#shikamaru is prone to what we call

[solemg]

Genius in Naruto. Do you know that the funniest concept in Naruto is genius? After all, we are literally poked with our noses at "brilliant" characters, and often by genius they mean not so much intelligence as ... strength? birth data? For example, Itachi. Yes, he is prone to planning and so on, but are his plans ingenious? Can the plans that are somehow built on "pianos in the bushes" be ingenious? After all, when it comes to Itachi, we always observe the appearance of this very piano. Is Itachi stupid? No, of course not, but I can’t even call him a genius: he didn’t invent a single technique, he didn’t show miracles of planning, tactics and strategy, but he, attention, is considered almost one of the smartest characters, which in my opinion unfair and wrong. Let's just, who do I think is smart in this manga (this is not the top):

1) Tobirama - invented a bunch of techniques, reformed Konoha. In general, it was clear that he was a fairly rational thinker.

2) Sasuke - he has shown himself to be a good strategist in most of his battles.

3) Kabuto and Orochimaru - no comment.

4) Shikamaru - yes, there are BIG questions about some of his plans and he is called a genius in anime and manga, however, let's not forget that the plans of the heroes depend primarily on how advanced the mangaka himself is.

5) Minato is a kinder analogue of Tobirama.

6) Sakura, Tsunade - their techniques, excellent analytical data.

7) Kakashi - no comment, but there is a "but" which I will sign below.

And in principle, this is a rather expected list, but let's remember those who are smart enough, but they don’t call him a genius:

1. Naruto - I don't consider him a genius, BUT - he is the most creative shinobi. He may not always be serious, but it is his creativity that impresses me.

2. Kakuzu - he lived in their world for more than 70 years, showed himself to be a fairly rational shinobi. He always analyzes the situation.

3. Nagato. Here I want to stop and compare Nagato with all of the above.

So most of all of these had: a house, food, education.

Nagato is an orphan who often went hungry, which already has an effect on cognitive abilities, he had no special education, although I think that Jiraiya or his parents taught him elementary writing and reading. Simply put, he didn't have such good introductory conditions, and even his rinnegan only served to worsen those conditions, since Naruto's eyes are always hunted.

However, this unfortunate orphan created his own organization all the time with friends, which became quite influential, after - again his own organization - do not forget that Obito sat for 10 + years and did nothing - but with psychos and killers who need to be controlled, sent to different parts of the world + control the budget (Kakuzu just brings in most of the money). In addition, he has his own country, which he restored from a collapse to a developed industrial power with one of the best defense systems. I'm not even talking about the fact that the country of Rain was after 3 world wars, when Nagato became its ruler. But nevertheless - he made her the way we saw her.

In addition, you can imagine what cognitive power you need to have in order to simultaneously control 6 bodies in such a way, analyze all the information that comes from at least 6 pairs of eyes (do not forget about the calls) and coordinate all their actions. If Shikamaru is a wonderful and modern computer, then Nagato is a universal quantum computer that has an increased speed of information perception and analysis. Yes, we can say that this is partly due to the Rinnegan, but the rinnegan only speeds up the perception of information, not its full analysis, taking into account all factors.

Nagato showed himself to be quite smart as a child: he is prone to reflection, introspection, analysis of the environment. He has his own philosophical and economic system based on the realities of life, understanding of the human psyche and needs, as well as economics, in which he is also well versed. Unlike the same Obito and Itachi, he showed himself to be a strategist: he perfectly knows how to allocate time in such a way as to avoid conflict, and he always has backup plans, he is cautious. In doing so, he invented many techniques, ranging from those used by the Akatsuki to negotiate, to "cloning" people. He doesn't know much about Uzumaki's art (his parents weren't shinobi), but he: uses fuin to seal information in the minds of his subordinates, and is most likely the one who wrote the fuin that controls the Gedo Mazo (the one in her mouth).

To summarize, he showed that he is a good ruler and leader, showed himself to be a person with developed abstract thinking, able to look not only at what is here and now, but also cover the problem globally, and also look into the future, taking into account the input data. And for a tramp orphan, this is very, very good.

[lexpressobean]

Parent/Teacher Night

In which Shikamaru steps in as Mirai's guardian to help her complete her unofficial assignment of the night and subsequently suffers from nostalgia induced shock from unforeseen circumstances.

**Modern AU, Mild Swearing, late 20-something adults who simply care about the same 10-year-old kid lol

Edit: Now available on AO3 too!

•••

Shikamaru had gladly accepted Kurenai's request for him to attend Parent-Teacher night with Mirai in her absence. It had been his day off after all, and he hadn't planned anything anyway. Plus, it'd only take, what, half an hour at most back and forth? Maybe he could even treat Mirai to dinner, just 'cause it had been a while. Normally, Kurenai would have skipped it all together due to her schedule, just this one time, but apparently Mirai's teacher was offering extra credit to the students as an incentive for them to have their parents come. And Mirai was very adamant that she shouldn't waste such an opportunity. Not for this teacher.

Shikamaru wondered what seemed to make this teacher so special to Mirai anyway. When he asked, Mirai seemed confused.

"You don't know, Shikamaru?"

"... Well, it's not like I've met the teacher either Mirai. But this teacher must be really good at their job if you like them that much already."

Mirai gave him a gleeful grin, "Watch, you'll see!"

And see he did.

Shikamaru wasn't expecting to run into such a classicaly "tall, dark, and handsome" form in the classroom. He certainly wasn't expecting that man to BE the teacher.

"Shino-sensei!" Mirai called, running over to greet him.

And at that, something froze Shikamaru in place. Something almost urgent... Wait... Shino? Shino... Why did that name sound familiar...?

The teacher turned just in time to take her glomp's impact with a deep, "OOF!" into his abdomen, and Shikamaru got distracted by the sound of his voice. Wow, deep... but then Shikamaru noticed his glasses misaligned in the process, and Shikamaru then realized they were... sunglasses? Indoors? Ha, this guy... Shikamaru wasn't necessarily gonna dock him points for that. But the only other person Shikamaru remembers doing that unironically was-

...

... Oh wait...

Oh... Wait.

OH. OH, HOLY SHIT!?

WAIT, THAT'S SHINO!? AS IN "SHINO ABURAME" SHINO!?!?!?

...

W H A T ! ?

"Ah... Mirai, hello. I thought you and your mother weren't coming. I told you it's okay, sometimes people can't come."

"Shikamaru came with me! I didn't want to miss the extra credit!"

"Shikamaru?"

"He's technically my godfather, so it counts, right?"

Shino stayed quiet for a moment and looked over towards the doorway where Shikamaru was still standing. As he recognized Shikamaru, Shino straightened up, gave a brief wave and... a smile?

Shikamaru was dumbfounded. Just a minute ago, he would've simply held up an open hand in response as he subtley and respectfully checked him out. Seriously, how could he not? But, now the movement of Shino's wave snapped him out of his thoughts and Shikamaru probably waved more than really needed to acknowledge the teacher. And he cursed at himself inwardly as soon as Shino looked back to Mirai. Was he blushing? It was feeling kinda hot in the classroom all of a sudden...!

"Alright Mirai, thank-you for coming, but for now please wait your turn, okay?"

"Alright!" Mirai walked back to Shikamaru, smiling widely proud of herself.

From far away, he could hear Shino's voice, "Sorry for the interruption. You see-"

"Surprise, Shikamaru!"

Mirai knew. This whole time. And the more he thought about it, Shikamaru at one point knew too. He just... simply forgot... Wow, what a thing to forget. Damn it, why didn't Shikamaru ask more questions earlier? Why didn't she just tell Shikamaru? Hell, why didn't KURENAI tell Shikamaru!?

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

As Mirai led Shikamaru around the classroom, he started to try and recall more about Shino. It was all coming to him, slowly but surely. And if what he recalled was correct, this neat and organized classroom definitely would scream Shino. It was decorated with the typical posters meant to be both fun and helpful, and colorful and eye catching. Shikamaru even recognized many of the books in the shelves, though most he never actually read any of them. But there were traces of decorations here and there that were definitely conscious choices. Namely pictures of worms in apples, ladybugs, ants and bees symbolizing teamwork, things like that. Shino was a fan of bugs afterall.

Then Shikamaru found some board games and noted shogi was among them. He was tempted for a split second to pull it out and challenge Mirai to a game, but thought better of it. But what Mirai was most eager to show Shikamaru was her seat. Or rather, what was nearly right next to her seat.

In a terrarium, no doubt from Shino's collection if Kiba told him the truth, held a black and white worm. Except the worm had these orange like eye markings all along either side if it, and black dots in each eye shape... Shikamaru thought it looked kinda goth for a bug.

"We all decided to name it Daidai! Shino-sensei says this one will turn into a moth. Before Daidai, we had a catepillar we all named Marugao, because it's head was so big! But when he became a butterfly, he was so pretty, he almost shimmered!"

As Mirai gushed about how she got to sit next to Daidai, Shikamaru stole a glance at Shino once more. He was still making rounds, and it looked like no one else had come into the classroom either. Hm, looks like they were gonna be last.

Sunglasses had always hid Shino's eyes, ever since they were kids. Shikamaru couldn't quite recall if they were actually prescription or not, but up to this point, they had always been a constant. Otherwise... his former classmate really was virtually unrecognizable. And now that he thought about it, Shikamaru recalled that Shino had graduated from university with a teaching degree some years back, but this information had only been secondhand from Kiba on social media. Shikamaru wasn't even sure if Shino had social media...

Meanwhile, Shikamaru had barely been back in town for still less than a year. It wasn't his fault if he didn't know Shino's business. Medical school was gruelling, and anesthesia was no joke.

But still... Shikamaru had been expecting something similar from Shino. Maybe not a medical doctor, but a doctorate? Hadn't he been in the Environmental Club in high school? He seemed like he would've been very interested in the natural sciences, and definitely had the means... It was just kind if odd. He was an academic star that was always competing with both Ino and Sakura for top of the class as far as he could remember. And those ladies had gone to school to become a Pediatric Psychiatrist and Pediatric Surgeon respectively too. They were all a smart bunch, no doubt about that.

Yet, Shino had always been... different too. He had looked like a troublemaker with the beanies he wore, and his messy, nearly kinky curls always managed to find a way to stick out in the back. And he always had baggy looking clothing on in layers during any kind of weather. Plus he had a bad case of RBF Syndrome too, which would alarm a few others because he was always so good at blending into the background, yet when noticed, he looked like the kind of guy that would mess you up for just breathing funny. He had always been taller than most too, that probably didn't help.

But he wasn't a bad kid at all. Not like Naruto and Kiba anyway. Acording to Kiba, Shino's loner tendencies were due to simple shyness. And he would know, as Kiba and Shino seemed to grow close after they opted to join the Environmental Club separately in high school, which happened to be run by Kurenai-sensei. And that's all Shikamaru really knew, because when Kiba would come out and about Shino hardly ever came. Kiba could be pushy, which is how Shikamaru suspected the pair became friends in the first place, but apparently not enough to enjoy a party or things like that together outside of school... Maybe once or twice? Not even at Naruto's insistence could make him a regular, as Naruto was... an "unofficial" member of the Environment Club. Meaning he'd just crash the club's outings when they did plant specific activities. Naruto had a green thumb after all.

Actually, it always seemed like Kiba and Naruto were those extroverts that had the habit of adopting introvert friends so to speak. Funnily enough, their respective adoptees had already known each other too. But Sasuke was even LESS friendlier than Shino, and even Shino seemed annoyed with him, one of those rare times he let his thoughts show in his expression...

But today, in the yellowish glow of the classroom lights... something was definitely different. From his smoothed out hair tied up into modern bun on his hatless head and his open, light duty trenchcoat that really... accentuated his very... broad, adult figure... It was most definitely different... but the most dynamic change of all had to be that Shikamaru had never seen Shino so soft in the face before. Behind those shades, he looked... relaxed, and when he spoke, it sounded so... nice? Definitely not a bad thing at all...

And suddenly there was a hand in front of Shikamaru's face.

"-kamru...Shikamaru?"

"HUH!? What?"

... Oh... Hell, he spaced out.

"... Shikamaru, are you okay? Busy day at work at the hospital maybe?"

HUH!? How did Shino know that? "Uh! Yeah, kinda..." he shook his head, "Well no, that's not it, today was actually my day off. I worked yesterday. Still a little out of it looks like," he added with a casual chuckle. At least he hoped he sounded casual.

Shino frowned, eyebrows knit into concern. Ah man, how embarrassing! Had Shikamaru been caught starting with a dopey look on his face?

"... I'm sorry, maybe extra credit was a bad idea this time around. Mirai is so dutiful, I didn't mean for anyone to be dragged here."

"What? No way, I wasn't dragged here. Mirai is my Goddaughter, Shino, so I'm perfectly ready to be informed about her progress. I agreed to come, it's no big deal."

The now teacher looked at Shikamaru with a slight head tilt to the right... And then another small smile. Wow, he really had to stop doing that!

"Well, all in all, Mirai is actually doing very well. She already excels in her studies and is easily one of our most engaged and top students at this time. She's still young, but she shows a lot of scholarly promise."

"Ah, I see. Do... do you see any areas in need of improvement?"

"Well, there's always room for improvement of course. But in Mirai's case..."

Shino looked over at Mirai who was at the snack table. She had walked over to get a couple of cookies and was seemingly cornered by a classmate into a chat.

"... I think, she could benefit from some encouragement to be more social."

"More social?"

Shikamaru followed Shino's gaze and saw Mirai talking to her classmate, her expression showing patience more than anything... It looked like the other little girl was chatting up a storm.

"Don't misunderstand, she's definitely a team player and is very respectful. However, her maturity level is above many of her classmates. As a result, she tends to prefer to study on her own..."

Well, that rang a bell. Shikamaru could've sworn that Shino was the same way back then. But Mirai didn't resemble Shino at all.

"Is she quiet?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh, no, thankfully she's still quite engaged. If anything, sometimes she may overthink things. I've noted she's a bit of a perfectionist, and so is actually a little slower on average during tests, but she's an avid question asker too. If she just had some more confidence in her self and would... relax a little more, I think it'd be good for her. She's still a kid after all, she should feel allowed to act like one."

That was a strange thing to say... Did Mirai... not feel okay?

"... She's Kurenai-sensei's daughter, so I try not to favor her. It's kind of hard when she used to ride on my shoulders during reunions and things like that though."

Shino gives a small, warm smile in Mirai's direction. And Shikamaru is kind of touched. Despite the shades, his fondness for Mirai is so obvious. It makes Shikamaru glad to know she has Shino to come to during school time. At least that was something....

Then, Shino turned back to Shikamaru, who was TOTALLY not staring just now.

"But it's necessary. She's... too comfortable with me... If earlier didn't make that obvious."

Shikamaru did have it in his mind to scold Mirai about that, but that was a talk for later. More private.

"I had meant to bring this up with Kurenai, but Mirai also... has had a habit of staying in the classroom during lunch and recess. I've had to move to the teacher's lounge during just to get her outside..."

"What? Really?"

Shino nodded, eyebrows knitted and a smile that showed a regretful sympathy.

"... I wonder what that could be about..."

"I suppose some kids find it hard to socialize, but she needs a more... balanced perception of boundries. In no time, she'll have her own mother for a teacher too. Otherwise, she's generally doing pretty well."

Shit. Shino was thinking way ahead, Kurenai was a high school teacher. But... he was right, this couldn't be allowed to go on.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"Did you have any more questions?"

"Uh... No, I... don't think so. But, even though I'm sure you don't have to be asked, please, continue to take care of her."

Shino perked up a little at that before smiling at Shikamaru again! It made it hard to stare him in the face, "Of course."

... Damn... Was Shino's smile... always this cute?

"Shikamaru! I brought you a cookie."

"Oh, thank-you."

"Did you want one too Buggy... I mean... Shino... sensei?"

"... Buggy?" Shikamaru repeated.

"... Ah, Sensei I'm sorry, I did it again...!"

Shino pat Mirai's head, and gave a small chuckle even. Shikamaru was all ears, "It's okay Mirai, I'm know you're trying. No offense taken."

"I really am, I promise!" she assured, "So did you want one?"

"No thank-you Mirai, it's for the guests. You go ahead."

"Okay, sensei."

Shikamaru couldn't help it. He just had to say something.

"Hey Shino."

"Yes?"

"You must be pretty suited to teaching."

"Oh? What makes you sat that?"

"I mean... It's been a while. Actually it's been a long time, but... well, I don't think I've ever seen you quite like this before..."

"Pardon?"

"I dunno, you just seem... Very much in your element here. I'm glad the whole instructor thing really worked out. You've been here for a few years already, haven't you?

"Oh... Thank-you, Shikamaru... And yes, I have. I appreciate that."

This time Shino GRINNED. And Shikamaru suddenly was very aware of his... jawline... uh...

"Y-Yeah, of course! Well, I'm sure there's other parents you need to talk to..."

"Right, that is true." A couple more stragglers had come in.

"But here, hold on a sec," Shikamaru pulled out his phone, "I don't think we've ever traded information before. Wanna trade now? I'll send you a text back."

"Oh," Shino was a bit surprised, "Um. Okay, sure."

After getting his number, Shikamaru sent a text and could hear one of Shino's pockets vibrate.

"There, all set! Thanks for talking with me, Shino."

"Thank-you for coming. And if you're not terribly busy, I trust you will be the one to come when Kurenai-sensei is unavailable?"

"Yes. Yes, that'll be the plan," Shikamaru decided right then and there.

"Alright, thank-you Shikamaru."

"No, thank-you. C'mon Mirai, let's go. Goodbye, Shino.

"Bye Shino-sensei!"

"Goodbye."

-

"Shikamaru! Can we go eat something? I'm starving!"

"What do you want?"

"Yakisoba!!"

"Haha, alright, sure."

Mirai gave Shikamaru a sudden and huge hug.

"Whoa, what's up?"

"I'm just so happy you came, Shikamaru! So thank-you!" she beamed.

It tugged on Shikamaru's heartstrings a bit. She really had missed him, huh? "You don't have to thank me, Mirai, but your welcome anyway. C'mon, let's go."

"It was nice that you and Shino-sensei got to see each other again too, don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah, it was quite the surprise. But a welcomed one."

Hmmm... It looks like Kurenai was gonna have to be unavailable for the next few parent-teacher nights....

••

I kept tweaking it and tweaking it until I decided to simply stop. So sorry for any grammar or syntax errors, but I just needed to get this out of my system haha

[robinofinashiro]

request: “could i get some MHA and NARUTO boys getting jealous? maybe they aren’t with the reader but they kinda get possessive?? who it is could be up to you but i just wanna see some jealous boys. obvs the naruto could be an AU if you’d like!” 

request status: open

pairing: multiple characters from Naruto and My Hero Academia 

- “I’m obsessed, I’m embarrassed, I don’t trust no one around us. I’m a mess for you love, it ain’t new.” 

mirio togata: 

- mirio isn’t a jealous guy but for you, he could get jealous rather easily. it isn’t a secret to some third years that one of the big three has his eyes on you so whenever a rather daring third year takes an interest for you, some may be surprised. 

- there had been an unprompted third year graduation party the friday before even was due to graduate. you had went for the mere idea that you could finally relax and lay back for a few hours. 

- you went with the big three as nejire had offered you to get ready in her room. you weren’t wearing anything too extravagant or eye catching but to mirio he thought you looked absolutely amazing in it but i mean, he thought whatever you wore at any given time looked amazing on you. 

- once all of you got to the party, you stayed with them for the most part. it wasn’t until you went to use the bathroom and upon going back downstairs, everyone had separated from each other. tamaki and nejire were talking to a few of their other classmates while mirio was no where to be seen. 

- after finding a few of your other classmates, you were talking to them when a song you wanted to dance to came up. one of your friends offered to dance with you to which you immediately agreed. being that it was EDM, you two weren’t exactly in close proximity. 

- mirio had walked out of the kitchen, water in hand to give to you when he saw you on the dance with your friend. he instantly started crushing the water he held. nejire looked at him before looking to his direction. she couldn’t help but start laughing, “someones jealous!” she giggled as he shot her an annoyed look. 

- you were dancing, your eyes half closed, not really paying attention to your surroundings until you felt a stare on you. you turned around to see it was Mirio. you shot him a smile, “miri! what’s up!” you asked. you watched as he stared at your friend with an tense look, “mirio! hey!” you asked again. 

- finally he snapped out of his trance, “i was wondering if you wanted to dance with me instead,” he asked. you couldn’t conjure up any words as you gave your friend a sympathizing look, “sure?” you whispered in more of a question. mirio took your friends place but wasn’t really dancing, just making sure no one was staring or even trying to touch you. 

- “mirio, what’s up?” you asked. he didn’t say anything for a moment as he scratched his head, trying to figure out what to say, “nothing. just didn’t like him that close with you,” you started laughing as you grabbed his hand, “if you’re jealous, you can say that!” you giggled. 

- he didn’t directly look at you as you tried to whisper in his ear, “you can ask me out, you know that? i will say yes,” Mirio’s eyes instantly lit up as he hugged you. 

- the rest of the night was spent next to him or with nejire and tamaki. at some point, the three of you dragged tamaki to the dance floor. he stood in the crowd, stiff as a board as you, nejire, and mirio tried getting him to dance. he didn’t but that didn’t stop the rest of you. 

tamaki amajiki: 

- this poor soul please don’t do this to him. he wasn’t even looking to crush on someone but here you are, a second year in the same internship as him with fatgum and boom, he just happened to start falling for you. 

- mirio and nejire instantly saw it. the way he would relax tenfold with you in comparison to literally anyone else was a big indicator. they wondered how you did it but whenever they saw you with him, all they could do is smile and be happy at the idea that tamaki might’ve actually found someone for him 

- the day tamaki got jealous was an ordinary thursday night. both of you were in fatgum’s agency, finishing up work for the day when a first year intern had came up to you with a question. tamaki knew he shouldn’t have gotten jealous but tamaki wasn’t stupid. he knew when others were hitting on you and this was one of those instances. 

- his heart was racing, mind absolutely bubbled up with ideas that you were going to drop him for the first year and get married or something. again, tamaki knew he was acting super irrationally but at this point, he didn’t really care to think this way. 

- the first year kept telling you jokes as you were filling out paperwork, sometimes even doubling over in laughter as Tamaki had finally had enough and practically slammed the office door shut as he stormed out. you whipped your head up, wondering what that was when you realized it was Tamaki. 

- “hey, i’ll be right back,” you told the first year before rushing out the door. you ran towards the direction you felt tamaki would have gone in and saw him on the phone in a dark hallway. you treaded lightly, trying not to make it known that you were there. 

- “s-she doesn’t l-like me,” he said as you heard mirio’s loud voice reply, “of course she does! we know more than anyone that she does!” you clutched your heart over your shirt, “she was t-talking to someone i-in a way that s-she doesn’t with me. she likes h-him,” he whispered, almost as if he was on the verge of tears. 

- you couldn’t help but walk into the hallway and make yourself known. tamaki stared at you over the fringe of his hair as you grabbed his phone, “mirio, i’ll have tamaki call you back,” you told him before hanging up and looking to tamaki again. 

- “amajiki, sweetheart,” you whispered as you cupped his face with your hand, “please, don’t think that I like someone else because i don’t,” you said as could tell he was going red in the face, “i promise, i don’t and whenever you’re ready to make it official, just tell me when i’ll be the one to take out on our first date!” 

- tamaki nodded as he remained in your embrace. 

naruto uzumaki: 

- PLEASE DON’T MAKE HIM FEEL JEALOUS FUCK. HE’S A RAY OF SUNSHINE THAT DOESN’T DESERVE ANY OF THAT. 

- anyway, he isn’t jealous as he is more possessive? he probably feels territorial over you whenever you’re around the well more liked people such as Lee, Neji, Kiba, or even Shikamaru but more than anyone, it’s probably Kiba that makes him get jealous. 

- the two of you were probably having lunch at your colleges’ cafe. since kiba always had his dog with him, it wasn’t unusual to see people surrounding Kiba because of Akamaru. you more than anyone loved Akamaru and constantly held him, walked him, and sometimes slept with him if Kiba let you. 

- you were with Kiba in the cafe, not really doing much except for talking as you were petting Akamaru. naruto had just gotten out of class, making a beeline for the food when he saw you and kiba together. the way naruto saw the two of you talking had him thinking as though the two of you were already a couple. 

- shikamaru was the one walking next to him as he saw his best friends mood change instantly. he didn’t know what it was that made him instantly get into a bad mood but once he watched what Naruto was watching, he instantly made the connection. in a way, he was happy that he was finally getting over Sakura but Shikamaru knew that if you didn’t rely the same feelings like Sakura did, he was going to be hearing about it for months. 

- after Naruto and Shikamaru got their snacks, they made their way over to the table. you waved at the two of them as Naruto instantly sat next to you, kicking his feet up in a way that caught you off guard. you felt a warm feeling cross your face, trying not pay attention that he had put his arm around your chair and essentially across your shoulder too. 

- the thing was that kiba held no feelings for you whatsoever. you knew that and he knew that. naruto being a bit oblivious to those kinds of social cues wasn’t exactly news so you could feel naruto’s jealousy whenever you and Kiba spoke for a little too long. 

- you were digging through your bag, trying to find you wallet when you realized that you had forgot it in your car, “hey, i’ll be right back, i need to go to my car, i think i left my wallet in the front seat and i want to get snacks,” you told everyone at the table. 

- you looked over to kiba, giving him the puppy dog eyes as you looked at akamaru, “can I take him for the walk?” you practically begged. kiba rolled his eyes before handing you his dog, “thank you!” you exclaimed before naruto spoke up, “i’ll come with!” he yelled as he got up. 

- the two of you walked to your car as naruto was basically talking your ear off about anything that came to mind. you didn’t mind naruto’s excessive babbling as you had found it more endearing than others did. you knew naruto’s past with his parents passing and since he didn’t have siblings, you knew that you as his friend (and crush), you were prone to getting vents, rants, and ramblings from him. 

- you handed akamaru to naruto as you grabbed your wallet from your car but unbeknownst to you, naruto had seen the small photo of the two of you in your car behind the wheel. it was a polaroid from a random day a bunch of you had went to see Christmas lights, an event that Sakura and Ino made everyone attend. 

- finally locking your car, you saw naruto’s mood instantly change, his smile plastering his face again. you didn’t know what brought you over to this idea but you held akamaru in one hand as you hugged naruto from one side. as soon as you did that, naruto.exe stopped working. 

- you stared at him wondering what happened but you started to laugh realizing that it was your hug that did it. you walked into the cafe area as you scanned the snacks, “heyyyyy,” naruto finally said looking at the food they were putting out. you sighed instantly knowing what he wanted, “you get one thing!” you said trying to contain your laugh. 

- he gave you a kiss on the cheek as he ran over to the buffet area plastering a bunch of food onto a plate as he wobbled his way over to you and akamaru once he finished putting everything he wanted to eat. 

neji hyuuga: 

- now neji is the last person you want to get jealous because he becomes PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE AS FUCK and doesn’t care whose feelings get hurt in return. 

- i also see neji as the more possessive kind of person rather than jealous but the instances that he does get jealous, he’ll give the person absolute hell. in this case, it was Lee who was making him jealous. he knew Lee’s very bright personality made it hard to hate him. 

- you were with Tenten and Lee as the three of you walked out of class. normal, right? well, Lee was the one giving you a piggyback ride for some reason and soured Neji’s mood and Hinata was the person who actually noticed her cousins change of attitude. 

- you were holding onto Lee a little too tightly for his liking. you were gripping his chest, trying not to fall as you met up with everyone else. Neji instantly stared at Lee, making the black haired boy shiver from fear. you weren’t exactly realizing that Neji giving your friend a death glare. 

- once Lee put you down, Neji instantly stood next to you, his stare now starting to become obvious to you. you gave Neji a smile as you tried to loosen him up, “what’s up?” you asked. he shook his head, not really in the mood to tell you the real reason. it was odd coming from Neji as he was the kind of person who always spoke what came to mind, regardless if came off as rude or not.

- “neji, seriously,” you told him, this time a bit more seriously. he grabbed you by the wrist before dragging you to a random hallway. you were now concerned as you had never seen him this way before, “hyuuga! seriously?” you exclaimed. 

- he laughed before basically trapped you, “you and Lee?” was all he said. you stared at him, seeing if he would elaborate, “what about us?” you asked. he laughed once again, “don’t play for an idiot,” he responded 

- you growled realizing that the conversation was going no where, “me and lee? yeah, friends?” you tried to say as he remained silent. he could tell that what you were saying was true, “you sure?” he asked. you nodded before basically realizing that he was getting jealous. 

- “i’m sure neji, don’t need to worry,” you responded before jumping on his back, “now piggyback me back to everyone,” you threatened as he didn’t say anything but did what you said. again, it was a bit odd seeing Neji comply to someones orders so easily but for you, he guessed he could make an exception. 

[lopithecusfanfiction]

Your Love is Deadly, It’s Like Fire

Author: Lopithecus Pairing: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy Rating: Teen+ Word Count: 8634 Alternate: AO3 Summary: Gai gets wounded badly when out on an important mission. Instead of continuing with the mission, Kakashi decides everyone needs to head back to Konoha to get Gai treated. Kakashi worries, Gai tries to lighten the mood, Tsunade just wishes people would listen to her. Warnings: 

Hurt/Comfort

Canon-Typical Violence

Getting Together

Protective Hatake Kakashi

Author's Note: I seriously needed more Gai whump in the KakaGai fandom. There isn’t nearly enough of it (though the ones I have read have been fantastic!) This is partly inspired by zuotian’s fic, Somewhere Between Retribution and Recovery. If you’ve read that, then you’ll know what part I’m talking about (hint: it's the tent scene.)

I will admit, I haven’t finished Naruto Shippuden and I haven’t seen a single episode of Boruto (except for some of the KakaGai moments during their honeymoon vacation.) I’ve just recently started a rewatch and I’m still on just Naruto. So I might get some info wrong but I’m just going to claim artistic liberty. ;)

I really wanted this to be in Gai’s pov but then, as I was daydreaming about it, I realized that it wouldn’t work in his pov. So, Kakashi’s it is. Also, Kakashi and Gai are not in a relationship at the beginning of this. Their getting together is more subtle. By that, I mean they never actually state that they are starting a romantic relationship. It’s never made into a big deal basically.

I’m sorry for any ooc-ness in advance. It’s been a very, very long time since I’ve written these two.

Please enjoy!

It’s not like Kakashi didn’t think it could happen. He is very much aware of his and his team’s mortality. He knows it will happen eventually. He just doesn’t want it to happen. The thought scares him. Not that he will ever admit that out loud, of course.

This was supposed to be an easy B-rank mission that very quickly and dramatically turned into an A-rank mission. It was him, Gai, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru. A weird combination but they were all that were available. Sai is on a different mission and so is Choji and Ino. Gai tagged along because Kakashi requested him. It had sounded like from their briefing that they would need a taijutsu specialist. Now, Kakashi is regretting that decision.

“Damn it,” Kakashi rips off a bandage and presses into the wound at Gai’s side, watching as blood oozes out. Gai groans but he looks okay and coherent so far, despite all the blood loss. “I need to find Sakura. It won’t stop bleeding.”

Gai’s hands are shaking when he reaches for the already blood-soaked bandage. “I’ll hold it,” he breathes out.

Kakashi shakes his head, raindrops splashing into his eyes. “I can’t leave you alone. We’re still in enemy territory.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Tt.” Kakashi bites his bottom lip. He looks around, trying to find something to conceal Gai’s prone body but finds nothing. With an agitated sigh, he turns his attention back to Gai. “I’ll be right back.” He rushes off, not waiting for an answer.

This mission.

This mission was supposed to be easy.

Their mission was to find a low-rank rogue ninja who was proficient in taijutsu and apprehend him, bringing him back to Konoha. They didn’t know nor did they take into consideration that he would have formed his own small militia made up of various strong ninja, with one of them having a kekkei genkai, according to one of the other men.

Once they had reached their destination and had realized what was happening, Kakashi put out the orders, telling Gai to focus on the one they came for since he would be best matched with him. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was when their target split off from the rest, Gai in pursuit. He had then gotten severely injured when their target met up with another person, the one with the kekkei genkai it seemed, from the militia.

Gai had gotten stabbed.

He had gotten stabbed because Kakashi got careless and didn’t stop him from following. Kakashi should have known better than to let Gai follow, especially out of sight. He knew there were accomplices, so why… why did he let Gai go?

Because Gai is strong, that’s why. Because Gai can handle himself.  Because Gai wouldn’t let something like this happen to himself.

Not unless he had been taken by surprise.

Gai never really has been that good with sensing others around him.

Kakashi bites into his bottom lip harder, drawing blood. He shouldn’t have allowed this to happen but the self-blame will have to wait until after Sakura heals him. Right now, he needs to focus. Quickly, Kakashi extends his senses, looking for Sakura’s chakra. He finds her on the ground, healing a wound on Naruto’s ankle.

He drops down beside her. “Sakura.”

“Kakashi-Sensei!” She stands. Perfect timing.

“Follow me.”

She stops him. “Shikamaru needs us.”

“Don’t worry, Sakura-Chan.” Naruto places a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll go help him.”

Sakura nods. “Be careful.” She turns back to him. “Alright.”

Kakashi nods and then leads her back to where Gai is, hyper-aware of the fact that the rain is slowing their progress. The limbs on the trees are slippery and though it’s no problem for him who is a seasoned Jonin, for someone like Sakura it would be much more difficult for her to change her chakra accordingly to stick to the branches. She’s always been a fast learner, though, and soon they are making faster progress until Kakashi spots Gai lying on the ground.

There’s a pool of watery blood surrounding his body and Kakashi’s heart immediately jumps into his throat to make its new home there. He drops down hastily, mud and water splashing up onto his shins. “Gai!”

He approaches quickly, noticing how limp Gai’s hold is on the bandage. It’s weird to see how pale Gai’s tanned face is but there’s a grimace there so Kakashi knows he’s at least alive. He kneels down at Gai’s feet, watching as Sakura wastes no time in her healing.

She peels away Gai’s limp hand and the bandage to look at the wound. Her face draws taut in worry and Kakashi’s stomach clenches. As Sakura’s hands glow green over the wound, Kakashi watches Gai’s face. It looks pained, something Kakashi isn’t used to seeing on the man. It worries him.

It scares him.

“Kakashi-Sensei,” Sakura’s calm and controlled voice snaps him out of his thoughts. She’s not looking at him, all concentration on the wound. “Naruto and Shikamaru are going to need help. We’ve already got Gai-Sensei out of commission. We can’t have you out either.”

He looks at her. Stares really. Does she know he can’t just leave Gai that easily?

Kakashi’s hands are shaking.

He swallows.

He knows she’s right.

His hands won’t stop shaking.

He gives Gai a glance, feels the bile threaten to rise up, and then stands, balling his hands up into fists. He hopes she doesn’t notice their quivering.

“Right,” he says. “I’ll leave him to you.” And then he’s off.

He helps Naruto and Shikamaru take down the last two of the accomplices but they’ve lost the target and the one with the kekkei genkai. He doesn’t sense them anywhere either. He could call up his ninken to hopefully find a trace of their scent but Kakashi wants to regroup first. He tells the two boys to follow him and they meet back up with Sakura.

“Sensei,” Sakura says in greeting, her face grim.

“Gai?” he asks right away, peering around her body. He doesn’t look any better but at least the blood has stopped.

“I’ve healed the wound but…” She trails off, not meeting his eyes. “He lost a lot of blood and there’s something else. I think he might have been poisoned. I’m going to need to analyze his blood but I can’t do that here.” She shrugs. “I’ve given him an antidote just in case but I have a feeling this might be a poison we’ve never seen before.”

Kakashi’s eyebrows furrow. “The kekkei genkai.”

“What?” All three of them say at once.

“There was a rumor when Gai and I were teenagers that there was a ninja that could make special poison inside his body. All he had to do was scratch you and you would be infected.”

“Gai-Sensei wasn’t just scratched,” Sakura exhales loudly. “He was stabbed.”

“Yes, but if the user had coated his blade in his blood…” he trails off, letting the others fill in the blanks.

“What should we do, Kakashi-Sensei?” Naruto asks.

Shikamaru speaks before Kakashi can. “One of us can go back to Konoha with Gai-Sensei while the rest of us go after our target.”

He knows Shikamaru is right but… Kakashi watches Gai, shaking in pain. “How much longer do you think he has?”

Sakura’s lips draw into a straight line as she peers behind herself. “It’s hard to say. A couple days, maybe two… maybe three.”

It’s going to take them at least a day to get back to the village. He looks at Gai again, feeling his stomach churn with unease. Tsunade is going to be mad at him. “No. We all will go back now. Report to the Hokage and see what she wants us to do.”

“Sensei,” Sakura starts, looking back towards him. “He needs to rest a little. Get out of this rain.”

Kakashi nods in agreement. “Let’s move away from here, set up camp and rest for a few hours. Then we’ll move out.”

They do as instructed, Naruto helping Kakashi carry Gai, one arm slung over their shoulders on each side. They move away from that spot and travel several meters before landing. They set Gai down by a tree, propping him up. His shaking has stopped and his skin color is turning back to normal which makes Kakashi’s nerves ease a little.

Kakashi helps Shikamaru set up the two tents. They’re lucky they even have them. Shikamaru had said that it might rain during their mission and so had packed them with his stuff. It’s not very often they carry them, even if it is going to rain, opting to instead take cover in a cave or alcove. Shikamaru’s excuse was that it’s too troublesome to find a place like that. When Kakashi asked him if it wasn’t “troublesome” to put up tents, Shikamaru just sighed and mumbled to himself tiredly. Now, he puts them up without complaint.

Sakura volunteers to bring Gai into one of the tents. He’s awake now, barely, and is able to lean on Sakura as she guides him into the structure. She claims she wants to check him over again. Kakashi’s nerves spike once more but relax when she steps out of it, not looking too concerned.

She goes up to him. “I’ve told him to sleep. He’s going to need as much energy and strength he can gather for the journey home.” There’s a crease where her eyebrows knit together. “He lost a lot of blood and is in definite pain even though he’s pretending not to be. I tried to get him to take a blood replenishing pill and something for the pain but he refused.”

Kakashi glances towards the tent. Of course, Gai refused. “Give them to me. I’ll get him to take them.”

Sakura scowls. “I’m technically not supposed to force these things onto anyone.”

“Then it’s a good thing you wouldn’t be.” Kakashi holds out his hand and with a reluctant sigh, Sakura drops the pills in it. “Get some rest, Sakura. Have Naruto take the first watch. We’ll leave in a few hours” She nods and walks away, peering back at Kakashi and the tent before reaching Naruto and Shikamaru to tell them the plan.

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi enters the tent. He finds Gai lying on the ground, covered in a blanket. Despite poison pumping through his veins, he looks considerably okay. He’s no longer pale and his shaking has stopped. Kakashi wonders how much pain he’s actually in. Gai has always been fantastic at hiding that sort of thing.

Gai is staring at him as Kakashi crawls over. “I hear you’re being stubborn.”

“You know I don’t rely on that stuff,” Gai says, sounding tired. That’s the first giveaway that something is wrong, Kakashi assumes.

“Well,” Kakashi drawls. “I can either add these to your food unknowingly and you will have to be suspicious of which one it’s in for the rest of the night or,” he smirks under his mask, “you can just take them.”

Gai stares at him, probably trying to figure out just how serious Kakashi is, and then finally sighs, sitting up some and holding a hand out. “Fine,” he mumbles.

Kakashi smiles in triumph and hands the pills over. “They’re just to replenish your blood loss and help with pain anyway. It’s not a big deal.”

“Kakashi,” Gai says in warning but it doesn’t carry any weight to it.

Kakashi ignores him. “What happened?”

Gai finishes chewing the pills and lies back down on his back with a hard thump. “I was following the target when another shinobi came out of hiding. She took me by surprise. It was weird, Kakashi. I couldn’t sense her at all.”

“Well, it’s never been your strongest suit.”

“No,” Gai says seriously. “This was different. I should have been able to dodge her but…” Gai’s face scrunches contemplatively. “Did you get them?”

Kakashi shakes his head, shifting to get more comfortable. “No. We’re going back to the village to find out what the Hokage wants us to do.”

“That’s not like you.”

“You’ve been poisoned, Gai, Sakura needs-”

“No, Sakura can bring me back herself.” He tries to sit up and it worries Kakashi with how much effort it looks like it takes. “Then you, Naruto, and Shikamaru can get the target.”

Kakashi shakes his head again. “I’m not abandoning you.”

“You’re not, you’re-”

“Gai, we’re all going back. I’m the leader, remember?” This shuts Gai up who stares at him again. “You need to sleep,” Kakashi finally says after a long pause of silence. “We’ll be leaving again in a few hours.”

Gai lies back down, pulling the blanket up to his chin. They stare at each other until Kakashi is sighing and shucking off his flak jacket. It’s soaked and heavy anyway, and he rolls his shoulders once it’s on the ground. Next, he takes off his Hitai-ate, throwing it beside his flak jacket. Gai is still staring at him and Kakashi can feel his whole body heating up.

He stands up as best he can inside the tent, pokes his head out to where Naruto is sitting, keeping watch. “Naruto.” He waits until he’s got Naruto’s attention. “I’m going to keep watch over Gai. He needs to sleep. No one is allowed in here for the time being.”

“Got it, Kakashi-Sensei!” Naruto solutes him and then turns back around to continue his vigil.

Kakashi slips back into the tent and zips the entrance up. He goes and sits back down next to Gai who is still watching him. Hesitating, Kakashi slips his mask off, ringing it out from the water and then setting it beside his flak jacket as well to dry. He can still hear the rain pouring outside when he lies down on his side, facing Gai.

“Stop staring and go to sleep,” he tells Gai.

A smile breaks out on Gai’s face before he, too, salutes him and closes his eyes. Kakashi shakes his head at his friend and watches him. He doesn’t know how much time passes, but at some point he falls asleep, despite wanting to keep an eye on Gai to make sure he was going to be okay. Apparently he had been more tired than he had thought. 

Kakashi startles awake by the sound of chirping birds. When he opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is Gai staring at him. He yawns and stretches. It doesn’t sound like it’s raining anymore. “How long have you been awake?”

There’s a faint sheen of sweat coating Gai’s skin. The second clue that something isn’t right. “Not long.” A small smile appears on Gai’s face, warm and soft. “Kakashi?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

Kakashi looks at him, confused. “For what?”

“For trusting me.” Gai reaches over and traces a finger down Kakashi’s cheek.

Kakashi looks away, his whole face heating up. “It’s not the first time, Gai.”

“Not like this,” Gai says. “This is different.” Kakashi meets Gai’s eyes, swallowing thickly. “You’re beautiful, Kakashi.”

Kakashi sits up, batting Gai’s hand away gently. “Haven’t I told you not to say that to me?”

“But it’s true.”

“This really isn’t the time.” Kakashi reaches over and pulls his mask back on. It’s still damp but nothing Kakashi can’t deal with. Next comes his Hitai-ate and then his flak jacket. “I’m going to go see if the others are ready.”

Kakashi can feel Gai’s wide smile as he leaves the tent. He shouldn’t allow Gai’s teasing to get to him so much but even so, his cheeks feel hot as he exits. He’s greeted by the sight of Shikamaru’s back when he finally gets back outside. The sun is bright and there’s a slight breeze. Should make the travel back home easier, even with an injured Gai. Kakashi walks up to Shikamaru, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Get Naruto and Sakura. We’re heading out now.” Shikamaru nods at him and heads towards the other tent while Kakashi goes back to the one with Gai. He kneels down beside Gai, hooking one of Gai’s arms around his shoulders. “You ready?”

“Hmm,” Gai hums and Kakashi heaves him up. They stumble a little awkwardly out of the tent but Gai can move mostly on his own for now, at least.

They have to wait for the others to pack up the tent but it doesn’t take them long. Soon, they are making their way down the main path back to Konoha. Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru walk ahead of Gai and Kakashi but the pace is still slow going. Gai leans heavily onto Kakashi and Kakashi supports him with an arm around his waist, gripping his hip tightly in order to keep Gai’s balance. It’s worrisome to see Gai in such a state.

Just a few hours into their journey and Gai is panting heavily, shaking with every step, and sweating profusely. He’s got a hand on his left side where he had gotten stabbed. Their pace has slowed significantly.

“Gai,” Kakashi starts, worried. He can feel his own heart beating in his chest rapidly with no sign of slowing down. “How much are you hurting right now?”

“I’m fine, Kakashi,” he answers stubbornly, gritting his teeth.

“Don’t lie to me, Gai,” Kakashi reprimands, tightening his grip. “How much?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

Kakashi stops walking, shifting so he can look at Gai but still keep him balanced. “Let me see.” Gai tsks but lifts the hem of his jumpsuit anyway. His entire side is black and blue, no doubt from the poison. Kakashi’s eye widens, heart now jumping into his throat to pound incessantly there instead. “Sakura!”

The group ahead of them stop and turn around to face them. Sakura is by their side in an instant, looking at Gai. Her lips are pursed and she touches the area lightly. Gai just barely hides a flinch. “How much does this hurt, Gai-Sensei?” She gives him a pointed look. “And I need the truth for an accurate reading.”

Gai rolls his eyes. “It’s really not that bad.”

“You have too much of a high pain tolerance,” Kakashi mumbles.

“Can you keep going?” Sakura asks, ignoring Kakashi’s comment and Gai nods, giving her a wide smile and thumbs up with the hand that isn’t wrapped around Kakashi’s shoulders.

“Of course I can!” he announces.

It irritates Kakashi when Gai pushes himself so much like this but when Sakura gives him a questioning look, all he can do is nod his head in defeat. Sakura straightens from where she was leaning over to look at Gai’s side, allowing Gai to lower his shirt. “Okay, but if you need to stop, tell us.”

“Nonsense,” Gai says, forcing a smile.

They continue on their way, Gai continuing to pant heavily. By their next hour, they’re practically going at a snail’s pace. Gai’s head hangs low, almost his entire body weight leaning on Kakashi. Kakashi adjusts his hold and Gai stiffens with a pain filled groan, causing Kakashi to stop his movements. Gai sways in his arms.

“Kakashi…” Gai says quietly, suddenly leaning his forehead onto Kakashi’s shoulder. He can feel the heat radiating off of Gai and the sweat through his jumpsuit. No doubt he has formed a fever.

“It’s alright, Gai, I’ve got you.” Once more he calls to the others. “Let’s take a break,” he says when they come back over to him. They all nod in agreement and Kakashi leads Gai over to a tree to lean against, with Sakura following. They’ll be out of the sun this way as well. “Here.” He helps Gai sit down on the ground and then sits beside him. Gai immediately leans into him, head flopping back onto his shoulder.

Sakura takes off one of her gloves and holds it up against Gai’s forehead. “He’s burning up,” she says to Kakashi, tone low.

“I thought as much.”

She digs around in her pouch, procuring a small pill. She hands it to Kakashi. “This will help with the fever… hopefully. Since it’s from the poison…” She doesn’t finish her sentence and Kakashi doesn’t need her too. “We at least need to try and get it down. Fevers can be dangerous.”

Kakashi nods, looking at Gai. “I’ll take care of him,” he says and means it. He won’t let anything happen to Gai. Not on his watch. Sakura watches him carefully and must find what she is looking for because she smiles at him and then gets up to join the others.

Kakashi nudges Gai. “Gai, I need you to take this.”

Gai lifts his head, peering at the pill with unfocussed eyes. “What is it?”

“You have a fever. This will help.” He places it in Gai’s weak, unsteady hand. He hates seeing how it shakes. “Don’t try arguing with me.”

“Wasn’t,” Gai mumbles and pops the pill in his mouth, chewing slowly. He then rests his head back on Kakashi’s shoulder. They’re silent for a few seconds before Gai starts talking quietly. “Hey, Kakashi?”

“You should try and get some sleep. We can’t stay here long.”

“Do you remember when I told you I could open all eight gates?” Gai continues, ignoring Kakashi’s suggestion.

Kakashi sighs heavily. Gai always ignored his suggestions. “Of course, I do.”

“You were really mad at me,” Gai complains. “Do you remember that?”

Kakashi nods. “Yeah. I didn’t want you to use them.”

“Because you thought I would use all eight and die,” Gai points out the obvious, not that Kakashi will admit to it. Gai chuckles. “You’re not as hard to read as you like to believe you are, my friend.”

“Maybe to you.” He sighs, shifting to get more comfortable. Gai is looking more and more tired. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”

“Hmm,” Gai hums in agreement, closing his eyes. “You’re not going to lose me, Rival.”

“Don’t say things you can’t promise,” Kakashi says, frowning.

“You won’t,” Gai says again, conviction lacing his tone.

Kakashi shakes his head in disbelief. “How can you say that?”

Gai takes a deep, shuddering breath, glancing up at Kakashi. “Our rivalry is eternal.”

“Gai…”

“It is,” Gai says pointedly. “It’s eternal so you’ll never lose me and I’ll never lose you. Because I said it, it’s true.”

Kakashi peeks down at him, amused by Gai’s reasoning. “I hate you.”

Gai’s mouth pulls into a large grin, all teeth and sparkle despite the sickly look to him. It makes Kakashi want to kiss him. Instead, he leans his head down and touches his forehead to Gai’s, closing his eyes against the sting in his eye. He just hopes Gai is right. That they will never lose each other.

Kakashi pulls away. “Get some sleep, Gai.”

“Right,” Gai sighs out, closing his eyes again. It doesn’t take long for the man to fall asleep.

Kakashi watches him. He seems peaceful in sleep, which Kakashi is thankful for. He reaches up, cards his fingers once, twice in Gai’s hair. It’s soft. He doesn’t know what he would do if he lost him. If Gai, the one who has always been there for him, by his side, died. The thought instantly makes Kakashi feel sick.

Gai is his everything.

They rest there for about two hours, Kakashi never leaving Gai’s side and Sakura coming to check on Gai’s temperature every half hour. The pill hasn’t lowered it at all but, according to Sakura, it hasn’t risen either. Kakashi is glad but he knows now that Gai has a fever, the trek home is going to be even more difficult.

Kakashi is just starting to doze off himself when Sakura comes back over. She places her hand on Gai’s forehead, who hasn’t woken since he fell asleep. “Still no change but we should probably start thinking about moving again. The sooner we get back to the village, the better.”

Kakashi nods in agreement and waits for Sakura to walk away before he attempts to wake Gai up. “Gai.” He shakes Gai’s shoulder a little. Gai groans, face scrunching in pain. “Gai, it’s time to move.”

“Okay,” Gai sighs, sounding even more tired despite his rest. They stand, with Kakashi mostly having to actually pick Gai up to get him off the ground. He’s still sweating badly and he’s out of breath along with being unsteady on his feet. Gai takes a deep breath, lifts his head, and smiles. “Ready.”

Kakashi briefly thumps his forehead against Gai’s temple before starting to walk, going even slower than they were going before. It doesn’t seem to strain Gai all that much, at least not at first, but Kakashi knows him. He knows how much effort Gai is putting in to make it seem like he is okay, that he can do this. With every exhale, Gai’s whole body shakes. Kakashi pulls him closer to him.

Gai watches Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru who are ahead of them.

Kakashi watches Gai.

“Kakashi,” Gai pants.

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry.”

Kakashi’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “For what?”

“I should be able to go faster,” Gai says, his own eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

Kakashi peers in front of them at the backs of the rest of the group. “You don’t need to apologize for that, Gai.”

“I can do better,” Gai complains. “I should be able to do better.”

“Your worth isn’t based on what you can and can’t do, Gai.”

“Isn’t it?” Gai looks at him, blinks slowly. “Wasn’t it?”

“When we were kids?” Kakashi asks, clarifying. Gai opens his mouth to answer but trips over his own feet before he can. Kakashi reaches out with the hand that isn’t already wrapped around Gai to catch him. “Careful.” Kakashi looks at him. “If you’re that desperate to go faster, I could always carry you.”

Gai laughs. “I wouldn’t let you embarrass yourself in front of your students like that.”

“You did when you carried me back from Suna,” Kakashi points out, continuing to walk. They’ve fallen farther behind now but he doesn’t mind. It just means the kids won’t be able to hear them talking.

“That was me embarrassing myself,” Gai comments. “I embrace it.”

Kakashi studies him, watching Gai’s expression as it turns sad. It’s not a look he often sees on Gai’s face and when he does, he knows it’s bad. “You’re not an embarrassment to me, Gai.”

Gai huffs. “Don’t lie.”

“You’re not.” Kakashi smiles at him, making sure Gai sees it. “I love you.”

Gai stares at him, not surprised but not knowingly either. He turns away, face turning red though Kakashi isn’t sure if it’s from being flustered or if it’s from the fever. “You’re an idiot.”

“Isn’t that my line?” Kakashi asks playfully.

Gai sighs again. “You and I, Kakashi, we had to prove ourselves when we were kids. In different ways but it was still always there. Trying to gain people’s approval. You were the genius who had to live up to the name. I was the loser who had to show I wasn’t.” Gai looks at him once more. “Our worth is based on what we can do.”

“You’re wrong,” Kakashi says plainly. “Everyone is worth something. Everyone means something, no matter what they can do.” He smiles at Gai again. “You taught me that.”

Gai watches him and Kakashi keeps smiling until Gai smiles back. “Thank you, Kakashi.”

“I told you, I’ve got you.” Kakashi lets his eye turn soft in order to convey the feelings towards Gai that he is feeling. “I always will.” Kakashi stops and helps maneuver Gai to behind him. “Now, let me carry you.”

Gai wraps his arms around Kakashi’s neck and Kakashi hoists him up onto his back, holding Gai under his thighs. “I’m not as light as I used to be.”

Kakashi adjusts his hold until it feels alright. “This is fine.” Gai presses his forehead into the back of Kakashi’s neck before shifting and letting his chin rest on Kakashi’s shoulder. Kakashi continues to follow the others once they are situated. “The last time I carried you like this, was when you opened the seventh gate for the first time.”

“You were really mad at me then, too.”

“Because you could have died.”

Gai laughs. “I knew it.”

Kakashi shakes his head. “Gai.” Gai hums to let Kakashi know he’s listening. “You’ve always been there for me. You’ve always been by my side and had my back. So, no matter your skill level or what you can and cannot do, I don’t care. You mean a lot to me, Gai.”

Gai is quiet for a long time, which is unusual and Kakashi almost wonders if he had fallen asleep, but then Gai finally says, “You mean a lot to me too, Kakashi.” He buries his face into the crook of Kakashi’s neck. Kakashi swears he feels a kiss being pressed there. “More than anything.”

A ghost of a smile threatens to appear on Kakashi’s face but he resists the urge, instead opting to say, “Get some sleep, Gai. I’ll carry you the rest of the way home.”

“Just like before,” Gai says softly, nodding off.

Kakashi’s face grows soft. “Just like before.”

It’s not hard to carry Gai back and their pace improves with doing so. They stop only a couple of times to allow Sakura to check his temperature which hasn’t changed and by the time they get back to Konoha, it’s already night. Kakashi brings Gai straight to the hospital, Sakura with them, and she gets right to work on finding out what type of poison was used and making an antidote. As much as Kakashi doesn’t want to leave Gai’s side, he knows he has no choice. He leaves Sakura to it, heading for the Hokage office where Naruto and Shikamaru should be waiting.

The two shinobi are already in Tsunade’s office when he arrives. She lets him enter, telling him that they were waiting for him. He apologizes but stands his ground firmly. The Hokage doesn’t look happy with him, as Kakashi had expected to happen.

“What happened?” Tsunade asks, looking to all three of them but giving Kakashi a pointed look. She wants him to explain and him alone.

He does as he’s told, not giving any hint to regretting his decision for all of them to come back to Konoha. Tsunade still doesn’t look happy and she asks him why he thought it would be a good idea to just let the enemy escape. When he opens his mouth to defend himself, Shikamaru beats him to it, obviously having been thinking of this for a while.

“The consensus is that  the kekkei genkai user can produce poison inside his body. If more of us got infected, then it would stem bad for the mission either way,” Shikamaru explains, looking bored. “All of us coming back means we can go after the target again once an antidote is made. That way, if one of us gets infected with the poison, then we can just take the antidote right there and then.” He shrugs. “It’s less troublesome.”

Tsunade is biting her bottom lip, looking at Shikamaru contemplatively. Finally, she tsks, sits back, and crosses her arms. “Very well. We’ll wait for an antidote to be made by Sakura.” She pauses, looking the team over. “I’m going to send different shinobi. You three, get some rest.”

“Eh!” Naruto immediately complains. “But baachan, we should be the ones to go back!”

Tsunade scowls and Shikamaru sighs. “Naruto, I’m not in the mood to have this argument with you. It’s better if you stay here and rest. It won’t do if I send you out there with only half your energy.”

“But I’m already rested!” Naruto yells, holding a fist up in a way to show he’s ready and pumped to keep going. “I have a lot of energy left!”

“Then go take it out on some training!” Tsunade yells back, standing up and placing her hands down firmly on her desk. “Now get out of my office.”

Naruto, shoving his hands into his pockets, turns and leaves as he grumbles under his breath. Shikamaru follows with a tired sigh, muttering, “How troublesome.”

Kakashi stays put and waits for the office door to be shut behind the two. He hears Tsunade sit back down. “What is it Kakashi?”

Kakashi turns back to the Hokage. “In the event of possibly angering you again, I have a request.” Tsunade’s eyebrow lifts in question. “I would like to be part of the team that goes after the kekkei genkai user.”

It’s Tsunade’s turn to sigh heavily, leaning forward to place her elbow on her desk and rest her chin in the palm of her hand. “You too, huh?” She tsks. “This is about Gai?” Kakashi stays quiet. If he admits to such a thing, she won’t let him. “Kakashi, you of all people should know that revenge isn’t the answer.”

“It’s not about revenge,” he says, partially true. “This was my mission that I failed.”

“So you want to make up for it,” Tsunade states. “And it absolutely has nothing to do with Gai.”

“Right,” he says and they both know it’s a lie but Tsunade just sighs once more, looking at him with piercing eyes.

“Fine.” She sits up. “Once Sakura has an antidote made and we find the location of the two targets, I’ll gather up a team with you as the leader. For now, go get some rest.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.” Kakashi bows and then turns to leave.

“I mean it, Kakashi,” Tsunade says, stopping him. He glances over his shoulder at her. “Rest. I need you at top form for this mission. Don’t go to the hospital and work yourself up waiting for results on Gai.”

She knows him too well and not well enough. He waves goodbye to her with a smile and leaves, heading straight to the hospital despite Tsunade’s warning. He asks the nurse at the desk if he can see Gai and she tells him he’s not allowed any visitors at the moment. So, he goes and sits down in one of the chairs in the waiting room. He sits there for hours as he waits for any news about his best friend. He’s so nervous and worried about the results that he can’t even focus on the Icha Icha book that he is carrying in his pouch.

He doesn’t know how many hours have passed but eventually Sakura appears in front of him with her hands on her hips. “I have a message from Hokage-sama.”

Kakashi guesses Tsunade knows him better than he had initially thought. “Oh?”

“She told you to go rest.”

“I am resting.”

“Not here.”

Kakashi shrugs, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. “How’s Gai?”

“I’ve come up with an antidote that will hopefully work.” She looks tired. “Only time will tell but I’m pretty confident in it. Anyway, Tsunade-sama wants you in her office. Apparently they’ve found the two men that got away on our mission.”

Kakashi nods. “So no time to see Gai, then, eh?”

Sakura shakes her head, face scrunching in disapproval. She gets more and more like Tsunade every day. “Even if there was, I wouldn’t let you. He needs to rest, Kakashi-sensei,” she reprimands. “Let the antidote do its work. Stop worrying.”

“I guess that’s it then.” He salutes her, feigning disinterest even though he knows Sakura sees right through it. “Bye bye.” He leaves in a puff of smoke, Sakura’s huff not going unheard.

When he enters the Hokage’s office for the second time, Tsunade glares at him. “I told you to rest.”

“I did.”

She tsks, knowing full well that he isn’t telling the truth but ignores it anyway. She turns her attention to the rest of the people in the room as Kakashi takes his place next to them. Neji, Ino, and Shino stand there, waiting for instructions. “This the team?” Kakashi asks.

Tsunade nods. “Ino is going with you for her medical ninjutsu. Since you said Gai couldn’t sense the kekkei genkai user, I thought Neji’s Byakugan would come in handy plus he is another jonin. Shino is going in case you need him to drain any chakras from either of the two.” Kakashi nods in approval. It is a good selection. “Here,” Tsunade places a small needle on her desk. “This is the antidote to the poison that the kekkei genkai user creates. Sakura unfortunately only had enough time to make two, one for Gai and one for this mission.” Kakashi picks up the needle and places it in his pouch. “We don’t have much time so you need to move out right away.”

Tsunade gives them the location of their targets. “We’ll get them this time, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi promises.

Tsunade’s mouth purses. “Don’t be reckless, Kakashi.”

Kakashi smiles at her. “I never am.” He then leaves with the rest of the group.

It would seem the enemy is headed towards the village, possibly to get revenge or wage a war on them for what Kakashi’s group had done to them earlier. Due to this, it doesn’t take them long to find the enemy, especially when using Neji’s Byakugan. They land out of sight and view the area that the two are resting at currently.

“Shino, Ino, you go for the original target. Neji, I want you to back me up with the kekkei genkai user,” Kakashi orders.

“Which is that?” Ino asks.

Kakashi gestures with his chin. “The man is your target.”

“Got it,” she says.

“So then that leaves-” Neji starts but Kakashi doesn’t wait for him to finish.

“Let’s go!”

They jump out of their hiding place, attacking immediately so not to give the enemy time to prepare. Despite this, the kekkei genkai user jumps up and produces a kunai to block Kakashi’s. They grapple with the kunai for a few seconds before jumping apart, the clang of the two knives loud.

Kakashi glances over to Ino and Shino who are in the midst of their own fight. When he confidently sees the two are holding their own, Kakashi turns back to his target, revealing his Sharingan. The woman in front of him laughs.

“Oh? Pitting me up against two eye users?” She crosses her arms. “How unfair.” She glances over to her companion. “Are you sure those two will be okay on their own? Kenji-san is pretty powerful.” As if to punctuate her point, Ino screams and is flung back quite a ways.

Kakashi doesn’t even flinch. “They’ll be fine,” he says, hoping he’s right.

The woman smiles at him. “If you’re sure.” She then does a couple hand signs and disappears.

Kakashi tries to find where she is using the Sharingan but can’t sense her anywhere. This must be what Gai was talking about. “Neji.”

“Byakugan!” Neji is quiet for a few seconds, the only sound being heard is the fight that is happening between Ino, Shino, and Kenji. Finally, he announces, “She’s over there!” He points into the woods. Kakashi still doesn’t see her but trusts Neji’s eyes.

He’s about to follow when he hears Shino grunt in pain and Ino screams again. He stops and looks over at them. They are both on the ground, wounded but nothing life threatening. Still, they look like they may need some help after all. “Neji, you stay here and assist them.”

Neji seems alarmed by this. “But-”

“I’ll be fine. Help them.” And then he’s off in the direction Neji had pointed in. It doesn’t take him long to get to a small clearing. He’s not sure why this woman wanted to be separated from her companion unless she didn’t want to risk having to fight all of them at once.

He looks around the clearing, suspicious as to why she hasn’t attacked him yet. He can’t sense her at all and-

Kakashi grunts as he just barely dodges an attack from the ground, a kunai slicing through his side. If he hadn't moved in time, he’d have been in the same predicament that Gai had found himself. He backflips out of the way, holding a hand to his side once he’s on the ground.

The woman laughs in front of him. “I can conceal myself perfectly. For you to dodge that attack… you’re good. A lot better than that loser in the green.”

Kakashi grits his teeth, resisting the urge to say anything back to her in irritation. He eyes the kunai. There’s blood that is dripping from her wrist down onto the kunai, covering it. The color of her blood is off, darker and more purple. So, that’s how she gets the poison onto the knife, as Kakashi had suspected. Which means, he’s already been poisoned himself.

She’s laughing again. “Do you know who I am?”

Kakashi meets her eyes. “I don’t really care.”

“Well, aren’t you rude.” She scowls. “I am Tadame and I possess the kekkei genkai that allows me to change my blood into poison.”

Kakashi sighs, feigning boredom. “Why do you people always feel the need to explain yourselves?”

Tadame huffs, annoyed. “Fine, let’s get this over with then. Shall we?” She disappears once more, the only sound around Kakashi being the wind.

He lifts his hand from his wound. It’s bleeding profusely with no sign of it clotting anytime soon. Kakashi thinks back to how much blood Gai had lost. The poison must prevent the blood from clotting, keeping it thinned out to speed up the process of the person bleeding out and for the poison to travel through the body easier. It’s an interesting way of doing things, considering bloodletting is a common practice of extracting poison from the body. Either way, Kakashi doesn’t have time to dwell on it. By the way Gai, someone who has a high tolerance for many things, reacted to the poison, Kakashi’s only got a few minutes before the poison starts to take effect. He doesn’t want to use the antidote quite yet, just in case he gets cut again.

“You know,” Tadame’s voice carries to him in the wind. “It’s not just my blood that will poison you. I can just scratch you and get the job done. Though less effective, I must confess.”

She appears in front of him suddenly, swiping her kunai down to cut Kakashi in the face. He brings his own kunai up just in time, blocking her blow. He understands now why Gai couldn’t dodge her. He can barely keep up while using the Sharingan. Without that, he’d be hopeless. She goes to swipe him in the face once again, but this time with her long nails. He jumps back before she can, his back hitting a tree. At the same time, he throws three kunai, each with an explosive tag on them.

They blow up on impact and Kakashi waits for the smoke and dirt to dissipate in order to see if he got her. He has a feeling it won’t be so easy. His side is on fire and he’s now panting, starting to feel the effects of the poison and blood loss. There is no body when everything settles.

Tadame giggles and Kakashi searches for her. “You really are hopeless. I’ve heard good things about the Copy Ninja. Is this all you can do?” She strikes at him from behind, causing him to duck. The blood soaked kunai cuts some strands of his hair. Gai isn’t going to like that. “I’m disappointed!”

She keeps striking at him, causing Kakashi to continuously dodge. His vision goes blurry for a second, making Kakashi stagger and Tadame gets a hit on him, slicing through his arm. Kakashi groans in pain, reaching up to the wound. His blood immediately covers his hand. He needs to find a way to end this quickly or else he’s not going to last.

Tadame laughs, twirling the kunai. “Pathetic.” She charges and Kakashi jumps away, throwing more kunai with explosive tags. As they fly through the air towards her, he does the signs for his Chidori. He staggers as he lands on his feet but keeps his footing, immediately going into a charge of his own as the tags explode around them.

“Chidori!” he yells as he approaches. Tadame is already in the process of escaping the explosion and, Kakashi having anticipated that, lunges at her, catching her off guard. His chidori clips her in the right shoulder as she tries to dodge, splattering her blood over Kakashi’s arm and rendering her arm useless. Doing so, however, gets Kakashi close enough for her to grab a hold of his arm with her good hand and dig her fingernails into him, holding him in place.

“You bastard!” she screams, leaning in to bite him. Kakashi kicks at her stomach, making her go flying and dragging her fingernails across his arm as he is ripped free of her grasp.

Tadame staggers to her feet, blood pouring out of her shoulder. Kakashi pants where he stands, stomach lurching with nausea and eyesight going blurry again. He was close. If he can just get close to her again then maybe…

“I’m going to kill you!” she howls menacingly and charges.

Kakashi leaps into the air, feels the world spin around him, and reaches into his pouch. He doesn’t have much time left. At this rate he’ll… he digs out the antidote just as Tadame changes course and jumps after him, an angry scream leaving her mouth as she aims her kunai. He doesn’t have the strength or the reaction time to dodge her attack this time. He has to rely on this.

He plunges the needle into his thigh just as her kunai stabs into him. She grins as they fall to the ground but Kakashi wraps an arm around her and pulls her closer to him. It digs the kunai into him more, causing him to flinch, but he needs to keep her still long enough to do his last move. They land and she tries to pull away but Kakashi can already feel the antidote working, restoring some of his strength. He holds her there, refusing to let go.

“What?” she asks in surprise, still struggling to pull away. “How are you-”

Kakashi’s eyebrows furrow in anger, his nose scrunching, and mouth turning into a scowl under his mask. “You hurt the one person I am the closest to.” Kakashi lifts up the hand that isn’t holding her in place, lightning crackling all around his palm. “The person I care about more than anything else.”

“What?” Tadame’s eyes widen, realizing what is about to happen.

“And you’re going to die for that.” He drives his hand forward.

“No!” Tadame screams, eyes staring at him in pure fury.

Kakashi ignores her and thrusts his hand through her chest. Her blood splashes up onto his face but he pays it no mind as he watches her take her last breath and the light goes out in her eyes. When he knows for certain she is dead, he drops her body and pulls out the kunai from his side, groaning in pain. He looks down at his wounds. The antidote must be doing its job. His cuts and scratches are starting to clot now.

Pressing a hand to his side, over the stab wound, he sits down and waits for Neji, Ino, and Shino to join him, hoping that they won’t need his assistance. He wouldn’t be any good to them in this state. He looks up at the sky. The sun is starting to set.

He wants to go see Gai.

The sound of rustling in the bushes catches his attention and he’s on high alert again until Ino comes rushing out and to his side. “Kakashi-sensei!” She kneels down beside him and starts to heal his stab wound.

Shino and Neji look around the small clearing. “It’s done then?” Neji asks.

Kakashi nods. “Kenji?”

“Dead,” Shino answers and holds up a bag that Kakashi presumes has his head in it.

Kakashi looks towards Tadame’s body. “Let’s take her too. We’ll want to study her body.”

Neji and Shino nod in understanding. It takes a few more minutes before Ino stands, having finished healing his wounds. “Are you alright, Kakashi-sensei?”

“Hmm,” he hums, standing up. He stumbles a little, getting a bit dizzy, but Ino steadies him with a hand on his arm. “I took the antidote. I’ll be perfectly fine soon.” He looks back to the sky. It’s almost dark. “Let’s get home.”

Kakashi wraps Tadame up and then lifts her body onto his back. They walk home, all four of them feeling exhausted. When they do get back, they head straight to the Hokage’s office, Kakashi dropping Tadame’s body on the floor next to her desk and Neji dropping Kenji’s head onto her desk.

She scowls at Kakashi’s appearance. “You’re getting blood on my floor.”

Kakashi shrugs nonchalantly. “Eh, it was a bit tougher than expected.” He turns more serious. “Some of this is Tadame’s, the kekkei genkai user, blood. I thought some could be collected and analyzed. I’m not sure if the blood in her body turns to normal after she dies.”

Tsunade stands and approaches Kakashi, looking contemplative. “So the kekkei genkai user was a female?” Kakashi nods in confirmation.

“Only Gai saw her so it makes sense only he knew,” Kakashi comments.

Tsunade hums, staring at the purple blood on Kakashi’s mask. She waves her hand and an ANBU member appears. “Take a sample of this blood and send it to a lab to be tested and analyzed. Take the body and Kenji’s head with you.”

“Understood!” The ANBU member does as told, disappearing shortly after with Tadame’s body and Kenji’s head.

The four of them then go into a debriefing, Tsunade looking displeased at learning that Kakashi fought the kekkei genkai user by himself, but pleased with the results nonetheless. She sighs when they are done. “Alright, the four of you get some rest. You’ll have a couple days off.” Ino, Shino, and Neji all nod and turn to leave the room. Kakashi turns to follow but is called back by Tsunade. “Kakashi.”

“Yes?”

“Before you go to the hospital, go home and at least clean yourself up.” Her eyes soften and she leans her chin in her palm, not unlike earlier in the day. “I’m sure Gai would appreciate you not having blood all over you when you see him.”

Kakashi’s heart starts beating fast in his chest and he can feel his ears heating up. He supposes he underestimated Tsunade if he thought he could hide his feelings from her. “Understood.” He leaves the office then, heading back to his apartment to take a quick shower.

Once done, he heads straight to the hospital. Visiting hours are over already but it’s not too hard to figure out what room Gai is in. He jumps up to the window and opens it silently, slipping into the room.

Gai is asleep, resting on his back with his limbs flared out. Kakashi smiles warmly down at him, reaching out to brush some hair out of Gai’s face. It causes Gai to stir, his breath hitching and he slowly opens his eyes. “K… Kakashi?”

Kakashi sits down on the edge of the bed, pressing into Gai’s side. “Hey, Gai.”

Gai smiles up at him. “I didn’t die.”

Kakashi runs a hand through Gai’s hair and down the side of his face. “No, you didn’t.”

Gai’s grin is growing larger, blinding in the dark. “We’ll be eternal rivals yet!”

Kakashi nods, leaning closer. “Yes, we will.”

“Plenty of competitions to still do.”

“Hmm.”

“Kakashi, I lov-”

Kakashi pulls down his mask and kisses him.

—————————————————————————————————

A/N: This ended up being super long… oops…

I wasn’t actually planning on it turning out that they would have to go back and defeat those two enemies but the story kind of drove its own plot forward, taking control of my writing.

I hope I made it clear enough in the story that Gai using she/her pronouns while everyone else used he/his pronouns for the kekkei genkai user was on purpose. It’s another thing I wasn’t actually going to explicitly say in the story, but I didn’t want people to think it was a writing mistake so I added in an explanation anyway.

I hope you all enjoyed this story! Thank you all for reading!!

[narto-you-ignorant-slu-inactive]

The thing about naruto bieng a bad parent ,it's not about not spending enough time with your kids , it's how ruined his character is they wanted his character to seem grownup and responsible ,but he just seems tired and out of place , even with his family he feels like an outsider , like he doesn't fit at all and I dont even know how to explain it , it's just sad I f you were going to force a canon ending that makes no sense, at least do good man

HONESTLY THOUGH

No, really, what you just said is literally what I think whenever I see adult Naruto. It's not just that he looks tired and thus consequently ugly as hell, he doesn't even act like you'd imagine Naruto being, even after decades, at ALL. Of course growing up can basically tilt your character 180 degrees, and politics are even more prone to doing that. And considering that he spent the last of his teenage years being groomed into the perfect figurehead (because let's face it, there's most likely decisions being made behind his back, decisions that Naruto simply 'wouldn't understand' because I want to believe that deep deep down he's still the same righteous dork he was years ago and politics are ugly, dark, shadowed things, no matter how calm the peace times may be).

But generally? Not even his deeply rooted characteristics stayed the same. He's a dork. He's righteous to a fault. He has to save everyone. He's liquid sunshine and soothing warmth and the most important thing for him is family.

How far did he go to protect his friends, his found family? How often did he yell at Sasuke that he sees him as his brother? How FURIOUS and PANICKED was he whenever talk about eliminating Sasuke came up? How angry was he when Sasuke talked shit or even straight up tried to kill Sakura and Kakashi?

You want me to believe that this guy, so thirsty for love and acknowledgement and a family of his own, would—what, neglect his own family, both blood and found, the way he does? Not be there for every little milestone of his kids or pout whenever he misses one? Not kiss his wife every time he gets to see her, hold her hands or her arm and just constantly keep touching her because he's been starved for this kind of closeness for years? Yell about his FAMILY, inform everyone he comes across about whatever his kids did that day ("She finally called me Da, man! DA!!!!)"), whatever Hinata did ("And she just straight up knocked him out, dude, like didn't even hesitate and gentle fisted the shit out of him")? Bug his friends and tease them and talk to them when they run into each other on the street, even if it's just for a short moment? Not constantly lose his shit whenever Sasuke comes back, even if it's in a more controlled way thse days (frame slightly shaking and smile earsplittig and he has to hold up an image but his emotions are overwhelming, always have been whenever Sasuke's involved)?

He's already using so many shadow clones, and most of the time he doesn't even dignify his own fucking family with that. Instead he tells his pre-teen son to call him Lord Hokage instead of dad, like he wasn't the brat that flat out called the third old man. Instead he misses his daughter's birthday and sends a shadow clone that disspells because he—what, couldn't uphold it any longer? Instead he barely sees his wife, and doesn't even kiss or hug her when he sees her. Instead we see him looking at a freshly returned Sasuke (who came as a surprise, without any kind of warning, mind you) like he's just another one of his shinobi, like the man wasn't his greatest desire for the better part of his teenage life. Instead we rarely see him interact with his friends, with his found family, outside of Shikamaru, who literally works for him. We don't even see him interact with Sakura, who, arguably, is his best and closest friend. Doesn't even visit Kakashi under the pretense of seeking important kage advise.

For fucks sake, the guy literally sleeps on the couch. And, sure, common sense tells us he's merely doing that because he doesn't want to wake Hinata up when he gets home late, but honestly? The third week in a row you haven't slept in your own fucking bed next to your own fucking wife is probably when you should re-consider your priorities because I know, I know that Naruto cares for all of the villagers, loves them, needs to protect them now that they finally acknowledge him, but the thing about Naruto is that he always had priorities, even if it was unconsciously. Just look at his teenage years—does it really look like he didn't have his friends ranked from more important to less important? He'd have never believed it, never even realized it, but between Sakura and Kiba, heck, between Sakura and Sasuke—he chose, back then during whatever the fuck the five kage summit was. So politics and paperwork aside (also, do they REALLY want me to believe he or Shikamaru or SOMEONE with a fucking braincell wouldn't just get an assistant or a full team of assistants just to take care of the paperwork? For real?) he'd spend time with his family, period. Hell, even is it's just 10 minutes every day! He'd find that time. Make that time, even if it means pestering his kids until they come visit him in his office every day so he can play a quick round of cards with them and they can update him on their life, what they've done today and how school is.

Of course, you could also turn that around on its head and say the guilt of not being there for his family weighs down on him, thus making him even more tired and worn out looking.

Honestly though, what I'm trying to say is..... who decided making someone who solves problems via punching and screaming the hatred and stupid out of someone a political figure is a good idea in the first place? He's charismatic, people are drawn to him, but that doesn't change the fact that Naruto, even if he might be good at them, is not someone made for politics, for a position that's more bureaucratics than anything else these days; he's a do-er, does things with his own two hands and not his signature on yet another piece of paper.

They should have made him like... an ambassador or something, who regulalry visitis the other nations to uphold peace and treaties and remind people on why peace times are, actually, a good thing. Because time makes people forget, and they need someone to remind them about this fact and Naruto's the perfect person for that job. He could have even gone and done that with Sasuke, honestly, and left the whole Hokage thing to someone more suitable, like Sakura and Shikamaru. I mean, c'mon, Shikamaru was already pointed out to be a good Hokage in canon itself, and Sakura was both the fifth Hokage's apprentice and the sixth's assistant. They'd have made a terrifying duo.

And personally? All this talk about dreams, the way canon itself likes to point out that Naruto has dreams and things more important than his childhood dream mainly Sasuke, making him realize that dreams change and sometimes you HAVE to choose (because that's one thing Naruto, in canon, never had to do and is one lesson he really should have learned) would have made for one hell of a character development. (Not that Kishimoto cares much about THAT.)

But honestly, when I look at this guy slumped over his desk like his responsibilities are literally crushing him, crushing his spirits and draining him of everything that made him Naruto in the first place (love and care and the desperate need for a family, sunshine warmth and big ol' smiles) I don't even see Naruto. That's some beat-up workaholic father who neglects his family and forgot about having priorities.

[misssunflowersandsangria]

This is my Idea

Chapter 1: Trust 

Happy @shikatemaweek my deers!  OMG!  I’ve been so excited about this week and seeing all the amazing content from some incredible creators!  I got into the fandom so late so this is Baby’s First ShikaTema Week! 

This story is Canon Divergent.  Don’t worry too much about what’s going on in everyone else's storyline because it doesn't really affect ShikaTem.  Also just know that Temari’s parents are alive and Rasa is not a complete monster.  Okay, happy reading! 

Prompt: Trust

Ages: 

Shika: 13

Tem: 15

Summary:   At a young age, Shikamaru is tasked with guiding the Princess Temari around Konoha every Summer. It was an assignment neither one was happy with but over time those feelings changed.

*

**

“Lord Kazekage, it’s an honor to welcome you and your daughter to the village.”  The Hokage warmly greeted the duo.  

“We have assigned a Chunin level Shinobi to accompany your daughter around the village during our meetings.  He will remain her guard for all of Princess Temari’s trips in the future.  He is one of our best and they are close in age so I feel that they should get along quite well.”  The Kazekage had warned the Hokage in advance about his daughter’s temperament; he assured him that they’d have a capable Shinobi available.

“Shikamaru…”

The recently promoted Chunin moved forward bowing politely.  “It’s an honor Lord Kazekage and Princess Temari.  I will do my absolute best to ensure your comfort and safety while you are here in the village.”

The newly formed alliance with Suna was a huge step forward towards peace.  The Kazekage was there to work out the important details.  He brought along his daughter because the plan was for her to take on the role of ambassador.  To bring the countries together she would spend her Summers in Konoha for the foreseeable future.  This was to build unity and familiarity while she conducted important alliance work.  Shikamaru knew that it was an important mission some would even call it an honor. He saw it as a complete chore. He tried as hard as he could to avoid making it look like he’d rather be anywhere than there.   

She was taller than him with four bunches of blonde hair and teal eyes.  She might be considered cute if it wasn’t for the look of utter hatred and disdain on her face. Her expression matched how he was feeling.   

Temari glared at the Shinobi standing in front of her.  He was shorter than her despite the obnoxious pineapple hair.  He was probably younger than her too. How the hell was he supposed to protect her?

“Temari.”  The Kazekage pushed her forward towards the Shinobi.  Putting on her best smile and not wanting to incur any rage from her father she nodded.

“Thank you Shikamaru, I know that we will have a pleasant time together.”  She replied through clenched teeth. 

“Alright kids, we will see you back here at 5.  Shikamaru, please keep a close eye on Princess Temari.”  The Hokage directed as he and the Kazekage went towards his office. 

“Yes sir.”

The second they were outside of the Hokage’s office Temari leveled Shikamaru with a look pushing a finger against his chest.

“Listen here, I don’t need an escort.  I can take care of myself.”

He rolled his eyes and looked at her with a bored expression.  “And you listen, I didn’t want this damn assignment, babysitting a spoiled princess all Summer was not my idea.  But your dad and the Hokage expect us to play nice so stop being such a drag.”

Temari felt the rage starting to build.  At first, she was excited about the prospect of going to Konoha.  Any way that she could help her village she’d gladly take on.  This was not what she expected. 

“A drag?  You arrogant little!  Screw this!”  Faster than he could react she was gone in a flash forcing him to run after her.  He would rather she get lost but the Hokage would have his head if something happened to the Princess. 

“What is your problem?  Get back here!”  He yelled, chasing her across the rooftops.

“Do your job better!!!”  She teased him racing forward. As annoying as this whole situation was, it was kind of fun weaving through and trying to lose him.  Seeing him become increasingly frustrated.  

“Stop chasing me!”  She demanded once they hit the tree line.  She went into the treetops trying to stay hidden.

“Stop being troublesome and I won’t have to!”  Like that was going to happen.  She went to dart across to the next tree but found herself completely stuck.  

“What the hell?”

“Shadow possession jutsu complete.”  She felt her body turn to face an all too smug Shikamaru.

A shadow user, of course.  She should have asked him what his jutsu was in the beginning.

”Let go of me!  I’m a Princess.”  She demanded in disbelief that he caught her. 

“No, you’re being a brat!”  He yelled back. 

“The second your jutsu falls I’m running.”

She was strong and he could feel himself struggle to hold it.  He knew he had a time limit before it would break.  “Look, I don’t like this any more than you do but we need to make this work.  I won’t be any more annoying or invasive than I have to be but you’re going to have to give me something to work with here.  It’s pretty obvious that you don’t need me to protect you so I won’t even try to step into that kind of role.  Think of me as a guide while you’re here.”

Temari struggled before letting her body go lax. She knew that her father wouldn’t be too happy knowing that she acted this way.  This wasn’t the way a future ambassador should behave.  Perhaps she could just ignore him for the time that they were there.

“Fine.  I won’t run.  I get you’re stuck with me but you’re going to give me my freedom okay.”

“Fine.”  He dropped his shadows giving her back control over her body.  Before he could blink he was thrown back into a tree by a gust of wind. 

“Damn it….”.  He groaned, so much for trusting her.

“You deserve that for using your Jutsu on me.”  Temari grinned above him but held a hand out. With a sigh, he took it standing up. That was a dirty move but at least she was still there. 

“We’re even now.” 

“I’m hungry, take me somewhere to eat.” 

Shikamaru had to physically stop himself from rolling his eyes at the demand.  The alliance with Suna was important so he’d have to ensure the Princess didn’t say anything that would put it at risk. 

“Okay, come along.” 

He chose to avoid popular places in town not wanting to run into his friends who thought his assignment was hilarious. Instead, he took her out towards the Nara lands.  His clan members thought that the assignment was actually quite an accomplishment so he hoped that they wouldn’t give him too much grief. They didn’t bother him but he saw their smiles and knowing looks.  It would only be a matter of time before his mother tried to find him to ensure that he was treating the Princess with the respect she deserved. 

“So what’s there to do around here?”

“Well, there’s shopping and uh salons?”  He offered, those were things that Ino enjoyed. 

Her lips immediately curled into a frown.  “Does it look like I’m interested in things like that?”

“I assumed because you were a Princess and a girl, yes?”

Hopeless, this kid was completely hopeless.  “Figure out something that we can do or I’m running off again.”

“Fine, geez.  How about we go train, get some of that aggression out of you.” The suggestion was partly a joke but earlier when she’d run off there seemed to be a genuine smile on her face.  

Temari contemplated the thought but nodded.  She did enjoy practicing her jutsu and she relished an opportunity to put this kid in his place.  As annoyed as Temari was at Shikamaru using his shadows against her, there was a part of her that was impressed. It was very difficult to outwit her. Practicing her jutsu with him could be fun. 

“That will be fine.”

They spent the rest of the Summer training with one another. She was a very talented wind user and had a strategic mind. Developing counters for her moves was fun and challenging.  They kept score for all their Summers together.  

For as bad of a start that they had as the days passed the company became more pleasant. He was thankful to find out that despite being a little high maintenance and demanding at times she was actually quite interesting and engaging.   She appreciated that despite how young he was and prone to complaining he was a genius, quick-witted, and dependable. Every morning she looked forward to where the day would take them. 

He taught her to play Shogi and their games would sometimes go on for a few days because neither would admit defeat.  They explored all of Konoha and the  Nara lands.   He began to integrate her with his friends and they would all hang out together. They would look forward to her visits as much as he would.  Some of the best days they had were when they would do little to nothing at all besides watching the clouds float by.  

When the first leaf changed its color their first Summer together finally came to an end.  It took some time but by the end of it trust in one another had been built.   They had become close friends and confidants. 

“Thanks, Shikamaru.  It’s actually been pretty fun.”  Temari admitted with a smile.  

He shrugged trying to keep his expression neutral but the acknowledgment was astounding.  “Thanks for being a little less troublesome.” 

She shook her head with a grin, okay she was pretty cute.  “I’ll see you next year?”

“See you then.”   He watched her figure disappear into the horizon with a smile. So this would be his Summers for the foreseeable future.  Perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad.

*

**

So this is a different take on Shika being Tem’s guide in the village and also inspired by Swan Princess the movie :D

 I’m approaching this week differently.  Instead of doing small one-shots for each of the prompts I’m going to write one full story trying to use the prompts.  I had to get...let’s say ‘creative’ to make the prompts work but I think that I did okay with them.  This story is going to go fast.   Either way, I hope that you enjoyed it.  Thank you so much for stopping by to read! There is so much more incredible content, art, and stories out there, especially for this week!  Go forth, love you all, and love ShikaTema!

[thefreckledone]

Satori (Between the Lines) - Part 17

Sakura nestles back into the mountain of cushions that surround her, trying to find a comfortable position. She knows herself well enough to know that she won’t be moving for at least a few hours; this always happens when she gets engrossed in a good book.

And though she’s never read it, The Diaspora of Uzushio promises to be a good read.

After all, every book that’s shown up in her box at the Academy proves excellent. She’s yet to discover the culprit, despite the rudimentary traps (Mizuki-sensei prevented her from using stronger ones, though he also graciously chose not to ask questions) she placed. The traps were disturbed though, taken apart and reassembled with something of a clumsy hand.

Sakura wonders if her patron is teasing her.

Still, she chooses not to get Ino, Shino, or Torune involved in trying to catch the person; after all, the donor is giving her support. Although her curiosity burns, hot and visceral, Sakura doesn’t want to chase them away.

So she keeps at this little game of tigers and lambs, appreciative of the clear thoughtfulness of whoever her anonymous patron is.

For the time being, Sakura shoves her curiosity aside and settles her attention on the book. It’s a newer book than most that Sakura’s been given, the binding on it crisp and tight. It appears to be nearly unused and Sakura traces a finger over the gold leaf that forms a spiral on the spine. It looks strangely familiar…

Sakura shakes off the odd sensation of deja vu when nothing comes to mind, instead gingerly opening the book. 

The strong scent of sandalwood wafts from the book and Sakura pauses, brows puckering. She’s never come across a book, especially a new one like this, with such a strong scent.

“What are you doing, Sakura?”

Sakura closes the book, looking up at Torune with a smile. “Reading,” she says. “Well,” she amends ruefully. “Preparing to read.”

Torune frowns, throwing his arms wide. “But this is your first night here! I thought it would be special.”

Sakura raises her eyebrows at him, amused. He’s really cute when he pouts. “What did you have on your schedule for this evening?”

“How does one make a night ‘special?’” Shino asks, stepping into the room. “Does it require specific activities? Is there a spectrum of specialness?”

“I’m being serious,” Torune says, sprawling out on the cushions beside Sakura. “Your teasing wounds me.” His smile belies that statement as he ruffles Sakura’s hair. “It’s our first sleepover; I wanted to do something fun.”

Sakura reaches up, catching his hand both to stop him from messing up her hair and to offer her support. Torune melts into the cushions, his weight drawing him closer to Sakura.

Torune lets out a yelp as Shino drops across him, the breath knocked from his chest. The moment he’s able to breathe again, he elbows Shino, rolling out from under him all while keeping a hold of Sakura’s hand. Torune grabs a cushion in his free hand, launching it into Shino’s face.

All three fall silent and still for a moment, just watching each other. Then Sakura devolves into helpless giggles, clutching the book close to her chest. Torune and Shino watch her for a long moment before exchanging a wordless look. Torune tugs Sakura toward and behind him even as he lifts a cushion to shield himself. Shino arms himself with cushions, demanding to know if this was “special enough” for Torune.

Sakura wriggles free from the fray for a few moments to tuck The Diaspora of Uzushio away in a safe place. In those scant seconds, the Aburame boys desecrate her reading mountain, utilizing the cushions as ammunition. Sakura cannot find it in herself to feel irritated, especially considering the wide grins both of them sport. 

She picks up a few stray cushions, considering their heft and making quick mental calculations about their flight trajectory (a feat made much easier given Ino’s thorough weaponry instruction). Sakura eyes the boys for a long moment, smirking as she realizes just how defenseless they’ve left themselves to her in their focus on decimating each other.

Perfect.

Sakura throws the cushions overhand, watching eagerly as they sail into Torune and Shino at nearly the same time. Both of them jump, startled, before rounding on Sakura with mouths agape.

Sakura laughs, almost doubling over with the force of it. Their expressions are just too funny.

She still has enough presence of mind to drop to the floor when they retaliate, the cushions flying harmlessly above Sakura’s prone body.

The room falls silent for a moment as Sakura raises her head to meet their gazes.

She’s never found them quite so foreboding before.

“Mercy?” Sakura asks, cocking her head to the side with a pleading look in her eyes.

“Oh Sakura,” Shino tuts, shaking his head as he lifts a cushion.

“You know that the Aburame hold grudges,” Torune finishes with a matching, menacing grin.

Sakura squirms, planting her hands on the floor to leverage herself into a roll away from them. She’s hit with their cushions, but it puts her into a more defensible position. She sniffs at them, eyes sparkling in the face of a new challenge. “I’ll have you know that the Haruno are much the same.” She takes a cushion, aiming it at Torune. “We just don’t play fair.” She throws it at him, putting a bit of chakra behind the strength of her throw.

0“Can you believe oji-san kicked us out?” Shino asks. “This late at night?”

Torune snorts. “Oji-san kicks me out all the time in the evening when I get too ‘restless.’ He likes his sleep.”

“But we’re children!” Shino says, aghast. 

“Who attend the Academy,” Sakura chimes in.

“And we’re staying on Aburame land,” Torune says. From his tone, Sakura is positive that he’s rolling his eyes. “We’re staying in the backyard. Seriously Shino, I think you’re the only person who would complain about their parents making them leave the house.”

“Not true. Why? Consider the case of Nara Shikamaru,” Shino argues, crossing his arms.

Sakura ignores their back-and-forth bickering, training her eyes on the sky above. Her home is in the middle of the merchant district and artificial lights line the street. It makes her feel safe whenever she walks the streets at night. However, it does obscure her view of the night sky. She’d no idea that there were quite so many in the sky; that she could see them this clearly.

Sakura hardly notices when Torune grabs her hand, offering her subtle guidance without drawing her attention away from the stars. Honestly, it isn’t until he’s gently guiding her into a sitting position that Sakura realizes that they’ve walked a good distance from their house, flouting Shibi-oji’s words. They’re on the rise of a hill, the gentle slope giving them a better view to the property and sky above.

“This isn’t the backyard,” she says, voice a bit dry.

“Sure it is,” Torune says easily, seating himself right beside her. “It’s still on the Aburame property. Since oji-san is the clan head, the whole property falls under his purview, making this our backyard.”

Sakura exchanges a look with Shino, catching the way his eyebrows rise above his sunglasses. She snorts, descending into laughter as Shino shakes his head.

“This is why otou-san won’t let you go to the Academy; you’ll drive the teachers to insanity in the first week,” Shino says.

“Oh whatever,” Torune says. “I’ll be going to the Academy at the start of the next term. The teachers will love me.”

“Not as much as they love Sakura,” Shino says dryly. 

“Well Sakura is a teacher’s dream,” Torune says.

“Stop,” Sakura says, nudging him with her elbow. She can feel a flush fill her cheeks. “Don’t be mean.”

“Just stating the truth,” Torune says, but he subsides, turning his gaze upward.

Sakura lays out on her back, the grass tickling the back of her neck. It makes it much easier to stare at the stars without straining her neck. There’s a soft thump as Torune situates himself beside her. A rasp of fabric and the feel of warmth at the top of her head draw her notice and she shifts, noticing Shino sprawled directly across from her. He smiles at her, taking her free hand.

They lay in silence for a while, hands entangled, just watching the clear sky.

“Huh,” Torune says, breaking the quiet.

“What?” Shino grouses, voice rough with sleep. Sakura wouldn’t be surprised if he was sleeping.

“I’ve never realized how beautiful the stars are,” Torune says.

Shino doesn’t respond for a while. “Yeah,” he says. “They remind me of Sakura.”

That catches Sakura’s attention. “How so?”

“They, uh, remind me of your freckles,” Shino says, sounding embarrassed. “It’s like stars on your skin.”

Sakura flushes, chagrined but pleased by the compliment. She doesn’t love her freckles, they set her apart from most of her classmates. It’s something common in people in Iron, but in Konoha? Not so much. Her freckles aren’t often a source of cruel remarks, there are easier things to pick apart instead, but she’s never been proud of them.

“Thanks Shino.” Sakura squeezes Shino’s hand, turning her attention back to the stars.

She thinks that, perhaps, she can come to love her freckles.

If only for her love of stars.

0“What do you know about cryptanalysis?” Jiraiya asks as he fiddles with a handheld box puzzle.

Sakura’s noticed that Jiraiya finds it difficult to sit still; he always occupies his hands with something. It makes Sakura wonder how he came to the position of Spymaster; a decent portion of his job consists of deskwork. Then again, this may explain his decision to “wander” outside of Konoha, diving into the applied side of a Spymaster’s job. Thanks to this inability to stay put, Jiraiya has an extensive web of informants across different nations, all of whom send him tidbits and updates that may or may not be an asset to Konoha. And it’s his duty to figure out the importance of each of the messages.

Up until this point, Jiraiya avoided the deskwork, spending his time elsewhere. Now though, Konoha has called its erstwhile son home and he’s making up for lost time; plowing through decades of backlogged documents and information.

Sakura thinks he hates it, but he does it well.

“Cryptanalysis refers to the actual analysis of ciphers; the process of trying to uncover the hidden systems,” Sakura says. 

She knows the definition sounds stiff and formal, but she figures it’s best to start there. She still isn’t sure where she stands with Jiraiya; he’s officially declared her his apprentice with all the benefits and costs that entails. He’s put himself out there for her and she knows she hasn’t yet proved herself to him.

And she’s desperate to show him that his decision isn’t a poor one; that she’s a good decision.

Jiraiya glances up at her, hands still shifting over the cube. “Yes,” he says. “What experience do you have in actually doing cryptanalysis?”

“Not much,” Sakura says honestly. “I’ve had experience with recognizing and cracking substitution and transposition ciphers. I’ve developed a few myself, utilizing scytales with my friends. But most of my training has been geared around language analysis. And some has delved into historical and cultural influences.”

“That’s good,” Jiraiya says. Sakura fights not to preen at the positive response. “You need a strong foundation to really delve into cryptanalysis. I know you had a semi-formal arrangement with Shikaku; regardless of how it ended, he set you on the right track.”

Sakura nods, ducking her head. Even though it ended painfully, she does appreciate the way Shikaku introduced her into this new world of cryptography and ciphers. Maybe one day, when it isn’t so raw and visceral, she will tell him, thank him for what he did.

“However, I do disagree with some of Shikaku’s teaching philosophy. He’s a rather cautious individual; he wanted to give you the breadth of literature so that you could assess every influence on a cipher. That’s not exactly wrong; however, I do not think you can truly grasp cryptography until you get into the more applied side. So, I think the best place for this apprenticeship to start is with cryptanalysis. Still, keep up all your...extracurricular reading.” There’s a gleam of amusement in his eyes and Sakura wonders if he’s remembering their first encounter. “It’ll help embed each individual cipher within its context.”

“Makes sense to me,” Sakura says as a thrum of excitement runs through her.

“So to start, as you said, cryptanalysis is the process of figuring out a cipher. There are two main approaches. The first, which you’ve had the most experience with, is solving the key to the cipher. For substitution ciphers, that means figuring out the process involved in the substitution.”

Sakura nods. “And the second?”

Jiraiya smirks, hands stilling over the puzzle box. “You break the system.”

Sakura stares at him, wide-eyed, as goosebumps rise on her neck. One question fills her mind. “How?’

“Well,” Jiraiya says, leaning back in his chair. “To break the system, you have to know the system. How are ciphers developed?”

Sakura’s brows furrow as she contemplates his question. She considers what she knows about cryptography, all of the language and cultural influences that inform the development. It all boils down to one thing really.

“They’re developed by people,” Sakura says. “The developer is the system.”

Jiraiya’s triumphant grin verges on manic. “Exactly. To break the system, you have to break the developer.”

Sakura’s mind flashes to T&I, to Ibiki and Anko’s job. She blanches, knowing that she is nowhere near ready to try something similar. “Are you speaking metaphorically or literally?”

“Metaphorically,” Jiraiya says with a snort. “I suppose I should’ve considered how closely you’ve worked with Torture & Interrogation. Those particular skills aren’t required for this sort of breaking...consider it in a similar vein to cracking a specific code. When you are breaking the system, you try to suss out the creator of the system.

“From there, it’s all too easy to break the system,” Jiraiya says. “You consider their background, their values, their heritage...why are these important?”

“Because understanding where the creator came from will allow us to figure out the influences that played into the cipher,” Sakura says. “A cipher contains the developer’s unique signature, even if they try to hide it.”

“All people have their own biases,” Jiraiya adds. “The thing is, it’s often hard to recognize those biases in ourselves. Now, say you stumbled across a cipher of mine and connected it to me, what would your next steps be?”

“Well, I know you’re from Konoha, however, you’ve also traveled around most of the elemental nations and even beyond. So while you might be more influenced by Konoha culture, you’ve been exposed to many others,” Sakura says, looking to Jiraiya for support. He nods, only smiling a bit to indicate she’s moving in the right direction. “So it would be easier for you to mask those cultural influences or at least mix them together.

“The other major thing that I know about you that could be useful is that you write novels,” Sakura continues. “I would want to compare the cipher with your writing and see if you utilize some sort of book cipher.”

“Very good start,” Jiraiya praises. “Indeed, I do have a proclivity toward utilizing book ciphers. Really, just more literature-based ciphers in general, because it’s an area I have quite a bit of knowledge in. By knowing the developer, you can know your cipher.”

“But how do you figure out the developer?” Sakura asks, thoughts swirling around the cipher she’s yet to crack. “If you have the cipher but no idea you created it?”

Jiraiya’s smile takes on an added edge. “Well, that’s where the fun begins. This is where you begin sleuthing; where did you find the cipher? What condition was it in? Are there any identifiers on the cipher itself?” He stands, still messing with the cube. “It helps to have an intensive spy network that can suss out some of the information. C’mon, we’re going to get you some practical experience.”

“Practical?” Sakura repeats.

“I planted a cipher in the library. You must find it and determine who read it,” Jiraiya says.

Sakura blinks, staring up at him with a mix of fear and excitement. The excitement is winning out. “What are the parameters of this assignment?”

“Parameters?” It’s Jiraiya’s turn to blink before he bursts into laughter. “Alright. Sure. Let’s make this official. I’ll give you a week. Track down the cipher, figure out the developer, and crack the code. Easy right? We’ll meet back here a week from today.” He ruffles her hair. “See you then, kid.”

Jiraiya leaves the room, leaving Sakura slightly out of sorts. Sakura looks around, catching sight of the completed puzzle box placed on his desk. She picks it up and considers it before pocketing it.

Jiraiya definitely has a different mentorship style than Sakura is used to. Still, she doesn’t dislike it.

In fact, as she leaves his small office, the buzz of exhilaration in the pit of her stomach, Sakura thinks she likes it. At the very least, she enjoys the challenge.

She only hopes she can meet his expectations. 

0They’re outside for lunch when it happens.

Sakura sits beneath her favorite tree, eating lunch with Shino, Torune, and Ino, as they discuss life and the katas that they’re currently learning. They bandy about their codenames, enjoying the inside secrets they share. It’s silly and lighthearted, but Sakura loves it.

It is as Sakura is halfway through eating her bento box, lovingly prepared by Shibi-oji that a yell rings out.

Their conversation immediately peters away as they hop to their feet, looking around for the source. Down the hill from where they are, they see several upperclassmen surrounding Chōji. Sakura frowns, taking in the aggressive postures of the older students and the way Chōji hunches a bit.

“Has Chōji had a problem with bullying?” Sakura asks, already starting down the hill.

“When he was younger,” Ino replies, face a storm. “I didn’t realize it was still an issue.”

Her tone implies it won’t be for long.

Sakura sees Shikamaru leap down from the tree he was perched in, approaching the group around Chōji with a fierce scowl twisting his face. It’s a look similar to the one he directed at her during their game and before her fall and Sakura’s footsteps falter for a moment before she presses forward. The look is different from any he’s directed her way; it’s far more intense and fueled with vitriol. 

However, neither Sakura’s group nor Shikamaru are the first to make it to Chōji’s side.

“Leave him alone!” Naruto bellows, placing himself in front of Chōji and spreading his arms.

One of the students, seemingly the leader of the group of bullies, takes a step back, revulsion and fear crossing her face. She firms her stance though, wanting to save face before her posse, as she crosses her arms. “And what are you going to do about it? You’re nobody!”

Naruto draws himself up, staring at her in challenge. Sakura is a bit surprised that he doesn’t immediately leap to fighting her; it’s Naruto’s general MO. Instead, he cocks his head to the side and scoffs.

“I might be nobody, but the same goes for you. What type of fool decides to bully the heir to one of the Four Noble Clans of Konoha?” Naruto asks, blue eyes blazing. Sakura slows, staying nearby but waiting for Naruto to finish. “Your years at the Academy are meant to forge connections with those who will one day be your comrades. Yet you treat the heir to the Akimichi like this? Even if you graduate, you won’t make it very far.”

The girl pales as Naruto connects the dots for her. “I…”

“He’s right,” Shikamaru drawls. “The Akimichi have established connections with many other clans. Would any of those clans choose to stand with you rather than the Akimichi?” His dark eyes glitter. “The Nara certainly won’t.”

“Neither will the Yamanaka,” Ino says, coming up beside Chōji and placing a hand on his shoulder. She eyes each of the bullies in turn. “You know, the Yamanaka have pretty good memory skills; I wonder if I’ll remember you when I inherit?”

Some of the students draw away from the ringleader.

Shino and Torune do not add anything to the conversation, allowing their mere presence at Chōji’s side to fill in the gaps.

“I may not be from a clan that matters, but the Uzumaki will remember as well,” Naruto says. “I suggest leaving before you further sabotage your future careers.”

“If you even make it that far,” Shikamaru adds.

The bullies leave and Naruto immediately turns to Chōji.

“Are you alright?” Naruto asks, touching Chōji’s shoulder.

He nods, not trusting himself to speak aloud. He’s surprised that so many people stuck up for him. He expected Shikamaru, but for Naruto, Ino, Sakura, Shino, and Torune to do the same…

Well, it makes him realize he has more friends than he knew.

And the first to stand up for him was Naruto, the boy that his father has all but adopted. The boy who offers his friendship to Chōji unconditionally. The boy who does not mind Chōji’s shyness or other proclivities. 

The boy that Chōji would be glad to call a brother.

Chōji leans forward, wrapping his arms around Naruto in a tight hug. “Thank you,” he says, trying to put all of his emotions into it.

From the way Naruto embraces him in turn, soft, tentative but warm, Chōji thinks he understands.

[tsukinobherzhoka12]

The Sass Squad chapter 1

The Sassy Squad

The awkward drunk

Disclaimer: I don't own naruto and any of the characters here if I did they would meet each other and have an unlikely alliance

AU: In this AU it is where the Akatsuki is just a mercenary group who where doing odd jobs and confidential missions for the sake of the shinobi nations,Kakashi,Yamato and Sai is the same, Itachi is like in the Au in the road of ninja but Sasuke is still in his Emo mode like in the canon even Itachi is in the village side even though, and Ino is still the same attitude but sometimes gambles for money when needed and only a member of the Yamanaka clan on her mother's side Inoichi is her uncle in her mother's side. she always travels from konoha to the capital of the shinobi nations, every half of the year.  back and forth, unless she had mission that she needs to travel from places.

At the Himitsunoe Manor

*Evening*

''Sharky what is the theme of the portraits in the hallway today?"Ino asked him while watching her favorite TV series alongside with him

"It's aesthetic of the things that makes us peaceful ,like  Portrait of Sai with his creations in the field, Mine half naked in the waterfall,with samehada while meditating, Kakashi lying in the field with his ninkens, Yamato with trees shading himself from one of them.

While you lie in a field of pastel flowers surrounding you as you lie with it like in a sleeping beauty position,also you wear a flower crown in your head'' Kisame informed her

"Also our group picture is like in a Gothic Victorian period, like in the crimson peak kinda vibe, Kakashi was the center this time, sitting like a boss while we surrounded  him like we are his henchman,we are so very formal"

Kisame sigh"Its a stunning portrait actually,we really like we had the pictorial for a magazine realistic even I,need to have another look"

Ino's favorite place to wander in the manor was the hallway of expressions where portraits of the occupants in the manor always changes ever week, there are different  themes being shown in the portraits that describes themselves either joyful until to their darkest moments that  really symbolizes the six of them. While it was Ino's favorite,it was Kakashi's least favorite part of the house.

Because its too personal, it even shows every symbolism in his past,depends on the theme every week. and it was located in the big hallway entrance.

But like Kakashi, she would also be nervous if Shikamaru and Chouji would be able to find and locate this place,she would come here if those two are in mission or they are spending the day with only the two of them . she would not imagine their faces when they found out about this place and secrets she intended to keep only for herself. not to mention The team seven are the last persons to be the one who will enter and saw their pictures in the hallway.

Itachi is also worried if Sasuke was able to find this manor. even if it’s lot was really big, there is a seal for the intruders not to find this place. He really needs to have time for himself so that is why he was here for his inner peace (even though this place is really big for six occupants and very noisy )

" Piglet, does your father know that your not staying at your home right now?"Kisame asked while watching his most awaited television series now on Blue-ray DVD, 'Game of Thrones' he just watch it on DVD because he cannot watch it in the Tv since he and Itachi would likely had a mission when the series would air he watch the pilot episode so he is now interested to the show. He currently munching his popcorn right now.

"He is currently in a mission with the Ino-Shika-Cho, something about stopping an enemy to assassinate a nobleman or something" Ino Yamanaka answered while also eating her popcorn she sat beside Kisame as they watch Game of thrones. She sneered while they watch Cersei and Jaime scene

" Ugh Kami-sama pls... I know its forbidden love or something, I hate Incest especially those two,they pushed Bran out to the tower,The things we do for love my ass!"

Kisame just laughed" Oh come on we already know Cersei is just manipulating him ever since they where children" he snickered" and besides, we already know that she was also fucking her cousin Lancel and because of that King Bobby B (Robert Baratheon) is dead,being gorged by a boar" he grinned " So offensive for you since they used your animal sign to kill him"

"Well if you make a boar as your prey, kill it at once ,no second chances, When you leave a boar alive, no hunter will be safe, Where do we inherit our name and stubbornness from?" she let out a chuckle and goes back on watching the series. she let out a shocked expression when they saw Joffrey Ordered Ned Stark to be beheaded while Sansa and Arya watched and also much to everyone's surprise. While Kisame was also in disbelief.

"OHHH NONOONONOO YOU LITTLE VICIOUS SHIT!!! YOU FUCKIN INBRED!! I HATE YOU! KAMI-SAMA NO!!!!"Then she watch Arya's expression" Poor Arya you little small bean, Poor Sansa for being such a sheltered brat. FUCK JOFFREY!!"

"The world was really full of lies, but to kill the most honorable people on the seven kingdoms? Mind blown!, I will now watch this series really! Not your ordinary TV show! Still terrified of the white walkers though"

" It's because your a sadistic fuck Kisame!" Ino mocked him" and besides why are you terrified of them, you had the same color"

" Well Your the one to talk, your terrifying when your tantrums are shown, your prone to irrationality"Kisame smack her head playfully "Your racist by the way"

"Ouch why you-"

Suddenly Yamato appeared and he appears to be drunk.  He was walking funnily and landed on the other couch, he let out a laugh and a few hiccups. He also had look them and giggled

"What was he thinking right now?" The two thought in unison while looking to their drunk companion. Then Yamato let out a smirk

"Hey, do you want to see my wood?"

Ino and Kisame watched him in disbelief while staring at him for a second.

"WTF! WTF was that Yamato!?" Kisame roared in laughter he never really thought that a  serious,uptight person like Yamato would say that when he is sober 'Man, he must be wishing for a one night stand, Unfortunately he just wandered to the house where everyone would laughed at his drunk stupor Like the Blondie rolling in the floor right now and banging her fist in the floor. '

Kisame, realizing that he has the mood to take advantage of Yamato's drunk state, he turns off the tv and join the two who was still in the same position as  he last leave them

"Well, I can assure you ladies my wood is longer than you anticipated"

Ino burst out an unladylike like laugh with tears in her eyes while Kisame holds his stomach to prevent it from hurting

"Oh Kami, normally I would punch you right now senpai if your just like the others, creepy and disgusting" she wiped her tears of laughter "But when those words comes to your uptight mouth its just pure hilarious!"she finally recovered and turns to Kisame while he tries to recover himself from laughing

" Lucky for you, Kakashi is on a mission, Itachi is sleeping or maybe in his Batman mode, and Sai is with Kakashi, and We are the only one to laugh you right now,"Kisame snickered in a good way and goes to the kitchen to get an aspirin and water.

" The sharky is right, Yamato-senpai. Good thing Kakashi-sensei is not here or else he would record it into himself and use it to blackmail you to pay for his expenses, You know how expensive those Icha-Icha books,especially those best sellers! " Ino help Yamato to his drunken state and laid him down in the sofa "Kami-sama, Your heavy!"

"You know your flower can be satisfied if it is finally connected to my-Ouch!"Yamato was smacked in the face by a thick book that Ino must have randomly take Yamato stop slurring and became unconscious.

"Okay, lay low,stop now, Two jokes about your 'wood' is enough just don't include the badly covered term for the female organ."Ino sigh while adjusting the pillow for his head.

"Hey,Piglet, I brought the things needed, I will put it at his bedroom"Kisame shouted from Yamato's room ''You can carry him now!"

'OI!Help me here sharky! what do you think what we are carrying here? a sack of rice?"Ino retorted while she can see Kisame approach her with a mocking grin

"awww weak little piggy need some help"

"Shut it Sharky! It would be awkward if I drag  him to the bed, besides its to heavy for me you and you can carry him by one hand!"Ino reason out while glaring at him

"Fine,fine you got a point for that"then the shark nin carried the wood user towards the latter's bedroom then they started adjusting the pillows, helping him undress half naked and Ino used a wet clothed to clean his upper torso while Kisame get some of the clothes from the cabinet and help Ino dress the unconscious man and set him to bed. finally when they are done they sat on Yamato's mini living room. his room was a suitable room for a environmentalist like him. Clean,green and fresh in the eye.

"When he woke up, I swear I'm going to attack him with questions! Woodman never easily get drunk like this,and about his wood jokes, man this is hilarious!"Kisame can't help but chuckle while Ino sat in front on the other couch let out a sigh " Don't torture him like that, he is the mother of this mansion and Kakashi is the lazy bum father who threatens us to eat sashimi"

"Piglet, you're the only one who hate eating sashimi and kakashi is acting as a father figure because you're a rebellious and pigheaded girl"Kisame casually commented while Ino let out a pout. but she let out a chuckle

"Do you remembered the day that we met here in this mansion, how this mysterious mansion appeared and had a convenient interior for us hired people like me and itachi, a runaway royal outcast like you, men without past identities about their heritage like sai and yamato and a self-loathing and a mystery called kakashi?" Kisame casually remembering the past

"Duh, we always fought all the time, You on your mockery on my height and eating tendencies and how it suited my name and me mocking you for your height and how will you never get laid because no one will lay down on a shark because your harsh and too honest, your habits and etc."Ino snickered

"But I realize that your one of the people who I can follow my shenanigans and always with me on casinos when I needed money, and heck you became a drag queen because of me and of course you treated me an equal, my virtues as a woman"She concluded and let out a giggle" Your a huge slap of reality to my face so I appreciated your honesty since you can't really stand flowery words. Thank you"

"hmmn? you have womanly virtues? where?"Kisame feign innocence "I can't see it"

"Can you please kill  yourself ,like right now!"Ino throws a pillow from the couch and Kisame easily  dodge  it while laughing

"Piglet, you're a good person, not just appearance and not your temperamental mode

I hope someone can see that beyond skin deep"Kisame commented

"So anyway,midnight marathon ,we will watch K-drama?"Ino suggested

"ooh, Legend of the blue sea?"Kisame suggested

"That was last time ,and we watched it twenty times!"Ino complained

"how about Goblin!"Ino suggested

"We watch that for 25 times Piggy! and it's just that you like older men, I always knew you like daddy kink"

"Hey no kink shaming here! At least I’m not  prone to bestiality!"

"You and your weird accusations piglet! Fuck you"

"No thank you, I will decline the offer"

they stare at each other and laugh at each others faces

"Hey ladies, can I have you beautiful flower?" Yamato suddenly talk in his sleep, mumbling about his lame pick-up lines to his sleep

"I swear I will use it as a blackmail when I needed something to him"Ino tried to hold her laughter

"Likewise Piglet, Likewise "Kisame had tried to hold his laughter before it burst out and silently exited from the room and went to their respected rooms to rest for a day.

AU: I hope you like the first chapter, please review if you want another prompt. and this story will not be a reverse harem, this is a friendship between people who will unlikely  to be allies in canon except to Yamato ,Kakashi and Sai. and in the side of Itachi and Kisame. They are called to fabulous to die squad after all

[luna-orlha]

Title: The Road of Hearts  Fandom: Naruto Genre: Angst ; Hurt/Comfort ; Romance Ship: Shikamaru/Sakura Characters: Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino Word count: 8,281 Triggers(s): PTSD Rating: T  Additional Tags: major character deaths, Falling in love, developing relationships Summary: After the 4th Shinobi war, Sakura finds herself stuck in the past, unable to move on, not realising Shikamaru has always been there.

Ao3

----

Sakura spends a good two hours every day at the memorial stone. The shadows in which she sits in never touch the stone. She visits so often that she now recognises the guards that guard the park.

It’s night time when she visits today. This time she pulls out a large bottle of sake and pours it into a cup, next to a cup of shochu that Kakashi loves. ‘Loved,’ she corrects herself.

The pinkette sinks to the ground in front of the two cups and takes a generous swig from the sake bottle. The moon above is thin and narrow, like how Kakashi’s eyes would crease when he smiled. Sakura can see small puffs of clouds as she exhales, taking another gulp of the sake. She can almost hear the incessant babble of Naruto talking about things that happened while she was in the hospital, the quiet flipping of the book that Kakashi never really read but pretended to anyway.

“It’s been two years, sensei, Naruto-kun,” she says, quietly. Two years since the war ended, two years since the fight that Kakashi and Naruto died in, since the traitor executed, since her parents died. It’s not the same for everyone. Some, like Ino and Shikamaru, only found about the deaths of their loved ones at the end of the war. Sakura might not have the sharingan-aided memory like Kakashi, but she held their cold bodies, remembers the fight that ended their lives, remembers the last conversation she had with them.

“I was going to be your best man, Naruto,” Sakura chuckles lowly. “Hinata would have looked amazing in the white kimono beside you.”

She takes a swig of the sake bottle, the clear liquid mixing with the salty taste of her tears. They were her family. How she loved them. She palms the tears away, tilting her face towards the dark star-specked sky.

“Team seven rule number one, never leave a man behind. Team seven rule number two, don’t die,” Sakura says to the crisp winter air, feeling a shiver run down her spine. “This is my home and I will defend it with my dying breath. See, sensei? I can still remember it. I still remember, yet why am I the only one left? You left me behind.”

Her face is pressed against a warm back when she wakes. She should recognises the scent of grass and dusty shadows, except she can’t. Sakura blinks blearily at the dark hair, her arms thrown over the man’s shoulders, the man’s arms looped around her legs as they trudge down the dark streets.

It’s been two years and even though Konoha is in a better shape as compared to a year ago, it is nowhere as prosperous as it was before the war. Streetlights are turned off in wee hours of the night to save electricity.

“Sasuke?” Sakura muses, half-asleep, then reels back mentally. It can’t be Sasuke, the bastard is dead, deader than the dirt.

“Still asleep?” the low baritone asks, not taking offense that she had just mistaken him for the one of the biggest traitors in Konoha’s history. “You know, when I promised Kakashi-senpai that I would take care of you, I didn’t think he meant coming out at two am to carry you home.”

Sakura hides her face in the man’s vest. “Then he shouldn’t have died.”

“No, he shouldn’t have,” he agrees. “Next time, you should just bring me along from the beginning instead. Or tell me where you’re going to be at least.”

Sakura could hear the worry in his voice, the tension in his body dissipating with each step he takes. With pretty much everyone that had cared for her dead, she can’t put a finger on who this person might be. Sakura lifts her head to squint at the man’s face. His dark hair hangs down and despite missing his usual spiky ponytail, she’s not even sure how she had mistaken Shikamaru for Sasuke. The height, the width of the shoulders and even the low burn of chakra from his core is different.

“Shikamaru?”

He sighs. His warm hand tightens around Sakura’s thighs almost painfully. “Ino was worried. She woke up in the middle of the night and you were gone. You didn’t even leave a note.”

The gravel beneath Shikamaru’s sandals crunches loudly. Sakura can feel the low hum of the patrols hopping past them, Shikamaru circulating chakra to keep his body warm. She understands now why Shishou had drunk so much now. The world without Kakashi, Naruto, shishou, her parents and all those she had considered precious to her, is a world not worth living for.

“You know, you still have us,” Shikamaru says. “Even without senpai and team seven, you still have Ino and me left. We aren’t going anywhere.”

No you aren’t, but you weren’t there from the beginning, she thinks.

It is New Year’s day and Sakura is lying against the tree when she senses Shikamaru land next to her, dropping a jacket over her. “You should bring your jacket out next time,” he sighs. He lights out a cigarette and sits down beside her like he has nowhere else to be. Shikamaru is clan head now. It’s traditional for the clan heads to visit their clan members on New Year’s day. Sakura remembers reading this in the books. It had fascinated her back then, back when reading was for leisure. She doesn’t ask, though. The warmth of his body beside her anchors her, holding her afloat so she’s not drowning. If she asks, she fears he might leave and she doesn’t want to be alone.

She scoots a little closer to him and he sighs. “Are you still cold?” he asks. Shikamaru puts an arm around her, holding her close to him, letting her siphon heat from his body. Pulling a bottle out from his pocket, he uncorks it and hands it to her.

“I thought you didn’t want me to drink anymore.” Her lips quirked as she sips on the sake that Shikamaru brought.

“Not alone. I don’t want you to be passed out alone.”

“Sakurrrrrraaaa, are you drunk again? What did we agree on drinking?” Naruto pokes her in the cheek. She grumbles and bats him away.

“Yes, no drinking alone.”

He heaves her onto his shoulder. “Are we going to be imitating our Shishous? Does that mean I should start peeking into bathhouse?”

Her hand clutches the corner of Shikamaru’s vest, trying to ride out the crest of emotions. Her favourite loud-mouthed person, her adopted brother, her best friend. She misses him so much that she can feel the ache in her chest. The more time passes, the less she remembers of him, of them. What did his laughter sound like?

“Ne, ne, Sakura-chan, what do you think stars are made of?”

“Fire, balls of fire,” she whispers out loud and finally remembers how Naruto chortled at her response. A low bellied snort, him leaning over, gasping and clutching his stomach.

“Really Sakura? Fire? That sounds more ridiculous than ero-sennin giving up peeping!”

“The year Jiraiya-sama died, we sat under this tree and shared a bottle of sake together. We did it every first Saturday of the month after that. As if to confirm that we were still alive, still… together.”

She trembles at the memory, trying to stop the heat in her eyes from escaping. Shikamaru holds her tighter, not saying a word when she presses her wet eyes into his vest. His warm hand rubs up and down her arm, the scent of his cigarette smoke enveloping her like a shield.

Sakura feels him press a kiss into her hair. “It’s okay. We’re here.” His chest rises as he takes a slow breath to exhale. “It’s okay. We’re here,” he tells her.

 Sakura completes her mission, dropping her scrolls off at the outpost. A hawk screeches above as she jumps from branch to branch. The sound of the trees swaying in the breeze seems to whisper her name.

Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan.

She thinks that her parents must have called for her when they died in the village. She left them to die instead of protecting them like she promised to. It wasn’t not her fault, Sakura reminds herself. She was out fighting for a war, not knowing the enemies that snuck into their camp. She couldn’t have known.

She crouches, placing her head between her legs. Her lungs burn, begging for a gasp of air that she can’t seem to find. ‘It wasn’t my fault,’ she reiterates to herself, even though the guilt that sits heavily in her chest belies her words.

Sakura runs. Not to Konoha. Sakura runs as fast as her feet would take her away from Konoha, from the memorial stone, from the memories. The sun sets and rises, and still she runs. Perhaps for three days straight, she runs, finally hitting the shore where she stops, panting. Her feet are burning, a jag of agony rippling through her when she collapses to her knees on the sandy beach.

“It’s not my fault!” Sakura screams to the waves. The waves swish and roar to her words. Even if she knows it’s not her fault, it still feels like her fault. She kneels, head pressed against the wet sand, and cries.

“Hurry up Sakura-chan! We’re gonna drag teme back!”

Her breaths are coming in harsh, stuttering gasps. Sakura claws the sand, her body now prone on the cold ground.

“Maa, there’s no hurry. My cute little genin has no need to hurry to become jounin yet. Sensei will be there for you when you need.” His single eye crinkles in his distinct manner, ruffling her hair.

“You p-promised…” She lies on the beach and falls asleep. 

Sakura doesn’t return to Konoha. Instead, she runs even more, this time putting her old sensei’s stealth skills into use. She dulls her chakra signature to a civilian's and hides her scent with a time-worn anbu skill. Days turn into weeks and before she realises it, her once shoulder-length hair is only short of a few inches off of the small of her back. Her once-vivid hair is now a very pale pink, bleached by the excessive sun she’s been under, and her skin has been darkened by the sun then lightened by the cold winter. ‘Almost silver like Kakashi-sensei,’ she thinks. She spends her time traversing the lands. She spends her nights sleeping on rooftops or trees or occasionally beneath rocks, stealing a bath from homes with no one around or a quick cold one in the stream. She sees how the Kumo Country is, through the various Kusa towns but it’s in Kiri when she finds a familiar orange book in a bookshop.

The book is new, the glossy cover still shiny with dark bold words printed on it.

“How can you prefer ‘Icha Icha Paradise’? Obviously ‘Icha Icha Tactics’ is far superior.” He levels an unimpressed dark grey eye at her.

“That’s the last copy of ‘Icha Icha Tactics’,” the bookshop manager says. “They haven’t been printing anymore. Heard the writer passed away, how sad.”

Sakura puts the last of her money on the counter and buys it. The book smells of new pages, white pages instead of Kakashi’s yellowed, dog-eared copy. She cries as she reads it and then reads some more.

 It is in Kiri that she spends the longest time. Not for the dreary weather or the equally dreary food. It’s the relative solitude in the mountains that lures her to stay there. The heavy mist providing a natural deterrent to any non-shinobis and any shinobis can’t detect her with the genjutsu seals she sets around her tiny cave. That only lasts until a wounded kiri-nin trying to get home passes out close to her perimeter. Unable to ignore the instilled medic code in her, Sakura picks the shinobi up and carries him to her cave. She heals most of his life-threatening wounds and returns to where she found him, wiping their presences from the forest.

His pursuers dash past her cave and circle the area several times, aware that there’s something there but unable to tell what. Sakura watches them from the tree branch, the hair on the back of her neck raising, her hand inching to her kunais. She might need to fight and she really doesn’t want to, far too aware that solo practice would never be good enough compensation for battle-honed instincts.

She flings herself off the tree even before the three shinobis could finish saying ‘kai’. “Now, now, boys,” Sakura drawls, projecting her best imitation of Kakashi. Her kunai digs into a shinobi’s throat as he swallows lightly. “We don’t want anyone to die, now do we?”

“Kenichi! What are you doing?” hisses a younger shinobi to the older one when he doesn’t move.

“Shut up, Ryoma!” Kenichi shoots back. “Can’t you tell? It’s Bone-smasher Haruno Sakura!”

The one called Ryoma snaps his head back to her in surprise. “I thought she had pink hair!”

“I fought beside her during the war! I recognise her chakra signature.” Kenichi bows. “Please Haruno-sama, let us talk this through. We have no grievances with you... even though you’re clearly on Kiri’s territory. We weren’t even aware that you were here. The last I heard you were… missing?”

He winces at his implied words and Sakura is immensely amused. When had they started documenting her presence? Was it when she became Tsunade’s apprentice? When she defeated Sasori? Or maybe when she defeated hundreds of Zetsu with her strength and earned her much dreaded title. The older shinobi shuffles uneasily under her stare but it serves to only irritate the younger one.

His blond hair is muted in the mist and like most ninjas with less experience, he lets off a loud roar as he pounces towards her. Sakura ducks, her hand catching Ryoma’s wrist. She tosses him into a tree, shunshining towards him.

It turns out, months of disuse in active combat doesn’t really dull her senses.

She dodges and evades the young shinobi’s jutsus and kunais with an ease and wonders if this is how Kakashi felt when he fought against team seven for the first time.

He corrects her stance and runs through them with her over and over again. “This is the Hatake kata. Firm and unyielding.”

She can see all the holes in the shinobi’s defense, all the strikes she could take in an instant to end him. She doesn’t take them, not all, at least. Her fingers weave a rapid pattern across his skin, each strike promising a bruise.

He is lucky to get away with just bruises and his teammates know that.

“Ego is the downfall to all shinobis,” she tells him when he’s lying on the ground, panting. Sakura lengthened the fight on purpose, to humble him, but ego always has been the hardest thing to beat down.

“Fuck you,” he heaves. His teammates grab him and run before she can decide to kill him - not that she would.

They will be back eventually and by then… she will be gone. Her time in Kiri has run its course. Two months of solitude. She stares into the mist covered forest, trying to remember Konoha’s forest. Would leaving the village be considered abandoning her teammates?

“Those who break the rules are scums… but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.”

She thinks of the forest that surrounded her home. She thinks of the training sessions between Kakashi and her when she was the only one of team seven left. The warmth that filled her when he crinkled his eyes at her, assuring her that he wasn’t going to abandon her just because she was the last one.

“You are my heir, Sakura. Be proud.”

“Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.”

Sakura shoulders her pack when the injured kiri-nin is awake and suitably healed by the week’s end. “Thank you, I don’t-” She waves the kiri-nin’s words away and disappears into the mist.

Her feet pauses on the Great Naruto Bridge.They serve Great Naruto Ramen on the Great Naruto Bridge. Sakura bursts into laughter as she eats the large pieces of naruto from her bowl of ramen.

‘If only Naruto could see this now,’ she thinks. ‘The Great Naruto serving Great Naruto Ramen on the Great Naruto Bridge.’

Sakura dreams of Naruto that night, the twelve year old Naruto bounding down the road in his bright orange outfit.

“We’re not giving up on our mission. A shinobi never gives up!”

She had forgotten about Naruto’s shinobi motto and as much as she wants to deny it, she isn’t fixing her problems by running away from it. Naruto wouldn’t have run from it, or at least Sakura thinks he wouldn’t. He was the most headstrong ninja she had ever met. The brother she always wanted.

“We have to stop him, Sakura-chan. It’s our responsibility.”

Naruto, in the end, had to back down on saving Sasuke in order to save the rest of his precious people. She knew it hurt him deeply, but he never showed it. His smiles had brightened the medic shelters. Naruto who never stopped working towards being a Hokage despite everyone’s disbelief.

“Ero-jiji told me once that a shinobi's life is not measured by how they lived but rather what they managed to accomplish before their death. She’s… dead right? The fourth shinobi war has ended… right? I did… okay, right?”

Naruto wouldn’t have wanted her to waste her away like this, to pine for him, for Kakashi-sensei, for those lost and gone. How could she not?

Sakura sits in front of the grave of the first shinobis that team seven killed. The first C-rank mission that started them on their path. She was weak then, she is still weak now.

Sakura looks at her hands, the hands that saved everyone except for the people that matter the most. What was the point of having these hands if she was going to lose everyone anyway?

“It’s okay. We’re here.”

Shikamaru who came for her to make sure she wasn’t passed out somewhere, Ino who worried enough to prod him into doing so for her. Ino must have given birth by now, Sakura remembers belatedly, and she wasn’t there for the birth of Ino's first child. What a terrible friend she is. She looks up and catches the tiny patch of bright blue sky amidst the heavy clouds, the bright blue sky that reminds her of Naruto’s eyes. The days have been growing in length too, the leaves are turning into a lush green. Sakura can feel the heat beat down on her now.

Then Sakura stops running.

The first patrol that finds her stops and stares - like they’re surprised to see her and they probably are. She’s been gone without leave for a long time. Even though she’s never done anything against Konoha or scratched out her hitai-te, it is right for them to label her as a missing-nin.

“Haruno Sakura?” the one in the sparrow’s mask asks. She nods. The four exchange a flurry of hand signals, all too fast for her to catch - then again, Sakura isn’t even trying. “Mouse will escort you to the Hokage’s office.”

Tree jumping on the Hashirama trees is something she missed, along with Ichiraku ramen. A pang of grief crawls over her shoulders, reminding her that Ichiraku ramen doesn’t exist anymore. The large gate looms into the horizon as they approach it. It’s larger than she remembers - the painted green gates with the nostalgic ‘peace’ painted on.

Her anbu escort skips her over the queue, right to where Kotetsu blinks at her identification card and back at her face. “Haruno Sakura?” He opens his mouth to ask more questions but is stopped when another anbu drops from the trees beside him.

“Go ahead.” The newly arrived anbu waves her on.

Sakura follows the anbu’s instructions, except she can’t help but think that they should have had a different reaction.

It is like she was not even missed.

She swallows, trying to press down the rising bile in her stomach. Would she be trialed for her disappearance, was she labelled as a missing-nin? Cold seeps into her limbs the longer she thinks about it. Part of her insists on turning and running away, the other part reminds her of Naruto. Sakura looks down. She’s wearing a dark blue sweater and pants, civilian wear mimicking a jounin outfit for her jounin uniform had long been worn into threads. Her hair is no longer the pastel pink that once was her iconic appearance. She rubs a thumb across her ID.

This Haruno Sakura isn’t her anymore.

Mouse, her anbu escort, cuts through the training grounds, through training ground seven where she spent the better part of her teenage years training. Instead of the large fields and tall trees, the training ground is now filled with sand and large rocks. It’s different. Everything is different.

She falters on a branch as the city and the main administration buildings comes into view.

They’re still red with red roof tiles, but it’s different, all of it. Taller, larger, bigger, not the three storey sprawl of buildings that she was used to.

“Haruno Sakura?” Mouse asks, his low baritone breaking into her war of thoughts.

Everything has moved on without her and she doesn’t fault them. How is Ino? How is Shikamaru? How is Hinata? Has she found one else? How is the hospital and Shizune? Would she be accepted back? She laughs - a mirthless, hard laugh. “W-would they even take me back?” she starts, unable to hold back the tide of questions. “Is there space for me? This is all my fault, I shouldn’t have run, I knew that. I just couldn’t take it. Ino must hate me, Kage, she must hate me so much. That I wasn’t strong enough, that I wasn’t-”

Mouse shakes her so hard that her teeth rattles. “Sakura, stop it.”

“I wasn’t good enough, not enough for anyone. They must look down on me now, that’s why no one-”

“Sakura!”

Her words still on her tongue, the pain on her cheek shocks her from her word vomit.

“Are you with me now, or do I need to slap you again?” Mouse asks. She nods, unable to trust her voice. Mouse takes a deep breath and then curses. “Goddamnit Sakura. I had this whole tirade for you when you got back, you know?”

She recognizes his voice, the way he speaks. “Shikamaru?”

“You disappeared, Sakura. Do you know have any idea how we felt?” He grips her by the shoulders; bony, gloved fingers digging into her flesh, hard enough to bruise. “Do you have any idea how I felt?” Mouse shoves his mask up, scrubbing his face with great fury. He has lines of worry set in his face. Mouse - no, Shikamaru looks exhausted.

“It’s not like I asked you to!” she retorts. Guilt churns in her stomach as soon as she sees the look on Shikamaru’s face - like he had been slapped. “Shika-”

He waves her off, briskly setting their pace.

 They slide through the open window. The room is different from the time of Tsunade. Dark chakra-infused concrete lines the floor and instead of one table, there are four tables manned by shadow clones and one in the center that has to be the Alpha.

“Hokage-sama, Haruno Sakura has returned.” Shikamaru bows to the one sitting in the middle.

“That’s good.” Neji sighs and motions Sakura to come forward. “Are you better now?” he asks, instead of reprimanding her like she expects.

“I… I… yes.” Sakura purses her lips then asks the one question that has been on her mind since she started her way back. “W-what is my designation, Hokage-sama?”

His pale purple eyes sweep across her. Despite the fact that Neji had been the Hokage even before she left, Sakura is unable to get used to seeing him behind the desk. She has the feeling that Tsunade was going to bustle through the doors any minute now with a bottle of sake (or a lollipop, if Shizune caught her first) in her hand.

“Tsunade was gone from Konoha for over a decade. I’m sure we could have spared you a few years.”

“A- a… few years?”

“You were gone for two years, Sakura.” Neji pulls out several forms from a drawer and then stamps it. “Get a new ID done and fill out these forms. There are some temporary dorms you can use while you find an apartment. Mouse-” A smile spreads across his face. “Mouse will help you get settled, won’t you?”

“Hokage-sama-” Shikamaru says, and Neji cuts him off with a wave.

“Welcome back, Sakura. I’ll see you in a week.” 

The next morning, by the time Sakura is done with her new ID, Shikamaru is standing outside the room waiting for her in his normal jounin uniform.

“All done?” he asks, pushing off the wall.

“You know you don’t actually have to ‘get me settled’, right?”

His shoulders sag and he drags a breath from the cigarette. “I know that, it’s just that I don’t want to be volunteered to be Gai’s morning partner or Tenten’s weapons tester. I might be one or the other if I'm not with you.”

At his words, Sakura could not help but chuckle. All the time spent away from Konoha had made her forget about Neji’s ridiculous punishments for recalcitrant shinobis. “Is Konohamaru still Gai’s morning practice partner?” she asks, remembering how Konohamaru had frequently broken the rules while she was still in Konoha and how he had hobbled over to her apartment after every practice, begging to be healed.

“Well, thankfully no. I think Gai hasn’t had a morning partner lately. Even Kiba has been smart about it and picked two months worth of D-ranks instead.”

They turn at a corner and Shikamaru leans an elbow on the counter. “Obaa-san! Two coffees to go.” Shikamaru turns to her. “You still take your coffee black with two sugars?”

“Y-yes. I would like to know why you still remember that.”

“Well, eidetic memory, remember?” He shrugs and turns back to the old lady. “One black with two sugars and one with milk.”

Sakura hasn’t had coffee for so long, she forgotten how it tasted. Full-bodied, the dark tones melding with the molasses and slightly bitter aftertaste. Her last cup had been just before she left for that mission.

Shikamaru chuckles, breaking her out of her musing. “Sorry.” He hides his smile behind a hand, averting his eyes from hers. “I’ve never seen anyone lose themselves in a cup of coffee.”

“S-sorry-” Sakura flushes, taking another gulp of her coffee. “I- I just realised I haven’t had coffee since… since I left.” Taking another sip to distract herself, Sakura could feel her cheeks heat up. Her tongue, unused to talking, is constantly tripping on itself, and Shikamaru’s piercing gaze did not help her nerves.

The walk to the realtors is silent, nothing like the comfortable silence that Shikamaru and her shared before she left. Two years was a long time. Outside of Konoha, time had slipped passed her without realising it, but now that she was back, she could see all the differences - in the buildings, in the trees, in Shikamaru. His face is sharper now, baby fat replaced with lean lines and despite his slouch, Sakura could see his shoulders are broader.

She turns her face, keeping her eyes on the road in front of them when Shikamaru glances at her. What do you say to a friend you abandoned two years ago? Sakura searches her mind for something to say, only to turn up nothing.

“Have you thought of what kind of apartment you want?”

She hasn’t. The apartment she lived in before disappearing had been Kakashi’s, and even though she had stayed there for two years, Sakura did not change anything. She hadn’t wanted an apartment by herself. Team seven was supposed to come back and share a house.

Sakura shakes her head mutely, not quite trusting her voice.

“Well, that’s fine. Perhaps you’ll know what you want after we’ve looked at a few.”

It takes her two days to find a new apartment that isn’t too far from the hospital and is close enough to a marketplace. With two rooms and a large living room leading into a kitchen, it is nothing like Kakashi’s old apartment. Ino bustles in, barely an hour after Shikamaru left, carrying several potted plants with her husband, Genma, behind carrying a couch.

“You need plants to brighten the place up,” Ino tells her like she’s never left Konoha, then motions to Genma to place the couch down.

“Ino-”

Ino angrily taps Sakura on forehead with enough force to leave a bruise then pulls her into a tight hug. “How dare you leave us, Forehead! I won’t allow you leaving like that again!”

“I- I’m sorry,” she tells Ino, her face hidden in Ino’s shoulder.

“You’ve no idea how worried we were!”

Genma chuckles, “Sakura-chan. Shikamaru and I were ordered by Ino to find you. We even had to call in the Inuzukas and the Aburames. You’re pretty good at hiding your scent.”

Ino shoots her husband a look. “Of course she is. Had she not been an outstanding medic, Sakura would have been the next Anbu Commander.”

“Ino! You’re not supposed to tell people-”

“Genma’s Anbu too and there are no secrets between us,” Ino says indignantly and clasps her hands on Sakura’s shoulders. “There are no secrets between us. Do you understand that? I don’t care how you hid yourself or where you went, you’re gonna tell me everything.”

She flicks her hair over her shoulders. “After all, while you were out gallivanting, poor me was stuck in Konoha with swollen ankles! Without my medic to help ease them.” Ino fakes a sob. “You haven’t even gotten to see your godson!”

“You-you have a s-son?” Sakura smiles wistfully, trying to imagine how Ino’s son would look.

Ino’s eyes soften. “He has Genma’s hair and my eyes, of course. I can show you later, he’s having his afternoon nap now. But first, we need to get you new clothes.” She picks at the standard jounin outfit that Sakura had just received with a look of disgust. “Standard outfits are all fine and dandy for fieldwear, but you are not wearing that when you’re off duty.”

Gripping Sakura’s hand, she spins to the door. “We’re going-”

“-Shopping, I heard you,” Genma says. The senbon in his mouth lifts with his grin. “I’ll be here for when Shikamaru comes back.” 

There are boxes in her apartment when she and Ino return three hours later. Genma hefts another box off his shoulders and drops it onto a neat tower.

“That’s the last box,” he tells Shikamaru

“What are these?” Sakura asks, peering at the labels on the boxes. Written on the boxes are the words ‘Kitchen’, ‘Books’, ‘Clothes’ and all in Shikamaru’s scrawny handwriting. She traces the words out with a finger, turning her head to Shikamaru. “A-are these…”

“Well, you were gone for awhile and…” he trails off, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. Sakura knows what he is thinking even without him finishing the rest of the sentence, but the idea that her friends had kept her stuff surprises her.

They weren’t there from the beginning, but they were there for the end, she corrects herself.

“You kept them?”

Ino scoffs loudly, folding her arms. “The landlord wanted to throw your stuff out, so Shikamaru took them.”

“Ino didn’t have space for your boxes because of Inojin, so she forced me to take them in,” Shikamaru amends Ino’s conclusion.

Unsure of how to react to their consideration, Sakura turns to the boxes, missing the angry glare Ino shoots at Shikamaru. There is the team seven photo wrapped carefully in bubble wrap in the first box she opens. Not the team seven with the traitor in it, but the one with Captain Tenzou and Sai in it. She peels it open, rubbing a finger over Kakashi’s face. His face looking resigned, his hair partly singed while Tenzou was leaping into the air to get away from the ink lions that Sai had drawn.

She remembers that training session. She remembers Kakashi teaching Sai a fire jutsu, who then turned around and tried to burn Kakashi.

“Sai! We’re on the same team. Same team!” Kakashi yelps, quickly casting a water jutsu to put out the fire, but not fast enough as it burns half of his hair away.

“That is for the four hour wait for last week. Ugly says that revenge is part of team dynamics.”

“Good job Sai!” Naruto crows from the other side of the field.

“It wasn’t for you, Dickless.”

“Stop calling me that! Or do I need to show you my dick again- wait wait, Sakura. No! Let me explain!”

“Are you okay?” Shikamaru asks, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Sakura brushes the tears away and hugs him, then Ino. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Instead of being put back on the mission roster, Sakura throws herself back into fixing the hospital. It had been her responsibility after the war. Sakura doesn't think that being the most skilful medic means that she should be in charge of the hospital. Masashiro had been a far better administrator than she would ever be. Still, with politics and all, it means that because she was Tsunade's apprentice, Sakura is now the head of the hospital. Though she never wanted to be.

Sakura shuffles the papers, rifling through them as she rearranges them and stamps her seal of approval. The war and her subsequent departure had given her a taste of the field.

Still, Neji - Rokudaime - had requested her to be here. To heal, to set roots down perhaps, Neji had always been someone she couldn't read.

A bento appears on her table and she looks up blearily. "Shika?"

"It's dinner," he drawls. Shikamaru moves a stack of files from a seat and flops into it with a groan.

"Dinner? It's not dinner time yet..."

Shikamaru huffs an amused huff. "How troublesome, I knew you would forget to eat. It's eight pm, woman." He unpacks the bento and sets it in front of her before doing the same for himself. "Ino made your favourites and ordered me to make sure you finish your food."

Sliced lotus stir-fried with strips of pork and seaweed, thick slices of eggplant with fish and rolled omelette, the way she love it. When was the last time she had stir-fried lotus? She picks it up, stuffing into her mouth, and stuffs an eggplant in too. Not as good as how Kakashi-sensei prepared it, but it is very close.

Shikamaru quirks a smile and pushes his bento to her. "You can take mine."

"But what about you?" Sakura asks, swallowing a mouthful of rice.

"It's fine. I'll get ramen on my way home," he says, getting to his feet. "Don't stay too long here. If you stay too long, Ino will nag at me to drag you home. Workaholic!" Shikamaru claps her shoulder with a laugh and heat floods her face.

"I'm not a workaholic!"

"Yes, yes. You did not sleep here last night."

"How did you-" Sakura buries her face in her hands. "It's you! You're the one who tattled to Ino!"

"Don't stay too late!" He smirks, slamming the door behind him.

"Stupid Shika!"

 She skids backwards, launching herself at Kakashi even as he falls. To go up against a Goddess has to be on the top of the most insane things she had ever done, but insanity has always been what Team Seven deals in.

Sakura can see claws run through Kakashi’s torso. Too much, too deep. The possibility of Kakashi surviving is far too low for her liking. Her hands are gleaming with green medical chakra when she reaches him. Her heart sinks as she takes in his extensive injuries. Even with the Byakugo seal, there is a high chance of her failing.

“Kakashi-sensei...”

She reaches deep into her reserves, desperately trying to reconnect the pierced organs back together. She can do this. She can save him. She can-

Kakashi’s hand wraps around her wrist. “Sa- ku- ra…”

“Don’t talk, you idiot!”

She ducks as Naruto is thrown towards her. The blood on her hands makes it slippery and hard to hold onto the parts that she is trying to reconnect.

“Stay with me, sensei.” She channels more chakra into her healing, even releasing her Byakugo for the extra boost. Kakashi is the strongest shinobi she has ever known. If he falls in battle, then what about her? What about the rest of them? “Please, Kakashi-sensei… Rule number two. Don’t die.”

His hands slips off hers, falling limply to the ground, and she lets off a keening wail.

She has to- has to-

Sakura gets up to join the fight. It’s just Naruto and her left. The Goddess is gone, but Naruto-

Oh kage, not Naruto too. No, no, NO. Not him too.

She wakes with a sob at the back of her throat. Her gasps fill the silence of the room. Sakura leaps out of her window, her bare feet scampering across the rooftops.

“Sakura? It’s two in the morning,” Shikamaru yawns, shifting so that she can squeeze in beside him.

“There, there.” He pats her head sleepily. “Nara’s here to keep the shadows away,” he murmurs, eyes already closing before Sakura can even crawl under the blanket. Tucked in the blanket smelling of him, Sakura finally fades into a deep sleep.

“I was wondering whose cold feet was that on my calves.” Sakura wakes up to the low baritone sighing in her ears.

“Shika?” Sakura yawns, then realises that her arms are wrapped around him. “S-sorry!” She backs away quickly, almost falling off the bed had Shikamaru not caught her in time.

“Don’t start your day with a concussion. That’d be so troublesome.”

“Everything to you is troublesome,” Sakura says cheekily.

His eyes softens for a moment, his lips hitching up at the corner, and she felt the breath catch in her lungs. When she left Konoha, she had been too blind to see the things she left behind, too consumed in her grief to see anything beyond it. How had she missed it?

Shikamaru smirks, grabbing her by the waist and hauling her over his shoulder. “Too early for deep thoughts, Sakura!”

“I- I wasn’t thinking deep thoughts.” She could feel a flush start in her cheeks and climb down to the back of her neck. She had been thinking of the tug in her heart when she saw him smile.

“Yea, sure,” he drawls. “You weren’t.”

He dumps her at the kitchen table and tosses her a shirt too large to be anything but his. “Come on, since you crashed my bed, it’s time for you to pay rental fee in breakfast, troublesome woman.”

“I- Inojin really acts more like you than Genma.” Sakura smiles as she watches the brown haired baby drag his stuffed deer across the living room.

“Kage, I hope so. Can you imagine him having Genma’s personality? He would be breaking hearts before he even gets into academy,” Ino grouses, rubbing her growing belly. “Ahh, I swear Genma is trying to repopulate Konoha without my knowledge. The morning sickness is so bad.”

Sakura rubs some medical chakra across Ino’s stomach, carefully checking the fetus.

“Well? How is she?” Ino asks, a slightly anxious tone tinging her voice. “What’s wrong with my baby, Sakura?”

Sakura rubs her nose bridge. “Well…” she starts, trying to make sure she read the feedback properly. “There isn’t anything wrong with your baby per se. It’s just that you should be calling them babies instead of baby.”

Ino lifts an eyebrow. “Are you saying I might be having twins?”

“No, I’m saying you are having triplets. There are three growing chakra coils in your womb. I had to double check to be sure.” She shrugs, taking a seat beside Inojin.

Ino sinks into her couch, her face paling at Sakura’ revelation. “Oh… oh kage, I’m going to kill Genma.”

“It’s not so bad, at least you and Genma are going to be three steps closer to repopulating Konoha with your offspring.” She helps Inojin stack the blocks and he blabbers to her excitedly, pointing to each block.

“Then what about you?” Ino teases back, nudging a toe into her ribs. “I’ve seen the way you look at Shikamaru.”

Sakura holds her hand out, letting Inojin put his blocks into her hand and back into the container. Ino has seen the way she looked at Shikamaru? What does she mean by that? Sakura hasn’t looked at Shikamaru any differently from her usual way. Unsure on how to respond to Ino’s question after musing on it for awhile, she cocks her head at Ino with a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” Ino grins. “For starters, you have that crinkle when you see him. Is there anything going on between you two?”

The memory of waking up to Shikamaru smiling at her, his hair spread out across the pillow. Her eyes wander from the domesticity of Ino’s house. It isn’t very hard for Sakura to imagine all this belonging to her. Out in the wilderness, while she was tramping across the continents, she had occasionally missed the Sunday afternoons in Ino’s shop and Friday evenings feeding the deer in the Nara forest.

Waking up next to Shikamaru…

Sakura tucks her chin into her neck, focusing on helping Inojin stack his blocks. There is a sense of contentment in that idea. An idea that she wouldn’t be unwilling to follow, but Shikamaru probably doesn’t see her that way. She has been Ino’s friend for the better half of their relationship and Shikamaru does consider Ino his unofficial sister.

Ino isn’t put off by her silence. Sakura knows she’s a far cry from her pre-shinobi war days or even her post-shinobi war period. It worries Ino, and when it worries Ino, she always sends Shikamaru over to harangue her into visiting or something. Sakura’s just used to not talking that much now and though she craved human contact during her travels, sometimes in the village the amount of people on the streets makes her nervous.

“You know, Ino. You should stop nagging at Shikamaru to nag at me.” Sakura feels bad for all the times that Shikamaru has been forced by Ino to come over. She knows Shikamaru would never really say ‘no’ to Ino, especially not how they had lost Chouji in the war.

Ino looks amused, hands twined on her stomach. “You think I do that, but I don’t.” Her lips twists wryly.

“Oh,” Sakura replies faintly, not really sure how to take in her words. Could she be overthinking it? She hasn’t even noticed Shikamaru until recently and Shikamaru has always been like that. No, she pushes the small bloom of hope in her chest. She has to be simply overthinking it.

“-you have to tell her!” Sakura catches Ino’s voice as she rounds the corner. Her feet still when Shikamaru’s irritated voice answers Ino.

“Tell her what?”

“Tell her you love her! She’ll never make a move if you don’t.” Ino’s reply jars the cracks in her heart. She had hoped that Shikamaru would come to like her as more than a friend, she hadn’t taken into account Shikamaru already loving someone else.

“I won’t. I didn’t do all those things because I wanted her to be with me, I did it because she would be happy. She’s not ready for a relationship. If I made a move and she rejects me, then she would have no one to lean on. I’m not going to do that to her, Ino.”

Sakura always knew Shikamaru was that sort of man. Her heart lurches at his words, wishing she had done something first. Maybe if she had stayed in Konoha, maybe if she hadn’t left- Her fingers claw into her white medic skirt.

“Shikamaru…” Ino’s voice murmurs and Sakura can hear Ino stepping forward. “I’ve seen the way she looked at you…”

Oh kage, the girl loves Shikamaru back. She-

Sakura takes a shuddering breath, the records in her hands falling onto the ground with a loud thump.

“Who’s there?” Shikamaru commands, slamming the door open. “Saku… ra?”

She’s not ready for this. If she had stayed in Konoha maybe things would be different! Coward, her mind whispers as she swivels around and leaps out of the window.

“Wait! Shit!”

If there’s anything to be gained from her… journey, it is that her speed and stamina are better now. She can feel Shikamaru chasing after her, rooftop after rooftop, but she’s not ready to look at him now. Shikamaru loves the girl with all his heart. There will never be space for her. She has to be happy for him. He’ll get a happy ending, especially with what Ino just told him.

So happy.

The thought brings hot frustrated tears to her eyes and she swipes them away with great fury. She should be happy for Shikamaru.

Eventually she senses Shikamaru’s presence disappear from her range. She wedges herself on a tree branch in an isolated training ground.

She’ll cry now, and the next time she sees Shikamaru, she will smile and be happy for him. Like a friend would, she tells herself.

Her shoulders shake with each stuttering gasp.

She will smile.

A fresh wave of tears rolls down her face and before she can tuck her face back into her arms to cry, her body freezes. Her head turns to look down at the lone figure delineated by the sunset.

“Come on Sakura, just… hear me out, okay?” He runs a hand down his face.

“No- leave me alone.” She wants to run away but Shikamaru has her trapped in a body paralysing jutsu.

“Just hear me out, and if you still don’t want to talk to me after that, I’ll go away and never bother you again.”

Her eyes heat up again with another wave of tears at the idea of Shikamaru never being in her life again. She doesn’t think she could stand that. He is the one she came back for.

“Don’t cry!” Shikamaru says in a panic. “Please don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it,” she sniffs, and he sighs loudly.

“Look,” he starts and then stops, pushing a frustrated hand through his hair. “I don’t know when it started. All I know is that one day you were there and the next you weren’t. And all I could think was of you. I didn’t realise it until you were gone, that I was… I was in love with you. But I- I didn’t want you to think that I was doing all that for something. I just-”

Shikamaru lets out an exasperated growl. “I just wanted you to be happy, okay? You were hurting and I wanted to be there for you.”

“You love me?” Sakura asks, not believing her ears.

“Yes, damnit Sakura. I love you. Maybe for three years, maybe since academy. I don’t know.” Shikamaru looks up and she can see the curve of his lips as he gazes her. “But there’s this warm feeling in me when I look at you that tells me everything is right.”

Even with the yellows and reds tinting the light, Sakura could see the blush all the way to his ears.

“Shikamaru… please release me.”

A disappointed look floods his face and he nods, placing his fingers together to form the jutsu release seal. Sakura stands, heart thumping loudly in her ears. Shikamaru has already confessed, she has to tell him too.

She lands in front of him and she opens her mouth for words she can’t find.

Shikamaru gives her a sad look and shakes his head. “It’s okay, Sakura. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same.” He turns from her, his broad shoulders casting a shadow onto her. Sakura grabs his vest, halting his steps.

“Shikamaru- I- I-”

He rubs her head. “It’s okay, Sakura. I knew it was a possibility that you didn’t love me back and if it makes you uncomfortable, I can stop. I just-”

“No! I- I came back for you. I came back to Konoha because of you,” Sakura says in a rush before he leaves. “Be-because you were always there and I never noticed. I came back for you but I stayed because I realised I loved you.”

“You love me?” He laughs and turns to pulls her in, tight. “She loves me!”

Shikamaru spins her around and then cups her chin, his thumb stroking her cheek. “May I kiss you?”

Instead of replying, she tugs him down by his jounin vest collar, capturing his lips with hers.

When they break apart, she rests her forehead against his collarbone and he strokes her hair gently. “I’m sorry I took so long,” she murmurs. “Why did I wait so long?”

“Because you’re troublesome,” he tells her, grinning.

She whacks him in the ribs and kisses him again.