#the gardening gaara had to make a come back
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HELLO 👋 I would like to know about (in any order that excites youuuuu)
Love (As Told Through the Medium of Last- Minute Grocery Lists)
Mercury Retrograde
AND/OR
Thread of deepest scarlet, heart of shining pearl
And TGOD obvi if you're not burnt out by that one lol no pressure for replying about them ALL but I'm here for the excited yapping. 👉😎👉
*waiting menacingly*
omg hello winkwonk
i can do these in order -- under the cut because i'm about to Talk For Tew Damn Long
mercury retrograde
ok mercury retrograde is a fic based on a really goofy premise called "what if i shit on all the canon pairings at once?" via the medium of gaalee fanfic. it's essentially a story told from all of the other konoha 12 POVs where everyone on earth is having relationship (or pining) problems except, apparently, gaara and lee, who (in the POV of non-overlapping people, so no one makes the connection) seem to have secret paramours that are perfect for them hooHA. some start pairs include sasusaku, naruhina, and inosai, and end pairs being sns, inosaku, kibahina, etc. shikatema and chokarui stick the landing but. i like them well enough xo
basically a fix it fic for all the endgame pairs As According To Gospel Me
behold! a snippetteptpetptp
Damn it, not only was her love life awful, but the weather was, too, and she didn’t have an umbrella! What was up with this week? Mercury must be in retrograde or something, she mused, slouching against the bark of the tree at the edge of training field one. She’d have to ask Tenten, she was an astrology nut, she’d know for certain. “Ino-san, what are you doing out here by yourself, it is raining!” Ino looked off to the side to find her unexpected hero of the hour, one Rock Lee, clutching a scroll to his chest with an umbrella in hand. “Suffering,” she said. “Oh dear. Is there any way I can help?” “Actually,” Ino said, eyeing the umbrella, “are you heading towards town? I didn’t know it was going to rain.” “I am!” Lee said, and held out the umbrella. Ino slid out from under the tree and joined him. They started walking, Lee asking polite questions about her day while Ino scrounged for a more interesting topic. Maybe she could use this moment to answer the questions Sakura had posed a few days ago? Her eyes settled on the scroll Lee held, his grip tighter on the still-rolled paper than Choji’s grip on his beloved chip bags. “What’cha got there?” Lee turned a brilliant pink and smiled hugely. “It is a letter from my precious one!” “Oh, who!?” Ino cried, hamming it up, just a little bit. She was curious. “That,” he said very seriously, “is a secret.”
Love (As Told Through the Medium of Last- Minute Grocery Lists)
so this one is the fic i've started to create for my FTH 2024 bid winner @chinesefirethorn <3
it's a series of alternating POVs developing a gaalee relationship through unintentional dates which are actually just various gaalees having to run errands -> inspired, actually, by the fact my partner, the colloquially-christened-by-gaalee-discord mr. bread, tells me every time we have to do long distance that he misses going grocery shopping with me. which is like. how dare u make me feel romantic about feckin' woolies actually. no snippets for this one but here's the extant tag list:
clown-to-clown communication
Grocery Store (Romantic)
5+1 Things or similar
Food as a metaphor for love
Gardening also as a metaphor for love
Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and
scenes of domestic bliss
note: currently this one is on hold because reg has been offline for a while and i want to write this one for her when she's around again so it's tailored to her. reg come back i miss u
thread of deepest scarlet, heart of shining pearl
allow me to redirect you to this post where i unloaded about it
The Grapes of Debauchery
tgod my goode friend tgod, u are my brainchild and the bane of my existence rn. before i even begin to talk about tgod u must observe this hysterically funny advertisement post by @rkaln because i think about it every day
ok tgod. up next, thank thine lordt, is the long awaited sober winkwonk time chapter god Bless what has taken me so long it's the doctorate whyd i do that to myself we shall neber knwo
but i can tell you what i will deliver, and that is: Virgins Being Awkward In The Sack. none of this red face fanning self smut no this is pure cringefail shenanigans you're gonna get home grown baby not outsourced man directly from the kitchen table at my house you want it we got it guaranteed
gaara says "raw dog" out loud. the condoms are expired. lee nuts too early and panics about it. gaara's hungover. both of them WILL cry at some point. they've non-startered three times even im getting annoyed and im the author. just boink you clowns
here's a snippet from the next chapter, which is titled, to my absolute delight, Will You Two Please Just Drink Some F*cking Water:
Gaara stood and crowded into Lee’s space while he riffled through the drawer and yanked out a small, brightly coloured tube. “Lee, these are expired.” “Ex—huh?” Lee took the box and squinted at the date. Then he looked up, horrified. “I did not know they expired! I can um, go get—” “I don’t care,” Gaara said, taking the small bottle the lube Lee held from him. “I haven’t had sex with anyone, so unless you have some sort of genital illness—” “I do not!” Lee’s shout rattled the windows. Gaara winced.
truly i have achieved the pinnacle of yammertime, if ur still here holy sgat u are devoted and i lov u
#gaalee#rock lee#gaara#writing gronp hours#fictalk#nart#lol hole time#had to yoink some funny tags because this wasn’t showing in the tag and that Offended Me
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I know you are a gaasaku fan (same! Such an internet dynamic and what cool political means between the leaf and sand it could bring) have you ever thought about what that might look like if Sakura moved to suna and they had a family?
I think about them every other night, anon. Every other night ✨
Honestly a lot of Sakura and Gaara ships cross my mind even if I don’t necessarily ship them (like sometimes it’s me just nodding in a agreement with fandom and other times I’m researching ships to see what I’m messing lol) like I ship GaaSaku because I love both characters so much
I apologize for any incoherent yapping 😅
Tw: mentions of pregnancy
Off the top of my head; Sakura never actually planned to stay in Suna, it just sort of happens
Because it’s serene, but also talking with Gaara about his past and the challenges of such a past made her realize she could bring her work to Suna too
It’s a slow burn deal with lots of teasing from Kanks towards Gaara about making a move before Pinks high tails it back to Konoha
Sakura is lowkey amused by his fan club because he is pretty cool, but he’s not the type to have wandering eyes
Gaara is a busy man but he makes sure to make time for Sakura when possible
And if it’s not entirely possible, he’s found writing her to little notes wishing her a good day or suggesting that she visit this or that shop (he already paid for her ice cream for a year, please go to that shop, Sakura), are greatly appreciated by her
Sometimes when they’re catching up with one another after a busy day/week, they’ll talk until they both fall asleep on the couch
Sakura was pleasantly surprised to see Gaara at her doorstep during her first sandstorm in Suna
He’d made a barrier around himself (and her front door) to come and check on her and was rewarded with a big hug
She was fine, but it was a little worrying considering this wasn’t anything she was use to
And when they eventually do become official, Kanks is confused because huh? Last he checked on them they were gardening and other boring things. But go, bro!
They had to stop Kankuro form making prank wedding invites
No one wants sand falling out onto their floor for a save the date
Their eventual wedding is kind of a big deal, because while it wasn’t a political to them, it still was to everyone else
Naruto’s speech would be tall no jutsu x10 but he’d also throw in that he can’t wait to see their kids. They better hop on that because everyone else is
which would make Sakura choke and shout for him to shut it and made Gaara blush bright red
They aren’t the type for PDA, mostly because Gaara is a kage
BUT he’s okay with kissing her hand as a farewell infront of others
he also finds excuses to include Sakura in as many meetings as possible
Sakura meanwhile lives a busy life bouncing between Suna and Konoha as a teacher of medical jutsus and head of Suna’s medical department
That is until she’s visiting Konoha and feeling a bit under the weather
Ino took on look at her turning up her face at the smell of ramen and she KNEW
“You’re pregnant!?”
“No!.. I mean, I don’t think—”
Girl had to do some mental math on when her last period was and realized she was in fact late by a few weeks
All that stress from work made it slip her mind entirely and mistake her clear symptoms
Gaara is of course excited about the news, but a small part of him is really worried that something could go wrong during the pregnancy
He’s not showing it, but he’s freaking out internally
So he turns into a mother hen and adds an aid to accompany Sakura when he could not personally do it himself
She put up with this aid for a few months, but after be asked how she’s feeling so they could write it in a report and being told she shouldn’t lift anything heavy for the hundredth time, she had to put her foot down
Baby was growing healthy, she was healthy, Gaara take a deep breath. They’re fine and she works at the hospital
if something were to happen, she’s in the best place possible to handle it
When their baby finally does arrive, gaara is in awe. She’s perfect.
a little mushed and alien looking, but perfect
Watermelon pink hair and grayish green eyes that he only got a quick glimpse of before she closed her eyes again
Her nails were unbelievably tiny on the small hand that cupped her own cheek
He could swear he saw the faintest eyebrow hairs. She had eyebrows! Maybe
Sakura teased that he was going to stare a hole in her if he wasn’t careful and Gaara had to smile
Anyone that tried to visit would catch the new family snuggled up on one bed
He would know that he would do everything to protect this little girl and her mother for the rest of his life
And a few years later, they’d welcome a son that has his father’s hair and the most stunning violet eyes
A short while after that they welcomed Shiki into their family
Their kids often bounce back and forth between their parents work places
Temari and Sakura take turns making play date plans with the kids
And when all four kids are together, kankuro swears they’re conspiring against him (they kinda are, but it’s in a loving-ish way)
They once packed a bunch of lizards into one of his puppets
There’s never a dull moment in the kazekage’s home or a moment without Sakura having to remind the kids to pick up all of their sand
Gaara feels loved and wanted
Sakura feels loved and appreciated
Overall a very cute and wholesome family 🌸⏳
#ask#gaasaku#tw pregnancy mention#when you spend too much time thinking about ships and not enough time working on writing 😂
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chapter six.
masterlist
Chapter summary: Things have finally come to a head for you, but you might just have an opportunity to redeem yourself and save your family from certain doom. Somehow. Someway.
Chapter warnings: depression, suicidal ideation, nightmares, violence, lots of angst
Word count: 5.7k
A/N: sorry for the long wait! 1) I prefer to post on ao3, and the most recent chapters are up on there (so make sure you check!) and 2) lots of horrible personal stuff happened to me (my mom passed). But here it is! Chp 6!
Read on ao3 here:
“It’s beautiful,” Gaara says.
You have to agree; your village and his melt together in an alien harmony. The sandcastle buildings of the Oasis and the domed structures of the Sand marry to create something entirely new, the village now towering over the cliff side like a utopia.
You chuckle, tip your hat lower, courtesy of Gaara, to avoid the wind that tries to kiss sand onto your face. “It is.”
“We’ll build together,” Gaara says. His hand fans at your waist.
“Mommy! Daddy!”
You turn to see your child, arms overflowing with flowers.
“I picked some flowers for you!”
You kneel with a smile. “That’s so sweet of you!”
Your child giggles as they pick a flower out of the bunch — white with elongated petals. Your child fixes it in your hair and you return the favor with a kiss to their plushy cheek.
“My family …” Gaara admires the two of you as you bring your child into your arms and hold them there.
You blush. My family.
You turn back to your child, who is putting more flowers in your hair, and laugh. “Isn’t that enough?”
“No!” they say.
On and on, until your hair is overwhelmed with flowers.
You smile, take one out, and — and drop it.
The flower falls to the ground, overridden with poison.
“What …?” You turn back to your child.
“Mommy …?” they say. Their mouth falls open, and a river of black poison pours out.
“No!” You gasp. “Gaara —!”
The skies over the village are blood red, the buildings and structures reduced to blackened ruins. Gaara coughs and spits blood into your face.
“How could you?” he says. “How could you —!”
You flinched away. The cold floor lay under your palm. A few seconds and you sank into the tar of reality: it was a dream. A nightmare.
One of many — and each one you had upon falling into sleep had been more horrific than the last. You dreamed of Hideo, too; in one he shook you by your shoulders, shook sense into you, imploring you to live and fight to live, fight to stay alive, to love. In another he waited in the old gardens the two of you had once leisured in, telling you he couldn’t wait for you to join him. Give up. Succumb.
The Hideo in your mind was a two-faced demon, and you had long since lost confidence in which to listen to.
You propped yourself up. Your cot was by the side of you, yet you’d woken up on the floor. At some point during your sleep, you must’ve tumbled off of it, too cold and numb to notice and be thrown from sleep.
You didn’t know how long it had been; your only indication of time passing had been the food offered to you at regular intervals. Second only to the medical nin who had once come to collect your urine, ostensibly to confirm the legitimacy of your pregnancy — and had never returned. You were often sick, and as much as this strengthened your hope of pregnancy, you were frail, barely alive, but clinging to life.
You took note of your surroundings. It wasn’t horribly uncomfortable, the cell you had been sequestered in. But you knew any and all comforts you enjoyed here were simply because Gaara was nowhere heartless enough to risk you losing a child — if you had one. He would never have you killed despite how much you craved death.
The sun had blown out, and all the light in the world was gone.
You looked down at the broken necklace on the floor. Kankuro had broken it in half, and you had broken it further, desperate to find just a drop left. Dead in seconds. If true, you would be able to put an end to all of this. Just a drop … But there had been nothing.
The one time I want to use it and there’s nothing. Nothing for me. The irony.
And then there was the second piece of jewelry bestowed upon you: your mother’s ring, snug and secure around your finger. It seemed a mockery to you now. A fatuous representation of your childish dreams. What a fool I was — am.
Situating yourself on the bed against the wall, you caressed your stomach, mindlessly cooing to what you hoped was a filling womb.
“I’m sorry …” You whispered. “I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough …”
You hugged your knees to your chest. What was happening now? Did Father know where you were? What was happening? Why had no one come?
The quiet blared loud in your ears. You rested your cheek on your knees, turned to face the wall. Your sleep had been short-lived, cut short by the poignancy of nightmares. You closed your eyes.
If you could just rest a bit longer, something would happen. You could sleep until the world ended. You could …
You could …
A great, metallic churn.
You awoke. You faced the door with furrowed brows. Another churn. Someone was opening it.
You sat up. It was probably your feeding time, but it would be something. Anything to disturb the monotony of this nightmare.
The door cracked open — flew open. A feminine groan. Someone crossed the threshold.
You looked up, leaned forward with a frown to discern.
“… Matsuri?”
Matsuri turned to you before letting out a relieved sigh. “Oh, thank goodness, you’re okay! Come on, (Y/n).” She blinked. “Is it all right if I call you that?”
“What do you mean?” Your voice was rasped from lack of use as Matsuri strode toward your bed. “What’s going on?”
Matsuri hastened you to your feet. “We have to move quickly; Lady Temari sent me. Come now —“
“Wait a minute!” You cried, taking Matsuri by the shoulders. “What’s happening?” A chill down your spine. Father. “Where’s Gaara?”
“Listen to me,” Matsuri said. “We don’t have much time.” She retrieved something from her pouch. A pill. “Take this. It’ll give you some strength.”
“But —“
“Take it. Please.”
You accepted it with a weak nod. You slipped it between your chapped lips and swallowed it.
“There’s been a battle and we’re losing,” Matsuri said as the pill worked down your throat. “We have to get you out of the village and leave immediately —“
“Where’s Gaara?”
Matsuri let out a stressed breath through her nose. “He’s been poisoned by your father.”
Horror froze you.
“Nothing at the Sunagakure greenhouse contains antibiotics strong enough to cure him.” Matsuri went on. “That Red Spine of yours really did a number on him. We can only keep it at bay, but he will die if we don’t hurry!”
Matsuri tugged you, and you went with her through the door to the dingy prison hall. The pill returned to you an iota of your previous strength, and while Matsuri did most of the heavy lifting, shouldering your weight, you were able to pick up the slack and scuttle along with her.
“What about Temari and Kankuro?” You asked hastily. “Are they okay?”
“Lord Kankuro’s stayed behind to fight off Boutoku’s forces, but we’re being overwhelmed,” Matsuri said, leading you down another hallway bereft of people. “Your father’s united some of the smaller villages into a full scale attack on us. He’s promised them all a part of the oasis if they can help him claim Suna.”
Your legs weren’t carrying you fast enough, dragging you behind Matsuri. “But, Temari,” You said desperately. “What about Temari?”
“You’ll see.”
Sand dragged past your feet as the two of you ran through the empty place. You flinched at the sound above — explosions.
“Come on!” Matsuri took your hand. “It’s okay.”
She led you to the entrance. She threw the doors open to lead you out of the prison.
And into hell.
Sunagakure burned. Fire blazed with the windstorm as people ran to and fro, blurring in your vision. Screams mingled with whistles in the air as Matsuri tugged you into the decrepit streets, buildings burned black and fed the fires fiercer.
The sounds of knives clanged as shinobi fought adjacent to the two of you. You recognized an oasis emblem atop one’s headband as they clashed with a Sand shinobi. Matsuri tugged you close to avoid flying debris. She led you past a bridge —
A giant crack. You looked up to see the bridge overhead collapsing —
“Look out!”
Matsuri pushed you out of the way, and you tumbled. Matsuri ducked and rolled out of the way as the bridge collapsed onto the street. Your ankle burned — you cried out as fire caught the hem of your pants. You poured and patted sand on it to put yourself out before turning back to Matsuri, just in time to see her coming toward you.
“C’mon.” Matsuri brought you to your feet, and the two of you kept moving.
The scenes overwhelmed you in their horror. You tried to block them out, running to keep up with Matsuri. She led you down an alley.
“Where are we going?” You sobbed.
“There’s a cavern we keep for emergencies to ensure the safety of the Kazekage.” Matsuri hastened you through the underground of the village.
The two of you were freed from the horrors of above, but the silence was both relieving and even worse than the screams ringing in your ears. Matsuri lead you down farther until a space opened up, and you saw:
Temari, holding an unconscious Gaara in her lap. Temari’s sobs mingled with yours.
“Oh, gods,” You said, coming forward.
The cavern was dark save for the cracks letting in light from above, the color of flames.
Temari looked up at you; her clothes were tattered, her ponytails ragged and messy. She glared up at you and you froze, choosing not to come any closer.
What have I done …
“Kankuro once told me …” Temari began, voice watery. “He once told me your so-called oasis can heal people.” Temari straightened. “Well, here’s your chance to prove yourself. If you really love my brother, take us there. Save him.”
The cavern gave way to secret tunnels, leading past the main gates of Sunagakure. You begged Temari to listen about how your father must have done something to you, but she said they would address it on the way.
Temari lugged Gaara over her shoulder all by herself, shirking your weak offers of help, before passing him to Matsuri. She gripped her fan strapped to her back and opened it three times bigger than it was when folded, and before you knew it, the four of you were in the air.
You flew over burning streets in the Sand, eerily resonant of one of your nightmares. Ninja the size of ants did battle as citizens were shuffled away to whatever safety was left for them.
Am I still dreaming? You wondered as a building collapsed under the weight of its fire.
“Wait — what about Kankuro?” You asked. “And Baki?”
“Baki trained us all. I have faith in him. As for …” Temari’s expression grew pained. “There’s nothing we can do; he’s going to hold down the fort until we come back.” She eyed Gaara. “I can’t lose two brothers …”
It was long before the smoke lessened and stopped burning through your nose and down your throat. It was long before the horrible silence was broken but only by Gaara’s wracked breathing. Temari turned to you, eyeing you with harsh appraisal, making you crumble.
“Come here.”
Temari examined you. She performed — what were they called? — hand signs, the speed of the motions blurring her fingers.
“Release!” she said.
You felt a tightness loosen around you, like a series of ropes had loosened around your middle. You let out a relieved breath.
“Whatever you were trying to say before,” Temari said. “Say it now.”
You nodded, your eyes flickering from her to Gaara. And … you told her everything. The poison and the plan, your father’s letters and Chuuyou’s betrayal, how you had gone back and forth in trying to tell them the truth, doing the best you could to wait it out until you understood your father’s intentions — until it was too late.
All the while, Matsuri continued administering some sort of pseudo antidote to Gaara, keeping him stable by dripping it into his mouth.
“We’re running out,” Matsuri said as Gaara rasped and twitched. “We need to find this oasis now.”
“I’m going as fast as I can,” Temari said. “Gaara’s strong; he’ll make it …”
“Let me do that,” You begged Matsuri. “Please.”
Matsuri smiled weakly and gave you the drip. You shifted Gaara’s head in your lap and searched his face. He was even paler than usual. Blots of purple etched his face. His eyes opened and closed, as though he were trying to achieve consciousness, only to be dragged under each time. Look what my father’s done to him …
“What I don’t understand,” Temari began, furrowed gaze straight ahead, “is how Gaara couldn’t have noticed …”
“I told him I was just nervous about things that have happened,” You said while administering the drip. “He told me about the anti-Kazekage groups causing him trouble and I made it seem like that was what was bothering me.”
“He trusted you, you mean?” Temari’s hands clenched into fists. “He didn’t think you would lie to him?”
You bowed your head in shame. You worried your soot-covered hands again and again. “Temari, how long was I gone? Just what in the hell happened?”
Temari glared out into the desert. The rolling sand dunes were contradictorily peaceful in comparison to the capital from which you had all come. The sun was dropping fast, leaving the heavens a deep plum. You knew there was a part of Temari still refusing to believe your story; she could not have been swindled for so long. You came beside her, yet she refused to look at you.
Just as you were about to beg her to speak, she did: “Right after they took you, Gaara said he wanted to speak with your father,” Temari released a frustrated sigh. “He wanted to try to end things as peacefully as possible. Neither of us cared about that, of course, but he insisted. So, a day later, we went to him together. With backup. Kankuro’s men and about a hundred of our own were there just in case Boutoku tried anything. Boutoku said he had no idea about any assassination plan and said he wanted to shake Gaara’s hand. Of course he didn’t. Boutoku blew a gasket. Called him a spoiled, disrespectful brat not worthy of the title of Kazekage. There was chaos after that, and when Gaara tried to calm everyone down, Boutoku struck Gaara with poison hidden under his sleeve. Things just derailed from there.”
“Gods, Father, you didn’t …” You placed your hand over Gaara’s forehead. Feverishly hot. Desert heat, you lied to yourself. “Gaara …” I’m so sorry.
“He killed Joseki and most of Suna’s council as well,” Temari added.
“What?” You said.
“I don’t know about Ikanago, though,” Temari said sardonically. “That fucking broken hip might’ve just saved her life.”
“How many days has it been?” You asked.
“Two.”
Your stomach dropped. Two days? Just two days? Your imprisonment had been an eternity — but, you realized, so much of it had been spent jostled between reality and dreams, miserable and expecting death.
“Give or take a few hours,” Temari continued. “But who’s counting?”
“Boutoku’s risen an opposition made up anti-Kazekage groups to take on the village along with villages he’d made pacts with,” Matsuri said.
You processed this: it took him longer coming to Suna than it had taken you. And those long stretches of time where he occupied the palace, where no one knew what he was doing, ostensibly taking breakfast in bed … He would have been watched though, surely? Unless Gaara wouldn’t allow it. A show of trust usurping strategy.
Oh, Gaara …
“Just how positive are you that this oasis even has powers?” Temari asked brusquely.
You wiped sweat from Gaara’s forehead. “Not totally.”
“For your sake, I hope it is.” Temari swept her hand and her fan served in a new direction. She swung back at you. “Was it all fake? All of it?”
You faced her. “None of it. I swear.” No matter what, you felt sure and true about this. “I fell in love with Gaara — with everyone. That’s why I couldn’t do it. I tried to tell him myself … I just couldn’t.”
“The jutsu placed on you kept you tongue tied,” Matsuri said soothingly. “He must’ve had it done before you came here, probably when you were asleep. You couldn’t have known.”
“I still could’ve said something,” You said. But what? You remembered trying to say your father had done something to you, but you had failed in that as well. Father had covered all of his bases should you fail him. “I was so afraid and overwhelmed with everything that had happened — I didn’t think you’d believe me if I couldn’t tell you everything.”
“Yeah?” Temari had not been thawed by your guilt. “And what about this so-called pregnancy of yours?”
You looked up. “What do you mean? You … We still don’t know?”
“We were never able to confirm it,” Temari said. “Coups have a tendency to be distracting, if you can believe that.”
The wind whistled in your ears. Gaara groaned, sinking his head deeper into your lap.
“I really do believe it, Temari,” You said. “I think I’m pregnant. And I want to fight for my family.”
Temari tensed.
“My real family.”
Temari swerved her fan again, the sand underneath picking up at the gust. She sighed. “Whatever. I don’t care how you chose to view things. Just … do your part.”
You nodded, recognizing that as good as you were going to get.
“I’m so sorry about Chuuyou,” You said to Matsuri. “He made a clone of you. This whole time, he was framing you.”
Matsuri smiled sardonically. “He must’ve disguised himself as me — a ninja trick,” she added as you tilted your head at her, confused. “To everyone else, he would’ve looked just like me.”
“Wouldn’t that incriminate you, too?” Temari said. “How was he so sure it would just be Gaara who would look bad?”
“I think he took the risk,” You said. “With him fainting at the party and all, that would just be another incident. And it would make Gaara appear incompetent as a leader.”
“And incendiate the anti-Kazekage leagues,” Matsuri said. She caressed your shoulder. “Oh, (Y/n), it’s okay.” She looked down at Gaara. “I … was sad to find out Gaara had to marry. I’ve … had feelings for him for a long time, but I was prepared to do whatever was good for him. I never would have betrayed the sand, especially not Gaara.”
You smiled at her.
“And now I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help his fiancée,” Matsuri continued. “This is your mission now.”
My mission. You covered her hand with yours. She’s right. Even if the oasis can’t heal him, I have to somehow. I can’t let it all come crashing down because of Father.
Gaara winced in his sleep before he was wracked with coughs. A blink and you were there parting his lips and administering the “antidote” to him.
“We have to hurry,” Matsuri said, determined.
“I know,” Temari hissed and whipped her hand for more speed.
The four of you flew on. It had taken you only a full day to go from the Oasis to the sand, but how quickly would you get there via Temari’s fan? Matsuri fed you another food pill so you could continue caring for the one who truly needed the attention. Gaara’s condition fluctuated: dangerously hot to alarmingly cold, and you didn’t know whether that was a good thing or not. You removed his trench coat to keep him cooler, but you had to watch the squeeze bottle deplete, warning you of the little time you had left.
“Lord Kazekage is strong,” Matsuri said. “This isn’t the first time his life has been threatened in such a way.”
And to pass the time she began to tell you about his run in one the organization called the Akatsuki, his kidnap, his technical death and Chiyo’s sacrifice. By the end of it, you felt nearly as sick as him. Oh, Gaara …
The sun sank into the horizon, leaving the sky bruise-blue. Night encroached, and the lack of sun agitated you. Matsuri supplied a light from her pocket so you could always monitor Gaara’s face.
“I see it!” Temari said.
You sprouted up. Unmistakable: the slight hint of buildings hazed by the billowing sand.
Sandcastles.
You were almost home.
A sand dune burst below you —
“Look out!” Matsuri cried.
Temari swerved in time. She aimed for another dune and landed behind it for shelter. You and Temari peaked over its uppermost curve.
Shinobi emerged from the sand, weapons at the ready and charging right for the four of you.
“Fuck!” Temari hissed.
“We’re being attacked.” Matsuri helped you in dragging Gaara from the fan.
“Hide! Both of you!” Temari said with gritted teeth, frantically hand-waving the two of you away. “I’ll take care of this!”
“What if you need help?” Matsuri asked.
“You kidding?” Temari turned back with a smirk. “I’ve been wanting an opportunity to smack the crap out of something.”
And it can’t be me, at least not anymore.
“Or kill. Whatever comes first. Just get both of them away from here!” Temari collected her fan and abandoned the safety of the dune’s hump. She stormed into the desert. You looked over the hill of it to see the shinobi closing in — Oasis shinobi, waiting for her.
“Who dares attempt to invade the Oasis village?” one of them roared.
“We have Lord Boutoku’s daughter with us, you idiots!” Temari barked. “Let us pass!”
“Lady (Y/n) is no longer welcome beyond our walls,” another shouted.
“Lady (Y/n) —?”
You gasped, spun around, clutching Gaara’s lifeless body closer to you.
Someone was poking out from another sand dune, and for a second you saw Chuuyou hiding there — with his face mask covering all but his eyes, his soft tones hiding his traitorous ambitions — only for you to realize this was someone new.
“Get behind me!” Matsuri charged in front of you to act as a shield and brandished a knife.
“Lady (Y/n)!” A man rose from the dune, sand slipping off of him. His garb was similar to Chuuyou’s, but this man was much younger. “Surely, my eyes deceive me!”
“You know this guy?” Matsuri shot a look over her shoulder at you.
“I don’t know …” You clung to Gaara. “No.”
“Listen to me, please, Lady (Y/n),” the man said. “You cannot make it that way; the village is completely forbidden to you now! I can get you through to the other side, but you must trust me!”
“But …” You looked past the dune behind you to Temari.
She engaged in combat with the other ninja, defending and dodging and dishing blows. A trio of kunai flew her way to impale her, but she jumped away in the nick of time and to allow herself space from her assailants.
“Don’t fuck with me!” Temari spread her fan open and swung —
A windstorm spilled from her fan, blowing sand away from nearby dunes. Men were blown back in the sudden cyclone, crying out, some grasping on to anything to avoid being propelled into the air.
“More will come, Lady (Y/n), once they know you are here!” the man said. “Please, there isn’t much time!”
“This could be a trick, (Y/n),” Matsuri advised.
You were caught between two worlds. But he’s not wrong; Temari can’t fight them all.
The man genuflected, knees bent, hand on his chest. “I swear on my soul and the spirit of the oasis. I am a friend.”
Gaara shook with another series of coughs at your side, reminding you of the empty drip in your pocket.
Doubt consumed you. If I’m wrong, Temari will probably struggle to be able to fight him at close range. But we can’t stay out in the open either.
“We don’t have a choice,” You murmured to Matsuri, who was still guarding you without moving an inch. You peaked over the dune. “Temari, c’mon!” You shouted over the wind.
She glanced over her shoulder at you before looking back at the ninja that’d been blown away. She jumped, phasing out, before landing right beside you. She glared at the man adjacent to you and Matsuri.
You readjusted Gaara on your shoulder. “We’re going with him.”
Temari eyed you crookedly.
“I’m sure,” You affirmed, and, realizing your place, added, “This isn’t a trick. He claims to be a friend and — and we can’t stay out here.”
Temari’s glare did not wane, but she seemed to be considering that fact as much as you were. She sighed before clipping her fan shut.
“I really hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I believed the desert to be playing tricks on me, with its many mirages … But you’re really here, aren’t you?”
The shinobi — who called himself Kota — stopped walking to marvel at you. He had led the four of you down a set of cavernous tunnels. You and Temari carried Gaara, one arm over either of your shoulders. And Temari’s superior, deceptive strength was such that Gaara’s feet barely ever touched the ground.
“Who are you?” You swung a question back at him.
Kota resumed walking while the four of you brought up the rear. “I am a part of a small resistance, working to take back the Oasis from the hands of your father,” he explained. “When he abandoned the village for the Sand, we knew it was our chance.”
“And you’re the leader of this group?” You asked, following.
“Oh no, not me.” Kota chuckled, as though that were a ridiculous notion. “We follow the Lady Hahaoya.”
You furrowed your brows. That name … Why did it seem familiar?
Kota led the four of you to a room crowded by other shinobi. Maps with red-inked scribbles littered the walls and a wide, round table was at the room’s center, spotlighted by a harsh white light shining down on it.
“Kota!” one of them welcomed with arms wide. “You’ve come back! And —“ He paused upon seeing you and an unconscious Gaara. And with a disbelieving laugh: “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me …”
“Is that the Kazekage?”
“That’s Lady (Y/n)!”
“Lady (Y/n)? Really?”
The crowd opened up so you could see who stood at its center.
It was a woman. An older woman with elegant lines denoting her age. Her hair piled on top of her head in a messy, hastily clipped bun. She turned to you.
Your eyes rounded. Shock dropped your stomach. It couldn’t be …
She smiled at you. “Hello, little one.”
You had forgotten her name, but how could you forget her voice? The same voice that had sung you to sleep so many nights …
“Hahaoya?” You gaped. “It’s — it’s you?”
“Yes.” She came toward. “It is, in fact, me.”
“You — you never told me you were a ninja!”
“What’s happening here?” Temari said, growing possessive of Gaara as Hahaoya came nearer. “Who is she?”
“She used to care for me,” You explained. “Before my father banished her.”
“This group is run by your ex-nanny?”
“I’m sure you’re all very confused, but this is not the time for discussion about my previous work. We must aid the Kazekage.” Hahaoya said, inching toward Temari. When she relaxed, Hahaoya helped Gaara to the table. She sat him down, where he groaned painfully and she swung her head. “I need help over here!”
The others came to examine him, crowding him. Some left and returned brandishing water and cold towels.
“He’s in bad shape,” Kota said overhead. “But he will not die here.”
“He’s been poisoned,” You told Hahaoya.
“By our desert plant, no doubt,” Hahaoya said with narrowed eyes. She patted Gaara with a cold, rolled towel, blotting away the clamminess accumulating over his skin. “Boutoku, you’ve become such a devil …”
“Hahaoya, I have to get him to the oasis so it can heal him,” You said imploringly. “Please, tell me there’s a way to get there.”
Hahaoya raised her head, her expression dire. “Boutoku’s locked it away from all of us. No one’s been able to access it.” She examined you. “But you are his flesh and blood; perhaps you can.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are Boutoku’s daughter,” Hahaoya said. “None of us are permitted through, but there is likely no such requirement for you. And I doubt your father instilled one.” There was a cold pause. “He likely did not think you would make it this far. But you have the blood of the first village head running through your veins. If anyone can get those gates to open, you can.”
Canyon gates rose high and wide around you. Water streamed from the gate to the ground and past your feet in narrow streams. A rarity.
Gaara was situated on a cot to keep him comfortable. The scowl previously permanent on his face was gone, and he lay peacefully there. You disliked the idea of him out here, victim to the elements, most of all the heat. But Temari and Matsuri flanked his sides, along with Hahaoya and Kota.
You stood ahead of them, at the front of the gates. You raised your head to them. They were engraved with the emblem of the village at their center. Father infiltrated your memory. In happier times, he told you about the legacy of the oasis, its importance to the family line and village. How far he had fallen.
Footsteps. You did not need to know Hahaoya now stood beside you. “This is as far as we can take you.” Even while delivering the most depressing news, there was a lull in her voice to remind you of the one that had carried you into dreams as a young girl. “I would be lying if I said I knew how it works.”
“Father wouldn’t ever share that information with anyone,” You murmured, eyes fixed on the gates embedded in the vast canyon. Except Hideo, maybe. Father’s precious son. His sun child. In another, perhaps better world, Hideo would be alive and would know full well what you didn’t. It was a strange, acidic irony that in no universe would Father ever tell you, dead son or no.
“The others aligned with Boutoku will wonder where you all went soon enough,” Kota said softly. “They may suspect us of being here — you must find a way to open these gates yourself and quickly.”
“But I don’t …” You looked over your shoulder at Gaara’s frail form. Frustration bit at you. “I — I don’t know!”
“Figure it out!” Temari hissed. “We don’t know how much time he has!”
“Feel for the truth inside of you, little one,” Hahaoya advised gently. She touched a ginger hand to your shoulder. “You can do it.”
You approached the gate. You placed your hands on the canyon walls. The jagged edges threatened to bite and scratch at your open palms as you moved your hands. And … A pull. An invisible rope wrapped around and tugging you at your gut. Physically, you jerked forward.
“I — I feel something …” You said.
“Good, little one. Very good!” Hahaoya urged.
You closed your eyes, and you ran hands over the rocky surface, searching for signs, fighting to align yourself with them.
Come on … Come on … Please —
Blood …!
You popped your eyes open with a gasp, flinching hands away.
“What is it?” Hahaoya asked.
“It — spoke to me,” You said. “It — it wants blood.” You overcame the shock and placed your hand on the rock again. You waited. Blood … The voice wasn’t unpleasant as it echoed throughout your mind. Blood … “It wants my blood,” You added.
“Proof of your lineage,” Hahaoya said. “Your bloodline. Do it, child!”
You turned, and she was there, handing you a knife.
“Use this kunai to cut yourself,” she said. “Don’t fear the pain, love. It is inconsequential when compared to the pain you may prevent.”
You took it gingerly; you had never purposely injured yourself before. You held the kunai’s tip over your palm with a trembling hand.
Your gaze flickered to Gaara, lifeless and poisoned. And needing you. What was one little cut to what he was enduring — had already endured?
You hardened yourself. Closing your eyes, you swept the kunai harshly over your palm. You winced. You opened your eyes, hoping the cut had dug deep enough, and saw red river into the numerous lines of your palm.
“Here.” You presented your hand. You bit into the edge of your tongue to fight against the horrible sting.
Silence. Nothing happened. Until the gates rumbled. A slot from the gate’s bottom slid aside, and from it crawled a scorpion.
“Oh, of course —“ Temari started.
“Hush!” Kota ordered.
It crawled toward you, poisonous tail held high in the air. It halted at your feet, armored head bobbing expectantly.
Instinct took over, and you knelt down to the creature, bestowing your hand. The scorpion bent its head to the blood pooling in your palm, inspecting, tasting —
And the world shook. You stumbled, nearly falling over your bent knees.
“An earthquake?” Matsuri said, clutching the side of Gaara’s cot.
The rope came again to tug at your center, as though secure around the nexus of your soul. You felt oddly supported, stable as the ground thrashed and rumbled around you.
You looked down — and saw through your hands. Through them. Your legs, too, were fading, your thighs next —
“(Y/n)!” Temari cried.
“What’s happening —?” Matsuri cried.
You thought of all you could do. You stood on feet growing increasingly more transparent and went to Gaara. You slotted an invisible hand past Matsuri to grasp at his hand.
Your torso faded, your chest. You felt light. You were light. Weightless and not at all of this world, with only Gaara’s hand to anchor you to it. And in a spiral of wind and clouds, both you and Gaara vanished from the group.
#gaara x reader#gaara x you#gaara x y/n#gaara smut#naruto x reader#naruto x y/n#naruto x you#naruto smut#my work
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Ninja Daily: AIC 37
The Kiri delegation arrived at the boundary outside the Fire Daimyo's palace in the middle of a downpour. Gaara stoically endured the change from sunshine to rain. Utakata tossed his hand up to use his sleeve to shield his hair, lip curling in distaste.
Aiko made deliberate eye contact with a drenched man who was vaguely familiar. He was at the head of a small group of armed men who looked like a mix of samurai and shinobi.
"Mizukage-sama," he greeted. "We are honored by your presence." He dropped into a perfectly respectful bow which inadvertently flashed the bald spot on the top of his head. It was quite shiny and showed that his head had a lump.
"Ask him why his head is misshapen," Sanbi urged.
"Fumi-san," Aiko said instead, feeling relatively certain that this was the highest samurai retainer in Fire Country. She had once escorted his family to the capital for a visit, years and a dimension back. "Thank you for coming out to escort us. Shall we?"
Utakata gave her a look. It was a positive one, probably based on his extremely incorrect assumption that she had studied important persons before coming in order to make a good impression.
The walk to the palace itself took about 15 minutes, though the tour of the gardens was somewhat abridged due to weather. Given the damp circumstances, they were led to a guest area and given some time to refresh themselves before their meeting. One of the attendants broke off to drop into a deep bow outside the room. He was still there when the door closed, despite the rest of Fire Country's representatives trailing away.
Utakata immediately went to the restroom and began examining the provided beauty supplies. Aiko gave him a fond smile and tugged a towel off the rack in order to pat at her own hair. She then used the same towel on Gaara, who bore the attention with a resigned sort of grace. While Utakata experimentally rubbed a high grade of camellia oil between his hands to warm it up, Aiko finger-combed her bangs to lay straight and checked that her clothes looked fine.
By the standards of any court, she was wildly underdressed. She considered, not for the first time, if she should put on some armor or a kimono. Either intimidation or beauty, one or the other would convey the gravitas of her station a bit better.
'I should add more of that type of thing to my wardrobe,' Aiko mused. She pursed her lips and looked away from the woman in the mirror, dissatisfied. She was pretty enough, but the reflection didn't convey power and authority by any metric. Aiko's hair was neat enough, but totally plain. She had a pale, drawn face and was clearly a little underweight. Her outfit was fine as a signature look and for an easy transition from the office to the battlefield, but it didn't do her any favors when dealing with civilian royalty.
Maybe a combination would be a good idea. Some type of visible armor combined with a pretty kimono, to show both status and her position.
But for now, she was what she was, since she wasn't willing to take 3 hours trying to put a kimono on by herself and she hadn't brought one, anyway.
She tossed her hair back and strode towards the door. "I guess we're pretty enough, let's go. I'm sure the Daimyo and his court won't be judgmental elitists or anything," Aiko said dryly.
Utakata covered his mouth with his sleeve. He didn't answer, but his eyes betrayed that he was amused as he fell in line.
The attendant was still waiting directly outside. He bowed nearly to his knees and then rushed to stay ahead of Aiko, guiding her with a strange, servile sort of hobbling mien.
It didn't take long to reach their destination. The room was large, at least 30 mats, with lines of cushions burdened with courtiers. The Daimyo himself was at the head of the room, flanked by someone she should probably recognize on his left and his wife on his right. The Daimyo's receiving area was open to the air, with a view of a pond. She looked long enough to see a turtle bob up to peer inquisitively at the gray sky before Aiko turned her attention to business.
"Hi-Kuni no Daimyo-sama," she greeted. She placed her fingers on the floor in front of her cushion and bowed low. "This one is honored by the invitation and most gracious welcome. Gray skies cannot cloud the beauty of Hi Kuni."
She could almost sense Utakata's incredulity, but she couldn't see him. He and Gaara were seated behind her, on the bare floor.
"Kiri no Mizukage-sama," he said in return. His bow was equally deep. She felt a spark of relief and satisfaction that she was apparently on equal terms, despite civilian distaste for the burakumin. "This one thanks you for your travels far from your ocean."
They went back and forth with the mandatory pleasantries, until they could sit back and let the Daimyo's Minister of Finance bring up the bounty and Orochimaru. It would have been gauche for her to seem to ask for money, and it was below the Daimyo to speak of coin. The conversation was bland and proper, and they had quickly managed to confirm that the promise still held and that Fire Country would be eternally grateful for her service.
That put Aiko's hackles up a little bit. She didn't like the implication of 'service' in this context. She was not a- okay, yes, she was a citizen of Fire Country and had sworn to serve it, but they had no idea about that. They only knew her as a foreign warlord.
She let it go, however, and let the Minister of Finance escort her out, where they could have a more candid discussion that involved numbers and bank routing.
'Money, money, money.'
She tried not to look too smug. This would more than make up for the income lost through giving up her drug running. Well. 6 months of it, anyway, and it was a good trade off effort-wise. Killing Orochimaru was a one-time affair.
...She crossed her fingers.
"Do you have reason to believe he might return?"
'No,' Aiko had to admit. 'Except that it would be really awful and inconvenient and rude, so I think it sounds like classic Orochimaru.'
Sanbi gave a doubtful little hum. "In that case, perhaps any follow-up murdering should be done by another party. Your itinerary is very full."
'It's not murder,' Aiko thought defensively.
"Why not?"
...It was murder. She felt her lips flatten into a thin line. 'The word 'murder' makes killing people sound so unpleasant. Don't be gauche.'
"-zukage-sama."
She jerked back to attention, although the Minister didn't seem to have noticed her inattention. They had arrived at an elegant little office, where a glossy table of pale wood was waiting with neat piles of paperwork and thick seating cushions. She inclined her head slightly and swept in to take her seat first, hovering for a moment to be sure she'd guessed right before gracefully folding her legs.
They went through some more pleasantries, and then Aiko gestured for Utakata to give an envelope to the Minister. The men exchanged it with careful bows and both hands in an elegant dance of social nicety. Aiko wondered if she looked half that graceful, and then decided that she probably did not.
The envelope had their routing number discreetly at the end of a flowery letter designed to distract from the routing number, even though the financial information was the only information being conveyed. It wouldn't have been very elegant to show up with a photocopy of page 1 of their bank book.
"There is one small matter of curiousity." The Minister said, as though it had just occurred to him and was not a mandated topic.
Aiko made a politely interested face and tilted her head slightly. "Yes, Nagase-san?"
"The encounter with the criminal was in Rice Country, was it not?" The man had a carefully neutral tone.
"That's true," Aiko confirmed.
"I see." He gave a little bow. "Forgive my impertinence in asking, but we were under the impression that Orochimaru-san had been using property in Fire Country."
...She tried not to stare. "I believe that he used some facilities in Fire Country," Aiko confirmed.
'Did they know he was still operating in their borders? Or did Konoha mention it?'
"This is grave news indeed," Nagase intoned. "The idea that such a dangerous person was operating within our sovereign country is of great concern to the Daimyo. Can you detail these locations?"
"Why would they ask you this?" Sanbi put an unflattering amount of stress on that question. "Shouldn't they communicate with their kage?"
'I don't appreciate that tone, but you're right.'
"I'm sorry to say that I no longer have the necessary details," Aiko lied gracefully. She allowed her tone to sound apologetic. "I found some information in Rice Country, and passed it into Konohagakure's care. I am certain that they will communicate further with the office of the Daimyo."
Whatever was going on, she was not getting in the middle of it.
"Of course," he said, and she had the distinct impression that he did not believe she had not memorized the information, which was rude and correct. "As foreigners cannot possess property in Fire Country, there would be no reason for you to be concerned with the details." He gave her a thin smile.
She had to work to not react to that provocative wording. There was no way that wasn't a thinly-veiled jab against what the Daimyo apparently believed were her home ownership ambitions in Fire Country.
Whatever. She wasn't here to make friends, she was here to collect on a bill. So she tried to smooth it over and correct that impression. "What an interesting policy," Aiko said diplomatically. "I can see the utility of ensuring that foreign nationals do not buy homes and farmland that locals need. In fact, Kirigakure does not allow non-citizens to obtain property in the capital without applying for approval."
Nagase nodded. "One of many benefits. Fire Country has many cultural and natural resources to protect. Diluting our citizenry with outside influence would harm our heritage. We have a very thorough policy to discourage economically motivated migration. Only natural-born citizens may own and sell property in Fire Country."
Her smile felt a bit strained. That sounded a lot like he thought keeping non-citizens out was inherently good. Which rubbed her the wrong way.
"That sounds bigoted," Sanbi said, intrigued. "Correct?"
'Yeah, that's fucked up. If somebody resides, pays taxes, and obeys the law, I don't see why their country of origin should matter.'
"Is that so?" Aiko asked, in mild disbelief. "The Land of Fire forbids sale and property ownership to naturalized citizens?"
If they had said it would be awkward for a foreign political leader to possess land, that would have made some sense. Nobody wanted foreign warlords making sneaky inroads. And nobody trusted her in particular, for gross anti-Kiri reasoning.
"In the interest of fairness, you have stolen a neighboring country."
Aiko nobly pretended not to hear Sanbi's gross mischaracterization of her involvement of the extremely minor details in the change of management of Wave Country.
Nagase had nodded, as if this was a totally uncontroversial policy. "Fire Country has a storied history. To protect it, property rights are restricted to those who can trace their ancestry within our borders."
Aiko narrowed her eyes, just a bit. Wow, a category that Aiko belonged to. What a tragic legal coincidence.
Gaara, who was currently residing in a foreign country in an apprenticeship, frowned. He was probably well-aware that Kirigakure did not have that restriction.
Nagase's eyes darted to Gaara, and then away. He began to sweat a little. It was a little late to read the air and realize he'd annoyed his guests.
"Oh, so it's even worse," Sanbi said in a tone of realization. "Immigrants cannot own property at all even after gaining citizenship. I wonder how many generations this policy applies to."
'I'm lowkey offended that my home country has worse property regulations than Kiri.'
Aiko blinked and nodded, forcing mild interest onto her face. "Of course," she murmured. "The preservation of local culture is an invaluable pursuit."
"Really?" Sanbi asked.
'I'm going to spite them, I'm throwing him off my scent.'
Sanbi made a relieved sound.
That lack of faith was mildly insulting. Of course she was going to fuck these people over. Sanbi was right, though, that it would be an absolute nightmare if she tried to have a second home in Fire Country. Daughter of a Hokage or not, she was still a foreign military leader of a historically hostile nation.
"I believe you shall find a way to make them regret this ill-considered policy. Inspiring regret and misfortune is your personal calling," Sanbi said.
He was definitely provoking her. She tossed her hair and focused on the rest of the discussion, which was cautiously bland and ended with a guarantee for a transfer by the end of the business day. They went back to their rooms. She went into the bathroom and washed her hands, and then went to Wave Country to meet with the pencil queen.
Shimizu-sama had prepared notes and a table, with hot tea waiting. "Mizukage-sama, thank you for your valuable time," she said. It was brisk and polite.
"Excuse my rudeness," Aiko said, stepping up onto the tatami and sitting at the waiting spot. "Was your escort agreeable?"
"There were more casualties than anticipated, particularly a very large quantity of small and hungry fish." The older woman glanced up and took a sip of her own tea. "However, there were no significant inconveniences and we made excellent time. Perhaps I have even arranged a political marriage for my daughter which would be advantageous."
Aiko waited a moment for the punchline of that strange joke. But Shimizu appeared to be serious.
...fish? Her chuunin darlings had gone from the Shimizu family home to the capital city of Wave and racked up a significant marine body count?
Aiko opened her mouth to ask. She closed it again. There wasn't time for that. "I am honored by your kind words," she went with. "As for the day's business, if we might be so gauche as to go directly to business."
"We may," Shimizu agreed. "The Daimyo is ill recently."
"That's deeply unfortunate," said Aiko, who had not personally poisoned any Daimyo to make him suspicious of his potential successors, and definitely didn't suspect anything from her civilian allies. "In such times, the guidance of one's family and trusted advisors is paramount."
"Of course," Shimizu agreed. "Wave is blessed by the wise guidance of many senior officials. In order to deal with these trying times, there has been some administrative changes to best utilize everyone's talents."
"A clever idea," Aiko said politely.
"I cannot help but think that certain courtiers who now have lessened duties but possess much experience might be significant assets. It is a shame that their considerable abilities are not being utilized."
"Oh," said Aiko, as if she had not expected this. "I am lacking in leadership. Perhaps I could request some personnel from the Daimyo. It would be an honor to host such august persons."
"What a lovely idea," Shimizu said. She had a sharp little smile, just for a moment. "I can think of some people whose expertise would be a great benefit to Kirigakure."
"Joint administration between Wave and Kirigakure could only benefit our countries," said Aiko, who was planning to give exactly zero influence to displaced nobility being shunted away from court where they might interfere with the change in administration. It was mildly insulting to be used as the desolate island political banishment site, but it was also funny and she appreciated that. The tourism slogan "Kirigakure, where dreams come to die," had a kind of ring to it.
"How should I make contact regarding this issue?"
"It would be easy for the Daimyo to make this decision, were you to request personnel." Shimizu poured another steaming cup of tea. "I suggest that you contact his representative Bara Nodoko, and request certain types of experts. It might even be an honor if you were to request them by name."
"Oh, can you provide names?" Aiko asked idly. "With my poor familiarity with the political situation, I would hate to make mistakes."
Shimizu gave a nice little nod. "By chance, I can," she said. "Through extreme good luck, I happen to have a written list of courtiers here. If I might make notes by certain names..."
"Please do," Aiko said, and drank her second cup of tea. "I'll be certain to let the Daimyo know who passed such interesting information to my students." Once she had her neat little list of people who Shimizu wanted out of the capital and away from any influence, Aiko went back to Fire Country and got ready for bed.
They got up hideously early for breakfast. Aiko recieved a tray that contained several polite notes and a copy of a completed bank transfer form. After they collected their things from their rooms, they were politely escorted back to the border of Fire Country. Aiko let her escorts touch either arm, and hiraishin'd them away.
"Aiko-sama," Utakata said slowly. He took his hand away and frowned at their surroundings. "This is not your office."
"It isn't," Aiko agreed. She watched the person sitting in reception make eye contact and turn white behind her glasses. "It's city hall in a little farming town outside of Konohagakure." She patted Gaara's hand and then pulled away.
"Why?" Utakata said flatly.
"I need to do some paperwork," Aiko said sensibly. "Why else would I be here?"
Gaara, who caught on fast, tilted his head. "Is this the town closest to the base where Orochimaru had been doing business?"
"It is," Aiko agreed. She flashed him a smile and stepped forward towards the reception desk. The woman sitting behind it adjusted her neat blue neckerchief as if it was armor. "I need to put in a property ownership claim."
"Foreign residents can't own property in Fire Country," Gaara said, as if she might have forgotten.
She shook her head. "He didn't say a thing about native-born citizens who live abroad."
"A critical error in judgment," Utakata said flatly.
"You love me," Aiko reminded him. She turned to the woman behind the desk, who was stone-still and very professional-looking. "Hello, I'm here to enquire about a property outside of town, about 8km to the west. It was previously owned by Orochimaru-san, who forfeited his ownership to me when I collected on the bounty for his capture or neutralization."
"Please take a number," the city hall employee said, on professional reflex. She appeared to immediately regret it, flushing slightly red. But she didn't back down, either.
Aiko gave her a slight frown and leaned over slightly to pull a numbered ticket. It said 3. The office appeared to be empty, but… she could take a seat, if that was appropriate? She took a step back.
The light above the desk dinged.
The worker looked at her screen. It lit up the faint hint of forming crow's lines outside her eyes. "Number 3," she called. "I can see you now at desk number 1."
Aiko could not help but glance around to confirm what she already knew.
'There is only one desk in this room.'
But the only desk in the room did have a big black 1 painted on the front, so Aiko took one step forward. "I'm here to ask about the title for a piece of land in this jurisdiction."
The woman glanced at Aiko, Utakata, and then tilted her head down to look at Gaara. Her steely demeanor faltered at whatever she saw on him. "Ano…" She swallowed, and seemed to recover her nerve. "Do you happen to have the exact address? I'll need to get the records."
Aiko rattled it off, and the woman wrote it on a note. She gave them a professional, if slightly strained smile, and invited them to have a seat while she excused herself to the archives.
The chair creaked when Aiko sat down. It was the only sound other than heel clicks fading into the distance.
"Why would you want this land?" Gaara asked.
"Spite." Utakata took a seat without a sound.
"No," Gaara dismissed. His bangs flopped in front of his face when he shook his head. "If this was merely spite, she would exercise her pettiness in a more convenient way. I suspect there will be profit. Maliciousness alone is too impractical to inspire the decision to claim the property. It would be a diplomatic nightmare for Aiko-shishou to possess a second home so close to another nation's capital."
"Crimetown," Aiko said absently.
Utakata repeated that far too loudly. She gave him a scolding look, because really, he should know to behave better in public.
"You will sell the compound quickly, then," Gaara confirmed.
Aiko winked at him. "Yes. To whom?"
A line formed between his lack of eyebrows. He stared at her. He was probably compiling everything he knew about her and who she might know with Fire Country citizenship. "You don't have a specific buyer yet," he said slowly. "Your candidates…" He looked scandalized.
"Crimetown," Aiko repeated cheerfully. This time Gaara clearly understood that she was making a proposal, not slandering Konoha.
He sighed heavily and looked at the ceiling.
"Surely you know some Fire Country citizens in good standing, of strong moral character, who would be good contacts for Kirigakure and not cause any trouble or scandal," Utakata said. He might have been pleading.
"Yes, many," Aiko agreed. "But I don't want to sell to any of them. I want to create crimetown smack in the middle of Konoha and the capital and make sure they can't do anything about it."
"One reasonable person," Utakata said. He was definitely begging. "Someone analogous to Shimizu-sama, for example."
"I know a narcotics dealer who has pet tigers," Aiko said idly. "He could use a nice big space for a big cat sanctuary."
"Someone corrupt, among the nobility," Utakata switched tacts. "We can find someone who has financial need, fading status, and exchange goodwill for farmland that will revive their prospects."
"Could be a full zoo, actually," Aiko mused. "That would provide a really good explanation about all the people who stay there, and people who come to see the animals would make it easier to visit discreetly on other business."
"Number 3, I can see you at desk 1."
Aiko stood and sauntered back to the desk. The same woman was there, with a photocopied piece of paper and a small folder.
"Here is the requested information," she said. Aiko took it when it was extended. "If this paperwork is properly filled out we can file your request."
Aiko eyed her.
The office worker, who was not interested in telling the Mizukage that she could not buy a nightmare factory nearby, met her gaze fairly steadily. "It's all included," she said. "Is there anything else?"
"Yes, I'd also like the form to register a bill of sale, and contact information for some local Notaries Public that your office recommends." Aiko played idly with the pen tied to the desk. "I'd also like information about registering townships."
Utakata sighed loudly.
The older woman didn't even blink, much less prevaricate. Those documents were obtained readily from a filing cabinet under the desk that was probably full of all sorts of blank documents.
Aiko pursed her lips once more as these were handed to her without a hint of commentary or hesitation.
This 30-something year old clerk really wasn't going to say a damn thing about a foreign military dictator in her office asking for paperwork it was legally impossible for her to fill out, as far as any reasonable person would guess. Not a word. She hadn't let on that she recognized any of them, despite their headbands and fairly distinctive appearances. Aiko had fully expected her to get her supervisor, at least.
"I respect you," Aiko said. "Keep up the good work." And then she nodded and left, taking the time to make sure her coat flared behind her.
#vapors#uzumaki aiko#electrasev5n#ninja daily#fanfiction#naruto fanfiction#clarity#AIC#Aiko in Canon
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Indeed, he was. Asmodeus could sense him even before the telltale sound, silent as it was. But even that demanded more of him than any regular old human would have ever dared to, which was yet another reason for him to dislike Hassan. Whatever fabric that man's flesh had been crafted of, it was as unassuming and elusive as the shadows he used to cover his tracks. At times the demon prince seriously doubted he even possessed a soul at all, and perhaps that was the most unsettling part. It left even an archdemon with very little to threaten.
Addhir turned in his seat, a lazy blink following Gaara's announcement, and there he was. Their guide for the night. Hassan, while his head and shoulders were covered by a black scarf, once again ruined any and all sense of modesty by showing off the intricate tattoos wrapping across his chest, arms, and all the way down his back. Sitting on the edge of the balcony, he flung a small bag of clothes over his shoulder and onto the tiled floor.
"Cute costume, but those garms haven't seen a day of work in their life. People are gonna smell your perfume before they even see ya", he sneered, before faltering under Addhir's smoldering gaze.
"Show some respect, you wretched street rat."
"Sure, sure, sure." Hassan raised his hands and went to pick up the bag again, though Asmodeus could not help but notice the small tilt in the corner of his mouth. With a theatrical bow, Hassan presented the bag to Gaara.
"My deepest apologies, your highness. But I really think you should get changed. Your dear pet, too. I'll wait by the balcony. Hope your highness isn't afraid of heights?"
~*~
The plan, that much Asmodeus quickly figured, was as risky as it was impossible for anybody prone to what Luzifer had once called the human condition. Luckily, it was aided by the fact that more than half of their little group of escapees did not succumb to it beyond surface level. Their biggest challenge consisted of getting the prince safely to the floor, back up a high wall and down again, while making it all seem as mundane a feat as possible. A long line of rope that Hassan attached to one foot of the heavy gigantic bed, a series of skilled knots and impeccable timing triumphed over the first part of their arduous journey. Asmodeus quietly thanked whomever that the prince, for all his youth and naivety, was far from a coward.
Addhir and Gaara both watched from the gardens as Hassan scaled the rope once more to remove any evidence from the bed, only to climb down the ornamented palace wall freestyle like an overgrown monkey. The next part would prove to be a lot trickier. After slinking through the shadows of a couple of cedar trees, avoiding two patrolling guards who seemed more than a little distracted by their own conversation, and carefully treading along the smooth sandstone wall encircling the gardens, the trio came to stop at the edge of an almost forgotten flower bed, as far away from the golden prison behind them as possible.
How on earth, in heaven, hell and below Hassan managed to cross the wall, which measured a good nine metres in height and provided a lot less stepping stones than the palace, would likely remain a mystery to Gaara. Asmodeus could only come up with a careful guess. Still. About ten agonizingly long minutes after Hassan had told them to wait here and disappeared within the shadows, the same rope as before came flying down the edge of the wall. Now was the time for Gaara to put his daily physical training to some practical use. Addhir followed suit, though he made sure to pant and shake appropriately once they reached the top. The view of the city, a sea of hundreds of bright sandstone houses and streets winding between them like veins on the back of a hand, was breathtaking.
"Quickly now", Hassan whispered. "I slipped the guard something to make him sleep. Don't know how long it'll stick though. Pretty boy, you're gonna go first. Our dear prince will come right after. Wait for me at the bottom and stick to the shadow."
"You'll refer to me as Baki." Addhir would be familiar with the name of the martial arts instructor. With a body like whipped stone and a demeanor to match, he and Gaara were alike mainly in their tendency towards perfectionism and a silent ambivalence for the unyielding rule beneath which they were both governed. He was easily the tutor Gaara disliked the least. "As for you - neither your face nor name are known to the general public. Addhir will suit you well enough."
Checkmate took a dozen moves. Gaara glided from the table as if the game had already been forgotten. In his room he dressed himself in plain pants and tunic; gone were the delicate gold bands around his fingers and wrists. His hair he left unoiled and unsmoothed, and it flicked in short wild tufts about his face. He stepped back from his mirror to examine the reflection of a stranger. Aside from the parts he could not strip - the unworked hands, the lean muscle, the practiced poise foreign to working men - he looked every inch the average commoner.
Yet he knew his eyes were untrained. Addhir's instruction branded themselves into his mind as law. In the palace Gaara was nothing short of the son of a god, but Addhir ruled the streets beyond.
Then he stilled. His ear twitched towards the balcony. The veneer of calm did not crack, yet the tension below it heightened, the frenzy of lightning across a sky without once striking the earth.
"He's here."
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Gaara X Innocent! Reader - "Hellfire"
Gaara's age is bumped up to 16 in this btw, and the reader is 16 as well. This takes place the night Gaara kills that one Sound Ninja on the rooftop, during the chunin exams. Also, Gaara might be considered a Yandere, but I don't know (you'll see why lol) Lastly, when I talk about Gaara burning, I mean it metaphorically. Yes, this is 100% based off The Hunchback of Notre Dame
FYI! This story isn't very romantic so if you're a fan of slightly darker stories, go ahead snd read this I suppose. Plus Y/N is kinda a coward in this
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There he sat, on top of the rooftop late at night. Tomorrow would be the full moon, when Gaara's power would increase in perfect timing for another battle in the chunin exams. Competition is getting tough and examtakers are either extra aggressive with everyone or forming alliances. Not only that, but so many people are winning each challenge that too few people are being eliminated. That's all that's important and all that will be important until the Sand Village finally finishes off Konoha with the help of the Sound Village. But how, even with these much more important factors, is the only thing Gaara could think about is some normal pediatrician girl?
The moment he met her in the streets, a flame was set in his heart. He had been walking through Konoha after register for the exams and noticed a pretty young girl running through the streets, shouting for help. All she received was weird glances and eye rolls, however Gaara and his siblings caught on. Much to his sister and brother's surprise, Gaara had no problems hearing her pleas and then defending her. Someone had been following her; someone who her family had bad history with and from the looks of it, that person planned to hurt her.
He had no problems escorting her home and listening to her talk along the way. Her voice was so soft, her colorful kimono and flowers in her hair fitting for someone with an innocent and sweet personality. She seemed to be oblivious to the mysterious looks of Gaara and his siblings, or the way Gaara was so cold and silent. She payed no mind and spoke to him as id he was normal; like he was human. And it was that fact, her ignoring his dangerous aura, that lit that flame.
After since that day, that flame grew so strong. Every set of bright shades of the colors she wore on her clothes, every flower that she decorated herself with, every word or item that she mentioned in the little time she spoke to him, and everyone with E/C eyes would make him think of her. That sweet, kind, oblivious girl. It's like she cast a spell on him to make him slowly burn alive; that little flame she set it him would quickly grow into hellfire. His burning desires to see her again, to hold her, to love, traveled through his skin and veins. It didn't take long for Gaara to convince himself she did something cruel to him to use his demon, just like his father is using his demon to destroy Konoha in a few days.
Gaara was began to assume the girl was mocking him when she spoke to him so lightly; that he was no one to be afraid of. It was so insulting, but she was able to hide her cruel and disgraceful jeers under a sweet and loving facade and cute clothing. That has to be it, he thought. No one could ever like me, no one can love me, other than me. More and more of Gaara's thoughts were consumed, then all at once, by thoughts of her. She was like a demon dragging him to hell to torture forever. That beautiful girl with those lovely E/C eyes and pretty clothing was using him, he convinced himself. And someone like that deserved death.
That sweet, young girl had a name; Y/N. She was incapable of sleeping, as a terrible feeling in her stomach was keeping her awake. She pouted her lip and huffed, poking her stomach and whispering to herself, "I want that bad feeling to go away!" That feeling was pure anxiety and a hint of fear. These emotions were very uncommon for Y/N as she had always. Even a positive thinker with lots of love in her heart for even villains to an extent. She sighed, turning over in her bed on her back for sitting up, flipping her legs over her bedside. She stood up and put on a soft kimono over her pajamas and walked to the front door of her home, put on her sandels, and walked out. "Maybe a nice walk around the village will tire me out!"
"It's almost the full moon," Gaara said aloud. "My power will only grow stronger." He stood up, staring intensly at the moon as if it's the only thing keeping him from being devored by his hellish thoughts. His thoughts of how lovely it would be to destroy that girl who made his chest feel warm and his face heat up when she talked to him. That girl who made him feel the way he feels about himself, only a bit different. He had never felt romantic love to anyone, and for him to suddenly feel so strongly about someone instantly convinced him that she did something to him. Someone who would ever control him like would burn in hell before the hellfire consumes him first.
A rough, quiet and threatening voice erupted from behind the redhead. He paid no mind to anything that came out of the mouth of the Sound Village ninja rather just acknowledged that he wanted a fight. Without even realizing it, all that bloodlust built up through thinking of Y/N was released, ending in that Sound Village ninjas blood being spilled all over the roof top. It felt like a weight was taken off his back when he killed the ninja, but in the back of his head he knew it wasn't enough. Gaara didn't want that petty ninja, only that witch known as Y/N. Every passing second, that hellfire coursing through his veins were blazing out of control, weren't they?
"Maybe a nice walk around the village will tire me out!" Gaara's ears perked at that voice. That voice. Y/N's voice. Just like that, Gaara's need for blood grew strong again but this time, it felt different. He killed the Sound Village Ninja with aggression, but knowing he could kill Y/N now that he heard her close by made him feel an exciting kind of bloodlust. Those flames coursing through his body grew hotter every second, growing ever more desperate to get his hands on her.
"It's been a while since I've seen the garden at night come to think about. The moon is bright tonight so it's bound to be pretty sight!" That sweet, soft voice called out from the ground, below Gaara's feet. She walked the pathway it takes to find a nearby lake, where a nice little garden lays. A smile rose on Gaara's face; one of pure hate and excitement. His chest pained to greatly at the thought of her death, but that hellfire coursing through his body was telling him to hurt her. The front of his mind was screaming for him to kill her and use her blood as a piece of his deadly sand, but the back of his kind was whispering for him to comprehend how he feels about her first.
So he began to follow her. Gaara quietly walked from the rooftops, not daring to make a single sound. He continued to smile as he followed her, his smile growing the more he heard her talk to herself. Such a sweet girl with such a pure heart. It's a shame someone with Gaara's problems sees her as a witch because he loves her. As another 10 minutes go by, Y/N began walking into the woods and towards the lake. Gaara jumped to the ground without making a sound and followed her discreetly by hiding behind trees. He stopped when Y/N did. Y/N's eyes widened and sparkled at the amazing sight before her; the moon reflecting on the lake as beautiful flowers and trees accompanied toads on lilipads in the water. Pure bliss.
"Wow...It's incredible!" She laughed in awe. "My arms feel so weak at the sight," she spoke again as her smile widened. "I wish mom was here to see this!" Gaara hummed, looking over the scenery as well. It wasn't very interesting, but it was something he supposed. After all, Y/N loved it. Gaara looked around and saw no one nearby, meaning now would be a great time to react. He silently tip toed over to Y/N, using trees to cover himself. However, Y/N spotted him when she looked around the area in case there was anyone nearby (after all, she was being loud and who knows who lived in the area).
"Hmm? Hi, you there!" She said, waving her hand towards that silhouette behind that tree. Gaara'a face turned into one of the confusion, his "eyebrows" furrowing. Why isn't she scared of someone creeping up behind her in the woods? "Sorry if I'm bothering you! I just wanted to see what's it's like here at night. I can leave if you want," she said, swaying her body back and forth.
"...No, it's quite alright," Gaara replied as he stepped from behind the trees. He walked up the her, and instantly Y/N recognized him. She gasped, surprised.
"I remember you! You're the one that saved me! Thank you so much!" She giggled, clasping her hands together and bowing deeply. "My deepest thanks." Gaara paused, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit.
"My heart is pounding," he mumbled allowed, pressing his hand against his chest. "What have you done to me?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. Y/N stood up straight, giving him a questioning hum in return. Her face looked so innocent and sweet; it's all apart of that facade, isn't it? Gaara growled, roughly grabbing Y/N's shoulders and pulling her close. She jumped, gasping a little at the sudden action. "I said, what did you do to me? Where did this hellfire come from, you witch!" His voice went from his normal calm tone to a scream instantly.
Y/N's eyes widened and her body started to shiver a little. She furrowed her eyebrows together, stuttering out a reply. "I-I don't understand..." That answer wasn't good enough for Gaara as he had no problem throwing her to the ground and looming over her with a look of anger across his facial features. His fist was clenched so tight that his veins were showing. "I don't know what you're talking about!" Y/N yelled out fearfully, covering her face. Tears began to swell in her eyes and her voice became shakey.
Sand began to pour out from behind him and his heart ate picked up again. That flame in his heart was so strong and terrifying to Gaara that he was okay with killing the girl he fell in love with right then and now. His body was so scared that it wanted to kill her, but his heart was too scared to rid such a wonderful girl from the world forever. "Tell me, witch. What did... you do?" He asked again, staring at her so intensely that she could feel his eyes burning into her skin. She sniffed, now too scared to reply upon seeing that sand loom over her.
After a few moments, he screamed, "tell me!" Y/N chocked up on tears, taking a deep breath before replying.
"I don't know any magic or special jutsus, sir! I didn't do anything to you!" She cried out, slowly sitting up. "I'm sorry!" Gaara hissed, silent for a couple minutes. In that time, Gaara remained still as Y/N slowly began to stand up. In her mind, she was recalling words her mom once spoke to her about dangerous people. People are born innocent and harmless and only bad environments or situations can taint their purity. With that in mind, Y/N assumed that Gaara had problems that she couldn't understand. And with a heart as pure as her's, she had already forgave Gaara for scaring her and already felt sympathy for him. She slowly walked closer to him, the hairs on her neck standing up with anxiety, and put an arm on his shoulder.
That touch made him snatch back to reality. He slowly put his hand on top of her's; he was so confused and overwhelmed with opposing emotion and thought. "Then why? Why do you make me feel this way?" He asked in a low rough voice. Y/N began to wrap her arms around him and then hug him softly, shutting her eyes tightly. She managed to push her worried back as she found giving this sad, sad man affection was more important. Gaara felt his chest grow warm again and suddenly, she chuckled.
"I think your hellfire consumed me. I can't even find it in myself to kill you anymore, witch. I think I'm in love with you," he said, blinking away tears. He was so scared and his body pained to kill her, but he just couldn't. He was so overwhelmed with the pleasant feeling of Y/N arms being around him to ever lay a finger on her in anger. Instead he just hugged her back tightly, stuffing his face into the crook of her neck and sniffing. He was obviously holding back tears, which didn't work very well. Afterall, for the first time in forever, he felt like he could show a little bit of a soft side.
"You're gonna control me, aren't you? Use my feelings against me and bend me to your will? You're so cruel, even with the face of an angel." Y/N hummed, not understanding his comments. She just sighed, hugging him tighter and opening her eyes.
"Hey, Gaara, isn't it? Why don't we spend time out here tomorrow? I'd like to get to know you better."
Gaara grunted in response, closing his eyes and wiping his tears with on arm, keeping his other arm tightly around her smaller form. Yeah, whatever hellfire he feels has completely consumed him before he could stop it.
Lol sorry this written to bad!
#gaara x reader#gaara x you#gaara x y/n#gaara x innocent reader#yandere gaara#yandere gaara x reader#naruto x reader#innocent reader#reader insert#naruto shippuden#naruto shitposting#gaara is so sweet#i have a test today#anime#shounen
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Greetings! It I. Whomever the f*ck that is!
I don't know if anyone's every told you, but your writing is absolute Grade A Quality. And I, as in me, happen to nurse quite the interest for said A Grade writing. Shocking, is it not? Foolish! Of course it is not! Surprising. That is. It IS the best writing afterall! I- Hm... ఠ_ఠ
Okay, I'll stop horsing around, sorry,,,
I have come to make a request if that is alright with you and you do not have too many already!
I recently discovered the song "Heart Attack" by Deni Lovato and would really love a little story with boisterous and playful reader that's had the second longest-standing crush(after Hinata's, cuse, MAN, that girl be the inventor of pinning no jutsu) known to everyone, but Lee, where the crew could be out throwing one of those rare party where a majority of them can be present, eventually ending in a karaoke where the fuzzy warmth of what little alcohol the reader drank gives them the little bit of missing courage(or sensibility) to, just, climb on a table and spill all their feelings, love and frustration into this one song before loudly announcing that This One's For Lee, like a challenge.
If you would have the space/kindness to add the aftermath where the reader immediately sobers up after comfessing and just, absconds through a window, I would be the most grateful gal alive,,, >v<
I'll venmo you a goat.
Okay this was seriously WAY too fun to right Naruto is my one true love but Rock Lee was my first Naruto crush<3
HEART ATTACK
Pairing: Rock Lee x Reader
CW: good old fluff
Length: 3.6+
Summary: Rock Lee has been your not so secret crush for as long as you can remember. You’re determined to take it to your grave, but what happens when you’re drunk at a karaoke bar doesn’t stay at the karaoke bar...
The music was loud, the room was dark, and everyone was there. How long had it last been since everyone was able to get together?
The life of a shinobi was a busy, dangerous one. There was little time for laugh and play, especially as you all got older. It was easier when you’d just graduated from the academy. All of the missions given to new genin were level D to C, little things like gardening or finding lost pets that didn’t take much time or require you to even leave the village. It was easy for everyone to find time to get together and hang out.
But as time passed, things changed. Everyone’s ranks were different, some people like Shikamaru took up more political roles in the village. It was easy to drift apart without even realizing it.
So tonight was one of those rare moments where the stars aligned and the old group was able to get together to hang out.
The venue of choice; a karaoke bar.
It was the first time you were all able to drink together… Well, legally at least.
“Thanks, Kiba.” You giggled, giving him a flirtatious wink as you took the drink he’d just bought you, sipping it. Did you like Kiba? No. But was he fun to flirt with? Absolutely. And if that flirting led to him wanting to buy your drinks for you, well, who were you to deny him?
Kiba was cute; that wasn’t the problem. Heck, most of the guys from the Leaf were cute and way too easy to get along with. You’d known them practically your whole life, grown up together even, but despite all their great qualities, it was only one shinobi who had your heart, and he didn’t even know it.
The first time you’d seen Lee was before the first test in the Chunin exams. He had easily taken on Naruto and Sasuke without batting an eye. He was so swift, so smooth, you’d watched him in awe. He was a bit eccentric, but had a focus and prowess you’d never experienced before. You thought he was amazing.
You were content to watch him from afar until the preliminaries. During his fight with Gaara, you’d held your breath, watched in horror and amazement as he took on the demon of the sand. You didn’t think you breathed once during that battle.
Lee lost, was almost killed by Gaara before Guy stopped him, but it was the best you’d ever seen someone fight in your life.
Timidly and nervously, you visited Lee in the hospital that day. He was unconscious, but in stable condition. You didn’t know what motivated you, but you began to visit every day, leaving flowers and small treats for Lee to wake up to.
When he finally had woken, you were trying to slink out of the room quietly when you heard him speaking, causing you to freeze in your tracks.
“Who are you?”
Apprehensively, you turned to face Lee with a small smile. You’d never been shy, but there was something about Lee that made you weak-kneed.
After introducing yourself, you went back to his bedside. “I just wanted to tell you that I think you’re very strong. You’re so skilled and quick; I think you’re the best ninja I’ve ever seen…”
You were only thirteen, didn’t have much experience in the ninja world, so the words you spoke were true. You didn’t know if telling him that, as a total stranger, would make him think you were weird.
Imagine your shock when Lee burst out in happy tears.
It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
You supported Lee in his recovery, and even when he couldn’t go on missions himself, he cheered you on from the sideline.
From the very beginning, it was evident to everyone in the village that you were head-over-heels for Lee. Your quiet bashfulness when Lee was around was a stark contrast to your usual loud and confident self. Everyone knew about your crush.
Everyone except for Lee.
“Why don’t you just tell him?” Tenten asked you once. “You never know.”
But you’d only shaken your head. “He loves Sakura. Everyone knows that.” You told her. “Besides. We’re friends. I don’t want to ruin that friendship.”
So despite your friendliness, your flirtatious nature, and the fact that you could have just about any of the rookie nine wrapped around your finger if you so pleased, you weren’t interested in any of them.
Rock Lee was the only one that had your heart and he didn’t even know it. He never would.
Instead of focusing on that, or the cute way Lee’s cheeks went red after he took a shot, or how Lee spent a lot of time that night talking to Sakura, you took shots with Ino and Tenten and let Kiba buy you drinks and danced with Choji when he asked.
Overall, the night was going great. Everyone was having a good time and getting along and so far only Naruto had gotten just a little too drunk; everyone else was riding a nice buzz.
Shikamaru had just finished a less than enthusiastic rendition of “The Lazy Song” that had left everyone doubled over laughing at the irony. “Who should go next!?” Naruto yelled, looking around to see who still hadn’t sung a song.
And okay, maybe Naruto wasn’t the only one who had drank just a little too much. Watching Lee sit and laugh with Sakura the past hour had left you feeling just a tad bit jealous, leading you to drink more than you normally would. He’d barely said anything to you that, and the two of you were supposed to be friends.
“What’s so good about Sakura anyways? She’s really not that great.” You swished the liquid in your cup, mumbling the words you knew you would regret the next morning. Sakura had never been anything but nice to you; you knew she didn’t deserve to be the target of your jealousy.
Ino snickered. “Geez you’ve got it bad.” She commented with a roll of her eyes before hearing Naruto’s question. Her eyes lit up, and, grinning, she hurried to the microphone, looking through the book of songs available to sing. She flipped through for a moment or two before turning to Naruto and whispering something to him.
All of this escaped your attention as you were drowning in the misery of your own thoughts before you realized: everyone was chanting your name. You blinked, looking around to see everyone staring at you, pounding on tables and counters as they encouraged you to get up and sing.
Laughing, you shook your head nervously, not wanting to go embarrass yourself before Lee caught your eye. Even he was encouraging you to go up and perform. Well, if he wanted you to, then you would sing your heart out!
You downed two more shots before pushing to your feet, which was an obvious mistake.
The alcohol always hit hardest after you stood up.
“Woah, there.” Tenten laughed, standing to help you. Somehow, you made it to the stage. Naruto snickered as he passed you the microphone. He couldn’t wait to see this.
You held the microphone tightly in your hands as your eyes scanned the room with all your friends staring expectantly at you and cheering you on. You felt good. Really good. Your vision was blurry, head dizzy, stomach warm, and everything about you was giddy. It was your turn, and you were ready to make a statement.
Glancing at the screen, you saw the name of the song appear. Heart Attack by Demi Lovato.
“I’m gonna dedicate this song to someone very special to me,” You slurred into the microphone, giggling. Your friends in the crowd whooped and cheered as the music began.
“This one’s for you Lee!”
With that, you closed your eyes to block out the reactions of everyone and everything, and you sang. You sang your little heart out, put on the drunken performance of a lifetime. Your years of pent up feelings and nerves and fears surrounding Lee all went into that song.
As you sang the last word, you opened your eyes again, taking in everyone’s reaction. Glee, surprise, happiness. You were grinning; you’d killed it.
That was when your eyes landed on Lee. It was hard for you to gage his reaction. More than anything he looked… confused. And that was when the weight of what you’d just done settled on you. Oh shit.
You’d all but confessed your feelings for Lee… Drunkenly… In front of everyone.
The realization was all it took for you to sober up. Quickly, you shoved the microphone back into Naruto’s hands and fled the karaoke bar.
You weren’t really sure how you’d even made it home. Everything was kind of blurry. You remember running from the karaoke bar, a girl’s voice, probably Tenten’s, calling after you. You remember vomiting. A lot. That’s actually what you were doing now. You’d woken up with your head basically in the toilet.
You could have gone for some blissful moments where you didn’t remember what had caused you to sprint home from the bar, but alas, you couldn’t forget.
You’d confessed your years long crush through song.
How were you ever going to face Lee again?
You wouldn’t, you decided. You would spend the rest of your life in that house. You could have your groceries delivered, you weren’t going to need new clothes if you never went outside. You would just lay in your bed until you withered away into nothingness.
~
“You can’t stay in here forever,” Tenten rolled her eyes, tugging the blanket that you were hiding under off the bed.
“Watch me,” you whined in reply, holding a pillow over your head. “I totally embarrassed myself! He probably thinks I’m so lame!”
Tenten could only snicker at that. “Lee? Thinking you’re lame? Right.”
It took a bit of convincing, and you were basically kicking and screaming, but Tenten was able to drag you out of your home back into the real world. “No one’s going to care,” She assured you as the two of you walked. “We were all plastered. I’m sure no one will even remember!”
If only that were true.
“Hey!” Kiba called as he and Naruto approached you and Tenten. “Have you guys seen Lady Tsunade around here? I have this pain in my chest…”
Naruto grabbed Kiba’s arm in mock fear. “Oh no! Kiba, are you having a heart attack!?”
The two of them doubled over in hysterics; tears were even streaming down their faces. You could feel your face burning red in embarrassment. You’d never wanted to disappear so badly.
“Beat it you two!” Tenten snapped, grabbing your arm and pulling you away. “Ignore them! They’re idiots!”
Head buried in your hands, you shook your head. “God! How am I ever going to live this down! I’m going home!” You pulled out of Tenten’s grip. “I’m going to move villages, change my name, and make sure Lee never sees my face again!”
“Uh, well, if that’s the case you better run…” Tenten said awkwardly, nudging you. “Because Lee’s coming this way…”
And there he was. In his green jumpsuit, bowlcut and all, Lee was heading straight for you. God you were sure you were going to vomit again.
“Good morning Tenten,” Lee greeted, though nowhere near in his usual upbeat tone. “Would you mind giving us a moment alone?” He asked. Tenten glanced over at you nervously.
“Yeah… Sure Lee…”
~
“I do not understand it, Sakura.” Lee sighed, toying with the drink in his hands as his eyes were locked on you drinking and laughing with Tenten and Ino. “I have never had any issue telling you that I think you are beautiful. But with her… It is different.”
Sakura giggled, feeling the drink in her own veins. “Because, Lee. You like her like her. You should just tell her!” Even drunk, Sakura would never betray your trust by telling Lee the obvious; that you liked him as much as he liked you. But it was infuriating to sit on both sides listening to the two of you cry over your feelings day after day and not tell you!
Lee shook his head, taking a gulp from his drink. “I cannot. I am not like Guy Sensei, as much as I try to be. I am not cool or good looking. I do not think I am smooth. I do not know how to talk to a girl I like.”
It took everything in Sakura not to burst out laughing. Guy Sensei? Cool? Good looking? Smooth?
“This is ridiculous. How much longer do I have to hear about how great you think she is before you finally tell her?!”
Rock Lee could barely hear Sakura; he was zoned in on you. Everything about you entranced Lee from the very first time he saw you trying to sneak out of his hospital room. You were beautiful, of course. Your hair always seemed to fall just right. Your smile brightened up a room. The kindness in your heart radiated from you. He loved how confident and outgoing you were and that you had an energy that could match his.
It wasn’t like Lee hadn’t tried to tell you before. There were plenty of times when it was just the two of you that he was tempted, but he could never get it out. There just weren’t many people that he connected so easily with. Guy Sensei was his idol; he wanted to be just like his sensei! But that wasn’t the same as having a friend. Even with his teammates, there was a level of professionalism to it all--maybe thanks to Neji--that kept him from feeling like he could truly be understood.
But with you, everything was so easy. Laughing came easily, talking and opening up about the things he struggled with… There was a naturalness to it he’d never experienced before. He was terrified to lose it.
So that night at the karaoke bar, he sat with Sakura whining about the same thing he had been for months now instead of doing something about it. That wasn’t like Lee at all, but that was what you did to him. You made him so nervous he couldn’t even be him.
He was sure you knew his eyes were locked on you all night, ogling like a total weirdo. He’d barely even talked to you. He had hoped that the alcohol would loosen him up and spur him into action, but he’d just shut down even more, causing him to wallow in his own self pity.
Why couldn’t he be more like Kiba? He was over there, so smooth and cool, grinning and chatting you up and buying you drinks. Lee wanted to be that guy to you!
“Oh, look! She’s gonna sing next!” Sakura nudged Lee, nodding at the stage where you were grasping the microphone. You were clearly inebriated, and the redness in your cheeks just made you look all the cuter to him.
“I’m gonna dedicate this song to someone very special to me!” Lee’s heart dropped into his stomach. He couldn’t even hope that he would be the one that you would devote a song to. So when it was his name that had left your mouth, he sat in there in a state of shock. It wasn’t even dawning on him. Sakura shook his shoulder excitedly as you belt out the lyrics to Heart Attack.
“Lee, she’s singing to you!”
It just couldn’t process. Was it the alcohol? Was it the absolute surprise at what was happening? Whatever it was, by the time you had finished, Lee had continued to stare at you, open mouthed. It was only when you’d sprinted out of the bar that Lee had come to his senses.
He’d done his best to follow you, but he was drunker than he thought and had stumbled around just a little too long. By the time he’d gotten himself straightened out, you were long gone.
He’d stayed up all night long thinking about it, thinking about you.
The whole night, he turned it over and over again in his mind; what else could that have meant other than you liked him back? It was too good to be true! But it was true? Lee drove himself mad.
The goal with his walk wasn’t necessarily to find you. Moreso, he had just wanted to clear his head, maybe get advice from Guy Sensei. But he’d ran into you and Tenten before he could do any of that.
As Tenten gave the two of you space, he stared at you bashfully. The longer the silence went on, the redder his cheeks became. Just as he was getting up the courage to say something, you broke the ice.
“Lee, look. About last night… I’m sorry. That was so embarrassing! I was just so drunk and… I wasn't thinking straight.” You were rambling on nervously, scratching the back of your head and avoiding his gaze, acting like you wanted to laugh the whole thing off.
Lee nodded slowly, letting your words sink in. So… He had misread the whole thing, then? The thought hit him like a blow to the stomach, taking the breath straight out of him. That sucked. “Right, of course!” He said quickly. “It is okay, really. I had drunk a lot as well!”
How did he get out of here? Lee was tempted to drop the weights from his ankles and take off running as fast as he could.
The discomfort was plain on his face, though. You knew Lee well; you could tell something was wrong.
You had to drop your playful facade. You felt like you’d really screwed things up. “Are… Are you mad at me?” You finally asked him quietly.
The question startled Lee. He frowned, tilting his head. “Why would I be upset with you? You are my friend.” You could only shrug helplessly. You were sad and embarrassed and confused, and now Lee was upset. Of course you thought it was your fault. You didn’t know that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
The silence was heavy, making you sigh and shake your head. “Well, uh, I should go meet up with Tenten again…” You mumbled, staring at the floor. After this, she definitely couldn’t drag you out of your bedroom again.
You lifted your hand, waving goodbye before turning away. You didn’t get more than a step away before Lee was grabbing your arm, his body reacting quicker than his mind. “Wait. Please.”
Of course you stopped, turning back to face him. You were too fearful to be hopeful, unwilling to get excited for something that wouldn’t happen, but you held your breath anyways as you stared up at him.
“I was not completely honest. I am upset, it is just not with you…” When you didn’t respond, only continued to stare at him with those earnest eyes, he had no choice but continue. He dropped your arm, his hand going to nervously rub at the back of his neck instead. He didn’t know how to do this, but he had the feeling it was now or never.
“The truth is, yesterday when you sang that song, and you said you were dedicating it to me, I believed it was because you had feelings for me. So just now, when you said you were not thinking straight, it made me upset because I have feelings for you. I was hoping that you would tell me that you felt the same…”
You didn’t think you’d ever seen Lee so red before. It was like a cartoon, the way it creeped up from his chin all the way to his forehead, shooting up like a thermometer. You could only imagine that you looked the same. Your face felt like it was on fire.
It took a moment for it all to sink in. There was a pause before it dawned on you; Lee just confessed that he had feelings for you! He liked you! The giddiness sent trembles through you as you broke out into a huge grin that you couldn’t stop.
“Lee, you idiot!” You laughed, smacking his arm. “I do like you! That’s the whole reason I humiliated myself in front of everyone yesterday!”
You know that look that Lee gets when he’s happy? His pupils dilate, glistening like googly eyes. The blush dusts the tops of his cheeks, he even gets a bit teary eyed.
All classic Lee and exactly what you got after your confession.
“I cannot believe it!” He cried, pulling you into a hug and twirling you around without hesitation. Now that he had confirmation about how you felt, any inhibitions he had been harboring were gone just like that. He wasn’t going to waste another moment not showing you exactly how he felt. “I have wanted to tell you for so long! I just did not think you felt the same way! This is fantastic!”
Lee’s enthusiasm was as contagious as ever. It didn’t take long before you were hugging Lee back and laughing along with him. When he finally calmed down, Lee released you, taking your hands in his instead and grinning at you.
“So does this mean you will go on a date with me?”
“Is that you asking me?” You giggled. Lee nodded enthusiastically. “Then yes; of course I will.”
Lee pulled you into another hug. “Would you like to know something?” He questioned, giggling childishly, so of course you nodded. “I almost had a heart attack asking you that question!”
The groan was immediate as you pulled away, smacking your forehead. “Lee!” You whined, cringing in embarrassment. “I am also having a heart attack trying to work up the nerve to do this…” For a guy that was so fast, he moved agonizingly slow as he leaned down to press his lips to yours. A heart attack, huh? Yeah, you were never going to live that down. But if this was the price to pay, well then, you didn’t mind all that much.
#naruto#naruto x reader#naruto x oc#naruto hc#naruto headcanon#naruto headcanons#naruto imagine#naruto imagines#naruto ff#naruto fanfiction#rock lee x reader#rock lee x oc#rock lee hc#rock lee headcanon#rock lee headcaons#rock lee imagine#rock lee imagines#rock lee oneshot#rock lee one shot#rock lee ff#rock lee fanfiction#naruto oneshot#naruto one shot
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Congratulations on the 1K followers🥳absolutely well deserved,may you do a Gaara personalized story
I am a girl who enjoys reading,sleeping ,eating and playing piano. My zodiac is libra 😏, for my love language it doesn’t have to be anything extravagant but the small kisses,cuddling,hugging and and holding are just really adorable to me. Personality wise I am rather on the shy and quite side but when with specific individuals I am out of my shell. I am also a logical person but has a very giving and sweet natured persona.
Thank you ❤️
My Personal Love Story: Gaara
Your song: I Don't Want To Miss a Thing- Aerosmith
Headcanons:
Gaara fell in love with you so quickly. You showed up in his life and completely changed him. You were both young, but you showed Gaara some love and friendship and you were the first real friend to Gaara outside of Naruto.
When he became Kazekage, that’s when you noticed how much you truly admired him. He kept his feelings secret for a long time before you both came to the conclusion you liked each other.
You and Gaara dated during your teen years. You grew to support and love one another, and even after the war, you and Gaara stayed close and loved each other so much.
Lots of quiet, inside the home dates. Gaara loves making you food while you both watch a movie or maybe you’ll take turns giving each other massages. Gaara gets pent up with stress from being Kazekage a lot.
Gaara buys you cute little gifts when he’s away on a diplomatic mission. Anytime he finds something in another village that reminds him of you, he needs to get it for you. He just loves the look on your face when you receive those gifts.
He’ll never forget your birthday or the day of your anniversary, but since he’s put in such a powerful position and can’t always be home with you, he makes sure that you know you are always loved and cherished. Gaara does his best not to miss either one of those days.
He loves cuddling you at night. Sometimes, he still gets very violent and traumatizing nightmares, and when he wakes up in a cold sweat, all he does is turn over and he sees you sleeping. He holds you close in his arms and he can get back to sleep pretty easily.
Gaara is a super good listener. If you needed to vent or anything like that, he would patiently listen to your side of the story and try to come from a non-judgmental point of view to give you some advice if you so choose.
Spend time with him gardening, reading a book, cooking in the kitchen or even just relaxing out in the sun. Gaara doesn’t need fancy things in his life to feel happy or loved. He very much enjoys time with you the most and he doesn’t care if it’s just sitting and reading a book together.
He will love you unconditionally. He sees no flaws in you, but only because he knows that you are so good despite any flaws you may have. Gaara admires you so much and he just wants to be with you forever.
LETTER:
To my dearest,
I’m sorry I’ve been gone for so long. I can’t wait to return to you and give you a big squeeze. Every day that I spend in this village, all I can think about is how good it is to be with you and how your smile makes my heart skip a beat all the time. I’m so crazy about you. I couldn’t even fathom what life would be like if I had never met you.
When I return to you, I promise to take you to that restaurant you’ve been wanting to go to for some time now. I know how much you love to try new things, and that is something I admire so much about you. We don’t need to go when there’s many people around, because I also know you can be a little timid about these things. I can picture it now...you and I, seated in a candlelit booth with the light shining in your eyes. The food is piping hot and we are just enjoying one another.
Sorry, I tend to have an active imagination whenever I’m not with you. I need my thoughts to preoccupy myself until I return to you. I wonder if there’s something that could make me feel like the time is running a little quicker. I dream of you while I’m away from you, and I can’t decide if it makes it worse or not. I just want to stay with you always, but I hope you don’t hold it against me that I have to leave sometimes.
Well, I better end this letter now. I can’t wait to kiss you, darling. You always fit so perfectly in my arms.
Lots of love, Gaara
#1k followers event#actuallysaiyan's 1k followers event#gaara x you#gaara x reader#gaara x y/n#gaara headcanons#naruto#naruto fanfiction#naruto x you#naruto headcanons
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Beast Tamers
Ch.1 | Ch.2 | Ch.3 | Ch.4(1) | Ch.4(2) | Ch.5(1) | Ch.5(2) | Ch.5(3) | Ch.5(4) | Ch.6(1) | Ch.6(2) | Ch.6(3) | Ch.7(1) | Ch.7(2) | Ch.7(3) | Ch.7(4) | Ch.7(5) | Ch.8(1) | Ch.8(2) | Ch.8(3) | Ch.9(1) | Ch.9(2) | Ch.9(3) | Ch.9(4) | Ch.10(1) | Ch.10(2) | Ch.10(3) | Ch.10(4) | Ch.10(5) | Ch.10(6) | Ch.10(7) | Ch.11(1) | Ch.11(2) | Ch.11(3) | Ch.12(1) | | Ch.12(2) | Ch.12(3) | Ch.12(4) | Ch.13(1) |
Ch.13: Looking into the dark (2)
Gaara finds Hinata alone in a room deep into the compound. Sitting on one of the hallways, looking out to the gardens. Her belly now big enough to be uncomfortable to move around.
He stands right outside the room, preparing himself to face Naruto’s wife.
She turns around the second after, not surprised to see him there, and gives him a small smile he returns.
“Did the meeting e-end?”
“No, but I wasn’t needed there anymore, so I thought of paying a visit.”
Hinata snickers to herself. The moment he arrived yesterday he came to greet her and now he uses his free time to come keep her company. She finds it endearing. But it also makes her feel uneasy, the more people fret over her, the more she realizes the danger they are facing.
Again.
Gaara can’t really hide the worry in his eyes. And Hinata is drawn to it. Everyone else has put on a mask in order to protect her.
“I’m sorry you h-had to come here.”
“Don’t be, I wanted to come.”
“B-but, your brother and siste-”
Gaara’s eyes twinkle, “We talked about things. We-” The gardens look beautiful, colorful and taken care of and it’s easy to forget the destruction outside this enclosed area. “I will keep Naruto safe.” He can feel Hinata tensing beside him. “If anything. I want you to know that I will keep Naruto safe, even if I-”
“Don’t.”
The thoughts inside her head swirl and the images she has fought so hard to keep at bay threaten to come forward. “Don’t say th-things like that, please.”
She looks at Gaara, but he’s calm and his eyes are focused on the flowers near them. There is a nice breeze flowing around and Hinata can’t help but look at the necklace adorning Gaara’s neck.
“So you went a-ahead and touched it?”
“Well,” Gaara’s hand goes to his neck without him noticing, his fingers touching the stones without really thinking about it, “I was asked if I could do it, so.”
Hinata stares. He talks so nonchalant it rubs off on her too. He’s right, there are certain things that must be done, so they shall be done.
“I’m glad…” she starts. Takes a second to make sure, and she can only find herself reassured by Gaara’s presence. “I’m glad you’re h-here.”
Gaara remembers the meeting from before. The plans upon plans and the backups to the backups. “I’m glad to be able to be of help, too”
Soft smiles that hide tight smiles and then they talk about mundane things that won’t matter in the future.
And though for a short period of time, they let themselves forget whatever is outside this perfect little piece of garden around them.
•·································•·································•
Ino is the one to stand and check on the door. Itachi can barely hear whispers from his position, but he dares not move. Kiba is near him, all straight back and calm attitude, he has been nicer than the usual guards, but his smile is always controlled, his tone never reaching the high-pitch notes Itachi has heard him use with other people. Whith people he trusts.
They are nice. Nicer than he expected. It makes all of this more complicated.
“Look sharp, Lord Naruto is here,” Kiba shares.
Itachi looks up, sees Lord Naruto come into the room. Ino talks with Lord Naruto’s counselor, Shikamaru, before calling Kiba and whispering to him before he nods and leaves.
Ino stays. Ino always stays.
Itachi remains quiet. The lord takes his time coming in, he looks around as he sits, carefully moving his kimono out of the way.
“So.” Naruto’s voice seems to fill the room, his confidence seems to have grown since they first met. “As you know, we are trying to find ways to find Madara, right, and we were discussing the issue today and one of my people thought of taking out your brother and let him guide us there-”
Itachi frowns. Feels his own voice getting stuck in his throat. “My lo-”
“I refused.”
Itachi can feel his heart beating wildly inside his chest. He looks down, ashamed.
“I refused this great plan because you showed us trust first, and I would like to repay that trust.”
Itachi can feel his mouth dry, his skin prickling. He’s powerless here. He has offered his body and mind and everything he is and will be for the chance to keep his brother safe. For the assurance that even if he’s gone, Sasuke will have people who will take care of him.
Not like a friend, and certainly not like family, but alive and fed and protected. “Thank you, my lord.” And he’s glad he chose Naruto, and he’s fed up with having to bend his knee at every turn.
Naruto is calm, his hands rest on his lap. He plays with the silence surrounding them, letting it lace his words, letting it fill every space in the room. “So I refused that plan, but we still need to find Madara, right?”
As long as his brother is not out there fighting. As long as his brother is not out there at the mercy of Madara.
“So we’re not gonna use your brother, but you’re gonna have to step up in his place.”
“Of course, my lord.” The words leave his mouth before he even realizes it. Itachi can only stare at the ground in front of him.
And it’s not that he thinks something will happen. It’s not like his mind has let go of the thought of coming out on top.
He just misses him.
In a breath, before Lord Naruto can even get the chance of moving his body.
“My lord…” Naruto lets him know he’s listening with a lazy hum. “Could it be possible for me to meet my brother?”
•·································•·································•
Sakura receives her guests just outside the patient’s room. Naruto nods to her but her frown remains.
Itachi follows without resistance and Sakura stands before them.
“He says he doesn’t want to see his brother.”
Itachi remains impassive and Naruto turns to him.
“You still wanna go in?”
“Yes, my lord.”
Sakura’s frown deepens, “I don’t know if it’s a good idea…” Itachi refuses to make eye contact and Sakura dips her head, “he really seems to not like the idea of seeing you.”
“I expected as much.” Itachi’s voice is quiet and soft and Sakura can’t seem to find any value in seeing the little brother she has heard so much about. He’s angry and impolite and he bites before even knowing if he can chew. But Itachi remains in place and unwavering and if he wants to do so. He shall.
Sakura shrugs her shoulders and opens her arms in surrender, “If that’s what you want.”
Kiba stays outside with Ino close to the door. Sakura gets close to Naruto and tugs at his kimono sleeve to grab his attention. Naruto bows a little.
“Don’t let him get to you. He has a way with words.”
Naruto looks disgusted but Sakura looks at him for assurance so he nods. “Fuck, I’m gonna hate him.”
“Yeah, I think so.”
Sasuke is connected to machines that beep in tandem and he looks worse for wear. His skin is pale and his black hair only makes him look paler, his eyes are glossy and the moment they enter his field of view his brows crunch in rage.
“Why are y-” a coughing fit starts and Sakura is quick to go and bring a glass of water to him.
He grabs the glass with more strength than necessary -spilling some of it on his chest- and chugs a part of its contents while sending daggers Itachi’s way.
The moment he lays eyes on Naruto his anger somehow grows stronger.
“You-”
“Yes, I.” Naruto feels the need to aggravate him somehow and he gives him a smirk as he lets his eyes travel through his body. Sasuke can taste the contempt through his actions.
“Wait till we flatten your land, you son of a-”
“Sasuke,” Itachi starts, but Sasuke seems to be in the middle of something.
“- bitch, I will make you regret ever touching me and my clan.”
“Yeah? Come get it then, you fucker,” Naruto makes a show of staring at his broken limbs, “oh, right, you can’t. I’m ready whenever, you little shit, be grateful that your brother cares about you enough to bargain.”
Sasuke contorts his face in a way that even makes Naruto be taken aback.
“This piece of shit-” another coughing fit. Sakura is quick to push the glass again to him, while sending a look to Naruto.
“My lord, I thought this was a way for Itachi to speak with his brother.”
Naruto grimaces but looks away.
“- he’s not my brother,” Sasuke finishes.
The room is silent and Naruto expects Itachi to say anything at all, but he keeps quiet too. And judging by Sasuke’s agitated state he doubts anything Itachi can say can calm him.
“You will be safe, I promise,” is all Itachi says.
“Get the fuck out of my view, you murderer piece of shit.”
The hatred dripping from Sasuke’s words surprises Naruto, but what surprises him even more is the way Itachi just caves in. His head never rises, his shoulders never straighten. He accepts his brother’s words.
“Get well soon.”
Itachi leaves on his own and Naruto and Sakura stay, a little too dumbfounded to even move.
“Why don’t you leave too,” Sasuke barks, “I could use my technique on you and all hell would break loose.”
Naruto remains in his place. “You can’t even move, child.”
“I’m not a child.”
Naruto looks at Sakura and can see in her movements that she also feels awkward about this situation. He doesn’t particularly feel about Itachi. He doesn’t feel about any of his enemies. He can’t. But somehow he stays a second too long, and while Sakura helps Sasuke with his pillows, he says, “The only thing your brother asked for was your safety.”
He leaves immediately after, and Sasuke’s angry voice spills in between the door before it closes.
“I won’t ask about it so stop looking so gloom.”
They walk back in silence and even Kiba’s animated quips are absent.
“We’ll keep going like we were before. Keep on feeding us information, we’ll prepare, when we find him we attack. Problem solved. You’ll get to live with your brother wherever you want after.”
Although Itachi now looks forward he stares at nothing. Although his shoulders are straightened he remains unassuming. He answers with a quiet “yes, my lord,” that makes Naruto almost feel something.
Before Naruto leaves, Itachi turns to him fully and bows towards him. A deep bow he maintains. “Thank you, my lord. I will await further instructions.”
Itachi doesn’t stand even after Naruto leaves the room.
•·································•·································•
Hinata rests her hands on her belly as her eyebrows keep on getting closer. “Well, that’s sad.”
“Do you think I maybe shouldn’t talk to you about all of this?” Naruto sweeps her furrow with his thumb and he sneaks a kiss after.
“But I want to know what’s g-going on.”
“I know, love, but still, what’s the baby gonna think?”
“Well, baby is gonna be b-born in a time of turmoil so he better come out p-prepared.”
Naruto brings her towards him, his chest rumbling as soft snorts leave his nose. She’s leaving soon, so he nuzzles and breathes her in and his hands can’t seem to settle in one place.
“You just gotta be calm, okay, I’ll be there when you give birth and I’ll visit and you’ll have Sai and my dad with you, okay. So nothing to worry about, this will happen before we even notice.”
He keeps on mumbling against her head and Hinata rests her head on his shoulder. He rocks her as he talks and Hinata just bathes in his voice and the way his hand rests on her belly.
“Yeah, I know, w-we’ll be together before we even n-notice.”
Naruto hugs her a little bit tighter, his mouth presses against her forehead a little bit longer.
“Yeah, you’ll see, we’ll be fine. I promise.”
#naruto#naruhina#Naruto Uzumaki#Hinata Hyuga#uzumaki naruto#hyuga hinata#fanfiction#fanfic#beast tamers#ch.13#part 2
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part ii | part iii | part iv
after speaking to kido, sakura rushes home. when she calms down from the rage that nearly had her crush his throat, sakura can admit that she doesn’t really think this is him. he knew a lot about her for someone that was supposed to have been locked up all this time, but he seemed genuinely surprised to hear that sarada had been taken, if not disappointed. he fit the profile of what shikamaru and kakashi thought -- that someone wanted sarada for her eyes -- but sakura can’t stop the nagging feeling that somehow this runs deeper.
back in her apartment, megumi’s body is right where she left it, and sakura feels awful for having moved so mechanically. megumi was an orphan, but she was still someone’s little girl. ashamed, sakura lays a sheet over her and swears she’ll do more later.
she heads to her bedroom and begins her work. alone, she summons one of the cats she’d made a contract with shortly after her marriage. the black cat is sleek and holds himself confidently. he’s always been an efficient one, quick to do as she needs and be competent about it. he regards sakura with a cock of his head.
“sarada’s been taken.”
“your daughter.”
“yes.”
the cat nods. “i shall inform the clowder. if anyone spots her, i will let you know.”
“thank you.” sakura pauses, self-conscious for needing to rely on everybody else for this part. “if you...if any of you are able to come into contact with sasuke-kun, can you pease let him know too?”
“of course.”
“thank you.” sakura promises to provide the usual exchange at a later time and the cat disappears with a puff of smoke. she heads to her bedroom and she begins to pack in silence.
her movements are as meticulous as they are automatic, done just so she’s ready to leave the moment she knows where she needs to go. her medkit is stocked. her bag has scrolls, weapons, supplies, and sarada’s favourite toy. she changes out of her days clothes and into the leggings and turtleneck of a uniform she hasn’t worn in years. her cloak is in the front closet. she needs to change her boots. she’ll put on the boots now. she leaves the armour on her bed to don later. right now, they only hinder her movements. she goes to the drawer where her mask hides in plain sight among other trinkets and knick knacks, and on the dresser she notices a flower.
sakura stills as she takes in the detail she must have missed in her earlier haste. she considers the simple glass vase and the single red flower sitting in it. its petals curl at the ends and some are even missing.
this flower has travelled and as sakura considers what it is, she knows it’s travelled far.
-
konoha became unbearable by the time she tuned twenty. it's so petty and selfish and she'd never say it aloud, but she hated seeing everyone else so happy. she's happy too -- has so many reasons to be -- but she couldn’t help the nagging jealousy she feels when ino declined her invitations because she was going to see sai or when naruto prioritized her almost always only to head home to hinata.
she wanted to be someone's too. she wanted to be their focus and heart and home, but sakura already knew who her someone was and knew that on some level she was his too, so all she needs to do right now is wait.
most of the time, sakura wasn’t bitter. being apart from him wasn't unfamiliar, nor the steadfastness, nor the hope that one day this will pay off one day, nor the self reminders that what she felt was irrelevant as long as sasuke knew and was comforted by the fact that she would always love him.
to suppress her frustrations rather than confront them, sakura worked. she worked tirelessly and relentlessly and by nineteen, they'd named her the greatest medical ninja konoha has ever seen for her accomplishments, ideas, and innovations.
this took her to suna at twenty and to ame at twenty-one to help establish their own clinics.
“i have a gift for you,” ino told her before she left.
sakura expected a ribbon or a piece of jewellery or that new book on poisons she mentioned she was interested in. instead, ino handed her a bag. its contents shift, imbalanced, and inside sakura finds a potted plant.
“a flower?”
“not just any flower, you ungrateful bitch.” ino pointed at her accusingly and then at the plant. its petals are a bright red with darker flecks at their base. “i made it.”
“you made it?”
“yes. you know me, interrogating and mind-reading by day, splicing plants together and making my own by night.”
“that’s sad.”
“fuck you. you’re sad.”
sakura laughed and ino laughed too but it got a bit sad because ino probably definitely knew that sakura was sad. “anyway,” ino continued, “we’ll call it the sakuino flower--”
“how creative.”
“--and i expect you to keep it alive through all of your travels.”
sakura frowned at ino, wondering if ino understood that a potted plant had no place in her travels, but ino didn’t seem to care. moreover, this particular thing didn’t seem to have the ability to survive in the desert climate she was going to be living in for the next six months.
when sakura expressed as much, ino waved the matter off. “deal with it,” she said, giving sakura one last hug. “you’re one of the brightest minds to come out of this village. you’ll figure something out.”
-
its common name is the fire poppy, having originated from the fire country but somehow managing to survive in the deserts of wind country as well. the flower is know for its vibrant red petals, eye-catching and jarring across the barren brown it’s normally found in. sakura had to play with the original plant’s physiology when she first moved to ensure it could survive the alternate climate. in her spare time, when she wasn’t working with the kids, she deigned to work with her plant, eventually working on cloning the original. at some point she’d given one to a nurse she worked with who much admired the first, and gaara asked if he could try planting them in his garden. from there, the spores began to spread.
“why the fire poppy?”
was this someone from suna?
sakura considers the obvious motivation of revenge, but who would even want that? there were people who didn’t appreciate her friendship with kankuro or any of his siblings. perhaps an apprentice of chiyo’s who blamed sakura for not saving her when she gave her life for gaara’s. worse, perhaps someone that once worked sasori who resented her for his demise. or maybe someone she, sadly, can’t even remember. a patient she lost during the war whose family hated her.
sakura truly cannot pinpoint a motivation for this, much less a person.
especially a person that would understand the meaning of this flower for her.
ino would never give her this flower. ino would have scoffed at it and created her own. sarada couldn’t have picked it today. and sasuke certainly couldn’t have left it for her.
someone was in her apartment. someone brought it here.
was it here before?
sakura considers the poppy and forces herself to keep calm. stay logical, she demands. stay smart. was the poppy there before? no, she thinks at first. she would have seen it. she’s certain she would have seen it.
but, she can accept, it’s possible she might have missed it. sarada was taken. her babysitter was murdered. it wouldn’t be surprising if sakura missed it. but sakura doesn’t miss things. right?
“don’t gaslight yourself,” she orders.
no, she knows. the flower was not there before, meaning in between her going to kakashi, going to the prison, and then running back home, whoever took her daughter came back.
or worse, there was a team involved and one was with her child and another came back for her.
sakura curses, wishing she’d put on her black ops armour earlier, because whoever brought the flower here is now making their presence known. she senses two people before she sees them and is unsurprised to find sudden flares of strength.
the bedroom is small and they’re in a building. she needs to take this outside, but where? there’s too much risk for others getting hurt in the crossfire. that’s why this was supposed to stay quiet. that’s why this will stay quiet.
they step out of the shadows and sakura assesses them quickly. one male, one female, both fairly young based on stature and development, maybe early twenties at the oldest. they’ll have agility on her, but they won’t have her experience.
the man holds a chokuto. good. an advantage. sakura is excellent at fighting against such a weapon. if they’re foolish enough to use her husband’s favourite sort of blade, perhaps they didn’t do enough research on her. perhaps they were hired? but if they were unprepared, then were they really here to kill her?
are they here to distract her?
that thought fills sakura with dread. is someone trying to keep her busy so she can’t get to sarada on time?
the woman shifts, one leg sliding to the side as she raises her hands. she holds no weapons, therefore she is the weapon. sakura knows all about that. she’ll need to be careful with this one. but she still has a holster on her thigh. it’s thinner that the usual styles. maybe a couple kunai, but more likely a set of sebon. this one is smart then. she’ll know precisely where she needs to hit sakura to stop her.
“haruno sakura,” the man greets with a short nod.
so it is her fault.
if this was about sasuke, about the uchiha, they would know her married name. this is about her, and for that sakura feels worse. her baby was taken and why? just to hurt sakura before killing her? sarada was who knows where with surely no one that could be good and all just to hurt sakura?
sakura snarls, furious in a way only a mother could be, and she feels the chakra pulsing around her fists.
“where is my daughter?”
their masks hide any expressions. they remain at ease in the face of her rage, shockingly unafraid of this woman that can level mountains.
good, sakura thinks. let them be brave. let them come at her like fools.
she runs through the bedroom door to get to the living room where there’s at least more space to maneuver. the man leaps and brings his blade down upon her, but sakura manages to shift to the side. careful to not be forced into a corner, she spins out of his range and into the open middle until the woman runs past her partner and takes sakura on hand-to-hand.
she matches sakura’s punches and kicks blow for blow. she’s good, sakura thinks nervously. and she’s fast. she’s small, maybe half a head shorter than sakura, so she puts her weight behind every quick jab. sakura gives most of her attention to the woman, but keeps a wary on eye on the man who sheathes his chokuto.
what as he planning?
it takes that one moment for the woman to catch her unaware.
sakura chokes on her breath as the woman thrusts a senbon into her shoulder. the shock from that slows her down enough so she can lodge in a second.
“shit,” sakura curses as she stumbles back. she rips the senbon out, but she feels her left arm begin to go numb from the struck pressure point. “what did you do--”
sakura’s eyes widen she she feels something foreign begin to course through her. she considers the senbon, dark with her blood and likely something else. there’s a metallic smell that isn’t from the weapon, and sakura knows she’s been poisoned.
however, her body doesn’t bother to fight it.
sakura watches her opponents, trying to understand how she’s been poisoned with something she’s immune to and just what poison this might be. she’s immune to everything in konoha’s own collection, as well as the ones she shares with shizune.
which poison is this?
does that matter?
sakura scowls at the two people involved in her daughter’s kidnapping and reminds herself that she can take them on one-handed just fine. she pulls her right hand into a fist and charges. the man is closest, so she lunges at him with a chakra-laden punch that sends him barreling into the wall.
she grabs the front of his shirt and as she pulls him forward, his mask falls away to reveal green eyes, cold and lifeless, and a black diamond under his left eye that makes her uneasy.
sakura stares at the man, confused, because she knows this face.
she knows him.
her fear and pain and worry makes it hard to focus, but knows him.
focus.
finally, it clicks.
“isao?”
she thinks she might have seen something like recognition in his eyes. that doesn’t long though. she left herself open, and his partner stabs her shoulder. sakura releases isao with a cry before the woman punches her in the back of the head and everything goes dark.
-
the sun is up when sakura begins to stir. she hears the birds chirping and people outside going about their days. but the buzz of the television is missing, as are the small thuds of sarada’s steps. where is sarada? sakura wonders hazily, lazily, not quite understanding yet.
where is sarada?
her eyes widen and she sits up so quickly her stomach rolls.
“careful.” tsunade comes into view, steadying sakura and checking her for any problems. “you’re still healing.”
she’s in her own bed. she’s not at the hospital. she got knocked out and the assassins got away. she should’ve done something to track them. dammit. was she so arrogant she didn’t have a failsafe in place for if she didn’t simply beat them? sakura punches the bed, earning a disapproving frown from shizune on her other side.
“there was poison in your system.”
“it was one of ours,” sakura admits warily.
“yes. there are very few people with access to those, much less this particular one.”
the one that the assassin used was meant to render a victim paralyzed but still able to feel. it was a dreadful thing, meant only for the worst of interrogations. or, more accurately, for torture. sakura concocted it in her darkest moments at fourteen under shizune’s watchful eye. since then, while they’ve both had small handfuls of keen students, they’ve probably shared poisons from their personal roster with only five people at most.
for this particular poison, sakura knows only two people they showed it to, and only one of those was a student of sakura’s.
“how did you find me?”
tsunade rolls her eyes. “shizune sent you off to a prison from kakashi’s office. i figured i’d have to check on you shortly after. and it’s a good thing i did, stupid girl.”
“thank you.”
“don’t thank me. i’m scolding on you.”
“did they find anything useful?”
“no one’s been able to contact your husband.”
“right.”
“and they’re still under the impression that this has to do with the uchiha blood.”
“they would be,” sakura mutters, too tired and in too good company to be anything but blunt.
shizune sighs. “do you know who came after you last night?” the flower is still where she left it on the dresser. shizune follows her gaze to the fire poppy, and all knowing with plants as well, shizune determines its origins. “how did that get here?”
“i think it was to taunt me.” sakura grimaces. “you were right.”
“about?”
“i think this is my fault.”
shizune’s eyes widen and quickly soften with sympathy. “none of this your fault,” she reminds sakura.
tsunade crosses her arms. “enemies of yours then?”
“no.” sakura looks sad. “people i once loved.”
-
tbc
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Things You Do Together
My dad is currently making me sit through the Jefferey Epstein documentary so I’m struggling a bit but I FINALLY got this out ;-;
Naruto~
You had always adored taking nighttime strolls through the city, but you’d always gone alone. Now that you had Naruto you were hoping that could change. You were a bit nervous at first, your boyfriend always seemed exhausted when he got home and you didn’t want him to lose sleep he so desperately needed.
When you did eventually ask, he thought the idea was great, in fact, he wanted to go out that very night. You were thrilled, to say the least. The one you loved was walking with you under the stars. Plus, there was something about the way he was softer and quieter on these nights, letting you see a new part of him.
He really did love their midnight walks, every time he saw your happiness, your wide smiles under the gleam of the moon… he couldn’t help but fall more in love with you each time. These were both of your favorite times, you guys got to see each other, and the city, in a different light, figuratively and literally.
Sasuke~
Everyone who knew about you and Sasuke’s relationship assumed you guys bonded over training exercises and had sparring dates. That much was true when you first met and when your relationship was new, but now you guys had a completely different activity that brought you closer.
You thought your habit was kind of geeky at first; sometimes you’d tap out your thoughts in morse code on whatever surface was closest. It hadn’t taken long for Sasuke to realize that the tapping wasn’t just a random pattern, and he needed to know.
Needless to say, you guys had a lot of fun tapping out conversations and then gasping like “WHAT?!” while your friends assumed you two had finally lost it. Eventually, morse code didn’t challenge either you enough (not that your unique habit stopped) and you guys began to study and learn codes together. Not only was it fun, but it was helpful for missions.
You guys even managed to get the basics for sign language and often used that as well. You both were competitive and eager learners, so it really suited you both.
Neji~
The stoic mask that Neji wore in public, was non-existent when he was with you. Things that no one imagined him doing had actually become his hobby, thanks to you.
No one really questioned how Neji’s skin stayed flawless. Not a single pimple, zit, or blemish of any kind. You’d been begging him to tell you his skincare routine because there was no way that was natural.
But as you spent more time with him, you’d realized his skin wasn’t as perfect as you thought; he was prone to dry skin. Oh, you had a field day when he walked into your home, horrified at the sheer amount of face masks you had in your living room.
After a few times, Neji started to see the results of the masks and other treatments. His skin was the healthiest it’d ever been. The two of you did a lot of research on skincare, and it became an official thing for your guys. At least two days a week you’d get together and have your ‘self-care day’.
Because seriously? There’s nothing cuter than Neji with his hair in a messy bun and a green mask on his face.
Shikamaru~
As lazy as Shika was, he tried his best to put effort into spending time with you. Even though the two of you had initially connected over being lazy, you guys had come a long way and had found other ways to entertain yourself.
It was his idea really, he had always had a fascination with baking but had never taken it up because all the work was a drag. You were thrilled when he asked you about it, though. Cooking was one of your strong suits and you two spent the whole day in the kitchen. He didn’t mind in the slightest, however, you were so excited to be spending time with him, plus you were a great cook.
His favorite part was definitely eating the treats with you, you both felt so accomplished after a good day and you had taken to donating fresh goods to those in need. His friends were surprised, to be honest, they’d never expect him to go out of his way to work out and do such things.
What could he say? You were changing him slowly for the better.
Kiba~
Contrary to popular knowledge, Kiba didn’t take Akamaru everywhere. The two of you had made it a regular thing to go swimming, just you and Kiba, lazing around in the water under the bright sun.
Just like a dog, if it involved water, Kiba was down. The two of you would spend hours swimming and playing around in the water together. At first, it was spontaneous and neither of you did much preparation, but it quickly became a Thing™. You packed snacks, water guns, toys, you name it, you had it.
You knew the best fishing spots, the times that the lake/beach/river would be empty or packed… the two of you went all out for this hobby. It was a workout, but it was also fun and playful, as well as romantic, in its own way. (Akamaru tries not to be jealous)
Gaara~
Before you say gardening- (WRONG) Gaara loves stargazing. When he was a child, he was always alone and he would watch the stars and constellations because they were the only things that stayed with him. *sob* However, when he watches them with you, it’s different. He used to wish on the stars, wish that he’d have his own personal star in his life.
In short, stargazing with you means a lot because he wished on those stars for you. You’re his star, his sun, his life, and he wants you to know it. The two of you will usually lay on the roof of your home or the Kazekage building, whichever is more convenient.
Gaara has the habit of talking to the stars the way some people do to people’s gravestones, but only after you fall asleep. Due to his insomnia, he might not sleep until a while after you, if at all so he contents himself with holding you and keeping you safe.
Kakashi~
Okay if you’ve seen Kakashi’s Tragic Back Story™ you know he was cooking himself gourmet meals before we were out of our chicken nugget and fries for every meal stage. So he’s definitely the Bobby Flay of Konoha and he still loves to cook.
It’s become a thing for you two to hold regular cooking competitions. (Pakkun judges) Although it’s a lot of fun, you two take it seriously. A three-course meal, you have to have all your supplies prepared before the competition and no outside help.
It’s a great way to keep a playful element in your relationship and also to be sure you always have food (cause Kakashi can’t take care of himself). Sometimes, on your more competitive nights, the competition ends up being a food fight that he always seems to win.
~Akatuski~
Pein~
Nagato, when he was younger and was first was on his own, met a dog he named Chibi and was very fond of him. The dog ended up killed not long after and that was another tragedy that pushed him to closer to the edge.
However, animals, dogs especially, remind him of happier times. So, whenever he wasn’t too busy, he would take you to Amegakure and go to various animal shelters to visit the pets.
Both of you knew the animals would never go back with you (Hidan liked to sacrifice animals, Kakuzu would throw a fit, and Sasori would fight the decision) but it was nice and calming to be around the cute pets. Pein was oftentimes softer and more open during these visits and he was looser with his speech and mannerisms.
By the time you left, you always felt more connected to him. It was always a great day when the two of you went.
Deidara~
It’s easy to forget since he was forced to grow up so fast as he was recruited to the Akatsuki from anywhere to 11-15. Something I believe he would enjoy due to his childish personality is building forts.
He has a creative streak a mile wide and he would pull all the stops to make a fort palace. Kakzuzu nearly has a heart attack when he sees how much was spent on blankets and pillows.
The two of you spend hours changing the living room into a massive fort with a minibar, an art nook, and many other mini rooms. You and Deidara will spend the night in there just doing teen things, all the things you were missing out on.
At first, Hidan and Kisame had no qualms about messing up your creation but they quickly learned to hold your hobby as sacred as you did when their room was destroyed.
In short, the two of you are able to be kids together and bring the inner child out of you to two.
Masterlist
#naruto scenarios#naruto shippuden#reader insert#kakashi x reader#naruto x reader#sasuke x reader#neji x reader#kiba x reader#shikamaru x reader#gaara x reader#deidara x reader#pein x reader#nagato x reader
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Since you intrigued me by saying you liked them- TemaSaku?
Who cooks: Temari. She love to treat Sakura with food from Suna. Also she knows that Sakura has such a stressful job in the hospital and so mostly Temari stands in the kitchen preparing bentos for her every morning. To return the favour Sakura cooks when Temari comes home from a diplomatic mission or their anniversaries.
Who does the laundry and other chores: They divide the tasks. Temari hates to do the laundry, so Sakura is in charge of that. While Temari cleans the bath and windows. They take turns with the other stuff.
How many children do they have: Three, because both wanted a big family. All of them are adopted war-orphans from different villages: two girls and one boy. They are thinking about expanding their family further.
Who’s more dominate: Even if most people think it's Temari they are wrong. It's Sakura and Temari follows her without talking back.
Favorite nonsexual activity: Gardening. Since Sakura knows how much Temari misses doing this with Gaara, she has decided they need a proper garden with a small greenhouse. And so they visit the Yamanaka Flower Shop regularly and chat with Ino about the newest plants. Every time Temari visits Suna she brings a flower to her brothers and comes back with a cacti.
Their favorite place to be together: On top of the Hokage mountain. There they sit together to watch the sunset.
Any traditions: Whenever Temari leaves the village for a mission she hides small little notes all around the house, so that Sakura can find them in the time she is away. For their birthdays they surprise each other this silly gifts that are hand-made. One time Sakura tried to make a vase. Let's say she never tried it again because Temari laughed so much she started to hyperventilate.
Their “song”: Be My Baby by The Ronetts - if you ask Sakura, because that's the song that played when they danced for the first time together - but Temari is too embarrassed by that, so she tells everyone she doesn't know.
What they do for each other on holidays: Breakfast in bed. Since they have a big family and their jobs sometimes demand their full attention there's not much time they just have just for them. So they waste their mornings eating and talking, snuggled into each other.
Where did they go for their honeymoon: They visited one of the smaller villages on the coast. Temari never had been at the sea and so Sakura surprised her with this honeymoon trip, not telling her where they would go.
Where did they first meet: During the Chunin exams, but they didn't like each other at that time. Their next meeting was when Sakura rescued Kankuro from dying. Once their mission was over Temari invited her for dinner to say thank you.
Any pets: Kiba gifted them a Ninken for their wedding. Temari actually didn't want to have any pets, but agreed if the dog stays out of the bed (he now sleeps in the bed of their kids, but Temari mustn't know)
What do they fight over: Temari hates when Sakura spoils their children too much. While Sakura thinks that Temari is too strict.
Do they go on vacations, if so where They visit Suna very often. Firstly because it's Temari's home and one of their girls is an orphan from Suna. They also visit Kumo in between to show their boy his heritage. If they have time to go a vacation alone they are staying in a place near the sea.
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@lotus-baby @depressedhatakekakashi
Today I offer you, the fix-it au of sorts i have regarding shippuden/boruto and that, because i keep forgetting to write it down:
- this is kinda self indulgent and is the general canon(?) of some of my fics so this is for reference, too xd (though i don't focus on more detailed aspects so this is for that). i can't focus on all characters but there's mostly stuff for; naruto, hinata, sakura, team gai and kakashi.
long post ahead:
Naruto
(trans, bi & poly)
he always wanted to be hokage, but it was more about the respect the hokage gets– few people treated him well. but if he became the leader of the village, he would be finally respected by civilians and ninjas alike.
they would stop being so mean with him without apparent reason. and after the pain arc, he becomes a hero and they all finally start treating him with the respect he had wanted for so long. so i think he would be satisfied with that and become a jounin instead. maybe even an anbu.
he still gets married with hinata and the last happens, though neither of them feel like it's... genuine. they're friends and all, they still have himawari and boruto– but they're not really happy?
naruto still likes sasuke, and had been hanging out with gaara since he came back from his trip with jiraiya. hinata realizes that the kind of love he feels with sasuke is stronger than the one they both have.
the next time sasuke comes to the village, naruto and hinata separate– but they're both alright with that. Neither naruto nor sasuke have many ties with the village and naruto started kinda crushing on gaara after a while, so they both move to Suna with him and are very happy together(sasuke sometimes goes nomadic for his missions but always sends letters to his boyfriends).
without the responsibilities of naruto being hokage, he in turn becomes a more present dad with himawari and boruto and they're very happy :) they see each other on weekends and naruto doesn't miss any important dates anymore.
gaara still adopts shinki, who loves his siblings very much and is very protective of them.
Hinata
(non binary, grayro & bi)
They're known for doing very good medicinal balms since the first Chunin exam. i think she could just.. Straight up sell some, if she needs to. i think they like gardening so maybe she grows her own herbs and plants, and starts a mini store of natural remedies that are very good. and shampoos and soaps and they becomes actually popular with their crafts.
this started becoming more occurrent when she and naruto were about to go on their own ways. They move back to the hyuga compound with her kids for a while and works more on that, with boruto helping her on this and him finding out that's actually very relaxing. it becomes their shared hobby and they bond with that, too. himawari just likes drawing but helps from time to time too.
Hinata became friends with tenten because she was interested on the spiritual side of the plants, as she likes fortune-telling. i think tenten does witchcraft too, more as a family tradition thing but still being very passionate about it.
after a while hinata kind of started having a crush on tenten because, well. naruto was someone that always did his best to get what he wanted, and tenten is like that too– with her weapons shop and that.
so they just... told her. but tenten didn't like her that way, or anyone. still holds hinata very closely in her heart, but not in a romantic/sexual way– they move together some months before boruto's seventh birthday, and they may not be dating but they still make it work.
later, when they have been together for years and years and people still wonder the nature of their relationship, they discover the term 'queerplatonic' and they feel like that's the word for what they have.
Tenten
(trans, non sam aro)
she is very happy with her weapons shop. started getting closer to hinata, though it wasn't romantic love what she felt– it was stronger than friendship, but. didn't had a name.
after hinata confesses, tenten is very confused and turns her down. she doesn't feel the same way, but... the thought of living with them was really nice. they end up moving together after a while, and enjoy each other's company a lot.
tenten still does her fortune-telling and ends up teaching hinata, boruto and himawari too. its a thing from her family, so it made sense for her to teach to her partner and kids.
Sakura
(demiromantic)
in part one, she was considered the best one out of her team. even sasuke said she was better than him, on genjutsu. she was smart until misogyny from kishimoto acted up, so we'll use the original concept without the misogyny.
smart, even better than an uchiha who even said to her that she was better... it's no wonder that she ended up being the hokage after kakashi. she was trained by a sannin, who was also hokage before kakashi... it makes sense if you really think of it!
well. she's the hokage and is living with ino, they have two kids- sarada, which sasuke helped conceive, and inojin. inojin was an orphan from the yamanaka clan that ino took in.
(sai is a father figure for him, and inojin even calls him dad– nobody minds, sai even smiles when that happens.)
back with sakura. she is a very strong and lovely woman, and is organized though she gets irritated easily so everyone knows to not mess stuff on purpose.
she has a long time as the leader of konoha, and is very loved and missed on the time of her retirement.
Kakashi
(trans, gay)
He pretty much spends most days with his husband after retirement– always made up excuses to cuddle with him instead of going to work when he was Hokage. Is more clingy than he lets show publicly.
He is very happy now than before. Takes a lot of photos as Suikea, and so far only Gai noticed it was him, but doesn't really mind.
Gai
(genderfluid, demisexual)
He moved in with kakashi after he recovered from the war. they were planning it since pain's invasion but life happens™ and they couldn't, then war started...
after everything is over, he makes sure to stay on contact with his team- they're his kids and he loves them with all his heart. makes sure to send them letters when they can't meet for a while for reasons. sometimes they all have dinner together and are very happy :)
Neji
(non binary, reciproro ace)
Neji almost dies in the war, but sakura managed to save him and that kind of started a friendship between the two. They get chronic pain because of all the injuries he suffered, but it's getting manageable with medicine and physical therapy. though sometimes its too bad to get up, but they go walking with hinata almost daily- she goes to his house and usually realizes something is wrong. either her, metal or lee realize and help him on the really bad days.
neji also has some birds and they all have silly names/names that rhyme– the older ones are called feather and heather, for example. they really love them.
Lee
(bi ace, sometime i write him as trans too)
He's still a jounin here and is very good at it. Sometimes he has to leave the village for entire months, but he always send his family and team stuff so they know he's alright.
Neji and him at first weren't going to have kids at all, but lee just saw metal and grew attached to him. They end up adopting him and the three are really happy, even if at first its complicated to adapt™ the two love their kid with all of their heart.
#hinaten#narusasu#narugaa#nejilee#kakagai#narusasugaa#naruto uzumaki#sasuke uchiha#gaara#hinata hyuga#tenten#himawari#boruto#sakura haruno#hokage sakura#kakashi hatake#maito gai#might guy#neji hyuga#rock lee#metal lee
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Morning Coffee.
So I once got a lovely message from an anon that said they like to read what I write while they make coffee in the morning and it gave me the idea for some cute mini scenarios. If you're out there anon this is for you, I don't know your favourite characters so I just went with some of mine. --- Kakashi Hatake:
With no alarm clocks in this house it's usually the sun vengefully hitting you in the eyes that wakes you and unfortunately this morning is no different if anything the sun is even more evil today. Blinking your eyes open you don't even wanna look at a the clock but you do wanna look over at Kakashi, it's good to actually see him sleeping in bed you've caught him one too many times reading into the hours of the morning instead of sleeping. Gosh he's cute. You sigh and stretch as you get up, bones popping and a whine escaping you as you do, your feet find the floor and you force your tired body up not caring for the blankets that cling to you. Kakashi's developed an iron grip to fight your blanket stealing ways so you know it's not going anywhere. You shuffle your way from the bedroom to the kitchen rubbing the sleep out of your eyes as you go and though the journey's not far you lean against the counter when you reach it and yawn and then you look to the next feat of your adventure and decide if it's worth it...bending down to grab the coffee grinds, who put them down there? It had to be Kakashi because you would never sabotage yourself like that. Everything in your body groaned and creaked as you bent down into the cupboard to grab it but you were rewarded with the smell of coffee as you opened the container and dumped a few scoops into the coffee maker and silently thanked Kakashi for always putting in a filter after throwing out the old one. You and Kakashi both knew you could afford a much nicer coffee maker than the one you had but it had gotten the job done for years, why replace what isn't broken? You sigh as you realize you have to fill it with water, will these trails of survival never end? You shuffle yourself over to the sink to fill the coffee maker and finally, finally! You're able to push the on button. You lean on the counter and listen to the hissing and gurgling of your precious machine ah music to your ears little did you know it was also music to Kakashi's unconscious ears. The familiar sound rouses him awake and much like you he feels every ache in his bones as he stretches and shuffles himself to his feet as he walks through the left open bedroom door he's greeted by the sight of you. It's a good sight, no matter how messy the hair, how tired the eyes or how hunched over you are seeing you brings a smile to his face as does the coffee you're making. He sneaks over and with too much delight for this morning hour snatches the cup from your hands. "Hey!" "Morning." He chimes back taking a sip of coffee. "That's mine!" You snap as you try to grab it from him but he quickly moves. "Careful, you'll make me spill." He teases. "You don't even like my coffee! You're a black coffee freak!" You complain. "That's not a very good way to convince me to give it back." "Give it back or I ban reading books in bed." The coffee is back in your hands. "You don't fight fair." He sighs and pours his own coffee as you finally get a sip of yours and feel your muscles relax with the delicious slightly burnt taste. "It's before my first cup of coffee I don't have to fight fair." You point out. "Is that in the Shinobi handbook?" He teased. "Oh yeah, first page." You tease back. He hmmed in response as he takes another sip and soft silence hangs in the air and he's once again reminded of how happy he is to have you as apart of his mornings even with all the teasing. He comes cover behind you and wraps his free arm around your stomach and rests his tired head on your shoulder and relishes in the way you affectionately nudge him with your own head. With all the work Shinobi do these moments feel increasingly rare and so you two just silently bathe in the warmth of the moment together, letting the tiredness wrap around you and make the moment nearly euphoric. That is until there's loud knocking on your door that knocks you out of the moment and almost costs you your coffee cup. "We know you're in there Kakashi-sensei! We've been waiting for hours at the training grounds!" A tiny voice shouted. "Kakashi." You scolded. "In my defense it's your fault. You did keep me up last night." He teased kissing your neck. And for a moment you enjoy the tingling sensation that radiates throughout your body but only for a moment until loud knocking once again loudly booms through your apartment. "We're counting to ten and then we're gonna break down the door!" "You think I can bribe kids with coffee?" He pondered "Kakashi, if they break my door you're never reading in this apartment again." You said pointedly. "Oh, so it's your door?" He teasingly sighed as he put down his coffee. "It's my door the same way it's my fault for keeping you up late." You said sarcastically. You walked over to the bedroom door as he walked over to the front and grabbed his mask from the handle and slingshoted it at his ass making him jump. He looked over at you with an eyebrow cocked as he picked it up. "You're not making a good case for me to open the door." He pointed it out as he slipped it on. "Save my door or else I can't be held responsible for what happens to the books in my room." The door was opened just before the kids hit zero saving your door, Kakashi's books and what was left of your coffee. ---
Gaara:
Gaara is always up before you even without Shukaku he doesn't really sleep, he'll lay with you at night if there's time but typically with all the duties of being a Kage there isn't time. However there's always time in the morning for iced coffee and breakfast together. This morning was no different, in the Sunagakure heat little was tolerable to eat other than something cold so iced coffee and fresh fruit salad is was as usual. Living in the desert doesn't often lend itself to fresh fruit but with Gaara cultivation of cacti he grew many different types of prickly pear so in the early morning sun he went out to collect some. Some may see this as a daily chore but it's apart of Gaara's day he thoroughly enjoys, it's a simple constant in his life to harvest the fruits of his labour and share them with you and just that thought brought a rare smile to his face. So many hours of his day are devoted to the people of Sunagakure but in these early morning hours they're just for the two of you and it brings some semblance of normality to his life. He looks over his cacti, all the hours he's sunk into these thriving plants and the few plants that aren't cacti that you two planted together, whenever you go out on missions you always return with some kind of new plant of seed for you two to plant in the garden, they stick out like sore thumbs but he loves them and always makes sure they're well tended too. Memories happily trickle through his mind like sand through an hourglass as he uses his sand to gather prickly pears and avoid their spikes. He gathers only what he needs before heading back to your shared home and preparing the prickly pears, it's something domestic he enjoys, it's easy and calming to him and even after all this time the novelty of making breakfast for the both of you hasn't warn off at all. He notices the sound of dragging feet as you make your way over. "Morning, lemme hug you." You yawn tiredly. A warning really isn't needed when you've made no point in trying to hide you whereabouts but you've gotten into the habit from the one time Gaara didn't hear you coming and instead of meeting his body you were met with a wall of protective sand. Your arms wind their way around his middle and you hug him tight from behind and no matter how long you've been together, no matter how deep you've delved into intmacy simple touches like this still make butterflies flutter around his chest. You lean your weight into him as you rest your entire body against him, it's almost comical. "Sleep well?" He asks. "Mhm." You murmur into his back. "Why don't you go sit? I'll bring you breakfast." He offers softly. You shake your head into his back. "I'm good here." You slur. A small chuckle escapes his throat as he nods and continues his work, he's got no great desire to remove himself from you so he simply bathes pleasantly in your presence. As he's cutting the prickly pears into small chunks he notices your hand blindly sneaking over to try and grab a piece. "You're going to grab the husk and poke yourself again, S/O." Gaara gently chastises as he brings his sand up to make a barrier between you and the food. You playfully let out an exasperated groan bringing a small smile to his lips that only grows when you lay a small kiss to the middle of his back where your head lays it blossoms warmth in his chest as you let go since your master plan as been foiled. You decide to set your sleepy sights on coffee, filling glasses with ice and adding sugar and milk to your own and leaving Gaara's black bleh you pour the coffee and bring them over to the small dinning table, taking a sip really helped to pull you out of your hot sleepy state, the cold caffeine tingling your mind awake and into alertness. Not alert enough it would seem as you still jump slightly in surprise as Gaara lays down a plate of cut and cubed prickly pear as sits across from you. "Thank you for the coffee." You gaze up at him and can't help but to smile, your alert brain slowly turning into mush. Gods, he was cute and so sweet, he'd made you breakfast and was thanking you for coffee? Who's this nice in the morning? Just your Gaara. You reach over and hold his hand and he's more than content to hold yours back, to brush his thumb over the the top of your hand and relish in this sweet silence. Most mornings are quiet, Gaara isn't a very chatty man though he's more than happy to listen to anything you have to say but your mornings are filled with content silence, the morning is a time set aside just for the two of you to savour. You'll sit well into the morning, slowly draining your coffee and having your fill of fruit until the day calls you both away but until then little is sweeter than this. Besides your coffee if you ask Gaara. ---
Itachi Uchiha:
Had making tea always been this stressful?! You could pull your hair out you were so nervous. You were nearly never up before Itachi but this morning you were so you decided to surprise him with tea in bed, Itachi has several teas throughout the day, he loves tea so that just made sense to do. What didn't make sense right now? All the possible preparation it took to properly brew tea. If it was too hot you'd burn the tea, too cold the flavour wasn't going be full bodied, what about steeping time? Should you add honey? Milk? Cream? Sugar? Gods, when had this become to complicated? You just wanted to be a good S/O and treat Itachi like he usually treated you in the morning but so far you were just surrounded by tiny cups, put into a Hell of your own making, a beige Hell of different coloured teas with varying amounts of milk and other ingredients. It was the smell that woke Itachi and the first time he noticed was the lack of your presence on his chest, usually this early you're still asleep and drooling tiny rivers onto his chest. He sighs as he slowly sits his aching body up and reaches into his bedside drawer to grab a vial of medicine to make the day a little less painful, it tastes vile as he swallows it and if his nose is telling him anything there's tea ready to help get rid of the foul taste. He slowly gets up and wonder what has you up so early, you usually like to sleep in on the days you two have together if he doesn't wake you he knows you can sleep well into the afternoon which he finds quite cute, the way your face scrunches up when the sun finally hits it and you are clearly awake but attempting to argue with your body over being conscious. It's ridiculous but very endearing. Just like the sight that greets him as he comes into the kitchen. You're standing there in your nightshirt, hair still unbrushed, counter and small dining table covered in tiny teacups. He slightly cocks his head as he takes in the sight, his mind trying to figure out what exactly it is you're doing as he grabs a tea closest to him and he notices how cold it is...so you've been at this for a while. "Feeling insustrious this morning, love?" He softly asks. He's up?! Oh Gods how long have you been doing this? You thought you'd have time to clean, you stutter for your words trying to explain as you look around. "Tea?" You weakly settle on to offer. "Seems like I've got options." He gently teases as he walks over to you. The taste that's left in his mouth is still noticeable and unfavourable but he pushes that aside to check on you and see what's going on in your brilliant mind. He brings a hand up to push the hair on your face aside and presses a soft kiss to your forehead to try and calm the clear panic you're in and you melt into the action. Big black eyes reassuringly stare at you and you can feel the tension leave your shoulders. "Tea?" You offer again grabbing the one you thought you'd done the best on. He takes the Oolong tea from your hands. "Thank you." He says before taking a sip, he can feel your eyes on him as he does and it becomes very clear to him what's going on here. "It's very good." He adds and he watches you beam proudly at the praise. "As I'm sure the rest of them are." He softly adds. And those word do make you realize that perhaps...this had been a silly worry. "I just wanted to make you tea in bed...I know how much you love tea but then I realized how much goes into making tea, like the temperature, the steeping time, the amount of sugarorhoneyormilkor--" You start to wind yourself back up again. "Anything you make me is perfect because you made it for me." He interrupts gently bringing his hand back up to your face to capture your attention. Once again your panic melts into his soft touch and you take a deep breath. "How about we drink on the front porch this morning? I'll deal with this mess once I'm more conscious." You pitch. "Sounds like a good idea." He easily agrees. Itachi moves the hand caressing your face down to lace his fingers with yours and with your free hand you grab one of the many tea's and you both head outside to sit and enjoy the pale blues of the morning sky. You lean yourself into his side as you sit in contentment, there aren't many mornings you get to enjoy with Itachi, he's typically so busy with his work with the Akatsuki so moments like this you let yourself get lost in, you soak up every bit this shared time together offers and save it for the mornings you miss him. Itachi does the same, he's well aware his days are numbered whether it be from his line of work or his illness he's well aware that there is no endless days like this with you so he takes in right now. And right now he's with you, a S/O who loves him so much you panicked yourself with making the perfect tea, right now the love of his life is holding his hand and leaning into his side, your head resting on his shoulder and if he concentrates he can feel your relaxed breathing against his side, he can smell your shampoo, the quiet mmms that escape you every time you take a sip of tea. Right now this moment he's in with you outweighs all the pain and misery he's experienced, who needs forever when moments like this exist for him to live in now? This morning tea was perfect. --- ~Admin Coral Buy Me A Coffee?
#Naruto#naruto shippuden#kakashi#itachi#gaara#Kakashi imagine#itachi imagine#gaara imagine#itachi uchiha#kakashi hatake#kakashi scenario#itachi scenario#gaara scenario#kakashi x reader#gaara x reader#itachi x reader#naruto imagine#naruto scenario#fluff#naruto fluff#kakashi fluff#gaara fluff#itachi fluff#Admin Coral
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It’s Gaara Week! - just kidding, Gaara Week is in January - this is Gaara Weekly. So I heard the topic this time is:
“what Gaara would do together with Shinki if he had some time off”
now that’s just wholesome, how could I not at least *attempt to* provide some headcanons?
*side note: I have no idea how I ended up with this mess of a post but here you go*
So we know their hobbies: Gaara likes “battling” according to the second databook and by the time the third came around, he added “cultivating cacti” to the mix. Shinki likes both “gardening” and “embroidery” according to character trivia from Boruto. Makes sense that they would bond over tending to plants right? In fact, most would probably assume that Shinki adopted this hobby from his father. And while I do believe they get some rare father-son time tending to Gaara's cacti together - I don't know if that's what they would actually choose to do if they had a significant amount of free time.
If I was being realistic: They would probably spend their days off training.
_________________________ Yeah I hear you people in the back screaming “booo” - but this seems to be the most realistic scenario - to me at least. So let me explain:
His people and village always seem to be the priority for Gaara and Shinki is the future of Suna, not only as the Kazekage's heir but simply as part of the next generation who will take on leadership positions after the current decision-makers retire. There is not a single doubt in my mind that Gaara views mentoring future generations as one of his top priorities. Shinki wants to make his father proud and properly represent his family and village. He is hugely appreciative of any training time his busy father can spare for him - such an opportunity doesn't come every day. Both of them have very no-nonsense, goal-oriented personalities.
- So if Gaara had a couple of hours to spend however he wanted, he would invest them in the future of his village: Shinki. If Shinki had the chance to get some in-depth one-on-one training with his father, he would jump at the opportunity.
We know that Gaara, unlike Naruto with his son, has at least somewhat regularly been training Shinki in person. He has mentioned how he taught his son 'everything he knows' and Shinki actually training directly with his (very busy) father just makes sense: The two of them are the only people we know of with their kekkei genkai - and Gaara is the only one with abilities almost identical to Shinki's. It’s true that Gaara only knows the basics when it comes to iron sand - or rather, that was confirmed to be the case until at least the early blank period. But he would know next to every use of regular sand and that’s still more than any other jonin in suna. Of course, as the Kazekage, Gaara simply doesn't have the time to do the majority of Shinki's training - but I wouldn’t question that he's the one giving the crucial advice, reviewing his training progress and telling his son what abilities need more work.
So if he has a little bit of time to spare - I have no doubt he would (and does) put most of it into training Shinki. And that includes days off.
_________________________
.
.
.
But y'all didn't come for that - don't lie.
*enter Part 2: “But what if we talk about cats instead?”
We love these two (and the entire Sand-family for that matter) so naturally, we want to see them use their time off for anything BUT work or training. Gaara and Shinki are definitely the worst offenders here, they always seem like those people who would rather work on their duties than cut cake on their birthdays - Gaara more so because he seems very focused on always putting his own pleasure behind doing 'something useful to others' and Shinki because he's just beginning to realize the value of friendship. *Insert mlp meme here*
So for the sake of fun, we will just assume SOMETIMES Gaara decides that his son should do “normal activities” instead of training and ends up going somewhere with him. But where? If for some reason, Shinki were to accompany his father to another village for a diplomatic meeting, I think they would definitely walk around that village a bit and just take in the local culture: food, sights, and the like. Imagine the way Lee and Tenten showed Gaara and Kankuro around Konoha in episode 497 and had them try ramen for the first time - kind of like that. But this example also shows just how rarely Gaara seems to get time off during official visits: it took him being Kazekage for 4 years until he ate his first Ramen - but ok, if the war hadn’t been in the way I guess Naruto would have made him try it sooner. Now, if we are talking about “regular” time off, the place would definitely need to be in Suna - Gaara is important for the protection of his village so he can’t just leave whenever he wants.
I’m also going to assume that Gaara can walk around relatively freely without being bothered by crowds - if simply for the fact that we have seen him do so before, at least in other villages. Gaara strikes me as a character who could very much enjoy new experiences - there was once a time when most things “normal” people did were foreign to him and he had to go through a very steep learning curve after his first encounter with Naruto. I can see him trying new things when he gets the chance and also wanting to encourage Shinki to do the same - so long something falls not too far outside both of their comfort zones.
.
We established all the little details but no one has gone anywhere yet. So if we are going for something interesting: > how about we bring cats into this?
Gaara and Shinki strike me as having a lot of, for the lack of a better word, “cat-people energy” - were they aware of this before this fateful day? Probably not. Were they aware of it afterward? - you bet!
Gaara felt a bit confused when he heard that Suna would be hosting a big pet show for the first time in a few years *he had to sign the paperwork after all* - what was that again? People bring their cats and dogs to show them to visitors and a jury?
“Must be another unique way humans manage to be vain about their property” - the concept of placing much importance in the things one owns and how they reflect on you was something Gaara understood as a concept but never fancied.
He didn’t understand very well why visitors would want to see such a spectacle until Kankuro said something along the lines of “sometimes people just want to see animals do cute stuff I guess? You know how girls and kids are - show them a dog rolling over and they will go crazy - don’t worry too much about it, I’m also not much of a fan.”
On a second thought: “Oh but maybe Shinki likes that stuff? I mean he’s a kid - ..... although he doesn’t behave like one most of the time.”
- and with that comment, the deal was settled: there would be father-son bonding time scheduled and they would go observe cute animals!!
Shinki wasn’t very thrilled but what can you do - he wanted to train but was too well behaved and respected his father too much to object any of his decisions - no matter how strange some of them sounded.
In the end, none of them had high expectations for this trip but they went anyway because “At worst we have made a valuable experience” - Gaara
*Shinki didn’t dare question what could be “valuable” about this*
As it turned out, the date they picked for their visit was designated for cats of all breeds --
Of course, both Gaara and Shinki had seen cats before - from afar. No one in their family owned any animals - if you didn’t factor in the deer raised on the property of the Nara-clan.
But they had also HEARD about cats before
--------- mostly because Shukaku never seemed to miss an opportunity to insult them: “cats are the most useless creatures, it goes to show how stupid humans are for domesticating them” - “and you are sure you aren’t just saying this because kids always seem to mistake you for one?” -Kankuro would add
*Needless to say: Kankuro still enjoyed provoking people he really shouldn’t.* -------------
Well now the two shinobi were in front of one - their first close encounter with a feline - a big sand-colored persian with her owner, a friendly-looking old lady, standing next to her.
“Well I suppose they are quite endearing with their big eyes” -Gaara noted
Old lady: “Oh dear would you like to come closer? She really enjoys being pet behind her ears - she’s even calm with most strangers”
Gaara was a bit hesitant
When you’ve only ever heard bad things about cats and their temper you might think twice about petting them when you get the chance - at least until you take the courage to hold out your hand and they start purring like you are their best friend and they will love you forever.
Now, if anything gets Gaara - it’s being shown unconditional love and acceptance in unexpected places
yes apparently this does not exclude kitties
*holding out his hand while the cat is purring and meowing* Gaara : O.O Shinki, next to him: O.O Both of them internally: "ohhhh so THAT'S what all the fuss is about"
- Instant non-verbal agreement that cats are awesome
After that encounter, both might or might not have been extremely tempted to adopt a cat.
But since Gaara knew no one in this family had much time to spend at home - *and because he had this lingering sense that the cat might develop a taste for his succulents* - he had to resist.
This however wouldn’t mean that their next “family day” wasn’t already planned to be a trip to the local animal shelter. _________________________ Bonus:
eventually, Shukaku finds out about their trips and is NOT amused that they considered bringing one of “those things” home.
Yes- he’s still fuming from that one time he was carried by Shinki in his more “compact” form and a toddler pointed at them saying “oh your cat is so chubby! can I pet it? Pleeeeese!!” (*needless to say both Shinki and Gaara were mortified back then and hurried to get Shukaku away from the little girl before any casualties were to occur*)
He continues to sulk for at least a full month about this “betrayal”.
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Romantic headcanons for Neji? 🥺
A/N: here you go, hope you enjoy it! I absolutely adore writing for Neji, he’s my baby.
Romantic Headcanons for Neji
oh boy, he is a romantic by nature, you’re literally so lucky to be with him
he loves romance and everything that has to do with it but it’s a secret he will take to the grave
no one and I mean NO ONE, except you will be able to see his soft, romantic side
it will take a while for him to show you the soft one
but the romantic one? well that depends on how you view it
now now now, he is NOT a flirt, he’s just extremely smart and theoric so he knows what’s proper and what’s needed to do to make your heart melt every now and then
so when he realises you’re of his interest, he will be such a gentleman with you
you’ll be the first one to see him blush and it will happen just while he’s asking you out
he will take a few deep breaths and mentally assure himself he’s THE Neji Hyuga and he knows what he’s doing
will be all confident and talk to himself about how it will all go alright and nothing will go wrong but once he’s in front of you... yeah, no words will come out
you’ll have to raise an eyebrow at him and ask him if something’s bothering him
he will clear his throat and fix his hair and do his best to look you in the eye
“I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tonight?”
you would smile and excitedly nod at his proposal and when you grab his hand as an instinct...
yeah that’s when his cheeks become the same color as Gaara’s hair
the first few dates before becoming an official couple would be like straight out of a fairytale
he will ask you to be his official girlfriend during a dinner date he set up on a beautiful garden which Hinata helped him decorate with fairy lights and candles
he will open the door for you, hold your hand as you walk through Konoha, introduce you to his clan during a fancy dinner (oh and once the two of you have been dating for a looong time he will hold your waist in public because that takes a lot from him)
will plan a formal dinner for the two of you at least twice a month
he is very thoughtful and since he’s not much of a talker, he will love to hear about your day while he drinks his cup of tea. will never interrupt you and will always remember the little details you think he wouldn’t have picked up on
like that time you were telling him about the long mission you had last week where you couldn’t sleep because Choji’s food smelled too strong and your sensitive nose couldn’t let you have a peaceful sleep? well Neji will now light a scented candle after the two of you cook a smelly dinner that ends up leaving the house with a strong odor so you can sleep without a bother
he won’t fall asleep until he’s sure you’re already asleep
absolutely loves to give you forehead kisses
he’s not much of a cuddler but whenever the two of you are in bed ready to sleep and you snuggle close to him, he will softly play with your hair or trace his fingers over your shoulders
he’s not clingy and not very affectionate but whenever he’s back from missions, that’s when he expects you to read his mind and know he wants you to hug him, kiss him, be close to him and give him attention
he’ll never ask you for it, he’ll just sit closer to your during dinner or when you’re reading something on the couch and he will also stare longer at you
you’ll know he truly loves and trusts you when he lets you play with his hair (by play I mean he will at most allow you to run your fingers through it), because he hates it when people try and touch it or even when they mention how long and shiny it looks
absolutely loves to just be with you even if the two of you aren’t doing anything. just seeing you sitting across from him and knowing you’re safe and healthy is enough to make his heart happy
#neji headcanons#neji x reader#neji#neji hyuuga x reader#naruto imagines#naruto#naruto request#naruto headcanons#naruto hc#neji hyuga#neji hyūga#neji hcs#neji hyuga headcanons
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