#kakashi: why do I know this? I shouldn’t know any of this!

[kankuroplease]

A little graph of Naruto’s escapades in the TSAU that explains why Kakashi would call a shop meeting about it because some of these happened at the shop✨

[antichilde]

pick your battles

kakashi x gn reader, 700 words, sfw but mdni

in which kakashi makes the mistake of bringing a cute bento to training

contents: 100% fluff, cooking as a love language, initially reader is assumed to be female but a gender is never actually specified

notes: this is a test run for a forced proximity slowburn i’m working on. feedback is always appreciated 🥰

Kakashi should’ve known better than to bring the dumplings with him to training. Usually he can get away with having lunch, picking moments when his students are distracted to eat his meal. Not today, though. This time three pairs of eyes are glued to him the moment he takes the lid off his bento.

Naruto leans over his shoulder, staring openly. “Whatcha got there, sensei?”

“Dumplings, of course,” Sakura says, rolling her eyes. “I know you’re a ramen freak but there are other kinds of food in the world.”

She picks up her chopsticks, pretending to be interested in her own meal, but he can see how curious she is. Kakashi frowns as he eyes the lunch she’s packed for herself; it isn’t nearly enough food to get her through training.

“I know what dumplings are!” Naruto snaps back at Sakura. “I wanted to know what kind they are.”

Seeing an opportunity, Kakashi turns away to uncover his face while they bicker. He’s got just enough time to shove two dumplings into his mouth before he has to pull his mask back up.

“They’re homemade,” Sasuke notes. He’s been quiet up to now, content to eat his own lunch and watch the other two fight it out.

“They are,” Kakashi confirms through a mouthful of food, nodding. “And Naruto I doubt you would like them. They’re vegetable.”

“Lame.” Naruto flops down onto the grass, his attention shifting to the fluffy white clouds overhead. “You didn’t even make any meat ones?”

“There’s no way Kakashi-sensei made them,” Sakura says, suspicious.

He knows he shouldn’t respond, but Kakashi can’t help himself. After all, he did make some of them, and he’s quite proud of that.

“Oh?” he asks, his tone as mild as always. “And what makes you say that, Sakura?”

“They’re way too cute. Look at the little ruffles along the edges.”

“I can make cute things. Maybe I felt like changing things up for once.”

“There’s a note on the lid of the bento,” Sasuke says, not even looking up.

Kakashi’s heart nearly stops in his chest. You’d left him a note? No, he would’ve seen one right? Sasuke must be bluffing. From his position on the ground, Naruto leans over to swipe the lid off of the stone step where Kakashi had placed it. He does his best not to react, even as Naruto flips the lid over to check the underside.

“What are you talking about, Sasuke? There’s nothing here.”

Sasuke takes a bite of rice. “No, of course there isn’t. But look at Kakashi-sensei.”

For the second time that afternoon, three pairs of curious eyes turn towards Kakashi. He tries to school his expression, a feat which is usually easy enough with a mask on, but he can feel the treacherous flush creeping up his cheeks.

Sitting up and crossing his legs, Naruto places the lid back on the step. “Sensei, why’s your face getting all red?”

“Oh look! He’s blushing!” Sakura squeals, bringing her hands up to her cheeks. “Sensei must have a girlfriend.”

Sasuke wipes his mouth on his sleeve, aloof as ever. “Took you long enough.”

Immediately Naruto and Sakura launch into a barrage of questions.

“Is she pretty?”

“Do we know her?”

“How long have you guys been dating?”

“Wait, is she living with you?”

“Does that mean it’s serious?”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Kakashi raises a gloved hand, cutting them off. “You’re making a lot of assumptions based on a couple of dumplings.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Naruto says, nodding, and for a single, blissful moment, Kakashi thinks he’s won. But then Naruto adds: “He could have a boyfriend.” and Kakashi decides it’s time to end this conversation.

“As glad as I am that you have an open mind, that isn’t the kind of assumption I was referring to. I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Naruto opens his mouth, but his teacher is having none of it.

“Or a boyfriend. Or any sort of partner. And even if I did, it’s none of your business.”

Sakura looks like she has more to say on the subject, but just then her stomach growls and Kakashi pushes the bento towards her.

“You three, have the rest of these. None of you packed enough to eat today. I’ll be back in a bit, I have an errand to run.”

As he makes his escape, disappearing in a puff of smoke, Kakashi wonders if he’s just adding fuel to the fire. Probably, though at least this way he knows Sakura and Sasuke will eat something. And he’s sure Naruto will too, once he figures out that Kakashi lied about the vegetables.

[socra-time]

Socra’s Naruto liveblog, Ep 51-60

Ep 51:

-I really like Team 10 actually

-Choji’s human ball attack looks so slow lmao, the animation probably doesn’t do it justice

-welp rip Choji

-I can’t really take Kabuto seriously, idk why but I think it’s because his character design is so… underwhelming? Like his outfit is lame-looking (yes, I know it’s because he’s a spy or whatever) and he lacks any kind of intimidating or mysterious aura

-I fully believe that Naruto would get stomped by any one of the others who made it to the third round (except Dosu and maaaaybe Shikamaru depending on how hard he tries. Oh and also Temari because from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t believe the writer would let Naruto lose to a girl). I already know Naruto beats Neji, but I’m expecting a MAJOR asspull for that to happen

-Naruto says that Gaara took down Lee “without breaking a sweat”, which is like objectively untrue. Gaara definitely broke a sweat. He literally broke his fucking FACE

-oh my fucking god Konohamaru’s trainer is back???? I thought he was a one-off character lol

Ep 52:

-Kakashi I love you but the bar for being a better teacher than you isn’t that high

-Ebisu’s pompous-ass voice is so funny, it kinda reminds me of James from Team Rocket

-also Ebisu’s explanation of Naruto’s lack of chakra control has made me wonder again how the fuck Naruto mastered Shadow Clone jutsu in the first place. Like I get that he has inhuman levels of chakra, but that doesn’t matter if he doesn’t properly know what to do with it, right?????

Ep 53:

-d-did Naruto just stick his fingers up Ebisu’s butt

-we stan Naruto calling Jiraiya out on his bullshit

-I do like Jiraiya’s voice tho

-rip Ebisu

-instead of making a hundred comments about Jiraiya’s perviness, I’m just gonna say this: ew.

-oh Naruto you sweet innocent child

-NEVERMIND JIRAIYA GOT WORSE EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

-I never want to see the fucking sexy jutsu ever again, Jesus fucking Christ

-so I realize that Naruto’s seal isn’t always visible, but how the hell did he never notice and question it before he was told about having the Nine Tails within him

Ep 54:

-oh Dosu is attacking Gaara? Yeah Dosu is about to die isn’t he

-Gaara’s voice is extra edgy in this episode lmao

-aaaaand Dosu is dead. Bro fucked around and found out

-I still can’t take Kabuto seriously as a villain

-damn shit is getting real

-I am so fucking uncomfy with these Jiraiya scenes

-Naruto summoning a tadpole was kinda funny ngl

Ep 55:

-literally all of Team 7 needs to go to mandatory therapy, INCLUDING Kakashi

-I love that Sakura is fully supportive of Lee after he defended her in the Forest of Death; her buying him a flower along with Sasuke was nice

-I’m not a fan of Ino’s bun

-Lee my poor sonnnnnn

-see Naruto and Jiraiya’s dynamic has funny moments sometimes but it’s hard to enjoy them with all the pervy shit thrown in

Ep 56:

-watching this is making me crave ramen

-Naruto going like 👉👈🥺 was really cute

-Jiraiya says that Naruto’s body is “too small a vessel” to contain the Nine Tails’s chakra, almost like they SHOULDN’T HAVE SEALED IT IN A FUCKING BABY

-I feel like we’re supposed to like the Hokage, which is making me doubt my distrust of him

Ep 57:

-I like the big toad’s voice

-ah yes gotta love having ninja child soldiers

-Naruto was gremlining so hard at the end of this episode lol

Ep 58:

-why is Gaara turning this episode into a whole-ass horror movie

-Naruto saying he has a demon inside him as a show of power while threatening GAARA of all people was pretty ironic

-Gaara really is just trauma dumping all over the place

-Naruto basically instantly recognizing the tragedy of Gaara’s situation speaks a lot to his empathy and was a surprisingly mature moment for him

Ep 59:

-I want ramen so baddddd

-I don’t know what Shikamaru’s mom looks like but her genes didn’t even try

-also shoutout to Ino’s dad and his slay-ass ponytail

-Naruto please learn some tact

-Akamaru continues to be the cutest little bean

-I feel like they only included the Konohamaru side quest to pad out this episode’s runtime

Ep 60:

-I’m glad that Kiba, Ino, and Sakura all don’t seem too bummed about the results of their preliminary matches

-welp Naruto is fucking pissed

-the Byakugan veins look so painful

-why doesn’t Naruto just summon the giant toad and make it squash Neji

-respectfully Naruto needs to learn another way of fighting besides just “spam clones”

[virtualcarrot]

[KKIR] Modern AU - Teaching Pains Pt1

Day 1: Meet Cute Ugly

Few Friday evenings bring Iruka as great a feeling of deliverance as this one does. Sure, he still has schedules to ponder and lesson plans to revise, but at the very least he shouldn’t be getting any more maddening emails from a part-time, freshly arrived colleague clearly set on sharing his opinions about their school.

Iruka usually considers himself a people person. One with a temper, undeniably, but still, he’s level-headed enough to keep it in check most of the time and also, he’s personable. He and his colleagues get along. Hell, he’s on his way to share drinks with them at their customary dive. They’re a tight bunch. They get each other.

All that’s to say, Iruka doesn’t feel particularly responsible for the fury that’s simmering in his veins at the moment. Mister University Professor, on the other hand, he of the self-inflated ego, can shoulder all the blame.

By the time Iruka’s pushing into the crowded bar, his irritation hasn’t simmered low enough that the familiar sight of his colleagues’ shades of purple, gray, black and brown hair all cluttered together on a small table doesn’t set it aflame again. Time to vent, it is. He knows Mizuki will try to say something mild and diffusing, but at least Anko can be counted on to rant along.

“Can you believe the gall of the new guy?” he exclaims on his way over once he’s within shouting distance. Kotetsu looks up, wide-eyed by surprise. “Who does he think he is? Barely arrived, hasn’t even learned how things work, hasn’t bothered meeting anyone, and is already criticizing how we do things! Why bother entering a joint initiative if it’s to dismiss everything about it? Does he think money grows on trees? We don’t have the budget KU has!” He gives Mizuki an absent-minded pat of greeting on the back and rounds the table to take the free seat left on the other side. “Completely disconnected from the reality of teaching, that one. Hope he’s better at passing on knowledge than he is at taking it in.”

There's a gray haired stranger sitting across from him.

Iruka narrows his eyes. ''You're not Mizuki.''

“Nope.”

Iruka takes stock of Kotetsu and Izumo's twin looks of horror on each side of the stranger, and Anko's rictus on his left, and feels the exhaustion of the week catch up with him in a way such that he's too tired to be mortified.

''You're him aren't you?" he asks tonelessly.

''Yep,'' professor Hatake Kakashi, of all people, replies.

Already done with the situation, Iruka grabs the beer sitting somewhere in Kotetsu's vicinity and downs it. He slams it down when he's done and takes a pause to mull things over before meeting Kakashi's eyes.

''This isn't how I'd have liked to phrase it but I stand by my words,'' he says.

Kakashi shrugs and points to the empty pint glass still cool in Iruka's hand. ''That was mine, by the way.''

Of course it was. Some days are just cursed from start to end. Iruka closes his eyes so he can roll them at himself in the privacy of his own eyelids.

“The house pale ale, was it?” he says with a sigh, and sets off to fix that mistake at least.

By the time he’s back, the intruder has left.

Anko gives him a slow clap.

“You really don’t blunder halfway, uh?” Kotetsu chokes out, half genuine awe.

Iruka makes the executive decision that this is a problem best left for Monday-him and settles down for the merciless mocking that is sure to follow.

-

Part 2

[sunshinemellow-fic]

kakasaku, 30 words, “despite”

Whoopsies, this is 1509 words, Kris!! and I blame YOU

----

“Umm—”

Sakura’s head snaps up from her desk, and her eyes focus blearily on the young nurse standing in her doorway. She is laboring over her hesitation, poised as if ready to duck behind the wall with one foot already in the hallway. All of this caution, Sakura thinks with irritation, despite the fact that she has never, ever thrown something at any of her staff. Tsunade could not make the same claim. Maybe they were all just waiting for her to snap and follow in her mentor’s blook-flinging footsteps.

As if whatever I threw wouldn’t break through the wall, she thinks, tired and prideful as she forces her back straight. “Yes?”

“He’s awake,” the nurse says. She flinches when Sakura’s jaw drops.

“No,” Sakura insists. She stands so quickly that something clatters into the oblivion hidden beneath her messy desk. “That’s impossible. I set the dosage myself.”

The nurse does not know what to say to this. She opens and closes her mouth several times, then settles for a shrug.

Sakura has never wanted to fling a book more, but not at the nurse. She was blameless.

Sakura breathes heavily through her nose and stomps into the hallway. Waves of scrubs part before her like a mint green sea of scrambling limbs. Sakura pounds down a set of stairs, too angry for the stillness of the elevator, and feels the building shake a little beneath her feet. She reminds herself how long it took to rebuild the hospital after the war and scolds her chakra for being too readily available and too eager to match her moods. She cuts the unconscious flow of it to her legs and approaches his room quietly. The door is just barely cracked wide enough to peer in.

His hair is wild and mussed after his brief coma, and he is fiddling with careful and nimble fingers at the pile of wires attached to his arm. They are secured there with a technique Sakura pioneered after growing fed up with the dramatic ninja who insisted on ripping life-saving equipment from their arms and fleeing the hospital. Hauling them back by the scruffs of their necks was an expensive and pointless waste of Sakura’s time. She has no idea how Kakashi, the worst of the offenders, has managed to mess with the design.

He mutters something under his breath, tries zapping one of the lines with some electric chakra. It rebounds against his fingers and he scowls down, intent and annoyed.

Sakura kicks the door against the wall and tries not to enjoy the way he startles.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Kakashi’s eyes flick to her and she sees frustration and surprise in them before he pastes on his winning lie of a smile. “Sakura!” he says, voice casual. “How nice of you to visit me!”

“What were you doing with your lines?”

“My what?” he askes cheerfully.

Sakura ignores him and strides forward to get a closer look at the infusions he’d been zapping. Nutrients, medications, a blood infusion, a compound that was supposed to make chakra regeneration faster, the sedative dose that was supposed to ensure his artificial coma until he was well again.

“Oh, these,” he prattles on. “Nothing. Just admiring, really. There are so many now! One might even say too many. Anyways—”

Sakura looks up at him sharply. “How are you awake?” The line with his sedative is still running, and he had been blissfully unconsciousness when she left him after his emergency surgery three hours ago.

“Hm?”

She leans down, close enough for him to see how utterly serious she is. She feels him go still. “How,” she repeats in a dangerously soft voice, “are you awake?”

The cheerful and unaffected guise slips. She sees his eyes go serious, then feels them dart so quickly to her mouth that she almost thinks she’s imagining things. He’s looking steadily back at her before she can call him out on it.

“What do you mean?” he asks quietly. “Why shouldn’t I be awake?”

“One of these is a very strong sedative. You were supposed to be in a forty-eight-hour coma. There was a crater in your chest, Kakashi, I spent twelve hours filling it, so how, despite all of that, are you awake?”

He blinks. Sakura is close enough that she can imagine, or maybe even feel, the wisp of air it sends her way. She watches him process the information she gave him. He glances down at the wires attached to him, then back up at her. Something has shifted in his face—he seems almost bitterly amused, but she cannot imagine by what.

“Sakura,” he says. “I’ve never slept well.”

She stares and stares at him. She’d given him enough sedative to make his sleep dreamless, or at least she thought she had. Unconsciousness could be a prison for someone like Kakashi, and she is suddenly and desperately sorry that she had banished him to it.

“Oh,” she whispers. “I’m—”

“It’s fine.” He’s already seen the apology in her face and it’s made him uncomfortable enough that he can’t meet her eyes. “It’s not a big deal. Just give me more and I’ll go back to sleep.”

She bites her lip. He really does need to be unconscious right now. It would be detrimental to his healing for her to leave him awake. He sees the dilemma in her face when he glances back up, and he gives her another fake, winning smile with crinkled eyes. “It’s fine,” he repeats.

She marvels at how exhausted he must be by the sedative in his bloodstream, and how he can still perform normalcy despite it. She remembers the sharingan he’d used to keep hidden behind his mask—a weapon he didn’t have the genetic tools to turn off. A red drain, constantly sucking down a spiraling stream of his chakra. Sakura thinks about how Kakashi must have spent most of his life so exhausted that a sedative feels normal, perhaps even familiar, to him.

“What helps,” she said. “What helps you sleep?”

Now he really is uncomfortable. “Sakura—”

“Seriously, Kakashi.” She forces herself to lean back because her hovering over him couldn’t be helping. His eyes track the growing space between them. “It’s important that you get good rest right now.”

He looks back at the wires in his arm, thinking.

Because she wants him to smile, or laugh, or do something else human, she grabs the orange book from his bedside that Naruto had dropped off a couple hours ago. “Should I read you a bedtime story?”

He turns red, a shade somewhere between intrigued and horrified, and Sakura laughs. “I’m kidding, of course.” She feels eyes soften as she looks at him. “But what would help?”

He runs a hand over his face. “You’re making me feel like a little kid.”

“Good,” she beams. “What would little Kakashi have wanted?”

He’s disgruntled by the question, and it makes her sad that he’s never thought this way. “I don’t know,” he says honestly, after giving it some thought.

Sakura feels her face fall. She can’t help but feel like she’s failed him. “Okay,” she says softly. “I guess… I guess I can up the dosage. That might help.”

She goes to the machine and stares hard at the controls. She isn’t going to cry about this, she tells herself angrily. She’d be able to regulate her emotions better if she hadn’t done such a long and difficult surgery on someone she hated to see hurt. She isn’t going to give him her suffering as baggage to carry with him into his dreams.

“Sakura.”

She drags the emotion out of her face and looks down at him. “Yes?”

“I slept well on our last mission.” He glances between her face and nothing at all because he can’t meet her eyes again. “I think it was just because you were… there.”

She wonders if he knows what a gift telling her this is, and how it makes all the hope she’s felt in the last couple months seem a little less foolish. She wonders if he’d have admitted it to her if he hadn’t nearly died. If he didn’t have so many different chemicals running through his body right now.

She turns up the sedative dosage and lowers herself down into the chair beside his bed. “I’ll stay, Kakashi.”

His eyes lock on hers, no longer wandering. “You don’t have to,” he says to absolve her of responsibility to what he had just admitted. “I’ll be fine.”

She takes his hand in hers, feels him relax a little bit. “I know. I’m going to stay, though.”

His eyes flicker sleepily. He nods, understanding. He watches her face as his head slowly drifts further and further back into the pillow. His blinks become longer, until he finally shuts his eyes and does not wake.

Despite everything waiting for her outside the door of his room, she stays for two days.

[tamelee]

Hello! I hope you’re an amazing day :)

I want to ask if you know any good metas/analysis about Kakashi out there? Or perhaps have you written posts about him? So far I’ve only read one that were very… ooc to say the least. They were less analysis than they were fan-pages where fans praise Kakashi for every single thing he does and completely ignore the times he might’ve not been the best person in the world. They agree with every little thing he does even when he contradicts himself, and then act like they love Kakashi for his flaws (even if they apparently don’t think he has any) and use the joker card "he’s traumatized" to justify his actions. And I understand why him being traumatized would impact the way he acts, of course… but still, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t criticize his behavior when necessary

If you have good reads about him I would be very thankful if you could respond, because right now I haven’t found anything very interesting yet 😅

Also I wanted to say that I really like your drawings, you’re so talented and creative

Hello~! 💕 I have, hope you do too! Thankyou for liking my art *-*!

Kakashi analyses? Hm, I don’t immediately remember any but I stopped reading them a while ago for the reasons you state, but also because of the complete opposite where the only focus is on criticism and nothing else, so I can't help you with that. I rarely talk about him. I like Kakashi a lot but whenever I do say anything, regardless of it being positive, there’s always either a cowardly anti or fan indirectly responding to it and making their own posts starting with some sort of “omg I can’t believe people think Kakashi-!!!!” or “I can’t believe people don’t see that Kakashi is-!!!!” And then proceed to cherrypick moments while failing to understand the context of the original question I responded to in the first place. Moments that I already acknowledged but won’t (dis)prove the conclusion by itself. Meh, it's not worth it. It’s like the entire point flew over their heads and I’m not even sure whether it’s deliberate or not. Kinda like grabbing a blob of butter and smacking some flour on the side claiming that it’s a cookie now. Like, what are you saying? 🙄 Okay, okay, petty rant over. 

“- then act like they love Kakashi for his flaws (even if they apparently don’t think he has any) and use the joker card "he’s traumatized" to justify his actions. And I understand why him being traumatized would impact the way he acts, of course… but still, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t criticize his behavior when necessary.”

I mean....... 👀😬😬... I think it goes both ways though because this is very much a fandom thing and uh.. certainly not only Kakashi’s 💀 

Let's not think too long about it xD Just saying that the Naruto-fandom in general is very weird about which character is ‘allowed’ to do what in regard to a trauma response or what coping mechanism is okay, if it's even recognized as such. Yeah characters having flaws are so crucial. I don't see why it's always seen as criticism or something negative when you point something out. I could write entire essays on Naruto's flaws which.. despite them usually being limitations or something to overcome, in the end these traits were proven very necessary. For example his arrogance is seen as a flaw, both in the fandom and in the story. He even got lectured about it by Itachi. Being arrogant and not engaging with teamwork ('relying on comrades') by default is a character flaw for stories like these especially for a main character, but it's not like you can blame Naruto for being forced to only rely on himself while growing up. It's not his fault for being abandoned. He copes by believing in himself ("believe it!") and his own efforts because that's the only thing he could somewhat control thinking he'd succeed if only he works himself to the bone and finally gain some acknowledgement like a human being. Although he'd learn quickly that it's very conditional. In that sense, yes, his flaw is justified through trauma. Aaaand, it has purpose. It's not a bad thing. It’s depth and complexity that help make a character interesting and flaws can make them more relatable to the audience if done well. Without flaw there is no conflict and thus, no story. It’s otherwise nothing more than a powerpoint where a meaningless sequence of events is presented, but it won’t make you feel anything. You’re not engaged because you don’t care about what happens next. Nothing is solved because it wouldn’t be necessary and the author has nothing to tell nor would it be convincing if they had. Had Kakashi been flawless I wouldn’t even have liked him because these Mary Sue characters are boring as hell. Of course, it depends on context.. is it relevant to the story? Is it necessary to play their role? Does it have any impact? Is it consistent? How does it contribute? etc- I especially appreciate Kakashi from a storytelling perspective but I understand that not everyone wants to shove it all under that category. But answer questions like that and you can figure out whether something is worth exploring to see if it's a valid point of critique.

[jacksgreysays]

Always happy to meet a fellow multishipper! Sorry I read you wrong 😅

As I've been trying to write that fic we talked about (which is finally a priority now that I've reached stopping points with other stories), I think I've found it why I struggle to come up with and write DOS fics. I don't think I have an accurate gage of Shikako's character. Have you ever struggled with that?

Also, thank you for answering my asks about more Hail to the Queen iterations. I love that stuff!

No worries! Shipping to me kinda feels more like personality/sexuality/circumstances puzzles as opposed to, like, a hill I’m willing to die on type of thing. A lot of my most interesting fics are the ones where someone prompts a pairing I never considered which leads me to figure out how such a pairing would work and, again, under what circumstances. It’s very fun :D

Oof, there are some fic that live in my head—not even as plot bunnies but, proto-bunnies. They’re not even ambulatory yet, lol—that will never see the light of day. Most of them involve Naruto and Kakashi. Not because I don’t love them, but because ahhhhh their character voices are SO DIFFICULT FOR ME. Naruto is more difficult than Kakashi because at least with Kakashi I have an idea of how he feels/his main motivation (sad all the time and GOTTA MAKE SURE NO ONE ELSE I LOVES DIES BEFORE I DO) but Naruto is just… O_O I don’t know… what… how do you make decisions, bro?

And this is probably a personality failing on my end but Naruto is just so trusting so often even when there have been so many cases where he shouldn’t be and he pulls the weirdest lessons from certain experiences and he loves to fight and loves jutsu that don’t do anything but cause harm but doesn’t believe in killing even though he lives in a world of shinobi and he wants to be Hokage in order to protect his precious people and he hates war but also he hates the things that a Hokage has to do in peacetime so it’s like… WHAT.

It may also be that he suffers from shounen protagonist syndrome which is that he is more of a force/narrative than a person so any contradictions in his decision making process is because that’s just what Kishimoto needed him to do at any given point.

My struggle with Kakashi is more that while I understand him internally, he’s so good at deflecting and zagging that there’s a strange sort of… layering to his dialogue and behavior that I’ve never quite managed to finesse. Like he says one thing and does another thing but what he ACTUALLY means is neither. It’s very look underneath the underneath

I’d like to think I have a good handle on Shikako’s character although it might be a sort of cyclical me reading DoS (literally the first First Person POV fic I didn’t nope out of after a chapter) and projecting onto Shikako turned into me podficcing DoS and internalizing Shikako which lead to me writing recursive DoS fic and going back to projecting onto recursive Shikako, etc.

Also, unsurprisingly given my ever faithful writer’s block and how I’m no longer as prolific as I used to be, there are a lot of other things I struggle with. For me I don’t think it’s the ideas that are the problem—my brainstorm to actual fic ratio on this blog is out of hand—but it’s the execution of idea into fic that is the worst. Or having cool concepts but not necessarily the background/foundation to manifest them.

Like, speaking of current fic idea that just… won't... just refuse to let me wrangle them... absolutely slip through my fingers...

@loveelemental helped me brainstorm a DoS crossover (won’t say what fandom at the moment) and it would be so dope, but I don’t actually know that other fandom very well even though my brain insists this is the fic it should be writing. Another problem is that, it’s PRIMARILY set in that other fandom AND THEN it’s not even Shikako that is the DoS character!

And I’m just like… WHY IS THIS WHAT MY BRAIN WANTS TO WRITE. WE DON’T KNOW THIS. I ALSO CAN’T COME UP WITH STUFF. EVERYONE IS AN ESTABLISHED CHARACTER WITH A DISTINCT VOICE AND NONE OF THEM ARE SHIKAKO!

So, yeah… the struggle is real.

I also very much enjoy brainstorming collaboratively with people. Often I don’t even think of things until I’m asked a question, so I also appreciate you sending in those Hail to the Queen asks. Legit, the She Who Has Divine Right in which Shikako takes over Haido’s failed invasion force because their literal god chose her over both him and the last of the royal bloodline is EXTREMELY entertaining to me and I don’t think I’d have ever come up with that by myself.

So thank you, too, aryaokayfriend! :D

[kakairu-rocks]

We are excited to introduce our next shining star for the Creator Spotlight... Mendelynn!

This is an activity where we reach out to one of the talented people in our community each month to find out all about them and their kakairu creations, and then show them off to the world!

We hope you enjoy learning about Mendelynn & her creations as much as we did. Please give them some love ❤️  

Pronouns: She/Her

Type of Creator: Writer

Where to find her:

AO3

Twitter

Personal Website

Read the exciting interview below the cut, or on the forum!

If you would like a chance to be in the spotlight too, the only thing you have to do is be a member of the kakairu rocks forum or follow us, and be a kakairu creator; and we will contact you, ourselves!

1. How long have you been creating KakaIru fanworks?

According to my Ao3 stats, I uploaded the first chapter to my first KakaIru fanfiction, “Umino blood”, on 30th May 2019. I think I started working on that story half a year before that.

2. What are you working on right now?

I have two stories in progress, which are more on hiatus than they are actually in progress, and I revived my oldest story idea again… that one is an original story, though, that I may try to write anew. And in my first language, German.

3. What is your favorite trope to create for?

I do not think in tropes. To be honest, I still have to really understand the concept… I just see Kakashi and Iruka in the way that Kishimoto wrote them (and how I interpret his writing, of course) and I want them to be happy. So, I create scenarios where they have to interact with each other with the goal of making them a happy couple and the rest is guided by their personalities and the ideas that pop into my brain. There is a lot of slow burn, a lot of miscommunication, a lot of idiots to lovers. Idiots to lovers might be my favourite… but I do not create for a certain trope. My stories just happen to contain them. Therefore, my tags are messy. Sorry.

4. Which of your creations is your favorite, and why?

I would still say “Don’t let me go” is the best thing I have written so far… but my favourites might be the two shorts that I wrote and put into the “Kakashi and Iruka make fun of each other’s misery” series. I’m not good at writing funny stories, but I was very inspired for these two and they still bring a fat grin to my face when I read them (yes, I do read my own stories from time to time).

5. Do you have any WIPs you’re excited about?

Well, there are two stories I am working on, “Of Bodies and Minds” and “Fragrance”, and, of course, I love them a lot. There is also “Interlude”, the first KakaIru idea that I ever had which is very music-laden - Kakashi is a musician and band leader in this story. No, not the rock star kind, he’s the lead singer of an alternative jazz-pop combo inspired by Jamie Cullum’s music. This one is really interesting but I’m not sure if I’ll ever find the inspiration to continue and upload it. Also, there is a Gintama-Naruto crossover (Kakashi gets teleported into the Gintama world and has to help out in the Yorozuya until they find a way to get him back, and everyone thinks he is Gin-san’s more attractive brother) which I am dying to write because it’s so funny (that one only has an inkling of KakaIru). It has the same problem as “Interlude”, though… no muse.

6. Do you have any original characters? If so, tell us about them!

I have lots of OCs! Inside and outside my KakaIru workings. OCs appear in my stories all the time, whenever I need a specific person to do a specific thing that canon characters cannot do (e.g. die).

I mean, I created a whole Umino clan (with history and family tree) for “Umino blood”. A non-Naruto OC also had a tiny cameo in that story. But the one I have to mention is Umino Takaya because I love him so much more than my other OC children (I know I shouldn’t, I can’t help it). He was supposed to be just a small background character with one specific function but he disagreed, grabbed the mic and pushed everyone away from the spotlight to take it himself. He’s Iruka’s cousin, his best friend, and Naruto’s age. He’s extremely self-confident and bold, but at the same time sensitive and mindful of other’s feelings. He’s very gay. Words can’t describe how much I love him. (He is not my favourite OC of all time, though, that would be Met. But he is from said oldest story idea. And then there is Marleen… but I’m not allowed to talk about her.)

7. What was your hardest piece to create, and why?

There is not one story that is hard to write (if it is, I’ll never finish it), it’s specific moments and parts in the process. I struggle with domestic scenes a lot (and seeing how many there are in my stories, this is a real muse-killer). I am so meticulous in the way that I write that I never know where to put the cut or when to get out of a meaningless conversation or action or how to continue it in the first place. It’s a struggle, every time. Also, there is the problem of getting from one plot point I can envision clearly to the next.

8. Do you have any favorite scenes from something you’ve created?

I cannot, for the life of me, remember my own stories. Well, I remember the rough plot but never specific scenes. That’s why I can read them as if they were someone else’s work. It’s like rereading a book that you’ve read years ago. As soon as I write down a scene, it leaves my body and mind and does not belong to me anymore. It belongs to everyone who reads it.

I’m a big fan of wholesome moments and interesting dialogue, though. In general.

9. Where does your inspiration come from?

I wish I knew. Then, I would visit that place more often. To me, it feels like the inspiration and the ideas for my stories do not come from me or my brain. They are gifted to me by a higher power (Walter Moers calls it the Orm and I like that concept a lot). Thats why what I write does not feel like it belongs to me. I read it as if someone else had written it and I can’t believe that it is my own hands’ work. Music plays a big part in receiving inspiration, which is quite obvious in my shorter pieces, but it’s unpredictable if I’ll be receiving ideas or am just vibing. The most important thing for getting into a writing mood might be peace of mind. If I’m stressed, I can’t write. Hence, my current inactivity.

10. Which of your creations is the most meaningful to you, and why?

Every creation is meaningful to me. Every story is a learning process. With every story, especially the longer ones, I grow a bit more as a person and a writer. They all carry the emotions I felt while I was writing them. They carry my innermost thoughts and desires in a way that even I can only sometimes decipher. I am a storyteller by nature, I made up stories long before I could write, and therefore, my stories are my nature, my home.

[ladykissingfish]

Thank you @silvermadara for the inspiration for this ☺️

*out hunting for matsutake mushrooms*

Kakashi: Oi, Obito; have you found any yet?

Obito, shivering: No! It’s way too cold for this; they’re probably all dead already!

Kakashi: Actually no. If you knew anything about harvesting times you’d know now is the time to pick them.

Obito: Well its taking forever! We’ve been out here for 3 hours and we’ve only got — *stops, looks into basket he’s holding* five measly mushrooms! Hey, why can’t we get some of those dogs of yours to sniff ‘em out?

Kakashi, sighing: Again, your ignorance is astounding. Dogs shouldn’t eat wild mushrooms; it’s bad for their stomachs. Honestly, I don’t know why I bothered to bring you out here at all. 

Obito: Because you’re making me a tasty mushroom omelette later?

Kakashi: Can’t figure out why I’m doing that either.

Obito, clearly joking: Because you’re madly in love with me and look for any excuse to spend time with me!

Kakashi, blushing and indignant: Okay … who told you that?? Rin? Sensei? They promised they wouldn’t! I’m gonna kill them!

Obito:

Obito: W-wait … you’re being serious —?

Kakashi: … yes? I … I love you quite a bit, idiot.

Obito:

Obito: *faints; and in hitting the ground unearths a huge patch of the mushrooms*

Kakashi: *sighs and gently moves Obito to the side, to collect the bounty* Well, when you wake up we’ll have a really nice meal, at least.

[writer-kermit]

After School Tutorials…

Pairing: College Professor!Kakashi Hatake x College Student!Reader

Genre: Smut

Commissioned or Self Made: Self Made

Word Count: 1,838

Summary: You're failing Kakashi's class, so he decides to teach you a lesson.

A/N: If you would like a commission, ask me in my DMS or Ko-Fi Page.

Warning: NSFW, Teacher x Student, Teasing, Humiliation, Spanking, Biting, Overstimulation, Begging, Degradation, Dumbification, Teacher kink, Dom Play, MDNI

“Hey, what did you get for that last exam?”

“I got a sixty four out of one hundred. That exam was really hard.”

“No way! That exam was super easy! I got a ninety seven out of one hundred.”

“Well not everyone is a ‘know it all’ like you ……!”

“Well maybe you’re just a moron. Anyways [....], what did you get for the exam?”

…

“Oi! [....]! ”

A hand was wavering around your face, causing you to jolt back from your seat. “Huh? I-I’m up!” You stammered. Your two classmates looked at you as if you were a clown. The friend who woke you up–Sakura Haruno repeated the question to you.

“[....]. Me and dumbass Naruto here,”

“Hey!” Naruto Uzumaki interrupted. “I’m not a dumbass! It ain’t my fault that the test was hard!” He puffed his cheeks and Sakura rolled her eyes. “Anyways, after I was rudely interrupted! What did you get for the exam [....]?” Sakura asked again. You looked down at your desk. You then took a sheet with your exam grade and read it to your classmates. You can feel their shock reaction despite not seeing it for yourself.

“Damn [....],” Naruto said, “That’s even a more awful score than I got..” You shrugged at Naruto’s comment while Sakura punched him in the head, she then quickly got back to her composure. “[....], aren’t you concerned that your grade is so low?” She asked you. “Meh, I can just retake it. And besides,” You leaned on your chair. “If I fail college, then I’ll just get a sugar daddy, easy as that!”

“Excuse me [....]?”

A voice called out, hushing the classroom. You turned around to see your professor, Mr. Kakashi Hatake glaring at you maliciously. “You can be a sugar baby all you want when you leave my class, but I expect you to actually try on my exams. I know you had quite a bad score with your (...)%”

You felt your face heat up with embarrassment as you heard other students whisper and snicker behind you. “Since you want to act like a fool in class, why not meet me after school today?” “Y-yes sir..” You muttered, lowering your head in shame. A small smirk crept up in the inside of his mask.

“That’s my good student.”

The class then erupts with students' gossip as Naruto and Sakura gaze at you with concern. “Oh you’re in for it now [....].” Naruto warned. “I hate to say it, but I have to agree with Naruto. Do you have any idea what you’re getting yourself into?” You innocently shook your head. Sakura sighed and whispered in your ear. “Well, I heard he sometimes gets students suspended. And some were expelled. She then placed her hands on your shoulders.

“You gotta be careful [....]. Who knows what he might do to you?” “Yeah,” Naruto agreed, “we’ll be praying for you.” You then let out a reassuring chuckle. “Don’t worry guys, I’ll be fine. What’s the worst that could happen?”

You shouldn’t have said that.

You should NOT have said that.

Or maybe you should’ve…

Now Professor Kakashi is one of the most easy going teachers you could ever have. However, he can have his serious moments. But there was another side of him that you would have never expected. Well now mentioning it, it’s quite obvious that he was rather ‘strange’.

You stood there in front of your teacher’s door, clutching your school bag, you knocked on the door three times until you heard a “come in”. You opened the door to see Kakashi already at his front desk.

“I’m glad you came here [....].” He spoke. “Yeah…” You sighed, averting your eyes from your teacher. “I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I didn’t necessarily mean what I said.” Through his mask, Kakashi gave out a comforting smile. “That’s alright, but I didn’t call you in for that at all.” “Oh really?” “Remember, I’m here to help with your exams,” Kakashi got up from his seat and walked towards you. He leaned his back to reach your gaze, the silence was enough for you to hear your own heartbeat.

“So please be thankful that I’m being generous enough to guide you. Most of your college professors wouldn’t do that…”

“...Y-yes!” You gulped. Kakashi smiled again and went back to his desk and sat down.

“Now, I have some of your papers that we need to review, so would you come here.” He asked in an odd tone, gesturing you to come next to him. You obeyed his order and walked over to his desk, standing right next to him. You leaned forward in hope to see your corrections. “You know [....]...” Kakashi whispered, pulling you in by your waist. “If you have issues looking down, how about you just sit on my lap?” You darted your eyes to Kakashi, who was still using that devilish smirk to antagonize you.

“W-what?! Professor! I-” ‘‘Now, now [....]. We’re the only people inside the campus, and it’s not like you were denying me.” Well, he wasn’t wrong about that. You abided by his order and sat down on his lap and his arms instantly went around your waist.

“Now let’s begin with our lessons shall we?”

….

“Now, this won’t be so easy-peasy.” Kakashi warned. “If you get a question right, then I’ll give you a reward. But,” He rested his chin on your shoulder, causing you to shiver with pleasure. “If you get any answer wrong, I’ll have to give you a punishment. Understand [....]?” “Yes sir…” You whimpered. Kakashi smiled and then guided you to the first question.

“Alright question one…” He read you the first question, and you wrote down your answer. He looked at your answer digitally and looked at another paper he was holding.

“Congrats [....]. Your answer is… Incorrect.” He whispered, pulling down his mask to nibble on your ear. Your body jolted from the sudden action as a moan escaped from your lips. “H-hah! Mmnngh.. Ahnnn… K-Kakashiii…” You moaned, arching your back. Your professor chuckled warmly at you. “Look at you baby..” He cooed. “Already a moaning mess when I barely did anything to you.” He hugged you tightly before asking you the next question. Still vulnerable, you wrote down the answer. Kakashi then repeated what he did for your first answer choice, the sinister smile on his face grew.

“And ding dong… You’re absolutely wrong…” He purred. He dived to your neck, kissing and sucking on your skin and creating hickey patches. Kakashi used his free hand to slide up your uniform shirt, feeling and pinching at your nipples. “Kakashi?!” You yelped. “W-what? What are you doing?” “Huh?” Kakashi mocked. “Don’t act like you’ve been craving for this [....]. You’ve wanted me to do this from the start, haven't you?”

You shook your head in denial. “Why else would you gaze at me with those flirtatious eyes of yours? Why else would you have arch your back so far up to my desk just to sharpen a pencil, just so I can see your plump ass? And of course..” He got up close to your ear again.

“Why else would you fail almost all of your assignments and exams for me to help you?” Ooh he got you there. “But..” You protested. “Oh? Are you trying to defend yourself, trying to saying that you’re sooo dumb that you need me to take baby steps with you?” He held up your chin and kissed your cheek.

“My cute dumb little student…”

His hand then traveled from your chest down to your pants. You let his hand play with your sex, shoving his fingers inside of you. Causing you to moan loudly. “Ohhh Fuck! Kakashhii~! Kakashi please…” “That’s professor Kakashi to you.” He said sternly. “Ahhnn, I’m so sorry.. Please, please forgive me..” You begged. “Hmm, perhaps… Unless you do a pop quiz..” Kakashi placed down a five question quiz sheet. He then ordered you to stand up only for you to be bent down towards the sheet, revealing your naked ass.

You knew exactly what he was gonna do next.

“Now, depending on how many times you get a question right or wrong, I’ll either fuck you faster or slower. Alright baby?” You let out a sigh and nodded your head. Kakashi then removed his own pants, revealing his swollen cock. You almost screamed as he leaned towards your back and slid inside of you, penetrating your prostate. You quickly relaxed and got into the rhythm of Kakashi humping you slowly. “Ahaha.. Go on baby..” He groaned. You answered the first question. You did as he said and circled your answer. Kakashi stopped for a moment, grabbed a pen and wrote a check mark on the first question.

“That is correct..” He cooed, making you giggle. He then resumed again, only now, he was humping you more slower than usual. Almost as if he were teasing you. “Ahhnn.. A-ahh! Professor… Please… Please go faster…” You whined, clenching on the edge of the desk. “Hmm.. How about instead of whining, how about you use your mouth and hands to answer the next question!”

He smacked your ass in response to your complaints, causing you to shriek and arch your back. You hurriedly answer the next question. Kakashi stopped to look at the sheet again. Kakashi then grabbed his pen and wrote an “X” on the sheet. Kakashi smiled and then guided you to the first question.

“Sorry [....], that’s wrong..” He then resumed again, humping at the earlier pace he was in. Your fingers trembled as you tried to write the answer to the third question. When you did, Kakashi wrote another “X” mark silently.

“Wrong again? You must be doing this on purpose now aren’t you?” “Haah.. Maybe I am..” You sassed, earning you another slap in the ass. “Don’t you know better not to talk back to your teacher?” He groaned, fucking you deeper inside of you. The feeling was enough for you to whimper and moan excessively, tears were blurring your eye vision. You struggled answering the next question. But Kakashi purposely wrote your answer wrong, knowing damn well it was correct to spite you.

“Ohoho.. Wrong.. Wrong.. WRONG!” He yelled, slapping your ass for the third time. “You’re just a dumb little slut are you huh? But you’re my dumb slut got it?” “Ahhnn~! Fuck.. Fuck..! P-professor~! I’ll be your dumb slut.. Make me yours~!” “Yeah? Is that so? Then take my cock.. Take my cock as I cum inside of you. That is an order from your professor…” You moaned loudly as Kakashi then slammed hard on your back as he cummed violently inside of you. He then slumped down on top of you.

Kakashi then locked your hands with his own and kissed your ear. “That’s a good student.. Relax for me now okay..?” He asked, his voice now softening. You did what he said and relaxed your body slowly. “Yeah that’s it… You’ll always be my dumb little student now won’t you?” You smiled and let out a sweet sigh. “Yes professor,” you replied.

“I’ll always be your dumb little student..”

[animeomegas]

I can just see Itachi's alpha all the time with Sasuke thrown over their shoulder, Sasuka beating their back with his fists full force, carrying him out of the room to let his poor brother have some peace. this tween probably has researched every bit of information 'how to escape an abusive mate' 'escaping a bonded pair' 'legal rights to take a pup away from abusive alpha' 'omega endangerment' literally every village library for miles is Concerned big time but Itachi just wants some room to sleep.

Pfft- The image of Itachi's alpha with Sasuke over their shoulder while is honestly hilarious!

I like to think Sasuke had barged in on Itachi and his alpha taking a nap together, all cuddled up, and having had enough of his shit, Itachi's alpha just scoops Sasuke up and deposits him outside the door before locking it.

Sasuke throws a mini tantrum (but don't call it a tantrum because he doesn't like that at all!), beating Itachi's alpha on the back and shouting about how they're evil and they won't get away with it.

Itachi just watches the whole thing from the bed with almost no emotion. He just want to rest with his alpha, lmao.

...

As far as Sasuke looking up all this information on abusive mates, yes, I think he would absolutely would!

I've mentioned before that Iruka overhears him talking about it during class and actually approaches Itachi at the market to ask if he's okay.

I also think though, that when Sasuke is slightly older, maybe while Itachi is pregnant, the librarians get so concerned by his reading material that they tell Kakashi lmao.

...

"Uchiha san," a voice calls from somewhere behind Itachi. He doesn't immediately recognise the voice and so decides not to turn around. There are many Uchiha at the market today, after all. It can get quite tiresome assuming that every 'Uchiha san' is directed towards him

"Itachi san," the same voice calls again, now from directly behind him. Oh, they were trying to talk to him. He turns and it takes him a moment to place the man speaking to him. Oh... it's Sasuke's sensei. The... 'passionate' chunin from the missions desk.

"Umino san," Itachi acknowledges, confused as to why the man was speaking to him. "Can I help you this morning?"

A light blush crosses the chunin's face and he scratches at his nose absently. What on earth had Itachi done to get this man's attention.

"I heard that you are engaged, Uchiha san," Iruka awkwardly starts.

"Indeed, I am," Itachi replies, eyebrows raised, still confused at the direction of the conversation.

"Congratulations," Iruka says with a strange tone. Itachi nods in thanks but the man continues. "It's just... Sasuke mentioned something in class the other day and... I know it's probably not my place to say anything, but I want you to know that there are many resources at the hospital about navigating relationships that are free to take, as well as counsellors that are very discreet..."

As the chunin's voice trails off, Itachi can't help but gape slightly at the audacity. Who is this man to insinuate that Itachi's alpha is abusive?!

"I don't know what you're talking about, Umino san," Itachi says coldly, more than a little offended. "If that is all."

"I'm sorry," Iruka blurts, even more red in the face, a hand out to stop Itachi from leaving. "I didn't mean to overstep, it's just that Sasuke said a few things and-"

Sasuke... Of course, that little brat has something to do with this.

Itachi sighs.

"What has my younger brother been saying now? He has a rather active imagination when it comes to my mate, Umino san, I wouldn't put any stock in it."

"I see," Iruka says, completely embarrassed. "Well, er, he has been saying that you always end up... injured after time alone with them, and that they have been putting pressure on you to retire. I'm so sorry, Uchiha san, I shouldn't have assumed anything."

"It's alright, Umino san, I know better than anyone that my brother has a way of pushing his own agenda without thought for what he's doing," Itachi reassures. "I must take my leave now, but, Umino san?"

"Yes?" Iruka says hesitantly.

"Thank you for checking on me."

Iruka gives a small grin for the first time during the conversation.

"Of course, Uchiha san."

[virtualcarrot]

[KKIR] Modern AU - Teaching Pains Pt7

Part 6

.

The show ends to much delighted acclaim on a parallel bars demonstration by Sasuke.

Ebisu struts about like a peacock afterwards, puffing his chest and inclining his head to better welcome invisible laurel wreaths. Since it’s warranted, for once, they all let him have it. The man’s nearly as competent as he believes himself to be and unafraid to tell the world, which gives him a not insignificant advantage when it comes to selling the school’s merits to starry-eyed crowds.

Iruka may be amiable, but he’s also too bashful to boast with any credibility. His true skill set shines in the wrangling of the students.

He gives the kids half an hour to soak in some of the praise themselves and rest, then descends on them like a bird of prey and puts them back to work.

All in all, the open day is a resounding success.

While Suzume finishes counting the earnings from the bake sale, Iruka packs what few slices didn’t sell, too dry or too dark-crusted, and tries to figure an excuse why Naruto should absolutely get one even though there aren’t enough for every single volunteer student.

He really shouldn’t keep playing favorites.

In the end, Mizuki’s the one who makes it a non-issue. “Come on, you’re all exhausted. I’ll take care of locking up for the evening.”

“Are you sure?” Iruka asks, while Suzume pulls the battered cash box to herself with a scowl.

“I know how much is inside,” she warns.

Mizuki gives her an ironic smile. “Not enough to be worth getting caught stealing from, I'm sure.”

She yields reluctantly, which Iruka nonetheless takes as a sign of go-ahead. He pushes up, shoving a bundle of leftover cake in a pocket of his vest as he goes. Just in case.

Upstairs, the teachers’ lounge stands absolutely vacant. Iruka pats himself down to make sure he’s not forgetting anything, moving his phone from his back pocket to the greater safety of his coat.

The screen is lit with a message from Kakashi.

“We should talk.”

Fantastic. The guy could not have worded that more ominously if he’d tried. Iruka wonders which of his colleagues betrayed him, and if they did it intentionally at all or just acted like the bored busybodies that they are, leaving Kakashi to connect the dots.

Well, if Kakashi wants to talk, he’ll have to wait. Iruka’s not touching that tonight.

He’s also mildly offended that Kakashi believes it warrants talking about at all. So, Iruka has a crush. Big deal. Why do people keep thinking he’d let it affect his work?

He yells a farewell that echoes up the walls of the atrium, waves goodbye to the few faces that perk up to return it, and steps out.

Walking alongside his bike, he marks a pause before the students gathered in wait at the bus stop.

“Good job today, kids. Couldn’t have done it without you,” he says gratefully.

Sakura smiles back, flushed at the praise, and Ino pushes her hair back like she can’t handle it without putting up a front of conceit. For his part, Shikamaru slumps at the prospect of finally getting some rest.

“But it’s so troublesome,” he mutters.

Given the late hour, Iruka spares him a lecture. He does a headcount of all the kids present, knowing that some, like Neji and Hinata, were driven home by their parents, and frowns.

“Naruto isn’t with you?”

Sakura darts a glance at Sasuke sulking to the side. “Urh, him… He said he'll take the next bus. Doesn’t want to share with Sasuke,” she replies with a huff.

It’s a bit extreme, even for Naruto, though knowing the rivalry between the two boys Iruka can see how Sasuke’s success as a prize athlete student would have been upsetting. 

He sighs at the thought and kicks his leg over his bike. “All right, then. Well, get home safely, kids. No dilly-dallying.”

The chorus of ‘yes, sensei’ to his back makes him smile.

He’s thankful he doesn't live too far from the school but the trip home includes pedaling uphill, which has the peculiar trait of never getting any easier no matter how often he does it. The aches from his sparring session with Kakashi don’t help either. And because his building doesn’t provide a bike rack, he also gets to look forward to the usual three floors climb with the frame of his bicycle digging into his shoulder. 

All that’s to say, when Iruka finally gets home and discards shoes and coat and vest, he slumps on his couch with no intention of moving for the next hour. Maybe--maybe--he’ll consider rooting around for the take-out menu in a drawer of the kitchen, but that’s it.

His phone has other ideas.

“Umino Iruka speaking,” he says on autopilot.

“I assumed, yes,” Daikoku replies with some humor, having made the call. “How are you?”

In an immense display of willpower, Iruka manages to give him a mostly succinct and coherent description of the day.

“Good to know that it went well,” Daikoku says with a mildness that Iruka takes to signal the end of pleasantries; he sits up for the follow-up. “Say, I don’t suppose Naruto would be with you?”

Iruka pulls the phone away from his face just long enough to utter a raspy ‘fuck’.

“No, he isn’t,” he replies tightly after.

There’s a cautious hum on the other side of the call. “Yes, I thought so.”

“He didn’t get back to the orphanage?”

“No.”

“Not at all?”

“Not to my knowledge,” Daikoku says placidly.

Meanwhile, Iruka feels the blood in his veins begin to simmer with a sense of urgency.

“I’ll check the school,” he says.

“Thank you. Though don’t worry too much,” Daikoku stresses with a chuckle. “You know how they are at that age. Pushing boundaries, testing authority...”

Iruka knows. And he also knows he’ll give Naruto the earful of his life when he gets his hands on the kid.

“Yes,” he says a bit too shortly. “I’ll keep in touch.”

Daikoku’s voice remains lightly amused when he replies: “likewise.”

They hang up.

Alone on his couch, Iruka drags both hands over his face and heaves a long sigh in preparation to get moving. He knows he has a reputation for overreacting. He knows his blood boils quick and fast and that he can be impulsive. That’s how he cares.

And he cares a lot.

The few stop signs and red lights on the way back to the school are an exercise in self-restraint, but after so many years knowing himself he’s learned to keep a mostly cool head even when his every senses are aflame. Landing himself in the hospital would at the very best be counterproductive.

He still reaches his destination in record time, barely braking on the way down the slope.

The school is already closed when he arrives. Unlocking the door requires a sharp jostle but he’s used to it and it gives way after a few shakes.

Inside, the lobby is dark and empty, as should be expected. Much more worrisome is the alarm system, which he finds to be disabled when he goes to turn it off.

He sends Mizuki a quick text asking about it. With one student missing and a security failure at the school, Iruka doesn’t know if he’d rather be dealing with two unrelated incidents or just the one, that Naruto might somehow be involved in. He really doesn't like the latter.

The hallways are eerily silent as he moves through them.

As a rule, every teacher is responsible for locking their classrooms when they leave. He checks a couple of doors at random just in case, peering inside the glass window and lighting the way with his phone.

None open.

There are no signs of forced entry anywhere. Maybe Mizuki simply forgot about the alarm.

Maybe. But there’s just enough uncertainty left that he doesn’t dare yell out for Naruto.

This is twice today that he’s had to go looking for the kid. Iruka’s going to give him so many hours of detention that Naruto won’t be able to do anything other than sleep and eat with what free time he has left. And Iruka doesn’t care if that’ll require that he himself spend all of his own life at the school. Such is the fate of a teacher.

Having found no success with the shut classrooms, he ventures towards the administrative wing. Why Naruto would feel particularly fond of it, Iruka doesn’t know, but that is where the kid chose to hide earlier. He might as well.

The sounds of distant rummaging prove him right. He turns off the flashlight of his phone, making his way over by the hazy light of distant streetlamps straining past the dirty windows of the corridor.

At the end of it, the door to Hiruzen’s office is ajar. He nudges it open with his foot until he can catch sight of the intruder.

“What the hell are you doing?!” he shouts, throwing it all the way open.

From where he’d been clambering up one of the sturdy bookcases, Naruto squeaks, loses his footing, and crashes to the ground.

“Ouch, ouch, ouch,” he moans, rubbing his shoulder. He’s quick to forget the pain, though, and slumps. “Aw come on, you couldn’t have waited a few more minutes until I found it? This isn’t fair!”

He’s acting way too casual for someone caught this red-handed.

Iruka steps deeper inside, taking stock of the contents of the office. It’s been left relatively untouched, most of the huge mahogany shelves showing their usual tidy alignment of ancient tomes. The desk got the worst of it, books and scrolls stacked in unsteady piles like they were haphazardly discarded after being pulled out from their usual spots.

When he looks back to Naruto, the kid’s sitting with his arms and legs crossed and muttering to himself with a scowl. “Mizuki-sensei didn’t say it’d be this hard to find.”

There are fire alarms that haven't rung as devastatingly sharp to Iruka’s ears.

“What’s this about Mizuki-sensei?” he asks faintly.

Naruto shrugs, looking mildly dejected as he scoots to half-heartedly check the bottom shelf behind. “He said the old man hid the answers to the final exam in one of his books and he could hel--” He cuts himself off and perks up. “Hey, I think it’s this one!” he says, beginning to pull it out.

A shadow blocks the doorway. Iruka hears a heave, a grunt, and catches a wobble out of the corner of his eyes.

Apparently his reflexes aren’t as dulled as he thought, because he manages to push Naruto out of the way and tell him to run before a full bookcase of mahogany and paper comes tumbling down on him.

.

Part 8

[happyocelot]

This is for MoonPheonix’s prompt of Team 8 finding out about Asuma and Kurenai dating for the Team 8 prompt requests I’m doing.

@bornonthebreakofdawn, don’t worry, I’ve gotten your request too. I’ll definitely get to it! :)

Asuma liked to think that he was a chill, level-headed, down-to-earth sensei. He didn't go extremely overboard like Guy and his godawful green jumpsuits and constant yammering about youth, and he didn't give off an air of absolute unconcern like Kakashi. If someone told him to show up at 9 am, he'd actually show up at 9 am, not 11:47 am, and he would not be reading Icha Icha Paradise.

He had great power and he knew it – one didn't become a Guardian Ninja for nothing, but he didn't subject genin to inhuman tests of physical endurance, nor did he impose his own teamwork-related exercises onto them (not that he even needed to with an Ino-Shika-Cho team).

He was that normal sensei. He pushed his students to work and endure, but he also understood that they were, you know, twelve. He used to be one of them. He got it.

This was why he liked to think that he had a good rep amongst the recent Academy graduates.

This was also why he found Kurenai's team to be so weird.

"Asuma-sensei," his...friend's...student said one day, cornering him outside Yamanaka Flower Shop with a bouquet in his hands. Kiba, he thought it was.

Asuma waited patiently. Kiba took a deep breath as though he were steeling himself up to avert a disaster.

"I...I don't think you should date Kurenai-sensei."

The child's nin-ken barked in agreement.

Asuma took a slow drag of his cigarette and raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think I'm dating her?"

Kiba stared skeptically at the bouquet in Asuma's hands, with a deadpan expression that practically screamed, Well, duh.

Asuma's face warmed.

...Was he that obvious?

"Anyway," Kiba blithely went on like Asuma hadn't said anything. "You shouldn't date her. It's for the best. Trust me."

"...Kid, I'm not going to hurt her."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. I know you can't hurt her. She's way cooler than you are."

Asuma's face paled as just as rapidly as it had warmed. His stomach plummeted to his knees, grew legs, and then jumped off a cliff.

"It's just..." Fear flickered across Kiba's face. "You know she's a genjutsu specialist, right?"

"Yeah?" He tried to keep his tone even despite his runaway stomach.

Kiba met his eyes in dead seriousness. Asuma would have laughed if he weren't fighting back tears of misery. He thought he had a good rep with these kids.

"Run. Run while you can. It's for your own good, sensei. Trust me."

***

It didn't stop with Kiba.

One morning, as he was doing warm-ups with his Fire Release, a little beetle landed on his outstretched chakra blade, and then a somber, gloomy voice filled his ear.

"Asuma-sensei," said his...friend's...student.

Aburame Shino, he believed. The kid who had blown someone's arms off in the Chuunin Exams.

...Yeah. Kurenai's team was strange.

"It would be in your best interests not to have any relationship with Kurenai-sensei." Shino's voice may have been gloomy, like he was watching a funeral, but it was also kind and sympathetic, like Shino was watching his funeral, and Asuma repressed a deep, deep shudder. "Why? Because she is a genjutsu specialist. She may do you harm."

...What was with these kids?

"...Kid, she isn't going to hurt me," Asuma protested, and the oddest sense of deja vu flooded his mind.

His Fire sash fluttered plaintively in the breeze. For heaven's sake. He was a former Guardian Ninja. He had a massive bounty on his head. He was the Hokage's son and a talented jounin in his own right.

Why did he not have a good rep with these kids?

Shino stared at him like a palmist foretelling Asuma's early demise.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

***

Once bitten, twice shy. And two times bitten, third time shy. Asuma didn't think anyone could blame him when his friend's student approached him one day, carrying a healing salve.

"Your sensei hasn't injured me," he said instinctively, when Hyuuga Hinata gave him a bow and tried to shove her medicinal cream into his hands. "You don't have to worry."

Hinata blinked her big white eyes at him quizzically.

"I know that, Asuma-sensei. Kurenai-sensei is a great person. She doesn't hurt people for no reason." Her voice was kind, just like Shino's was, but also a little disbelieving, like she was explaining to Asuma that two plus two equals four.

These kids had a real talent for making Asuma look like a bozo.

"I just thought," Hinata said in a hesitant voice, "since you're a former Guardian Ninja, you might fight a lot of powerful enemies, so you might like some first-aid."

These kids had a real talent for making Asuma look like a bozo.

"Wow...uh, thanks," he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "It's just that your teammates tried to warn me a while back that Kurenai-sensei would...hurt me. Because she's a genjutsu specialist."

Hinata covered a smile with her hand.

"That's nothing to worry about, Asuma-sensei. Kurenai-sensei was just giving them rough training for coming late to practice one day. Intensive genjutsu resistance training. They were exhausted. And terrified."

"What kind of training was this?" he asked cautiously, when Hinata started giggling.

"She made Kiba-kun and Shino-kun believe that their underwear and sunglasses were mutating."

Understanding finally flashed in his mind like lightning. So this was why he didn't have a good rep with these kids.

...Perhaps he needed to terrify his students too. He could ask his friend Kurenai for pointers.

[obsidian-chika]

Kakashi Hatake x Male Reader

Oneshot

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

It was like any other normal day for (M/n). Waking up to and empty bed and finding a note in the kitchen. He never wanted to hold Kakashi back from his job, but his insecurities were spiraling out of control again. With the lack to time they spent together, he was scared Kakashi didn’t love him anymore. They’ve been together for about two to three years now. He was told many time by Kakashi that he is loved, but insecurities never go away, do they.?

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

(M/n) decided to go out around the village today. Visiting shops and simply just walking around, sightseeing. It was quite a surprise when he ran into team seven during his outing. Weren’t they out on a mission with Kakashi?

“Naruto? Aren’t you Sasuke and Sakura supposed to be on a mission with Kakashi right now?”

“We’re spying on Kakashi-Sensei, believe it!”

Staring at him dumbfounded, “he’s not on duty?”

“He was spotted with a lady. Not sure who he is, but they were together,” answered Sasuke.

“It could be his girlfriend for all we know,” Sakura added.

Going silent with the new found information, (M/n) wanted to go home now. He couldn’t blame Sakura with what she said since their relationship was never brought to the public eye, only a selective few knew about it. Now he wanted to be in bed, curled up in a ball, and cry. Turning around to leave, something gripped him arm, preventing him from leaving.

Turning around to see Naruto holding his arm, “I was planning to leave, what else did you need from me, Naruto?”

“Why don’t you join us, maybe we’ll learn more about him together!”

Wanting to object Naruto’s reasoning for you to stay, but he didn’t seem to give (M/n) any other choice, and ended up dragging him to tag along with the other two.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

Dying sounded so much better than hearing what was being said by the two below, or to two next to him. (M/n) wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on either way, only wanting to go home and sleep his feelings away. He told the three that he would be there, but not be there at the same time. A loud noise startled him. Only to regret looking down.

Kakashi and the lady kissed. Even if was an accident all his insecurity feelings said other wise. He was starting to slightly panic. He was still in the tree while the other three fell down. The scene in front of him wasn’t a very pleasant one to the eyes.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were either nervously saying something or staring. To make things worse, Naruto took the flowers from Sakura pointing it in the couple’s direction.

“Congratulations!” Shouted Naruto.

Kakashi didn’t say anything but nervously smiled, while the Lady thanked them.

Watching this made (M/n) want to crawl in a hole and die. He decided to just leave before he started breaking down.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

Tears ran down his face as he left. Not wanting to return to their shared apartment, the training grounds was his next best place to go. He wanted to train his body to the max. Not caring if he was injured after, he went and vented everything out. Turning his compressed emotions all into anger wanting release.

Scratches and bruises decorated his body. Tired and worn out, he sat down next to one of the many trees, gazing at the sky. He felt really dizzy. Black and white spots started to fill his vision and his body gave out. Falling to the ground, he closed his eyes.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

It’s been almost three days now and no one has heard from you. The hokage found it odd that you didn’t visit him like you usually do, while Kakashi was panicking on where you could possibly be. There were chances you possibly died, until Kakashi remembered that you were an a hiatus from missions. That still didn’t ease his mind about your safety.

It didn’t help him when it was reported you were severally injured and hospitalized too. He took time off from missions with team seven just to constantly be by your side and take care of you. He’s very scared to lose you like he did with everyone else. You meant a lot to him, even though he had some trouble showing it.

It’s been around a week and Kakashi wasn’t feeling so great. One week without hearing anything from you. No words. No physical contact. Not even your awesome cooking. He missed it all so much. Time seemed to be passing slower for him than those around him.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura would sometimes drop by to visit you, along with bringing over flowers. The hokage dropped by once or twice as well. A few others also came by to visit, but Kakashi wanted you to wake up so bad. Constantly sitting by you and holding your hand.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

Another four days passed. It was late and Kakashi was sitting by the unconscious, bedridden male. Half way through the night, there was a slight twitch in Kakashi’s hand. He brushed it off thinking but was only his imagination playing with him. That was until there was a shift in the bed and a low sound that clearly didn’t come from him.

He stared at the male who has just awoken from being out for almost two weeks. He tackled that now awake male onto the hospital bed. He was shedding tears of relief and joy, but he was also upset with the male. What on earth did he do to get like this? We’re there people Kakashi needed to hurt in order to protect him?

“What the hell happened to you, dear? You looked really bad when they fond you, and they also said you over used your chakra,” Kakashi’s face was full of worry for (M/n).

“I don’t know . . . ” was the answer given. Kakashi didn’t like that. So, he kept pushing and pestering about it knowing the male would crack, giving in, then telling the truth.

“I- It- Well-” (M/n) stammered, “my insecurities were there. I was hoping to spend note time with you soon since we haven’t really been spending too much time together. I was planning to ask you if you wanted to go out together, but you were busy and I didn’t want to hold you back.”

There was a small silence between the two males. Taking Kakashi’s silence as a sign to continue, the male did just that.

“I know I shouldn’t be doubting out relationship, but I really can’t stop myself from thinking about the worst. I got dragged by Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura because they said they saw you with some lady and it could be good for me to learn more about you’re life. See the kiss and congratulations from your team didn’t help me any better. I didn’t want to dwell more on the thoughts and decided to train. It’s probably from my old training habits I was hurt this bad. I’m really sorry.”

(M/n) couldn’t bring himself to look at Kakashi’s eyes. He felt so vulnerable and small in front of his partner. Eyes starting to tear up as well. He was looking at anything but Kakashi, while Kakashi felt really guilty. It was hard to control what people feel and events that take place, but now that he was thinking back to the past few weeks, (M/n) and him rarely had time together.

“Dear, I’m sorry I’ve been neglecting you,” Kakashi said, wiping (M/n)’s tears, “how about be spend some time together. I’ll request a small break to stay with you. Plus, those wounds won’t heal themselves, will they?”

(M/n) smiled at Kakashi’s words. Wrapping his arm tighter around the silver haired male’s waist. Kakashi leaned in, wrapping his arms around the other’s neck, bringing each other closer until their foreheads were touching. They started into each other’s eyes, slowly leaning in for a kiss.

“You’re my only one (M/n). I won’t love someone the way I love you.”

The moonlight showered both of them in its rays as they cherished the time they were spending together in each other’s arms.

✼ •• ┈┈┈┈๑⋅⋯ ୨˚୧ ⋯⋅๑┈┈┈┈ •• ✼

[superhero--imagines]

A/N: yes I did write this after watching Naruto, yes I would adopt all the children to save them from trauma- what of it?

* He’s probably your neighbor or someone you see often

* Even if he doesn’t live close to you, it’s not like you haven’t heard about him

* The child with the nine tail fox sealed inside of him

* You’re surprised to see that there’s no one properly taking care of this child, sure his teacher and the Hokage show up every so often-

* But there’s no one there for him everyday

* No one to come home to

* No one to offer him a smile and encouraging words on rough days

* What makes it worse is that the other villagers have basically alienated him

* “Don’t they even realize the reason they’re safe is because of him?” You mumble to yourself

* This is sort of a tricky situation, because yes this is a child

* But he’s also got the literal embodiment of all the energy in the sun inside of him

* Still, you see this kid, this child, looking with so much yearning at all the other children and their families

* And you can’t avert your eyes, not this time

* “Here let me help you with that”

* He’s only 7, maybe 8

*Naruto’s carrying two large bags full of instant ramen

* He looks at you with a glare

* “Why, you tryin’ to steal my ramen?”

* You’ve certainly got your work cut out for you

* You sigh

* “How about I make you some real food instead?”

* It takes a lot of work, Naruto is mistrustful at best

* But despite his reluctance, you don’t give up

* “Are you off to school? Here take something for lunch I made extra”

* “Wanna go get some ramen?”

* “Geez, how do you live like this?” You ask scanning all the discarded empty ramen cups “we’re cleaning your apartment”

* It’s slow, but eventually you integrate yourself into his life

* He starts coming to your door in the morning, taking the lunch you made for him and returning the container from the previous day

* He sits at your dinner table where you eat together

* It gets to the point where he’s over at your place more than his

* “Why’re you bein’ so nice to me?” He asks one night while you’re chopping vegetables for dinner. Naruto’s basically lived his whole life eating nothing but ramen so it’s been challenging getting him to eat any vegetables.

* You stop mid motion, looking over to where he’s sitting on the dining table

* He doesn’t meet your eyes

* You wonder how long he’s been alienated by people to wonder why someone would be kind to a child

* You feel your teeth dig into the tender flesh of your lip, you wish you met him sooner

* You wish you hadn’t just watched for so long and stepped up sooner

* You’re berating yourself, after all you’re the adult here- you should know better

* But then you look over to him, and soften

* There’s no use thinking of the past, all you can do now is move forward and hope that time and kindness will heal his wounds

* “You’re a good kid, why shouldn’t I be nice to you?”

* He looks at you like you just hung the moon in front of him, like he’s never heard anything so life changing

* Maybe he hasn’t

* “Naruto, I know you’re a good boy, you deserve to have good things” you say, resting one hand in his hair and placing his dinner in front of him

* You pretend not to see the tears that stream down his face, instead choosing to pat his head

* “Let’s eat, the food’s going to get cold”

* “Okay”

* After that it’s like he’s basically adopted you as his guardian

* And after a while he feels more open telling you things and asking to be spoiled

* “Can we get ramen today?”

* “Maybe if you bothered to eat a green vegetable every so often”

* Or-

* “There’s this kid in my class,”

* A girl? Well he is getting at that age

* “I think I want to be friends with them”

* You nod

* “You should invite them home, we can watch a new show together or something”

* Naruto grins

* “Alright I’ll invite them then!”

* You’re imagining some cute little girl, pink hair and rosy cheeks-

* So imagine your surprise when he bring home a rather adorable little boy

* “This is my friend Sasuke!”

* You feel your soul escape your body at the surprise

* Well, seeing him happy isn’t bad

* He definitely tries to set you up with everyone he knows

* “Iruka-sensei is pretty cool, huh?” He’ll say to you one night over dinner

* That’s the teacher that stops by every so often, you think

* He must look up to him a lot

* “Yeah, I heard he’s an amazing ninja” you nod

* “He’d make a good husband”

* Well, that’s kinda weird. But Naruto’s a weird kid, you shrug it off

* “Sure I guess” you nod

* “Do you wanna go on a date with him?”

* You choke on your mouthful of curry

* “Of course not! Why would you suggest that?”

* Naruto frowns

* “Is Kakashi-sensei more your type then?”

* When you start choking again, he gets worried

* “Don’t tell me you like perverted old geezers like Jiraiya?”

* He just wants you to be happy, before you came into his life he never knew how nice it could be to come home

* How warm it felt to be loved

* He wants you to have the same feeling

* “The only little man I need in my life is you” you say with a grin ruffling his hair

* He’s stunned for a second before he grins back

[daylighteclipsed]

Ik I talk about the lack of understanding/empathy in the Naruto verse a lot, but literally the power of this line, of Naruto saying Sasuke’s actions are understandable. It stuns everyone present. Nobody was expecting this. Kakashi and Sakura didn’t think to say anything like this. Sasuke is trying to make Naruto hate him, and to everyone else Sasuke is just twisted by evil and crazy and can’t be saved, but then Naruto is over here like ‘No, I get it. I may not agree with what you’re doing, but it makes sense. It’s not irrational. I get it.’ Naruto is the first person to validate Sasuke’s feelings who doesn’t have any hidden agenda. Orochimaru and Obito/Madara try to identify with Sasuke to use him, manipulate him into doing what they want. Naruto genuinely cares about Sasuke. He wants to understand him better to help him.

And Sasuke’s threatened by this. He immediately pulls out the old ‘You never had a family so you can’t understand what it’s like to lose one’ argument because it’s all he has against Naruto, to logically convince himself Naruto can’t help him, to keep Naruto at a distance. But now Naruto has experienced similar pain with the loss of Jiraiya and honestly the loss of Sasuke too. I think the Pain fight was also meant to teach that people shouldn’t have to experience the exact same pain to care about or try to understand each other, nor does experiencing pain automatically mean you understand someone else. Naruto’s methods of helping people are not perfect. There’s a lot he has to learn still, about people and other perspectives. But the idea of conflicts dealt with through compassion, that’s revolutionary for this ninja world.

Both Sakura and Kakashi try to kill Sasuke here because they think it’s the only option now that he’s a criminal. Kakashi can see that Sasuke is a victim of the world they live in (the cycles of violence and hatred that, as we discovered at the Summit, are primarily the Kages’ faults, committing war crimes and other heinous acts to keep their nations on top), but Kakashi doesn’t do anything with that to help Sasuke. I don’t know if he knows how. Naruto hardly knows how, which is why I’m willing to forgive Naruto’s flawed attempts at helping, because he’s doing the best he can with what he knows, with the violent, nationalistic environment he’s in. He wants to talk to Sasuke instead of kill him. He wants to understand Sasuke, and that’s more than anyone else in Konoha or the other nations is trying to do. It’s a step in the right direction.