#pre shippuden

[leechdoggy]

Idk everyone is so gung-ho about revolution sasuke. Revolution Sasuke was birthed off of the weeping back of Genin Sasuke my beloved

[nat-but-free]

Just a little dude

[lordexplosionmurder132]

Im not a violent dog..

I don't know why i bite..

[yaoiconnoisseur]

yeah but like imagine if kakashi’s trauma manifested like this

instead of becoming angry, cold, and distant during his ANBU years

[stu-dyingstudent]

kid/academy/pre-genin Sakura Haruno fic recs

To be honest, there aren't many kid or academy Sakura fics out there, at least that I can find, and most of which are actually time travel AUs. Now, the tricky thing with it is that most of those tend to start where Sakura is quite young, but by the end of the story she is a genin. So, it gives me the difficult decision of whether of not I should include those on this list (I haven't decided).

Anyway, the other difficult aspect of fanfiction about a young Sakura is the writing itself. There has to be a good balance of childishness and eloquence to ensure that the writing is not just truthful to the character, but that it also flows with the story. These are some of the ones I like!

Started: 2024.07.25

Last Updated: 2024.09.28

note: feel free to check out my master list which has a bunch of Sakura Haruno fic recs (all organized)!

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Satori (Between the Lines) - Jaylene || ffn || gen || T || academy AU || complete

While attending the Academy, Sakura's field experience assignment with the Konohagakure Intelligence Division ends up being more valuable than she'd ever guess.

Sakura lands herself working in Torture & Intelligence??? From the very beginning Sakura has been pegged as a "paper ninja" where she is constantly praised for her intelligence, so Satori (Between the Lines) is academy Sakura putting these skills to use. Super good read and includes characters we don't normally get to see in fics!

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Time Flies Like An Arrow - Katlou303 || ao3 || gen || K || time travel AU || complete

Sakura traveled back in time with the intent of changing everything, but something went wrong, and now she's four years old having nightmares about impossible monsters and losing friends she has yet to meet.

Time Flies Like An Arrow is probably the most interesting take on a time travel AU I have ever read. Sakura ends up going back in time to when she is 4 years old and not even in the academy. The only thing is, she has no clue that this is the second time she's living this life and her mind is still one of a child.

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Two Minds (are better than one) - Lesemaus16 || ao3 || gen || Tobirama as inner AU || complete

Tobirama doesn't generally object to being reborn. He does object to being stuck in the mind of a little girl, though.Sakura grows up with a grumpy voice in her head, telling her to train more.Tobirama's influence on Sakura might very well change the story. Or maybe not, who knows.

note: I think this might actually take place during the genin days, but I have to check since I can't remember.

Tobirama is such a great character (so refreshing) and his interactions with Sakura in this are gold! I hope one day Kishimoto will release some side stories about him and other characters from his time as we really don't know that much about them tbh.

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New Day Dawning - IncompleteSentanc (Erava) || ao3 || narusaku || T || canon divergence || complete

One day, while visiting the grave of Nohara Rin, Obito stumbles across a young girl terrifyingly like her. He decides to ensure she doesn’t meet the same fate.As for Sakura? Sakura had no idea what she was awakening the day she went to visit her parents graves - but she never looked back. One way or another.(Feat. Sakura raised by Obito and the Akatsuki, and her eventual return to Konoha and all those she left behind)

Sakura is brainwashed and manipulated, but loved by notorious killers nonetheless. Incredibly well written and I won't lie when I say that the ending took me a bit by surprise. Also, I should warn you that this does take place over a long time and thus Sakura does not remain a child for the whole thing, but I just really wanted to put New Day Dawning on this list (just read it).

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In Another World - eleventheeggo || ao3 || gen || T || orphan Sakura AU || ongoing

What if Sakura was an orphan instead of Naruto and Sasuke? A story about a socially stunted girl who has a thirst for knowledge and is surrounded by softies who love her all the same.

Orphan!Sakura is not something I knew I needed in my life! She is so precious and it's great to watch all of these characters come together for her sake. In Another World also discusses ROOT a bit, which you know I love, so I can't wait for the story to get there.

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Your Move, Instigator (draw your weapon and hold your tongue) - Laysan_albatross || ao3|| third war extended AU || complete

“We are still under wartime policy,” the recruiter had told her parents. He had an envelope in his hand. He sounded sorry. “She has two parents who are successful ninjas. We would be remiss to overlook her potential based upon that alone.” The Third Shinobi War never ended. Konoha needs more soldiers, grabbing anyone who can fight, especially those who can't say no.

I feel like one of Your Move Instigator's biggest strengths is that it truly gets across the innocence (or loss) of these characters. They themselves don't fully understand what they are doing or why. They are just children following the orders given to them by adults, even if that means taking the life of another. In the beginning, Sakura even recalls times of her spelling and grammar being corrected in her reports along with other childish things. Konoha has shown themselves of not being above dispatching young children to fight, but this story just brings that devastation to new light.

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cut the head off the snake - itsthechocopuff || ao3 || T || time travel AU || complete

when eighteen-year-old, post-war Sakura is thrown back into her tiny, pre-Academy body, she makes a decision. she'd had a childhood once already, and this time, she's more interested in Not Dying when the inevitable shit hits the proverbial fan. so she will work harder, care less, kill more, and smile when she's done. and hey, if she ends up reviving an extinct nature transformation to attract the most corrupt, power-hungry man from her timeline, all the better for her, right?

Probably one of the best time travel AUs out there!! Also, we get to see ROOT!Sakura in here, which I love in addition to Sai (my baby). I know I said it's incomplete, but it's only missing one chapter so you still get plenty of story. Anyway, definitely check out cut the head off the snake!!

.

Not so imaginary - FangirlJo || ao3 || gen || T || ghost Tobirama AU || incomplete

Haruno Sakura was 5 when she realises her imaginary friend was not so imaginary at all and resembles the Second Hokage by a lot. Like a lot a lot. In which Senju Tobirama is Sakura's Ghost Sensei. Things change, chaos ensues and Tobirama is once more reminded with the reason he doesn't have kids.

Damn, I just really love Tobirama as a character. This guy rocks and deserves more story time (justice for Tobirama!!).

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Ground Zero - TheIzzatron || ao3 || gen || T || third war extended AU || incomplete

Desperate times call for desperate measures. If this means forcing weapons into the hands of children, then so be it.

A young Sakura is taken advantage of in her parents’ absence at war and is enrolled into the academy's "accelerated" program. The complete unfairness of the situation is skillfully conveyed throughout the story. Sakura is left to wonder why she too isn't learning about flowers and history like Ino? Why Ino isn't learning the fastest way to kill her enemies? The characters and their emotions are so well done that you truly feel just how cheated they are. They aren't heartless, they are children. Highly recommend.

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Inherited Will of Fire - jokergirl2001 || ffn || T || gen || sakura can see ghosts AU || incomplete

She always knew she was a natural at genjutsu but what she didn't know was that being a natural meant she had some immense talent when it comes to spiritual energy. Well at least that's what the cheerful raven haired boy who apparently drowned himself on purpose said.

I only just started reading this now, but Inherited Will of Fire is super cute! Academy Sakura finds she is able to see ghosts after stumbling upon Shisui shortly after the Uchiha massacre.

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One Change in the Story - Aingeal98 || ffn || T || gen || time travel AU || incomplete

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was only supposed to go back five minutes in time. Instead, Sakura wakes up in a dark room surrounded by people wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them. The worst part? She doesn't have a clue who she is.

Praying for One Change in the Story to be completed!! Sakura lands herself back in time with the mind and body of her four year old self. With Pein being the first one to find her, Sakura's new life purpose is to be the Akatsuki's weapon. Similar to New Day Dawning, Sakura doesn't stay a child for the entirety of this fic, but I still think it is a notable mention. Sakura slowly loses herself to her new roll and in a sense becomes the embodiment of a ROOT agent. It was interesting to see Itachi's internal battle with the situation and Konan's guilt. However, even with Sakura bound to Ame, there are children back in Konoha who have an itch that a pink-haired girl named Sakura is someone important.

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Old Man by the Bar - Varmint || ao3 || T || gen || academy AU || complete

All it took was one school teacher's decision for the reality of Konoha to be altered in a way that no one could have imagined. Follow Kiba Inuzuka, Sakura Haruno, and Chouji Akimichi as they grow as individuals, friends, and ninja. All with the help of that grumpy old man with all of the cool war stories.

The way this fic is genuinely so good and I almost never see people talking about it is criminal! The interactions between the kids are truly great and there is so much character growth among them. Kiba, Sakura, and Choji really just started off as a group of misfits thrown together for an assignment, but even though it was a complete disaster they grew to appreciate the relationship formed.

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Y'all, please send me some good kid/academy Sakura fics!!!! Or write one...

[thesauce8]

“if not for izanagi, obito would be dead, so he lost”

if not for konan’s crucial knowledge of obito’s abilites, she’d be dead, so she lost.

if tenten was the nine tails, she’d be super powerful, so she’s the most powerful character.

“if x character didn’t have {insert important asset in their arsenal}, they’d be dead, so they’re weak.”

using this logic, we can discredit or uplift any character. literally what’s the point

[matt-at]

shark man and his friend the young-old man!

[x-emeraldsky-x]

Sasuke pressed his index finger to his lips, looking up at Sakura from where he sat. She continued to cut ingredients for dinner, noticing his gaze after a few minutes. He averted his eyes, cheeks dusted a light pink. He tried to play it off by resting his chin on his hand, but Sakura new this game all too well.

His indirect question was answered with a gentle kiss, the taste of cucumber and capsicum tingling off Sakura's lips. She's always had a habit of snacking on her cooking ingredients. He brought his hand to the back of her neck to deepen the kiss, subsequently stopping her weak attempt to pull away. Sakura obliged in his desire until her back strained from leaning. She nipped his lip, causing him to yelp, and made her escape during his distraction.

"How about after I cook dinner, hm?"

Sasuke pouted. He wanted her now, and his desire for her outweighed any desire to wait, but there was promise in her voice. Promise that after cooking, she'll take him to their bedroom and pin him down. And for that, Sasuke would wait a lifetime if he needed to.

He watched her closely, every small tense of her muscular arms made him want to be held, the short glances of her eyes made him want to be seen, and the gentle grip of her hands made him want to be touched. Every second he spent staring, the more he sat wanting.

Sakura finished chopping and turned to the stove, a pan already oiled and heated waiting for her. Sasuke shifted the chair to see better, marvelling at how unphased she was when the oil splashed on her arm when the ingredients went in.

Part of him felt silly for finding such small things so amazing, but the growing impatience pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

He watched her swirl the vegetables with a wooden spoon, taking note of her concentration and technique. Sasuke felt a pang of jealously in his chest, even though it was just a pan and spoon. He wanted her focus on him.

Sasuke stood from his chair and shuffled next to her, looking up at her and resuggesting his advance.

This time, however, Sakura didn't pull her gaze to him, she didn't lean in nor did she pause what she was doing. Sasuke pulled himself closer, placing himself in her periphery.

"Sakura," he started. His words turning into mumbers the more he spoke. "Please... please kiss me."

Sakura hummed, finally catching his presence. It took her a moment to process his words, and she laughed a little once she did.

"You're too cute," she said, tilting her head forward and chuckling. "Last one."

Sasuke connected their lips impatiently, gripping Sakura's qipao tightly in his hand to pull her closer. Sakura caved to his desires until the smell of burning zucchini broke their kiss.

She worked quickly to try and correct the error, hoping the slight char wouldn't affect the overall dish too badly. In the end, though, it was only for them. Sakura would eat anything put on the table, and Sasuke would eat anything Sakura prepared for him, so nothing would be wasted.

Sasuke slowly pulled away despite his desires, giving Sakura some room to move. He returned to his chair and went back to watching her, licking his lips to savour the taste of her lip balm. An off vanilla taste that mixed poorly with onion and pepper. He loved it regardless, mostly because it came from her.

As the clock ticked by and the pops of the oil slowed, Sakura's gentle humming came into ear. It was an unfamiliar tune, something from Naruto's interests he assumed, but it was soothing. She often hummed like this during her tasks, the house was rarely quiet because of it.

Sasuke didn't mind it either. Like this, everything was cozy and warm. Calm despite the nature of the Hidden Leaf and it's prized medical ninja. It had become home after all those years away, and in the end, Sasuke didn't mind waiting if it was like this.

His eyes slowly fluttered shut as he listened, almost slipping into sleep then and there. About fifteen minutes left until dinner was ready and he'd have her full attention. About fifteen minutes of hearing her hum.

They were fifteen minutes he didn't mind at all.

[moldy-flowers]

Cant take Naruto seriously cause I know for a fact whenever his baby teeth started to wobble just a little he'd rip them right out and all I have is the image of Naruto walking into class 20 minuites late with 7 less teeth than he had yesterday

[evilkitten3]

i've seen some genuinely incredible designs for orochimaru's parents but i just wanna throw my own hc out to see if anyone else likes it:

they were two completely normal people. orochimaru was just born like that

[emo-nova]

I have come to a realisation why I don't like Boruto:Next Gen. It isn't quite the turn they have decided, but it focuses more on the handling of Naruto and his actions as a father. I truly, and utterly believe, that this is what turned me off from the show, albeit some storylines of the show is iffy to me its fine.

Naruto, in my whole opinion, would try to emulate Iruka Umino. He would try to be there for his son, for his failings and his successes even before and after as Hokage. This kid would become Hokage and immediately go to Iruka and ask how to balance work and private so he can be there for his son, he might go to Kakashi as well but let's be honestly does he have a life outside of his work as a ninja? Anyways.

This is what got me off of the show. I couldn't watch Naruto as a parent of Boruto because I don't think he would be handling it like that. He would take his son out after forcing him to clean the faces for ramen or burgers to get him to speak up about it. He would try to emulate the father-figure Iruka was to him in his early life, and he would be the same with Himawari.

That is my realisation. I know that if Naruto parented differently, there would or could be bigger changes in Boruto Canon. I am fine with cherry picking what I like from it, but Naruto being an absent parent is not what I see for him.

If I have anything wrong, do tell me, I will like to be stand corrected over this :)

[martialartslover7]

Here, as I promised, to keep you all excited for the final chapter of "The Hero, The Blind & The Martyr" story, here is another NaruHina story project of mine, except now, this takes place BEFORE Shippuden.

This is my attempt at writing a whole freaking saga about the Hyuga clan, before Naruto would head off to train with Jiraiya. And yes, I am aware, these conflicts may have gotten resolved in the canon story, but, you know what the biggest issue here is? It was all done off-screen, like, no on-screen conflict solving, no scenes of the Hyuga elders being challenged by either Neji or Hinata, or this conflict with Hanabi being resolved, nothing. None of it ended up making the cut, either in the manga, or the anime.

And sure, you can say, "read the databooks" or, "read the Retsuden manga" or whatever, but the question is, why should I? The Hyuga clan isn't non-canon, they are part of the main storyline, Hinata is ending up with Naruto, and you mean to tell me, they were never deserving of the courtesy of getting more screentime to have these problems resolved, ON-SCREEN? Fuck no. I don't roll like that. I am more of a man with the saying:

Show, don't tell.

I don't want to read this as a "mention on the side", to me, this is just disrespectful towards both Neji and Hinata as standalone characters, who never had the privilege of getting their own baggage solved, with Naruto's assistance.

On that note, have some dorky Naruto and Neji bromance, as they both ended up having the exact same coherent thought: Hinata's well-being above all.

Enjoy.

All characters belong to Kishimoto

P.S.: Tsunade drank coffee... mixed with vodka, mind you. Yup.

[bythepen98]

More Naruto doodles (ft. team 7 and implied Shikanaru) 💛

Had to fulfill my need to draw Naruto in a typical highschool uniform👉 👈

[im-still-watching-anime]

*naruto and sasuke arguing*

sasuke: well at least sakura offered to come with me when i left, you just tried to fight me

naruto: oh what I’M the team freak for not wanting to willingly go live with orochimaru?

sasuke: ……..touché

[erimeows]

Under The Mask

Kakashi Hatake very rarely allows himself to care about people because of the cursed cycle he’s been put through since his childhood; he gets attached to someone who shows him kindness, they reassure him that they’ll be there for the long-run, and then, in a tragic turn of events, they go and die on him. Kakashi is sure that it’s some sort of karma that’s been delivered to him for being such a dickhead all his life, and at this point, he’s too afraid to test it to prove his theory correct or even question it anywhere outside of his own mind.

Unfortunately, just as he thinks he’s getting good at repressing the trauma from his father’s suicide (and Obito’s sacrifice, as well as his murdering of Rin, on top of Tenzou’s vanishing off the face of the earth, as well as Minato and Kushina’s untimely deaths), he makes the mistake of going and getting attached to yet another person who radiates sunshine and sparkles and all the other good shit in the world that Kakashi desperately tries to avoid in fear of losing it yet again. 

It’s Wednesday, and for as long as they’ve been doing this, Wednesday has been their day.

Ichiraku is dead empty aside from the two of them. Kakashi sits on the stool in the very right corner with Iruka sitting to the left of him. Iruka prefers the corner stool, but Kakashi is adamant about taking it from him every time because one, it’s the closest to the wall which eases his anxiety, and two, he’s able to protect Iruka a little easier if anything ever happens. 

Their dates- meetings- whatever they are, are unspoken. It’s been a couple years since it started; Kakashi noticed that Iruka would treat himself to Ichiraku every Wednesday and felt so drawn to the teacher that he “just so happened” to show up there on Wednesday’s as well. Iruka, the soft-hearted extrovert he is, immediately started sitting next to Kakashi and trying to talk to him. Kakashi rarely responds with much, let alone anything too personal about himself, but he does listen. He loves Iruka, and he loves everything Iruka has to say from his dumb stories about kids walking all over Mizuki to his deepest fears and regrets.

With how little Kakashi has openly invested into their relationship, he’s confused as to why Iruka keeps trying. He never questions it, though. He appreciates Iruka’s attention too much. At this point, he craves it so frequently that he finds himself doing whatever he can to see Iruka outside of their meetups at Ichiraku; trailing him home after he gets off work to make sure he gets there safely, showing up at the academy to watch him sit on that wooden swing outside the building after hours, dropping off groceries on his porch when he’s too broke to buy them for himself, “bumping into him” at his favorite book store. 

Now that it’s been a couple years, even Kakashi, dense as he can be, has realized what it is. It’s love. Albeit a bit obsessive and a bit creepy (especially considering the fact that he’s basically been stalking/bodyguarding Iruka since the start of their friendship), Kakashi knows that what he feels for Iruka is romantic love that has only grown since getting to know him better. The worst part is that he knows Iruka loves him back- or at least has a crush on him. It’s obvious in how Iruka so hurriedly insists to pay for Kakashi’s food despite making chump-change at his teaching job, and it’s obvious in how Iruka stares at him with a huge blush and his big brown eyes so sweetly when he thinks Kakashi isn’t paying attention.

But Kakashi will never confess- not because of a fear of rejection, but because he’s afraid of getting too attached only to lose someone again. He’s already in far too deep. He doesn’t want to know what it’s like to be even deeper. 

“Ah, that reminds me,” Iruka starts, having just finished telling Kakashi about some crazy mission that one of his students from last year went on. “I actually got assigned a B-rank mission. It’s supposed to happen next week during the kids’ final exams, which kind of sucks, but I guess Lord Third is really just that understaffed.”

“And what’s the mission?” Kakashi questions as his blood runs cold. He hasn’t seen or heard of Iruka going on a mission the entire time he’s known the Chunin. B-ranks aren’t especially terrible for him, but he’s concerned about Iruka having to go on one. The thought of this person- his person- that he’s fallen in love with going on a mission after years of not having done so and getting hurt or killed makes his heart drop to his stomach. “Hell, when’s the last time you’ve even been on a mission, anyway?”

“It’s just escorting this princess from here to Suna for her wedding. It’s nothing too crazy, but apparently there’s been rumors that there’s some A-rank rogues from her home town that want to kidnap her to make her father pay ransom… I haven’t actually been on a mission since I started teaching, but I’ve kept up with my training, so I should be fine? I’m more upset that Lord Third chose to do it right before finals and that he assigned it to me instead of to Mizuki.”

“Yeah, I’d be pretty pissed too. Then again, the wellbeing of this village’s children has always played second fiddle to the missions, so this shit doesn’t surprise me. He’s probably sending you because he knows you won’t fuck it up like Mizuki will.”

Iruka doesn’t respond to that, too nice to talk negatively about Mizuki even though the other Chunin is clearly a dickhead that has no idea what he’s doing most of the time.

“Well, I’m supposed to leave tomorrow night, so… Yeah. Wish me luck.”

To that, Kakashi doesn’t say anything.

The two of them finish their food in silence and play their usual game of racing to see who can pay first. This time, Kakashi wins, and with that, he leaves.

He’ll definitely have to stop by the Hokage’s office in the morning.

~

The following morning, Kakashi goes to Hiruzen’s office as soon as it opens at 6AM.

When he gets there and opens the door, Hiruzen does a double take and nearly spits out the hot tea he’s sipping on. It’s clear that he wasn’t expecting Kakashi at all, let alone expecting Kakashi to damn-near slam his door open so hard that it nearly breaks off of its hinges when it slams into the wall. 

“Kakashi, it’s early for you to even be awake,” Hiruzen stammers out with a cough before collecting himself. He sets his teacup down on a coaster and clasps his hands together on top of his desk as Kakashi fully enters the room and shuts the door behind him. “Is there an emergency? What’s wrong?”

“I heard that Iruka was assigned a B-rank mission…” Kakashi starts. It’s awkward and uncomfortable- he doesn’t want to have to admit that he doesn’t want Iruka to go, but he has to in order to be able to make this work. He stands slouched over in front of the Hokage’s desk and averts his gaze. “Do you think I could do it in his place?”

“What… Why?”

“The end of the year at the academy is coming up, final exams are soon. I’d hate for him to have to miss out on this vital instruction time with his students just because there’s a ninja shortage and you don’t have anyone else,” Admittedly, that’s not the true reason. Kakashi really doesn’t care about any of the shit that’s going on at the academy, even if he’s going to be forced to train a graduating group of Genin this year. What he really cares about is Iruka’s safety. He just doesn’t want that information getting back to Iruka. So, he lies. “Plus, he’s been teaching for a few years now… He’s probably rusty.”

“Well, excuse me,” Iruka’s soft, melodic voice rings through the room a little less than a second after Kakashi hears the door open. Kakashi quickly snaps around to face Iruka, his cheeks bright red and his eyes wide. He’s thankful that he’s wearing a mask over his face to hide his expression. “I didn’t know you were so concerned.”

“I-Iruka…”

“Well, to answer your question, Kakashi, I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Hiruzen says while drumming his fingers against the desk. Kakashi is thoroughly embarrassed, even more so by the fact that Iruka is smugly leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed and an uncharacteristic little smirk on his rosy lips. “I need you for an S-rank that’s set a week from today, there’s no way you’d be able to complete the B-rank in time since it’s an estimated two weeks to get to and from where the B-rank destination will be located. I appreciate your concern about the academy students, but Mizuki will take proper care of them until Iruka returns. If they need any help up there, I can have Anko fill in temporarily.”

“But I-” Kakashi starts to object, only to immediately get shot down.

“No buts. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some paperwork to do…” Hiruzen trails off and avoids Kakashi’s eyes (or, eye).

While Lord Third doesn’t command Kakashi to leave, it’s pretty apparent that’s what he’s hinting at. Kakashi, having faced enough embarrassment today, figures he should probably make a quick exit- lest it get any worse. 

“Ah, Lord Third, before you do that, could I talk to you about something?” Iruka starts.

“Sure, Iruka,” Hiruzen nods. Then, he turns to Kakashi and offers him a kind, knowing smile. “Kakashi, feel free to see yourself out now.”

Kakashi quickly turns and makes his way out of the room, his shoulder slamming into Iruka’s by accident on the way out.

Just how much of that conversation did Iruka hear…?

~~

That night, Kakashi lies on his hardwood living room floor. He stares up at the ceiling with no true focus. Part of him is incredibly wired from the anxiety he’s feeling about his talk with Lord Third earlier and the potential of Iruka leaving on a dangerous mission tonight. The other part of him is exhausted and ready to sleep due to not having slept the night prior- nightmares be damned. His Jonin vest is abandoned on the back of his couch along with his village headband, leaving him in his blue sweatpants, blue turtleneck, blue mask, and black socks.

To his utter terror and disappointment, he senses Iruka’s Chakra from a mile away. Kakashi becomes confused as to why the younger man hasn’t left the village yet. He isn’t sure whether he should be relieved that the mission may have been a bust or scared that something bad may have happened. The next twenty minutes are spent with him being a nervous wreck, standing from the floor to pace circles around his couch. All of his Ninken- Pakkun, Bull, Akino, Shiba, Bisuke, Urushi, Guruko, and Uhei- curiously follow him around. They’ve probably picked up on his contagious negative feelings and are waiting for some sort of reassurance or explanation. All Kakashi offers them is a shake of his head and a dismissive wave, so they scatter to different places in the apartment.

Eventually, there’s a knock on the door. Kakashi knows it’s Iruka before he even opens it. Regardless, he acts somewhat surprised when he cracks the door just far enough to peek out and see Iruka. The Chunin is dressed in a large green sweater and black, form-fitting sweatpants that are far from his usual work apparel. Kakashi’s confusion about whatever the hell happened to Iruka’s B-Rank mission assignment only increases. 

“Iruka, what are you doing here?” Kakashi questions.

He’s careful to hide behind the door and only have it far enough open that Iruka can’t see much else aside from his eyes. While he doesn’t care about things like home decor and organizational skills, he knows that Iruka does, and his apartment is a mess of unmatching furniture, dog beds, dog toys, food and water bowls, and clothes lazily strewn about. 

“Kakashi, I think we need to have a talk.”

Usually, when Kakashi gets to hear “we need to have a talk” from someone else, he either gets told that yet another person in his life has been killed or that he’s about to have to deal with some other stupid bullshit that he’d rather not have anything to do with. So, when he hears the words from Iruka, he winces and hides even further behind his door.

“I don’t believe we do,” Kakashi denies Iruka’s statement with a clear shake of his head.

“It’s not a bad talk. I’m not upset with you or anything,” Iruka reassures him, so Kakashi acquiesces.

“Fine,” Kakashi agrees and holds the door open a little more. He notices that Iruka is holding a food storage container with a pair of chopsticks clipped on top of it. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to say thank you for trying to spare me from that mission. It was very sweet of you, even if I didn’t really need it,” Iruka explains. “Lord Third ended up being able to hire someone from Suna to cover for me after I expressed to him that Mizuki couldn’t handle the final exams by himself and that Anko wasn’t a suitable substitute.”

“Oh, well… You’re welcome,” Kakashi answers, somewhat relieved that’s all Iruka seems to want to talk about.

“In fact, I brought you this to say thank you. You know, as a teacher, I really don’t make enough to buy anyone in my life anything too nice, but um…” Iruka holds out the food, which forces Kakashi to open his door halfway to grab it from him. He steps out of the apartment to join Iruka on the porch while positioning his body to block the view of the inside of the living room. He doesn’t miss how Iruka tries to peek over his shoulder. In an attempt to block Iruka’s view, Kakashi straightens his posture. “I still wanted to do something kinda nice for you.”

“You really didn’t need to do that…” Kakashi responds and holds the food in his hands like it’s some sort of precious glass that he’s afraid to drop and break.

“Can I come in?”

Kakashi winces. He wants to say no. He also wants to just run inside, shut the door, and lock Iruka out. But, with Iruka’s big brown eyes practically begging him to say ‘yes’, he can’t muster up what it takes to deny the request.

“Uh, sure.”

With that, Kakashi fully opens the door and allows Iruka inside. He follows the Chunin inside, shutting and locking the door behind him, then cringing when Iruka is immediately bombarded by all eight of his dogs. Within seconds, Iruka is on the floor with three Ninken in his lap, two rubbing their heads against his hands, the the rest practically running over each other to lick his face.

“Oh, hi!” Iruka greets them while laughing, struggling to give them all attention.

Kakashi walks over to where they are and starts to peel the dogs off of Iruka one by one.

“Sorry about that, they’re not really used to company.”

“It’s no problem, I love dogs,” Iruka beams and stands up.

The Ninken follow them to the kitchen, where Kakashi sits at the table. While he opens and starts to eat the food that Iruka cooked for him, Iruka paces around his kitchen, looking through the cabinets and the fridge. Admittedly, it’s all pretty much empty, so he can understand the building concern that tears through Iruka’s expression- as much as he hates to admit it. All he has are a couple cans of miso soup stocked in the back of his cabinets as well as a single frozen meal in the freezer and energy drinks and bottled waters in the fridge. In the cupboards, he has a single pan, a single pot, one set of chopsticks, a soup spoon, a knife set, a plate, and a bowl. 

“Your kitchen is as barren as a wasteland,” Iruka promptly scolds him while shutting all of the cabinets and sitting on the counter. Kakashi suddenly notices that he’s only ever bothered to buy one chair for the kitchen table, and he feels guilty for it. Iruka looks incredibly uncomfortable where he’s perched on top of the marble surface. “I definitely did need to make you dinner. In fact, after seeing this, I may have to start doing it more often.”

“Please don’t,” Kakashi mumbles into the food, embarrassed. 

“What, do you think my cooking’s gross?” 

“Not at all- it’s better than mine, I just don’t want to bother you. Trust me, I’m fully capable of taking care of myself,” Kakashi tries to reassure Iruka to no avail. “But with the amount of missions I’m sent on, there’s no point in keeping perishable groceries here. I never have time to cook and I’m hardly ever here, so they’d just go bad anyway. It’d be a total waste of money.”

“Then what do you do when you are here?” Iruka questions with crossed arms.

Kakashi feels incredibly uncomfortable- so much so that he scarfs down the rest of his food and rushes to stand up so he can wash the container as he answers Iruka’s question.

“Usually, I eat out. With the money I make, it doesn’t cause too much of a financial strain… Not that I ever get anything super nice. It’s usually just Ichiraku or veggies and chicken with rice from the convenience store.”

This is too personal. Iruka is in his home, petting his dogs, sitting on his kitchen counter, talking to him as if they’re friends- and they are. It’s just that the deeply insecure, attachment-terrified Kakashi was hoping that he’d be able to enjoy the perks of their odd friendship without getting close enough to get burned. Then again, it may be too late for that, which is fine… He supposes he can maybe have a friend as long as he keeps Iruka at a good distance. Surely, as long as he doesn’t act on his romantic feelings to make their love for each other even deeper, things should be okay.

“I see. Well, assuming you don’t fail the Genin I send you yet again this year, your life is going to change. You’re going to have to be here a lot more often to support them, so you should really start taking care of yourself and getting good groceries. There’s plenty you can buy that won’t go bad super fast; rice, dried beans, dark chocolate, peanut butter, ramen, canned tuna, bouillon cubes for soup… I can even help you, if you want!”

The idea of Iruka taking him grocery shopping is the domestic sort of thing that Kakashi regularly fantasizes about before going to bed at night. However, the thought of it actually coming to fruition scares the shit out of him. It’s too domestic, too friendly, too intimate for them to be doing. Kakashi goes rigid and stares down at the inside of the sink as he dries his hands and speaks.

“Is that all you dropped by for, then?”

“Well, no. It was the main reason, but I just wanted to ask…” Iruka places his feet flat on the floor and stands up so he can place a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder. The contact has Kakashi jumping to turn and face Iruka, who stares at him with soft eyes. All of the Ninken seem to pick up on Kakashi’s panic, which causes most of them to flee to his bedroom. The only one who stays is Pakkun, who parks himself on the dog bed that’s in the corner of the kitchen and pretends to fall asleep. “Do you really think I’m rusty or incompetent or something?”

“What? Of course not… Don’t tell me you heard that entire conversation I had with Lord Third,” Kakashi says and shrugs Iruka’s hand off of his shoulder.

Iruka looks disappointed at the loss of touch and folds his hands together, almost as if he’s unsure of where he should put them if not on Kakashi. It takes everything in the Jonin not to grab Iruka’s hands and hold them for as long as he can. He has to shove his own hands in his pockets and ball them into tight fists to hold back from just reaching out and taking the affection that he’s craved for so long.

“I did.”

“Forget what you heard. I wasn’t being all that truthful with Lord Third. Most of what I was saying to him back there was shit I made up on the fly to try and get you out of it.”

“Why?” Iruka demands, much to Kakashi’s dismay. He never wanted Iruka to find out, let alone question his motives behind getting the mission canceled. Kakashi deeply regrets not leaving the issue alone since Iruka ended up advocating for himself and avoiding the mission in the end. Then again, hindsight bias is a bitch. “Were you worried about me?”

Kakashi wants to deny it, but he has a hard time lying to Iruka, so he hesitates.

“Don’t phrase it like that.”

“So it’s true,” Iruka practically beams, seemingly unaware of the anxiety that his prodding, interrogation-like commentary about what happened earlier is causing Kakashi.

Kakashi leans his lower back against the kitchen counter and grasps at the edges of the marble. His fingers turn white with the pressure exerted to squeeze the counter as he tries to keep his knees from shaking. Iruka is standing in front of him now, one hand resting on one of his wide hips and the other raised to point at Kakashi with a single accusatory finger. 

“No, it’s not,” Kakashi insists even though he knows damn well he’s lying through his teeth. “I wasn’t worried about you.”

“So you don’t care about me, then?”

Iruka sasses back with a pout. Kakashi briefly wanders what the fuck Iruka is getting at here, or what he’s even trying to do. What’s the point of this conversation? What is it that Iruka is hoping to get out of this? A confirmation of their sort-of-sort-of-not-kinda-maybe-sorta- friendship? A date? A love confession?

“It’s not like that either.”

“Then what is it like, Kakashi?” Iruka asks. His eyebrows are furrowed together, and for once, his expression is unreadable. Kakashi genuinely can’t tell whether Iruka is upset, amused, or some other emotion he doesn’t understand. “Because I’m not quite sure I understand the reason behind what you were trying to do this morning.”

And, the moment Iruka leans in to rest his hands on either side of Kakashi on the counter, Kakashi is trapped like a wild animal cornered by a skilled hunter. Iruka doesn’t relent and let it go like he normally would either- he just stands there, staring into Kakashi’s eyes, waiting for an explanation. Kakashi can’t look away no matter how much he wants to.

“You don’t need to understand- what you need to do is get your nose out of my business and get out of my apartment.”

“What if I don’t want to do that?” Iruka challenges.

Kakashi takes a deep breath to try to compose himself, only to find that it doesn’t work. He’s on the edge of hyperventilating, and his heart is beating against his chest. Avoiding Iruka’s line of questions didn’t work, nor did trying to push him away. 

Perhaps he’s let Iruka worm his way in a tad too much… And perhaps it’s too late to stop what’s bound to happen.

“I will pick your ass up and throw you out that door myself if I have to.”

Iruka scoffs. 

“You wouldn’t.”

Kakashi opens his mouth to object, only for nothing to come out. He allows his lips to fall shut again while he thinks of something- anything- to get out of this. Nothing comes to mind, so he lets out a sigh and throws his hands up in defeat.

“Okay, fine, I wouldn’t. What is it that I have to tell you to make you leave me alone?”

“I wanna know the truth,” Iruka slowly moves his hands and places them on Kakashi’s shoulder, cautious, almost as if he’s afraid to scare him off. Kakashi settles under the touch surprisingly fast and allows himself to meet Iruka’s eyes. “Look, Kakashi… I know we aren’t the best of friends, but I’ve considered you a good friend for a while now and I appreciate the time we spend together. I just… I don’t know what your intentions are. There are times where you completely ignore me when I talk to you and seem like you don’t care, and then there are other times where you make me feel like I’m on top of the world. I know you follow me home, I’ve seen you leaving groceries on my porch when I’m too broke to buy them, I’ve sensed you watching me sit on the swing after school hours, and I know damn well that you don’t like reading children’s education books and that you’ve never bought a damn thing from that store- but you show up every time anyway, and I know it’s because of me. All I want to know is why.”

Kakashi wilts under Iruka’s knowing gaze like a dying rose. It makes sense that Iruka would be able to tell, he’s never been good at hiding his feelings and their friends have made jokes about them needing to date already since the start. Kakashi should be relieved right now, knowing that Iruka seems to at least somewhat return his feelings, but all he feels is absolute panic. The collected, uncaring facade he hid behind for so long is crumbling before his and Iruka’s very eyes, and he’s failing to figure out how to put it back together.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?” Iruka frustratedly raises his voice. “I care about you, too, Kakashi-”

“I know you do. I see the way you look at me, Iruka, I can’t pretend I don’t,” Kakashi confesses and blinks away the tears that start to well up in his eyes. “But I don’t want to push this too far and see what happens when it inevitably breaks.”

Iruka doesn’t know- or, he shouldn’t know- the reason behind Kakashi’s fear of getting close to him. But, Iruka being Iruka, he somehow figures it out and reaches up to hold Kakashi’s masked face in his hands. Kakashi flinches because hell, the last time someone grabbed his head was to slam it into the ground during a mission and fuck, he’s not used to someone touching him without the intent of making it hurt.

“Are you that scared of losing me…?”

Something in Kakashi finally breaks. After years of pushing away everyone else to prevent losing yet another person in his life, Iruka has wormed his way in; into Kakashi’s life, into his apartment, and into his heart. No matter how hard he tries to get Iruka out, he won’t ever be able to. Whether or not they cross the line of friendship into romance, Kakashi is in love with him. God forbid something ever happens to Iruka, no matter what the label is on what they have, Kakashi will be ruined either way.

“...Yes,” He answers after a little too long and places his hands over where Iruka’s are on his face. “I am. I love you, Iruka. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, I… I don’t think I’d be able to go on.”

“I love you, too. You’re not going to be losing me any time soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Kakashi, is it okay if I kiss you?”

Kakashi hesitates at first. No one alive in the village has seen his face and he’s not sure if Iruka would even like the way he looks. Still, he’s spent far too many nights fantasizing about what it would be like to have Iruka kissing him to squander it. He nods and positions Iruka’s fingers so they’re clutching the top of his mask.

“Please,” Kakashi nods and allows his eyes to flutter shut- partially because this excitement is all too much and it’s making him very overstimulated, and partially because he’s too terrified to watch the way Iruka’s expression will change upon seeing his face for the first time- because while Iruka is a gorgeous sunkissed ray of sunshine with big brown eyes, silky hair, and a beautiful smile, Kakashi is this awkward looking, gangly gremlin of a human with a face that he’s always found to be quite average. “It’s all I want.”

Iruka pulls his mask down. 

Kakashi flinches, expecting to hear a gasp or some sort of dramatic explanation about his appearance. No such thing happens. Instead, Iruka caresses Kakashi’s cheekbones with his thumbs and leans in for a sweet, soft kiss… Or at least that’s how it starts. Before Kakashi can fully process the taste of Iruka’s strawberry chapstick and the chamomile tea on his lips, they’re both deepening the kiss. Kakashi’s hands fly to Iruka’s hips to grab at them and pull the Chunin even closer at the same time that Iruka’s hands entangle themselves in Kakashi’s silver hair. Years of built up want and affection are finally allowed to seep out through their connected lips, which move against each other fervently until Iruka breaks away to talk. 

“Kakashi,” Iruka breathes against his neck, somewhat airy and completely sincere in the charming way that Iruka has always been. “I promise, I’ll never leave you, okay?”

And Kakashi cries. It’s not a pretty cry, either. He sobs, loud and ugly and broken as he wraps his arms around Iruka’s frame and buries his face in the crook between the younger man’s shoulder and neck. Somehow, in the midst of it, Iruka drags him to his bedroom, which is- thankfully- vacant of his Ninken, most of whom like to hit the town at this time of night. They end up on the floor with Iruka sitting and holding Kakashi in his lap. 

It’s weirdly comfortable despite the fact that Kakashi is currently getting his snot and tears all over Iruka’s nice sweater. Iruka seems to understand enough to just sit there and hold him. Iruka’s arms gently circle around Kakashi so he can rub the Jonin’s back through his shirt. Kakashi allows it, too, so starved for touch that he can’t so much as think about moving away from it.

“Thank you,” He manages to get out through the cries and the sniffles. 

When he looks up, he realizes that Iruka is crying, too. Tears coat his long eyelashes and stream down from his chocolate brown eyes.

“Of course, Kakashi. You deserve it.”

The reassurance only makes Kakashi cry even harder.

So, they sit there for a few more hours, crying together and holding hands on Kakashi’s bedroom floor before eventually tumbling into Kakashi’s bed with puffy eyes and bright red cheeks. 

When Kakashi wakes up in the morning, he’s disappointed to find the bed empty- that is until he rolls over and sees a note on the nightstand in what he recognizes as Iruka’s soft, slanted handwriting. 

‘Good morning, Kakashi. Hope you slept well. 

I had to go to work at the academy this morning, but I got you breakfast. It’s on the kitchen counter for whenever you get up and decide you want it. If you don’t eat in the mornings or something, though, you can put it in the fridge and save it for later.

Come by mine for dinner if you aren’t busy, around 5pm if that works for you.

Have a good day. I love you.

-Iruka’

Kakashi smiles and folds the note, tucking it into the top drawer of his nightstand. Then, he gets up and looks at the clock. It’s just past 10AM and he has nothing to do that day until his plans with Iruka, so…

Maybe he should bring Iruka lunch at work.

[watermelonsloth]

I’ve seen a couple of people talk about rewriting Naruto on my posts and, honestly, props to anyone who completes it. Even if it isn’t good, finishing a project that big is a feat.

And I would know. I spent 1-2 years trying to do better than Kishimoto and I approached it from like four different angles before throwing in the towel (for a variety of reasons, most of which were my fault).