#reading ahead a little i think itachi's point might be ''i thought i could do everything on my own and i was wrong about that''

[everykabuto]

[animeomegas]

Omega!Itachi Getting Married

Anon:  Helllooo!!! I was wonderin if u could write for omega itachi getting married. I'd really appreciate it :)

(Hello! Hello! This is the oldest request in my inbox, so I hope this ends up being worth the wait! Enjoy~ <3)

Warning: implied sexual activity

General headcanons - Non-massacre AU:

Itachi has always known that he would get married someday.

After all, it was his duty as clan heir.

But he never expected to actually love his mate. He was required to angle for a politically/socially advantageous match and he had made his peace with that.

If he had to marry someone to keep peace between clans, he would. If he had to marry someone his parents chose for him to keep conflict in the family down, he would.

Itachi’s fatal flaw is that he doesn’t see his comfort/happiness as important.

And while he looked forward to his future children, his future spouse was a neutral event. It would happen, whether he wanted it to or not, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Best case scenario, he might have a new friend, or at least someone he respects, to live with him.

Worst case scenario, he ends up in a horrible marriage. He tried not to think too much about this option.

He never expected there to be any love between him and his future spouse.

Until he met you.

He found a person who actually loved him. An alpha who was as dedicated to a future family as he was. A partner who respected him more than he had ever hoped.

And Itachi fell hard and fast.

So, when you proposed, he felt like everything he had never dared to hope for was coming true.

You went to get his parents’ permission first (and the permission of the clan by proxy) and did the proposal in front of them. It wasn’t ideal, you knew Itachi would be happier with a private proposal, but you also knew that Itachi wouldn’t believe that he had their approval unless he saw it first-hand.

Itachi and his family are very traditional, so you weren’t mated before you got married, instead, you mated on your wedding night.

Itachi is very happy to let his family dictate the wedding. He doesn’t care as long as he’s married to you at the end of the day.

(But he does have preferences that you can extract from him, but getting Itachi’s true opinion, can be like pulling teeth.)

Proposal:

You had known Itachi since you were both 18, two years now. You had been courting him officially for a year and a half before you proposed.

As I mentioned, you proposed in front of Itachi’s parents, to make sure that he knew that you had gained their approval.

Sasuke was also there, after years of bribery, finally accepting of you and Itachi’s relationship. You met Sasuke when he had just graduated from the academy, and he was not impressed by this new person stealing his brother from him when he wanted Itachi to train him ☹

For Itachi, it was a normal family dinner.

He definitely noticed that you were behaving nervously, but he knew his family could be stiff, overly traditional and a little intimidating, so he figured that was the cause of your discomfort.

Sasuke was also staring at you suspiciously the whole evening, but to be honest, sometimes Sasuke was just like that, so Itachi thought nothing of it.

You kept a hand on his knee for the entire meal, only letting go of him when you announced that you had brought dessert for everyone and would be happy to serve it.

Itachi smiled his gorgeous smile at you, so pleased to see you making an effort with his family (or perhaps he was smiling about the desert, Itachi’s sweet tooth is legendary after all. It was difficult to tell.)

Nervously clenching your hands, you walked over to the fridge, pulling out the plate of dango you had hidden in there earlier. It was Itachi’s favourite, and if there was anything to convince him to say yes to your proposal, it was a demonstration of how much dango you were willing to buy for him.

‘Don’t mess this up,’ you said to yourself, gingerly sliding the plate of dango out of the fridge. It was an elaborate platter that had cost far too much. There were seven different dango flavours with an assortment of dips and dressings, arranged artfully with fruit and dried flowers to decorate the plate.

You walked to back to the table and presented the plate with a dramatic flourish to hide your nerves.

Itachi’s face lit up. Despite your nerves, his obvious excitement put a smile on your face. He really was perfect.

And that’s why you can’t mess this up.

“There’s anko, green tea, sesame,” you pointed at each flavour as you listed them. “Hanami and…er… some other ones…?”

Sasuke scoffed at your embarrassing failure to recall the flavours, causing a red flush to creep up your neck. You didn’t even know that there was this many dango flavours before yesterday! Thankfully, he didn’t say anything, perhaps due to the sharp look Itachi had shot at him.

“I made sure to get enough for everyone, but there’s something I’d like to ask for in return.”

You could see Itachi trying to catch your eye, probably to ask what an earth you were doing, but you purposefully avoided looking in his direction.

“The only thing I ask,” you continued, nervously. “Is for a minute of your time before we eat dessert.”

Mikoto smiled at you and nodded for you to go ahead with a gentle wave of her hand. Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow at you but didn’t interrupt.

“Great,” you laughed nervously. “Um, so, er, Itachi.”

Itachi straightened under your sudden attention. He looked immensely uncomfortable and confused, he was probably panicking about you doing something in front of his family that you would regret. He always played liaison between you and his family to avoid conflict and was probably not comfortable with you doing this. Unfortunately, he would never believe that you had his parents’ approval if you didn’t propose in front of them.

“I’ve known you for two years now, Itachi,” you started, finally looking at Itachi in the eye. “And it sounds horribly cheesy, but I think that I fall in love with you more every day.”

A barely audible gasp left Itachi. He was a genius, after all, he had probably figured out where this was going. He looked torn between panicked and elated, seeming to settle somewhere around shell-shocked.

“I’ve come to realise recently that, a life without that love, without your love, isn’t a life that I want.”

You can just about see tears gathering in Itachi’s waterline. It doesn’t look like he’s breathing at all.

With one final rush of bravery, you pulled out the diamond ring that had been weighing down your pocket for months and knelt down onto the dining room floor.

“Will you marry me?”

Itachi’s head whips around to face his parents, most likely preparing some serious damage control. But when he sees his mother’s gentle smile and his father’s subtle nod, he slowly moves his gaze back to you. You’ve never seen him look so shocked before. It was almost amusing enough to distract you from your nerves. Almost.

“I-,” Itachi swallowed hard. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say what you want to say, Itachi,” his mother replies, trying to encourage him.

His mother’s words seemed to break him out of his stupor and Itachi breathes out a single word.

“Yes.”

You let out a delighted and relieved laugh, taking Itachi’s hand in yours and slipping the ring onto his finger, and even though his family were all watching you, you couldn’t help but pull him into an embrace.

“I love you so much,” you whispered to him. “I’ll read you my real proposal speech this evening.”

Itachi laughed into your shoulder. His laughter had a hysteric edge to it, his mind still clearly reeling at what you had just done.  

“Real speech?”

“You didn’t think I was going read my real proposal out in front of your parents, did you? No way. They still think we’re virgins and I didn’t want to spoil that illusion for them.”

Itachi quickly and efficiently jabbed you in the stomach and hit you with his infamous glare.

“Okay, I deserved that,” you winced, gingerly rubbing the sore spot.

Finally, you pulled away and moved to dish out the dango. And if Itachi got the biggest portion, well, no one mentioned it.

   Planning:

Itachi lets his clan take over the planning.

He doesn’t want to deal with the stress of having to combat his family at every turn and would much rather just let them do it. As long as you’re there with him, nothing else really matters.

But even when his clan leave the smaller decisions up to him, he’s hesitant to voice his opinions, wanting his alpha to make them as an apology for his family commandeering everything.

But if you pay attention to little signs and reactions that Itachi gives, you can figure out some of his wants and desires.

Overall, there isn’t much to say about the wedding planning, because Itachi doesn’t do much of it.

Things he wants (compromise available/no compromise allowed):

Sasuke as his groomsman and Shisui as his best man – Itachi doesn’t have many close friends or relatives. He has you, Sasuke, Shisui… er, he’d probably invite his old captain Kakashi and… well, you get the point. So, every person who is important to him needs to be by his side at his wedding, and who is more important than his best friend and little brother.

A traditional wedding – He isn’t actually that bothered by what type of wedding he has, but he knows his family and clan will insist on a traditional celebration and as I mentioned, he doesn’t want to fight. The elders will push the wedding to be held in the clan compound and Itachi would be told to wear a traditional Uchiha wedding garment.

A sweets cart – This is something that he won’t bring up, and therefore isn’t bolded, but it’s very easy to see his face light up when he sees this in a wedding catalogue. It’s a wooden cart with different jars of sweets with little scoops for people to help themselves to. Itachi loves sweet food, obviously, but he also thinks it would be something the children in the clan would adore. He kind of really wants one, but he won’t bring it up unless someone else does first.

An early wedding – He won’t fight you or his family about this, but ideally, he would like to get married in the morning, maybe around 8 or 9 AM. Itachi is definitely an early bird who prefers the ambience of the early morning which is part of the reason, but mainly he just wants the performative part of the wedding over and done with so he can start his honeymoon. He doesn’t find it appealing to spend all night pretending to tolerate the elders of his clan who will almost certainly spend their time berating him for his choice of partner and then telling him he needs to have as many children as possible because he’s a powerful ninja that will produce powerful children. He just doesn’t want to deal with it. Leaving at 6 PM with you to go on your honeymoon and finally, finally mate? That sounds much more fun.

To try and conceive on his honeymoon – Obviously, he’s not going to force anything if you aren’t ready, but he would really love to start trying to conceive straight away. He’s desperate to have his own children, firstly, but also, he knows this is his only ticket to retiring from being a ninja. He wants to retire so badly, and so if you’re both ready for children, he doesn’t want to wait.

 The wedding:

You don’t see Itachi for a day before the wedding, as is tradition. You see him for the first time that weekend when he’s walking down the hall towards you.

And as Fugaku walks Itachi down the aisle, you are completely breathless.

He looks stunning.

His hair had been intricately platted with flowers, some lose strands of hair left to frame his face.

He’s wearing a deep red, formal kimono just as you expected, but it looked so much more beautiful than you had imagined.

He looked like royalty.

The whole ceremony flew by, and before you knew it, it was time for you and Itachi to say goodbye and leave for your honeymoon.

Your honeymoon was to be had at a cabin held deep in the woods on the Uchiha compound. The rule was that married couples could not be disturbed for anything other than a life-or-death emergency, so you would be completely alone.

It might have been nice to go abroad, but the Uchiha clan didn’t want Itachi to be distracted by his honeymoon outside of Konoha where he might be attacked and his eyes stolen.

You both had already been by to drop off everything you would need for the week, including clothes, food, games and toiletries.

So, now, all that was left was for you two to get there yourself.

You and Itachi had decided to amble your way to the cabin, taking your time to enjoy each other’s company after a day of socialising with everyone but each other. Not to mention that neither of your outfits were particularly well designed for gallivanting through the forest. It would be rather embarrassing to have to end your self-imposed isolation to go to the hospital on day one, so walking slowly was probably a good idea.

You had been walking for about thirty minutes so the cabin should be… There! You were there!

“Wait!” you shot out a hand to stop Itachi from entering, startling him slightly. “Don’t go in yet.”

Itachi furrowed his brows, absently blowing a stray hair from his face that must have fallen down during the walk.

“I… want to carry you inside,” you admitted bashfully.

Itachi chuckled but stepped closer to let you do it. You beamed at him, pressing a kiss against his lips as a thank you. He looked a lot more tired than this morning; his hair was falling out of its elaborate placement and the makeup you were sure he was coerced into using was a little smudged.

He really was the most beautiful person you had ever met.

With his permission now gained, you placed an arm around his shoulders and another arm behind his knees, before gently lifting him off the ground. You nuzzled Itachi’s neck, enjoying his content scent and the way he sighed happily at your attention.

With your husband firmly in your grasp, you nudged open the front door with your foot and stepped safely over the threshold. You carried Itachi all the way to the bedroom and placed him down gently on the bed.

Itachi leant up to steal a kiss.

“Bringing me straight to the bedroom, you are incorrigible,” he teased, kicking off his shoes and making himself comfortable on the bed.

“I-I wasn’t, I didn’t mean that!” you sputtered, flushing under Itachi’s laughter. Silence fell over the room for a moment as the exhaustion from the day swept over you both.

“Would you mind helping me out of this kimono, please? I think it’s time for something a little more comfortable.”

It took a solid ten minutes to get Itachi out of his clothes and into some pyjamas. Ten minutes and a lot of swear words as every layer seemed to be hiding another one underneath.

“This wasn’t how I imagined undressing you on our wedding night, that felt a lot like pass the parcel but somehow more stressful.”

“Oh?” Itachi questioned, pulling you to sit down on the bed with him, finally free from the constraints of his wedding attire. “How did you imagine it?”

Rather than answer with words, you pressed wet kisses over Itachi’s neck, smirking against his skin as you felt his hand come up to grasp at your hair and a gentle moan escape from his lips.

This was definitely going to be the best part of the celebrations.

[lvrexe]

Henloo shrimp! May I request for a fic/hcs (whichever you prefer) on Kisame meeting his fem s/o adopted father for the first time? I thought it will be interesting if the father is also sort of like missing-nin or Kirigakure civilian just like him.

Thankiess🦈

Sooo I added some extra details, I hope you don’t mind..! ^^’’.... but this was honestly realllll fun to write, thank you so much for the request..!!

Kisame x fem!reader Genre: Fluff Point of View: Second POV Word Count: 2.1k

You were a low-ranked criminal born outside a village, roughly on the edge of the Land of Fire. You never really knew your birth parents; you just knew when you were little and starving, a man from Kirigakure took pity on your weak and trembling state. He was supposed to be there for a week, hiding away from the ninja from his home village, but seeing as he couldn’t just leave some starving kid alone in the woods. His moral compass couldn’t allow it, no matter how fucked up it was.

And so, he taught you some of his ways. Nothing too gruesome, just theft and stealth. Things to aid you and your survival. Not like you needed to do much as a kid, the man stayed week after week until the two of you were living on the edge of the borders, tucked away and well hidden by one of several forests.

“Hey! Get back here, you damn thief!” the shopkeeper shouted, waving his fist at you.

You stumbled around the corner before bolting down the streets of Konoha. Glancing behind you, you got a good glimpse at the shinobi who had lept into action. You scoffed and began to speed up. You whipped around corners, dashing down alleyways, anything to throw the shinobi off your track. They were stubborn though, they followed you through everything you did. As you turned another corner, you immediately dipped into a dango shop, wheezing and huffing. Silencing your chakra— just as your father had taught you—, you watched as the shinobi bolted down the streets, looking for you.

Knowing how keen shinobi were, you knew they’d be circling back when they realized they had lost track of you. Unless they decided you weren’t worth their time. Either way, you weren’t risking it. You flicked your hood up and stuffed the stolen foods into your jacket pocket, ignoring how awkward it looked. You took a glance around the shop before spotting two unusual figures in cloaks. One of them seemed to notice your stare and peered his head up; under his woven hat was palesh blue skin and piercing white eyes. He cracked a grin at you, he seemed to be able to read you like a book. He murmured something to his friend whose back was turned to you and after a short wait, the other shifted to the side. Taking the sign to sit, you planted yourself at their table.

That’s how you met the man known as the Tailless Tailed Beast, Kisame Hoshigaki, and his partner, Itachi of the Sharingan. Two S-rank rogue ninjas working in the Akatsuki. It was supposed to be a simple five minute interaction and the only interaction you had with them. But after a conversation started by Kisame, the two realized how useful you could be. Intel. You weren’t that high-ranked of a criminal, a petty thief in the Land of Fire. You’d slip right into the crowds of other villages.

Kisame took an immediate liking to you and Itachi tolerated you. You never paid Itachi any mind, though he came around when you had come back from Iwagakure with specific information on the Four-Tailed Jinchuuriki Kisame was assigned to. After a while, Itachi had warmed up to you a bit.

You were supposed to leave, supposed to head back to the Land of Fire, but Kisame had insisted you continue travelling with them.

“What?” you questioned, raising your brow.

Kisame chuckled and scratched the back of his neck. “Uh, well, you know, we may need intel again… For other missions,” he replied, explaining his offer.

You crossed your arms and thought back to your family. You were usually the one who got the necessary items. But you assumed your father could easily take care of himself. You looked back up at him. “Alright, sure,” you nodded.

Apparently, Kisame hadn’t even said anything to Itachi, as the Uchiha was confused upon still seeing you travel beside them. If he had any complaints, he never made them known.

You eventually learned that the reason why Kisame was so insistent on you sticking around was not because the two needed intel— in fact, you were only sent out to gather information once more after the first—, but rather Kisame ended up falling for you hard during your travels.

It took you some time to come around, but after a rather… enjoyable night, the two of you decided to try out dating. It ended up working out pretty well. Kisame, despite what his frightening appearance may imply, was a rather gentle lover. His touch was tender, his words were soft whenever he spoke to you, he never raised his voice even in heated arguments. But he’d be damned if he let anyone put their hands on you. He was highly protective, and, as you soon found out, was easily jealous of any man who dared to approach you with the intent of wooing you away with their charm.

It was a strong relationship, the two of you mixed well together, and after a year, you felt ready enough to introduce the man to your father.

“Hey Kisame, we’re headed back to the Land of Fire next month, right?” you asked one night. “Eh? Yeah, Itachi needs to head back for— eh, personal reasons,” he replied to you, shifting his body to face you.

“Do.. Do you think we’ll have time to make a quick stop?”

“Quick stop? What do you need?” he inquired.

“I… I want you to meet my dad.”

Kisame’s breathing hitched and his shoulders tensed. “Er…” he mumbled before turning his back to you in the futon. “I.. I’ll check with Itachi, we might not be able to.”

After that, Kisame avoided the topic altogether. Each time you brought it up, he’d turn his head to avoid your eyes and murmured an excuse or just changed the topic. Eventually, the month came to an end and it was time for the trip back to the Land of Fire. You were annoyed with your boyfriend, to say the least. The trip back was silent, filled with an awkward tension between you and Kisame that Itachi had to bear through.

The moment the three of you crossed the borders, Itachi came to a halt and turned around. His sharp gaze flicked between the two of you before he let out a sigh. “The unresolved issue between you two is bringing me a headache,” he stated simply. “I’m going ahead. You stay and figure out your relationship problem.”

“Eh, but Itachi—”

“I’ll be fine, Kisame,” the Uchiha snapped. He sighed and turned on his heels. “I can handle myself.”

You watched as Itachi left the two of you alone, disappearing into the woods ahead. Once his silhouette was far and out of sight, you wasted no time in turning to Kisame, hands on your hips and glaring a hole deep in the side of his head. “What is wrong?” you angrily demanded answers.

“Me? Nothing!”

“That’s a lie and you know it!” you huffed, “Everytime I bring up my father, you get all weird and it’s annoying.”

You crossed your arms and sulked as a frown grew on your face. You averted your eyes, avoiding his own. “We’ve been dating for a year now, Kisame…” you murmured, “Weren’t you the one who said you wanted something serious?”

“Yes, but…”

“So what’s the issue? You can’t just ignore my family like this,” you sighed.

Kisame grumbled and scratched the back of his neck. Fuck, he hated seeing you like this. He sighed, tempted to reach out before he dropped his hand. “I…” he uttered, “Babe, you know it’s not like that…”

“So what’s the issue, Kisame? Why don’t you want to meet my dad? You’ll have to eventually!”

He took a deep breath and a blush grew across his cheeks. “I don’t… Well, it’s embarrassing, y’know.”

You stopped for a moment, taking in his unusually timid posture. The way he averted his gaze to the ground, tilting his head from yours. Then it clicked. He’s afraid to meet your parents. Once the realization hit, you found it hard to not to laugh. You let out little giggles with attempts to silence them but as you continued on to look upon your embarrassed boyfriend, you couldn’t stop your laughter from bursting out. You clutched your stomach, hunched over and laughed to your heart’s content while Kisame watched in utter confusion and horror.

Kisame Hoshigaki; the Tailed Beast without a Tail and Monster of the Hidden Mist, afraid to meet your father.

The idea was hilarious to you. To Kisame? Not so much.

“He-Hey! Don’t you laugh!” he interrupted your laughing spree.

“Kisame, he’s my dad! He’s not going to do anything to you!”

“It’s not that!” he sighed.

“What if your dad doesn’t like me?” he eventually admitted. “I mean, look at me, y/n, I’m hardly human. I’ve got sharp teeth, gills and I’m a criminal!... Don’t even mention my gray skin…”

Now you felt horrible for laughing. You rubbed his arm and frowned, trying to get him to look at you again. You knew his appearance was an insecurity of his, Itachi being his partner likely increased that insecurity tenfold. “Hey…” you spoke in a hushed tone. Your hands reached up and cupped his cheeks. “Come on, Kisame, you don’t need to worry about any of that, I told you my family doesn’t care about appearances.”

“Yeah, for normal looking people,” he butted in.

“You’re normal, Kisame,” you insisted.

Kisame knew you weren’t going to relent, you never seemed to. He sighed and shook his head. “Alright, alright, fine… Then what about me being a criminal?”

You smiled. “Relax, Kisame… I feel like you and my dad would have a few things in common.”

-

“This… is it?” he murmured under his breath, a little taken aback.

You nodded as you pushed through some bushes. “Yup! Ever since I was a little girl, you know,” you clarified as you slipped into the front yard of the small cabin your father had built years ago.

Kisame stood in front of your home, staring upon the front doors, timid. Shit, he was nervous. His body even flinched as you placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Looks beaten down…” he commented.

You hummed. “It does… Dad’s probably been skipping out on the repairs…” you huffed.

Digging through your pockets, you pulled out your keys and unlocked the door. “Hey, Dad?” you called out the moment you swung open the front doors.

“Y/n?”

A middle-aged man poked his head through one of the rooms. His gloomy face lit up as he laid his eyes on you. “Ah! Y/n!” he called out as he walked out into the main room. “Come in, come in,” he insisted.

You entered the house, ready to embrace your old man, but knitted your brows in confusion as your father stopped and stared behind you. You remembered your boyfriend and turned around. “Hey, Kisame, come on—”

Kisame and your father stared at each other in shock. You glanced between the two, watching their stare-off. “Eh, is that the Monster of the Mist?” your father piped up. “Ehh… what was your name again? Kisame…?”

“Kisame,” he replied, “Kisame Hoshigaki, sir.”

“Ah, yes! I heard about your doings while I was raising young y/n here,” your father murmured. He walked closer to Kisame and leaned into the man, eyeing him up and down, scrutinizing his every action. “But what’s a man like you doing with my daughter?”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “Dad, quit it. Leave my boyfriend alone,” you said, peeling your dad away from Kisame.

“Eh, he was a student of mine! Allow me to see how my student has grown!” he grumbled at you, but he reluctantly agreed as he made his way back to the table.

Slowly, you turned to your boyfriend. He stepped in and slowly shut the doors behind him. He noticed your stares and let out a short, nervous chuckle. “Heh, yeah… Your father trained me for a year when I was still in Kirigakure… He left because of his crimes…” he quietly explained.

Your father chimed in with a hum of agreement, confirming Kisame’s statement. “Now, come! Sit!” he instructed. When Kisame was taking off his shoes with timid movements, your father groaned. “Now, Hoshigaki!”

“Yes, sir!” your boyfriend blurted out as he quickened his movements, basically bolting over to the table. You sat yourself down beside Kisame and glanced over to your father, who analyzed you and Kisame with little subtly.

His eyes were more focused on Kisame, his eyes shooting daggers into him. Kisame shifted in his spot, visibly uncomfortable. This wasn’t the kind of student-teacher reunion he was expecting. You sighed and smacked the table as your other hand intertwined with Kisame’s. Upon hearing the smack, your father shook his head and quit his glares. He beamed a bright smile and sat up straight. “Now, tell me about this relationship of yours,” your father demanded.

[kinomiakai]

do you have any tips on writing sasuke and naruto? specifically things like inner thoughts and dialogue?

Oh!!! This is such a cool question, thank you so much anon. This...actually got really, really long, but I hope it’s actually helpful!! This is just the way I write them, so take everything I say with a grain of salt!!

I’ll put it under a read more because it got so long haha :)

General advice:

For dialogue, generally, I feel like what actually helped me a ton was when I had to transcribe a bunch of interviews for school. You have to include everything, the body language, the ums, the stutters - so I’d actually really recommend trying that? Ideally finding something that isn’t edited, like a livestream or something, and trying to write down a few minutes of what the person says perfectly. It’s actually really, really hard!! Your brain automatically deletes the repetitions and stutters and spare words, so forcing yourself to identify them really helps with figuring out how people talk and writing more realistic dialogue. An example would be something like:

“I went to the—like the—the, um, ba—the store in the back alley, you know?”

(Things in there: (1) repetitions of “the”, (2) people say “like” a lot and your brain tends to delete that, (3) same with ums/uhs/other noises of thought, and (4) the way your brain can skip ahead to the next out-of-order word and you back up and go back to finish the thought. That happens a lot!)

You do have to balance it with readability, I find, because some people stutter a lot (especially if they’re in thought), but writing it all out like that really helped me learn how people talk, so I really recommend it!! I think if you can hear their voice saying it in your head, you’re on the right track.

For things like inner thoughts, it’s…sort of like dialogue, but less restrained. Inner thoughts are really fun because you not only get to play with being an unreliable narrator, but you also get to have people’s thoughts betray themselves. You can control your thoughts, but only to some extent, so something I really like to play with is cutting off a thought that’s about too admit something the character isn’t ready to admit (but something that they know, deep down). Like:

“Of course, his shirt did…smell nice. Like him. And there was something warm and settling about being here. Not that—not that this felt like home, or anything, it was just nice, and comfortable, and he just wasn’t used to these sorts of things so of course he—

He shook his head.

Never mind. He ought to get out of here anyway.”

Inner thoughts also are fun to tell a bit of a story with. You can contradict yourself or correct yourself, and a metaphor can sort of change the more the character things about it. Your writing doesn’t have to be perfect because thoughts really aren’t—but they will probably be real run-on sentences hahaha. Dashes and commas everywhere!!! The thoughts never end!!

Character-specific advice:

A big part of how I write Sasuke and Naruto depends on the AU it is set in. I’ll write generally about canon here, but obviously things change if Sasuke grew up with a family, if Naruto got some therapy - they might be more in tune with their emotions, they might be more explicit about the way they feel or more honest. A good example of this is in Something Good, where Sasuke is much more honest about himself and emotions and all that than he would be in canon—this is really only because he had Itachi and actually got help for his trauma. This effects Naruto a lot in AUs too because he doesn’t always have the same tendency to really repress himself, the way he does in canon. So you actually have a lot of wiggle room, as long as you’re focusing on the way your characters have lived until they got to this point.

Another bit to think about: my ability to really delve into character’s heads comes from the fact that I write Third Person Limited, which is third person but in specific perspectives as opposed Third Person Omniscient, which has the sort of free-floating narrator where you can be in everyone’s heads all at once, so it will definitely read differently.

For Naruto:

Naruto speaks more casually:

 He swears more, but not as much as Kiba

 He tends to slur some words together, saying things like kinda and gotcha and sorta where Sasuke wouldn’t

Where Sasuke might say something like “this was certainly…powerful” Naruto would say something like “this was real fucking strong!!!’

More exclamation marks, more straightforward, more sort of loud?? Types of thought and dialogue???

Naruto is grammatically incorrect! Spell check is often angry with me about this

Naruto will be the first to notice something is wrong with someone else and spend loads of time thinking and assessing it

Naruto will be the last person to acknowledge and assess something that is wrong with himself

His head is pretty straight forward, he’s less likely to use metaphors and flowery comparisons to describe things

E.g. Sasuke’s eyes were just—weird. Like the could see right through you, right into you—Naruto felt like some part of him needed to hide, because if he kept looking for a second longer Sasuke would know everything—

He looked away.

He tends to repeat himself and not really describe the way he feels, because he doesn’t really understand it. This also goes for positive emotions!! There is a lot of “huh I felt something. Anyway,” with Naruto dfsfs

Naruto expresses a lot of affection by doing stuff for people - this expands past Sasuke, but can come back to bite him. He’s eager to say yes to favours but this links back to him putting others before himself/wanting everyone to love him

For Sasuke:

Sasuke speaks more formally, but not as formal as Itachi

 Also mostly grammatically correct, uses mostly full punctuation in text messages (Itachi uses full punctuation, Naruto is probably all chatspeak but I write it as partial chatspeak to make it easier to read)

Sasuke’s head will run away with itself all the time

He’s quite poetic and romantic, he’ll speak in much more metaphors

E.g. “Naruto’s eyes were like the sky. Like breathing in the air after it rained—when it was cool and crisp and alive, when the world awoke again after it had all been grey. Something in Sasuke certainly felt…alive.”

Sasuke’s more of an asshole

 He’s sarcastic and sort of eyeroll-y at lots of stuff, including himself and his own thoughts. He tends to be more pessimistic and negative, too!

Exception: Naruto. Naruto is amazing and Sasuke secretly believes he can do literally anything. He will NEVER say it out loud unless Naruto forces him out of it (read: in moments where Naruto is being negative/down on himself/being out character in a way that Sasuke feels like he’s a bit scared and needs to shake him with something honest and true) but he will say it in his own head because he can’t control that. Take that, Sasuke

 He can be real judgy—e.g. in Enter Naruto where he calls Itachi’s coat pretentious.

He can be even more judgy about himself. He’s pretty hard on himself and will frequently put himself down in his thoughts, which he thinks about as factual statements

E.g. “nothing compared to his brother, of course, but Itachi was perfect and Sasuke was still...just himself.

 Now if only his father could realize that, too.”

E.g. “And Naruto looked at him as if it was true, but Sasuke knew it wasn’t. Sasuke had chosen this path, and he’d walked down it. Naruto seemed to think he could simply turn around, but Sasuke…knew better.”

He speaks less, which is helped by the fact that you can totally call him out if you’re writing his POV, or you can use Naruto to call him out because Naruto knows him like the back of his hand

His affection is more quiet?? More nonverbal, in general, than Naruto’s. Not that Naruto is like super good at expressing himself either but he will get closer than Sasuke will out loud

That said, Sasuke is really fun to write as not being able to control the way he seeks Naruto out, through small intimate actions like folding his clothes or wanting to spar or sitting just a little too close to Naruto on the couch. Sort of partially unconscious expressions of love - Sasuke is all over those. (He doesn’t have to be, but it’s really fun to write him that way; you all know how I love writing deeply-in-love Sasuke)

Their fatal flaws when it comes to writing Third Person Limited: both of these assholes are really unlikely to comment on specific details, so you’re gonna have to write from somebody else’s POV if you really want to hit home about how cute Sakura’s new outfit looks. You’re only gonna get to describe it if she’s like...asking Naruto about it in some way, or if Sasuke is being a judgy dick about it or something shfsdkhfd

BUT, they will notice those things about each other, especially if they are in love or are starting to fall, and it’s one of those quiet little ways you can play with to make their emotions evident.

I feel like I could actually keep going about all this but this is SO LONG and I might start repeating myself, so I’ll stop here. Thank you for the ask, anon, I hope it was helpful!!! It was fun to answer :)

[raendown]

Pairing: ItachiShisui Word count: 1930 Soulmate au: The one where you see in black and white until you meet eyes with your soulmate

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI and commission info in the header!

Chapter 216

Itachi was doing the dishes with his mother when his entire world changed. Like any good shinobi he multi-tasked without giving it much thought, admiring the pattern on their new dish set while listening to his mother tell him about little Sasuke’s training progress at the same time, each task given the same amount of attention. Something about the particular shade of red on the plates she was handing him drew his eye to trace the swirls and dips as though he might find some hidden meaning in them. He didn’t realize quite how closely he was staring until elegant fingers reached out to wave in front of his face and a quiet laugh chimed in his ears like bells. 

“Obviously I thought they were pretty enough to buy but I didn’t realize you would find them so fascinating,” she said. 

“Did I miss something you were saying? My apologies.” 

“No,” she assured him. “I just thought it was funny to see you concentrating so hard on a bit of ceramic. Have you got something on your mind?”

“I was only admiring the color.”

He didn’t expect Mikoto to stop moving and turn fully to give him a wide-eyed look. “You...can see the color of it? Oh Itachi! You can see color!” 

The next moment he found himself with an armful of motherly affection, carefully setting the plate down in the drying rack so he could pat her on the back with a bemused hum, unsure what had brought this on. It wasn’t as though his being able to see colors was a new phenomenon. Still, he’d been raised to be polite and so he waited until she seemed done with the whole hugging business before clearing his throat questioningly. 

“Mother, I’ve always been able to see color,” he said, thinking it strange she hadn’t known that.

“You- what? Since when?”

Bemused by the shock in her tone, Itachi shrugged. “Like I said, always. As far back as my memory goes. I know everyone else sees in black and white until they meet their soulmate; I suppose I’m just...precocious.” 

He gave her a smile to try and lighten the tension in her shoulders but it faded away when she only continued to stare. While it certainly was an anomaly he didn’t think there was any reason to look quite so panicked. It was only a bit of unearned color vision, it wasn’t as though he’d turned out to be one of the unlucky people who never saw colors even after they had made eye contact with their other half. Rather than stare back at his mother Itachi opted for turning away to put some of the dishes in to the cupboard while he waited for her to regain her words. He had barely enough time for squaring away the plates before she tugged on his arm to bring him round to face her again. 

“What’s the farthest thing back you can remember?” she asked. 

“My earliest memory?” Itachi hummed in thought. “I think perhaps the first time you took me to see fireworks. Sasuke was only a few months old and the sounds made him cry.” 

“And do you remember there being color?”

“Yes of course. All the biggest ones were blue.” 

For a moment she only stared at him some more. Honestly he was beginning to think there might be something wrong with him after all. Not to mention the guilt creeping in that he had apparently never so much as mentioned something so important as his ability to see more than shades of grey. Thankfully this time she recovered much more quickly. 

“Darling, I don’t think you were born with colors. I think maybe you just met your soulmate very early.” 

Now that was a possibility he’d never considered. This time it was Itachi’s turn to stare. “But- I don’t remember being a baby!” he cried. “If I met them that young then how am I supposed to know who it is?” 

“I think I can help with that,” she whispered in awe as though some grand thought had just occurred to her. 

“Oh?” 

“For the first couple years of your life you were quite the unsociable little thing. You didn’t really like to look at anyone, not even me, and we used to get a lot of compliments on how smart you were for knowing that eye contact can be dangerous.” Mikoto paused to smile. “We didn’t usually bother to explain that you were just a little insular. But there was one person who never failed to have your full attention. From the first time he picked you up Shisui was always your very favorite. You would run to him across the room and smile for him even when you wouldn’t smile for anyone else. If there is anyone whose eyes you would have met so early it would be him.” 

Several different emotions warred for attention in Itachi’s chest, filling him up until he thought he might burst, but there was one question that dominated all the others. “Why wouldn’t he have said anything?” 

“I think perhaps that’s a question you should ask him, not me.” Mikoto reached out and very gently tugged the dish towel from between his fingers, shooing him towards the door with her other hand. 

Four tumbling steps was all it took before Itachi’s brain caught up with his feet and suddenly he was flying out of the house, leaping up on to the rooftops where the paths would be clearer. As the heir of the Uchiha clan it had been pounded in to him from an early age that he should always act with dignity where others could see him - but dignity could not have been farther from his mind just then. He hurled himself from roof to roof, feet barely touching down before he launched forward in another great leap, eyes set dead ahead on a course he had travelled a thousand times and more. 

Shisui’s house was nearly as familiar to him as the one he’d grown up in. Hell, he’d practically half grown up here as well with how often he’d made himself welcome. The two of them were only a few years apart, close enough that they’d been best friends since quite young and Shisui never treated him like a little kid. They had always been equals. 

When Itachi finally landed on solid ground again his legs shook all the way up those familiar front steps and he found himself pausing, questioning whether he should knock for the first time in his life. He knew he was being silly, of course, but he’d never been very good with his own emotions at the best of times and right now he felt more rattled than ever before. Concentrating on his own reactions was even harder as he tried to take his best guess at how Shisui would react to this. Finding out that your best friend of more than a decade might have actually been your soulmate this whole time wasn’t exactly light news to drop on someone. Itachi hovered on the front step for nearly a full minute, rife with confused indecision, before the door opened itself to reveal the very person he’d come to see. Shisui took one look at him, tilted his head, and smiled. 

“You finally figured it out then?” he asked. 

“I beg your pardon?”

“That look on your face like you’ve seen a ghost. I know you better than you know yourself, ‘Tachi, I know what you’re thinking. You’ve figured out why you can see color and now you’re here worrying what I’ll think about it.” Shisui beamed, as cocky as ever, laughing a bit when Itachi could only stare at him. 

Nearly half a minute passed in silence before he found the words to blurt out, “You mean you already knew!?”

“Well of course! I was four years old when you were born, I had a lot of questions for my mum when suddenly everything was in color.” 

“And I suppose you have some grand reason for never saying anything?” Itachi demanded. 

Shisui’s laughter turned a bit sheepish. “It was a legitimate excuse at first, in my defense. But the older you got the more I wasn’t sure how to say ‘hey we’ve been soulmates this whole time!’ so I would hesitate more and then you’d get even older and the cycle just never ended. Then mom kicked the bucket on a mission so I didn’t have anyone to corroborate for me. Eventually it’s gotten to the point where I’ve just been basically waiting for some god or other to strike me down for sheer ignorance of the fates.” His eyes fell to one side with shame. “Or, you know, for you to figure it out for yourself. You are a genius after all.”

“My mother figured it out.” Saying it out loud felt like giving physical voice to shame, a feeling that wasn’t helped when Shisui winced and then nodded. 

“I mean, Mikoto has always been pretty smart too.”

“We’re going to fight about this later,” Itachi told him. Then a flush rose up on his cheeks and he turned his own eyes away with embarrassment. “If you’ve been trying so hard to find a way to talk about this then does that mean...what does that mean?” 

He thought for a couple of heartbeats that his hopes would be dashed. It wasn’t until Shisui’s face grew to roughly the same shade of red as a fresh tomato that he realized he was being silly. What reason would the other have to hesitate in telling him the truth if there was nothing more to it? Like the complete idiots they were, both of them had apparently been carrying around the same secret. That was just like them. 

“Okay so we don’t need to make a big deal out of this but yes I’ve had a massive crush on you since we were pretty little and yes I was an absolute coward who never said anything.” Shisui coughed delicately in to one hand. “So if you happen to miraculously feel the same way that would be absolutely smashing; not to mention it would save me a great deal of moping.” 

“You are, hands down, my least favorite person in the world right now,” Itachi told him. 

Then as if to prove his own words wrong he took double fistfuls of the other’s collar and pulled them together for a first kiss he had imagined a rather shameful number of times. He meant it when he said they were going to fight about this later. Once he’d had time to get passed the novelty of being allowed close, being allowed to touch in the ways he’d been dreaming about, the two of them were absolutely going to trade some very sharp words about what kind of secrets were appropriate to keep and why it wasn’t very nice to hide the fact that they were soulmates for nearly two full decades. But all of that could wait.

For now he pressed a little closer just for the pleasure of feeling Shisui’s arms coming around to encircle his waist. Even if he had seen in black and white his entire life he knew that Shisui would still be the colors in his soul. The two of them were meant to be together. If fate happened to agree with him on that point?

Well. He was hardly going to argue against having everything he’d ever wanted handed to him on a silver platter.

[bakubabes-tatakae]

The Uchiha In The Leaves (Part Five)

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

(Kakashi Hatake x Reader)

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

AO3 Link

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

Part Five:

Word Count: 3971

*Y/N’s P.O.V*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 years ago:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He smiled a little. "Zabuza Momochi."

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

Present Day

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

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

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

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

"But why?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 Years Ago

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

"Good morning." I smiled back at him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He smiled. "I love you."

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

Present Day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“If we fail we all lose our lives.”

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

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

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

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

I tried to relax him. "Calm down!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I've got a plan."

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

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

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

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

Updated: 5/8/2020

[migila]

Fic time! Christmas special!

Fandom: Naruto

Timeline: When Naruto’s around 8-9

Christmas

“I wonder what I’ll get this year…”

“I’m sure my mom’s knitting socks for me again”

“I get chocolate every year”

“I bet I’ll get something cool; dad said so since I’m an academy student now!”

Naruto listened to his classmates with a small frown on his face. Who cared about something like Christmas? It was stupid; everyone was home, so no one came out to play! He hated Christmas!

…Maybe it’d be nice if he got some presents, too.

Not that he needed any.                                                                                          XXXXX

“It’s Christmas again already… what would you do if you were here?” Kakashi wondered as he stood in front of a grave “Rin… Obito…”

He sighed, adjusting his headband as he walked away. There was no use in thinking about it. They were gone, and that’s that… but if they weren’t, the three of them would probably be spending the Christmas together. All of them had lost their families after all.

“I should’ve paid more attention back then…”

Flashback

“Why do we need to invite Kakashi too?”

The young chuunin’s attention was caught when he heard his name. Looking down from the tree, he saw his teammates, Obito and Rin, walking down the path.

“Because he’s our teammate” Rin answered “We can’t just leave him alone during Christmas!”

“Can’t he spend it with his family or something…” it was really faint, but Kakashi did hear Obito’s muttering.

“He has no family, Obito” Rin tells the boy, who looks at her in surprise “That’s why it’s up to us to cheer him up during Christmas.”

Kakashi appreciated the thought, he supposed, but it was unnecessary. He didn’t care about Christmas.

…But if he didn’t go, Rin would be stuck alone with that idiot Obito. Rin was a good person and a decent comrade; it wasn’t a fate he’d wish on her.

Decision made, he jumped down, right behind the two.

“You called?” he asked, making Obito jump a foot in the air, while Rin was only mildly startled “Kakashi!”

And that’s how he had ended up spending Christmas with his teammates. And Guy. And Kurenai. And Genma. Asuma snuck in at some point, too. In fact, most of their classmates from the academy were there.

He wouldn’t have been needed after all.

And all this was made worse by all the hyacinths around. He hated those so much.

He was allergic.

Guy and Obito had a blast once they realized it.

They didn’t bother him the whole night though, and once they lost interest, Kakashi had just sat down in a corner, reading his book, hoping that this wouldn’t be repeated next year.

Flashback

“And it wasn’t”

Today, he’d give everything to make things so that it wasn’t the case.

But the past couldn’t be changed.

As he walks down the street, Kakashi doesn’t pay any mind to the children rushing home, no doubt looking forward to Christmas meals and spending time with their families. He’d been like that too once, a long time ago. Very long time ago.

“Well, this is a relatively peaceful era; maybe their innocence lasts longer” he thinks, trying to be optimistic.

“Christmas is stupid!”

…Or not. Looking behind him, he sees a blond child sulking with his hands in his pockets, slowly walking ahead. It takes him a few seconds, but eventually, Kakashi recognizes the boy: Minato-sensei’s orphaned son.

“Guess the kid has no one to celebrate with” he thinks before turning to continue on his way.

“Who needs presents anyway?”

“…” Kakashi almost, almost went and told the kid that he wasn’t fooling anyone. But he didn’t; it wasn’t any of his business. It wasn’t any of his business, so he should just keep walking and forget about it.

“…” too late. If he did nothing, he’d just end up feeling bad, now. Sighing, he began to tail the kid. After figuring out where he lived, the shinobi made up his mind. He’d get the boy a Christmas present. Just something small to lift the child’s spirits, no big deal.

Now he just had to figure out what the child would like.

XXXXX

Itachi watched his sleeping little brother, wishing that things were different. If only he could stay to spend the Christmas with him…

“I’ve already chosen my path” the Uchiha reminds himself, shaking his head “There’s no going back.”

Even so, it didn’t hurt to leave a present on Sasuke’s bedside table. The boy would never know it was him.

XXXXX

Kakashi sighs, thankful that he had finally been able to pick a gift and get it wrapped. Not that he was sure at all if the kid would like it or not, but could you blame him? He was an old soul, as some people called him, and had never really been much of a kid himself, so how would he know what a child would want for Christmas?

Eventually, he’d settled on a stuffed toy, hoping that it would work. Kids liked stuffed animals, right? Or was the boy too old for those?

“Well, sink or swim” Kakashi thought as he snuck in to the sleeping boy’s home “It’s not like I even had to do this in the first place.”

And yet, he really hoped the child would like it.

XXXXX

“What were you doing there?” Obito asks as Itachi sneaks out of the village. The other Uchiha barely looks at him before saying: “Personal business.”

“Went to see your brother, didn’t you?” the older one of the two asks, not waiting for an answer “Were you seen?”

“Of course no- “Itachi starts, but is interrupted by his own sneeze.

Raising an eyebrow under his mask, the man asks: “Did you catch a cold?”

“I don’t think so” Itachi says “Must be the season and all the hyacinths; I’m allergic.”

“Ah” is all Obito says before patting his cloak a few times “That’s pretty common.”

The two leave the village alone, but before leaving, Itachi can’t help but look over his shoulder one last time.

XXXXX

Sasuke stared at the present on the table with a frown on his young face, wondering where it had come from. Had the Hokage snuck in during the night? Creepy, but he couldn’t think of who else it could be from. Not that it’d be any less creepy had it been someone else.

“Tsk, I’m not a little kid anymore; I don’t need presents” the boy thought with a scowl, turning his back to the present and heading for the kitchen. And yet, he came back only a few seconds later “It’d be a waste to not at least see what it was.”

XXXXX

Naruto walked to his kitchen half asleep, rubbing his tired eyes. He could’ve slept longer, but he was hungry. It was time for some morning ramen.

“Huh?” the boy blinked sleepily, thinking that he was seeing things. There, on his kitchen table, sat a box neatly wrapped in red paper, finished with a white ribbon on top. It was a Christmas present. He blinked again, still not sure if it was really there, before smiling widely as he came to the conclusion that it really was there. Excited, he ran over, picking the thing up far more carefully that he ever held anything. He didn’t know what was in it and in case it was something that broke easily, he didn’t want that to happen. Carefully, he sat on the floor, putting the present down between his legs before pulling the ribbon off and starting to peel off the paper. When it was gone, he hesitated for a small moment before taking a hold of the box’s lid, lifting it and peeking inside, where a pillow sized stuffed animal, a dog, lay. Smiling widely, he took it out, no longer as careful as before since he’d realized it wasn’t something that would break easily. It was all white, and really fluffy. What kind of dog it was supposed to be, he didn’t know, but maybe he could ask his classmate Kiba about it? He seemed to know a lot about dogs. Not that it mattered; he liked it anyway.

Hugging the toy to his chest, Naruto got up from the floor, realizing that he was still hungry. It was time to eat.

It would only be later that he’d start to wonder where the present had come from.

XXXXX

Laying on his futon, Kakashi woke up to an itchy nose. He sneezed. He hated sneezing; it messed up his mask. Had he caught a cold? No, it didn’t feel like it; his eyes were a little watery. This felt more like an allergic reaction.

“I’m only allergic to one thing” he thought as he sat up, blinking after he did. Why exactly was his place filled with hyacinths, the only freaking thing in the world that he was allergic to? Sure, hyacinth was a Christmas flower, so getting some during Christmas time wasn’t suspicious at all, but who’d bother to sneak in to his home in the middle of the night to bring them, not to mention so many of them?

“There’s a small chance that Asuma might, but he knows I’m allergic and so wouldn’t take such a health risk. Who would?”

….

That wasn’t much of a question, really.

“Guy better watch out.”

[laceymorganwrites]

Outcast pt.2

Word Count: 2,128

Pairing: Sasuke x reader

Warnings: swearing

A/N: happy AU (meaning Itachi is alive and everyone is happy)

Two years have passed and Sasuke still hasn´t come home, you doubted he would at this point.

Honestly you should´ve seen it coming, all the while you comforted him, your mother gave him a home and a family, he never wanted any of that, he was never grateful for anything you gave him.

He just wanted revenge.

But that wasn´t why you were so mad, no, you were mad because you actually believed the vulnerable side he faked.

Most of all you were mad at yourself for still missing him.

You really thought you two had something special.

In those years you tried your best to seek distraction in everything, especially in the missions you went on with Naruto and Sakura.

They really grew up and learned a lot, you felt so weak next to them.

Sakura was so beautiful, she always was.

And that only made you feel inferior.

Yeah it was stupid to feel jealousy, to envy her, but how could you not? After all she and Sasuke always shared a special bond with each other, she always could read him like a book, understood his moods, his ambitions, she always had his back no matter how much of an asshole he was. It was admirable.

Ever since you realized that you too harbored feelings for Sasuke you were angry, infuriated, wrathful beyond belief.

The reason why should be obvious, you had no chance, not against her.

And that was the problem, you didn´t want to fight over some boy with your friend, it was stupid.

But the most prevalent reason for your anger was that you knew how she felt for him, she liked him before you, you had no right to fall for him and yet you did like a dumb little school girl you weren´t anymore.

You craved missions because of that anger Sasuke caused in you, the anger that just hid all the pain and broken trust you felt ever since he left.

It hurt you that he left without saying anything, especially after you thought that he showed vulnerability to you, that you got intimate at least a bit the night before he left.

You felt utterly betrayed.

Naruto tried to cheer you up as much as he could, cracking jokes and doing stupid things to direct your anger at him, but you only gave him halfhearted scolds.

That´s when Sakura noticed something was wrong too and she felt guilt build in her stomach.

Why had she never noticed before that you liked Sasuke? After all he did like you, as he wrote in the letter she was supposed to give you.

Sakura was selfish that night, she didn´t give you the letter because she was angry that Sasuke didn´t like her back.

But she grew up.

“(Y/N), I need to talk to you for a second” she gently touched your arm, frowning slightly.

Naruto went on ahead, telling you that you should hurry up or else your mother would be worried and the food cold.

“What is it?” you tried to sound nice, to smile at her, but you could barely avoid your voice breaking.

You always got so sad whenever thinking about Sasuke, but you weren´t the only one.

Sakura sighed before pulling out the letter of her bag, facing you with the most sincere look you have ever seen on her.

“I want to apologize. For everything, for behaving so childish… I know that you like Sasuke too and it took me some time to be okay with it, to be honest. But… it´s time to move on from me. When he left, he asked me to give you this letter. But I opened it, read it, I was heartbroken, so I never handed it to you and I´m sorry for that, it was stupid. We´re both grown up now and I don´t want to hate you because my crush likes you. I hope you can forgive me and that we can put this behind us” Sakura looked down on the floor guiltily the entire time she spoke before she handed you the letter.

With shaking hands you took it, but you didn´t read it yet.

Not before you went up to her and gave her a warm hug, embracing her tightly to show her that you too did not have any ill intents for her.

“Sasuke left, Sakura. He forsake everything and everybody, it´s time we get over him” you whispered into her neck, finally letting go the tears you tried to hold in.

“(Y/N)….please read the letter, it´s really important that you know what Sasuke had to say to you” Sakura had an urgency in her voice that you seldom heard from her, it wasn´t like the one where she motherly scolded Naruto for doing stupid stuff, it really had to be important.

You just nodded and she said goodbye, walking home and leaving you in the outskirts of the village where you took in all of the contents of the letter.

Sasuke thoroughly described his reasons for leaving, all about his brother, revenge and… that he held a special place in his heart for you, that he would think of you every day and regret leaving.

How he would apologize when he returned, how you were the reason he would return overall.

It was sweet reading those words and yet at the same time that warmth spread through your chest, so did an ache. Why did he have to be so stupid to chase after ghosts of the past who were so obviously stronger than him?

Oh how you wanted to punch him right now only to kiss it better afterwards.

You didn´t realize how much time has passed when you finished crying your heart out, it was pathetic, Naruto would laugh at you if he saw you like that.

“Shit! Mom´s gonna be worried...” you husked out loud before running home and entering your apartment with red swollen eyes and out of breath.

“Sorry I´m late, mom, Naruto! I forgot time” you breathed out, trying to catch your breath.

It was only after the silence that followed that you dared look up.

And the view brought tears right back to your eyes.

The scene that unfolded before your eyes looked like this: your mother was hugging Itachi, apologizing for the elder´s and the cruelty that he had to go through, Naruto was yelling at Sasuke who yelled back, confirming Naruto´s insults but then stopped in his tracks to look at you.

There was no missing the sorry and hurt and guilt in his eyes.

You didn´t know what to say so you looked to Naruto and your mother for help.

Naruto just snarled at Sasuke again though, grabbing him by his collar and growling how he made you cry again, your mother was too distracted talking to Itachi to notice that you were back.

“You´re an asshole...” you closed the door and stepped inside, shaking.

All of the emotions Sasuke made you feel boiled up again, and every one of them turned to anger.

“I know” Sasuke simply said, not daring to meet your eye.

Why was he here? Why now? Why was his brother with him? All those questions went through your head at the same time, it was too much to take in.

“(Y/N), sit down, I know it´s a lot for you right now, but you need to understand what happened” your mother gently touched your shoulder and you let yourself sink down on one of the chairs next to Naruto.

He still glared at Sasuke but put an arm around you, giving you some sort of comfort. He wasn´t good at comforting people in serious situations like these, but he tried his best.

Then your mother started explaining the story of Itachi, the cruelty he had to experience and that he has been pardoned by the village, of course those who led him to do what he has done were punished.

She didn´t mutter a word about Sasuke, thinking it was better for him to tell you his side.

You just sat there, tired, taking all of the information in. You didn´t know what to say, what to do, if you should cry at Itachi´s past or whether you should hug him in an attempt to comfort him.

But just like your brother you weren´t good at comforting people.

“I´m going to bed” you simply whispered, standing up and walking to your room.

There you sat down next to your window, sighing heavily and letting your clutching heart and the lump in your throat overtake you.

A knock on the door disturbed your agony, though you didn´t say anything, Sasuke still entered your room.

“(Y/N)?” he called softly with an uncertainty in his voice. “I know you don´t want to see me right now, but please let me explain myself...” he pleaded, the moonlight reflecting in his eyes.

You scoffed, sniffing and wiping away your tears angrily before gesturing to sit down with you.

Sasuke sat down in front of you, looking at you like an injured animal begging you to kill it to release it from its agony.

“I´m sorry, for leaving without saying anything… I know I hurt a lot of people in doing so, but I thought it was the right thing at the time” he frowned, looking down and fiddling with his fingers.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?!” you balled your fists, you didn´t want to say anything at first but the anger just swelled up inside of you, making its way outside.

“Yes, yes you hurt us, you hurt Sakura, Naruto, mom and me! All of us, you just turned your back on everything we built, it´s like you spat in our faces, telling us that we weren´t worth anything and the love we gave you was in vain! Of course that hurts… but that´s not the worst thing. No, the worst thing is that you gave in to your vengeance. I told you this before, but revenge isn´t the way to find redemption. And killing your own brother? Not only is that cruel, but it´s also a stupid idea! Do you know how strong he is? What were you thinking, taking him on like that? What got you thinking that you could actually win? You´re an idiot. Making us worry like that, we didn´t know that you´d come back, you might´ve been dead all along. And every day we asked ourselves if you were still alive, if you´d ever come back, if we could save you… we searched for you, you know?” you rambled on and on about the impact Sasuke left after he did.

Sasuke said nothing and the room was filled with silence.

There was nothing that came to his mind that could suffice for an apology, it was already too late for that, he hated himself for inflicting such pain on you, on his new family.

“Did Sakura give you the letter?” he breathed heavily, he felt like absolute shit, yes he deserved it, but he didn´t want to cry in front of you.

“Yes she did, just earlier today. I wish she hadn´t though, it wouldn´t hurt this much this way…” you breathed out.

“I still feel the same, nothing´s changed. All the time I was gone I wished I could return to you, you were the only thing that kept me going. But...you must hate me now” he felt silly for confessing his feelings to you, now that it was too late.

“It´s been two years, Sasuke… I was just starting to get over you and then Sakura gave me your letter and everything went back to zero. It really got my hopes up, but it´s not always this easy. I don´t hate you, I couldn´t. But I´m still angry at you” you told him.

“I know and I´m sorry. I shouldn´t have left, I should´ve stayed with you, I really am stupid” he reminisced, chuckling self pitying.

After a while you finally calmed down, you just couldn´t stay angry at him no matter how hard you tried, the soft spot you had for him ever since he first joined your make shift family has long grew into something more.

Into something greater than the both of you.

“I told you that before, but dwelling on the past doesn´t get us anywhere. You´re back now, that´s all that matters. We´ll make this work, that is if you stay this time...” you bitterly added.

Sasuke smiled at you genuinely, you were always so quick to forgive him, forgiveness wasn´t something he deserved and yet you still embraced him.

Just like back then… damn, he really did miss you.

“I´m not so stupid to leave you again” he husked.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Sixty: Aftermath ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, Hyūga Neji, Hyūga Hanabi, Uchiha Fugaku, Shimura Danzō ] [ SasuHina, death, blood, gore, child death ] [ Verse: Then It All Went Wrong ] [ AO3 Link ]

“And so the diseased branches find themselves severed and burned at last.”

Arms bound behind his back with chakra-sealing shackles, Fugaku is shoved to his knees, spine slumped as his exhaustion steals his posture. The ropes are up above his elbows, his severed hand meaning his wrists are no longer viable to hold him. Blood from a split in his brow seeps down over an eye, running down his cheek to drip from his chin to the floor.

From his hunched position, he can see the sandals of his captor, and the urge to spit is overcome only by his lethargy.

“A pity...we had plans only to eliminate your traitorous clan, Fugaku. But then you went and corrupted the Hyūga. Does your depravity and lust for power have no end?”

“...I could ask you the same thing, you rotten son of a bitch -!”

There’s a dull thud as a boot meets his ribs, form jumping slightly with the force before falling flat on his front with a groan.

“Now now...he’s earned a last few words, I think. Let the man speak. He’ll be dead soon. We may as well entertain him.”

Breath ragged, Fugaku struggles to draw air. “...someday...you’ll get yours. We begged and pleaded for our dignity, and our respect...and you met us with murder.”

“Your little uprising had no other outcome, Fugaku.”

“Because your bias and the bias of the council means we would never be free!” he shouts, even as his chest clenches and his ribs protest. “...I know what you want...and you won’t get it. You realize that, don’t you?”

Above him, a single eye narrows. “...what do you mean…?”

Along the floor, Fugaku’s lips curl in a grin that grows and grows, a low laugh rumbling in his chest. It slowly rises, echoing in the chamber until it sounds like the ravings of a madman.

“You think we didn’t plan this far ahead…? You think we didn’t know the outcome…?” Rolling to a side and looking up, he smirks in triumph. “...did you forget just who we allied with…?”

“...no...you didn’t…”

“...we did. Because I’ll be damned before you get your slimy, greedy hands on our eyes, councilman. Us, or the Hyūga. Every dead body laying in our compounds are useless to you now. Our eyes are sealed. You will never have the power of the Sharingan...or the Byakugan. They’re all sealed.”

A long, tense silence blooms, broken only by the rasping of Fugaku’s breathing. Hands both resting atop his cane, Danzō’s bowed head bears an unreadable expression.

“...the Hyūga I was prepared to lose for just such a reason, save for Hiashi. To think that he swallowed his pride enough for that...he must really have put his faith in you. A fool’s mistake. But for the Uchiha do to the same...I will admit, I did not foresee it. In that regard, you have outsmarted me, Fugaku. But you’ve forgotten one thing.”

The councilman’s head lifts, staring down at the clan head with a furious eye. “...you are still alive.”

Fugaku stares back, unblinking. “...wrong again.”

With a clamp of his teeth, he bites into his tongue, flooding his mouth with blood. The viscous liquid alights over the seal imprinted along the roof of his mouth, activating the stored chakra within.

There’s so little time to react.

Immediately, several Root officers leap in front of Danzō, others attempting to smother Fugaku with their own bodies. Yet another drags the councilman back just as the explosion sounds. Glass shatters and debris flies, several of the ANBU torn apart on impact.

Once Danzō finds his feet again, he stares at the aftermath in genuine shock.

...he never thought they’d go so far.

...he underestimated them.

As the surprise fades, a lick of temper grows. It’s true, he was relying on the genocide of the Uchiha to resupply himself and his ally with fresh Sharingan. But now...that appears to be a moot point.

“...Danzō-sama…?”

“...when the collection detail is finished, I want a full report of the body count.” While he already knows children are among the dead, a kind of knowing stirs in the back of his mind. “...if anyone is missing...begin a search immediately.”

Surely they would have a backup plan. Some kind of failsafe. There must be Uchiha or Hyūga left alive somewhere...the only question is who, and where.

He still has a chance to salvage this.

Until then, he straightens his garments. “...tell Hiruzen the attacks were a success. Anything else - any information regarding survivors - report to me, and me alone.”

“...hai.”

Hours later and miles north, the last remnants of the clans begin to wake. Shisui, already up after taking second watch, helps gather up the others: Itachi, Sasuke, Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi.

As the younger four adjust to wakefulness, he steps outside their cavern hideaway to talk with Itachi quietly. “No hide nor hair of anyone following us. Seems for now, we’re in the clear. They might not have realized we’re not among the dead...not yet, anyway.”

“Still, best we operate under the assumption they’re right on our tail. We can’t be too careful,” Itachi replies softly, expression heavy with worry.

“Of course.” Looking his cousin over, Shisui then asks, “...did you sleep at all?”

“...a bit.”

“...yeah, me too.” A hand wipes down his face. “...I know we’ve both been through heavy training to get to our ranks, and we both saw the effects of the last war, but...I’ll admit...I wasn’t ready for that.”

Itachi doesn’t reply, glancing aside bitterly.

“...I know that look. Don’t blame yourself, Itachi -”

“There must have been something I could have -?”

“No. The village had already made up its mind. We did all we could. Fugaku and Hiashi, too. And now...this is our reality. Don’t beat yourself up over something you can’t change. Focus on the here, and the now.” He rests a heavy hand on his cousin’s shoulder, expression grave. “...focus on Sasuke. Keeping them safe is all that matters, now. We’re all that’s left. And I’ll personally be damned before we let Konoha wipe us out completely.”

“...you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for, Itachi. You’re allowed to have moments where you waver. I’ll be here to back you up. We’re in this together. For now...best we pack things up, and get going. There’s a chance we have a pretty good lead. They can’t really know what direction we took. While the Naka’s the best choice, it does go both north and south, and has branches. If they want to cover all the possibilities, they’ll have to spread thin, and Root’s not that big to begin with. So long as we’re vigilant, we have a fighting chance.”

“...it’s still unnerving not knowing where we’re going,” Itachi then admits quietly. “Otōsan never told me anything about where we were supposed to go. I never found any information about an Uchiha outpost that far north...it’s practically on the border.”

“Might be a village where he had some allies. Some kind of failsafe where he knew we’d have help.”

“...perhaps. But there were no records of anything there in the library, even in the most recent cartography notes. It’s all tall mountains and thick forests between Hi no Kuni and the more northern nations - the entire range appears to be uninhabited. It’s along the same peaks as Shūmatsu no Tani.”

Shisui hums thoughtfully with a frown. “...well, we’ll just have to see. We might not have always seen eye to eye, but I trust your father’s judgement. He wouldn’t send us anywhere he wasn’t sure would be safe.”

“...I hope you are right.”

The pair commiserate over the map, plotting their route until the younger ones are ready.

“Do you want me to carry Hanabi?”

“Nah, I can do it. No offense, Itachi...but I’m a bit bulkier than you are. You worry about Sasuke, and I’ll handle the Hyūga girls. Feel bad for Neji, though…”

“We will make due. Perhaps he and Hinata can exchange if he gets too tired.”

Given the slim entrance to the cave, they usher the little ones out first, everyone on edge with themselves out in the open. Itachi hefts Sasuke to his back, Shisui strapping Hanabi to his chest as the other two argue over positions.

“I-I can go on foot!”

“So can I.”

“B-but...I was carried y-yesterday, it isn’t fair!”

“Guys, no time for arguing! Hinata, you’ll be carried first. Neji can switch later, okay?”

She makes to protest, but acquiesces as Shisui takes a knee, mirroring Sasuke’s position with Itachi.

“All right...let’s get going.”

                                                         .oOo.

     (This is a sequel to days 99 and 241!)       More of the double clan genocide verse! Which is fun :''D I know there wasn't much "ship" content (I use that lightly since at this point they're wee kiddos), BUT consider it some build up...? I DEFINITELY want to do more of this after the challenge with a proper fic, so...I wanted to establish a bit more plot-wise.      So of course Danzō is our main villain because he's literally Konoha's biggest jerk, and canonly wants those Uchiha peepers. And while Fugaku dying really bums me out...at least he got to give Danzō a big ol' middle finger (AND cost him a few Root agents, so that's a plus!). Sorry for the details, I try not to get too heavy into death / blood / gore. But it was just what Fugaku insisted he do. One last nobel sacrifice u_u      But...seems Danzō knows this can't be the end of it, so there'll definitely be more conflict there later. Cuz I can't let these kids have nice things :''D And just to clarify, Itachi and Shisui will NOT be a ship in this. I don't do Uchiha pairs, or Hyūga pairs. Shisui and Itachi are best buds, that's all.      ANYWAY, it's...very very late and I've still got stuff to do, so I'ma sign off there! Thanks for reading~

[prongsisabadger]

Songs for the Heartbroken: That’s What You Get

AO3

FF.net

Prologue.

What is the scariest thing in the world? If people say whatever first comes to mind, we would probably end up with answers like heights, spiders, or maybe even death; but there are definitively things in this world that are scarier than that. The ones I particularly find most terrifying, are people. Of course there are different types of people that are terrifying in their own particular way, but here, I'll only write about one of them.

People who love. This might sound a little stupid to some but bare with me and allow me to explain. The word 'love' has now lost its essence from the amount of times we've heard it said with astonishing lack of sentiment. But I am not referring to an eleven-year-old's version of love when they first confess to their crush; nor am I speaking about those words guiltily spat between ground teeth or stuttered in the spur of a moment for lack of a better thing to say. I don't mean those many whispered 'I love you's of someone who just cheated on their significant other.

No, what I fear is much more profound, raw, animalistic even. What I feat is a person who disregards their own life in order to whatever or whomever they love. Those people have a purpose and will do anything to see it through. Just like a parent protecting their child, a soldier fighting for a cause they believe in or anything that can inspire such passion in a person's heart that the consequences of their actions go beyond one's imagination. People with a mission and the will to lay down their lives to accomplish it; those are the people who scare me the most. It's men and women with this kind of drive and determination who bring down nations, who are able to destroy anything in their path; capable of building relationships, entire lives and tear through them with savage violence and not an ounce of hesitation.

But the most frightening part of it is not what they are capable of, it's the fact that you never know who they are until its too late. You might have known that person your entire life and never had contemplated the possibility. Anyone can be one of these people, one of those who love too much; and you'll never know until it's too late, not even if that person is you.

That is the moment these people will stun you the most, when you find that you yourself are one of them, unsuspicious even to your own consciousness, until you realize that you would be willing to do the unthinkable to protect what you love. When you realize, that after all, those things that once seemed so terrible are not anymore, and that if it means safety, then you don't mind doing them anymore. Not even if it means you will lose your humanity in the process.

I have only seen such drive in someone other than my brother and me, and it took me quite some time to realize it too. I knew Shisui and I were special in some way other kids in the clan were not, that was at least until I met Itachi. The heir to the Uchiha leadership seemed like nothing special when we had first been introduced, he was serious, pensive even beyond what would be considered normal for a four year old. Even I with the extensive training (it was extensive, ok? Cut me some slack I was four) I had been put through at that tender age, was not as stuck up as he was. Turns out it wasn't because he felt superior to others, as most people outside the clan thought, he was just very insightful and preferred to assess the situation before taking part in it.

His father, the Uchiha clan head Fugaku, was insanely proud of him, and he had reason to. Itachi was a prodigy in every sense of the word, excelling in every ninja art at a very young age and showing more promise than any other child in Konohagakure no Sato. But what no one expected from the quiet prodigy, was the fact that he was one of these people; one of those who love too much.

My childhood had been good enough considering the times we were living in. I had grown up within the safe walls of the Uchiha compound, caging me in for six years until I would be allowed to enroll in the academy, keeping me from seeing much of the village and even less of the world. Not that this was uncommon, after all I was a child; but it was at that young age that life started shaping itself around me, and events that would be shaping my future, started taking place.

"But onii-chan, I already practiced shuriken jutsu and kunai this morning! Why can't you teach me more taijutsu?"

Ah, the innocent, peaceful days when my only concerns were regarding my training. For some reason, even if I was a spoilt brat most times, my brother managed to somehow keep his cool; he was good with children like that, even if he was only two years older.

"Akane, your taijutsu is nearly perfect; you're the only one who could give Fugaku-sama's son a run for his money. Your other skills need honing too, you know?" I pouted. I used to do that a lot back in the day, so much in fact that Shisui had become immune to its effects, unlike our grandparents.

I took the weapons basket my brother handed me and once again, turned to face the target hung on the sole sakura tree in our garden. It had become a routine with the passing of the years, after our parents died in the war, Shisui had decided to take my training upon himself; since our grandparents were too old (and in my oba-chans case, too reluctant) for the task. So ever since I could stand up straight, Shisui had attempted to give me the knowledge he had acquired over his few years ahead of me. So far, he had been succeeding, and with my upcoming entrance exam in two years and Shisui's eventual graduation, we tried to spend as much time together as possible.

All of this led to a very strict training schedule we followed almost religiously. Before Shisui left for the academy, we would do a series of stretches and warm-ups, followed by our daily morning spar. And when I say spar, I mean a four year old attempting to pose a challenge to her seven year old brother. Anyway, Shisui would leave for class after breakfast and a bath, and I would get stuck with obaa-chan and the chores for the rest of the morning. Cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, doing the futons, I hated it all; but I did it without complaining or slacking off for obaa-chan's sake.

After that, I would help jii-chan at his shop in the Uchiha district market. He was a blacksmith, one of the best among the clan, and I had always loved watching him turn raw iron into the fine pieces of art that were considered his blades. Most customers were members of the clan, but every now and then came people from other parts of the village; and since I rarely stepped out of the compound, these were the most interesting days.

The bell hung on top of the front door chimed, snapping me out of my reading induced trance; I marked the page I was reading and put the book under the counter. Chakra control was a very important part of shinobi lifestyle, and I'd taken to read it's theory after a rather long rant Shisui had gone on after being under graded at the academy. The chunin sensei had obviously been in the wrong, so I was determined to, when the time came, point this person in the right direction and avenge my brother. No one looked down on Uchiha Shisui without facing the wrath of his younger sister, ever.

I let go of my still unborn plan for vengeance as I saw one of my favorite cousins enter the shop.

"Obi-niiiiiiii" I screeched as I jumped down from the stool behind the counter and made my way to him as fast as my short legs allowed me.

I only stopped a few feet away when I saw he wasn't alone. Embarrassing Obito-nii in front of his friends would not do. I would have loved to force the air out of my cousin with all the force a four year old could put into a hug, but apart from embarrassing him, I would put a blemish in the spotless name of the Uchiha with such childish behavior. So before I could give jii-chan a reason to scold me, I bowed down at the waist and tried to put the best impression of 'shinobi Shisui' on my face.

"Obi-chan, Onii-san, Onee-san; welcome to Uchiha Fuko's armory. What can I do for you?"

The girl behind my cousin cooed as silently as she could to try and not hurt my pride; while the silver haired boy simply acknowledged me with a slight bow of his own. Meanwhile, Obito smiled proudly and held his held high, probably showing off, with a light blush on his cheeks.

"Mah, Akane-chan, no need for formalities, this is just my team. This is Rin, and The gloomy bastard is Kakashi, I call him Bakashi though, It's more fun that way." The last part he whispered, shooting me a cheeky grin.

My cousin had always been quite easy to read, but the fact that a four year old could tell he was extremely pleased, spoke volumes. When Obito was pleased about something, he tended to boast, a lot; thus providing me with a semi-reliable information source; one just had to know where to look. That was how I came to know they were due another mission the next day, which delighted me in a way only Shisui knew. I had always been almost morbidly interested in anything shinobi, so this new information summoned a wave of curiosity and enthusiasm that I could only just hide.

"So you need more supplies for your new mission, is that right? Should I get your usual order of kunai, shuriken and fire conducting wire? Or will you need something else? I heard things are getting rough out in the battlefield."

I tried to hide my curiosity as best I could, Obito might have been a bit naïve, but I had heard about a silver haired prodigy before, and didn't want to get caught red handed trying to collect information. Thank goodness, he seemed to think I was interested in the subject, or at least making polite conversation; because he gave no signs of being onto me. Meanwhile both Obito and Rin looked amused by my 'playing adult' and had bright smiles on their faces as well as their full attention on me.

Ever since I had first started speaking, I'd found that different words and expressions, got different reactions out of people. Shisui, being the ideal shinobi trainee, had wasted no time in helping me hone that skill. He said information gathering and manipulation were key abilities for a shinobi to have; but that should only be used on the enemy. Of course, being a four year old, my 'enemy' was whoever happened to have what I wanted. In this case, Obito-nii and his team.

Obito put his hands on his knees and crouched to my height in order to address me. I, on my behalf stood straighter at attention, like my brother had told me when being addressed by a superior.

"That, Akane-chan, is classified information." he said slowly, clearly with the intention of letting my brain take in the new word; but I had been in the same room as my brother when he studied, it wasn't completely foreign to me.

I nodded rapidly and took a step back to address the other two, obaa-chan would have my head if she heard I was impolite to customers; and she would sure flip if she knew said customers were friends and comrades of the Uchiha.

"Rin-san, Kakashi-san, were you two looking for anything in particular? Our shop has quite the reputation for our work with chakra conducting metals." I said and made my way behind the counter to look for my cousin's usual order.

I struggled a bit with my yukata when I tried to climb the ladders and reach the top shelves behind the counter; but I managed to avoid breaking my neck and look at least a bit like I knew what I was doing. Traditional clothes were very restricting, when movement was concerned, but it sure looked good on a shopkeeper.

"That's the reason we are here actually, Uchiha-san. Both Kakashi and me are in need of chakra conducting blades." Answered the girl politely, the gleam of amusement still present in her eyes.

The other boy, on the other hand, who I was now certain, was the last member of the Hatake clan, stood silently to the side. He was eyeing up a tanto that was being displayed on a shelve to the side. He had a good eye, if I was being honest. The blade was not just beautifully decorated, displaying a wolf pack in the hunt on the side; but it was also of the finest quality my jii-chan had ever been able to make.

"I am no expert in that specific area," I said climbing down and placing my cousin's order on the front desk. "Would you please excuse me while I fetch my grandfather?"

When the lone kunoichi nodded, I smiled as sweetly as I could. Turns out Fuko Jii-chan was done with his orders for the day; so when the customers left, with their personal needs satisfied, I was allowed to go home and wait for Shisui.

In the afternoons, my brother would tell me about the lessons he had had that day or even a story if he had one about his classmates or teachers. After that, he would oversee my chakra training for the day. On this special discipline, I struggled more than was considered appropriate for a member of the Uchiha clan. Shisui worked hard to encourage me and hide his concern, but even if I was four, the disappointment whenever the leaf fell from my forehead, was still present in my eyes.

I tried really hard not to get discouraged, my brother was making a huge effort, and giving in to despair would be like throwing it all away. I didn't care if the clan thought of me as a disgrace; I just wanted to make my brother proud, to make him acknowledge me as a capable individual, someone worthy of being his sister.

I panted hard, trying to regain my composure, as my brother sat cross legged in front of me; leaf still firmly chakra-bound to my forehead.

"Nii-san, this isn't working!"

I wasn't trying to be ungrateful, not at all, but there was clearly something I was doing wrong; and it wasn't only compromising my training and hindering my development, it was making me a burden for Shisui. I never wanted to burden my brother, ever.

"Maybe Obaa-chan is right, maybe I'm no good-"

"Nonsense" Shisui never showed his frustration, not when it came to me; but for some reason, whenever I mentioned the issue with Obaa-chan he seemed really bothered by it. "If you want to be a Shinobi; that is what you will become. It makes no difference if you develop slower than everybody else in the clan. You will not be a career bride if you so clearly don't wish to."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before standing from his place on the training ground floor.

"I don't care if I have to train you myself. We will make an outstanding kunoichi out of you, Akane-chan." Shisui offered me his hand with a tired smile and waited for me to take it.

I couldn't help but hug him once I was on my feet. I knew he meant every single word he had said, he always did; and the fact that he so clearly had my future in consideration, showed me just how much he cared, and how lucky I was.

"Thank you Nii-chan, you are the best."

Shisui smiled right back at me and crouched, offering me his back. It had become almost a ritual; whenever we would be done with afternoon training, Shisui would give me a piggyback ride back home.

"Everyone deserves to live their own lives the way they want to, to make their own decisions and learn from their mistakes. No one is the same, Akane, and even if you don't agree with them, you should respect the path they have chosen."

The usual buzz surrounding the main road in the Uchiha compound was noticeably absent as we made our way through; it was to be expected since business was a lot less in the evenings. Very few people could be seen roaming around, and the few shop keepers that usually worked late were now closing up their stores.

"what if someone makes a bad decision, Nii-chan?" I asked quietly, noticing that I had no need to raise my voice above a whisper for him to hear me. The atmosphere around us was very calm and gave off a sense of warmth and comfort that I didn't want to break.

"Then you can do nothing but accept that it is the path they have chosen for themselves; and that they will have to face the consequences no matter what. Just make sure you never enforce those consequences out of spite, anger or vengeance, Akane. If someone has to atone for their sins, then let yourself be guided by your sense of justice."

Not entirely sure about what he had just said, I decided to just nod and let my head rest against his shoulder. I would later in life realize what he had meant back then; when friends and family would turn into criminals if only for a series of bad decisions.

[silverfootstepswrites]

Lullaby [80%]

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Read Equinox here and come back!

Sakura went into labor in the middle of a debate about mac and cheese. Kiba argued that yellow cheeses were the only acceptable inclusions in the mix, while Itachi argued that mixing gouda and cheddar with parmesan was the only way to make a good mac and cheese. 

As the argument moved on to acceptable pasta shapes, Sakura debated whether or not to interrupt. She let them bicker over whether to bake the dish covered in foil or uncovered before she finally decided to speak up. 

“So....” she began. Both of them looked up at her. 

“Yeah, babe?” Kiba replied, still a little distracted. His eyes stayed on his phone screen as he looked up mac and cheese recipes online. 

“I’m having contractions. For real, this time,” Sakura announced. 

Itachi dropped his phone. Kiba dropped his jaw. 

“Uh. Holy shit. Um...” Kiba fumbled. "Is the bag all packed? Should we call the doctor first? Or do we just call the hospital?” As he fretted, Itachi got out of his seat to go look for the hospital bag. Which wasn’t much of a challenge given that it had sat in the mudroom for the better part of a month. 

“Are you calling the hospital?” Kiba then asked when Itachi wandered back into the room with his phone held to his ear. He placed the packed bag on the kitchen table. 

“No. The Sheriff,” Itachi replied. The call connected. He held his pointer finger up.

“Hey, Kakashi..... Yeah, uh. Everything’s.... good... Just.... Sakura might be going into labor. But everything is fine. Just wanted to.... hello? Hello?” Itachi lowered the phone. Kiba smacked his palm to his forehead as they heard the wail of police sirens over the phone.

_________

The hospital they’d chosen was just outside of Old Pines. It was an older building, but it was the one place Kakashi could manage to visit as it sat sort of on the edge of town. The added bonus was that it served Old Pines, along with the other magical communities scattered around the area. None of these other communities were the size of Old Pines, but it was a sizable enough population that the hospital was necessary. Of course, there were humans who visited the hospital, too. The reception area was busy with human buzzing about when they walked in.

Tobirama strode up the reception desk, lowering his black sunglasses. The pretty, young receptionist looked up from her phone call. Her mouth hung open in the middle of her greeting. The voice on the other end of the line continued jabbering away as she stared at Tobirama. 

“Move it, Sexy Eyes. We don’t have time for this,” grumbled Kiba, nudging past Tobirama. 

“Hey how are you. Pregnant lady giving birth,” Kiba announced in one breath, jabbing his thumb at Sakura standing behind him. Sakura gave a casual nod. 

The receptionist continued to stare at Tobirama, who hadn’t even said anything yet. When he turned to look back at them, Sakura just sighed. Itachi flapped a hand, telling him to get out of the way. But the receptionist’s wistful gaze followed him.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she craned her neck. She spotted a nurse jotting down notes on a clipboard on the other end of the reception desk. She was definitely a human. Further back, she spotted another nurse looking through folders, thumb running along the colored tabs. As the nurse looked up, her eyes flickered gold. Just for an instant. Sakura smiled at her. 

“Hi. Help, please,” Sakura called, glancing at the stupefied receptionist. The nurse smiled back. 

“Sure,” the nurse replied, stepping forward. And over the receptionist’s shoulder, she mouthed ‘humans’. Laughing a little.

It was a smooth process checking in. Sakura’s name and information was already stored on the database. She had come to this hospital for her ultrasounds and checkups throughout her pregnancy. The nurses stopped in regularly to monitor Sakura’s vitals. The doctor poked her head in once during the afternoon to say hello. She was a fairy and was therefore unaffected by their charm. 

Labor. Delivery. It all seemed to move relatively quickly. And while everyone did their best to smile and keep things light, Sakura could see the nervousness in their eyes. The tight shoulders. The wondering gazes that flickered back and forth between them. 

When the first high-pitched cries rang out in the delivery room, everyone seemed to hold their breath. The nurses wiped away the blood, holding the child up for everyone to see. Sakura squinted to see through the sweat that dripped into her eyes. 

It was a wrinkly, ugly-looking thing. And the cries that left its mouth rang with a strange after-sound. Something warbling in each echo. Sakura could feel the lapis lazuli on her chest hum slightly under her hospital gown. Or maybe that was the thrumming of her chest as she beheld the squished face she had only even seen on an ultrasound.

“It’s a girl!”

“Not a pup,” she vaguely heard Kiba sigh. When she turned her head toward him, she saw Itachi reach out to clap him on the shoulder. 

Sakura held her arms out. The nurses laid the baby on her chest. Sakura wondered at how light she felt. Almost like nothing. And the baby’s whines faded as Sakura hummed. Toneless and soft under her breath. 

The song took the form of a golden thread. Wrapping around the child. Swaddling it in the familiar voice that it had spent listening to for all those months.

Kakashi knelt beside the bed. Staring up at the baby, eyes wide with wonder. His face split into a wide smile as he watched the baby wrinkle her face up, as if preparing to cry. 

“Who gets to cut the cord?” one of the nurses whispered, eyes flickering between each of the four men in the room. 

Without a moment of hesitation, Tobirama, Itachi, and Kiba all pointed at Kakashi. 

“Him.”

Kakashi blinked. He twisted around to look at them. He didn’t know when they’d made this decision. But when he opened his mouth to argue, Tobirama just scowled at him. Kakashi closed his mouth. 

When he looked over at Sakura, she smiled. 

“Go ahead, Papa,” she urged. 

Itachi caught the moment on his phone as Kakashi cut the cord. As he snickered at how Kakashi was crying, he looked up and realized that there were tears in his own eyes too. 

_________

“She’s cute,” Tenten whispered. 

“She looks like you,” Hana added. 

“She does. Like, a lot,” Ino agreed. 

The baby squirmed a little in her crib. The hair on top of her head was wispy, but it was light. Almost pinkish. And in the brief flashes when she opened her eyes, they looked green.

“Oh, that’s normal. That’ll change in a couple months. Probably,” Sakura told them. 

“Probably?” all three of them repeated. 

“Who knows? She’s at least....uh- 3/8 Siren, so... maybe? We’re kind of figuring it out as we go,” Sakura answered. And then she thought a little longer. “Or not. She might just look like this forever. Which is fine with me.”

“Can I hold her?” Hana then asked. 

“Yeah. Of course,” Sakura replied as she reached into the crib to lift her child into her arms. She carefully deposited the baby in Hana’s waiting arms. She wasn’t nervous, though. Hana was a mom herself. And if Sakura hadn’t known this, could tell just from the easy way she shifted her weight from foot to foot.

Tsume leaned over Hana’s shoulder, nose wrinkling. She sniffed a little at the baby before she touched a cautious finger to her cheek. 

“She’s really hairless,” Tsume murmured. 

"That’s normal, Ma. This is a baby, not a pup,” Hana reminded her. 

“Makes no difference. This is Kiba’s kid with his mate. That’s good enough for me,” Tsume declared. And then she moved around Hana to put her arm around Sakura’s shoulders. 

“And you!” she went on.

“Uh... yes?”

“Stop callin’ me by my name. Call me ‘Ma’, just like the rest of my brats do,” Tsume demanded. 

"Sounds good, Ma,” Sakura laughed.

_________

Over the next several weeks, there was no shortage of visitors to Sakura’s house. There was always someone at the door with a casserole or baked goods. The ones who had children of their own brought hand-me-downs in giant reusable shopping bags. Enough that Sakura could’ve opened her own clothing store if she wanted.

“It’s good to raise a baby in a loud environment,” Tobirama’s mother assured her. 

“Really?”

Sakura turned to face the computer screen. Swaying back and forth as she held her child in her arms. She wasn’t a very fussy baby, but she did enjoy being held. Which Sakura guessed was probably because she had no shortage of people in the house fighting to hug her.

“It’s what I did for all four of my boys. I think it was good for them,” the older woman confirmed.

“So we think it’s great you always have guests over. Although I’m guessing living with that many people in one nest can’t be that quiet either,” Tobirama’s dad chimed in.

“It’s pretty calm most of the time, actually,” Sakura told them.

The back door crashed open.

“Guys! Babe! You’ll never believe it! I took down a moose in the forest!” Kiba shouted. 

“A moose? What do you even season a moose with?” Itachi demanded from the living room. And then there was the sound of furious typing and clicking.

“For the millionth time, Kiba, you need a hunting permit for native species,” Kakashi sighed from the other end of the house. 

“Put him in jail, Sheriff. Maybe he’ll stop eating all my granola,” Tobirama suggested from the sofa on the loft. His head lolled back against one arm of the sofa. His feet were up on the other.

“Most of the time,” Sakura said again with a sheepish grin.

[kairi-chan]

I Got You (XXX) - BoruSara

Title: Face the Music

Genre: Hurt/Comfort 

Rating: T 

Beta read by: @sandpancakecat

With her bag in hand, she stood outside the big brown door, waiting. She pushed the doorbell and fidgeted with her bag's strap. It wasn’t like her to be this restless, but after the events that happened in the last two days, she couldn’t help it. She rang the bell again, with more force this time.

Still, no one came.

Her face started to feel hot and tears pricked at her eyes. Why was she even crying? What was the point? Didn’t she bring this unto herself? Sarada gritted her teeth and rang the bell again, letting out a short, and exasperated shout. She took in a deep breath, and the tears began to fall down her face. She furiously wiped at them, refusing to let her emotions get the better of her at this moment.

“Sarada?”

She looked up, and through tear flooded eyes, she was met with her uncle’s concerned face.

Sarada dropped her bag and clung onto his waist, face wet with tears, and staining his shirt. Her uncle didn’t say a word. He only placed a soothing hand on her back and allowed her to cry. Soft footsteps came from behind him, Itachi looked back, and he held a finger to his lips.

Shisui read the situation and took a few steps back as Itachi carefully walked backward, letting him and Sarada into the house. Shisui quietly walked around them and picked her bags up and closed the door. He mouthed to Itachi, “I’ll make some tea.” To which Itachi nodded in thanks. He was now rubbing her back in a calming up and down motion. “Do you want to sit down?”

She shook her head and clung on tighter. The corner of Itachi’s lips quirked up. She was behaving much like she did when she was much younger, back when Sasuke would scold her for eating sweets before dinner and Sarada would temporarily hate him for it and seek refuge with her uncle. The one who would secretly give her a sweet or two to calm her down, but explain why her father would deny her of a treat. Although this time, he imagined the reason for her tears were far more rattling than being denied a piece of candy. 

. . . Sarada sat on the couch with her feet tucked under her, a fluffy blanket draped on her shoulders. A hot cup of tea warmed her hands. It was a little too hot, but she was just thankful she could feel anything at all.

Her two uncles were quietly whispering in the kitchen, surely speculating what might have happened to her. Or worse, called her mother already. But knowing uncle Itachi, and seeing how distraught she was, surely he wouldn’t call Sakura immediately. The reason why she came to him, out of all the people on her contact list, was because she trusted him enough to know that he wouldn’t jump into hasty conclusions and act accordingly without verifying facts and analyzing the situation.

Her uncle Shisui though…

“We should call Sakura,” Shisui whispered, worry lacing his voice and making his brows knit together. “She would kill us if we didn’t let her know she was here.”

“Sarada is safe,” Itachi sipped his tea calmly. “She needs time to herself.”

Shisui pursed his lips. He couldn’t argue with both those points… but it would only be a matter of time before Sakura starts calling everyone in search for her only daughter. And if Sasuke hears about Sarada missing… “Yeah, okay. I’m keeping my phone off, and I’m going to leave this to you.” He sighed and handed his phone to Itachi, who only smirked in response.

“I’m going to head out and buy some ingredients. I’ll cook us up a good dinner.”

“Impossible,” Itachi teased. “We both know I will be doing the cooking.”

Shisui rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Just let me get out of here so you can do your thing? I’ll take my sweet time, but I’m guessing like, thirty minutes tops. So…” He pointed towards the living room. “Do it.”

Itachi finished sipping his tea and Shisui grabbed the house keys. He looked at Sarada as he walked out and offered her a weak smile before leaving. Itachi placed his empty teacup down on the table and walked over. He approached her carefully, eyeing the teacup in her hands, still full and no longer steaming, and waited patiently. After a few moments, she looked at him, and then down on the couch. He took this as permission to sit, so he did. Keeping his distance, he stared ahead, just waiting and allowing Sarada to get used to his presence. He would not speak, not unless she wished for him to.

The time stretched on, but Itachi didn’t mind. He would wait for as long as Sarada needed to open up. Even if Shisui came through that door and finished cooking dinner, if she wasn’t ready to speak, he would still not say anything. If she needed to stay for a week, he would prepare the guest room for her and allow her to extend for as long as she needed. She’s a strong girl, and he has never seen her as troubled as she is now.

Although he had an inkling of what was going on, Itachi did not want to judge and jump to a conclusion just yet. From the corner of his eye, he noticed her shoulders shake… Was she… holding back tears? This made Itachi frown. Surely, Sarada knew she could cry in his home, in his presence. He had never reprimanded her for shedding a tear at any little thing, be it a show or when her pet cat died. Slowly, he stretched his hand towards her and left his palm facing up.

Sarada looked at his hand, and then at his face. Itachi wasn’t looking at her, and she knew his outstretched hand was an offer for comfort, and not to pressure her. They had been sitting in silence for more than twenty minutes, and he hasn’t said a word or moved. She took his hand he squeezed. Her heart tightened and she bit her lower lip. She lifted her gaze and looked at him. Itachi had a kind smile on his face.

“Uncle Itachi…” her voice shook. “I think… I think I… I’m so confused.”

He hummed. “Would you like to speak about it?”

“I don’t…” her voice was so small and she averted her gaze, but squeezed his hand. “I don’t even know what to say. I just… I don’t want to hurt him.”

Itachi nodded thoughtfully. It was like her to think of others before herself, but he wanted to know more. And so, he waited some more, still holding on to her small hand.

She laughed bitterly. “I don’t even know who I’m talking about anymore. I feel like I did something bad. I might have. But I really didn’t mean to… while I was with Kagura-kun, I could only think of…”

Itachi kept his face impassive, but his mind was racing. It seemed like Sarada was coming closer to the conclusion, but she was still denying it, avoiding the truth like the plague, out of her fear, and perhaps… out of shame. She’s a smart girl, she already knew. But she still held herself back. He chewed on his lower lip, contemplating if saying it bluntly was really what she needed right now. Perhaps if she asked…

“Uncle Itachi, I don’t know anymore…”

Aha. Close enough.

“You already know it, Sarada. But I will say it anyway... You cheated on Kagura.”

She froze. Perhaps it was tough to hear, but who else would she hear it from? He waited again and allowed his words to sink in. “N-no… I--I didn’t I just…” she bit her lip.

Denial was a step, but letting her linger here for long wasn’t going to be good now, was it? But still, he didn’t say a word. It was better to let her come to the realization herself, and to justify--or accept--whatever it is that she had been doing. Itachi was not a direct witness to her relationships, but deducing from social media, some of Sarada’s random text rants, and coffee updates that he got from Sakura (sometimes through Izumi) were enough pieces of information for him. He never liked to assume--and never did--but he would be lying if he said he did not have his own predictions and opinions about his niece’s... love life.

Although he knew it was a possibility, he did not enjoy seeing her in tears on his doorstep, and now the conflict racing through her mind was all too clear in her big, dark eyes. He bit his lower lip and squeezed her hand. Maybe he was too direct… This wasn’t Sasuke, after all. Perhaps the tough love he gave his little brother did not bode too well with his niece… But Sarada was tough, and she was still an Uchiha. She had enough grit and she was smart. She would get out of this funk, and make the right decision.

Her shoulders shook, and salty tears streamed down her face. She rubbed at them and sniffed. Even if it was hard. Even if it meant breaking her own heart. Sarada would do what’s right.

“I’m sorry…” she whispered. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen…” her sobs grew louder, and he pulled her into his arms, into a warm embrace. Nope, definitely not the approach he ever gave Sasuke. Sometimes he thought Sasuke wouldn’t be so… quiet if he was softer on him. But seeing as how he’s doing now, Itachi still thinks he did okay. And hearing that Sarada apologized, she was doing far better than his little brother did at her age. After all, Sasuke only ever apologized to Sakura.

She cried more, and Itachi held her. Sarada was sputtering words and instances that didn’t really make total sense to Itachi, but he felt better knowing that she was letting her feelings out and that she was now fully grasping the situation, what her role was in this, and what she needed to do. Her phone laid discarded on the coffee table, and despite it vibrating with calls and texts, they both ignored it. Even when Shisui came back with groceries, and started to clank around in the kitchen, they both paid no mind to it. . . . To say that dinner was an awkward affair was a fucking understatement. Shisui had a hard time swallowing his steak, despite it being cooked to pink perfection. And this was probably what, the third time he choked on his peas? Neither Sarada nor Itachi batted an eye about it, though. He didn’t know if he was supposed to be thankful or not. After a sip of water, and clearing his throat, the silence came back. Itachi ate normally as if nothing was wrong. He even dared to have a small smile on his face, as if he was really enjoying his steak!

Sarada barely touched her food. It was understandable. But when Itachi rose and placed a slice of molten chocolate cake in front of her, she dug in. Itachi also placed a glass of cool milk next to her water, and she picked it up the moment he placed it down.

Ah right. Sarada inherited Itachi and Sakura’s sweet tooth. Shisui smirked remembering how disappointed Sasuke was when he learned his little angel hated tomatoes--his absolute favorite--but indulged in sweets, just as much as his wife and older brother did.

Tough luck, Sasuke.

Shisui could finally enjoy his steak. He started cutting a piece and plopped it in his mouth as he watched Itachi and Sarada, enjoying their cake. Their lips slightly curled upward as they finished the delectable dessert. Shisui and Sarada’s eyes met. He gave her an encouraging smile, and she returned it with a small one. The way her eyes shone made Shisui perk up.

“Thank you, uncle Itachi,” she looked at him, and then turned back to face her other uncle, “uncle Shisui. I… I know I did something wrong, and I hurt a lot of people…”

Understatement, Shisui thought. But kept his mouth shut, as Itachi was giving him a pointed stare.

“I need to own up to it, and right my wrongs even if…” she looked down. “Even if it’ll hurt.”

Shisui bit his lower lip and looked at her, and then back at Itachi, who only nodded.

Sarada lifted her head up, and the fire was burning in her eyes. “I have to fix this, and I will.”

Shisui gulped, but a wide grin slowly spread across his face. Atta girl. It’s tough, and hard to do, but that’s exactly why Sarada knew she had to do it. No more running away, no more denying.

It was time to face the music, and she was gonna rock this.

A/N: It’s about time we crawled out of this messy and totally avoidable problem. Itachi, as my wonderful beta reader has put it, is the only one with a brain cell around here. And I couldn’t agree more. I have the next chapters outlined, and will be starting on writing them soon! I also have a Halloween special lined up for this fic. I’m so excited to share it with you! :)

If you like what I write, and want to read more, please do check out my #fanfiction tag. I also have links to my Master Post, ff.net, Ao3, Twitter, and Ko-Fi.

Thank you for reading and write on, darling. 

[akatsuki-trashcan]

Could we have a hc about Tobi, Deidara, Zetsu, Sasori, Itach, Hidan, Pein and Konan confessing to their s/o that they love them? How’d they plan it and what they’d say?

Confession from Tobi, Deidara, Zetsu, Sasori, Itachi, Hidan, Pain, and Konan

~Tobi~

-Just as you might’ve expected, this can go way or the other. He might either have no filter and confess as soon as he realized he likes his S/O, or he might be like a school girl harboring a crush. Either way, it’s pretty easy to tell he’s got a crush from the obvious (but harmless) stalking traits, or the scribbling that persons name all over anything he might own.

-To show his affection through a confession, he’ll probably show up with some of his favorite snacks and attempt to share them over a bubbly/giggle conversation. Even with a mask own, the S/O should go ahead and assume he is definitely blushing.

-Persistent in a small way. If by any chance he was turned down, he’s be super discouraged, but would try again later at least 3 more times before settling for the fact the person might not like him back. Even then, he’s still a goof and supportive friend. Besides, who could say no to him?

~Deidara~

-It takes him a while to confess partly because he is shy and has never done that before, and also because he wants to be sure he has the S/O hook, line, and sinker before he reels them in.

-What I mean by this is that, he won’t confess until he’s done “peacocking”, or showing off his best attributes first. It’s no secret at all that Deidara likes to gloat and brag ESPECIALLY when it comes to his art. He does this a lot more when the person of his interest is around because he simply wants to impress them

-In a way, he’s scared to throw his heart out there because he really hasn’t ever done that before. His shyness will almost always peek through his gloating in the form of a blushy pink on his cheeks, especially when his S/O is taking excitement in his art.

~Zetsu~

*Thanks for asking for him. He doesn’t get enough love lol

-It may be repetitive, but you should already expect the two personalities to bicker a bit before coming to an agreement. The light side has already fallen for the S/O, but it takes the dark side a long time coupled with some coaxing methods to fall for them too.

-Light Zetsu takes the S/O out everywhere, but his favorite place is a stroll through the meadow whenever it’s midnight out. It becomes extremely more enjoyable whenever the two can see the fireflies that are out at the time, and her the gentle sound of the creek running nearby. 

-Of course dark Zetsu is dragged along for ALL of these so called dates, and gets just about fed up with it all until one night he looks over at the S/O resting nearby in the meadow, the moonlight illuminating their (skin color) and cascading on then like a soft blanket. It’s almost like he’s become mesmerized as well, and soon realized “this person can everything I have to give if I can keep waking up next to them like this.” Afterwards, the two personalities come together with gifts and flowers (ESPECIALLY FLOWERS), and confesses in their own way.

~Sasori~

-Spends more of his time avoiding his own feelings than he does working on ways to confess properly. He doesn’t really have/or show much emotion at all. The little that he does express is almost always frustration, or sass. Love is foreign to him (especially after his childhood situations passed). Therefore when he did start to feel what tiny shred of love was leaking its way back into his life, he did everything in his power to avoid this.

-Actually, it takes his S/O being around a lot and being consistent with including themselves in his presence before Sasori starts to let his thick walls around his puppet heart down. After each amount of time they spend together, he loosens up a bit more each time because he’s becoming trusting and interested in his S/O

-Before you know it, he’s trapped. He’s spending less time on his work, and more time with his S/O. Less time questioning why he’s spending time with a feeble human, and more time admiring their each and every perfection and flaw. Less time being cold...and more time being warm. Before you know it, he’s at their bedroom door with a hand-made puppet and a heartfelt confession that would make even the coldest person cry.

 ~Itachi~

-He’s really more focused on the goals ahead of him, but he’s a lot more susceptible to falling in love than most of the others. He might be a little dim in the first few days. “Why is (he/she/are they) being so nice to me. Why are they sharing so much with me? Why are the always looking out for m...OHHHH!” After he catches the drift, he most definitely falls in love with no caution.

-He devotes himself to them. He protects them, cares for them, and is mostly by their side with the exception of some missions. And even then with those exceptions, he’s constantly finding a way to send mail to them (depending on the length of the mission.)

-It only takes a short while before he confesses that he’s fallen for them (even though it was pretty obvious to tell before hand), and only an even shorter period of time before he’s down on one knee pledging his life to them...what little of it that may be left.

~Hidan~

-This guy is a wreck tbh, but he has the capability to straighten himself out when he tries enough (and lucky for the S/O, he does). First he’s annoyed that they’re even in the same room as him, let alone  the same base. With their stupid eyes that glisten, and their dumb, soft looking (hair color/texture). Their ridiculous smile that lightens up a room full of villains. Just who do they think they are?!?!

-He then realizes after some time that he’s staring at them all the time. Now he doesn’t really think this through with his head at first. He just turn it over to his grizzly instincts and figure “I wanna hit that.” Of course he’ll probably slide a few gross, teasing words their way. If that doesn’t stick then he’ll put some more thought into things.

-He realizes even longer afterwards that he’s not only staring at them all the time, but thinking about them a lot too. It’s only after a bloody ritual that he sits up out of the blue, looks at Kakuzu, and asks “Hey...what the hell is love anyway?” Of course Kakuzu grunts with annoyance and replies “Something that’s also completely unimportant when compared to money. Now get up, you’re taking too long with your damn rituals again.” Instead of becoming annoyed like usual, Hidan is too focused on the S/O. 

-Out of the cold sweat of night, he wakes up, walks to their room, and has a long talk with them about how his head’s been a mess since they joined the akatsuki. He slides a sly confession of his love in the conversation nonchalantly, and genuinely hopes they accept him for who he is.

~Pain~

-Much like Sasori, he just isn’t focused on love or any other emotion at the moment. In fact, he shows much less emotion than Sasori does! Its work, domination, work, domination, work, etc...

-It’s a crazy situation, but he unknowingly starts to fall for them bit by bit! I mean this as in he becomes very protective over them and worrisome about their well being before he even knows why he did it! At one point he finds himself stopping his work and plans to bring them some herbal soups because they were sick that particular day. Maybe an hour later he sits up suddenly in his chair and think “Why did I do that?”

-His confession comes off as emotionless and like he’s reading from some sort of a script, but he really means everything that he says. As an attempt to solidify this, he’ll give his very best attempt at a small smile afterwards.

   ~Konan~

-There is 0% hesitation from her once she’s realized she is in love with the S/O. In fact, the only reason she hasn’t confessed yet is because she’s busy finding ways to be romantic with her confession. 

-She either makes it a comfy confession where they’re in the base with some dinner she picked up from a ramen shop nearby, and a few flowers laid out with some candles.Or, it’s elaborate with a lit walkway in the forest, and dozens upon dozens of origami butterflies shrouding the sky in beauty

-Either way, she pours her heart out completely, and she means every single thing that she says. It would be impossible to reject an angel like this.

[officerjennie]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Naruto Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Itachi Series: Part 2 of Raffle Stories Summary:

There's plenty of conversations they've never had. At least now they finally have one that's been long coming.

Story written for @something-like-air, who was one of the raffle winners!

Ko-Fi || Commissions

It had been slower than usual at the tower. Tobirama scratched out his signature for the umpteenth time, hardly focused enough on what he was doing to read his own handwriting, it becoming nothing but a blur in his vision. His window had been left open to cool his office, and with the pleasant respite of the wind came the sounds of distant laughter from the academy, children safe and at play in the village only a decade or so old. It set his heart at rest in a way he’d never known in his own childhood, and a rare smile touched his lips, papers rustling as he shuffled them in place and reached for yet another form to sign.

A light knock on his door paused his hand, chakra flaring up in a beckon for his unexpected guest to enter. Unexpected yet hardly unwelcomed, quill placed carefully to the side as his door clicked shut once more.

“Hokage-sama, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Is this a professional visit, then?” He’d asked time and again for the other to call him by his name, not his title. But it seemed even Itachi had been affected by the stubborn vein in his heritage, refusing to honor his wishes and insisting on distancing himself from those around him. No matter that they’d welcomed him years before - that he was more family than anything else by now.

He gave a polite smile as he shook his head. “I hope a personal visit isn’t unwelcome. If it is, I could always come back later.”

“You’re already here. Might as well stay.”

Itachi gave a single nod, walking further into the office to stand in front of the open window. He said not a word for quite some time, content enough to stare out at the village below. The breeze blowing the few loose locks of his hair as he leaned forward, more at peace now than Tobirama had seen him in months.

He had to reconsider that thought, frowning as he did so. Years, actually. He’d be hard pressed to think of a time he’d seen Itachi more at peace than at that moment, overlooking Konoha, the scent of plum blossoms in the air around them.

Really, it should have been a pleasant sight. But instead it set an ache in Tobirama’s chest that he couldn’t quite place a name to, and any thought of continuing to work in the quiet around them faded away. He pushed himself up and away from his desk, moving to stand close to the Uchiha.

“Do you miss it? Your Konoha.” Tobirama wasn’t entirely sure he had the right to ask, despite considering himself to be one of Itachi’s closest friends. He found himself too curious to keep the question to himself, though a strange and rather vocal part of himself still feared the answer.

“How could I not?”

He couldn’t help but scowl at that. Quite the opposite of what he’d wanted to hear, no matter that it made sense. There was no doubt little here that resembled Itachi’s time, and as someone who had relocated from his home territory only a few short years after Itachi had been found on the outskirts of Senju land he could at the very least sympathize in some fashion.

Saying as much would probably be a disservice to Itachi’s struggles. Tobirama still had his family, small as it was, and though his life had certainly changed by leaps and bounds he hadn’t been thrust into a past generation against his will. Instead of expressing either his admittedly selfish disappointment or his lacking understanding he merely inched closer, letting their fingers brush together in a way that could almost be accidental if the both of them didn’t already know better.

They still hadn’t taken any time to discuss his rather foolish behavior that night well over a month ago. At least he knew never to indulge in his brother’s sake again, no matter the occasion, if he didn’t want to spew his embarrassment in the middle of the street while literally hanging off the man he’d been pining after for years.

It was a sad sort of solace to find Itachi knew little more than he did when it came to matters of the heart, seeming to shy away from any hint of discussing it. Perhaps he wanted nothing more than friendship, or perhaps he needed time to get his thoughts in order. Either way, Tobirama would understand, despite the deep ache pulsing in his chest at the former possibility.

That vein of thought only reminded him of one more painful. He didn’t retract his hand, only because Itachi made no move to shift away, but he did focus firmly on the rooftops stretching out below. Still shiny and new, a village on its first legs and expanding every day.

“Do you know much about my hiraishin?” They had never discussed the technique before, but it’s hardly like they’d discussed ever second of Itachi’s life. Barely any, as much as it bothered Tobirama to not be trusted with the information. It was possible Itachi had studied or used his jutsu before coming to their era.

That hypothesis was disproved a second later as Itachi shook his head, shifting his gaze ever so slightly to look at him. “I had heard of it, of course. One great shinobi from my time was famous for using it.”

“Oh?” A trickle of pride and curiosity distracted him for a moment, more than glad that at least one of his techniques had survived - more than one, since he’d seen Itachi use his kage bunshin on a few occasions. Though the importance or significance of his own jutsu creations was hardly the point he was trying to get at. “I was actually working on the technique earlier this week, attempting to improve upon it, and it occured to me it might be of use to you.”

Itachi cocked his head in the way he always did when curious about something, one hand resting against the windowsill while the other still hung next to his own. “I was under the impression you were hesitant to teach others that particular jutsu. Was I wrong?”

“Not entirely, no.” Apparently, Izuna’s insistence on learning his jutsu and subsequent whining when he said no had spread quite far. It would have had to for Itachi to know about it, since he was usually so far out of the gossip loop - a feat of its own considering how much time he spent with Hashirama, whose ear was all but glued to people’s doors when it came to personal matters.

A habit he would’ve personally knocked out of the idiot if it wasn’t so beneficial for shinobi to collect intel. Better to encourage what few useful habits his brother had, no matter how trying or obnoxious they might be at times.

His brother was beside the point. As was his continued annoyance and bafflement at how persistent his old rival was about learning his jutsu. And even if the topic he was trying to discuss might be difficult for the both of them, Tobirama couldn’t exactly avoid it forever, especially considering he’d already gotten Itachi’s attention.

“I’ve actually started to research further into fuinjutsu theory, specifically some of the seals used in that technique.” Children could be heard playing in the streets below, some still too young to be trapped in the academy’s classrooms. It was difficult to tell at a distance, but if Tobirama squinted he could see a few as Uchiha children, pale skin and dark hair, laughter bubbling out as they chased after the others ahead of them. He wondered not for the first time who Itachi might have left behind, what family might be aching from his absence. “Scientifically speaking, space and time are the same thing. Well. Not entirely, that’s a simplified version of the explanation, they’re more equal parts of a larger whole that interact with each other but still. The concept works the same either way.”

He was rambling a bit. Using his sciences as a crutch for conversation, like he always did when nervous. At least Itachi never seemed to mind, though Tobirama wasn’t sure he always followed. Itachi might be intelligent but no one’s intelligence translated to every topic.

Now even his thoughts were rambling. Forcing them to come to a halt and get back on track, he half turned towards the other, crossing his arms to hide his fists.

“Theoretically speaking, if I can move through one, I’m already moving through the other. It simply becomes a matter of how one bends either space or time.”

“Bending time?” That certainly had Itachi’s attention. It was difficult to tell his reaction beyond surprised though. His eyes were squinted so far he looked a little displeased by that was a typical expression for him, his vision already poor and the bright sunlight no doubt helping that little.

“It’s only theoretical,” he clarified. Though in scientific theory space/time was a single concept, in practicing fuinjutsu it wasn’t that simple. Still, he’d managed to find a way to bend one half of space/time to a limited degree, and with enough research he was certain he could bend the other half as well. “I just thought you might be interested, since you, well.”

They’d never discussed Itachi’s life prior to his appearance. Not much of it, not nearly enough to get a good grasp on what he’d left behind. But Tobirama wasn’t a fool when it came to people - a bit emotionally backwards if he was being honest with himself, but far from completely ignorant. He recognized that distant look Itachi got sometimes for what it was, his insistence on remaining formal with even those close to him making it even more obvious.

“Messing with time isn’t a hobby I’d like to acquire. Thank you for the consideration still.”

Tobirama frowned over at his companion, not entire sure if he was surprised or not by that answer. Itachi had always been a bit modest but he usually accepted help when he needed it nowadays, especially after Hashirama had smothered the habit into him through his illness.

“You miss your Konoha.” He shouldn’t push this. Didn’t want to, hated the idea of pushing someone so important to him towards a different path, one he couldn’t follow him down. But he knew if he kept this from Itachi it would rot him from the inside out, and he forced himself to speak past his own reluctance. “You wouldn’t have to miss it anymore. It’d hardly be a hobby if you only used it to get back home.”

“I suppose you’re right about that. But Konoha hasn’t been my home for many years anyway.” Something shadowed his face then, there and gone in an instant, and he was turning towards Tobirama before he could think on what it might have been. “It might be time I settle myself into a new home.”

“You’re leaving?” He couldn’t stop himself from grabbing Itachi’s wrist, ignoring the startled look it earned him. No matter that he’d just offered him a way to leave, a way to leave their time altogether, hearing him say that… “What reason do you have to leave us? Did something happen? Was it…?”

“Ahhh, forgive me, Tobirama-san. I should have made myself more clear.” Itachi shifted a bit under his gaze but made no move to pull his wrist away, keeping his eyes focused just off to the side of Tobirama’s. A habit he’d noticed in a lot of Uchiha sans Madara, never quite meeting the eyes of their fellow shinobi unless challenging them. “What I meant was that I planned to settle here, in this time. There’s little waiting for me elsewhere, and you’ve all been more than welcoming.”

“Okay. So it wasn’t- okay. Good.” It was perhaps a bit of a leap for him to assume his uncouth confession might have driven Itachi to want to leave the village but it had been on his mind earlier. Something they really needed to discuss eventually if only for his sanity’s sake, though the gods knew it would be a double edged conversation - speaking on it might be a balm of sorts, but discussing any sort of feelings would leave him rigid and uncomfortable for the rest of the day at the very least.

“...Tobirama-san, may I be forward with you?” Whatever Itachi wanted to say had him hesitating, a barely noticeable twitch to his nose giving his nerves away. “I’ve been giving some consideration to what you said about...well, I thought that, since I’m making a home here already - I don’t have much experience with this sort of thing.” “You asked if you could be forward.” He shrugged, more than happy for the distraction from his own thoughts. “Just be honest and spit it out.”

“I’ve given it some thought, and I think you might be right about us being, well. Compatible. Assuming you’re still interested, maybe we could…?”

“Right. That. Yes, that would be acceptable.”

He hoped none of his emotional panic was showing. It occurred to him then that he still had ahold of Itachi’s wrist, and it took little more than loosening his grip before he had the other’s hand instead. “Acceptable.” Itachi’s mouth quirked ever so slightly, black eyes alight with amusement. It was easier to ignore his own awkwardness and squeeze Itachi’s hand instead of talk further, wondering briefly if it was normal to feel so light and grounded at the same time during such moments.

Neither of them got much time to ponder it any further. The door to Tobirama’s office swung was flung open with all the lacking grace that usually announced Hashirama’s arrival, the living stump himself already mid boisterous sentence, his loud voice echoing in the room around them when he paused to stare over at the two at the window.

“You’re holding hands.”

Tobirama immediately dropped said hand at Hashirama’s statement, taking a half step back to put space between them. “Shouldn’t you be doing something? Talking to the elders, spending time with your children? Sparing? Anything other than being here?”

“But you- you were holding hands! With each other!”

“Anija, I swear to the gods that if you don’t drop this right now I’m drafting you into doing paperwork.”

“Why would you be…” It was sheer horror watching the dawning understanding spread across Hashirama’s face. Soon he was beaming so bright it was blinding, and Tobirama turned instinctively to steady his stance for the crushing hug he knew was coming their way.

Sure enough, Hashirama flung himself at them, blubbering on about having a new little brother and wanting nieces and nephews. It took all of Tobirama’s willpower not to hiraishin away from the embarrassing display, but in the end he figured it was better to get it over with now rather than to put it off for later.

Itachi had the patience of a saint when it came to the man child, giving his back an awkward pat before standing still and accepting his fate. There was a hint of disbelief to his tone whenever he spoke to Hashirama, as there always was whenever anyone spoke well of his company - something Tobirama knew not the source of even after all their years of friendship.

Yet another topic they’d never had the chance to discuss. He reached forward to hold the other’s hand loosely once more, grateful that Hashirama was far too distracted with his own nonsense to notice the soft glance shared between them.

Maybe he knew little about Itachi’s past. And maybe he’d never know any more of it, considering how secretive Itachi was by nature. But he could accept that as a simple fact as long as he had a chance of standing by his side and being a part of his future instead.

[myaekingheart]

36. Team 7

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3

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               Kakashi’s second team of students was just as massive a failure as the first. Three brothers dependent on each other, they understood teamwork but were too hellbent on following the rules. The Copy Ninja retreated to his girlfriend’s apartment yet again, defeated.

               Still so cold and unforgiving, the hokage thought to himself as he reviewed the latest reports. It seemed that this, too, was failing to give Kakashi a sense of purpose. If this was to have any chance of working, he would need to take drastic measures. He would need to assign Kakashi the team from hell. He looked over the list of recent academy graduates and an idea suddenly overtook him. It was ridiculous, but it might just work.

               “You wanted to see me, sir?” Kakashi asked, poking his head into the hokage’s office. Lord Third huffed his pipe and stood from his desk, motioning for the young ninja to follow him.

               “I have another new assignment for you, Kakashi” he explained. “Come, walk with me.” Kakashi followed dutifully behind as the hokage strolled through Konoha, a look of great purpose on his face. They walked in silence for a long while, Kakashi staring ahead lost in thought. What was this all about? Had he failed once again? He braced himself for the bad news. I’m sorry, but you’re just not cut out for this. You’re too heartless for the ANBU, and you’re too heartless to be a jonin leader. You might as well just quit being a ninja altogether. The more he thought about it, however, the more enticing the idea slowly became. Maybe leaving the shinobi lifestyle would be a good thing. He could buy a house on the outskirts of town, maybe take up gardening. He would have all the time in the world to read his books. The simple life. He would never have to fear death ever again. Hell, perhaps he could even bring Rei with him. She could still continue working, and then when she would come home, he would have a fine dinner prepared and they could sit back and watch the stars with a bottle of sake and no cares in the world. It could work. It was plausible. Losing his job wouldn’t be the end of the world. And then the hokage’s voice finally broke through the silence. Kakashi prepared for his fate. “Regarding the next group of genin that you’ll be in charge of…”

               Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but the words hadn’t quite registered yet. Wait, what? Next group of genin? This didn’t make much sense. Here he was, having actually accepted leaving his job, only to be presented with the exact opposite. He blinked, swallowed. “Me? Again?”

               The hokage chuckled. “Aren’t you excited to set out with your own apprentices?” Kakashi didn’t answer. After so many failed attempts, and so much hesitation about his capabilities in this field, yet another group of kids seemed like so much work. Did he really want to put in the effort, when deep down he already knew that they, too, would surely fail? As if he had read the young man’s mind, the hokage then added, “I’m sure this new batch of genin will hold your interest.”

               Kakashi followed the hokage’s gaze then to a shabby apartment complex in the center of town. Each story was wrapped in uneven green fencing, and piping snaked along the roofs. Jutting from the top floor was a small balcony. As Kakashi stared upon this place, wondering what kind of person would live in a hole like this, the hokage said, “This is Naruto Uzumaki’s house.”

               “Lord Fourth’s orphan…” Kakashi replied, a sense of recognition striking him. He thought back to his youth, that afternoon when Minato sensei called him into his office. Announced that Kushina was pregnant and requested Kakashi watch over her up until the birth. He had seen Naruto often throughout the years, though only ever in passing. He certainly had a way of making himself known, often in the most frustrating manner.

               The hokage tipped his hat to keep the sun out of his eyes, asked, “Are you a little interested now?” Despite the invasion of privacy, they traversed the stairs to the top floor and stepped inside the empty apartment. Half eaten bags of chips and empty ramen containers littered the kitchen table, the bed, the floor. Kakashi lifted an opened milk carton, sniffed the contents. This milk is way past its expiration date. He looked around the rest of the apartment, dumbfounded. If he hadn’t watched Kushina’s belly grow for nine months, per Minato sensei’s instruction, he never would have guessed this was his son. Naruto seemed to lack any trace of his father’s organizational skill.

               As he set the milk back down, the hokage continued, “That Uchiha boy, Sasuke, is also on your squad.” Kakashi thought back to his days in the ANBU, to when little Itachi Uchiha joined his team. He wondered if Sasuke shared his brother’s work ethic and critical eye. Or perhaps losing his entire family at Itachi’s hand had turned the younger Uchiha into the exact opposite. Either way, Sasuke was at the top of his class and that alone was admirable.

               After a painful and far too lengthy encounter with the parents of his third student, Sakura Haruno, they stepped foot into Sasuke’s apartment. As they entered, the hokage explained things Kakashi already knew about the Uchiha, the young man’s mind flashing back to the aftermath of their clan’s slaughter. To think, someplace he had gone so frequently as a child was now boarded up and abandoned. Perhaps the Uchiha were just magnets for tragedy. It was clear in the way Sasuke kept his apartment that he had inherited his father and his brother’s self-discipline, but it was unclear what else he had carried on.

               These three children…he hadn’t even met them himself yet, and he could already see just how painfully different they all were. Their potential for teamwork was likely slim. This would no doubt be the same as every other year. He took a seat beside Lord Third near the playground, cans of soda in hand, and wondered what the point of it all was. “Why did you put me in charge of those three?”

               A sly smile toyed on the hokage’s lips. “Well there’s a hopeless fool, a skilled protégé, and a clever kunoichi…I’d say it’s much like Minato’s old team.”

               Kakashi’s eyes widened, taken aback a moment. His childhood comrades flashed in his mind, and he hated that he saw the similarities. If anything, though, that just made him all the more hesitant. They say history repeats itself, but he didn’t think he could stand to watch everything unfold tragically once again. “So you chose me on purpose…?”

               The hokage sipped his drink and bowed his head. “It is all about the right man for the right job. I must carefully consider every assignment, each shinobi and their individual talents. Sasuke graduated top of his class, and Naruto? At the bottom. It may seem like an unlikely group, and maybe they will not succeed, but I have seen some miraculous things lately. The children that have come out of the academy, certainly not all of them are destined to be great shinobi, but some of them are very talented. Guy’s team, that was formed last year, has really come into their own, as has Kurenai’s specializing in sensory abiltiies and Asuma’s with their secret ninjutsu. I have faith in you that you can do the same. You are the only one who can lead this team. There is no one else who can advise Sasuke with his sharingan.”

               Kakashi nodded slowly, then asked, “What about the others? Naruto, and Sakura?”

               “You already know all about Naruto” the hokage said flippantly. “As for Sakura, right now she is only average but I believe she has the potential to someday become a great kunoichi. Together, I believe the three of them will be very capable. The dynamics of this group will bode well for their progress, even if only on the basis of sex. Men notice women, and rivalry matures both.”

               This was really too much. The hokage had outdone himself this time. “So you’ve even considered how the squad will develop?”

               The old man nodded. “That’s right.”

               Kakashi sucked in a deep breath then, and replied, “I understand your logic behind this, Lord Third, but…I failed twice with squads that you organized.” And don’t think I have the motivation to go through all of this again, he thought to himself. He thought it disrespectful to seem so ungrateful for work, though, and therefore kept his mouth shut.

               “This is true” the hokage said, then took another sip of his drink and asked, “But did you fail them because of personal feelings, or because you did not feel that they were ready?” Kakashi sighed and locked his eyes on the ground ahead, rubbing his thumb against the near-empty soda can. “You have sound judgment, Kakashi. You have seen much, and know the worst of what can happen in the shinobi world. I have faith that you will teach these children well. Ultimately, this will prove to be a valuable lesson for them.” And for you, the old man thought to himself. Of all the attempts he had made at softening Kakashi’s dark heart, he hoped that this would be the one that finally stuck.

               As the day came to a close, Kakashi trudged back to his apartment with many a thought in his head. He was still so unsure about this, about whether this was the right thing to do. With how frequently the hokage compared this new team to Minato sensei’s, a new fear began to dawn upon Kakashi, as well. How would he ever live up to his former teacher? How could he ensure that these kids would never have to face the same tragedies that his own team had? He knew he was ultimately to blame. Rin, Obito, and himself—their teamwork was weak. And now all but one were dead because of it. He refused to let the same happen here.

               Come sunrise, he had awoken and already started out to the cemetery. He was due to meet his new squad but first he had some important business to take care of. As he stood before Obito’s grave, he thought about his past and his childhood team, everything they had been through and all the tragedy they had faced. “I don’t know if I’m going to be any good at this, Obito” he laughed sadly. “What if they turn out just like we did? What if I screw them up? And Minato sensei…” his voice trailed off. He knew Obito likely couldn’t hear him in the beyond, wherever his spirit went after he had died, but just pretending like he could hear was comforting enough.

               Kakashi wondered if he could procrastinate long enough to avoid this altogether, but he knew that was impossible. A strong gust of wind struck him from the left, flurrying leaves along with it, and he knew then that it was time to go. He bid one last goodbye to Obito, and to Rin as well, and then made his way to the academy.

               Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were the only kids left by the time Kakashi arrived. He could hear them arguing from down the hallway, and almost turned right back around and walked out. Almost.

               He sucked in a deep breath, preparing himself for the chaos that was about to ensue, then slid the door open and stepped inside. Thunk! He froze as an eraser fell atop his head then tumbled to the floor. His new students stared at him in awe, shock, and in terms of Sasuke, disappointment.

               “He fell for it!” Naruto laughed, pointing in amusement. Could this have been an act of teamwork? If so, then he would let it slide and perhaps there was hope for them yet. It was when Sakura burst out apologizing, claiming that try as she might, she couldn’t stop Naruto, that Kakashi’s hope was quickly dashed. He leaned down and considered the eraser for a moment, as well as his own thoughts.

               “Hmmm...how can I put this?” he started thoughtfully, “My first impression of this group: you’re a bunch of idiots.” And on their faces was nothing but defeat.

               He let them go early that day after a brutal attempt at introductions. His initial opinions had yet to shift. Naruto was an absolute idiot, all Sakura cared about was Sasuke, and all Sasuke seemed to care about was brooding behind his tented fingers. He wondered how they would fare with the bell test, but that was for another day. Right now, all he wanted was to relax. He stepped foot in the ANBU living quarter’s lobby, ascended the stairs, and knocked on Rei’s door.

               “So how did things go? Another batch of failures?” she asked as he stepped inside. Kakashi sighed and fell backward onto the bed. “That bad, huh?” Rei asked.

               “I don’t know if I can take this anymore” Kakashi sighed. The rest of the afternoon, he sat confiding in Rei about all of his thoughts and feelings on this new team of his. Unlike in past attempts, there was so much more pressure on him this time around. Naruto was the nine tails jinchuriki: one false move and the entire village could be destroyed once again. He knew he was the only person who could ever train Sasuke thanks to Obito’s sharingan, but that still didn’t erase his concerns. And Sakura would likely only get in the way. She was talentless.

               “Do you think the hokage made a mistake?” Rei asked.

               Kakashi shook his head. “I’m not sure” he replied. “If anything, I think I’m the one who made the mistake. I never should’ve accepted to become a jonin leader in the first place.”

               “You’re so damn hard on yourself” she sighed. Laying back on the bed with him, she stared up at the ceiling and laced her fingers in his. “Listen” she started, “I know you’re tired, and that you don’t think you’re particularly cut out for this. I’d feel the same way if I were you. But I think now is the time to put aside your personal feelings and suck it up.”

               Kakashi turned to face her, a sense of surprise crossing his face. He hadn’t expected her to be so harsh. “Oh?”

               She nodded definitively, propping herself up on her elbows. “You’re the only person who can do this job, Kakashi. Even if you fail, your effort will be ten times better than anyone else’s because there is no one else in Konoha equipped to handle a team like this. You have to do this whether you want to or not.”

               The copy ninja blinked, considering her words. He knew she had the best intentions but if anything, this just added to the weight of the whole thing. He couldn’t afford to fail. Not this time. There was far too much at stake. “Well” he sighed, “I guess it all depends on how they handle the bell test.” A part of him hoped they’d crash and burn. At least that way, he could sneak his way out of this. Fail them so hard, he could disqualify them from the program altogether. Erase any and all hopes of ever becoming ninja. It was foolproof in theory, but in practice he knew it was a dumb move. Ignorance is the source of all evil, as they say, and the last thing he needed was another Nine Tails attack or Uchiha murderer solely because he didn’t want to teach them basic skills. At least Sakura would be useless either way.

               The following morning, Kakashi met with his team of hopefuls in the field by the memorial. He explained the task in the most basic terms—“If you’re not prepared to kill me, you won’t be able to take the bells.” Of course, Naruto charged full speed ahead with kunai in hand, revved up for the fight. Kakashi halted him almost immediately. “I haven’t said start yet” he said, smirking a bit underneath that mask. However, he saw a fire in this kid’s eyes that touched him. He didn’t want to get ahead of himself, but perhaps these kids were at least vaguely likeable after all. He surveyed the three of them, crouched in anticipation, and for a moment he saw his own youth reflected in them: Naruto’s goofy confidence like Obito’s, Sakura emitting the same compassion as Rin, and Sasuke’s prodigal determination mimicking his own. “And…start!” And they were off.

               The whole morning was a game of cat and mouse showcasing some of the lowest skills Kakashi had ever seen. All Sakura seemed to care about was Sasuke, so much so that she hardly helped at all. Naruto’s teamwork was strong, but only with his own shadow clones. He apparently felt obligated to take everything on by himself. And Sasuke expressed a level of darkness perhaps equal to that of the ANBU, a dark, brooding determination but like the others, his teamwork was weak. Not unexpected of a prodigy, he couldn’t be bothered to give a damn about the others who were so beneath him in skill. By noon, Kakashi’s faith was wavering.

               “When individuals put themselves above the squad, this can lead to failure. And death” Kakashi pressed. If they weren’t understanding it themselves, he was damn well going to make them understand it. He turned and motioned to the memorial stone behind him, explaining that there upon it were written the names of ninja who were all killed in action, many of which were his closest friends. He thought of Obito and Rin, of all the other shinobi who had died in the war. This career was not one to take lightly. So many had been lost. “Eat lunch to build up your strength, but Naruto doesn’t get any.”

               By sunset, Rei had finally finished rearranging her bookshelf. She was just putting the finishing touches on her organizational system when a familiar face poked his head in the door. “I thought you didn’t like an open door policy” Kakashi commented.

               “I don’t” Rei replied, “But it was getting too damn stuffy in here, I needed some air flow.” She adjusted one of the titles on the upper shelf, standing on tiptoes, as Kakashi approached.

               “I see you’ve been working hard” he said, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. Rei turned and nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She had done a good job, her collection meticulously organized into a rainbow of descending size and alphabet. “I’m sure Kaminoki is in ruins without you.”

               Rei swatted at the air dismissively as she took a seat beside her boyfriend. “They’ll live” she replied. She doubted they would want her back anyway, especially after the disaster that was her mother’s birthday. “How did things go today? Did they fail miserably?”

               Kakashi averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually…they all passed.”

               “I’m sorry, they what?” Rei asked, mouth gaping. To think, Kakashi Hatake finally passed his first batch of genin. This was unheard of. “Alright, who are you and what you have done with Kakashi?” she added, a slight laugh to her voice.

               The copy ninja shook his head and looked at her with a strange, poignant expression. “Actually, they may not be that bad” he replied. “They’ll need a lot of work, but they did something today that I’ve never seen any of the others do before. They defied me for the sake of the team. And that is why they passed.”

               The redhead scoffed impressively and leaned back on her elbows. “I guess kids today aren’t quite as stupid as I thought they were” she said. “So I guess I should start calling you Kakashi sensei, huh?” She nudged him in the upper arm with a laugh, but Kakashi simply shook his head and tried to restrain himself from showing amusement at her joke.

               “I really never thought this would happen” he said, “But I guess I can’t back out this time. These kids are officially my responsibility.” It was then that the copy ninja laid back on Rei’s bed, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes and sighing. “What have I gotten myself into this time?”

               Rei laid back beside him, crossing one bent leg over the other. “I’m sure you’ll do fine. I trust that you’ll do right by them, and guide them in the right direction. Have a little faith in yourself, Kakashi.”

               He wanted to believe her words, he truly did, but after so many years it was hard to think of himself as a teacher. The bell test was easy: just keep them as far away as possible, drill into them what he knows they won’t retain, then send them back to the academy. It was simple, straightforward, a loophole out of committing. Now, however, he had no choice. The weight of these kids’ futures rested on his shoulders. What could he possibly teach them going forward? How to kill off everyone you love and live with the guilt for the rest of your life? He refused to let them face that same kind of pain. He refused to guide them down a dark path of death and destruction.

               Rei could see the coldness return in his eyes, narrowing in deep contemplation. She could tell he was going to the bad place again. She gently reached her hand out to lace her fingers in his, a soft smile touching her lips. “You’ll be fine. I promise.”

               He looked at her then and just the mere sight of her was enough to bring him back to center. He loved that about her. He pressed his forehead against hers, brushed her hair away from her face. In a hushed tone, he replied, “Thank you.” She laughed softly, kissed his cheek through his mask, and gently squeezed his hand. After a beat of silence, however, a question then fell from his lips that he never thought he’d hear, or at least he hoped he wouldn’t.

               “So, when do I get to meet them?”

[pain-somnia]

A Gift From The Universe [6/?]

Day’s Note: hello everyone. I usually hate to make these long notes at the top of a chapter but I have to get this off of my chest right before I start this update.

I don’t want anyone reading this story if they have a problem with ShiItaIzu. Exit now if you do. Don’t read my work.

I know there has to be some people that probably read my fics and just ignore them despite the fact that you would be missing out on a huge chunk of the story by doing so and that’s cool. But it’s rude—so rude—to leave a review telling me you find them creepy and that you’ll just skip them. The comment isn’t necessary if you’re trying to tell someone that you like their story. I even said in my notes that I don’t want to hear any negative and bigoted comments about them.

Actual criticism of my writing is expected. I’m not going to please everyone. But telling me that a relationship creeps you out isn’t going to make me stop writing about them. So just stop reading. I wish FF didn’t have that 4 character limit for the tags. This is a ShiItaIzu story just as much as it is a SasuSaku and InoSai story.

For everyone else: sorry to put this block of text on top of this update. Enjoy some more ShiItaIzu on the side of your SasuSaku.

Also this update is dedicated to @gyuppii, Irene, @stelduggery, and @xxxsasusakuxxx, for always indulging me when I go headcanon crazy

FF.NET

first chapter * previous chapter

Chapter Six: Back-Talk

Inuzuka Hana slid into the available seat next to Izumi. The other brunette tutted at her and tapped a finger on her wrist.

“Sorry. My idiot brother ate chocolate again and I had to wait for his medication to start working.” Hana had a way of sounding affectionate while still being annoyed with Kiba.

“When is that kid ever going to remember that he’s allergic to it?” Shisui’s voice came out sounding thick as he had just stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth. He had gone ahead and started cooking the meat while they waited for Hana to arrive.

“Hopefully before the next false alarm.” Itachi served the girls some of the more choice grilled meat slices before taking any pieces for himself.

“There was another false alarm?” Hana’s jaw dropped.

“We didn’t head home until the sun was already up,” Izumi let out a large yawn.

Hana patted her shoulder sympathetically. She had been friends with the Uchiha trio long enough to know about how the entire clan would stand vigil whenever their ancient former clan head seemed as though he were about to finally pass away.

The wizened old man was practically senile at this point but it was as if he refused to die.

“Obito-nii was freaking out because he thought Madara had finally croaked but the old man just turned over and asked him for his breakfast and then got up and walked around complaining about how useless his caretaker is.”

Shisui paused in his explanation to stuff more meat into his mouth.

“He called Sasuke Izuna again. I never get tired of that. The little guy just sighs now and peels his tangerines. Doesn’t even grumble about it not being his name anymore.”

“Speaking of Sasuke,” Hana rolled her eyes and let out a breathy laugh, “I heard he’s going to be named rookie of the year.”

“Let me guess,” Izumi examined her nails to try and hide the smug grin creeping onto her face, “Kiba has been complaining about our little guy?”

“Wow, how did you know?” Hana asked sarcastically. She let out a sigh and pouted. “I swear Kiba has ADHD. He could have been rookie of the year if he applied himself.”

Shisui snorted which earned him a glare from Hana. Itachi tried to frown at him but the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. Izumi just gave Hana’s shoulder a comforting pat.

“Sasuke is a dork but I wouldn’t have expected anyone else to take that spot.” Shisui leaned back and patted his stomach. “I am stuffed.”

“You ate two thirds of the meat on your own,” Itachi noted. “And all of the pickled daikon.”

“Ita-kun had to fill up on rice because of you,” Izumi scolded Shisui.

“Well maybe you should just cook us up something later. I know Hazuki-san has been teaching you how to cook.”

“That would be nice,” Itachi agreed.

“Come on guys,” Izumi protested, “I’m still terrible at it.”

“I’m sure you’re not that bad. You do everything well.”

“And you probably look super cute in an apron too,” Shisui added with a wink. “Give Itachi a run for his money.”

“Will you three please stop flirting in front of the single mess over here,” Hana feigned a glum tone as she joked.

As she was Izumi’s best friend she was trusted with the status of their relationship. She would have had to have been blind not to notice. Hana always teased Izumi about how she smelled of both boys after any of them came back from a long mission. Izumi’s face would flush red and she would stammer as Hana barked out a laugh at her embarrassment.

“Awww!” Izumi wrapped her arms around Hana and brought her into a tight embrace. “You’ll always be my favorite.”

“Hey!” Shisui turned to Itachi for backup but was ignored by him in favor of drinking his tea.

The girls laughed at him and Izumi slid the bill across to him.

“You did eat the most.”

“Now that’s just mean Izumi.” Hana shook her head and pulled out her wallet. “I’ll pitch in too Shisui.”

“You know what, you’re my favorite too.”

“Hey!”

. .

Ino was digging through Sakura’s bag for a hair brush when she found a neat little carton of the best fruit in the world.

“Yum! My favorite,” Ino chirped pulling out the box of cherry tomatoes. “The perfect snack for break time.”

“Those aren’t for you Ino!” Sakura snatched the box out of her hands.

“If not for me than who?” Ino snatched the box back.

Ino watched as Sakura’s face practically glowed red. Flustered, Sakura averted her gaze and muttered something under her breath. Ino heard her but decided to tease her by pretending she hadn’t.

“Come again?”

“...ke-kun.”

“I’m sorry I still can’t hear a thing you’re saying.”

“Sasuke-kun, okay?” Sakura snatched the carton of tomatoes back. “He got rookie of the year and I wanted to give him something and he doesn’t like sweets.”

“What about my gift? I got top scores too!” Ino pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“But did you get rookie of the year?”

“No,” Ino said glumly, still pouting. Sakura wanted to roll her eyes. Ino was taking this so seriously.

“Fine,” Sakura sighed. “I’ll make you some pudding later.”

“Yay!” Ino threw her arms around her neck. “Now come here so I can get those tangles out of your hair.”

Ino reached back into Sakura’s bag. As she grabbed the brush her hand brushed against a jar. Curious, Ino pulled it out of the bag as well.

“I also made a salve...for burns,” Sakura mumbled. “I use it for burns I get when I work in the shop. I thought I might, I don’t know, give him some?”

Ino stifled a groan. This was what always made her so frustrated with Sakura! She was doing so well with breaking out of her shell but then there were these little clouds of self-doubt and Sakura would draw back into herself.

“Give it to me then.”

“What?”

“Well, I technically helped make the salve. I knew where all of the ingredients you needed could be found.” Ino shrugged. “I could give it to Sasuke-kun. It’s not like he’s any less cute now that I’ve met Sai-kun.”

Sakura’s jade eyes went wide and her jaw dropped open. Her right eye was twitching and it was obvious that Sakura wanted to say something but she was holding back. It was a hilarious sight but laughing would ruin Ino’s little game.

“Don’t you think giving such a practical gift would show Sasuke-kun such a mature side of me?” Ino shook her head slightly to shake out her long ponytail in a flirtatious manner. “Like I’m sure he already knows how gorgeous I am but what a way to remind him of how smart and considerate I am, right?”

“Or pig-headed.”

It was Ino’s turn for her jaw to drop.

Sakura’s pale pink brows were drawn forward in a glare, her round cheeks puffed out and flushed red. It was the angriest look Sakura had ever sent at Ino.

“Pig-headed?”

“Stubbornly draping yourself all over him all of the time and squealing like a little pig despite his obvious discomfort,” Sakura huffed. She puffed her chest out, hands on her hips. “Really attractive Ino, really. Just so appealing.”

Ino scoffed, absolutely insulted. She wanted Sakura to be more honest but not that much.

“I at least do something.” Ino jabbed Sakura’s forehead with her pointer finger. “The brain behind this giant forehead is only good for books but not for real life apparently.”

Sakura sucked air in and puffed her cheeks out more, face turning an even darker shade of red. She snatched the jar out of Ino’s hand and stormed off mumbling under her breath something that sounded like “I’ll show that pig doing something.”

“Finally,” Ino exhaled feeling exhausted. Grabbing her bag she headed into the Academy building.

I can’t believe she called me a pig!

. .

Exhausted as he was, the graduation test was a breeze.

Sasuke packed up his hitai-ate into his pack and stifled a yawn. He was ready to head home and have a cat nap out on the engawa with Shiro and all of the cats.

Naruto had originally wanted to drag him along to celebrate graduation. Sasuke was almost willing to go along with the hyperactive kid. There was a part of him that was relieved that his friend had shaped up enough in the end to graduate, but there was another part of him that wanted to go home and rest.

And there was a bigger part of him that wanted to rush home and show off his new hitai-ate to his family.

He didn’t graduate early like his brother or Izumi. No one graduated early anymore but there was always hope to be the exception just to prove that he could be just as great as Itachi. But he was the top of his class and now officially the youngest shinobi in the Uchiha clan. A shinobi like his loved ones. He finally had the forehead protector that put him one step closer to his older brother’s level.

So he was a little proud of himself.

All he had to do know was get home without being stopped by anymore people trying to congratulate him.

Almost as soon as he thought he was in the clear and was heading down the road that lead to the far side of the village to the Uchiha district someone called out to him.

He would have ignored it and pretended he hadn’t heard of it weren’t for the fact that the voice sounded familiar. A good kind of familiar.

“Sasuke-kun!”

All day it seemed as if Sakura had something she wanted to say to him but couldn’t get the words out. It was such a contradiction to the usual chatter that flowed out of her.

Sasuke slowed to a complete stop to allow her to catch up. He was avoiding everyone but it didn’t seem right to ignore Sakura.

There was also a part of him that was kind of hoping maybe Sakura had come to congratulate him. There was something pleasurable about her acknowledgement that was different than the recognition from that of his family.

It was a kind of pleasure that made the back of his neck heat up and his stomach go light and airy when her eyes sparkled as she beamed up at him.

“Um…”

Sakura’s gaze was averted but there was a pretty bloom of pink flushed on her cheeks. A bashful tuck of her hair behind her ears brought his attention up to the hitai-ate tied on top of her head where her red ribbon was previously.

No more bunny ears…

Sasuke looked at her  expectantly. There was no way she had traveled to the far end of the village just to stand in front of him.

“I, uh, got you something.”

Sakura swung her pack off of her shoulders. For the first time that day Sasuke noticed that it was misshapen, a different sort of bulk than it usually had when it was filled with her books and journals.

“Just to say congrats, you know? It’s really amazing that you got rookie of the year—not that I doubted you would get it! It wasn’t a surprise at all, really…”

Now she was rambling. Sakura did that often but usually it only took a look from him for her to realize she was straying from the point and she would get right on track. But she wasn’t looking at him, keeping her eyes trained on the ground.

“Here!”

Sakura thrust out her arms in front of her. In her hands was a carton of cherry tomatoes and a flat, circular jar.

“It’s an ointment for burns,” Sakura explained. “You favor your katon and well, your forearm protectors don’t really do anything for your cheeks so uh…”

Her voice trailed off and that’s when Sasuke realized he still hadn’t made a move to take the gifts she was offering.

“Thank you,” he said softly, finally taking the gifts.

That was the magic of Sakura.

Naruto was his first friend, fated to be his friend since the day Kushina made that wish, but Naruto didn’t really understand him. They were always at each other’s throats and arguing but that’s just how they were.

Barbaric as it was, they were friends that spoke with their fists.

And then there was Sakura who seemed to be able to get him even with how little he contributed to their conversations in comparison to how much she filled them.

“I hope you find it to be soothing.”

Sakura smiled so sweetly that all Sasuke could do was nod in response. He was the one receiving a gift and yet Sakura was the one that looked overjoyed. It was strange making someone that wasn’t his mother or his brother so happy by doing so little.

It was strange but he wanted to do it again. He swallowed and quickly thought of the first thing that came to mind considering where they were standing.

“We’re pretty close to that senbei shop I told you about. Do you want to—“

“Sasuke!”

Sasuke stiffened at the call of his name. There was no mistaking that voice.

“Hey Little Uchiha!” Shisui ran up to the pair and ruffled Sasuke’s already disheveled feathery hair.

“Cut it out!” Sasuke grit his teeth and elbowed his older cousin. Shisui always had the worst timing. Or convenient timing as it seemed like it was his life mission to embarrass Sasuke whenever possible.

In retaliation for the elbow to his ribs, Shisui placed Sasuke in a headlock.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Sakura-san.”

Sasuke turned as much as he could to see his brother bowing in greeting to Sakura, having missed when she had introduced herself.

“So cute!” Shisui dropped his hold on Sasuke and proceeded to ruffle Sakura’s hair with both hands.

“Shisui!” Sasuke hissed. Normally so polite, Shisui was being overly familiar and rude.

“Hands off the prepubescent girl, Shisui,” Izumi scolded knocking his head with her knuckles.

Hypocrite, Sasuke griped inwardly. She has reacted the same when she first met Sakura.

“I’m pubescent,” he heard Sakura mutter under her breath.

“Izumi is going to make us an early dinner. Would you care to join us?” Itachi smiled pleasantly, holding up the shopping bags in his hands as if they further explained what he meant.

Sasuke choked on air at his brother’s invitation. How did he make everything seem so easy? The words came out so smoothly while they were trapped in his own throat.

“Izumi-nee knows how to cook?” Sakura clasped her hands together in front of her chest, beaming up at the older girl in admiration.

“We’re about to find out,” Shisui answered while giving Izumi a smirk.

“I wish I could but I have to go help my parents in their shop today. I keep running out of allowance.” Sakura rubbed the back of her neck, giving them a sheepish smile. “It was nice meeting you all though. Bye Sasuke-kun, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sakura turned and jogged down the road, her long hair trailing after her. Sasuke was watching her until she turned the corner until he felt the eerie sensation of being watched.

“What?” He glared at his brother’s lovers. They snickered into their hands, not taking him seriously.

Itachi emitted a sigh, causing Sasuke’s head to snap in his direction.

“That’s just too bad, Sasuke. I guess your invitation for senbei would have been turned down as well. Better luck next time.”

“What?”

Sasuke’s cheeks heated up. He didn’t think they were close enough to hear him!

“It’s none of your business!” He snapped at them before marching into the Uchiha district.

“What did I say?” Itachi blinked at his younger brother’s retreating back.

“Don’t worry about it Ita-kun.” Izumi rubbed his upper arm in a comforting manner. “It’s just puberty.”

Shisui cringed at Izumi’s words and held himself tightly.

“May the gods be with us.”

. .

Sakura was wiping down a table when Nara Shikamaru strolled in.

“They’re in the patio,” she answered his unasked question. Besides picking up satchels of his mother’s favorite jasmine tea, Shikamaru was also tasked with locating his father who was most likely hiding in the Haruno’s tea house, playing shogi with Haruno Kizashi.

“I’ll let him play another game. I don’t feel like heading home yet. You free for a round?”

“I can’t play today.” Sakura gestured to the apron she was wearing. “I’m working. Want a cup of tea?”

“Do I gotta pay for it?”

“Nah. I’m in a pretty good mood so it’s on me.”

Sakura went back into the kitchen and prepared some Shui Hsien tea. It was a favorite in the store amongst the villagers that preferred the tea from the far, far away land her mother’s family had immigrated from generations ago.

Brewing tea was Sakura’s favorite part of working for her parents. Playing with the fire to make the perfect cup of tea was down to almost a science. Just like how creating the environment for their different leaves was down to a science.

When she brewed teas she could imagine herself brewing antidotes and creating new medicine to assist those that needed her help.

Sakura thought about her hitai-ate sitting on her desk in her bedroom and inwardly squealed with excitement.

She was a genin now and that was the first real step to becoming a shinobi others could rely on. She was on her way to achieving her dream.

Day’s Note: here’s the latest update you guys. I’m sorry for putting that huge block of text at the top but I was so freaking irritated and it’s not like I can have a private discussion with guest reviewers and I really needed to say it to everyone just so y’all know my stance on comments for ShiItaIzu. It’s just so unnecessary to say that━just exit the fic and move on.

In other news I set up a ko-fi and the button can be found on the desktop version of my tumblr blog or as ChronicallyChill on ko-fi. Or you can go here! Most of my money is spent on medical bills and other bills I have to take care of. I am lucky to live under my parent’s roof as they “moved me back in with them” (I was paying rent but hadn’t moved out completely yet because of work) when my illness was no longer manageable on my own.

I actually can’t drink coffee so donating a coffee is hilarious to me but any spare cash goes towards food money. I am chronically ill and things like cooking, even just making a sandwich can be hard because I can’t stand for too long because I am constantly in pain or exhausted or I don’t have the time because I needed to sleep more or worse couldn’t even get up in the morning but had to force myself to get to work, so most days I go without breakfast (and dinner usually). So if I have $3-4 to spare I am able to grab something to eat in the morning.

To readers of The Planning Of A Matriarch: and update is coming up! Be on the lookout for it coming out around it’s one year anniversary.

For everything else I’ve started updates on them too but i’m trying to complete the requests that were sent to me on tumblr as well because they’ve been sitting incomplete in my docs.

Talk to you guys soon (really soon hopefully!)