#like trying to get their wish papers out of the rain for rin or something similar

[shierak-inavva]

happy tanabata ! 🎋✨

we’re having a tropical storm come through here today--looks like kagome got caught in the rain, oops...

i missed last year and this year was super rushed, but i got something done in time! ; w;

[xmyshya]

Shoved it: chapter III - Kickflip

summary: You don’t like skaters. They’re unruly, misbehaved and rude. But this one encounter just might change your view. genre: fluff warnings: tooth-rotting fluff (seriously, make a dentist appointment), slow burn, mutual pining betas: @vanille–kiss​ as always I’m eternally grateful to you, I love you lots a/n: Written for ANILYSIUM (former HQHQ) Server Collab with the prompt “Meet Ugly”. Check the event’s masterlist here! series navi: masterlist | previous | next wc: 1.7k

This is it, you think staring out the window. This is the last tutoring session. Something makes you sad about it, and as if the world tried to be sympathetic, it’d been raining since morning. Early afternoon brought thunders and a downpour so dense, it looked like a fog. You shift your gaze to refocus on the boy on the opposite side of the desk.

“So, ready for the big day?”

“I don’t think I’d be more ready, even if we sat for another week.” He shrugs.

“Time to go home, then.”

You lift from the chair and pack your things, and after a second he does the same. Even though it stopped raining some time ago, puddles are still lake sized and streets have yet to stop being rivers. You’re not really keen on leaving the school building, but it’s evening, your bus leaves soon, and you’re hungry.

“I’m gonna go on ahead.” You say before he can stop you.

This is it, he thinks after you disappear behind the door. He really wants it to last longer, to spend more time in a quiet empty classroom with you. A sigh leaves his lips as he runs a hand through his hair, looking around the dark room for the last time before locking it up.

There’s still at least an hour before his bus arrives, so Rin drags his feet to the lockers before switching to his street shoes and walking out of the building. Everything is flooded, and he sighs again, slumps his shoulders and shoves his hands into pockets. At least it’s not raining anymore.

Suna sees you still waiting at the stop and wonders if this is his chance. Maybe it’s a sign from heavens for him to speak to you, to be friends or maybe even ask you out. You’re focused on your phone, eyes not registering the approaching boy and the car, splashing fountains on its path.

Acting purely on instinct, he reaches you in a few long strides and pulls you away from the curb just in time. Luck isn’t on his side though, as the vehicle passes at the exact same moment, soaking him from head to toe.

“Well… fuck.”

Shocked; this is how you feel after realising what has just happened. The boy who has been pestering you for the past weeks, the one you did your utmost best to avoid, is standing right in front of you completely drenched. It would be you, if he didn’t react; it should have been you.

“Th-thank you.” You mutter while playing with the hem of your uniform. “Do you live far?”

“No, but I still have an hour before the bus arrives.”

Suna tries to wring the water from his uniform, but no matter how much he squeezes and twists, liquid still pours in thick streams. You try to suppress the urge to brush the wet hair stuck to his face and notice him shivering.

“Oh, uhh… My bus will be here in a moment, and” you feel the embarrassment heat up your cheeks, “I live 2 stops away, so you can come and dry yourself first. If you want, I mean.”

The weight of his stare is almost unbearable, but you miss the blush creeping up his neck and ears, not daring to look back. His voice is quiet and shaky, as he responds with

“Yeah, I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Rin still can’t believe he’s on the way to your house. Opting to stay by the door so as not to wet the whole floor he wishes the circumstances were different, and he wasn’t soaked to the bone, but he’s not picky. If this is what it takes to change your perspective, then so be it.

He sighs, as he runs his hand through sopping hair. Nervousness starts to get to him, words get lost in his head as his mind presses to say something, anything. Since when does he have trouble speaking to a girl?

For some reason his heart is pounding and palms are sweaty, though (he hopes) it might also be because of the incident. So for now, Suna opts to watch you stare at the passing landscapes, as if you were afraid to meet his eyes.

“This is our stop.” You finally say as the bus slows down.

***

Panic strikes when you enter home. Do you even have any clothes that would fit? There are some old sweats and t-shirts of your dad, but it’s difficult to say if the size is right. Not to mention that it’s the first time you invited a boy to your house, and your parents aren’t even here.

After leading him to a bathroom, you disappear in the storage room in search of something for Suna to change into. You grab some pants and t-shirt, and go back to him.

“You should take a hot shower, otherwise you might get a cold. I’ll put your uniform in the dryer afterwards.”

You hand him a wrapped bundle and pull a towel from a drawer. Just as you’re about to leave, Suna mutters a quiet “thank you”, and for the first time you genuinely smile at him.

When he walks out of the bathroom, you’re in the living room surrounded by piles of books and notes; your attention shifts to his presence only after he speaks.

“I hope you don’t mind, I already turned the dryer on. Didn’t want to trouble you.”

His hair is still damp from the shower, and the sweatpants are a little too short, but at least they’re dry. With each lift of his hand to rub the towel at his hair, the t-shirt slides up revealing his toned abdomen. It takes a lot of energy not to sneak a peek.

“Trouble?” You’re confused by his statement. “It’s my fault this even happened in the first place, I should have-”

“Listen, I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t want to, okay?” He rubs his neck nervously and the shirt rides up again. “So don’t blame yourself.”

You only nod in response, too flustered to push words through your throat. All of a sudden you remember about the mess around, despite having a guest.

“Oh god, I’m sorry, I just have so much backlog to work on, I’ll clean this up!”

“No!” Rintarou notices your little shiver. “I mean, you don’t have to… I’ve been holding you back, so just… don’t mind me.” A moment of silence fills his mind with guilt. “Hey uhh, do you mind if I get us a snack?”

Now you’ve done it. There’s a visitor, his first time at your place, and a first boy at your place, and not only are you ignoring him for the sake of homeworks, you also failed at hospitality completely by not offering any food. It is late, and neither of you had dinner yet.

“Ah! I’ll get it! You’re a guest after all!” You almost jolt out from under the table, but a hand on your shoulder keeps you in place.

“No no, please, I don’t want to be any more of a bother. You’ve been helping me with school and now I’m just intruding, so let me do this for you.”

“Okay.”

***

When Suna comes back with two plates of omurice, you’re deeply immersed in your studies. He places the dishes carefully in vacant spots, the gentle knock against the table grabs your attention, and cotton-candy-like warmth spreads in your chest. You expected a snack, some yoghurts or a bowl of nuts, or whatever else, not a warm dinner with a “ganbare” written on it.

Papers are shoved to the far end of the top, making space for the hot food. It looks delicious and you can’t wait to taste it. You clear your throat and speak hoping it would distract you from that feeling spreading in your chest.

“Would you like to watch something while we eat?”

“Sure, do you mind if I…”

He gestures between his and your side of the table; you shake your head and shift to make room for him, which he fills right away.

Omurice is indeed mouth-watering, creamy and well seasoned, and in response to your surprised expression he simply says “I have a younger sister, I can make a thing or two”. The more you know about the boy, the more you like him. You try to dismiss it as just admiring him as a person, convince yourself that it’s nothing but a surprise.

It proves to be difficult, however, when you barely register what’s on the screen, because of his proximity; it’s hard, when every brush of your arms against each other sends sparks to your brain; it’s tough, when you can feel his warmth radiating from his body and you want to be engulfed by it.

It’s nearly impossible, when you lean back on your palms, but his hand is already there, and you cover it with yours. Both of you jolt with hearts thumping violently, praying that maybe, just maybe, the other one doesn’t hear it.

After that neither of you moves, eyes trained on the screen but somehow not registering the events at all. In an attempt to ground yourself, you support your chin with your hand, and that’s the last thing you remember.

Rin hears your soft snores and, seeing your peaceful and relaxed expression, smiles as he brushes some stray strands off your face. He’s already overstayed his welcome, uniform long forgotten in the dryer. It’s wrinkled and still smells like a puddle, guess he’ll just have to give you these clothes back on the next day.

Not wanting to trouble you any more than he already has, Suna brings the plates to the kitchen, arranges books and papers in neat piles, and covers you with a blanket lying nearby. He catches himself almost planting a kiss on your forehead.

Before scooping all his stuff and walking out, he scribbles a quick note:

“My clothes were dry and I didn’t want to wake you. Don’t work too hard. See you tomorrow :)”

Taglist: @kageyamas-love @mikasbloodbag

[rainbowwritesthings]

Sorry I’m Late

There were a few things Obito expected to find when he burst through the clearing, but a hunched over Kakashi gasping for air was not it. Kakashi was the one taken to be the jinchuuriki and things keep getting more out of hand. 

AO3

The first thing Obito saw as he ran into the clearing was Kakashi hunched over on the ground, one hand was clutched to his sternum while his other arm was weakly supporting him from just hitting the ground. He was panting heavily and clearly in pain, this sight alone froze Obito to the spot and filled his blood with ice.

Kakashi had always stood strong against everything, even when he had lost an eye he gotten back up and kept fighting, it was part of the reason Obito had entrusted Rin to him. So seeing the other gasping for breath from an unseen wound had every cell in Obito’s body screaming that this wasn’t right.

He was so caught off guard by the sight of Kakashi that it took Rin deflecting a kunai for Obito’s gaze to truly land on her. Rin had positioned herself in front of Kakashi, her arm was bleeding but she looked determined as she grit her teeth at the swarm of shinobi around them.

Kakashi let out a strangled groan of pain that had Rin tensing and Obito stumbling forward. “...Rin.”

The girl’s head whipped over to him and as he walked closer her tense posture melted to one of disbelief, “I- what?”

Obito stepped closer holding up his hands and gave her a strained smile, “hey Rin.”

Kakashi had looked over after Rin spoke and was staring at Obito with wide eyes, “Obito?”  The name was barely whispered but still managed to hit Obito full on and steal his breath.

“Sorry I’m late guys.” Rin made a choked noise and covered her mouth, “how?” Obito rubbed the back of his sheepishly, “it’s a really long and weird story, but first we need to get out of here.”

The young Uchiha was completely prepared for the pair to doubt his still being alive and conveniently there to rescue them, he had a few things that only he and the other two knew. If it took him recounting every last embarrassing thing he had done in front of them for them to trust him then it was a small price to pay.

Instead of questioning him Kakashi shakily tried to get to his feet and gave another sharp breath before stopping at a kneel, on instinct Obito crouched down to steady him. “Oi Bakashi, what happened?” Obito looked him over but found no real reason that Kakashi should be in this much pain, not to mention that this close up he could see how pale and sweaty the other boy was.

“They put something in me, I don’t know what it is but it’s powerful and it’s bloodthirsty. I think they’re planning on setting it loose in Konoha.”

Obito had thought his own answer had been vague but this was something else, “put something in? Like a bomb?”

That didn’t make sense though, Kakashi had just said that whatever they used was bloodthirsty. He was brought back by another pained sound from the male and he started to move closer but was stopped by a vice grip on his arm. Though the intense stare he got from Kakashi would have had the same effect, “Obito, you need to take Rin and run. You need to protect her.”

Obito heard Rin draw in a sharp breath and before she started in on him he answered, “I will protect Rin, and I’m going to protect you too Kakashi!”

He gave the silver haired teen a smile and ignored the way Kakashi’s face morphed into one of anger and desperation, “you don’t understand!” Obito turned his back to him and readed himself for the Hidden Mist shinobi that had regrouped and decided that Obito was hardly a threat.

“Remember, we need the silver one alive!” That was Obito’s warning before he face to mask with one of them, the ensuing fight didn’t feel like it was him actually moving and he was once again grateful to the creature that covered him.

He had slid back into a battle stance and knew that beside him Rin was doing the same, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried but he would be damned if he failed either of his friends after trying so hard to find them. Behind him he heard the crackle of lightning and a soft voice that could barely be heard over it, “I’m sorry.”

Obito  turned just in time to watch Kakashi thrust the charged kunai into his stomach, he watched as Kakashi gave a quick jerk before falling forward. Rin gave a strangled sound as she dropped to her knees next to him and flipped the boy over, Obito felt an odd numbness when he looked at the gaping hole gushing blood.

Rin wasted no time in trying to heal the wound but a harsh voice whispered to Obito that she wouldn’t be able to heal an injury that bad, the only thing it would do would prolong his death. “Damn, we went through all that trouble just for him to off himself.”

That one phrase turned Obito’s numbness and disbelief into pure rage, he was next to the unwitting man in a second and feeling the skull crack under his hand filled Obito with grim satisfaction. More masks passed through his vision and he tore through them one after another as if they were made of paper than of flesh and bone, yet the more bodies he went through the sharper the rage became.

How dare these no name strangers take one of the strongest people Obito ever met and wear him down to the point of fracturing. He didn’t know what they did and he didn’t care, all that mattered was that they were the reason Kakashi was laying in a pool of his own blood. Someone tried to sneak behind him and let out a wet gasp as they were impaled and tossed aside, they tried in vain to crawl away and Obito felt nothing but rage as he ripped off the crawling ninja’s legs.

The screams of the people he was hunting didn’t register in his mind, nor did their begging, but when he heard Rin give a startled yell it was crystal clear. He was already running to her ready to kill anyone stupid enough to even breathe on her before he saw what was going on, she had clearly been knocked back and was clutching her arm as if it was burned. In front of her was-

Obito ground to a stop when he saw what was in front of him and a single thought ran through his head on repeat, ‘what the hell?’ It was Kakashi, he was breathing and standing but everything in Obito screamed that this was wrong. Blue chakra emanated from his teammate like a flame, a long tail had formed from that same chakra but what froze Obito was Kakashi’s eye.

What should have been a dark charcoal color had been replaced by a piercing yellow, the side that housed the sharingan was coated by the opaque chakra. That yellow eye snapped over to him and Obito felt the hair on his neck rise, that didn’t feel like Kakashi staring back at him.

More of the bubbling chakra spewed forth until only bits of Kakashi were visible under it, “Ka-Kakashi?”

The answer was a deafening roar that had Rin recoiling, but it was the way that Kakashi could be heard in the roar that was truly upsetting. When the jinchuuriki turned its attention to the Mist Shinobi that remained Obito saw what looked to be the beginnings of a second tail forming.

As his teammate began stalking the now retreating shinobi, Obito looked over to Rin who was still clutching her arm as she went to stand by him. This close he could see the wounds better, it looked less like a burn from a fire but instead looked like someone had splashed acid on her.

It coated her right arm the worse but was clearly present elsewhere, and he couldn’t help but worry when he saw how deep the burns went. Noticing his gaze the girl shook her head, “I’m fine, but Kakashi- that chakra helped heal him but if it keeps going it’ll destroy him.”

Obito frowned and wished that things would slow down so he could gather his thoughts or just have a moment to breath, but right now he needed to figure out how to help his friend. Another roar broke the air and was followed by the ocean itself threatening to come alive, as acid rained down upon those closest to the ocean Obito saw Kakashi’s legs give out and the teen instead switched to running on all fours like some sort of animal.

Obito felt his body moving closer to Kakashi despite Swirly becoming much more vocal about how bad this was. When he got close enough for yellow eye to zero in on him he felt his breath catch, seeing the proud jounin turned into this hurt. “That was pretty stupid Bakashi, trying to- do that to yourself. I mean come on, you know that we’re going to get you fixed up. Minato-Sensei will know what to do, we’ll get that thing out of you so just hold on!”

He finished the speech with what he hoped was an encouraging grin. The creature stared at him and its tail twitched before it opened its maul and roared at him, Obito could see bits of blood being added to the chakra and felt something in him snap. “Oh screw you too!”

The tail struck out quickly and Obito had to roll to avoid it, “no seriously, screw you! I was in fucking hell in that cave! But everytime I even thought of giving up, I would think about your stupid face and how much I wanted to see it again! You, Rin, and  Sensei were the only thing that kept me going. Even when it hurt to move and I just wanted stay down, I’d think of you guys waiting for me and I’d find strength to keep going.”

Obito felt tears start to prick his eye and he swiped at it, “you can’t give up Kakashi. Not after all of the shit you’ve been through, you can’t just fucking die here! Just come back to us, to me. Please, Kakashi.”

Tears were falling freely but Obito couldn’t bring himself to care, especially when the chakra began to grow translucent and Kakashi started to sway. Obito grabbed him without thinking and the chakra immediately began to eat through his clothes and when he felt it on his skin Obito worried briefly for the creature acting as his shield.

Finally the strange chakra dissipated completely and when Kakashi opened a bleary eye it was it’s original charcoal, at that moment Obito couldn’t think of a more beautiful color. “...Obi…”

With that whispered Kakashi passed out once again and Obito couldn’t help but pull him closer, he heard Rin shuffling over to them and all but collapsed next to him. She leaned against him heavily and rested a shaking hand on Kakashi’s chest, “my fault.”

Obito frowned at that, but Rin was struggling to stay conscious and he vowed to get every detail he could when they got home. Kakashi twitched against his chest and Obito felt the need to go home, to go sleep in his own bed and eat food. They would help Kakashi, and then the team would finally be together again. He felt an odd pull and his vision swirled, when it stopped they were in a field of grass that Obito could swear he had seen before. However exhaustion finally won over and his vision went dark.

[gruvia-lolu-nalu-jerza]

This I Promise You - Chapter 2

This I Promise You - Ch. 2/?

A/N:  I am SO SORRY for the extremely long hiatus of this fic!! Life has been insane, and I haven't had much inspiration/motivation to keep writing my stories for the longest time. But, hopefully, I am now back ^_^

Pairing:  RinHaru (of course, haha), with a side of MakoGou (super secondary)

**POST-SERIES**

**Part of the For The Future series – a set of stories set in the future, that will feature MakoGou kids Takashi and Hiroki**

Here on AO3 | Here on FFN | Chapter 1 on Tumblr

Chapter 2:  Back In The City Where It All Began, Pt. 1

Despite his best efforts to keep his plans a complete surprise, it hadn’t taken long for Haruka to become suspicious.  He had gone along with Rin’s announcement earlier that morning that Iwatobi and their long-awaited reunion with their friends was going to be pushed back a day or two with very little comment other than a curious rise of an eyebrow, but when they arrived at their departure gate at the airport and Haruka’s gaze landed on the city of their destination, Rin watched as his eyes widened.  Something - a spark of recognition - flickered behind those azure pools, as what had merely been vague curiosity up until that point morphed slowly into something unreadable.

“Rin, where are we-?” Haruka began, turning to glance at him.  His brow furrowed, as he silently studied the gleeful expression that Rin was having difficulty holding back.  “...Sydney? What are we-?”

“You ask too many questions,” Rin interrupted, with a low murmured chuckle.  “C’mon-” his arms slipped around Haruka’s waist, and he rested his chin on his shoulder.  “Didn’t I tell you it was gonna be a surprise?” He took in Haruka’s still-dubious gaze, and breathed out a dramatic sigh.  “You don’t have to look that suspicious, y’know…  You’ll see soon enough - you’ll love it!”

The look on Rin’s face clearly said Trust me…   The silent questions died on Haruka’s lips, his features relaxing into a faint smile.  Of course he did…

“...Lead the way.”

The plane ride lasted all of exactly an hour and twenty three minutes.  After that, it was a fifteen minute cab ride to the nearest bus terminal, and then from there, the two boarded a bus that was bound for the heart of the city.  When the bus finally rumbled to their destination stop twenty minutes later, it suddenly became glaringly-obvious where they were, and what Rin’s “plan” was.

“...You’re recreating our original trip to Australia?”

There was an odd catch to Haruka’s voice, as he stared up at the familiar stone fountain in the middle of Hyde Park.  The sunlight caught the water droplets as it rained down into the pool of water below, and it was still every bit as enchanting as the very first time Haruka had laid eyes on it a decade prior.

“There’s really no keeping surprises a secret from you, is there?” Rin chuckled.  “I just… I just thought that it’d be a nice tribute, you know? Kinda the whole full-circle thing - back in the city that meant so much to me and my dream when I was a kid.  The city where I lost sight of that dream, and thought it was gone forever… until you saved me, and gave that dream back to me…” Turning to face Haru, Rin’s eyes softened affectionately.  “And that’s something that I’m forever going to be indebted to you for. But no matter how many disappointments and regrets I faced here, it shaped me to be who I am today - helped me become stronger because of those experiences.  Haru…” Rin paused, his words trailing off as he stared into the spouting fountain. “This city… it- it’s special to me, not only because of my history with it, but because of you.  This was where I was able to show you that sight that I’d once promised you when we were kids, and where I was able to share some of my favorite places and memories with you.  This was also where I was able to help you decide of your own future, and where our dreams officially became one… Now, it’s ten years later, and-”

Rin cut off abruptly, when he felt the tips of Haruka’s fingers brush lightly against his arm.

“A-And…”

“I know…” Haruka whispered, a gentle smile in his quiet voice.  His fingers sought out Rin’s, and interlacing them together, he gave Rin’s hand a squeeze.  They were warm, and held a comforting familiarity, and were so, so… Rin.

“Rin.  Thank you for bringing us back here to Sydney one more time.  It’s perfect.”

“It’s just that…” Rin’s cheeks were flushed, but he nevertheless returned the hand squeeze.  “Tomorrow, we’ll be going home for good, Haru…  The last decade… everything- I wouldn’t trade my memories of you being there by my side for anything.”  One hand reached out to gently cup Haruka’s cheek, thumb tenderly caressing the porcelain skin.  Closing his eyes, Haruka leaned into the touch.

“I know…”  Once again, he breathed out those same two words, the whisper this time half-muffled by the fabric of Rin’s shirt.  The world around them vanished, and in that instant, it was just the two of them: two young men whose souls were bound to each other’s from the moment they first laid eyes on the other as children all those years ago.  Rin’s arm was tight and firm around Haruka’s slighter, more slender frame - strong, and warm, and safe.

Home.  Home meant Iwatobi, and all the familiarity of that tiny portside town.  Home meant seeing Makoto, Gou, Nagisa, and Rei again, after all this time…

Home meant Rin - Rin, and the promise of a future together with a man whom he loved beyond words…

“E-Excuse me…”

Opening his eyes at the sudden voice that seemed to be addressing them, Haruka blinked down at a teenage girl and the young boy who was with her.  The pair were staring up at himself and Rin in awe. Upon realizing that Haruka’s cerulean eyes were now focused upon her, the girl’s face immediately flushed crimson, and she took a half step back, averting her eyes in embarrassment at having been caught shamelessly staring.

“Are…  Are you Haruka Nanase and Rin Matsuoka?” She asked breathlessly, the question coming out sounding flustered and slightly high-pitched.  One hand held onto the young boy’s, the other clutched tightly at a cellphone with trembling fingers.

“Y-Yes…” Rin seemed equally surprised as how Haruka himself felt, as he answered the question in English.  “How can we help you?” The words rolled smoothly - comfortably - from Rin’s tongue, and Haruka once again couldn’t help but admire Rin’s complete mastery of the foreign language.  During their travels in the last ten years, and their constant exposure in English-speaking countries, Haruka had picked up phrases here and there. It had been enough to get by those occasionally-mandatory interviews and press conferences, but Rin’s level of proficiency was still far beyond his reach.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but… well… c-could we get an autograph and a picture with you guys…?”  Reaching up with a hand, the girl fretted with a strand of hair as she shyly tucked it behind her flaming red ear.  “M-My brother is an avid swimmer, and we try to keep up with as many meets as possible, and ever since we first saw you make your debut, and the way that you tied… you guys have been our idols…!  Ever since then, we’ve followed all of your races, and cheered you on in both Beijing and London. We’re huge fans - you guys are amazing!  Oh my gosh-” she gushed excitedly.  “To think that we’d actually run into you guys here, of all places-!!”

“I-”  Haruka blinked, ever-growing confusion slipping into his expression the faster the girl rambled on.  The rapid flow of unfamiliar English words proved too much of a struggle for him to try and keep up, so he merely settled for silently withdrawing - just like he always did - and letting Rin take care of this one.  He stole a sidelong glance at Rin, and in those suddenly suspiciously-gleaming eyes, he saw a myriad of emotions flood into those red orbs. A deeply-stunned surprise at her words. Pride. But above all, as those eyes sought out and held his gaze, Haruka saw unadulterated and unmistakable love and affection radiating from them.

“Yeah- Of course!” Rin grinned, enthusiastically pulling Haruka closer to him.  One arm slung over Haruka’s shoulder, the other extending out to flash a peace sign at the camera.  They were starting to draw quite a crowd, as curious onlookers strolled over for a closer look, and people whispered excitedly behind their hands amongst themselves about whether or not it was the Matsuoka Rin and Nanase Haruka.  Almost as if sensing Haruka’s growing discomfort with the crowd, Rin gave an easy smile.

“Almost done, babe - I promise.”

The whisper came as a low murmur at Haruka’s ear, so quiet that the words were meant for him and him alone.  Rin flashed him a quick wink, before kneeling down to the child’s level.

“What is your name?”

“Brandon…” The young boy fidgeted shyly.  Holding the piece of paper and pen out to Rin, he watched wide-eyed as Rin signed it, and added an extra message underneath:

~To Brandon:  Dare to dream big, and reach for the stars!~

“Never let anyone tell you any different.”  Rin’s tone was gentle, as he ruffled Brandon’s hair.  “You can reach every single dream you put your mind to.  Work hard, and never give up.” Handing the autograph back to the excited and awestruck child, he wished both siblings well as they thanked them and went on their way.

“Cute kid,” Rin chuckled, the comment accompanied by a fond smile as he gazed after the two.  Turning to Haruka, he slung an affectionate arm around his shoulders. “Ready? I figured we could hit the beach, and then make it to Russell’s and Lori’s by about 4:30 or 5:00.  That’ll give us about an hour before dinner, and then, well…”

Rin waggled an eyebrow, a grin teasing the corner of his lips.  Haruka smiled back, knowing full well what Rin didn’t need to say aloud.  Fragmented memories of a time from long ago, when the two of them had spent a night together in an old historic Sydney hotel, came unbidden to them both.  Back then, the night had passed them by with the both of them being overly conscious of the space (or lack, thereof) between them in the single double bed that they shared, and nothing beyond a simple chat had occurred.  However, tonight…

Rin’s grin widened, as he stole a clandestine sidelong glance toward the small duffel bag that lay at their feet.  Tucked away safely inside was a very special item that, should everything go according to plan tonight, would elevate their relationship to the next level.  His fingers curled and tightened around Haruka’s hand, as he pulled the other man closer into his arms. Under the gentle rain of falling water from the fountain, he reached up with his free hand to gently cup Haruka’s cheek, their lips meeting in a searing kiss.  In that moment, it didn’t matter that they were standing in the middle of a very public park, with the gazes of onlookers and passersby that ranged from a whole spectrum of emotions and judgements trained upon them. It didn’t matter that the whisperings from the ever-growing crowd gathered around them buzzed at the back of his mind.  What mattered, more than anything in the world, was the man encircled in his arms -- the man with raven black hair and deep azure eyes, who had stayed firmly at his side through everything for the last ten years. The man who he’d loved his entire life…

When they pulled slowly apart at last - the kiss still lingering on both their lips - Rin’s hand reached out of its own accord, fingertips skimming over the surface of Haruka’s cheekbones, the touch warm and familiar and practiced.

“Mmm…” Haruka murmured softly.  His eyes slowly opened to focus in on Rin’s face, and a faint smile caused the corners of his eyes to crinkle slightly.  He sighed, gaze flickering upward to regard their surroundings with a warm, genuinely affectionate look, his smile taking on a melancholic note.  

“Being here with you again like this in Sydney after all this time…  I-” Haruka took in a deep breath, glancing away for a moment before returning to steadily meet Rin’s gaze once more.  He leaned into the hand that still lingered at his cheek, even as his own rose up to rest over Rin’s, fingers curling into the comforting warmth.

“...I’ll miss it.”

The quiet words of his simple confession echoed in the air around them, leaving them both to reflect silently for a moment on each’s own memories associated with this place, this city, and the vast depth of just how deeply the roots of influence of this country ran for the two of them.  Rin smiled, the arm that was over Haruka’s shoulder tightening slightly as he leaned to press a kiss to his temple.

We’ll definitely come back someday…  The kiss seemed to promise.  We can come back as many times as you’d like…

“...C’mon, Haru.  Let’s make this last day in Sydney count.”

A/N: Please like and ESPECIALLY reblog if you liked it, I’d love to know your thoughts on it!  (Do keep in mind, though, that this is my first fic that I’ve done for Free!/RinHaru, so please be gentle in your critiquing of it). The next chapter is already halfway done, so hopefully the next update won't take 3.5 years... lol. Thank ya'll so much for your patience and support!

Sneak Peek at Chapter 3: Special memories resurface as Rin and Haru continue their day in Sydney, leading up to an unforgettable night back in Room 25 ;-)

[neraawritesxx]

Clemency

Written for KakaSaku Month - Day 1

pairing: kakashi x sakura; implied obito x rin event prompt: summer // rainstorms additional prompt: you buy an obscene number of flowers, and i’m concerned as to why genre: romance // light angst // slice of life word count: 5,250

summary: The first time Sakura meets him, it’s a week after her roommate has died.

a/n: This is extremely late? Like days upon days late. It took me forever to finish, but I’m happy with the end result. Maybe now I can start my other prompts? Lol. Either way, I hope you all enjoy!

note: This work is unbeta’ed so any mistakes are my own.

“It’s starting to rain,” Ino murmurs nonchalantly.

Sakura gives a noncommittal grunt in response, eyes never straying from the flower arrangement in front of her. Blindly, she sifts through the pile of loose blooms that reside on the countertop next to her, choosing a long-stemmed daisy and a row of baby’s breath.

Slowly, meticulously, she snips both stems with her shears, making sure that the floras are at the right length before placing them in the vase. Sakura watches how they fall with a critical eye, moving them into more favorable positions that accentuate the piece then, repeats the processes with the remaining buds.

The flower shop is quiet for a while after that, both girls distracted by their work, the patter of rainfall echoing against the window display.

It’s Ino who eventually breaks their silence.

“I wonder if your friend is going to stop by today.”

“Don’t you have a wedding centerpiece to put together?” Sakura pointedly inquires, though there is no real hostility behind her tone.

Jade eyes shift to look at the clock hanging on the opposite wall before sliding back to the blonde.

“Besides,” Sakura adds. “Even if he were to make an appearance, I won’t be around to see him. You know what today is. I have to leave in a half hour.”

Ino perks up for a moment, eyes wide as sudden comprehension dawns. The fair-haired woman smiles, a sad, half-hearted curl of her lips that doesn’t quite reach her eyes as cobalt hues settle on the decorative bouquet Sakura is putting together.

Ino hums. “I almost forgot,” she states gently. “I should have realized when you took out all of the daisies we had in stock.”

Sakura releases a soft chuckle, turning back to her project. “It’s alright. Just come over here and help me. I don’t want to be late.”

-o-

The first time Sakura meets him, it’s a week after her roommate has died.

Ino insists that she take more time off from the shop, it’s not their busy season, and her best friend maintains that she is more than capable of covering both of their shifts. Sakura turns her down, however, preferring to hide her misery behind forced smiles and menial conversations with their customers.

It takes her mind off of it, helps her forget the pain. If only for a little while.

The rain is heavy that day, pounding unrelentingly against the sidewalk, leaving vast puddles in its wake and forcing most people indoors.

Sakura doesn’t hear him when he enters the shop. Their air conditioner is broken, and they are forced to battle the pungent, sticky haze caused by the weather by keeping the front door open. There is no breeze, but the air that does trickle into the store is cool, despite the humidity.

He slips in while she is distracted, re-reading old text messages from her dearly departed friend.

Sakura likes to think that scouring through old conversations, recounting memories, helps her cope. It’s enjoyable, for the time being, until she reaches the last messages that were sent in their chat thread.

~

Rin N. (8:24 PM): We’re leaving Obito’s in a minute.

Rin N. (8:25 PM): Promise me that you’ll at least consider going to dinner with Kakashi.

Rin N. (8:25 PM): He’s cute! I know you’ll like him.

~

Sakura H. (8:26 PM): You’re so worried about my love life! Lol. Focus on your own! 

Sakura H. (8:27 PM): But, I will think about it. Okay, Rin?

Sakura H. (8:27 PM): I’ll let you know where my head’s at after I meet him tonight.

Sakura H. (8:28 PM): What’s your ETA?

~

He clears his throat then, startling her and Sakura’s head shoots up to find him standing a few paces back from the counter. He’s tall, lanky, and has a messy mop of silver hair that sticks out at a bunch of awkward, different angles.

She can’t tell much beyond that.

There is a strip of black cloth over the left side of his face and a hospital mask of the same color covering from the middle of his nose, down. The latter doesn’t surprise her all that much. Most customers with unmanageable pollen allergies tend to cover their faces before venturing into the shop.

The other fabric, however, is somewhat daunting.

He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, not looking at her, and it takes Sakura a moment to realize that she has forgone a formal greeting, and instead, has been blatantly staring at him.

“Oh,” she says. “Excuse me. I’m so sorry. It’s just one of those days; I can’t help but find myself distracted. Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers. What can I get for you today?”

The new arrival doesn’t immediately say anything, gazing at a fixed point over Sakura’s right shoulder. Another full minute passes before he brings himself to look at her, and when he does, Sakura can’t help but flinch.

He looks…haggard.

Or, at least, that’s what she can make out from the small patch of skin available for inspection.

His lone eye is sunken in, rimmed with the purplish discoloration that comes from extensive lack of sleep. When she gives him another once over, Sakura also notes that he is wearing far too many layers for the season. Despite inclement weather, it’s still summertime in Konoha. The rain could stop in an hour, giving way to the bright, unforgiving rays of the sun. She doesn’t think someone who is dressed in a baggy, mismatching sweat suit would be comfortable when that time came around.

She doesn’t get to explore his fashion choices or how fatigued he looks any further. He decides to speak then, stating, “Hyacinths.”

His request is a raspy croak, muffled behind the material of his mask, and Sakura has no difficulty trying to make out the word.

She blinks, though, somewhat perplexed.

Was that it?

It wasn’t the first time a customer has come in with a specific request, but it was the first time Sakura has dealt with one so vague.

“Ah, okay.” She steps down from the stool she is perched upon, crossing the room towards the refrigerated display. “Um, do you have a preference for the color? Or the amount? We offer small or large bouquets. We’re actually running a sale right now. If you purchase a full bouquet, you can get another for half th–”

“A purple hyacinth,” He cuts in before she could further explain. “Just one.”

“…Just one?” She parrots, confused.

Odd request indeed.

Against her wishes, Ino’s voice pipes up in the back of Sakura’s head, babbling on about the language of flowers.

A purple hyacinth can say many things.

‘I am sorry.’

‘Please forgive me.’

‘I am filled with sorrow.’

At his curt nod, Sakura pulls her cutting sears from the pocket of her apron and snips at a particularly robust hyacinth in the middle of the display. Pulling the flower free, she sets out to intricately wrap the floret with white wrapping paper, tying everything together with a piece of violet twine.

“Here you go,” she declares, holding the bundle out across the counter.

He takes it carefully, and Sakura becomes immediately aware that he is trying to avoid touching her as he extracts it from her grip, his free hand digging into his pants pocket.

“You total is three dollars and tw–” Sakura doesn’t get to finish her statement. In the time it takes her to punch his order into the register, he has already placed a five-dollar bill on the counter and is halfway out the door.

“Hey! Wait! You’re forgetting your change!”

He either doesn’t hear her or chooses to ignore her, because he doesn’t stop, disappearing right out into the rain.

Sakura sits back with a click of her tongue, eyes flicking between the front door and the money that has been set on the counter. She tries to chalk up the oddity of the entire experience as a one-time deal, something that happens every now and again.

The whole situation doesn’t sit well with her for the rest of the shift and remains at the forefront of her mind well into the next day. When she tells Ino about it, the blonde brushes off it off, citing that he was just a loon of a customer and they were bound to get a few of those now and again.

Despite her friend trying to placate her, Sakura still couldn’t help but wonder, just what had he done to be asking for forgiveness?

-o-

Sakura doesn’t see that strange man again for another month.

It’s raining that day also, but it is more of a sun shower than actual rainfall, a quick drizzle to combat the insufferable heat.

They still haven’t gotten the air conditioner fixed, and Ino moans about how her hair is going to frizz. Sakura doesn’t mind all that much. She likes the feel of the wind when it blows through the open door; relishes in the sights, the smells, and the sounds that it brings along with it.

That day though, Sakura’s lethargic and she cannot bring herself to enjoy much of anything.

Obito visited her earlier that afternoon, Chinese takeout in tow. They talk, exchanging as many pleasantries as two people who have lost someone very dear can. She tries her best to avoid the topic altogether, but Sakura has always been curious, and her inquisitive nature has seemed to have gotten the better of her recently.

The scar covering the right half his face is a messy and daunting reminder, and Sakura can’t help but gaze at it when Obito isn’t paying attention. Or, at least, she thought he hadn’t been paying attention. He catches her staring about halfway through their meal and brushes off her hasty attempts at an apology.

He makes some ambiguous joke about how he and his roommate – a man who she has still yet to meet –  now have matching deformed faces. Something about how they can use it in the future as a pick-up line.

Sakura tries to laugh along with him, but she knows her smile is strained and Obito’s chuckles are empty and lifeless.

They still don’t address the elephant in the room, and it’s not soon after that he takes his leave, promising to visit her sometime in the upcoming week.

Sakura is alone for about an hour, trying to distract herself with tidying up around the shop. This time, she hears him when he enters, but that is only because he nearly trips over terracotta pot she has removed from the front display while cleaning.

“Oh my god!” Sakura exclaims, scrambling to her feet. She pushes the potted plant back into its rightful place, rubbing her dirty hands along her apron, while stating, “I am so sorry. Are you alright?”

He grunts his assent, righting himself, but says nothing.

When he turns to regard her, his breath leaves him in a soft ‘whoosh,’ and there is a strange straightening of his spine. He looks shocked to see her and Sakura can accurately make that deduction because, not only is his lone charcoal eye impossibly wide as he looks at her, but this time, he has foregone the mask, mouth parted in a small, stupefied ‘o.’

“Oh,” she breathes, trying not to be enticed by his strong jawline or the mole that decorates his chin. “It’s you.”

Her comment seems to snap him out of his stupor, and he collects himself, arching one dark brow in silent question. Sakura smiles despite his self-imposed muteness and walks behind the counter.

“I was wondering if you were going to come back,” she says, opening the cash register. Sakura pulls out an envelope from one of the slots in the drawer, holding it out towards him. “You forgot your change the last time you were here.”

He takes a step closer to the countertop, eye flickering between her face and the packet in her hands. The silence that envelopes the store for the next few moments is uncomfortable, and just when Sakura thinks that he isn’t going to take the proffered package, he quickly snatches it from her grasp.

“Thanks,” he mutters, and Sakura can’t help but be distracted by the movement of his mouth, by the deep tenor of his voice. “You didn’t have to do that.”

The corner of Sakura’s mouth kicks up, and she brushes off his acknowledgment with a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s no big deal. We don’t like to overcharge our customers here and with that being said, what can I get for you today?”

His answer is immediate. “White tulips. A dozen.” He hesitates for a second, then adds, “Please.”

Sakura nods, a small smirk playing on her lips, and ventures into the back room where they kept more extensive stock of the commonly purchased flowers.  As she’s putting together the garlands per his request, Sakura can’t help but allow her mind to wander to the meaning behind the blooms he chose.

‘White tulips are used to claim worthiness,’ Ino had said. ‘Or to send a message of forgiveness. Depends on what circumstances you’re buying them for.’

When Sakura returns to the front of the shop, the odd customer is hunched down on the opposite side of the counter, staring at the rather impressive selection of Ino’s imported sword lilies.

“What are these?” he asks, fingers pressed against the glass.

“They’re called Gladiolus. They mean strength and integrity. We got the shipment in this week, just in time for the summer season.”

He nods absentmindedly while standing, reaching into his jeans to extract his wallet. “How much for one of those, along with the rest of them?”

Sakura preens, thinking about how she is going to rub it in Ino’s face that she sold one of her precious flowers before her. It takes Sakura another minute to prepare the additional bud with soft wrappings, but when she’s finished, she places it and the other bouquet on the countertop in front of him.

Quick, deft fingers punch his order into the register and Sakura chirps, “That’ll be fourteen dollars and fifty-three cents.”

Much like their first interaction, by the time the words are out of her mouth, there is money on the counter and he is already out the door.

Unlike their last meeting, however, he leaves Sakura with a twenty-dollar bill and the exotic lily he had purchased last minute.

-o-

It’s three weeks before his next visit.

It’s not raining that day, but the sky is dark with the promise of an impending storm. Sakura is out visiting Sai and Naruto on her lunch break when he comes into the store.

Not only does she get an earful about the ‘really odd, yet totally hot’ customer from Ino when she gets back, but she also finds that he left a single, pink carnation behind.

“It was weird,” Ino states while putting together a bridal shower arraignment. “He bought almost two dozen striped carnations. That caught his eye last minute, and he insisted on buying it, only to leave it here.”

Sakura can’t help but smile for the rest of the day.

-o-

The interval between that visit and his next is extremely short; only five days.

The heavens have opened; lightning streaks across the sky and thunder reverberates throughout the store, leaving Sakura to try and drown out the resonances with soft music from Ino’s stereo.

The welcoming chime of the bell above the door signals his arrival, and as Sakura looks up, she can’t help but grin.

“Long time no see,” she greets.

He’s not looking at her, but she knows he heard her. His one eye is trained on the single, bubblegum pink carnation sitting in a vase next to the register.

“Ino said you left it here,” Sakura finds herself explaining. She doesn’t really know why. “It was already cut, and I didn’t want to see it go to waste. I figured it would be a cute decoration.”

He gives a short bob of his head, and the very corner of his mouth curls up for just a moment. It’s not a smile, it’s more like a simple twitch of movement, but it’s something, and Sakura feels her heart stutter at the sight of it.

“I’m glad it made it into the right hands, then,” he starts, finally looking up at her from under a frame of dark lashes. “Anemones, please. Just two.”

Sakura puts together his order as specified, trying to blame the rising heat in her cheeks on the fact that they still have yet to get the air conditioner repaired.  She can’t help but wonder what’s hidden underneath that strip of black cloth, about what exactly his face looks like without the obscurity.

“I also don’t have your change from last time,” she calls out as she’s wrapping the flowerets in paper that’s a shade darker than her hair. “Ino mucked up the cash one day and used it to break another customer’s bigger bill.”

He shrugs, seemingly nonplussed by the news.

They finish up their transaction quickly after that. This time he gives Sakura the exact amount of money, down to the penny and offers her a small wave as he makes his way out the door.

“See you soon,” he bids in farewell and Sakura can’t help but beam and wave after him.

-o-

He has a funny definition of ‘soon’ because Sakura doesn’t see him again for another four months.

That’s not to say he doesn’t come into the store, because he does, but summer has given way to fall, and school has started again, taking up most of Sakura’s free time and leaving her with only a handful of shifts at the shop.

Ino informs her of his appearances and proceeds to make fun of Sakura as her eyes light up with the new information. He sometimes leaves her a flower, sometimes he forgets his change, and sometimes he does neither, but his visits never cease.

Sakura brushes off Ino’s teasing, citing that it is not a crush. She does not have a crush on a customer. It is intrigue. Despite his noticeably handsome looks, Sakura is more interested in the mystery behind that mask. Ino doesn’t believe her.

Sakura tries to think up different scenarios in her head, formulating a plan to ask him for his name in the least creepy way possible. Ino joins her in plotting, only because he has yet to use a credit card, and the fair-haired woman is damn curious herself. They giggle maniacally as they come up with different ideas, and for the first time in a long while, Sakura finds herself looking forward to something.

When she finally does see him again, though, Sakura is in a horrid mood and asking for his name is the furthest thing from her mind.

Obito called a few minutes prior wanting to discuss a few things about Rin. They had gotten better at talking. More specifically, they had gotten better at talking about her. Obito stopped looking like he about to burst into tears at the mention of Rin’s name, and Sakura, well, she felt a little less hollow.

The friendly formalities didn’t last long because Obito informed her that he wanted to come to the apartment and clean out some of Rin’s things; keep some for himself, put some in storage, and throw out whatever was left.

Sakura vehemently refused.

‘Damn it, Sakura! It’s been months!’ he yells in her ear. ‘I don’t know who is worse, you or Kakashi! I miss her too but clinging to all of her stuff like this is toxic. She’s gone, and as much as it kills me to say it, she is never coming back. We need to get rid of some of it. We need to move on.’

If Obito really missed Rin, he wouldn’t be throwing out her belongings. Sakura tells him as much.

That seems to do the trick because his tone is much quieter when he addresses her again.

‘We’ve been going to grief counseling, Kakashi and I. The therapist says that doing this is a step in the right direction. That things will get better. I…,’ His voice cracks on the other end of the phone. ‘I need to get better. It fucking hurts, and I’m tired of it. You and Kakashi need to stop blaming yourselves. It’s nobody's fault; it was an accident. And we all need to try and move on. I’m doing this, with or without you there.’

Because she is sick of being compared to and roped together with a man she has never met.

Because she doesn’t want to think about how that night was her idea and they would have never gotten into the car if she wasn’t so insistent on them picking her up.

Because she feels physically ill due to their discussion.

And just because she is fucking pissed off that Obito is dropping this on her out of the blue, Sakura hangs up on him.

Obito tries to call her back twice. She lets both calls ring until her voicemail kicks in. He doesn’t try to call her a third time.

Sakura doesn’t turn towards the door when she hears it open, nor does she grant the new customer any attention when she feels their presence draw near the counter.

It is one of the rare occasions that she and Ino are working the same shift, and her best friend – bless her big, goofy heart – heard the entire argument and knew that Sakura is nowhere near capable of talking to anyone at that moment. She interjects with, “Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers. What can I get for you today?”

“Sunflowers,” a very familiar voice demands.

Ino must not have been paying all that much attention to who walked in either, because there is a long, drawn-out silence followed by a sudden shift as Ino scrambles to stand from her stool.

“Hello again,” Sakura hears Ino comment. It sounds more like an excited purr. Ino is laying it on too thick, but Sakura can tell that she is just excited by the prospect of finally getting his name. “Do you want a bouquet or just a specific amount like two or three?”

“I don’t care,” he snaps impatiently. “Just…just give me whatever you can…please.”

The ‘please’ is a last-minute addition that is used to try and take the edge off of his command, but it doesn’t work. Sakura can feel Ino’s irritation from where she is sitting, and when she finally drags her eyes towards the register, the mysterious customer and Ino are glaring each other down.

His expression is thunderous, but Ino’s irritated scowl gives him a run for his money. The young Yamanaka tosses the bundle of flowers on the countertop unceremoniously, uncaring about her lack of social propriety.

He doesn’t even ask for a total, slapping money on the counter without any concern to if it is over or under the correct amount. He takes a step back, quickly glancing in Sakura’s direction before pausing. His gaze feels piercing, like it’s picking her apart from the inside out and looking into her very soul. It carries far too much weight, too much pain and anguish, and it makes Sakura want to squirm in her seat.

In a flurry of movement that neither she nor Ino could follow, he rips one of the sunflowers from its intricate packaging, tosses it onto the counter and turns to the exit, slamming the door as he leaves.

For the next twenty minutes, Sakura half-heartedly listens to Ino gripe and groan about the entire ordeal.

“What a dick,” Ino seethes. “I don’t care if he was in a bad mood, he didn’t have to be so rude about it.”

Sakura hums her agreement, staring at the sunflower in her grasp. She runs her fingers along the stem gently, plucking a single, loose petal free and twirling it between her fingers

The meaning behind them hits her suddenly, like a punch to the gut.

“Loyalty…,” she mumbles under her breath. Her visions blurs as she sighs dejectedly, “…Rin…”

Ino stops, mid-rant, casting Sakura a confused glance. The blonde’s befuddled expression doesn’t last long, her face contorting into a worried frown almost immediately.

“Forehead,” Ino starts, cautiously. “Are you alright?”

It’s only then that Sakura realizes that she’s crying.

-o-

She doesn’t see him again after that and Sakura tries not to dwell on it.

Instead, she throws herself into her work, school, and friends. Focusing all of her attention on bettering herself; on growing, on learning, and on healing. At first, she does it as more of an avoidance tactic, but after an extended visit to Rin’s grave, Sakura comes to terms with the fact that she genuinely isn’t coping as well as she thought.

Something needs to change.

She needs to change.

So, when Obito comes by her apartment later that week to clean out Rin’s things, she joins him.

They spend the better part of the next two days going through all of Rin’s stuff, laughing and crying and reminiscing as they poke and prod through different shelves, piles, and drawers.

After it’s all over, Obito hugs her; a bone-crushing embrace that expresses his sadness and relief and a whole other maelstrom of emotions that Sakura cannot bring herself to try and grasp.

“We’ll be alright,” she hums in his ear, trying to fight off the pinprick of tears in her eyes. He pulls her even closer as she repeats, “We’ll be alright.”

They would be.

-o-

“Are you sure you’re okay with us coming with you?” Naruto asks for the third time that day.

Before Sakura can soothe her friend’s fears, Sasuke answers for her, “Yes, Dobe. Stop asking. Her answer hasn’t changed in the last ten minutes, or are you hard of hearing?”

Naruto shoots Sasuke a dark look but doesn’t rise to the taunt. He instead focuses his attention on the arrangement of daisies in his hand.

“This bouquet is really pretty Sakura-chan,” he compliments with a board grin. “I’m sure Rin would love it.”

“Me too,” Sakura chirps with a smile. She skips on ahead of them, slipping through the iron gates of the cemetery with relative ease.

It’s officially been a year since Rin’s passing and, though, most days it’s still a difficult thing to think about, the wound is no longer fresh. It’s more of a dull ache rather than a festering, scalding burn and Sakura is finding it easier to address openly.

She and Obito have been in contact with one another quite frequently, but her new admission into medical school and his demanding family obligations keep them from meeting as often as they would prefer. That doesn’t stop him from checking in on her at least once a week, and it also helps that he bullied Sasuke and Naruto into looking after her. As smothering as all three of them can sometimes be, Sakura is still warmed by the gesture.

“Will you stop bouncing around?” Sasuke says. “You’re going to give me a headache.”

Sakura sticks her tongue out at him. “I’m excited,” she clarifies. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to visit Rin. Plus, Obito said he is going to meet us there. I haven’t seen him in ages!”

“Leave her alone, Teme. We’re Sakura-chan’s guest today, so lighten up!”

Sasuke grumbles something under his breath that neither of them can catch but says nothing to refute Naruto’s reprimand.

They travel the rest of the way in companionable silence, and it’s not long before the trio is wandering down a familiar isle of gravestones. At the end of the row, standing in front of a large memorial, are two men.

Whatever Obito’s cheerful salutation is, it falls on deaf ears as Sakura attention is honed in on the male standing next to him.

He appears the same; the same hairstyle, same odd, yet seemingly comfortable fashion sense. But, he doesn’t look as tired.

He looks more firm, solid, like he dealt with whatever had been weighing him down.

He also had foregone his usual facial coverings, and for the first time since she met him all those months ago, Sakura gets a full view of his face. He is just as tragically beautiful as she expected him to be, even more so with the large scar dissecting his left eye.  

Obito catches her gaping and chuckles. “I forgot you two still haven’t met. Kakashi, this is Sakura. Sakura this is my best friend slash roomie Kakashi.”

“It’s good to see you again,” her mysterious customer – Kakashi – greets, hand extended.

Sakura smiles, enveloping his outstretched hand with her own. “Likewise.”

The three other men in the crowd blink, casting them varying speculative glances.

Their handshake extends past what could be considered socially acceptable and when he finally pulls away, Kakashi seems hesitant about letting Sakura go, fingers skimming the inside of her palm.

Sakura is sure that Sasuke catches the caress, and is almost positive that Obito does too, because both of their eyes narrow fractionally.

Naruto, ever the bravely uncloth, inquires, “Wait…You two already know each other already?”

-o-

“Did you know?” She asks him sometime later.

After their visit to Rin’s grave is concluded, Naruto suggested grabbing a bite to eat, which everyone, except for Sasuke, readily agreed to.

Kakashi turns to address her, shaking his head. “Not at first,” he says. “Obito came across a picture of you two when he was boxing up some of Rin’s stuff at our apartment. He showed me, but I didn’t put two and two together until after I came to the shop for the second time. Not many girls in Konoha have naturally pink hair.”

Sakura blushes, fingering a wayward cherry strand as she nods slowly. There’s a short pause and then she queries, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Kakashi doesn’t answer immediately and glances away from her, choosing to instead focus his attention on Obito and Naruto, both of whom were trying to see who could finish their bowl of ramen first. Sasuke watched on with an expression of muted horror.

“I didn’t think it was proper,” Kakashi eventually comments. “I was going through some stuff. We were all going through some stuff. Given the circumstances that they were trying to get us to meet originally, it really didn’t seem right for me to push that on you suddenly.”

It was now Sakura’s turn to be quiet as she processed the new information she was given. Kakashi didn’t seem to mind her silence, focusing on finishing off his meal while she mulled over his words.

“I think you’re right,” she starts a few minutes later. “I wouldn’t have handled it well, not with everything going on since the accident.”

Sakura stops to release a deep breath before continuing. “But, I’d like to think that I’m in a better place now and that’s thanks to things I’ve learned from Obito, from Rin, from you. And I’m not…not sure how’d you feel about it, but maybe…would you maybe want to get coffee sometime?”

Before he can respond to her question, the following words are out of her mouth in a jumbled rush, “It doesn’t have to be anything like that. It just would be nice, you know? To talk and stuff…to get to know someone who was important to Rin.”

He gives her a lazy smile; it’s fuller, bigger than the one that made her heart skip a beat that day in the store.

It steals her breath away.

“I’d like that.”

[mookaron]

In this lies my honour and my reward

Chapter 1: Even In Dreams

*Oi, Naruto. Wake up. You have training today*. A breathy voice murmured. Naruto opened his eyes, still bleary from the morning haze. Kurama was awake before him, surprisingly. That fox slept like the dead most of the time.

"Hnngh..."

Was all Naruto could be bothered to get out before promptly going back to sleep. He stayed up until the ungodly hours of the night the day before and wasn't about to answer to a wake-up call. Besides, Kakashi-sensei was never on time, even when the schedule was changed to his liking.

The bijuu sighed heavily at his poor response, curling a hint of his chakra out of Naruto's seal, preparing to slap him awake. Naruto barely blinked at the action, and the tail rose higher and made its descent.  

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Naruto cried, sitting up and glaring at the tail of red chakra staring right back at him. It was inches away from his face. Kurama chuckled, pulling back his tail.

*Get your ass out of bed, brat. You're supposed to meet your team on the bridge at eight thirty.*

Naruto frowned at the reminder. He wasn't sure when the Kyuubi no Kitsune became his surrogate mother, but that fox was definitely more of a softie than he was letting on. At least Kurama wasn't biting his head off every time Naruto tried to talk to him anymore.

It'd been two years since Naruto became friends with the bijuu. At first, they were both hesitant to open up to each other- seeing as they were the cause of each other's problems. Naruto, Kurama's jailer; and Kurama, Naruto's reason for being an outcast. They were past all that now.

Naruto climbed up from his bed, stifling a yawn and casting a glance at the alarm. It reads 8:00. He wasn't late at all.

"Kurama," Naruto started, grumbling. The Kyuubi smirked in response, a flash of sharp teeth and amusement.

*It's a good habit to get up early, you know. Besides, you need to eat breakfast.*

The thought of food had his stomach growling, and he pouted. Naruto wanted nothing more than to crawl back under the covers and just go to sleep for an entire week, but he knew better than that. Besides, Sasuke and Sakura would most likely decapitate him for sleeping that long.

After all, they were going to learn fuuinjutsu today, and that was something his mother had been good at, according to Kurama. If there were a chance that Naruto could learn something about his parents besides the things the Kyuubi told him, he would do anything to gain just the slightest connection.

His mother. A fuinjutsu master. Maybe Naruto could follow in her footsteps one day.

Summoning up what little energy he could muster, Naruto smiled in satisfaction.

"Yosh! Let's get to it!"

___

By the time Naruto arrived at the bridge, he was coated with a thin layer of sweat. The beginning of summer did little to ease the humidity of the Land of Fire, especially when it just rained yesterday. He huffed a sigh, but grinned when he saw Sasuke and Sakura waiting for him.

The two were leaning against the railings, talking idly.

"Morning, Sasuke, Sakura-chan." Naruto waved exuberantly, walking towards them. Sasuke glared, though the traitorous quirk of his lips ruined the effect of the mulish expression.

"Morning." Sakura greeted back. She was twirling her pink hair absently, staring off into space. "I see Kakashi-sensei decided to be late again."

Sasuke huffed, a dark look in his eyes as he scanned the outline of the forest as if their jounin team-leader would pop out of the trees. Their sensei was a pain at times, always cropping up in odd places, at equally odd times.

Sakura frowned and rolled her eyes. “Always reading porn in public- one would think the man has no sense of moral decency.” She lets out an amused huff, glancing at her teammates.

"Always late, and has the emotional range of a chair." Naruto's eyebrows raised at Sasuke's words.

"You're one to talk."  

"Shut up, loser."

Team seven settled back into their familiar banter, trading stories back and forth all while making jabs at their absent team teacher. Lost in the midst of their banter, none of the trio notices the silver-haired jounin lounging on a branch nearby. He smiled, well hidden under the dark fabric of his mask, recalling a time when the three could barely stand each other's company.

It struck a chord within Kakashi, the way they laughed and joked as if they had been friends for years. He pressed a hand to his right eye.

Obito. Rin.

Minato, I wish you could see your son.

Kakashi jumped down from the branches, making his way towards his students.

"Morning, Naruto, Sasuke, Sak-"

"You're late." The three muttered in unison, scowling up at him with vicious eyes. Kakashi took a step back and placed his hands up in surrender. His genin might just be genin- but they knew their way around pointy weapons and he didn’t want to tempt them.

"Mah, it's a one-time thing." He said, though that was obviously a blatant lie. Almost all of their training sessions started with him being at least a few hours late, but that was on purpose. If team seven could handle being alone with each other, then he's done his job.

"Today, we'll be learning some basics to fuuinjutsu." Kakashi lead them over to a grass clearing and spread out his sealing tools on the ground. Naruto actually had the nerve to look interested, while Sasuke and Sakura merely stared.

This was going to be an exciting lesson.

"Fuuinjutsu is an important part of shinobi life. You can use it to make exploding tags, sealing scrolls, anything that can be contained is influenced by this specific type of chakra manipulation." Kakashi continued, pointing at an inked paper and rolled up bamboo scrolls.  As he watched for everyone's reaction, it seemed that Naruto was the only one who was on his toes. It was quite rare for him to be, too.

Kushina was like this, once upon a time. The thought was humbling, knowing that he was responsible for forming these children into shinobi who could endure.

Kakashi swallowed heavily, knowing that fuuinjutsu was the glory and downfall of the Uzumaki clan. Konoha sealing masters were seen as newborns when compared to the legendary ones in Uzushiogakure. It was practically fate for Naruto to be interested in his family's legacy without even knowing it ever existed.

Kakashi paused from his lecture, and gestured to the forest around them.

"Three laps around the base of the mountain. Go."

The complaining from the three might as well have been wake-up calls for the entirety of Konoha.

Kakashi watched their retreating forms, nothing more than a hazy light in the morning dew. He returned to his scrolls, dragging a brush pen across the paper, preparing the seals he needed.

Distinctly, he wondered if Naruto would have gotten the chance to learn Uzushio style fuinjutsu were it not for the destruction of the village. His people.

Kushina was sent from Uzushiogakure to be a jinchuuriki, but also as a safety net from the collateral damage of the fighting between Iwagakure and Kirigakure. She was to be clan leader, after all. However, after the destruction of the village, there was no more clan for her to lead, apart from her own family. And when she and Minato died, the role would have been passed on to Naruto...

It pained him to keep such information from the boy, but seeing as they were the Sandaime's orders, Kakashi had no choice but to obey.

Obey, obey.

It seemed that was all he could do.

Kakashi shook his head, banishing his thoughts. It would be useless to think of that now. He had to focus on the task at hand.

Dipping his brush in ink, Kakashi drew it across the paper in smooth, neat strokes. Simple sealing jutsus, designed for genin. The plan for their training in Fuinjutsu would be short, but considering that there wasn't much material to learn, it was to be expected of the art.  

First, sealing jutsus for the three of them to recognize and break. Then, creating and unraveling the steps in making a proper seal. The last step was to learn to apply seals to weapons, according to the official handbook.

Screw the official handbook.

Kakashi's team was more than capable of making and memorizing seals.  Glancing up from his work, the jounin leader stood up to welcome back the three sweaty genin.

"Ah, back already?" Kakashi joked.

The three were sweating like pigs.

Killing intent radiated off of them like heat. Sasuke had his Sharingan activated, and his arms were crossed. Sakura and Naruto mimicked his stance, and together they resembled the Legendary Sannin;  complete with murderous looks and commanding presence. Kakashi, it seemed, raised a few monsters of his own.

"I'll have your head by tomorrow morning." Sasuke murmured.

Naruto nodded, squinting up at Kakashi. "His hair's mine."

"Hm," Sakura hummed thoughtfully. "I'm taking the money."

And together team seven smiled eerily innocent smiles, while Kakashi was dying on the inside.

___

Naruto was definitely one of the strangest shinobi Sasuke had ever met. One minute he was a blubbering fool and the next, a prodigy rivaling that of his brother. He may be dense as a rock and bat-shit crazy, but he was strong.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura had been training in the fields for the past six hours, taking breaks now and then. It seemed like a tight schedule to most people, but the chuunin exams were almost here, and they weren't about to slack off any time soon. Fuuinjutsu was harder than it looks. It didn't even occur to Sasuke that there would be thousands of fuinjutsu techniques, but apparently, they had to memorize them all.

According to Kakashi, anyway. And no one ever knew if the masked jounin was joking or perfectly serious.

Sasuke watched Naruto across the stream, cooling off by scrubbing the sweat and grime off his face using the cold water. Kakashi, being the try-hard that he was, decided to rig their usual training regime with explosive tags to ' motivate them ' and force them to seal items under pressure.

Naruto did better than Sasuke and Sakura combined.

Sasuke had no idea where his sudden expertise in fuuinjutsu came from, but he sure as hell was dying to find out.

"Oi, loser."

Naruto looked up, raising an eyebrow in annoyance at the nickname. Sasuke smirked in delight.

He looked cute when he was annoyed.

The Uchiha stuffed the thought down as quickly as it had come, fighting the blush that was threatening to creep into his face.

Dammit.

He feigned nonchalance instead, trying best he could to forget his sudden revelation.

"Where'd you learn to do fuinjutsu so well?"

And just like that, Naruto's face falls. He turns, ducking his head away from Sasuke's vision. That was unexpected. What did Sasuke say wrong?

"My-" Naruto started, brows creased in worry. "My mom was," He blew out a breath, moving his blond hair out of his face.

"Supposedly one of the best fuinjutsu masters." He said finally, not daring to meet Sasuke's eyes.

Oh. Oh .

Sasuke wasn't stupid enough to ignore the past tense in his teammate's sentence, nor the sadness lingering in the blond's eyes like a summer rainstorm. He recognized the pain, heart clenching at the memory of his own mother. They were both orphans, left behind with nothing more than a painful reminder that they were complete and utterly alone in the world.

Sasuke nodded solemnly.

A heartbeat passes, then some. The tension in the air was thick, but both boys were too lost in their own thoughts to notice.

"So, are you excited?" Naruto finally looked Sasuke in the eye, a smile replacing the grim, empty look he was sporting earlier. His desire to change the subject was evident.

Sasuke complied. "About what?"

Naruto flashed a bright grin, giving the Uchiha a big thumbs up.

"We have our first C-rank mission next week!"

"You're that excited? About a C-rank mission?" Sasuke asked, smiling despite himself. That Uzumaki's attitude was contagious.

"I heard the pay's good."  

"Who's getting paid?" Sakura chimed in, rinsing her hands with a towel.

___

Hyuuga Hinata didn't know what to do with herself. After yet another day of training by hands of her merciless father, she was more than ready to pass out. At the academy, she was always a bit surprised to find that no one else's parents beat their kids to the point of exhaustion, and that no one else came to school bearing more abuse than a jounin ninja.

But she was Hyuuga, and that was what was expected of her.

Hinata stared up at the stars, wishing that she was never born. The Hyuuga reject, a pariah in her own family. Useless. Pathetic. Weak.

She cradled her swollen, bloody hands, and sighed. There weren't many places where she could be complete and utterly alone, but the top of Konoha mountain was one of them. At least from here, she could be separated from her clan.

Hinata watched Konoha from above, warily eyeing the Hyuuga compound in the darkness. She had at least a half-hour before they would wonder where she had gone, and go looking.  

Thirty minutes to herself was more than enough.

She took out a small medic pack hidden beneath the layers of her kimono, setting the items in it on the cold stones of the mountain. It was packed to the brim with painkillers, gauze, stitches, and bandages. They were all half-used, and she only bought it a few days ago. Hinata prepared a clean swab, dipping it in cleansing alcohol and applying it to her arms. The bleeding had stopped, but it was on the verge of an infection, and she had to take care of that before it got any worse.

The first touch stung, and Hinata clenched her teeth to keep from screaming. The cuts were deep, and already starting to swell. It was nestled beside dozens of other fading scars. Scars she knew would stay with her for a lifetime.

It was almost like a brand.

Arms shaking with pain, she turned once again to the bag and took a needle, threading it with surgical silk. Carefully, she pulled the skin over the folds of the cut and began.

By now, she was used to it. Although Hinata was nowhere near a medical-nin and had no experience healing herself with ninjutsu, she could at least do the bare minimum. After all, she had lots of time to practice on herself.

Dots of blood seeped through the silk, turning the almost transparent color crimson. It was designed to dissolve after several weeks, so at least that was working in her favor.

Everything else wasn't, though. Training was about as challenging as an A-rank mission, except there was an absolute guarantee that Hinata would be hurt. Her father pitted her against Neji and Hanabi, who were both more skilled than any other Hyuuga their age. It was the same routine every single day. Wake up, eat, train with Kurenai, practice with the Hyuuga, sleep. Over and over again.

Hinata refused to hurt Neji and Hanabi every time. No matter how hard her father coerced her with force, no matter how much everyone else screamed at her, spat in her face, hit her— she refused to hurt them.

Because Hanabi and Neji were the only family that truly loved her, no matter how long ago that was. And she wouldn't ever dare hurt her most precious people. Only protect.

That was what Hinata's mother had told her before she died.

'Protect who you love.'

Protect who she loved? Or who loved her back? Because it seemed the only ones who actually cared about her well being was Kurenai-sensei and her team— and even then, only as classmates.

It was so unfair, so cruel. She loved Hanabi and Neji with all her heart, never wavered to protect them, care for them and yet-  And yet...

It was just better for her to die.

Hinata paused her stitching, gasping when she realized that in her haze of thoughts, she ended up doing more harm than good to her wounds. Dabbing the cleanser once more, she returned to it with steadier hands. The sun was long gone from the horizon, and along with it, the warmth of day. Hinata shivered, pulling her Kimono closer.

Her time was almost up. Hinata had to return home.

Home .

Vaguely, she wondered she would ever have such a thing.

___

It had been a long time since he had nightmares of his brother. And yet here he was once again, in the cold Uchiha compound, surrounded by the bodies of his clan. The memory of seeing his grandparent and cousins laying dead on the floor was more than enough to make him want to empty his stomach.

Blood trickled down the walls, and the scent practically made him pass out.

And there was Itachi, back turned to him and sword drawn, his parent's corpses on the ground. Sasuke remembered it all-too-clearly, the look on Itachi's face as he faced him, eyes shining a deep red hue.

"I-Itachi?" Sasuke whispered, hugging the door to the main bedroom.

" Why- what-"

"My foolish little brother." Itachi spat, spinning a kunai in his free hand.

Sasuke shrank back beneath his brother's stare, eyes trained on his mother. She was beside his father, eyes blank and staring at Sasuke. His hands started to shake, whether from anger or fear, he didn't know.

Suddenly, he felt the cold touch of metal against his throat, aimed to kill.

"I told you I would get you." Itachi raised the tip higher, tipping Sasuke's head towards the ceiling.

Sasuke's blood ran cold. His knees buckled, and he collapsed on the floor with heaving sobs.

"Please, I- I don't-" He begged as tears flooded his vision.

I don't want to die.

Itachi curled the kunai, pressing its blade into Sasuke's skin, and in one neat stroke, slit his throat.

___

Sasuke struggled for breath as his throat closed in panic, and sat up abruptly. He was drenched in sweat, cheeks warm with tears as he struggled to remember how to breathe , how to make his lungs take in oxygen.

Itachi.

Mother. Father.

Sasuke cradled his head, digging into his hair with frustration. Why? Why? Why them, out of everyone in the world? Why would his brother, who loved him and cared for him, suddenly kill everyone? His whole body shook with pain, and Sasuke cried freely.

He cried for his cousins, for his parents, for the children who had their lives taken before they had the chance to enjoy them.

He cried for himself, the sole survivor of the massacre.

He sobbed until his tears were no more than choked up hiccups, dying down into exhausted sniffles. His eyes felt dry now, as if he hadn’t poured out his grief and the irony was not lost on him.

Sasuke stood up shakily on wobbly legs, wiping away any remnants of tears. He couldn't stay any longer, couldn't bear to live in the same house where his entire family was slaughtered.

Hesitantly he placed a hand against the walls, guiding himself under cover of darkness. The walls were once painted in the blood of his clan, he knew. It had all been scrubbed away, but for a second he thought he could see the bodies again, could feel the devastating killing intent.

Sasuke closed his eyes, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, the iron-copper tang metallic on his tongue as he licked it away absentmindedly.

He stopped just outside the gates, stumbling at the sight of the Uchiha crest.

He hated that figure. Hated the compound. Hated his name. Hated his brother.

Hated the horrible burden placed on him by someone who used to love him.

He walked up to it, touching the red and white fan with delicate hands. Sasuke swallowed the sob in his throat, his body giving up and forcing him to lean against the stone. The coolness of the wall brought relief to him, especially when the night was as humid and hot as the sheen of sweat on his face.

Why did it have to be him?

How pathetic, Sasuke thought. The last Uchiha , crying and stumbling around in his own house, begging before the very symbol of his clan.

But, there was nowhere for him to go. The compound was as much a jailer to him as a graveyard.

But...

There was someone he could rely on. It would destroy his pride, but he needed comfort, and that simply didn't exist within the Clan base.

At least, not anymore.

___

The last thing Naruto wanted was to be awoken at the ungodly hours of the night by such urgent knocks they sounded more like bombs. Who was even awake this late?

Naruto forced himself out of bed, dragging his sleepy self to the door.

"Who is it?" He grumbled, opening the door while rubbing his eyes. And immediately regretted doing so. Because standing in front of him was Uchiha Sasuke himself, eyes bloodshot and a painful look on his face.

What the hell? Was this some sort of genjutsu?

*Naruto, it's real. Kurama reassured him gently.

He didn't believe it. Not for a second. Sasuke, number one student in the Academy, the last Uchiha, was not standing in front of his door with a pillow in his hand.

"Sa-Sasuke-"

"Can I stay here for the night?" Sasuke whispered as if he was afraid to ask.  His brown eyes bore into Naruto's blue ones, filled with agony.

And surprisingly, Naruto understood that kind of pain. Knew it all too well, the feeling of being lonely.

So he tipped the door further and let his teammate in, no questions asked. Sasuke walked in, surveying the small apartment with little interest. He was strangely...

Vulnerable.

It was as if he'd shed his mask of arrogance and confidence in just one night, and revealed someone completely different. It was equal parts scary and refreshing- thought Naruto cursed himself for thinking that. He was glad, at least. Sasuke trusted him enough to drop his facade, if only for one minute.

"Your apartment is messy as hell," Sasuke noted, pointing to the scattered papers lying about and dirty laundry on the floor.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in his tone, but decided not to say anything.

"Well, I was just-" He gathered them up, concealing the files on Uzushiogakure and their forbidden sealing jutsus. He'd swiped them from the archive in the jutsu library that was off-limits to Genins. Turns out, a simple transformation into one of the jounin guards did the trick.

"I was studying more about my clan." A half-truth.

While Naruto did want to learn more about his clan, it was difficult to even come across a single file that mentioned the Uzumaki name. Uzushio, though, even harder. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. The few papers he had gathered barely cared to mention the capabilities of his clan.

Sasuke absently nodded, fiddling with his rumpled pillow with one hand.

"You want some water?" Naruto asked, guiding him over to his bedroom. It was a bit more organized than the main room, thank kami. He switched a light on, pointing to the small closet nestled in the corner of the space.

"There's an extra futon in there. I'll get some hot water and ramen."

The Uchiha looked like he was ready to start drooling at the idea of food. Naruto smiled and turned to the kitchen. What could have happened that made Sasuke want to find sanctuary in Naruto's house, of all places? He just seemed so out of it.

"Kurama, what did you sense?" Naruto appeared before the bijuu, wringing his hands in worry.

*His chakra seems colder than usual.* He answered, seemingly lost in thought.

Naruto jumped up to Kurama's shoulder blades, leaning his body against the Kyuubi's for warmth. "Like, scary cold? Does he wanna kill me?"

*Idiot. No.* Kurama's voice rumbled softly.

*Cold, as in sad. Depressed. Shocked. All of the above. There are many ways to interpret chakra, but for one thing, it's easily riled up by strong emotions.*

Naruto processed that for a minute. Sasuke was a little out of character, but Naruto hadn't the faintest idea why. He could feel Kurama sigh at the thought.

*Look underneath the underneath.* Was the last thing the bijuu said before slumping and immediately going back to sleep.

"Hey!" Naruto jumped off of Kurama's shoulder just in time to avoid being squashed. He was already snoring loud enough for Naruto to clap his hands over his ears, glaring at the Kyuubi. He was obviously trying to point out something important if he went to extreme lengths just so that Naruto could solve this on his own. That sounded a lot similar to what an overbearing mother would do.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Kurama, knowing full well that he was too deep in sleep to bother noticing.

Look underneath, the underneath. He had said. What the hell did that mean?

The blond racked his head, but to no avail. Might as hell ask Sasuke himself.

He returned to his room with two cups of steaming water, handing one to his friend. Sasuke was quiet as usual, but more solemnly so. His shoulders were hunched over, eyes drooping with exhaustion.

"Hey, what happened?" Naruto asked softly. Sasuke grimaced at the question,

"You don't have to tell me-"

"A nightmare." Sasuke’s eyes dropped to the floor, lips thinned into a line.

Reaching out to Sasuke, Naruto swallowed him in a hug. It was awkward at first, seeing as how neither of them knew how to communicate in such an intimate way. Sasuke soon slumped against the blond's touch, and Naruto wondered how long it had been since someone comforted him.

"It will be alright." He whispered, watching as Sasuke drew in a ragged breath. He was silent as Naruto rubbed gentle circles in his back. This was grief, Naruto realized with a heavy heart. Sasuke didn’t like to cry in front of people, he knew. Didn’t want to show weakness.

And Naruto was okay with that. He understood the feeling with a passion. But if he could offer at least some sort of security to his teammate, he would do it without a second thought.

___

When Sakura bought eight packets of dango and a surprise gift to Naruto's house planning to surprise Sasuke, she did not expect to see Sasuke there. Not in the very least.

So all she could do was stare at the two when Naruto answered the door, a sleepy Sasuke on his right.

What the...?

She dropped the basket of sweets in shock.

" You-you ," She stammered, pointing at them. “Did you fight again-”

"No, Sakura, we did not." Sasuke answered calmly, rubbing his eyelids.

The pink-haired kunoichi bit back her retort, fuming silently as she tried to gauge the situation. What happened to the fierce rivalry they developed? How had Sasuke’s cold exterior melted so easily next to Naruto?

Naruto yawned. “It was just a sleepover.”

A sleepover? Since when did Naruto and Sasuke have sleepovers? Granted, they grew closer after their first mission- Sakura included- and she wouldn’t put it past them to actually have a sleepover, but it was just so out of character. So sudden.

“Wow.” Sakura picked up her basket while eyeing the two of them suspiciously. “So, can I come in, or…?” She gestured vaguely into Naruto’s apartment.

The boy had to audacity to look confused, at least before he caught a whiff of the food. “Sakura-chan, you brought food!” Naruto exclaimed, tugging on Sasuke’s arm in delight. He opened the door further with sparkling eyes that could match Gai-sensei’s. Sakura sighed, but didn't object when the two boys pushed her through the doorway.

“It’s a little bit messy, sorry.” Naruto laughed awkwardly, then proceeded to kick an old ramen-cup under his desk.

“It’s like this all the time, Naruto.” Sakura moved to pick up pieces of rubbish on his wooden floor, throwing a glare his way as she dumped it in the trash can. “She’s right, you know.” Sasuke crossed his arms.

Sakura cleared her throat. “Anyone up for some dango?”

She gingerly took out the candy before offering them to her teammates.

Naruto accepted it with a smile  “Thanks, Sakura-chan.”

The kunoichi approached Sasuke next, who was a mask of practiced calm- though there was a slight frown to his features. “Take it.” Sakura goaded. Sasuke looked hesitant, though he carefully plucked the stick from her hands.

“Hm.”

Sakura guided them over to Naruto’s table, setting the extra packets on the surface and dropping down in one of the chairs. Silence settled over them like them like fog. Out of the corner of Sakura’s eye, she could see Sasuke eyeing the candy in his hands in disdain. Truth be told, Sasuke hated any kind of sweets. Sakura knew that fairly well. She and Naruto had a celebration in mind.

Sakura winked at Naruto, a mischievous smile plastered on her face. He grinned and turned to the Uchiha, who was nibbling the edges of the dango out of politeness with a twisted look on his face. She stared at Sasuke for a while, pretending to be offended that he wasn’t gobbling down the snack. Naruto chewed even louder than usual.

And then, they both started to laugh. Poor Sasuke stared at his teammates with a confused look on his face.

Hiccuping with giggles, Sakura reaches into her basket once more. “Did- did you really think we were going to let you eat dangos? You hate them.”

Naruto held back a choking sound, and practically sprinted for his fridge. He returned a fraction of a second later, a plate of homemade rice balls in his hands.

“What-” Sasuke muttered, but Sakura shut him up immediately with her own plate of cherry tomatoes. His favorite. “The dangos are just for us since you have such horrible tastes.”

Sasuke watched silently as his friends piled their food on the table, making a display that smiled up to him like rays of sunshine. Sakura studied his face. He seemed to be in shock, but there was nothing unpleasant about his surprise. Was he happy? Sad?

“What did I miss?” A voice called from the window. Ah. That’d be their jounin sensei. Sakura whipped her head around just in time to see Kakashi leap from Naruto’s balcony to the trio with, arms full with gifts. Sasuke gazed at all three of them warily, hands clenched beneath the table.

“I see you’re still late, Kaka-sensei!” Naruto jabbed a finger at him squinted eyes.

The jounin shrugged and sat down next to Sakura. Are you ready? His eyes seemed to say.

She nodded with vigor.

“Sasuke,” Naruto started, eyes lit up like a million stars.

“Happy birthday!” Sakura and Kakashi finished.

___

Sasuke didn’t celebrate his birthday. At least, not after Itachi left. It was easier to throw himself into training, into forgetting, than taking time to appreciate something so trivial. Even while his family was alive, they didn’t always bring him presents.

Birthdays weren’t a tradition that the Uchiha held stock in. Celebrations were for promotions, weddings, and events which held importance. The birthday of a child was just that- a day of birth and a reminder of how old the child was. No one in the clan was celebrated without cause,  especially not for the paltry reason of making it another year in a cutthroat world.

Still, his family had always had small things. No parties, but-

His mother kissed him on the temple. His father smiled at him. Itachi, though . Itachi made rice balls and tomatoes for Sasuke, showered him in brand-new kunai and other gifts. When he could, anyway.

When the clan looked away long enough for affection to go unnoticed.

Sasuke didn’t understand the meaning of birthdays. He always wondered why other kids had parties with their friends and ate cake with their parents. Why it seemed so special to have a day to yourself.

By now, Sasuke had been alone for so long that he had forgotten how it felt to have people be there for him. To have friends to celebrate his birthday and food to go along with it. And now, well .

Kakashi was sitting beside him with presents for him , a real smile on his face that couldn’t be hidden- not even by his mask. Sakura brought him cherry tomatoes that he could barely resist, his hunger suddenly a jarring presence. Naruto made him onigiri rice balls. Not out of pity, not out of moral obligation. But because he wanted to.

Sasuke used to live for revenge. His only purpose to kill Itachi and avenge his clan. That was it.

His entire life goal, driven by hate. Even then, his life had not been his. He was merely a puppet in the grand scheme of things, fueled by years of trauma and loneliness.

He was just an orphan child whose memories were filled with empty bedrooms and blood splattered on the walls. Sasuke thought he didn’t need pleasure or happiness in his life. The need for that had all been swept away the moment Itachi left him behind with nothing but cruel words and the corpses of his parents.

But then…

Then came Team seven.

Their happiness was like sunshine, the only bright spot in Sasuke’s shithole life.

They were there for him. They remembered his birthday.

And looking at them now, a familiar emotion stirred in Sasuke.

Family.

The word sounded so foreign to his lips, so forgotten on his tongue that Sasuke struggled to remember what it meant. The idea of it was so tempting , so utterly beautiful.

“Sa-Sasuke?” Naruto asked worriedly, wide blue eyes blinking up at him.

He couldn’t seem to remember when his lips started to tremble until tears were curling at the corners of his eyes and threatening to spill onto his cheeks.

Sasuke never cried in front of people. It was a weakness to him, something enemies could easily take advantage of. He was surprised to find that it didn’t feel bad at all. It was almost comforting- he was surrounded by people who cared for him, after all.

“Shut up, dobe.” Sasuke muttered, managing to smirk. He wiped his face with his sleeve and closed his eyes.

“Thank you.” He whispered.

He almost began to weep once more as his teammates swamped him in a group hug.

Through the tears and ‘ I knew you weren’t that much of an asshole’ from Naruto, Sasuke hugged them back. Fiercely.

I think I have something else to live for after all.

___

That Naruto was onto something. Shikamaru was sure of that. After watching the blond creep around the Archive library several times and convincing himself that no, he was not a stalker, just observant, the Nara decided to find out what the dimwit was up to.

Shikamaru crept along the edges of the building, hands in his pockets. The security around the library was surprisingly lax, as if the jounin guards didn’t realize that they were guarding tens of thousands of information worth more than they were.  

Sighing, he ducked under the the asleep shinobi and slipped through the front gates unnoticed. It didn’t take too long for him to find Naruto among the seemingly endless rows of books.

He was still wearing the ‘kill me orange’ that stood out like a palm tree in a dessert. Naruto was hunched over a pile of books stacked on top of each other, sifting through them hurriedly. Since when did he read? Because the last time Shikamaru checked, Naruto was not a fan of literature.

He flipped through the pages again, and mumbled something that Shikamaru couldn’t hear. What was he doing? Shikamaru tried to get a good look at the titles and scrolls Naruto was holding, but being three shelves away from him didn’t help his vision much. All he could make out were the district colors of red inscribed onto every book.

What a pain. Why did Shikamaru even follow him all the way to the library? He could’ve been watching the clouds roll through the skies instead, or sleeping…

“Shika, you aren’t gonna rat me out, right?” Naruto peered up from his books, a guilty expression on his face.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. He had been sure to mask his chakra and hide his trail as soon as he came into the room, but for Naruto to sense it so quickly… The Nara smoothed his expressions into a bored frown and walked over to the blond. Naruto wasn’t a sensory ninja, nor did he posses any dojutsu that allowed him expanded sight.

“Never knew you were one for reading,” Shikamaru dodged the question with ease. He peered over Naruto’s shoulder best he could. “Anything interesting in there?”

Naruto blanched and instantly swept the scrolls and books from Shikamaru’s view, and lowered his eyes. “Just some… clan stuff.”

Shikamaru recited the blond’s name in his mind. Naruto… Uzumaki, huh. He had been told that the class dead-last was an orphan, but apparently, that wasn’t exactly the case. He couldn’t quite make sense of the name Uzumaki, though. Maybe it was one of the smaller clans in the Fire Nation?

But clan files wouldn’t be kept in the Archives Library. Those were public to the citizens of Konoha, and were assessed by lower-ranked nin all the time.

This entire situation was troublesome. Why was he so curious?

Shikamaru sat down- more like dropped to the floor, god he was tired- and pulled a random book from the shelves. He skimmed through the chapters lazily, eyes dancing across the pages.

He thought solemnly of all the times he watched Naruto question others about his parents, how his eyes lingered on the families that the academy students accompanied.

People always responded harshly and criticized him for ever wanting such a thing- but Naruto was just a child. Just like Shikamaru, just like Ino, just like Choji and every other student that graduated from the academy.

If he truly found something about his own family, then maybe Shikamaru would be able to make up for all the times he was nothing but another bystander.

“Shika? What are you doing?” Naruto questioned.

“Can’t you see?” Shikamaru sighed heavily, though he sported a grin on his normally bored features. “I’m going to help you.”

___