiar blond figure gives a full-body twitch and goes still.

Two down, Sasuke thinks dimly, as he gets his balance back. He opens his mouth to tell Sakura to go for his twin but pauses when he notices the bone-white colour of her face.

He has seen her injured near the point of death, terrified by giant, poison-spewing spiders or agonised at the sight of broken bodied villagers destroyed by the Blight. But the expression on her face is of utter anguish—a woman being burned alive or torn to shreds. Naruto is her friend, in many ways her brother, and doppelgänger or not, she was forced to kill him.

It hits Sasuke for the first time, how this must feel to the others. That by the end of this trial they will all know the feeling of murdering a comrade.

And how he led them to do this without thought. He switched off his own feelings with sickening ease and expected them to do the same. Sakura requested this of him, and rather than stop her, he let her burden herself with an experience that will haunt her always, no matter the artifice involved.

His empty stomach clenches, and he might give in to the urge to vomit, if it were not for the fact two of the doppelgangers remain.

Sakura is shaking when she looks up at him.

“Are you okay?” she asks him, strained. It boggles the mind because in a way, she just killed her closest friend, but she wants to know if he is all right.

He is saved the trouble of answering as the archer’s arrows throw Kakashi backward, and Sakura darts over to help him. At the same time, Naruto takes a run at Sasuke’s double. He knocks him aside, deflecting a finishing blow by hammering at him with his fists, and Sasuke remains alone to face Sakura’s empty-eyed twin.

He has seen her spar in close quarters before, and she has excellent defences. If he has any chance of keeping her occupied, let alone winning, he will need to fight dirty.

Dodging and sliding past the punishing blows of her axe and her fist, Sasuke slices outward with his knife. Every so often he darts into her attack range, risking a crippling blow if she catches him, on the off-chance that he can unlatch the ties in her armour. Whenever he comes close, the nicks in the leather straps and ties wear a little thinner. Every bruise and glancing blow from her makes his bones shatter, but every bit helps.

When her breast-plate finally falls away, she does not bother reattaching it, too keen on making a grab for his neck. If she catches hold of him, he will die—but she has left an opening.

Sasuke lunges with his dagger.

She expects this, blocking him so strongly with her bracer that the bones in his left arm snap. But he is already following through with the other hand—and the dagger he had concealed there. It is one of the enchanted blades they have picked up, crackling with electricity from a lightning rune. He thrusts it forward with all his might into the fleshy part between her ribs.

Her breath punches out of her, the sound a facsimile of surprise.

He knows, distantly, that it is not real, but that does not stop the sense of accusation in the her staring green eyes. In that moment, the wall he erected between his task and the grim reality of the situation vanishes. He is left staring at his hand in Sakura’s chest, her blood dripping down his wrist.

In the distance, he hears a body hit the floor—his double, he suspects—and the others calling out to confirm they have all made it through in one piece. But his victim’s blank-green eyes keep Sasuke prisoner, and he finds himself unable to breathe even as the body slides backwards off his blade and to the ground.

This time he does not try to stop the bile from rising and spilling from his throat

Comments and concrit are much appreciated, and very motivating! For information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you’re welcome to check out my ko-fi tip jar, or my patreon page. 

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Next Chapter

[indigo-rainn]

Keep Me Close

Chapter 2 – Dream

Sakura struggled up into a seated position against the wall, the tiled wall cool against her shoulder blades. Her heart fluttered dangerously against her ribcage. At least six nurses crowded around her, blocking the florescence and badgering her with questions that she swirled together in a dense loudness. She inhaled, closing her eyes for a moment before exhaling and opening.

"Back up, everyone," she ordered evenly, using the wall to help herself to her feet. Although there remained a faint ringing in her ears, whatever had so violently gripped her had left. Sakura allowed herself a moment to regain her balance, shooing away with staff who remained with a gloved hand. She refused eye contact, keeping her narrowed gaze on the tales, tracing the outlines methodically.

Something had happened to Sasuke. That much was clear. The chakra signature that had entered her, the screaming in her head – it was all unmistakably his, and that knowledge frightened her. He had never tried to contact her before, and this escalated far beyond anything like that. His last known contact had been in Kyreen – much too far away for chakra signatures to be detected and to contact one another. Yet, somehow, he had done that.

Now, it was her turn to respond. She needed to do something, immediately. She had to get to Naruto.

"Everyone, back to your business. You, please come with me," barked Sakura. Her favorite nurse trailed her as she blustered out of the emergency room. She blew into the locker room, ripping off her scrubs and yanking on her shinobi garb while she spoke:

"Koira, what happened in there?"

"You passed out, m'am. It looked like a seizure, but you were quite conscious." The nurse's voice trembled with nerves.

"Did I say anything? Could you hear any screaming?!" Sakura demanded, rounding on the nurse, her voice lurching on the verge of maniacal.

"N-no, m'am. Screaming? No," the nurse said quickly.

Before the nurse could stutter another word, Sakura took off. She sprinted down the hall, slammed through the main doors, and flash-stepped up to the roof. She darted as fast as she could across the town, leaping from building to building, her eyes trained on the Hokage building.

Terror gripped her still. How could something like this happen? She couldn't get the sound of Sasuke's screams out of her head. She never thought anything would happen to him – he and Naruto were unbeatable... So, what the hell had happened? She had never felt something like that before, that visceral tug wrenching at her chest over such a great distance. Had he done it on purpose? Was he trying to call her? Was he alive? She had an image in her head of him stuck somewhere, alone in the dark, hurt and unable to move, and a single tear snuck past her defenses and cascaded down her cheek. She needed to help him. She couldn't leave him out there. Wherever he was, dead or alive, she needed to be there. She had to protect him.

When Sakura arrived at the Hokage building, she burst through the doors to find Kakashi's chair empty. Naruto stood on the porch outside, his back to her, surveying Konoha with a distant expression.

"Naruto-kun!" she shouted, rushing across the room to meet him and bursting past the sliding glass door. She stopped at his side, and looked up at him. Naruto's eyes were darkened, glazed, his jaw set in a firm line, and he didn't move to look at her. She could feel the fury radiating from him like a heat, and when she set a hand on his shoulder, she felt him trembling beneath his orange jacket.

"You felt it too, Sakura?" he muttered. She nodded, wavering on her feet between fury and fear. She wanted to smash the culprit into tiny, insignificant pieces, but she couldn't undo what had already taken place.

"I was standing right here," he continued, eyes falling to his sandals. "Kurama held me up so I could really feel it. It was like this fire of chakra I didn't even know was there – like a part of the landscape or something – suddenly leapt up in size, towering over everything, only to wink out in an instant…" he trailed off. "And now it's gone. All of it."

"This is so bad, Naruto," she whispered, hands flying to her chest. "W-we need to go after him. What if he's hurt? Or worse, we need to get a team together–"

Naruto turned to her and gripped her shoulders. His bright blue eyes gleaming, he forced a grin: "Sakura-chan, breathe. We'll get him back. We always do. And I already called Taka. Suigetsu and Juugo are going to meet you and another team member at the crossroads. Shikamaru and Hinata are both back and rested from their most recent mission, so take your pick."

"Aren't you coming too, Naruto-kun?"

The blonde shinobi's expression tightened, his blue hues flecked with gray. He fell a step back and clasped his hands together, twisting them together as his brow knit up. His lower lip stuck, sapphire gaze flickered up to the clouds tilting overhead.

"I'll be right behind you," he said finally. The words visibly tugged at him, his hands balling into fists. "I'm standing in for Kakashi for the next day or so, and it's sort of a trial run. The counsel votes on my candidacy next week."

Sakura reached out and took Naruto's wrists in each of her hands, uncoiling his fingers and coaxing the palms flat in the space between them. Her small hands dwarfed in comparison, the Kyuubi's heat tingling against her skin. She grasped his hands firmly, emerald eyes darting up to capture Naruto's before he could look away. She could sense the turmoil lashing out in his chakra – his instinct to protect his friend far outweighing his responsibility to stay in Konoha. The scarlet and crimsons energy pulsed into the air around her, and she squeezed his hands tighter.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun," she breathed, holding his cerulean gaze. "You need to stay here. Let us help make your dream come true, this time. I can't let you throw away becoming Hokage – I will handle this. We will handle this."

"Sakura-chan, I can't just leave him out there, I need to go–" Naruto twisted around, about to hop up to the railing and launch.

Sakura balled her hand into a fist, and made to jab him in the chest, stopping just short. Her knuckles hummed against the fabric of his t-shirt, and could feel him rise to meet her touch with every thump of his heart. He froze, mid-stride.

"No, Naruto," she said, her eyes alight with flecks of searing gold. "Become hokage. You've earned it, and we can't afford to lose that spot to someone else who won't be able to protect us like you can. Hinata and I will get a head start, and you will meet us as soon as you can."

Naruto's jaw slackened, then reset.

"Sakura-chan..." he trailed off.

"Wait for my raven. I'll see you soon." With that, Sakura brushed past Naruto and leapt up to the railing ahead of them. From there, she charged up the soles of her boots with chakra and launched to the next building, wind tugging moisture from her eyes. When she tucked into a roll on the landing, she stole a glance back.

Naruto, still just outside of the office, rose a hand in salute. Sakura exhaled. He had really grown.

Cold.

That was the first sensation that rattled his core when he finally came to. Darkness – the sheer blackness pressing down – came second. The third, pain, arrived more distantly. He was aware of the wounds on his body, tearing at his skin, but he couldn't put his finger on any of it. As if the sensation swam around him, surrounding him, without an anchor.

His senses, apart from those three, didn't come to him. No smell, no touch, no sight. Like a soul detached from a body that he too, could not see.

Death. This must be death.

Then, a voice. Muffled and unrecognizable, but a voice. So far away. He tried to listen, tried to turn toward it, struggling against the blackness for a sense of being.

Wake up.

He recoiled. The voice was sinister. He didn't want to wake up. He fought back.

Wake up.

The pain that had once been so distant drew closer. He writhed away from it now, but he had no leverage, and it wrenched him into the light.

Sasuke awoke, choking. There was something over his eyes, and a wet piece of fabric over his mouth. He was choking, violently, and he couldn't breathe. He tried to move, but was bound tight with ropes that cut and burned at his skin. Beneath his bare shoulder blades, a cold metal table. Immense pain erupted in his leg, made worse as he jerked and fought against the suffocation. Voices above him, a chorus of rough hands holding him down.

Then, someone lifted the fabric from his face. Water spewed from his mouth as he hacked and choked in the air. Breathing. His heart hammered against his chest, his lungs on fire. His mind felt numb from oxygen deprivation, and he still couldn't see.

"Sasuke-kun," growled someone next to him.

He didn't recognize the voice. He began assessing his own body as the voice continued, trying to determine the state of things. His knee was busted, his wrist broken. A stab wound in his side. Cuts and burns that weren't there before on his chest. His chakra supply so depleted that he could scarcely lift a finger.

Assess.

He was being held captive, he knew that. He knew he was being tortured. He didn't know where he was, or who was doing this to him, and he didn't know why. How long had it been? He didn't know that either. Was anyone even looking for him? Would they know where to look? An unfamiliar discomfort twisted in his belly, and shoved the sensation down, but it coiled its way back up.

Fear.

Without warning, something hard drove into the wound in his side – someone's hand? – and he cried out. He tasted iron in his mouth and groaned, turning his head away. An intense nausea gathered in his throat.

"When I speak, you listen," snarled his assailant, standing above him somewhere. Sasuke was too disoriented and too weak to pinpoint where the voice came from, the darkness blinding.

"I'm assuming you know who Sasori is," said the speaker.

The Akatsuki puppet master? Sasuke tried to tether the thought down. He'd heard whisperings, long ago, that a certain rose-haired kunoichi had taken the guy out. Orochimaru had mentioned it, during training. He nodded once.

"Well, good, that's a start. I take many of my cues from Sasori-san, even in his death…" the voice trailed off, lifting with more sincerity than Sasuke was quite comfortable with. The speaker, whoever he was, had declared himself a lunatic follower of a dead man. Not a good start. Sasuke listened as the man trailed across the room, picked something up off of a metal surface, and paced back and forth. The echoing betrayed the presence of walls – they were in a relatively small room, from what Sasuke could tell, in a lab or hospital.

"He was on the right track. Using bodies as puppets? Genius…but his research never reached its full potential," the voice rang with pride. Footsteps, tapping on tiles across the room, approached. Sasuke blew out a held breath, fighting to stay calm.

"I asked myself – why stop at dead bodies? Why kill the host? So much of a body's strength lies in its living abilities…it seems so obvious."

Sasuke felt fingers curl around his arm, and the prick of an IV going into his wrist. He struggled across the chakra-infused bands that bound him to the table, with no success. They zapped what little strength he had, and his body went slack

"The real prize is in the kekkei genkai and preexisting skills of a living shinobi. Without those, the body is a husk, and the puppet is weak. I want the whole thing, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke felt his body go warm, his fingertips tingling as he drifted into unconsciousness.

The pinkette kunoichi darted out of the shade of the trees, dropped to a crouch, and surveyed the valley that dipped below them. Her dominant hand snapped to the kit strapped to her leg, fingers dancing between the weapons and scrolls tucked within. Hinata slid in behind her, her white eyes flashing as she checked for signs of approaching shinobi.

"Clear," the Hyuuga prodigy breathed, tucking a loose strand of jet-black hair behind her eat.

The women took off down the hillside and onward. They'd been running for three days, and the late afternoon sun shone golden on the trees spread ahead of them. The valley would take the rest of the day to get through, and the coast waited for them on the opposite side, beyond sight. There they would meet and camp for the night with Team Taka, and then make their final push north to Kyreen the following morning.

"Sakura-chan," called Hinata after some time had passed, darting up to run at her side through the tree tops. "Thank you, for taking me with you."

Sakura found the statement somewhat strange. After her conversation with Naruto back in Konoha, she had burst into Hinata's house unannounced and nearly dragged the poor girl out of the gate to get the mission started. It was hardly worth gratitude. A berating, maybe.

"What? No, don't be–"

"I mean it, Sakura," Hinata stammered. "It means a lot. Back when we were kids, I didn't understand. You and Naruto, and getting Sasuke back, it just didn't make sense to me, and I didn't help like I should have. I want to make that up to you. I get it now, and I am going to make it right."

She smiled at the rosette, her eyes glimmering. Sakura grinned, reached out, and gave her hand a tight squeeze.

"Thank you, Hinata. That means the world. I'm glad you're here, too."

The two kunoichi sped off into the evening, smiling into the setting sun. They would get their friend back, no matter what.

Suigetsu splayed out on the ground, in the middle of the campsite, his limbs outstretched in sleep. His mouth lay open, drool dribbling down his chin, his teeth exposed and glittering hazardously. Juugo stepped over him, grumbling something unintelligible as he dropped a pile of firewood next to the flames he'd put together. When he sat next to the fire, wrapping his shoulders with a blanket, a songbird landed to join him. He stirred the pot of stew he had heating up over the fire, and the bird watched intently.

Abruptly, a human whistle sounded out from the trees, and he responded in turn. Minutes later, the Konoha kuncoichi tiptoed into the light

They both stumbled with exhaustion – betrayed by the disheveled hair and clothes and the dark circles beneath each of their eyes. Sakura had a particularly hallowed look to her, her eyes flickering nervously around the campsite. Hinata, although tired, seemed slightly more calm.

Juugo motioned for the women to join him, and they sidled up to the fire gratefully. He reached into his pack and pulled out bowls, handing them to the girls along with a ladle and spoons.

"Juugo, this is so much. Thank you," murmured Hinata. They both devoured their first helpings, and went back for seconds. Juugo smiled, but said nothing before turning and giving Suigetsu a good kick in the side. The Mist nin yelped in his sleep, but did not wake. Juugo rolled his eyes and returned to the kunoichi.

"We should get some sleep," he mumbled. "We can brief each other tomorrow morning. Good to see you both. Despite the circumstances."

With that, Juugo lumbered to the opposite side of the clearing, and saw to laying out his blankets. Sakura and Hinata followed suit.

The exhaustion took Sakura as soon as her head hit the ground. Her eyes fluttered shut.

A knock at the door, one summery evening. The sunset light streaming in through the windows, dancing on the floorboards. Sakura wearing a slinky white nightgown that clung to her thighs, curled on the couch with a medical textbook. She wasn't expecting anyone.

She pulled a robe over her shoulders and opened the door, drawing back in surprise. Nearly year had passed since she'd seen him last, and here he was again. Obsidian eye glittering, dark hair long and unkept. Just standing on her doorstep as if it were any other day.

"W-what are you doing here?" The words bubbled from her mouth as she overtook the initial shock. She noticed that the dark lines under Sasuke's eyes had deepened, and he looked more like his father than she remembered.

"I was in town," he muttered, eyes holding hers so intently that she blushed.

"You… were in town," she repeated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Hn." Agreement? Acknowledgment?

"So, you decided to just drop in?" He raised his eyebrow at the statement, as if it were obvious, and shrugged. She shook her head incredulously, then turned back into her apartment.

"Well, come on in then."

She poured two glasses of wine, and they went out to the porch to watch the sun settle beyond the horizon together. They spoke for a while, exchanging stories and news from abroad. Sakura peppered him with questions about his travels, which he answered with as few words as possible, but answered all-the-same. They enjoyed the silence, too.

As the light dwindled, replaced by stars overhead, Sakura rose to her feet. She turned to him to say something, but found him suddenly closer than she'd realized, his hand gliding to rest on her shoulder.

His face hovered a breath from hers, porcelain skin as smooth as she remembered, his dark eyes softened, ever so slightly, staring impassively into hers. He drew closer, rested his forehead against hers, their noses nearly grazing. His hand lingered to cup her face, the brush of his thumb gentle against her cheek. His breath warm and sweet. Slowly she moved her hands to rest on his back, fingers tracing the sinew of muscles that moved and flexed as he did.

When his lips found hers, it was soft.

She'd never known him to be uncertain, but when he drew back, his expression was of veiled concern, searching her face for something to read. It occurred to her that he didn't know if this was okay. He didn't know if she was alright. A small smile moved across her face, and she drew him back in and kissed him back.

A/N

Thank you for reading, lovelies! Would love to hear what you think so far. :3 Happy New Year!!

xoxo

Indigo

[bouncyirwin]

KakaSaku Month 2017 - He Desperately Wanted To Breathe

Can also be found on ff.net!

Rating: G

A/N: Fluff.

Her delighted gasp, breathy and quiet like the cool fall night, and warm like the feeling of her body pressed to his side, ghosted across his ear. “Oh, there’s another one!”

He couldn’t figure out what possessed him to tug her close to his side and wrap an arm around her shoulder, but it happened, and he wasn’t about to remove it because the feeling of her smaller body nestled into his side was doing stupid things to his heart. And goddamn, he knew it was okay because they were good friends (she was his best friend at least) but he just liked her too damn much.

He looked up just in time to see the fading shooting star she pointed out and smiled, letting his hand rub and down her arm when she shivered from the cold and tugged her even closer. "That’s the third one.”

She hummed, content and warm in his embrace, and he had to banish the thought track that was marvelling at how beautifully she fit his side— at how it felt like she was meant to be there. “I won’t get tired of these anytime soon, it’s the second time I’ve seen them in my life.”

His eyebrows shot up, slightly incredulous. “Seriously now?”

She hummed again, curling closer to him. It didn’t help that he could practically hear her heart racing in tandem with his, and feel her soft breath fan across her chest.  Slightly embarrassed, he admitted to himself that he wouldn’t have minded remaining like this forever.

Her scent dwarfed him, almost overwhelmed him —her sweet perfume, her familiar shampoo and body wash, her minty breath— surrounded him completely, coupled with the warmth of her body washing over his with intoxicating intensity, he was lost.

He let his head drop against hers and relished in the way she nuzzled her face in his neck, felt his heart skip a beat when her hand casually found his, her fingers tracing over his larger ones, twining and untwining them.

The kiss he pressed to her hair was completely involuntary, almost idiotic, but she didn’t stir or pull away, merely shifted into a more comfortable position and relaxed into his embrace.

He turned his eyes back to the starry night, watching them glimmer with faint awe. Somewhere beyond the glass door of the balcony behind them slept Naruto and Sasuke, and he had to wonder if his chakra going crazy might wake one of them up.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to be caught in an intimate position with the rosette just yet. Besides, they were on a mission and they should’ve been sleeping instead of watching shooting stars at four in the morning. But when he found her sitting there huddled in a comfortable jacket, he couldn’t resist joining her in a rare chance of some alone time.

“I’m sorry for not talking to you much these past few months.” Her murmur interrupted the quiet and he started at her admission. They had grown very close over the past year, but then the rosette got busy with her hospital promotion and he barely heard from her in the past three months.

“It’s okay,” he soothed, his hand moving over her arm again to offer her more heat, “you were busy. I understand.”

He felt the ghost of her smile on his skin as she turned in his hold to completely bury her face in his neck. “I’m sorry anyway. I missed you.”

When his heart skipped another beat, he sent a long suffering look to the skies. It was getting ridiculous really, he thought as he carded his fingers through her pink strands, enjoying the sensation of them slipping through his fingers. “I’ve missed you too,” he finally admitted, and her fingers found his again, innocent, experimenting as they twined and curled with his.

He felt her breathy snort against his neck and without his permission, his head pressed down against hers, trapping her there. When she made no move to protest, he relaxed against her again, fingers flexing with hers to fill the stilled silence of the night.

“I just worry sometimes,” he added after a minute of silence, unsure of why he was elaborating, but wanting to fill the silence just so he could hear the sound of her voice again, so he could feel it reverberate through him and feel that much closer to her just for a little while. “When you suddenly go all quiet and I have no way of finding out if you’re okay because I’m away… it makes me wonder about your well being a lot.”

She made a small embarrassed sound at the back of her throat, moving closer to him. “Dammit don’t sound so sincere… I’m sorry, really, Kakashi.”

He chuckled, his fingers letting go of hers to brush her hair away from her face. “I’m not saying that to guilt trip you, silly. Just… keep me in the loop, hmm? Just so I know you’re okay. I’d sleep better.”

She huffed but once again he felt her smile on his skin. “Fine. Will do,” she mumbled rather sluggishly, in a way that made him want to tilt her chin up and kiss her breathless just so he could pull back and look at her hazy green eyes, see them for himself.

She shifted again and like a strange prayer answered, the new position brought her face into his cheek and he felt her lips burning into the skin there.

By now his heart was galloping and he knew she could hear it, but it was okay he decided since he could hear hers racing, too.

She held his hand on her shoulder again, and this time, she firmly intertwined their fingers and held it against her where his arm rested.

He leaned down—into her— even further, aware that he was moving but feeling as if in a daze and unable to stop when the corner of her mouth brushed across his chin, not a centimetre away from his lips, and he felt her hot breath fan his face.

He inhaled her scent again, mindlessly noting that he was torturing himself with the way he had her so close yet so far away.

The sound of crickets yet again filled the night and the flutter of her eyelashes against his skin slowed as her eyes finally shut. “Sleepy?”

She hummed and brought their hands closer to her face so that his thumb brushed her cheek.

He didn’t know what to make of the situation anymore. They were close and occasionally touchy but that was just them. This, however… he couldn’t deny the implications. She was practically in his lap, fingers twisted with his, lips nearly brushing his unmasked ones. He knew couples who weren’t that close.

And he could’ve sworn, by the way she kept tilting and adjusting the position of her head, inevitably bringing their lips even closer together, that she wanted him to kiss her as badly as he wanted to.

And so, throwing caution to the wind he turned his face and pressed a small kiss to her cheek, close to her mouth, and when her head tilted in his direction, nearly aligning their mouths, he let his lips brush softly over the corner of hers in a peck, and then another before turning away, afraid he’d over stepped their boundaries beyond repair.

His skin burned, and her breathing was strangely loud in his ears, as fast as his, as anxious as his. He resumed brushing her hair as a distraction, as her taste was now branded into his memory, along with her smell. It was almost painful how much he ached for her.

But she was still relaxed in his hold and so he took it as a good sign— even when that discovery sent his cardiac muscle into another frenzy.

He abandoned his earlier search for shooting stars at that point, choosing instead to listen to the sound of her heart thudding in tandem with his; stuttering and racing every few seconds.

Her face was still pressed against his cheek and her lips were still there, calling to him invitingly, but he settled on letting his thumb brush at their corner instead of leaning in for another kiss like he wanted to do. She didn’t stop him; the soft flesh of her lip parted softly with every brush of his thumb and it was pure torture, especially when she exhaled softly and he felt it against his digits, especially when her head kept slowly and strategically tilting back like she wanted him to kiss her again.

Kakashi was damned anyway, he decided, pulling back an inch to look at her. Her emerald eyes were open but half lidded, watching him, and suddenly the night grew even quieter as her eyes slid to his lips and back to his charcoal orbs.

A small shiver rattled her spine and he felt the corner of his mouth twitch up. “Cold?”

“No,” she whispered, even when she buried her hand in his for warmth, letting his palm completely engulf hers.

“Comfortable?” He tried, smiling slightly when she snorted to hide her shyness, and the blush blooming in her cheeks was nearly his fall as she tilted her head back against his arm, using it as a headrest and regarded him with cloudy emerald eyes. “Yes.”

He couldn’t anymore, he just couldn’t. He leaned in a mere centimetre and seeing her reciprocate, he took the plunge, slanting his mouth fully against hers in a proper kiss.

Her heartbeat was especially loud now; he was sure Naruto and Sasuke might wake up any second and come find them caught in a lip lock, but Kakashi decided he didn’t care at all as his every cell shivered in delight at the feeling of her lips against his.

She made a small sound at the back of her throat as he caught her lower lip between his and kneaded softly, tilting his head back to let it go, only to engulf her mouth with his again.

She was so sweet against his tongue, so soft beneath his touch— he desperately wanted to breathe, to inhale her. He got a ridiculous vision of the fireworks books spoke about because the spark racing through his veins could only be described as that, if not solid electricity.

He lost count of how long they sat there kissing unhurriedly, hearts racing, her taste now imprinted into his senses, into his tongue and gods, he wanted her, wanted this every day, always.  

“Sakura,” he murmured against her lips, almost reluctantly, but he needed to address this before his heart sent itself into cardiac arrest.

“Hmm?” Her neck craned up in seek of another kiss and he obliged her, completely unable to resist her even for mere seconds.

“You won’t regret this will you?” he whispered worriedly into the skin of her jaw, pressing soft kisses there even as he awaited her reply.

She snorted again, softly exhaling against his skin. “No.”

“Are you sure—?”

“Shh,” she intercepted with a touch of warning in her tone, her mouth finding his again, and he was already getting addicted to the feel of it. “Tomorrow we’ll talk… for now…” their mouths locked again, gentle, experimenting, moulding together perfectly, “kiss me.”

And so he did.

[fiction-queen-blog]

TheAmazingUchihaBruhs : Dreamphone

A/n: I have tried uploading this on my original blog @theamazinguchihabruhs but due some 'technical difficulties' it would not upload. Thank you Tumblr! Anyway so I had no other choice than to post it here. I tried uploading this using my Ipad, but that shit didn’t work either. 

Dreamphone

“When you said come over...I thought you just wanted me to sit  on your couch, eat all your snacks while watching TV”

I  kneeled down in front of the coffee table,and regretted ever coming over to Sakura’s place .

“Why would I call you for that? I can do that myself”  Sakura sat down next to Ino,putting down a plate with vegetables and hummus on the table.

“It is going to be fun. I found this game in the attic” Ino stated as she presented the box from the game she wanted to play.

“Dreamphone…” I read the title out loud. “Isn’t that the girly game that they play during slumber parties”

“Wow jeez Sasuke didn’t know your dick will fall off from playing a ‘girly’ game”

“Hey, I never said it was a bad thing, social justice warrior” I said, putting my hands up in an innocent way.

“Your mouth was better when it was shut” Sakura stretched her arms and leaned her back on the couch.

“In Sasuke’s defence. It’s presented as a girl’s game The commercials, the box. It is not his fault when it really just the marketing ” Ino defended me.  

I was about to say something, but since Sakura told me to shut up. I found it appropriate to respect her wishes by eating all the crisps and so keeping my mouth shut.

“Of course! You’re so smart, Ino” Sakura put her hand on the blonde’s shoulder. I dropped the bag of crisps on the ground and raised an eyebrow at my dear friend.

“In front my salad!?”

“Just because it is paprika flavoured, doesn’t make it a salad” She frowned.

“Tch” I rolled my eyes and watched as Ino set up the board game while I was making myself useful by eating more crisps.

“Holy shit” I put the bag of crisps aside as I pointed at the pictures of the boy on the board

“That looks like Naruto!” I  pointed at the blond boy with blue eyes. “And that one looks like Nardo!”  I dramatically gasped and pointed at the other picture  “He looks just like Utakata!”

“This kinda looks like Shisui” Sakura exclaimed. She shared my fascination.

“ Nah, he looks more like Jhon Snow”  I argued.

“Doesn’t he kinda remind you of Shisui?” Sakura looked at me and I thought of my brother’s curly hair before thinking of Jhon Snow’s hair.

….Shit….She was right.

“Daammnn” I said.

“This one looks like Itachi-nii” I said, “and Suké”

“Tobirama and Izuna “  Sakura pointed at the guy with white hair and the one with raven hair that was tied in a messy ponytail.

“Madara…” I pointed at another picture.

“That one looks like Naruto’s cousin...And this one looks like his dad”  Sakura said.

“Oh and look! There is a Kakashi-sensei look-alike “ Ino smiled when she was able to join the conversation.

“Yeah kinda” I had to admit it. That guy did look like Kakashi-sensei.

“So how to play this game?” I asked. I saw Sakura and Ino share a look.

“Uhm, u will figure it out” Sakura said. It almost felt like she had something up her sleeve, but I didn’t care enough to actually question her.

We each got some cards from the pile and I pulled a boy that looked a lot like Kevin, a boy I used to work with at the diner. Davi...The guy I remembered from the Glory Hole,atleast  I think I did and….

I gasped dramatically.

That guy looked like Orochimaru!

“Your turn Sasuke. Call one of them and see what clues you get” Ino handed me the phone and it felt quite heavy for a plastic phone.

“...I will call Kevin” I said, dialing his number. I put the phone against my ear, I didn’t even hear a dial tone.

“Hey” I heard the dream phone go, “the boy that has a crush on you is seven inches big~  Isn’t that a mouthfu-” The call ended and I looked at the phone.

“Kevin said  my crush is seven inches...That is not even dwarf anymore” I looked surprised.”That is legit a pixie!”

“I don’t think they were talking about his height, Sasuke” Sakura commented.

“Pfff..What else?” I looked at  Ino who dipped her finger in the humus and put it in her mouth, in a rather inappropriate manner.

It was then that the phrase  “A mouthful” made sense to me.

“I thought this was a kid´s game`I said while looking down at the board.

“Yeah….But it was the 90s” Sakura defended the game.

“Well….I know it is not Orochimaru or Utakata” I said, crossing their names out.

“You shouldn't tell us. Then we know too” Ino said..

`Trrriiinnnngg..Trrrriiiinnnggg`

I looked at the phone. That was the worse ring I ever heard a phone make. Old or new.

`Heeeeyyy~ Chick, it is meeeehh~” It sounded like a bird dying or...Well..It sounded like a girl on testosterone.  “So I heard some gossips about Utakata, y’know that military guy”

“This game is oddly specific…” I muttered, but then got shushed by both Ino and Sakura.

“Anyway! I heard he just didn’t love you at alll~...He just wanted to fuck you or something--”

The Dream Phone stopped talking for  couple of seconds.

“ Anyway! If you can tell me how big his cock is...I will give a clue about  your crussshhh~”  The voice changed.

The batteries must be running low.

“Oh shit.. I don’t know how big his dick is” Ino said, looking at Sakura.

“Neither do I. If there was just a person who had an indication of how big Utakata’s cock was”

“Was? You mean ‘ is’ ! He is alive”  I didn’t know why I was even defending this.

“Well….I guess you have to answer the dream phone” Ino said, indicating dramatically to the pink phone.

“I don’t think we are supposed to answer questions-”

“You can’t tell, you have never played this game before!”Ino shouted. It  sounded suspicious.

But I  decided to ignore it.

I grabbed the phone from the middle and put my hand before my mouth so Ino and Sakura wouldn’t be able to read my lips.

“Around 15 centimeters”  I whispered.

“HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW THIS!” The put the phone an arm length away from me.

What was this game ?

“You are a virgin! You said you were a virgin! You said you didn’t fuck Utakata! How do you know his dick size?! Eh?”

“Hey!...What about my clue?” I didn’t know why I was looking away from the phone...I got scolded by a toy!

“UR CRUSH DOESN’T LIKE LIARS!”

“YEAH!”

Ino grabbed the phone from my hands and smacked it against her palm.

“Malfunction, happens all the time!” She said, wiping some sweat from her forehead.

“Soooo~ How did you know how big Utakata is?” Sakura asked, sticking a carrot in the hummus.

“Uhm of course I know. I always took showed after training-”

“Alone..with him?” Ino asked, giving me a rather shocked expression.

“Nah, with 14 other men”  Now that I heard myself...It sounded weird.

“You are living the dream”  Ino commented.

“It is your turn” I said, looking at Sakura.

“Adult mode, every third player’s turn has to take his clothes off!” The dream phone suddenly blurred out.

“I swear the phone said ‘his’!”I pointed an accusing finger at the phone.

“Yeah you are only acting paranoid because you are the third player” Ino said.

“No!”

“Then do as the phone says!” Sakura shouted. She was enjoying this a lot.

“You probably just misheard” Ino made a not caring gesture. I guess it wouldn't be the first time I misheard something.

“I am not going to strip” I protested.

“Just your pants is fine” Ino said.

“I repeat, the third player must take their clothes off” The dream phone rephrased.

“PANTS!” Sakura hissed in the dream phone. It was so weird. “We will do pants only” she cleared her throat.

“Oh that is good. I wanted to take off my pants the moment I put them on”  I said.

“Yes baby, do that”

I swear I heard somebody whisper, but I wasn’t sure if it was coming from outside or the dreamphone.

“Lemme just check if I wear…”

“Underwear” Ino and Sakura shared a look before laughing.

“You two...Stop laughing” I muttered as I pulled my jeans off.

“Them legs!” I heard somebody shout outside and I turned my head to the window to see nobody.

“Did you guys-”

“Nope!” Both suddenly shouted.

“Maybe just some pervert walking their pet..”  Sakura said.

I narrowed my eyes and threw my pants behind me.

“Now stand up, turn 90 degrees to your left and bend over” The dream phone said.

“What?!” I looked at the phone in Sakura’s hands.

“Yes squads! Ten squads” Ino said. I saw her panic slightly.

“To make little kids exercise? Damn smart game” I sighed and got up and moved to  the left.

“That is right, honey”  I heard  Ino say.

“Yes, I know how to do a squad” I rolled my eyes.I heard Sakura laugh again.

“That  is not even 90 degrees ! That is about 35” Ino stated.

“How do you even know? You failed maths!” I sat back down.

“Well...I should have told you up front he is a natural cock blocker”

I heard some muttering coming from the phone...Or was it the open window again?

“That is why you are waiting three years for that ass...It makes sense now”

“Do you guys hear that?” I looked back at Ino.

“Nope..Must be in your head” she joked.

“Hmmmm…...Possible….” I muttered.Maybe I should talk to Minato about this…

Sakura  grabbed the phone and dialed the number of the guy that looked like Itachi.

“Uhm, speaker!” Ino said, pulling out some card.

“Aye” Sakura said, putting the phone on speaker.

“Hey, I am lord bitch. I am a doctor and a pretty bad one too because I like to torment the people I don’t like because they are obviously more liked by my little brother than my big ass could ever be! Dattebayo!”

I looked at Sakura.

“What was the clue?” I asked.

“Oh right, your crush is on my black list”

“Damn it, that could be anyone” I commented, looking at the list of names. Well...I could cross out the ones that looked like my brothers and Suké for sure. I grabbed the bag of crisps.

“Can you stop eating! God damn it, I can’t fucking hear shit over your chewing!” The phone said.

“Uhm...That is actually me” Sakura said, taking another bite of the carrot.

“No clue?” I asked confused

“Oh you want the clue, babe?”

“Tch, fuck off!”

I heard some rumbling coming from the dream phone before hearing.

“Your crush is….Not a raven!”

“Fuck you~” I heard a vague voice coming from the dreamphone.

I looked at my sheet and crossed out more names such as this ‘Menma’ guy.

“No scrap that! You once kissed him!” the phone changed his mind.

Probably to make the game more complicated or something.

“Who did ya kiss?” Ino gave me some sort of teasing look.

“The phone was talking to Sakura?” I got confused.

“No it was you” Sakura didn’t seem to give a shit.

“Damm this game. That could be anyone!”

“You kiss slut…”I heard this vague voice coming from the dream phone.

Was I supposed to be offended?

“My turn” I said,grabbing the phone and dialed the number of the guy looking like Tobirama.

“Good...Whatever...Uhm your crush’s favourite subject is chemistry” The dreamphone said.

“Oh nice. I hope it is Nardo” I commented, hearing a groan coming from the other end of the line. I looked back at Ino. “Maybe we need to change the batteries?”

“It is can go on. Think about the environment!” Ino said.

“POP QUESTION TIME!” THe phone suddenly yelled out.

“Oh it is Sakura’s turn” I said.

“No, you are holding it. You have to answer it” I felt like Ino made up the rules so it benefited her and Sakura,

“Fine..” I sighed, placing the phone against my ear again

“Tell me your darkest sex fantasy...hihi”  

That giggle sounded so unnatural. It felt forced. Well, what did  I expect from a cheap toy phone.

“Uhm...Guess...Just sex….” I wasn’t sure how I am supposed to answer to some pink toy phone.

“Don’t lie , Sasukeh!” The dreamphone said. My eyes widened and I looked at Sakura

“The phone...Knows my name..” I whispered, covering the mic with my hand.

“Yeah we dialed your name in it...That’s why!” Ino said. I looked back at the phone.

“Uhm...Alright. I fancy the idea of...Getting tied up..”

I made sure to whisper so the two ladies wouldn’t hear me over the phone.

“Damn that is hot” I heard the dreamphone say when I was done.

“Alright now I get another clue, right?”

“Y-yes! Uhm…Your crush is not a dilf!” the dream phone said. I put the horn down and looked at my list.  Did Nardo count as a dilf? He seemed too young to be.

“I really think it is Nardo” I muttered, scratching the other names off the paper.

“WHY NARDO?! I heard the dreamphone shout.

“Because he is cute, sexy, caring and smart-” I couldn’t help but to feel slightly hot remembering him shirtless.

“I CAN BE THAT!”

“SHUT UP! You are screwing us!”

I heard a vague muttering in the back .

“That is it!” I stood up.  “The one who has a crush on me is the dream phone! Such a plot twist!“ I exclaimed, grabbing the phone from the table, only to see the front fall off.

Did I just break the phone toy?

I looked at the back of the phone in my hand...There was a walkie talkie  in it. I picked it out of the pink plastic case and looked at Sakura and Ino. Their eyes widened before both dramatically gasped.

“Somebody has been messing with us!” Ino sounded at least a bit convincing.

“Ooohh noooo...Who could do this to us…??”  Sakura didn’t even try.

“I am gone. Bye bitch, you are on your own!”

I turned my head to the window. I saw one person run away while Naruto stayed behind, holding the walkie talkie in his hand as he panicked.

“Menma no!”

He looked at his friend running away..Maybe it was his cousin again. He turned his face back to me.

He smiled innocently,scratching the back of his head while. I narrowed my eyes, causing him to gulp and sweat nervously.

“Uzumaki...Naruto…”

“It was his idea I swear!” He pointed at the direction the guy ran to. I walked towards the open window and grabbed him by his collar, pulling him closer.

“You think this is funny?”

“Well...You can be very oblivious when you are off guard” Naruto swallowed.

“What?” my grip around his collar tightened.

“If you are going to kill me, please strangle me with your thighs so I can die happily, dattebayo!”

I shook my head.

“Since when did you even arrive here? Dude, this game we are playing is super weird. Hey, you wanna go for ice cream?” I asked, letting go of his collar and trying to fix it slightly.

He looked surprised before making this small praying gesture, thanking the Gods.

“O-of course! My threat! Dattebayo” He said.I leaned slightly in so I could whisper in his ear. I used my hand to stroke his hair.

“Yeah and after that we can go to my place...” I could see him smirk from the corner of my eye.

“That sounds nice-”

“Where I will choke you till your last breath”

I interrupted him while my grip round his hair tightened.

“Okay I know that your dirty fantasy-”

“I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU, USURATONKACHI!”

He escaped from my grip, making a backwards somersault on the grass before getting up.

“Don’t hate the player hate the game!” Naruto shouted as he ran away, “I will totally make it up to you,dattebayo!”

I shook my head before looking  at the bushes, seeing a hint of blue eyes.

“You know...That was actually pretty hot” I heard a voice say.. I guess it was the creepy friend of Naruto’s. Or cousin..whatever..

“You pathetic perverts” I commented, closing the window behind me.

“Uhm..You can put your pants back on” Sakura gave me an awkward look.

“Never” I hissed.

[amitds]

Kinda contradicts your diagram.

“There’s a clear distinction of mental energy and chakra powers (Indra), and stamina and physical energy (Ashura), thereby hinting that life force =/= chakra reserves especially since the passages in the databook that you showed actually connects the chakra type and quantity to that of the life force of the Uzumaki. This is also made perfectly clear when Kushina stated this:..”

The databook literally states that Karin has an enormous quantity of chakra because she’s an Uzumaki. Are you saying that the databook is false about Uzumaki having large chakra reserves?

Kushina actually stated that the Uzumaki were brimming with VITALITY

BRIMMING WITH VITALITY MEANS FULL OF ENERGY

VITALITY MEANS ENERGY

“If it is indeed true that being an Uzumaki is proof to justify that Tsunade being ¼ Uzumaki makes her possess more chakra and that Sakura as a normal civilian shouldn’t logically have more natural reserves than Tsunade, then you are in fact contradicting your points with Karin not having much larger chakra reserves in comparison to Tsunade and Sakura with their seal because she is much more of an Uzumaki and therefore should have more reserves than Tsunade who is only ¼ and Sakura none at all.”

Um I am contradicting nothing. I never said Karin’s chakra reserves are more than the Yin Seal’s. Show me where I said that? Show me where I stated or implied that full blooded Uzumaki have gigantic reserves that dwarf Sakura/Tsunade with Yin Seals? Somehow in your mind you did some mental gymnastics where apparently I am saying that Karin having more chakra than Sakura in base means that she has move overall because Uzumaki have more chakra than people who healed armies more than once and used chakra after. What I am saying is that Karin has more chakra than Sakura in base i.e. without a Yin Seal.

“So therefore you are agreeing to the point of the antis that Karin as an Uzumaki is an evidence why she would be stronger than Tsunade and Sakura and possess more chakra than both.”

Um I am agreeing with the manga. Antis and apparently you as well are implying that Karin having more reserves in base means that she is greater when Sakura and Tsunade have more with their seals, have perfect chakra control which causes them to waste no chakra, have strength beyond the raikage, have Katsuyu and mastery of evasion and medical ninjutsu and techniques. 

A fanon Karin with a Yin Seal would have more chakra than Sakura/Tsunade however that’s fanon. I can invent a fanon Sakura who’s a full blooded Uzumaki too. 

That doesn’t make sense since Sakura is the strongest of the three as well as the one with the most chakra.

Can you see where I’m coming from?”

No I don’t. It does make sense. Where is it stated or implied that in order to be better Sakura and Tsunade MUST have more chakra in base? Karin has more chakra than Kakashi as well but you don’t think that she is stronger than him do you? The Yin Seal is a jutsu derived from perfect chakra control and as we know perfect chakra control is the foundation of most of Sakura’s techniques and power. Karin has more chakra than Sakura and Tsunade in BASE i.e. without the Yin Seal. The difference between you all and I is that I acknowledge that Sakura is normal genetically but had a high level of intelligence and talent for genjutsu and chakra control and worked up from there. Karin naturally has her healing ability, incomplete chains and high reserves of chakra. Karin however didn’t reach Sakura’s level because Sakura trained under a sannin in specific skills. 

“If the only reason why Sakura had much more reserves than Tsunade is because she doesn’t use any to look young, then can you please explain how that fits into the surpassing thing? It seems that you are saying Sakura managed to surpass Tsunade in all but raw power because they are theoretically equal in it.”

That’s not my issue. That’s what the manga implies. Tsunade doesn’t just look young. She keeps her feeble body young with chakra. There is no form of Tsunade who is young and strong and who has a Yin Seal. Therefore as far as we know Sakura with her Yin Seal has more chakra than all canon forms of Tsunade. Tsunade got that seal years after leaving the village. She didn’t have it as a sannin in the last war nor when Dan died. Orochimaru knew nothing about it so it’s a jutsu she attained later on in life. 

SURPASS - TO EXCEED

Sakura herself said that unlike her master she wastes no chakra looking young. The girl herself, Kishi himself thus implied that WASTING NO CHAKRA ON YOUTH = A WAY TO SURPASS TSUNADE. Sakura thus has more chakra to use since we saw that her strength is greater in BASE. That’s one aspect.

As I said before, Sakura’s cherry blossom impact in the war > Tsunade’s heavenly foot of pain against Orochimaru i.e. Sakura is stronger. Thus it’s an aspect or field in which she is greater. 

Sakura is 38 years younger. That’s another aspect of surpassing Tsunade, doing more at a younger age.

Sakura has Shizune and Tsunade’s techniques and is called the best medic in the village in databook 4- That’s another aspect.

Sakura has her natural genjutsu talent and prowess in addition to Tsunade’s medical prowess, strength etc. That’s another way in which she surpassed her master. 

“So this means that she actually didn’t surpass Tsunade power wise but actually became her equal in that one aspect, which would directly contradict the illustration that the moment Sakura surpassed Tsunade is exactly because she obtained her seal and showed greater reserves. In fact, we actually see this as the most highlighted proof that Sakura is now above her mentor. Aside from her ability to heal herself without a hand seal while impaled by a poisoned sword, her show of greater strength and reserves is the other proof that she was better than her mentor that is directly shown in the manga, not the skill she had as the medic because the last illustration of the healing Sakura did prior to Naruto CPR and the final Sasuke vs Naruto battle was to create an antidote which is also something Tsunade is known to do.

“It’s not her medical prowess that’s been used as an indicator by Kishi to show that she surpassed her mentor, it’s that she is now stronger than her. It doesn’t need justification of not using her chakra to maintain her youth to make the cut as the stronger generation. It is in everything: that what Tsunade can do and have, Sakura can do better and have more.

That was the point on why a student surpass the teacher.”

LOL you’re actually contradicting yourself since it’s already established for sure that she equaled Tsunade in one aspect i.e. chakra control since they both have the Yin Seal i.e. the pinnacle of chakra control.

Um again, Sakura having more reserves was brought up by Sakura herself stating I DON’T WASTE ANY ON LOOKING YOUNG so it’s Sakura and Kishi connecting those, not amitds.

I am not disagreeing that she has greater reserves, you just seem to think that she can only have more chakra if she has it in base when in canon she comments that she wastes no chakra on youth like Tsunade. Having more chakra because Tsunade attained her seal late in life and needed to keep herself strong still means that Sakura has more chakra. You are forgetting that she is younger by almost 40 years and has more strength. 

With the strength it was shown to be greater and based on Sakura’s comment it could be because of her not wasting chakra 

OR 

Sakura just has more strength by probably mustering more.

All we know is that Sakura has more strength in base and thus more overall.

“Can you please explain the possible reason why Kakashi would use Sakura’s status as a genjutsu type for her to surpass Tsunade if you believe that the latter is also as adept in genjutsu? The fact that Kakashi/Kishi stated it so implies that Tsunade is not a genjutsu type and therefore don’t have the same level of mental energy as Sakura. How was Tsunade adept at genjutsu by the way?

Why include intelligence though? There’s no indication that it plays a role in it.”

Well if you understood my point you’d have understood that firstly mental energy, since I didn’t see a definition in canon, just the wiki and my own common sense, would refer to MENTAL FORTITUDE I.E. intelligence, memory etc. and that’s why I stated that based on your theory Tsunade would have a high level of mental energy and Uzumaki lineage which would both lend to her having high reserves. You don’t have proof that Mental energy exclusively means genjutsu prowess.

Secondly it’s a fact that Tsunade is adept at genjutsu. She has a 3.5 in databook 3. I never said it was greater than current Sakura’s BUT as I explained in the end and you seem to ignore that would mean that Tsunade has great genjutsu prowess, great mental energy levels, good reserves as a ¼ Uzumaki and physical conditioning and stamina as an Uzumaki and taijutsu master.  

 Maybe it didn’t occur to you but Kakashi could actually be stating that because Sakura is MORE talented and had the potential to be superior to Tsunade in genjutsu. I am not saying that Tsunade’s prowess was equal to Sakura’s at the end of the series but that Tsunade has great prowess too in addition to all her other advantages.

Based on what you said, your entire reasoning for Sakura having more chakra than Tsunade, a ¼ Uzumaki, intelligent kunoichi with good genjutsu prowess and physical training is her genjutsu prowess alone. 

What I am saying is that nothing in the manga ever stated that having great genjutsu prowess makes an impact on chakra reserves, specifically being impacts as is the case with being ¼ Uzumaki .

You all seem to forget that Sakura surpassed all these people despite being NORMAL. Therefore people like Karin and Tsunade would have clans and genes helping them but Sakura through training and her smarts and chakra control would still come out on top. Sakura is not supposed to have high chakra reserves naturally and clan buffs. Furthermore her genjutsu prowess in part one was enough to escape e an A rank genjutsu from Kabuto (Kakashi leveled) and she still didn’t have as much chakra as Sasuke or Naruto and was still regular. 

I don't agree with the claim that Tsunade only has lesser chakra because she has to look young. Sure, that is also true. But I actually made an analysis about chakra reserves a while back. If you like, you can read more about it. I already sent you the link in PM or you can search in my profile analysis on chakra reserves. Please tell me what you think then.

You see the issue I have with the analysis is that based on manga facts Uzumaki have large reserves of chakra specifically stated in the databooks and Naruto is ½ Uzumaki and has more chakra than Sakura and Kakashi naturally while Tsunade is ¼ Uzumaki so Sakura, who is a normal civilian who was never stated or shown to have large reserves, shouldn’t logically have more natural reserves than Tsunade. 

Furthermore it is even stated that Sasuke has more chakra naturally than Sakura as well, implying that Uchiha have larger reserves than normal people. Senju are never stated to have large chakra reserves but people are inclined to believe this since they are the ancestors of the Uzumaki, the Senju we know have large reserves and they are descended from Asura who has the body of the sage. 

I do agree that mental fortitude can increase the production of chakra

However Tsunade herself is highly intelligent and proficient in genjutsu. She is not as adept at genjutsu as Sakura should be after the war but Tsunade’s intelligence is high and as I said her genjutsu prowess registers as a 5 in DB 3, giving Tsunade significant mental fortitude as well. 

There isn’t enough it seems in terms of Sakura’s mental energies to make up for the fact that Tsunade is ¼ Uzumaki, experienced, has great mental fortitude/intelligence etc. as well and when she’s not rusty is in great physical condition (physical energies).

Furthermore Sakura mentioned her not wasting chakra looking young after her strength was stated to be possibly greater than her master’s which seems to be Kishi further emphasising that Sakura has more chakra because she’s not looking young. 

The extent to which her genjutsu prowess and mental fortitude plays a part in surpassing Tsunade in that arena is not explained though her genjutsu prowess and intelligence to master medical ninjutsu helped her surpass her master in general. 

There just isn’t enough to say that Sakura has more chakra due to her not wasting any looking young AND because of her genjutsu prowess and intelligence. We just have the former. 

Tsunade is ¼ Uzumaki - naturally more chakra reserves.

Tsunade has great reflexes and physical conditioning as a taijutsu expert- PHYSICAL ENERGY

Tsunade is highly intelligent and experienced - MENTAL ENERGY

[kuriquinn]

Telanadas [5/19]

Cover Page & Disclaimer

first chapter

Sasuke’s bowstring snaps before he even realises he has drawn his weapon. An arrow buries itself in the hapless shopkeeper’s throat with such force that the madman topples backward off Sakura.

Sakura stares down at the shopkeeper as he gives a last dying gurgle and gapes up at Sasuke. Her surprise is almost comical, given the rarity of catching her off-guard. The other two in their party do not seem to find the same amusement.

“What the hell was that?” Naruto demands, though he could be referring to either the shopkeeper’s sudden madness or Sasuke’s actions.

Kakashi is not so vague.

“Was that entirely necessary?” he asks Sasuke, tone wry with exasperated disapproval. “We might have interrogated him.”

“It would have been a waste of time,” Sasuke replies, unapologetic. “Considering how forthcoming the other villagers have been, it would likely take days that we do not have.”

He goes to the door he noticed before and shoves it open; it’s unlocked, surprising given the body dumped inside. The shopkeeper obviously was not expecting anyone to investigate—either because of lack of visitors or because murder is perhaps not so serious a crime in this strange place.

Likely both, Sasuke decides, staring down at the bloated corpse there. It is a day old, and signs of torture show on the skin beneath the tarnished armour and cloak.

His comrades shuffle in behind him.

“Those are Uzushiogakure colours,” Naruto breathes, pain and anger rising in his voice at the reminder of his childhood home. A rare darkness spread across the man’s face. “This is one of the knights Lady Biwako sent out looking for the Urn of Sacred Ashes.”

“This might explain why none of them returned,” Sakura adds softly.

Kakashi studies the corpse with a frown. “The question is, was he killed for being a stranger, or for looking for something they did not want him to find?”

“We will soon find out,” Sasuke determines, catching sight of something moving outside the shop window. “Since we fall into both categories.”

He brings up his bow again and nocks another arrow.

His comrades need no further explanation or prompting, hefting their own weapons. Using only hand signals and facial expressions, Sakura directs them into formation. With Sasuke covering from behind and Kakashi blowing the door open by magic, she and Naruto charge from the tiny shop.

Sasuke counts six enemies in their immediate vicinity, including the guard from earlier, and two archers just out of range. While Naruto charges forward, taking out three of the closest, Sakura clashes with the sentry and Kakashi turns the archers in the distance to statues of ice. The two remaining attackers are dispatched with arrows through their eye sockets.

“Is this whole village full of crazy people?” Naruto demands, gawking at the bodies surrounding them now. All of their adversaries are dressed like villagers, but their weapons are better quality than are normally crafted in a rural area.

“There’s something amiss here,” Sakura says. “In my experience, peasants don’t charge a party of well-armed strangers like this.”

“Not unless they are under the influence of magic,” Sasuke agrees.

“Blood magic, perhaps,” Kakashi corrects, shooting him a reproachful look. “Or it could just be they are determined to protect exactly what we have come to seek.”

“But that makes no sense,” Naruto says. “Kaguya was the Rabbit Goddess, a woman of peace. She stopped war throughout the land before the Maker took her as his bride. If these are her followers, they would be non-violent.”

“That is one version of the story,” Sasuke snorts. “Perhaps there is another we are not privy to.”

“Well, we won’t find out more just standing here,” Sakura points out. “Let’s go. I see a Chantry up ahead, and the guard told us we might find a cleric in there. I’m sure we can ask him.”

They trek out of the centre of the village and head up the incline of the mountain, only to be thrown backwards by the force of a giant, invisible fist.

“Mage,” Kakashi gasps belatedly.

“Really? I would never have guessed,” Sasuke sneers, clutching his ribs.

Bruised, probably, but not broken.

Over the crest of the hill, four men charge them; unlike the villagers, these are dressed in odd armour, with horned and fanged helmets protruding from them. And the swords they wield appear to be—

Another blast of magic explodes in the surrounding air, and the four of them duck out of the way. Rocks and tree branches fall all around them, and they scramble for cover.

Naruto struggles to his feet. “Split up?”

“Not with that mage up there protecting them,” Sakura replies, wiping a lip split by a stray rock. “We need to tempt them out his protective range.”

“And we do not know how many there are,” Sasuke adds.

“You two draw them down the mountain,” Kakashi says. “Sasuke can pick them off from here. I will deal with the mage.”

Without giving them a chance to argue, his form glows and shifts. He transforms into a hawk and takes to the sky.

“Right,” Sakura says. “Sasuke, get in position.”

“Hm.”

It is another odd quirk of hers that he has noticed, this willingness to hand over the reigns of command to any among their party. He has met no other leader that has so willing heeded the instincts of their underlings, but Sakura has a bewildering trust in her companions.

It has served her well so far, so who am I to question it?

Naruto and Sakura venture forward, preparing for the oncoming onslaught from the foot-soldiers. Even as they brandish their weapons, they are forced to dodge fireballs and projectiles of ice raining down on them from the sky. Sasuke, in turn, slips into the shade of the snow-laden trees, covering himself in shadow to keep the enemy from noticing him when he shoots. Just as he reaches for his first arrow, his ears twitch and the hair at the back of his neck stands on end.

Instantly, Sasuke ducks downward, hearing the swipe of a blade through the space once occupied by his head. His fingers fasten upon the dagger in his boot, and he twists, shoving it into the stomach of the unlucky rogue that attempted to sneak up on him.

“You breathe too loudly,” he growls, yanking the dagger out and rising to meet the blade of the second assassin waiting in the shadows.

Out in the open, Naruto and Sakura are faring about as well. The blond man catches an enemy blade on his shield and then charges forward with several swipes of his sword. Sakura, surrounded by three men, grunts with effort as she heaves her two-handed axe about, warning them away from her when they venture too close.

Fire continues to fall from the sky, narrowly missing Sasuke’s comrades. As soon as he dispatches his second attacker, he raises his bow again and fires a torrent of arrows into the sky, angling their trajectory to fall behind the enemy. Each volley forces the brigands around Sakura and Naruto to dart away, distracting them enough to give them both openings. Naruto bashes his shield up under the jaw of his assailant, while Sakura slices her axe in a broad arc, cleaving clean through the torso of her nearest opponent.

Before she can make a run at the third, a patch of icicles, sharp as knives, burst out of the snow around her. She is forced to throw herself to one side lest she be gored to death.

“Somebody needs to kill that void-damned—”

Until the magical onslaught suddenly stops.

Far up on the crest of the hill, a cage of lightning encircles the spellcaster. As he jerks and screeches, the electricity reducing him to a charred skeleton, Kakashi materialises beside him, waving them forward with his staff.

“—mage,” Sasuke finishes.

“Isn’t it funny how he can be on time when he wants to be?” Sakura asks cheerfully. She pushes herself up from where she landed and retrieves her axe.

She and Naruto hurry on up the hill, and Sasuke scowls.

“Show-off,” he mutters, picking up his pace.

The steep mountain path is ringed with trees and wooden arches, man-made and looking far too much like crucifixes for his liking. As soon as they round the bend, they are waylaid by yet another warrior, a taller and bulkier man than the others, also dressed in the gaudy, twisted armour.

He emits a roar of fury and winds his arms back, throwing a short-axe at them as they charge forward. The first almost hits its target, pinning Kakashi’s thick robe to a nearby cliff-face. While the mage busies himself with getting free, a second weapon is thrown at Sakura and Naruto, which they duck. It flies somewhere to Sasuke’s left as Naruto pushes forward with his shield.

The brute snarls, dodging to one side and roughly shoving Naruto away bodily. Sakura is waiting in the wings, swinging overhead with her two-handed blade—

Which he catches in between his hands.

For a moment shock rings through the snow-covered battlefield, because nothing has ever stopped Sakura’s axe before now.

The enemy warrior wrenches it away, taking advantage of the dwarf’s momentary loss of balance by grabbing her by the throat.

“Sakura!” Naruto cries, while Sasuke nocks an arrow.

One through the face and I can free her—!

There is a burning, stabbing pain in Sasuke’s hand, and an arrow that is not his punches through his palm. Both his bow and arrow drop, as Kakashi yells, “Archer!”; at the same time, Sakura is thrown backward by her assailant. She slams into the side of the cliff so hard that snow and rock rain down on her in a small avalanche.

“I will take care of this!” Kakashi declares, crackling electricity sprouting from the tip of his staff. Naruto is once more charging the indomitable warrior, and Sasuke’s eyes flit to the rubble beneath which Sakura is buried.

She could be—

He orders himself to focus and turns his attention to where the enemy has picked up Sakura’s axe and now seems to be trying to split Naruto in half.

Sasuke grasps for his bow, but his bleeding left hand is numb; likely a paralysing agent coating the arrow that hit him. Even if he were to power through it, any arrow he tries to shoot might hit Naruto instead.

With no other recourse, Sasuke ducks down and grabs enemy’s discarded small axe, hefting it with his uninjured right hand, and prepares. Just as the giant brute swings downward on Naruto, who has tumbled backward in the snow, Sasuke whips the axe forward.

It ploughs into the face of the man, sending him sprawling onto the snow several feet away.

In the distance, Kakashi finally deals with the archer.

“Nice shot!” Naruto tells Sasuke as he gets to his feet, but the elf ignores him, turning instead to the spot where Sakura fell earlier. A queer, hollow sensation trembles in his gut for a moment, until the snow and rock move. Sakura crawls out from beneath it, looking a little bruised but no worse for the wear.

“It’s a good thing dwarves have thick skulls,” she jokes, pulling off her spiked helmet and rubbing the back of her head. She glances over at the downed man, and whistles. “Nice shot, Naruto.”

“Nah, that was all Sasuke,” the blond man grins. “And here I didn’t think he could do anything without that pansy-ass bow of his.”

“Come here and I will show you how much I can do,” Sasuke growls, raising his hand to form a fist. He winces when he remembers there is a hole in it. The paralysing agent is wearing off, but that does nothing for the pain.

“Sasuke-kun!” Sakura cries and is instantly by his side examining the wound. “Are you alright?”

“Hey, what about me, Sakura?” Naruto wants to know. “I’m the one who almost died…”

“You’re not bleeding out in the snow,” she retorts.

“I am not bleeding out,” Sasuke mutters, trying to tug his hand away from her, but Sakura keeps a tight hold on his wrist. “Kakashi will see to it when he gets here.”

He doesn’t like being cured by magic, but his hands are too valuable to his trade and too necessary to their survival to heal by natural methods.

“I can’t believe you threw an axe in someone’s face,” Sakura says, shaking her head but with eyes dancing.

“Is that not how your people solve disputes?” he challenges. “Perhaps I am acclimating.”

“Mm, a man after my own heart,” she teases. “If I weren’t buckled into my armour or, you know, half-frozen to death, I’d take you right here and now.”

Sasuke stares at her, his brain slowing to process what he just heard. A second later, his treacherous mind offers him a brief, lewd image of the Warden straddling him in the snow, wearing nothing but her smallclothes.

Below his belt, a certain part of his anatomy gives an interested twitch before he can control himself. Naruto’s roar of laughter brings him back to himself, just as Kakashi makes his appearance.

“Did I miss something?” the masked man wonders.

“Just Sasuke, stunned beyond all forms of belief,” Naruto sniggers.

Sakura protests. “Oh, stop it!”

“A pity…I would have liked to see that,” Kakashi observes.

“Shut up and fix my hand, mage,” Sasuke orders, thrusting his fingers into his face. Business-like, the mage reaches over and presses his fingertips to Sasuke’s ruined palm. Blue energy encompasses the limb, and with a short burst of cool energy, bone, muscle and skin knit together. Not even a scar remains. “Now is not the time for childish antics—or have none of you noticed the weapons our attackers have been wielding?”

Sakura wanders over to the dead man and yanks the axe out of his skull; after cleaning it off in the snow, her eyebrows rise almost into her hair.

“Human bone,” she gasps, confirming what Sasuke’s keen eyes saw earlier. “Every weapon here is carved from bone…”

“But then…how are they so strong?” Naruto asks. “I mean, I know a bone can be strong, but against silverite?”

“It’s magic,” Kakashi says darkly. “Runes carved into the bone while the victim yet lives, and blood magic to prolong the process and bind it.”

“That’s barbaric!”

Kakashi nods. “It is a practice outlawed for centuries. Even the Suna Empire no longer practices this.”

“How horrible,” Sakura shudders.

“That is not the worst thing,” Sasuke murmurs. Sakura looks at him askance, and he hesitates to speak this truth to her, but she needs to know. “That blade you hold was hewn from the pelvis bone of a child.”

A horrified silence falls over them.

The gravity of Sasuke’s words takes a moment to sink in, but when they do his comrades expressions shift noticeably. Even Sakura’s habitual bright demeanour vanishes, something smouldering and angry entering her eyes. It is the same look he saw the time a blood mage suggested the only way to save a village from rampaging corpses was to sacrifice a child’s life.

“It seems we have discovered why the people are living in such a remote outpost,” he continues coolly. “This type of crime…this is punishable only by being removed from the land of the living.”

“Which is exactly what we’re going to do,” Naruto growls. “These bastards have just read themselves out of the human race. Out of any race! There’s some stuff you’re just not allowed to do, and killing kids…they might as well be darkspawn!”

Sakura does not speak for once. Instead, she stalks over to retrieve her own axe, grips it expertly in both hands, and then heads in the direction of the Chantry. Sasuke watches her go, a minor note of alarm simmering beneath his usual calm.

“I do not disagree with any of that, but recall that this quest is not just about weeding out the undesirables. We still need information, and someone has to remain breathing if we intend to get it from them,” Kakashi remarks.

“I guess,” Naruto allows, though the words are reluctant. He rubs the back of his head nervously. “Som which one of you wants to be the one to stop her and tell her that?”

Kakashi clears his throat and fiddles with his mask, raising an eyebrow at Sasuke in question.

The elf rolls his eyes and marches off after Sakura.

Comments and concrit are much appreciated, and very motivating! For information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you’re welcome to check out my ko-fi tip jar, or my patreon page. 

栗

Next Chapter

[kuriquinn]

Tomorrow

Blanket Fic Disclaimer

Title: Tomorrow

Rating: T

Pairing: None (mentions SasuSaku)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She exhales sharply and shakes her head.

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

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

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

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

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

サラダ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tomorrow.

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

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

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

But will I be enough?

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

Something like panic lances through her.

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

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

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

Can I make that right decision?

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

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

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

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

But tonight, she makes her vows to them.

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

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

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

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

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

She moves on to Lord Hiruzen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It feels like approval

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They all head from the office together.

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

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

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

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

“Well, I am.”

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

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

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

つづく

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

クリ