#though nowhere as much as kakashi's or hashirama's

[akatsukitrash]

Wait I wanna know what makes MinaKushi toxic 👀

Honestly when it comes to comparing this ship to other canon ships, it’s not that terrible. However I really don’t see what people mean when they say it’s a beautiful romance and a healthy relationship. Obviously a lot of it comes from Kishimoto’s inability to write female characters without 500 sexist tropes, eg. Kushina abandoning her dream of becoming Hokage and instead making her husband Hokage while she stays at home getting pregnant (a pregnancy that’s incredibly dangerous! And we’re supposed to believe Minato loves her more than anything when he willingly impregnates her). Their first meeting was cute, alright, but then Minato just lets her get bullied. Sure he does offhandedly say later that it’s because she’s strong and he trusts her, and she is, but he could’ve offered his friendship, instead of spying on her (I also find it interesting how Hinata, who canonically kept trying to befriend Naruto, is presented as a stalker by the fandom and called misogynistic insults, but Minato, who does stalk Kushina and doesn’t try to befriend her, is called romantic). Standing by while someone is getting bullied (and I can’t remember if it happened in the manga or the anime but one of her bullies threw actual kunai at her, so it escalated to the point of attempted murder) is being complicit. Yeah he was a kid, but I think we can acknowledge it was a bad move on his part and Kushina wasn’t being a bitch for disliking him, like I’ve seen a lot of fans imply. 

The kidnapping scene is…well. Minato wasn't necessarily being toxic there (still stupid to go after grown ass Jonins instead of alerting authorities, but I guess Naruto had to get his saviour complex from somewhere) but again. Sexist writing. It also implies Kushina is only into Minato because he saved her, there isn’t really any indication that she likes him as a person, and they start dating right away as children. 

Then we get to adult them and that’s where the power imbalance is really bad. Kushina is a genocide survivor who’s completely cut off from her original culture and even exiled from her country, she’s inherently in a vulnerable state especially because she has no support system due to being a hated jinchuuriki, and we don’t see any bond outside Minato, with the sole exception of Mikoto, who’s part of an oppressed minority. At the time, the Uchiha weren’t being spied on nor pushed to the outskirts of the village, granted, so most of the oppression we see them face hasn’t happened yet, but it’s safe to assume that Mikoto doesn’t have the power to help Kushina. Meanwhile, Minato has ties to the Hokage, to one of the Sannin, has his own genin team, etc. He has a life outside Kushina, and the power to punish her socially and legally if she steps out of line. Kushina is confined to being his girlfriend (there is no mention of marriage so I’m gonna assume they weren’t married), she’s viewed with suspicion (at best) while he’s viewed as a hero, and she is stuck in a village whose culture is completely foreign to her and which has been actively hostile towards hers (their mockery of her Uzumaki features + the fact Konoha didn’t come to Uzushio’s aid). His whole reputation as a powerful shinobi is entirely built off the back of the Uzumaki clan. Most of his jutsus were taught to him by Kushina, who’s kept away from the Hokage position despite mastering them better than him on top of having the hiden jutsu Adamantine Chains (which we’ve seen can bind Kyuubi even while she was weakened by both Bijuu extraction and childbirth, and we see Karin use it to destroy the Buddha Mokuton jutsu which is a jutsu Hashirama uses to defeat Susanoo-clad Kyuubi, and Orochimaru says Karin’s chains are weaker than Kushina) + her being the Jinchuuriki of the most powerful Bijuu and having a very strong will and chakra to suppress him. There is no reason she was kept from being Hokage that’s not pure xenophobia and sexism. The Yellow Flash only exists because the Uzumaki clan was massacred, and there is nothing that shows he cared enough to preserve her culture, find survivors, or anything to repay the Uzumaki clan. It feels very exploitative. The only two jutsus he uses that aren’t Uzumaki related are the Rasengan (which he admits is his own less powerful version of a Bijuudama, something Kushina has used as a Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi) and Hiraishin, a jutsu invented by SENJU Tobirama, who belongs to a clan related to the Uzumaki, and who gets no credit from Minato, which again ties back to Minato only using the Uzumaki to further his career while doing nothing to help them. It also feels a lot like he’s trying to cosplay Hashirama (even going as far as mirroring Hashirama’s behavior in the War arc despite having a completly different personally pre-Edo Tensei) but that’s a whole other can of worms.

Of course, a lot of those are circumstances that are mostly outside of Minato’s control, but he doesn’t make things better, and it does establish an environment where Kushina is essentially tied to him as her sole provider of attention and love and as a man who holds an incredibly amount of political and societal leverage over her, while exploiting her heritage with no credit and no reward for her as a person and shinobi. And he does use it against her eventually. While he gets to tell Kakashi about her pregnancy and have him guard her day and night, and is free to meet people as he pleases, she’s kept away from her only friend Mikoto, to the point where she didn’t know that Mikoto was pregnant with a boy and not a girl, and wasn’t able to be present at the birth or even the days following the birth (Sasuke was born in July, so he was about two months and a half when Kushina finally saw him BY ACCIDENT). That is an insane level of isolation and while we’re told it’s for “her own good”, for me it just shows Minato doesn’t care about her as a person + is himself filled with bigotry towards the Uchiha. 

We also know that Kushina kept being discriminated against for her appearance as a “foreigner” and that she felt like only Minato could love her (or rather her red hair) and that much of her self worth hinges on Minato’s love of her hair. So again, I’m rehashing this point, but it’s crucial to see that the relationship was never equal. 

Where Minato gets seriously toxic though is Naruto’s birth. He simply ignored her wishes, which confirmed my assumptions earlier of him not seeing her as a person but as a concept, and her culture as just an accessory he can throw away whenever he wants. Using an Uzumaki jutsu to put her son through the unbelievable horror and pain of being Jinchuuriki (while not even being sure Naruto would survive having a Bijuu inside him) is beyond bigoted. Her begging doesn’t phase him. Her asking him to survive so he could be there for Naruto also falls into deaf ears. He claims he’d rather die and give Kushina five minutes with her son later, but I honestly don’t think it’s entirely that, especially since he pulled the “I’m a Konoha shinobi and so is my son”. That line solidified him as a terrible father and husband, but also shows that again, he doesn’t give a shit about Kushina being from Uzushio. Naruto is his, and therefore Konoha’s. He should suffer for Konoha. But also he, as an Uzumaki, should be exploited by Konoha like his mother was. He didn’t even have any last words for him. The worst part is if his dumb fucking ass sealed Kyuubi back into Kushina, she would’ve LIVED. She is a full Uzumaki, and Naruto being half still survived the extraction as soon as Kyuubi was put back into him in the war arc. Hell, she outlived Minato, whose pathetic ass died right away (also he didn’t even have enough chakra to keep fighting Obito, while Kushina was spamming jutsus despite her mortal injuries, but that’s again another can of worms). 

For me their death scene was only a tragedy for Kushina. Exploited since she was eight years old, dies at only twenty-four for a village that hated her and her culture, knowing she’s leaving behind a cultureless, parentless son who will grow up alone and just as exploited. Nothing justifies what Minato did. The fact he never regretted it nor even paused to consider Kushina’s words shows just how little he actually values her input and her opinions. She was never his equal, and that was made clear when he made the decision on her behalf for both of them to die and for Naruto to be a weapon. 

Now yeah, don’t get me wrong, I love toxic ships. I’m a toxic HashiMito truther. But MinaKushi is pushed on us both by the narrative and fandom as the perfect romance and I don’t see it. Minato is self-centered, exploitative, bulldozes over his girlfriend’s DYING wishes, disregards her culture and only brings up her trauma as a genocide survivor to convince her that they should die for the village that abused her till her last breath. Just because he washed the dishes once doesn’t make him a good partner. Kushina was essentially chained to him, and I can hardly see a scenario where her leaving him would be without consequence. That’s just not a healthy relationship. 

Thanks for the ask! This was fun to write, although I fear I might get hated by the entirety of the fandom lmfao. This came out longer than expected (thank god I’m too lazy to add manga panels) because I have so many Kushina feels. She’s my baby

[depressedhatakekakashi]

So true!!!, it's true that they only say those things because they hate the character but what bothers me the most about those types of people is that when you tell them that they are wrong they tell you "it's manga canon" and I'm like what? Nowhere in the manga do they tell us that he's a fascist, rather the opposite...

They say ‘manga canon’ but then can’t pull up any actual proof which is why they just resort to ‘it’s manga canon’

It’s not

It’s Canon that Konoha is built off of a very broken system (war) and thus even though it’s Hashirama’s dream for a better system it ends up simply becoming a militeristic state

Which is part of a fascist state, but not an entire fascist state

Things that are manga canon

1) Kakashi becomes a shinobi who refuses to kill unless his opponent refuses to give up/stand down (Land if Waves arc)

2) kakashi will stand up to/turn his back to the village if his precious people are in danger or in need of help (walking away from tsunade to go after sasuke and naruto, Taking Naruto out of the village during the five kage summit, telling sai to keep secrets from Danzo, the named Hokage at that moment)

3) Kakashi showed interest in finding out more about the massacre (and then was never shown doing anything cuz kishi threw everyone into a war and then just had Naruto pinky promise itachi he’d keep the secret) showing that he was willing to see that his higher ups had done something very VERY wrong but never actually giving us follow through on that because it would involve actually tackling the issue

And if we go outside the manga (since the manga does skip a lot) we get MORE

1) kakashi going against hiruzen’s order’s and into direct conflict with a village elder to save Tenzo

2) Kakashi being the Hokage to make a no kill rule (book)

3) Kakashi being willing to be hated for ‘going against the old ways’ because he knows the system needs to change (Book)

And like was it enough? No. But it’s proof Kakashi was not a fascist leader

A facist leader would not want people to question them, where Kakashi is open to being questioned and challenged

A facist leader would suppress rebellions and challenges (like hiruzen with the Uchiha) which we never see Kakashi do and have no reason to believe he’d do given that even when he does try to change someone mind he does so through speaking to them not trying to physically beat them down into submission.

A fascist leader would focus all of their attention on keeping a militeristic state, but Kakashi changes the focus to a more economical state where the villages rely on each other for trade rather than war

Kakashi is very much raised in what can be called a Fascist state in many ways (five years old soldiers anyone???) but even by the time Tsunade takes over that starts to change. Tsunade never had time to change everything, but when Kakashi took over as Hokage genuinely changes were being made toward something better

Something perfect? No. The writers still wanted to make Boruto so everything couldn’t change as much as we wanted

But something better for sure

[mira--mira]

Out of curiosity, what are your opinions on Minato Namikaze.

I guess for both in and out of Oot-verse

For Oot-verse you've mentioned about how a lot of the "shinobi families" are really just ex-Senju and while some authors make the Namikaze a small clan, I'm fairly sure that's not canon. Do would you consider him of the Senju bloodline in the Oot-verse. Since that would play better into the fact that actual civilian born are discriminated against since he was never used as an example of how far civilian born shinobi can go.

But like for a demented AU. instead of Sarutobi summoning the Terrors, let's make it Minato's problem's. Since we already know a lot of his repertoire was inspired/based off of the work of Tobirama, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for him to just fiddle around with old seals and oh no Kushina I think I'm a dad, I just made two kids pop out of nowhere, I didn't cheat on you I swear, please stop laughing and help me.

Tbh I have a mixed bag of feelings for Minato bc I don't really dislike him as a character but a lot of circumstance/plot devices around him. I hate the "Child of Prophecy" plot point, I dislike that he's the Fourth Hokage in a similar vein, I despise Jiraiya, etc. Minato is a character that, similar to Hiruzen, suffers from other areas of the plot and lore being created first and then he's slotted in to fill gaps but this does absolutely no favors to his character, especially as he's supposed to be a paragon of Konoha. And then there's Minato trying to impress Kushina by taking her dream of being Hokage and doing it for her. That is not romantic, but the hand of the author is so obvious I feel like I can't really blame Minato fully for that.

Ultimately he's a character I don't really love but not because his actions specifically. I do like more light-hearted fics and art where he's a house husband and living his best life.

You are correct though for OoT! I do consider him part of the Senju bloodline and he would been Senju Minato if Hashirama hadn't cast off their name. He's firmly a 'clanless' shinobi, not a 'civilian' one in that universe. I don't want him to be too closely related to the main line but it does cast Tobirama being irritated at him for using his jutsu and Naruto attributing it to Minato in a funny light to me. Tobirama stomping around complaining about the Senju Youth (TM) not giving credit to his ancestors, thinking just because he had time to tweak things and/or improve them make them his jutsu now is hilarious to me.

Ooh that would be a fun AU! Terrors in the previous generation instead of Naruto's 😂 Madara would bully Obito, trying to shape him into a proper Uchiha and Obito low-key hates him, but he's a polite boy and Madara is undeniably the most powerful 12 y/o Obito has ever seen and he's trying to impart some of that knowledge and power to Obito too makes him very conflicted. Obito constantly makes running tallies of 'who's worst today: Madara or Kakashi?'

Since Pakkun attacking Madara wouldn't have happened in this AU, I think Hashirama would like a younger Kakashi quite a lot. He might remind him of Tobirama in a way and He'd make it his mission to try and get the kid to lighten up/give him some knd of big brother figure to depend on since he'd lost his father.

Both would be decent friends with Rin. Madara because he catches onto Obito's crush immediately and decides to stick his nose into it and finds Rin reasonable and level-headed. She admires Kakashi but doesn't romantically like him like Obito thinks (mostly bc by god the girls need other motivations besides boys and Kakashi's age is a timeline headache of it's own). She sees Obito as a friend, not really interested in more at this point because she's focused on her own goals to be a great med-nin. She seeks out Hashirama on her own similar to Sakura to ask him to teach her, but she's much more respectful to Hashirama than Sakura is to him. I really like jinchuriki!Rin so that'd be part of this AU 100% and then a lot of her arc would be mastering that power through medical ninjutsu somehow.

Eheh this is becoming about Rin, back to Minato. I like to think his reasoning to 'keep' the terrors would be "It's great practice Kushina before we have kids" and Kushina, an Uzumaki, clearly recognizes Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara is like...:my dearest husband...this is both a terrible and BRILLIANT idea. If we can handle them, will be pros" (let Kushina be a little impulsive and wild plsss). The big issue would be them trying to keep the terrors because...the Uchiha haven't been massacred at this point. Madara would want to be with them but the Uchiha leadership is have a crisis because that is Uchiha Madara and they made him into a Ghost and banished him and Amaterasu turned away from them because of it. But also the coup is brewing and maybe this is a second chance to do it over. Either way, the only thing that unites the clan at this point is the belief that Madara will either be their salvation or damnation again.

[idkhowtopickausername]

I agree that it can't all be put on the editors, but Kishimoto had Naruto say the standard issue ninja-tool ideology was wrong and how he was going to find his own way early on. I don’t really think Kishimoto had in mind to make Naruto's answer to that be raising the shinobi age limit or something to that effect. After that it would be so anti-climatic. Naruto still didn't have an answer after the whole Pein thing either, but Minato also said something along the lines of as long as shinobi exist peace cannot which planted an interesting seed - would abolishing the system altogether result in peace? We can't really say what Kishimoto was planning I guess we can just speculate, but the way he set up story-telling elements early on suggest otherwise, and even if he gave up on it eventually he still threw in some of those ideas in the mix.

I think Sasuke and Pein were portrayed to be very sympathetic and justified in their feelings, but the way they went about getting change in a violent manner was not okay... by killing people/robbing them of free will. Madara and Obito too. It was still clear from their backstories and motivations that change in the system is required, but change in a different way. Also Tobirama was straight up admonished by Orochimaru and Hashirama (though nothing ever came of it but he's a dead man and obviously nowhere near enough but by the end it's not like Tobirama was praised for his actions). Danzo's values were not upheld the only people who were like "good job Danzo" were those anti-Uchiha which were also obviously not in the right. I think maybe the first step should've been calling out the Will of Fire for what it actually is - propaganda. It burns with the sacrifices of many. Unless everyone knows the truth it's easy to take something at face value and say they were wrong, or they were right. Their actions were justified, those were not. They were villains, they were heroes.

Sorry I've rambled long enough bye.

I can see what you’re saying and I think if I had only seen the Land of Waves arc then I would probably think the show was going to end with some sort of systemic change, but the nationalism in the parts that come after that feels too ubiquitous to me to be forced or incidental. Even as early as part 1 I do think there was some (although much less) of it. When Sasuke asked to fight Naruto on the rooftop and was acting more aggressive towards him than he ever had before (which I don’t think was necessarily out of character given how he’d just been retraumatized over not being powerful enough), he refused to put on the leaf headband which I think in terms of how that scene was framed served to link uncharacteristic aggression and breaking of friendships (the show’s moral core being about not betraying your friends) with disloyalty to to the village. He was implied to be straying from the ‘correct path’ of loyalty to the village and it was implied that later on he would learn a lesson and come aback, even if he was portrayed sympathetically.

While it’s true that Danzo and Tobirama weren’t necessarily treated as good people by the narrative, other characters who have killed lots of people for the village (Itachi, Minato, and Kakashi for example) are portrayed as heroic. Itachi carried out a genocide and this is portrayed as tragic but to some degree justified, which I don’t think Kishimoto was forced into writing. A person doesn’t have to be overtly bigoted or visibly leaping at the chance to do something cruel to still actively uphold an oppressive system. Hiruzen is treated as a bit flawed and like he maybe could have done better but nonetheless well-intentioned when he is shown to have known about Danzo’s plans as and done nothing about it, and then Naruto himself agrees to cover up the massacre which isn’t necessarily out of place in a story that was already portraying Itachi as a tragic hero who humbly accepts hatred instead of praise.

The villains’ plans are for the most part impractical and overly violent (although in many ways the same could be said of the current system), but it’s part of the problem that all of their plans are shown to be that way. The good characters don’t actually do anything to really change the system in any material way, they just passively lament the problems with it. The only characters who do construct actual plans for change and try to put them into action are the villains, and giving them such ridiculous plans is a significant part of how the show vilifies more radical viewpoints. The rhetoric of “the leaf village killed my family and made my life hell so we need to actively change the system so that this never happens again and I have a plan to make this happen” being paired with plans that are allegorical of things like a nuclear arms race (ironically the opposite of what someone who actually opposes the war machine would probably want), does lead to the vilification of characters like the ame orphans even if they are portrayed as sympathetic. Sasuke killed less people over the course of the story than almost all the series’ adult characters but is still portrayed at times as unhinged and overly violent in conjunction with moments when he moves further away from being loyal to the village.

I do agree that you can take quotes like Minato saying that peace can never be achieved while shinobi exist and put them together to get actual political criticism and implications that the system should be abolished, which is why I think lots of people (including myself) feel drawn to analyzing it, but at the same time you have Jiraiya saying there’s too much ‘hate’ in the shinobi world and Naruto winning all his fights with the power of friendship and the implication that people just need to be nicer to each other. I think the politics of the show at many points are muddled and contradictory, and abolishing the shinobi system would have been the most actually logical answer to the problems presented, but it’s not uncommon for people to lament problems that are effects of a larger system and even recognize them as systemic issues but still be opposed to any actual attempts to radically change that system, or veer away from them in favor of platitudes.

I don’t think Naruto raising the age limit of shinobi would presented as the full solution to the political problems presented if Kishimoto had more time, it’s more like he would be shown making some new rules like that and through the magical power of him being nice and powerful and a good leader Konoha would be portrayed as generally more prosperous and peaceful and major wars would be averted while the day to day violence of the shinobi system would be glossed over.

[phantomchick]

Naruto Fic Rec Masterpost!

Adoption by Defenestration; or, A Family Can Be A Fox Demon, Its Jinchuuriki, and Three Dozen Highly-Trained Assassins  by elumish Oneshot, Gen, Fluff, child neglect, Naruto gets unofficially adopted by his anbu guards and it’s incredibly cute Summary: He will not be the ANBU who let the jinchuuriki plummet to his death out a fourth story window. Let that be another ANBU’s legacy.

Being Over-Prepared is Impossible (and other mottos)  by Pleasedial123 Longfic, Gen, Team Seven, team as family, Bamf Kakashi, Bamf team 7, au, kakashi pov, Complete but part of a three part series and the third part is still ongoing, still highly recommend, what team 7 should have been, Skilled Teacher! Kakashi Summary: In one world, Kakashi awoke, felt grieved at being assigned a team he sees his own in, and he let that grief make him a lazy teacher.  He saw himself in Sasuke, Obito in Naruto, and Rin in Sakura. He woke, saw himself in them, and took a large step back, regretting accepting them as his new team.  In that world he was quite hands off - merely a watcher because it was so very painful to watch. He saw himself and all his mistakes in this new team of his. 

In this world, Kakashi awoke, saw the similarities, and instantly panicked. 

He suddenly realised what he had done, passing a team.  Kakashi was left scrambling not to repeat old mistakes and regrets. This team would not suffer the fate of his team.

In this world, simply put, Kakashi became a teacher.  This is the beginning of a new team seven.

Something in the water by maldoror_gw  Oneshot, Gen, Teen and Up for language, hilarious, Tsunade pov, fluff, mild crack, pre-shippuden post naruto,

Summary: "Sakura...what is that man reading?" Tsunade asked in a dangerous voice. Sakura's gaze twitched away from her ex-teacher to her new - and temperamental - mentor. "Erm...a book...written by a...well-respected member of the community...about...romance?" Tsunade noted with passing approval that Sakura was demonstrating both loyalty and quite a lot of imagination in defending her one-time team leader (who was now trying to edge around a pillar to get away from Tsunade's venomous glare).

backslide by blackkat Time travel, time travel fix it, mature, fluff, team seven, m/m, slow build romance, Naruto adopts himself, Uzumaki heritage, bamf Naruto, complete longfic, Summary: Naruto’s friends are gone, his lover is dying, Konoha is destroyed, and Madara’s second return has pushed the entire world to the brink. Hunted and harried, Naruto is sent back in time to upend Madara’s plan before it even starts, and sets about changing everything. Butterfly effect nothing: the world is at stake, and Naruto is hardly about to let it fall to ruin once more. Not while he’s still breathing.

Tobirama Kicks Some Sense Into Konoha by allseer15 Hurt/comfort, whump, emotional whump, time travel, fix it, time travel fix it, The ‘what if Tobirama came to the future saw an orphaned Naruto and adopted the shit out of him’ Fic, Iconique, child neglect, child abandonment, fluff, so much fluff, completed longfic, look I have a weakness for the time travel fix it trope at the best of times but this fic is good even looking at it without focusing on that! Prolonged Tobirama content, Senju lore, senju feels, Summary: The Hidden Leaf Village in Naruto's time seems to have forgotten just why the village was founded and have lost their way.  Through a mishap with a hiraishin seal, Tobirama finds himself during Naruto's time and he is having none of this nonsense. His brother may be gone, but he won't stand to have Hashirama's dream trampled so. And if he has to cause a civil war or burn the village down to the ground? Well that depends on how much resistance he meets. All Tobirama does know for certain is that no child will suffer underneath the protection of Konoha and if he has to take them in and care for them himself, then he will.

Hardest of hearts by blackkat Oneshot, Gen, look I really like blackkat’s naruto fic okay, part one of a completed three part series, all three parts are great, Fix its are the best, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix It, Orochimaru redemption story, the sheer shadenfreude of one baddie fucking over another baddie, in this case Danzo, Obito has a ‘bad guy but not that bad of a guy’ solidarity moment with Orochimaru at the start and I loved it so there’s that, featuring a low key constantly horrified at this turn of events Minato,

Summary: Orochimaru gets one more chance. Just maybe, it will be enough to save him—and the entire world as well. 

A Snake In the Grass, a Wolf At the Door by blackkat Mature, Completed ten chapter fic, Orochimaru redemption story, Orochimaru/Kakashi’s dad, you read that right, quality Sakumo content, Families of Choice, Humour, Fluff and Angst, somewhat crackish, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, baby Kakashi being a cutie Summary: Orochimaru is on the edge of breaking when someone unexpected pulls him back to solid ground. When the time comes, he returns the favour.

Nukenin by WhisperingDarkness Gen, dimension travel, team seven, team as family, Kakashi actually being a good sensei even when he’s not a sensei at all, possessive kakashi, Team Seven is his team, Kinda Fluffy, Protective Kakashi, the ‘this might as well happen’ adaptability is real, Kakashi adopts team seven and team seven adopts kakashi, even though he’s illegal, 4 chapter fic, marked as complete as author doesn’t plan to continue it, but even taking these chapters as stand alone this fic is great,

Summary:  In the sealed scroll he finds a Bingo Book – his own page marking him as an S-class nukenin with flee-on-sight orders.  “Ok. That is definitely different.”  In his head he blames Naruto – even if his number one unpredictable student had been nowhere near him on this mission. When things go this stupidly impossibly wrong it must somehow be the future Hokage’s fault.

Ear to the Wall by Vodkassassin Ongoing, it’s really really good though! great Kakashi content, Minato is very stressed and I love him, Sickfic, Hurt/Comfort, whump, PTSD’d Kakashi gets to relive his childhood but gets a little bit of a real childhood along the way, ADHD Rin, time travel fix it, look I like what I like and what I like is fix its and time travel apparently, Kakashi adopts Orochimaru before he descends into douchbaggery, Orochimaru Redemption story, everyone is alive,   Summary: The Minato-sensei beams at him, and replies, “Kakashi! I’m glad you’re awake,” and, yup, that’s Minato-sensei’s voice. Kakashi falls back down against the bed, closing his eyes. It’s too short of a way down, and he clenches hands that are too tiny and feeble and not his in dog-print sheets he hasn’t owned for decades.

How To Save The World With No One Even Realising by IncompleteSentanc (Erava) Gen, Teen and Up, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, time travel fix it, Canonically Accurate OP Team 7, SuperBadass!Sakura, SuperBadass!Sasuke, SuperBadass!Naruto, RegularBadass!Shikamaru, Canonically Violent Sasuke, Equally Violent Sakura, Saving The World One Murder At A Time, Various Jinchuuriki, Team 7 As Super Villains, Doing Super Villainy Stuff, Like Murder, And Professional Eyeball Removal, Poor Obito, Poor Minato, AKA The Worst Four Months of Minato's Life, And Everyone Else's Too, Dark Humor, Bittersweet Ending, Dark Comedy, Crack treated seriously, completed 3 chapter fic, Well worth the read, Team 7 To The End! Summary: Minato knows at the beginning of the week that it's going to be a hellish one. Mostly because it starts with the kidnapping of one of his two remaining students, only a year after they'd lost the first one. He just doesn't realise at the time that it's not going to be a hellish week - it's going to be hell for quite a bit longer than that. It all starts with Rin's kidnapping, and her subsequent rescue at the hands of a mysteriously appearing, monstrously strong, murderously violent woman. A woman with cotton candy pink hair. It only devolves from there.

Just Killing Time by Elizabeth Culmer (edenfalling) Gen, Oneshot, Short and Sweet, Classic of The Fandom, Ficlet, Team 7, Kids being Kids, Fluff, Fluff and Humour, Slice of Life, Cute Kids

Summary: After Wave Country and before the chuunin exam, Team 7 kills time while waiting for Kakashi to show up. 

there lies a trail of fire behind us by BowAndDagger Gen, Madara is extremely confused but mostly on board, Time Travel au, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bamf Naruto Uzumaki, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Except Zetsu, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Fix-It, Founders Era, clan wars era, Pre-Slash, POV Uchiha Madara, the Completed part one of an Ongoing/Incomplete series, completed 4 chapter fic, Summary: As he returns from a mission, Madara makes a strange encounter with an even stranger shinobi. Then, he’s summarily kidnapped to go on a quest to save the world by said weird shinobi. (He absolutely did not choose to follow the stranger on his own free will. He was kidnapped. He did not give chase. He did not.)

A Political Perspective by VJ Riddle  / MueraRashaye Ongoing, Possibly (Probably) Discontinued, Teen and Up, Gen, Team 7, training montage deluxe, Konoha is a murder village, Good Teacher! Kakashi, AU, slowly developing into Bamf team 7, Bamf Kakashi, slowly developing into Team as Family, lots of fun ideas, not crack, Minor Spoiler: Zabuza and Haku get x’d before their character development gets its chance to shine in this fic, Sometimes people don’t warn for that in the tags and it can be a dealbreaker in fic for me as I love those two, not a dealbreaker in the case of this fic though! Really good fic so far, kind of verging on dry in places but it always stays fun in the end with lots of interesting elements, I enjoy the character insight from the pov switching, and also how much of a headcase Kakashi is, graphic depictions of violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence,

Summary: Hatake Kakashi was a shinobi, and as a shinobi, the only people who could give him orders were his military superiors. The idea that a Council made up of civilians and peers was under the impression they could give him orders...displeased him. Or: He was ordered to pass Team 7. He was fine with that, until they actually passed.

Integrity by Liz_Starling Oneshot, Gen, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Compliant, Integrity, Child Neglect, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, Reflections on Naruto’s inner workings as a person, promises,

Summary: Naruto keeps his word. Some people are loyal to their families. Some, their orders. Naruto is loyal to the only thing he’s been able to count on; the promises he makes.

Foundation (Build It Higher, Bury It Deeper) by RayShippouUchiha Ongoing, BUT EXCELLENT, it made me cry, Naruto feels, 6 chapter fic thus far, Bamf Naruto, Bamf Tsunade, Naruto deserved better, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Mature, Team 7, Uzumaki Feels, Abandonment, Tsunade gives Naruto the personal talk he deserved instead of finding out from a chakra imprint when he was dying, so we stan, I love this fic

Summary: It’s just… he’d thought, given his fight against Neji and then his confrontation with Gaara, that someone would finally really acknowledge what he’d done.  That beyond Iruka-sensei’s crushing hug and Kakashi-sensei’s absent pat, someone would actually notice that he’d won against both of them.

That he’d beaten a genius on his own and then had battled another jinchūriki to a stand still.

So while he hadn’t really expected to be promoted too he’d still ...

¦ part 1 ¦ part 2 ¦ part 3 ¦

[chatonyant]

are u planning on making any major (or minor) changes revolving the kekkei genkais? :D

OhohO yeah I’ve got plans :> thanks for asking, I have an excuse to ramble about them now :D

The ideas I have actually came before the idea of this au because I was chatting with my friends and had a whole ramble on “Hey, kekkei genkais don’t make sense. What if they did?”

The ideas, much like pretty much everything else, are still a work in progress BUT the general idea I have for them is that they’re learnable jutsus-- it’s just that they’re harder to learn and control and may have physical debilitations due to the nature of the jutsu. 

This is excluding the things that are obviously physical/biological like the doujutsu and the bone kekkei genkai. Though that does bring up the question of why Ao could activate and deactivate his Byakugan but Kakashi couldn’t do so with his Sharingan. Personally I want to think that it may have something to do with a battlefield implant by a still-learning (but highly talented cause wOW) medic-nin. But that’s more food for thought at a later time :D

More rambling underneath!

So to go more in-depth with kekkei genkais being learnable, I want to first talk about the original concept itself. It’s interesting how within the Naruto universe, there’s this concept of knowledge being passed down through genetics. Because this isn’t the Avatar universe, where movements and will are what control the elements. Though their movements are akin to martial arts, accidental bending exists, as does bending with casual movements. Ninjutsu isn’t like that. Ninjutsu requires specific hand movements in a specific order. The control of chakra could be instinctual, like someone knowing how much energy they need to jump, but hand signs are a lot more precise and complex(?) than that. So how is it that such knowledge is passed down through genetics? Haku and Tenzou both wield their bloodlines very well without having a teacher with the same kekkei genkai. 

I’ve got no proper answer for that in canon (except the idea of “why not?”), but I do want to go more in-depth with the idea of knowledge and instincts within the au at a later time, tying it in with the idea of yokai and spirits ;)

So. The fundamental elements of kekkei genkai aren’t unusual. It’s the combination of two chakra elements to create a secondary element. But is that impossible for other shinobi? What makes these clans so special? 

In this redesigned world, this combination of chakra elements isn’t impossible for other shinobi-- just really really difficult and requires high chakra control. If a shinobi doesn’t have the chakra control and just slams the two elements together, sure it could work, but it may not have the results that they particularly wanted. These jutsus COULD be copied by someone who has a Sharingan, but it would difficult for the copier to control said chakras if they didn’t have experience beforehand. 

Another reason it’s difficult is the physical requirements. For example, Haku’s ice. So say someone eventually DID learn how to utilize the ice style. But there are consequences. They can’t use it for long before the cold seeps into their skin and bones and begins numbing their fingers and potentially causing hyperthermia. Haku, being born with this kekkei genkai, has a body better suited for such jutsu which could vary from naturally lower body temp to being more resistant to the cold. 

Another example is Tenzou and his Mokuton. I mean really, this man can turn his body into a tree. Enough said about physical requirements. 

HOWEVER.

That does not mean that someone couldn’t learn a modified version of Mokuton that doesn’t require turning your flesh into wood. 

But before I get into that, let’s go into ambient chakra. 

I don’t know if this is canon or not and frankly i’m too tired to find out because it doesn’t matter, i’m doing my own thing. 

I’ve got this headcannon that there is ambient chakra that infuses the air, water, and nature in general. This is not nature chakra, because nature chakra is a special type of chakra that does not usually float around in abundance because if it did, sages would just need to tap into the near infinite energy of nature around them and spend less time “gathering” the energy. No, this is just casual chakra that just vibes in the world. 

Haku’s ice is created by the moisture around them. Ok, cool. Fire jutsus are created when the user breathes out chakra elements. Aight, makes sense. You could totally science that and say something about chakra and friction and sparks and- yeah. Kisame creating a fucking mini ocean in the middle of a desert?

I hate my brain trying to science this. Did I just make ambient chakra a thing just to make some things make sense? Yes, among other things? Am I going far too into things when I really don’t need to/ probably shouldn’t? Probably.

So. Conservation of matter really doesn’t apply to this world, but ANYWAYS, shinobi subconsciously use ambient chakra to create and manipulate the world around them. They basically use their chakra as a fishing line to hook onto the chakra of their surroundings and yank it into position. Or create a mini-ocean in the middle of a desert, whatever. 

The idea I have of how Mokuton works is that the user manipulates the roots and seeds of plants around them into growing faster and moving where the user wants them to be. Thus, their jutsu is weaker in areas with very little plants. At first I was thinking “hey maybe they make wood out of nowhere like they do with water” but then I was like “wow that would use up a LOT of chakra.” And also i just like the idea of a Mokuton user carrying around seeds and tossing them around but I digress.

So a Mokuton user would use their chakra and ambient chakra to feed the plant and make it grow. (wow such a simple explanation that took too long to explain-- I’m sorry, words get ahead of me sometimes.)

Thus a person can learn to manipulate the plants in their vicinity but not be able to turn their own flesh into wood like Hashirama and Tenzou :D with Obito as honorable mention.

Stuff like chakra chains are less of “wow that require pinpoint control and understanding of chakra natures” it’s more of “oh fuck that’s a lot of chakra and i have to mold it into shape outside my body??? nope” it’s like Rasengan! except with wayyy more chakra and more density. (Tailed beasts!!! It can fucking hold down tailed beasts-)

Chakra is said to have five (+two) natures but there’s also so many different types of jutsus shown within the show that things inevitably get very very confusing

[chestnut-b]

Himawari Chapter 7

“Do you think I could become strong too? Like you and Kakashi-sensei?” 

Iruka couldn’t help but smile. 

To see with the eyes of a child again.

He pressed his forehead to the boy’s own. 

“Stronger than anyone else, for sure.”

Chapter 7 of a Demon Slayer AU.

Two days after he’d left the forest, Kakashi made the admittedly, equally convoluted journey to the slayer headquarters. On his arrival, he was ushered in by the waiting attendants, and was soon joined by another. Before they could exchange words, a pair of young girls dressed in deep purple kimono announced their presence. 

“The master has arrived.” They said in unison, before retreating further back into the room.

The newly arrived figure took a seat before them, and with a calm, warm smile, began to speak.

“Welcome back, Anko. It pleases me to have you with us again after your long journey.”

“You honor me, Oyakata-sama.”

“And you, Kakashi, it’s been more than half a year since you’ve set foot here. I pray you’ve been well. We’re grateful for all your efforts.”

“Thank you, Oyakata-sama.”

As usual, our leader has a way with words, Kakashi mused silently. Lifting his head from his bow, he took in the sight of the man before him. 

Senju Hashirama, head of the clan and current leader of the Demon Slayer Corp. He wasn’t lying when he told Iruka that they shared a striking resemblance, the teacher could have easily passed as a younger doppelgänger, though he lacked the aura and mannerisms of one raised in a great household from birth. 

“It seems we’ve got great weather today. Is that so, Hinata?”

The girl in the back let out a surprised squeak before replying meekly “Y-yes! The sky is a deep, beautiful blue today.” The younger girl beside her stoically confirmed her observations. With their clear-white gazes, the Hyuuga attendants could have easily been mistaken as the unsighted ones here.

His condition’s gotten worse since the last time I was here, Kakashi noted. The Hashira’s thoughts flickered for a moment to a pair of similar, smiling dark eyes, but he quashed it before the unease could settle in his chest. 

“Anko, if you would.”

The woman in question nodded before sitting up at attention. She began to recount the last month of her reconnaissance with Jiraiya. Kakashi gave her a once over in the corner of his eye, and was met with a red, beady-eyed stare, and a flicking, forked tongue peaking out from under the collar of her coat.

For a person who survived the trauma of Orochimaru’s enslavement and subsequent decimation of her clan, Anko was surprisingly fond of snakes, he thought wryly.

“The skin we found was estimated to be about a month old. We also engaged two members of the Lower-Moons in battle on our journey back. The samples have been sent to the medical quarters, as requested.” She concluded.

That caught Kakashi’s attention. It had been a few years since any slayer had encountered even a Lower-Moon ranked demon. The Hashira who’d engaged one had been instructed to collect blood samples. What they were doing with those samples, Kakashi wasn’t privy to. 

The medical quarters were located in the Snail Estate and functioned as a hospital. He knew it used to have a leader, but for as long as he’d been a slayer, that seat had been left empty.

“Thank you, Anko. You’ve done well. Please get some rest before your next assignment.”

“As you wish.” Taking it as her cue to leave, she bowed, turned to wink at Kakashi and, if he knew her at all, left for the nearest dango stand, presumably.

“Kakashi, it’s about time for my walk. Would you care to join me?”

------------------------------------

They moved, between the seemingly endless lines of grave markers, in silence.

Every member who had perished in service to the corp had a place here. Even those who’d failed the selection. Their predecessors; the ones that had lain here for over a hundred years still saw fresh flowers being placed before them, even now.

Among these, his father’s, Obito’s, Rin’s. 

They stopped in front of one bearing the name ‘Namikaze Minato’. The one beside it bore Kushina’s name.

“Is he growing well, Kakashi?” 

For a moment he wasn’t sure who had asked the question.

“Yes. It’s still too early to judge his strength, but I was able to observe his reaction to the wisteria, it’s promising. He should have no issue participating in the selections, should he choose to take it.” Kakashi turned to his sensei’s marker; there were bright yellow chrysanthemums laid before it. 

“He’s energetic, loud, as much a troublemaker as any other child his age, but also brave.” 

He remembered Iruka gently touching Naruto’s cheek.

“Naruto’s been well taken care of.” Perhaps his sensei would find it reassuring. 

The man beside him smiled somberly.  

“How much time do you think we have?” 

“Patterns indicate five years, if we’re lucky.” 

“Too short.” The older man lamented.

They continued walking for a while, and eventually reached another marker, differentiated from the others only by the wisteria flowers carved into the stone.

Tenzou.

The Senju are famously short lived you know.

He knew. 

Kakashi had been promoted to Hashira merely two years after he’d received the sharingan. The first person he’d addressed as ‘Oyakata-sama’ was not the man standing beside him now, but a boy, not many years younger than he was.

He would have been the same age as Iruka, had he lived.

A gentle soul who loved gardening and plants, who looked at him less like a subordinate and more like an older brother. A boy who stood steadfast as he issued orders to the older Hashira, but cried only in front of Kakashi when the crows delivered news of more losses.

He’d succumbed to his curse before he’d had the chance to have a family.

“It’s a pity. I’m sure Tenzou would have very much liked to meet his cousin.”

He knows I know. Kakashi should have been surprised, but he wasn’t. Instead, he found himself in silent agreement.

You would like him, Tenzou.

“If I may ask, why haven’t you called for him?” 

“Iruka knows he’d be welcomed if he chose to return. I do not wish to trample upon Kohari’s wishes by insisting otherwise.”

Iruka, stubborn as usual.

“‘I’ve heard he’s performing duties as a slayer, Kakashi?”

“To the best of his abilities, Oyakata-sama.”

The elder Senju smiled. “It’s been decades since any of our family have been able to take up a sword. He does us all a great honor. I have to send Hiruzen my thanks.”

Kakashi looked upon the figure before him with a hooded eye.

An anomaly in every sense of the word. When Tenzou had passed, he’d expected another young Senju to replace him as leader. Instead, a man who looked well into his forties had appeared before them. He’d seen that face only once before; among the portraits of clan leaders that hung in the estate, his was amongst the first. The space beside his, that would have normally been reserved for a sibling, was left ominously empty. 

This man, by any calculation, should be well over two hundred years old. 

Jiraiya and Sarutobi had served under him as former Hashira. By now, he should have been just one of the markers amongst hundreds in this garden.

Perhaps there are stranger things than Orochimaru still walking this land.

“I hope you’ll continue to be friends with him.”

The Hyuuga retainers soon appeared before them, and led the man back to the Estate, leaving Kakashi to greet his friends and father before he eventually left the compound.

------------------------------------

He found Guruko whining pitifully at Anko at a roadside dango house. The hound busied herself staring down the snake that was coiled around Anko’s neck.

“You better not have fed her any dango, Anko. It could kill her.”

“As if I’d give up any for one of your mutts, idiot.” She muttered in between chews. The bandages that normally covered the bottom of her face were nowhere to be seen, leaving the scars that stretched across her mouth as plain as day. 

Kakashi ordered a cup of tea. He’d been feeling strangely deprived. He delved into his pouch for a stick of dried meat, and tossed it to the hound who started gnawing on it gleefully. 

“The old man’s dropping by the Forest Of Death before heading west. Isn’t that where you came from? Something particularly interesting I don’t know about?” 

“I left the manuscript for his new book there.”

Anko rolled her eyes before starting on another stick. 

“Five years huh. The Lower-Moons we fought weren’t exactly pushovers, but they’ll be replaced eventually. Something needs to change, or we’ll just be repeating this over and and over again.”

Kakashi made a nonchalant sound before starting on his tea. Not quite the way he’d become used to liking it, but it would have to do. 

His thoughts turned to Naruto and his guardian. Naruto would be eleven, maybe twelve by the time Orochimaru would prepare for another takeover. If he ever knew about the boy’s immunity to sunlight, it would only fire his determination. 

It was a grim thought. 

“I’ll be heading up north to see if I can pick up a trail.” 

“Well, try not to die. It would be a pain to have to cover for you.” She muttered, with all the concern she could muster. 

Kakashi sighed, looking into his cup, he wondered if Iruka was having tea by himself today. 

------------------------------------

Iruka looked at his reflection in the mirror and grimaced. 

He only remembered pieces of what had happened the previous night, and was ready to dismiss it as another terrible nightmare, but as soon as he was upright he was struck with pain in his upper body. Parting his yukata, he grew increasingly disturbed to see red patches spread across his arms and chest where he’d held the boy. Not quite burns, but they radiated heat and stung painfully with any extraneous movement. 

Training was going to be more unpleasant than usual.

Steeling himself for another day, he quickly dressed himself and made his way to the main courtyard, where Naruto already stood before his classmates, rambling excitedly.

“Iruka-sensei was soooo cool! The demon was gonna get us but he chopped off his legs in one hit!” With his wooden sword in hand, he slashed the air. 

Iruka cursed inwardly. 

The boy was so caught up in his retelling, he’d failed to realise half his audience was slowly descending into hysterics. Lee was panicking; Sakura looked just about ready to cry. Further in the distance, Mizuki stared coldly.

“NARUTO!” He’d grabbed the arm holding the sword, harder than he would have liked. Combined with the unusual harshness of his voice, it was enough to silence the boy immediately. 

“I-Iruka-sensei?” 

He was looking at Iruka with confused, wide eyes. It was with relief that Iruka saw they were still the sky-blue eyes he loved, but somewhere deep down, it hurt.

“Enough. You’re scaring them.” 

It prompted the boy to look at his classmates. Sakura broke into tears, and it made some of the others do the same. A few were staring at him angrily. He looked back to Iruka with a disquieted, questioning look. 

“We’ll talk later, Naruto.”

He let go of the boy’s arm, and walked towards the distressed children, kneeling before them. 

“It’s all right. The demon was defeated.” He wiped the tears from Sakura’s cheek with the edge of his sleeve. “All of us are here to protect you. Don’t give in to fear.”

His words seemed to help calm things down. It took a while, but with some encouragement, the class finally started, and they were back to practicing their forms. Iruka looked at his children.

Orphans, every single one of them. All because of demons, in one way or the other. How many of them had survived nearly being eaten by their own loved ones? How many of them had their last memories of their family tainted in blood?

They would have all carried those memories here with them. 

Naruto didn’t know that pain, and Iruka was selfishly grateful for it, but it would always be a wall between him and his friends. 

Every year, they took in more children, and every year, they sent off children with sparks on their backs.

Every year, the crows would deliver a short list of names who survived the selections.

Iruka gripped his sword tighter, ignoring the wave of heat that ran down his arm.

Something had to change. 

------------------------------------

It was night. Under the light of a full moon, they were sitting across each other on their futons. In Iruka’s shadow were two tiny glass vials of freshly drawn blood. A monthly ritual.

He had the boy’s small wrist in his hand, the same one he’d grabbed earlier in the day. With the ball of his thumb, he applied a gentle pressure.

“Do you understand what I just said, Naruto?”

The boy nodded slowly with a somber expression on his face. 

“You’ve also experienced loss, but...not in the same way. Demons used to be people too, and for your friends, they may have been people they loved. It’s hard to imagine, I know. But I hope you’ll see why they reacted that way to you earlier.”

“My mom and dad, weren’t they killed by demons?”

“Yes.” 

“So I should hate them too, right?”

Iruka paused. He had to pick his next words carefully.

“Naruto, most of them didn’t turn by choice, and many of them don’t have free will, but...I think they’re probably suffering, deep inside. They can’t walk under the sun, they can’t appreciate delicious food. They’ll never be able to hold their loved ones again.”

It was hard to admit, but it had taken years for Iruka to reach that conclusion. Even though his mother had tried explaining it to him since he was a child. 

He’d spent years debating this with himself. 

Was compassion going to be a strength or his weakness? Even as the words left his lips, he didn’t know if he was making the right choice.

Iruka placed his free hand on the boy’s head. 

“Not everyone sees it that way, but I think the least we can do, is try to end their suffering. Everyone here who wants to be a slayer, it’s not just to become strong for the sake of it. They don’t want others to feel the same pain they did.”

“Do you think I could become strong too? Like you and Kakashi-sensei?” 

Iruka couldn’t help but smile. 

To see with the eyes of a child again.

He pressed his forehead to the boy’s own. 

“Stronger than anyone else, for sure.”

------------------------------------

This time it wasn’t Kakashi sitting across him drinking tea, but one retired Hashira.

Jiraiya let out a perplexed sigh as Iruka buttoned his shirt. 

“I’ve never heard anything about this from Kushina. Has it happened again since?”

Iruka shook his head. “It was like a dream. But his eyes...I certainly felt the Kyuubi’s presence.” 

It had been years, but he couldn’t never forget it even if he tried.

“Could be a reaction to meeting a demon for the first time. The old blood’s stirring. I’ll head to Sarutobi’s to see if he knows anything about it.” 

“Please send my regards to him and Konohamaru-kun, Jiraiya-sama.”

Iruka placed a book before the older man. A vulgar, bright orange. It had been Kakashi’s last request of him, annoyingly enough. 

But before it could be taken, a box was placed atop it. Curious, Jiraiya removed its lid.

“This is more than the usual isn’t it. Two of them aren’t even Naruto’s. What’s going on?” He asked, making eye contact with the youth before him.

“I have a request.” he stated simply.

“Hmm?”

“I’d like to speak to Tsunade-sama. Please keep this from Kakashi-san, too.”

“Just what are you hoping for, Iruka?” His gaze suddenly narrowed, but Iruka’s didn’t falter.

For a few long moments, there was only silence between them, but that was soon broken.

“Fine, but I hope you don’t live to regret this.”

Iruka smiled.

Rest assured, I certainly don’t intend to.

------------------------------------

End of Chapter 7

Author’s Notes:

Thanks for reading! This chapter was another interesting but challenging one to write. :D Do let me know what you think of it! The mystery of the missing portrait, think you can figure it out? (If you read what we know about the character and the thing’s he’s done in Naruto’s canon, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out his role in this story!).

I wanted to try a more ink style for this chapter’s artwork. Hope you like it!

[karuuhnia]

First of all: HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY OMG!! Also I had no idea you started with the naruto fandom as well (just a bit earlier then me haha). Whose your favorite character(s) and ships(?) What did you think about the end? Are you watching/reading Boruto too?

THANKS A TON!!! I’m an internet grandma now, I guess. XD

 As for my reply on Naruto: Spoilers ahead. XD

 Favourite characters 

Interestingly, my favourite characters haven’t changed at all in these 15 years. lol Number one is and will always be Kakashi. I also love Yamato, Iruka and Jiraya. Even when I was still a kid myself, I liked the grown-up characters way more than the kids.

The only one of the kids I really like is Shikamaru. And he’s an old man on the inside.

Now that I’ve watched the rest of the show I also came to love Hashirama a lot. Such a great, kind and surprisingly dorky person. I would watch a whole show about him tbh.

Oh, and of course there’s Killer B. He’s fantastic too! XD

 Fave ships

Tbh I’ve never been much of a shipper and usually just stick to canon.

Minato and Kushina were really, really cute!

Asuma and Kurenai as well!

Shikamaru and Temari were great too and I’m glad they became canon.

I’ve also always liked Naruto and Hinata, but I never thought they’d actually end up together. The way it was handled in the show was really meh and came out of nowhere from Naruto’s side. I mean, I’m happy they became canon, but I really wish it would have had a better build up. Like, Naruto’s feelings slowly changing towards her after she tried to sacrifice herself against Pain. She even confessed her love that time and he didn’t really react?? lol

  The Ending

It was... okay, I guess. After a while, the randomly thrown-in fillers and constant flashbacks of the same five scenes really got on my nerves.

In the beginning I was really sceptical about the Obito reveal. Like, that 180 turn he did after Rin died was really far-fetched imo. But I guess the Uchiha feel stronger than everyone else and huge love leads to huge wrath? Oh well. As the story progressed I got more okay with Obito. I kind of wish he would have survived, just so he could atone for his sins for the rest of his life. But he did have a pretty good death too.

Personally, I think the story should have ended after the battle with Kaguya and then focussed more on the aftermath of the shinobi war and the characters.

I also hoped that Sasuke would die in the last battle. A self-sacrifice against Kaguya so that the others could live would have been a good way for him to go.  

But the way it actually played out, he was absolutely irredeemable to the end, at least in my eyes. I still can’t understand why Sakura was still all over him after everything he had done. Heck, SAI has only been on the team for, like, a few months and he showed way more kindness and friendship to her than Sasuke ever did, even BEFORE he betrayed the village.

*cough* But anyway. XD As I said, I like that Naruto and Hinata ended up together, even though I didn’t like how it was handled.

I’m also sad that Kakashi didn’t get married or something. The guy had so much shit happen to him in his life. He deserves a happy family and I would have loved to see him become a father. But unfortunately there aren’t really any women in this universe, are there? ^^;

I’m also kind of disappointed that pretty much nobody (we really knew and cared about) died. Like, it was only Neji? lol Poor guy. It sounds cruel of me, but I would have liked to see some more heartbreaking deaths in this war. E.g.: I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love Guy, but he should have had a heroic death after opening all Eight Gates and fighting Madara. It would have been a fantastic end for him! Same for Tsunade. Imagine her dying on the battlefield in the arms of her grandfather. I would have bawled my eyes out! It would have made more sense for Kakashi to become Hokage after that as well instead of Tsunade just resigning for some reason.

What I really liked was how Naruto befriended and freed the Tailed Beasts. Kurama is quite cute when he’s not full of hatred lol.

In general I like what Naruto has become. In the beginning I thought he was just the typical, loud, annoying clumsy kid whose only personality trait was subbornness. But over the course of the story he actuall matured a lot and became a respectable fighter (even quite OP in the end), more responsible, dependable, while still maintaining a more mature version of his positive attitude. And luckily he’s still dorky, of course! XD

Okay, even though it sounded like I was mainly complaining, overall it was a REALLY great experience and I’m glad I was finally able to finish it after all those years! <3

  Boruto:

I know some things, for example that Naruto and Hinata have two kids, Shika and Temari have a kid, Sai and Ino have a kid, Sasuke and Sakura have a daughter who looks like Karen (wtf), but apart from that I don’t know much.

I’m not really interested in the sequel right now, too burnt out. XD

But maybe in 10 years I will watch it for my 40th birthday. (Holy fuck, I’m so old! O__O)

[kusunokihime]

::: DO NOT REBLOG. Anyone who does will be hardblocked :::

     [ While little attention is given to Mikoto’s feelings about the coup in canon, I headcanon her thoughts concerning it to be...complex.

     First, concerning the clan’s history:

     It’s made clear that, since the founding of Konoha, the Uchiha have been - at times slightly, at times majorly - ostracized by other parts of the village. The lingering distrust between them and the Senju - who, for as long as Konoha has existed, have maintained major power while the Uchiha have had near to none - meant that any chance of things ever completely settling were nearly nonexistent. All Hokage have either been of Senju blood, or had Senju teachings. Hashirama, Tobirama, and Tsunade belong to the clan. Hiruzen was taught by Tobirama, Minato taught by Hiruzen’s student Jiraiya, Kakashi taught by Minato, and Naruto taught by Kakashi (and fathered by Minato). The bias is...extremely evident.

     While Hashirama had every intention of bettering the relationship between the clans, his rather early demise shattered that dream...and it only got worse when Tobirama was named Nidaime. Lacking his brother’s idealism and optimism, he tried a more hands-off approach to the Uchiha: he made them the village’s police...while keeping both their district and their new station tucked away in the rear of the village: a physical reminder of how they were very much the ‘others’ when it came to the clans of Konoha. They were also barred from positions of power: they were disallowed from becoming ANBU, the most trusted and highly-skilled warriors of the Hokage seat. Nor were they allowed to hold positions within the council of elders. 

     This was all in spite of the fact that not a single Uchiha defected to follow Madara in his rebellion against Konoha and Hashirama, choosing instead to remain loyal to the village. Tobirama’s trust could still not be earned.

     Hiruzen, also tied to the Senju line as a student of Tobirama’s, was not nearly as anti-Uchiha as his teacher was...but his nevertheless slight bias was still present. Things remained mostly unchanged for the Uchiha for much of his time as Hokage...until the Kyūbi incident. When Obito attacked the birthing team assisting Kushina in delivering Naruto and unleashed Kurama, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that an Uchiha had to have been involved. And while that was technically true, Obito acted of his own volition, and had no support or knowledge concerning his clan. They hadn’t even known he was still alive.

     At the time, most KMPF officers - rather than confront the Kyūbi directly as the shinobi did - instead tasked themselves with the evacuation of the civilians, whom they were most responsible for as the village’s police. This left near to no shinobi witnesses outside the clan that could account for their whereabouts during the attack. Even as Mikoto’s sister Manami lost her leg protecting a family from the beast, and both Mikoto and her husband Fugaku assured Hiruzen that they had nothing to do with the attack, suspicion remained...and conditions for the Uchiha got worse.

     Rights - slowly but surely - were squeezed and narrowed for them. A curfew was enacted for the entire clan, their communications outside the village were subject to search, and intelligence was kept from them. Talk began stirring within the Uchiha of a coup, and nearly the entire clan was for it from the beginning. Outliers included Manami - Mikoto’s older sister - and her son Shisui, as well as a few others (including Itachi, unspokenly)...but not nearly enough to halt the talks of rebellion.

     Itachi, having shown great promise, was the clan’s first and only ANBU officer ever fully instated. (Canon says that Shisui, too, was ANBU...but he is never shown in their garb. And given Fugaku’s later suspicion of Itachi stemming from his position as ANBU, him asking Shisui of all people - as another ANBU officer - to keep an eye on him makes no sense. Therefore, this blog sees him reach tokubetsu jōnin rank only, not ANBU). This was done purposefully by Hiruzen as a means to offer an olive branch to the clan...but Fugaku immediately used it as a weapon, demanding his son become a double agent, which he agreed to...but in truth, he was a triple agent, working for the village over the clan. 

     Fugaku, up until that point, had been negotiating on and off with the village - more so in recent months - since the attack by Obito to try and stem the backlash from the village. But every offer and compromise he brought forward was shot down.

     This was seen, at the time, as the continued prejudice against the Uchiha, and only served to stoke their fires of rebellion further the more time went on. In truth, nearly all of the extremism present in the proceedings from the attack onward came from Shimura Danzō, who - more than anyone, and at odds with Hiruzen - adopted Tobirama’s anti-Uchiha sentiments. 

     Those feelings were also coupled with greed over their eyes, having been making secret arrangements with Orochimaru to allow them to continue their research in return for any advancements deemed useful for the councilman, which would later revolve around Hashirama’s cells, and Uchiha eyes. His continued hardlining against the clan was in part due to his bias and belief they were a genuine threat...and a want to take their power for himself. By having the clan killed, he would both eliminate their threat, and receive their eyes for his own personal use. The massacre, from the beginning, was his idea, and his alone. The rest of the council - more partial to Tobirama as well, and therefore often siding with him over Hiruzen - were easily manipulated into following his lead, not knowing the true extent of his motives.

     With all of this in mind, Mikoto’s feelings therefore mostly concerned three main factors: the overall well-being of her clan; the safety of her sons; and the circumstances surrounding her friend Kushina’s death.

     For the clan, she knew that - given the unrelenting refusal from the village - if they were to have their freedom and their due respect, war was almost inevitable. If Konoha would not listen to reason and continue to treat them like second class citizens in a village they helped found, defend, and remained loyal to even when Madara himself turned his back...then they would resort to force.

     On the other hand, she had seen the effect the last war had had on her eldest son. She herself knew the horrors of war. Subjecting Itachi and Sasuke to that was something that weighed heavily on her. As much as she wanted to fight back, she didn’t want their childhoods colored by civil war if they could in any way avoid it. ANBU or not, Itachi was still a child...and Sasuke was barely enrolled in the Academy. Though she gave Fugaku her support, she also begged that he keep trying to salvage the talks for as long as possible...if only for the sake of her boys.

     But what had the most weight leaning her into war - a deeply personal feeling of betrayal and anger toward Konoha - came not by blood...but by friendship.

     Uzumaki Kushina’s death rattled Mikoto to her very core. The pair had been best friends since their Academy days, and Mikoto trusted no one else as much as she did Kushina, save her sister and - in some regards - her husband. The loss was just as keen as if she’d lost a sister, and she mourned openly for weeks. During that time, having been in the hospital often to visit her sister Manami as she recovered from her amputation, Mikoto spotted baby Naruto within the maternity ward...and she immediately knew he was Kushina’s son. He looked too much like Minato to be mistaken, and the birthdate matched perfectly. 

     But what confirmed it more than anything was the angry red chakra Mikoto could practically feel calling to her Sharingan: the chakra of the Kyūbi...the demon that had attacked their village, disfigured her sister, killed her best friend...and had changed the lives of her kin forever.

     Few had been allowed to know about Kushina’s status as a jinchūriki. Mikoto, even if not technically allowed, had been one of them. Once the secret was out, Kushina confided much in her best friend, including the Uzumaki preference for sealing the beast due to their chakra and sealing techniques.

     ...first Konoha had let someone steal the Kyūbi and thereby kill her best friend. Then they sealed the beast into her baby, and left him an orphan. 

     Mikoto wouldn’t stand for it.

     She’d gone - after leaving her boys at home - straight to Hiruzen’s office, demanding to adopt the boy. Who else was more suitable than the best friend of his mother? Jiraiya, his godfather, was nowhere to be found, and was hardly in the position to care for a newborn. Mikoto was an experienced mother, and already loved the boy like a son as the child of her closest friend. He didn’t have to grow up alone and ostracized. He had her.

     ...but the council refused.

     And she knew why.

     It was their decision that he would remain parentless, alone, and kept ignorant of his past and lineage. There was a loving, familiar family just waiting for him...and the council refused.

     It boiled her blood like few things had ever done in her nearly three decades of life. It was then that Mikoto truly realized there would be no overcoming the bias against them. There would be no justice - for them, for those like Naruto...none of it was fair.

     So, it was with the weight of her clan’s and her best friend’s son’s lives on her back that Mikoto fully aligned herself with the coup, and saw it through until the end...when her own son cut her down for the sake of a village that would throw him, too, away when the time came. Danzō, Koharu, Homura, and Hiruzen: it was them she cursed just as Itachi’s blade swung.

     ...she refused to forgive them, even in death. ]

[blackberreh-art]

oH Y EAH last night I came up with another idea that I dunno what I’ll do with??? It involves Tobirama and time travel and y’all can read about it below the cut--

ITS LONG AND A DOOZY;;;

Takes place when Tobirama’s still a kid and it’s just after the incident where he tells his and Hashirama’s dad about Hashirama meeting with Madara. Hashirama isn’t speaking to him and Tobirama didn’t expect Hashirama ignoring him to hurt as much as it is.

So cut to him sulking by the river trying to justify why he did what he did in his mind. They’re at war, the Senju and Uchiha are enemies, it was what was expected of him, he had to listen to father, Hashirama was too trusting and something terrible could happen to him, ect ect (is gonna include a scene where Tobirama’s all stubborn and all ‘im too old to cry I’m not going to cry over something as stupid as this)

SOme enemy ninja stumble across him and Tobirama never noticed cause he wasn’t using his sensor abilities, so he stumbles and falls into the river. When he manages to get out, the enemy is nowhere in sight and Tobirama was washed further downstream than he thought. He manages to pull himself out and he’s cold and tired and angry and annoyed and all around just in a foul ass mood, starts to make his way home only to see that - the Senju compound isn’t there anymore.

And he can’t sense anyone close by.

So cue Tobirama starting to have a minor fucking freak out when he feels 4 people heading towards him - an adult and three children, all with chakra, meaning they’re likely ninja, and he sort of just freezes there and wavers and he doesn’t know what to do because his clans suddenly gone and there are likely more enemies approaching - and too late, they’re on him.

It’s a one eyed white haired man and three children, who happen to be squabbling amongst themselves and unaware of Tobirama’s presence. The man though is, and just comes to a stop and is all ‘Maa, you lost kid?”

And just??? Team 7 taking a lost in time, disgruntled, very close to freaking out Tobirama under their wing???

Tobirama manages to keep a cool head and just says ‘yes’ and Kakashi decides to take him along to Konoha and all of Team 7 are really interested in this newcomer and Tobirama’s just very uncomfortable and what the fuck one of thems an Uchiha and he sort of maybe draws a weapon on him but Kakashi sort of just disarms him all unconcerned and like ‘hey now no need for that, we’re all friends here’ and they just

Take him to the village and Tobirama’s in awe and what the fuck thats supposed to be his and his brother’s faces on the stone wall?? and like, he has no place there and he doesn’t know what to do so he’s kind of just - Pushed onto Naruto and has to stay with him and Naruto drags him everywhere and he gets to know team 7 really well and surprisingly he gets along really well with Sasuke and hey maybe this Uchiha isn’t TOO bad even if he’s a broody mess. And he tries to find out more about this odd village’s history and read up on it but before he can get too into that - he trips, falls into a pond or some shit and -

wakes up back on the shore of the Nakano river. Back in his own time. Hashirama’s freaking out because he’s been gone for weeks. Tobirama is very, very confused.

He does his best to shove it from his mind. Quiets his protests towards peace, because he saw what peace resulted in and it wasn’t bad at all. Life goes on. The village is founded.

Tobirama dies.

And the next time he wakes up, it’s under the control of the edo tensei, in a very familiar village which is in the process of being destroyed. There’s the old man ‘Hokage’, who he now recognizes as Saru, and if that’s him, then that must mean that Team 7 is out there and in trouble.

And oh dear, what does he do...

[ariannjs]

SASUKE’S SEND-OFF REIMAGINED | A SasuSaku FanFic (One Shot)

What if Sasuke’s departure in Naruto Chapter 699 happened diferently?

--------

"So what are your plans now?"

"I'm not yet sure. All I've thought of is to wander for a time and figure something out in the process."

"Wander? You mean you're not staying in the village?"

Sasuke simply nodded at his former mentor who was seated behind the Hokage's desk – an odd sight for him, to be honest. It was not as if he was able to contemplate on how he would go on with his life while he was detained by the authorities of the Leaf.

He still couldn't even fully embrace the fact that he deserved this second chance granted to him. Being in prison for months sure was a long time wherein he could ponder about the direction he would be heading, but if anything, that long time only allowed him to be consumed with guilt about how he had intentionally chosen to be swallowed by the chasm of darkness.

Still, he was grateful for the grace he was given, which was mainly a result of the nonstop pleading of his fellow hero from the Fourth Shinobi World War and the growing influence of his now promoted mentor to the Hidden Leaf Council.

Kakashi released a sigh but he understood. Whatever would be best for the welfare of Sasuke, he would surely support that nonetheless. "Just don't do anything reckless, alright? You know I'll be accountable to that, especially with me being the Hokage now."

"I understand."

Kakashi was about to say something else when one chunin suddenly stormed into the Hokage's office, panting for a moment before announcing what surely looked like an emergency. His eyes darted to the new visitor as he waited for whatever news that caused the chunin to suddenly barge in without even knocking.

"Lord Sixth, we've received news from the new Tsuchikage that Sakura-san’s squad was ambushed on the way to the Land of Earth and she's nowhere to be found."

Sasuke stiffened at the news he just heard as he stared at the back of the chunin who was now standing on where he was moments ago. As much as he had no desire to interfere with the Hokage's duties, he realized it was a good thing that Kakashi hasn't officially dismissed him yet for he found himself listening intently to the urgent report being raised.

Alarmed at the sudden report, Kakashi furrowed his brows. "When did this happen? Were they able to gather enough intel about the situation?"

The chunin straightened up, now a bit more relaxed than the moment he entered. With a stern expression, he answered the Hokage, "More than five hours ago. All of the six squad members were badly injured, but there's one who was able to regain consciousness before the Tsuchikage sent her report to us. They're now all being taken care of at the Hidden Stone Hospital."

Sakura's been ambushed more than five hours ago and they still haven't found her?! Sasuke clenched his jaw as he thought of his former teammate, his ears itching to hear more information.

"According to the medical ninja who regained consciousness, They all fought against the attackers and miserably failed. But then, Sakura-san was able to take down ten of the enemies in one blow, afterwards however, another set of more or less eight men attacked her from behind and eventually took her, unconscious. That's the last thing the shinobi remembered and relayed to the Tsuchikage."

Sasuke couldn't help but be proud of Sakura when he heard that she single-handedly took on ten enemies in one attack. He remembered finding himself impressed with her astounding superhuman strength that was very much visible and efficient during the Fourth Shinobi World War, but for her to be unconscious and kidnapped, he knew they must've done something that caught her alert senses off guard.

Were they after her? What could they possibly be doing to Sakura now? For some reason, his mind started racing from a possible scenario to another and it made the pit of his stomach churn in an unfamiliar way. He was growing impatient by the minute as he considered that the longer they converse there, the worse Sakura's situation could be. His eyebrows creased as his gaze shifted to the hokage who now leaned back on his seat and waited for what he has to say.

"If they got to make Sakura unconscious, then these attackers are also shinobis for sure, not just any random group of bandits." Kakashi pinched the bridge of his nose as he pondered on the matter.

He remembered how Sakura requested for him not to send her to missions as of the moment because she knew that Sasuke would be released any time soon and she wanted to be present when that happens. However, when the Land of Earth requested for medical ninjas to help them since there were still some remnants of the effect of the war there, Sakura had no choice but to oblige to the recommendation of the Fifth Hokage and the approval of the Sixth.

Kakashi knew that Sakura understands how missions should go first, but somehow, he debated with himself if he had made his first wrong decision after just a few months of being the Hokage. He could've sent someone else and appealed to Tsunade's recommendation despite the truth that Sakura is the best medical nin available and the only one capable of heading a squad, hence, also supporting Sakura's request and avoiding the circumstance that led her to be in danger. But it was too late now.

"We'll be sending a team immediately. But what are the Hidden Stone ninjas doing about this so far?" He finally uttered. Sakura had been through a lot since the war, and he could admit that it pained him to know the condition she was in so he wanted the best team to be sent to rescue the girl who's like an only daughter to him.

"Due to the village restoration still ongoing, most of their shinobis are helping for that project. Some are still unfortunately in a comma or recovering from a trauma. But Lady Kurotsuchi has already sent a team to track if there are leads to Sakura-san’s whereabouts within the boundaries of Hidden Stone. However, they indeed need our shinobis because tracking's the best that they could do to help as of now. Once they get some intel, they assured us that they would contact you immediately."

Kakashi sighed as he shut his eyes, thinking about the right people to send for this urgent mission. With the fact that one of the new generation of Sannins was taken, he knew that he couldn't just send a random team.

Sasuke fixed his stare at his old sensei who was in deep thought after listening to all that the chunin had to say. He knew that look full well. He remembered back in their genin days that it was the kind of look Kakashi always had whenever he contemplates on strategies or choices that were already very apparent yet he was making sure of all the possible angles of the option before settling with it.

"I can't wait to see you again once you're out here." The face of a smiling pink-haired girl flickered through Sasuke's mind as he recalled her words to him from that last time she visited him in his prison cell. That's when he knew that he couldn't wait any longer. There's an intense urge in him to do something with the situation at hand that he couldn't understand. I can't wait to see you too.

"I'll go," he eventually blurted out, making both Kakashi's and the chunin's heads turn swiftly to him.

The Hokage gave him a scrutinizing look. "You've just been released and the stump of your left arm's not yet fully healed, Sasuke."

"It doesn't mean that I couldn't fight."

Kakashi frowned behind his mask. Sasuke had a point, there's no doubt that the sole Uchiha survivor could and would fight even if he's already half-dead, how much more with a single hand. That's just how strong he is, and as his former squad leader, he knew that full well.

Yet, he was once again debating with himself if he would send Sasuke in a situation wherein even he could be more harmed, especially since he hasn't even adjusted yet to fighting with just one arm. And partly, he was imagining how Sakura would barge into the Hokage's office and scold him the moment she learns that he sent Sasuke to a rescue mission with the fact that he hasn't even fully recovered from the war.

That is, if they would both be able to come back.

"Why do you want to go?" This was one question a Hokage rarely asked when he sends people to missions, but for some reason, he wanted a piece of Sasuke's mind before he allowed him to go.

Sasuke was slightly taken aback with the query, but he didn't show that. Even he couldn't put into words where the heavy drive was coming from. He just knew that a certain cherry blossom needed to be saved and he couldn't just stay still, enjoy his newfound freedom, and do nothing.

For a moment, he was silent, then, with the most stoic face he could muster, he replied, "I mentioned that I wanted to help in saving the village, remember?"

Kakashi knew better. Sasuke's not the kind who would do anything just to try to prove something to others so he was sure that his old student was not this willing to be sent for the mission only because he wanted to help and immediately start in making his name clean to the village.

He could recall how he saw through his peripheral vision the way Sasuke stiffened at the mere mention of Sakura's name. This was Sakura they were talking about, and even though Sasuke was not good at understanding what others and what he himself were feeling, Kakashi knew the real meaning behind Sasuke's desire now, but he'd rather let his old student figure that out on his own.

He heaved a deep sigh and casually answered, "Alright, I'll be sending Lee and Naruto with you."

Sasuke forced himself not to glare at Kakashi. What's this, a rescue team of boys who like Sakura?! He thought, excluding himself, of course. "I don't need teammates, Kakashi," Sasuke muttered through gritted teeth. "Plus, Naruto's still healing from the war as well and he's waiting for that artificial arm from Hashirama cells. I'd rather get this over and done with immediately alone than have teammates who might slow me down."

"But, Uchiha-san, like what I've said, there were more than ten attackers and even Sakura-san's squad was outnumbered," the chunin butted in. "We don't even know yet how many are in their hideout and what they're really up to."

This time, Sasuke didn't fight his glare from appearing and directed it to the chunin. "Even Sakura was able to take down ten in one attack. Now what do you think of me?"

"Okay, enough!" Still as stubborn as ever. Kakashi raked his hair with his fingers, feeling the tension surrounding them. He was well aware that this has to be settled immediately or else they might be too late in rescuing Sakura. "Sasuke, are you sure you wouldn't need a team?"

A firm nod was given to him as a response.

"Very well, you may go. But I need you to keep in contact with us, alright?" Kakashi sent him a grim stare. "For now, head to the Land of Earth for that's the first possible lead we have. The moment we receive any intel from Lady Kurotsuchi, I would let you know at once," he then concluded, it was the only response that Sasuke was waiting for.

"Understood. I better get going." He was already on his way to the door when Kakashi called him again.

"Sasuke," the Hokage began with a low voice. "Bring Sakura back, okay?"

"Rest assured, I will." And then he took off.

Once Sasuke was able to retrieve his weapons and pack everything he would need for the mission, he didn't waste any minute and went on his way to the direction that Sakura's squad headed.

A developing agitation started to creep into him as he ventured the outside world that he didn't see for a number of months. As much as he was frustrated with the limited information that they received about this complicated situation, he was determined to make this mission a success even if he had to start from scratch. He still couldn't describe the inner push that he was feeling, but one thing's for sure, whoever did this to Sakura would pay – if they haven't even met their end yet under her enormous prowess.

But why Sakura?! What are their ulterior motives and what in the world do they need from her?

It would take him a little more than two days before reaching the borders of the Land of Earth, and for a second, he thought about the probability of getting there too late. He mentally grimaced. With every hour passing by came a deepening effect of the burden he's currently carrying.

When he told Kakashi he could be rest assured that he will bring her back, it was more of a covenant to himself than a mere compliance to the man who sent him on this rescue mission, and he wasn't going to compromise so he could fulfill that commitment.

The day was coming to a close and his limbs that had no sufficient exercise for months were starting to feel tensed, but he rather convinced himself that resting could wait. His physical discomfort was nothing compared to the agitation sitting and growing in his mind as he pondered on the peculiarity of how this mission seemed to feel heavier than all the other assignments he'd been given and battles he'd been involved in.

But then, flashes of images of a certain kunoichi dawdled in his mind with seemingly no plan of giving him a break. Sakura, you better hang in there. Please...don't leave me.

A small gasp suddenly escaped from his lips, causing him to halt from jumping from tree to tree and review the very words that he himself has uttered in his head. He's not one who ever begs, let alone seek anything from others. And he's been alone for a big chunk of his life that's why he knew full well that being left by anyone is something not far from normal – automatic, even – to him anymore. But those words that seemed to be hidden in his subconscious allowed him to contemplate on some things concerning the woman he was about to rescue.

Shutting his eyes as he rested his back on a tree trunk, he struggled to admit that he was not only saving her for her own benefit, but for his as well. A part of him couldn’t believe what he was now realizing. If his genin self was in front of him, he would've guffawed jarringly and in an out of character way while pointing at his older self in utter disbelief.

However, for a moment, a myriad of his memories with Sakura flickered in his brain as if to prove a point.

She was the one who genuinely cried for him – something uncommon for an orphan like him – while hugging his momentary lifeless body even though dozens of senbons were sticking out from it.

She was the one who never left his side when he was fighting the pain inflicted to him by the curse seal in the Forest of Death, letting him clutch her hand tightly and lean on her with a tad bit of comfort he never knew he needed.

She was the one who stopped him from his unprecedented rampage with an abrupt embrace from behind, knowing that he was not the Sasuke she knew that time, and astonishingly leading the curse seal's effect to recede due to the calming effect he didn't realize she has on him.

She was the one who almost too impulsively tried to block the partly transformed Shukaku from launching towards him, only to be caught by the redhead jinchuriki's sand that trapped her firmly on a tree, but successfully buying time for Sasuke to recover from the last attack he received.

She was the one who threw her arms around his neck with apparent joy – which he surprisingly chose not to rebuff due to its unfamiliar consoling sensation – when he woke up in a hospital after that first encounter he had with his brother.

She was the one who knew him too well back then to the point that she figured he was considering to leave the village, hence, waiting for him by its gates and pouring her heart out to him to try to veer him away from the decision that he now knows, would change his life forever.

And just when he thought she was done being a part of his life the moment he turned his back from the village he grew up in, she was the one who persistently sought after him alongside their best friend and some other ninjas that were given the task to do so.

Moreover, she was the one who didn't give up on him when all that he was becoming was far from the definition of good, killing people with his intent to avenge, and even mindlessly almost killing her.

She was also the one who visited him regularly in prison to monitor his health and somewhat give him companionship after just a few weeks since that day he trapped her in his strongest genjustu, something she surely had a difficulty in recovering from.

And what makes him more awestruck was the fact that she was the one who loved him so much then (and hopefully until now, his mind surprisingly pleaded), willing to take his pain on her shoulders if there was any way she could've done so, and willing to grant him forgiveness for everything he did and he did not do, may it be to her or to others.

The list could go on.

Sasuke found himself clenching his fist too hard when it finally dawned on him how he had long refuted to acknowledge that Sakura has always been a major part of his life. She hasn't only saved him from physical combats many times, she has also redeemed him from the dark abyss he had almost completely dived into. And he's grateful for that.

He's grateful for her.

It now clicked in his brain how certain he is that if he loses her – a vital piece in his almost too shattered life, he would be completely broken beyond repair.

Saving her right now wouldn't even repay and suffice everything that she has done, given, and become for him. But he swore to himself that this would only be the beginning of a beautiful future that he was only able to catch a glimpse of because of her. And if he didn’t start moving a muscle now, that future might be annihilated before it even began.

I will bring you back to Konoha, Sakura. I will bring you back to me.

Moments after resuming to travel, he noticed a hawk hovering directly overhead. His eyes widened in anticipation at the news he was about to receive so he skidded to a halt as the hawk landed on his arm.

As expected, it was from Kakashi. The Hidden Stone shinobis finally got a lead on where Sakura's abductors could possibly be staying, and it wasn't within the borders of their village, but somewhere in between Hidden Grass and Hidden Waterfall. Sasuke sighed in relief, it's going to be half a day shorter than the arrival time to his original destination.

Just a day more. Wait for me, Sakura. Like you always do.

When Sasuke reached the location described in Kakashi's letter the next evening, he found a hideout behind a waterfall as he sensed other chakra signatures there with the help of his Sharingan. And instantly, he was already cautiously venturing its dark corridors after breaking a seal on its entrance. He was trying to sense Sakura's chakra within the vast area but a slight confusion made him clench his jaw when he didn't succeed.

Is she even here? The last thing he'd want to happen was ending up in a wrong venue and wasting his time before being able to locate Sakura.

Without lowering his guard, he noticed a man's shadow suddenly appear from down the hallway and soon enough, a group of shinobi geared up to attack him.

He threw a handful of shuriken and quickly ran towards his attackers for a second attack with his sword against their weapons. A couple of moments later, he had them incapacitated without even using his Mangekyo Sharingan. Now who says he couldn't fight with one hand?

"You're not the one I'm looking for," he hissed when he glanced at them from his shoulder before proceeding to search every room in the lair.

There was one door left in the vicinity, yet he still couldn't sense Sakura's chakra from behind it. However, he was determined to make sure. It was when he was already grasping the doorknob that he heard a voice that alerted all his senses.

"You'll regret this!"

"Oh, yeah? You're done saving the world with your capabilities. Now it's my time to do so!"

"You cannot save the world with your evil plans by using me! Plus, the world actually needs to be saved from people like you!"

"Who said I'm going to use you?" A boisterous laugh from behind the door angered Sasuke all the more. "I don't need you for me to be able to use what you have. You're gonna be dead once I drain you!"

Without preamble, he dashed inside and found Sakura looking feeble and trying her best to stand in front of her attacker in a vast domed room. He felt a mixture of relief and rage at the sight. They haven't noticed his presence yet, but when the enemy raised his arm that was wrapped in a peculiar metal armor for another assault to Sakura, Sasuke was already in between them in one swift movement.

With a gasp, Sakura looked up at her savior, and she was shocked when she realized who he was for she would know that physique and that hair anywhere despite the cloak he was wearing. "S-sasuke-kun?!"

There was a beat of silence before their opponent jeered again, "Oh, well! Seems like I'm luckier than I thought I was." There was that laughter that ignited the fire in Sasuke's system once more. "Who would have thought that I'd have the privilege of organizing the funeral of two legendary heroes? I'm Ryuki, by the way. And you're that lone Uchiha survivor, right?"

"That or you wouldn't even have a proper funeral because I'll crush and burn your body today." There was apparent menace in Sasuke's voice with his mismatched eyes both activated and directed at his target. This man was a rogue shinobi for sure, wearing what seemed like a lab coat, with his left arm cocooned in a strong metal that collided against Sasuke's sword. "And I have no time for your introductions."

Sakura couldn't believe what she was seeing. Sasuke-kun was released from prison and he's now saving me? She felt a tinge of comfort as she stared at him in awe, but she knew that the fight wasn't over yet so whatever questions she might have for Sasuke must be kept at the back of her head for the mean time.

She continued to pant weakly as she felt the effect of her having her chakra absorbed. She's been fighting for hours but with no other weapons with her, so she struggled to find an opening to counter the man who had been draining her power and strength from her no matter how massive her chakra reserves are, stopping her from being able to heal herself as well.

It was actually a blessing that she was able to break free from that lab table she was tied to despite how weak she was slowly becoming. If she wasn't able to escape, the machine with the same purpose as Ryuki's metal arm would've totally finished her. But then, Ryuki was instantly at the door before she even got to vacate the place, hence, starting their strenuous match before Sasuke even came.

"She's right. You'll regret this," Sasuke concluded through gritted teeth before moving and attacking once again with his sword.

"Sasuke-kun! Avoid physical contact with his arm!" Sakura warned from behind him and immediately, Sasuke understood that perhaps, that was the reason he couldn't sense Sakura's chakra earlier since it was being sucked from her through their enemy's absurd weapon, leaving just a faint amount of chakra in her system.

However, another cackle was heard from Ryuki as he fought with Sasuke because a group of around twenty ninja suddenly appeared in the spacious room.

"Sakura!" Sasuke was alarmed, wanting the kunoichi to be away from the battle considering how her chakra was almost depleted.

"I'll take care of this!" But Sakura seemed to know what Sasuke was thinking so she eagerly pushed herself to stand before he could even argue. Channelling her remaining chakra to her feet and fists, she darted across the room and threw jabs to her opponents' bodies while observing if they had the same weapon as Ryuki’s.

Sasuke was determined to finish his own fight as he watched Sakura from the corner of his eyes. Noticing how Ryuki was trying to have a close contact to his skin, he made sure that every attack of his metal arm would be caught by his sword. He figured it might not be wise using ninjutsu, or rather, he still couldn't easily do so, considering that this was the first time he fought with a single hand which was already holding his sword. He mentally hissed. He needed to create an opening to get a good stab on his adversary's body, but Ryuki was too good and quick with defense.

They're too many and I'm slowly losing it by the minute! Sakura's attacks weren't as strong as she wanted them to be due to her lack of chakra. Frustrated with the enemies circling her, she once again brought some chakra to her feet and leaped high backwards, well aware that she might eventually regret pushing herself to her limit. And when she was already in front of all her opponents, she released a punch on the ground to stop them from launching towards her, at the exact time that Sasuke finally got to stab Ryuki from behind.

It dawned on Sakura that she needed Sasuke's help already so she eventually glanced at him, finding him gazing at her sideways with his rinnegan. And for some reason, this reminded her of a certain scenario during the Fourth Shinobi War wherein she was helping Obito in searching for the dimension Sasuke was in.

With a definite understanding of what she believed Sasuke was telling her, she then nodded. Then in a snap, they switched places, allowing Sakura to give Ryuki a finishing blow from behind him with the chakra she had left, the same moment that Sasuke assaulted the group of shinobi with his Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique).

Relief washed over Sasuke once they both knocked off their opponents with an astonishing teamwork that was even greater than what they had when they were genins. With a satisfied smirk on his face, he turned to where Sakura was, only for his smirk to be replaced with a gasp when he saw her about to pass out.

Through his rinnegan, he shifted places with Ryuki's demised body just in time to catch her on his arms. "Sakura!"

But she already fainted due to losing a massive amount of chakra in her body. If she didn't push herself to fight, she wouldn't be this drained, he thought as he checked her pulse and began transferring some of his chakra to her until her breathing became steady. "Tch. Still so annoying."

A small smile appeared on his lips as he stared at her and realized that this pink-haired woman is totally a different version of the Sakura he used to know; gone are the days that she's just oftentimes on the sidelines, merely having to be protected by him, Naruto, or Kakashi most of the time. This Sakura he was holding has grown into a strong and ardent shinobi, and he couldn't deny how proud he was. She's even becoming enviable to others due to her astounding chakra reserves. I guess my years of absence did something good to her, at least.

Sasuke was well aware that Sakura would need a long time before gaining consciousness so he carefully carried her on his shoulder and took off, giving a last glance to the casualties in the room that looked like a masterpiece signed by Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha – a proof that his urgent rescue mission was accomplished with flying colors.

It was already past midnight when Sasuke set up a campfire in a clearing just a few miles from Hidden Grass, with Sakura lying peacefully on his sleeping bag and his hawk waiting for him to finish the scroll containing his mission report to be delivered to the Hokage.

He figured it wouldn't be wise for them to continue heading back to Konoha considering that the road was already pitch-black and Sakura was still far from being awake. If Sasuke carried her all throughout, he'd find it difficult to respond immediately just in case sudden attacks came their way. And for a second, he kind of considered taking that offer to have an artificial arm from Hashirama cells just like Naruto, only to be reminded of why he opted not to take it anyway.

His left arm will always be a reminder of all the wrong decisions he had taken, negative beliefs he had held on to, and inexcusable actions he had done. It was also the same arm that almost unjustifiably took away the life of the woman he had just saved, a memory he's forcefully trying to eradicate from his mind, and hopefully now erased from hers, too.

His gaze darted towards the sleeping Sakura, taking him back to the realizations he had just before he got to rescue her. He will never understand how she could choose to forgive him even though he didn't deserve it, and how she could choose to love him still even when he was most unlovable. There's no denying of the truth that he would never deserve her, and he would never be the man worthy of all that she's lavishing upon him, but it didn’t mean that he couldn't try. As he stared at her with a developing admiration, he came to a conclusion that he needed to give himself a chance to start anew as the man that his Creator wanted him to be.

And so, he made up his mind. With revenge totally blotted out from the recesses of his thoughts, he decided that his wandering would be for the purpose of redemption to prove to himself that this second chance he was given wouldn't be put to waste, which meant that it might take him a little longer than he initially planned for him to accomplish that.

But then, his heart wrestled with the fact that this might hurt Sakura again. He had turned his back on her a number of times before, and every single time brought her to a point of breaking down caused by the strong feelings in her heart for the remaining Uchiha – feelings that he had no slightest idea how to reciprocate, until just after the war.

If she's hurt once again, I don't know what I would do.

 A day and a half after the incident, the kunoichi finally stirred in her sleep and became fully awake.

As Sasuke glanced at her from where he was seated with his back leaning on a tree, he hoped that she was already able to regain all the chakra she had lost.

"W-where am I?" Sakura scanned the surroundings after a few yawns and then she gasped. "Sasuke-kun! What happened back there?"

"Don't worry. We've both settled the fight."

She heaved a sigh of relief, smiling with satisfaction and pride with how the Uchiha mentioned "we" and "both" in a single statement. There was a rush of blood rising on her cheeks because of the little acknowledgment she received, but before it even manifested, she continued to ask, "How long have I been out?"

"Almost two days, actually. Are you feeling better?"

Blinking twice, she cocked her head to one side as she tried to absorb the softened expression on Sasuke's face. It was an expression she couldn't remember witnessing from the former rogue ninja. And for a fraction of a second, she wondered if this was just someone who used a Transformation Jutsu as Sasuke, but his apparent chakra signature told her otherwise. Before she could even reply to him, her gaze absently landed on the stump of his arm with its bandages visibly stained with a deep crimson. "Hang on...you haven't changed your bandages?!"

Sasuke was astonished with the sudden shrill of Sakura who immediately crouched on his left side, inspecting the almost forgotten remnant of the war that was apparently not yet fully healed. Tch. Of course she would notice. "I had no time to do so." And I had no idea how, he mentally admitted.

She gaped at him in shock. "But Sasuke-kun, you travelled and fought out there with this?!" She shook her head, hands already glowing with green over the area where his arm used to be connected. "This could've been infected in the past few days!"

A crooked smile appeared on Sasuke's face while he stared at the medical ninja whose concern for him was definitely unquestionable. Almost all of her chakra was depleted from her days ago and yet here she was, caring for someone who was in a much better state than her. 

Annoying woman. 

He shook his head to himself and then gently took her busy hand away from the stump of his arm. "Stop. You've barely even recovered and you're already using your chakra on me? I need you to be completely recovered so we could already go back to the village."

Sakura frowned at his remark, the truth of this hitting her as her head began to ache. "Says the one whose arm hasn't fully recovered either,” she mumbled. “At least let me change its bandage then." Looking at him with resignation, she waited for him to confirm through a nod before starting to do her voluntary task. "Kakashi-sensei sent you didn't he? He should've known that this mission could injure you all the more while you're still recovering from the war. Remind me to give him a good jab when we reach home." She rolled her eyes.

(And there went Kakashi's fear.)

"It doesn't mean I couldn't fight, Sakura." Her patient then looked away. "And don't blame Kakashi, I was the one who insisted that he sends me."

There was a beat of silence as Sasuke felt her pause from rolling the bandage around his arm, making him aware that this fact startled the medical ninja.

"Y-you...why, Sasuke-kun? I mean, I'm grateful. But, why would you even insist on going through all the trouble just to find me?"

Because I wouldn't forgive myself at all if anything happens to you. And...it would kill me if I lose you.

If all the things that ran inside Sasuke's mind all throughout the past few days' journey could be summarized to one thing, it would be this: finally understanding and acknowledging how much Sakura means to him. It was the bonus of this entire mission that he finally got to slowly unravel while enduring the agitation he had on the way to where Sakura was, seeing her fragile state when he finally found her in front of Ryuki, fighting with Ryuki while cautiously looking after her as she fought with other opponents, catching her chakra-depleted body, watching her sleep and hearing her murmur his name a few times (which made his heart skip a beat because he never imagined that someone would actually dream of him), and observing her care for him and his injured arm despite her own condition.

Even so, he wasn't too surprised with the revelation, in fact, it's like a hidden treasure well contained at the back of his brain which could only be unlocked after the prerequisite which was achieving his former goals. And as much as he would want to tell it to her as directly as possible now, he knew that it would be best for him to venture see the world and understand himself first, so that when he returned to her, he would be the best version of himself – hopefully worthy enough to be fully part of the life of the woman who never gave up on him, maybe not just as her boyfriend, but as her husband.

He understood how vital it was for him to let her go for quite some time, so that they could both grow.

Sasuke now turned to completely face Sakura, whose hands fully stopped in doing their chore. And, with his lips curled upwards, he lifted two fingers and lightly tapped her forehead – a gesture of affection that, for some reason, carries so much weight for him. "I'll tell you next time."

————

© October 2018 AriannJS

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This is my first work with a fight scene. Haha. Would appreciate it if you'll comment your thoughts below! For other SS fics, check out my works here. Thanks & God bless!😄

Like what I do? Please consider supporting me on ko-fi as I continue to write fictions and make song covers! A cup of coffee would be a big encouragement! :)

- A

[ahkaraii]

What are your OTPs, BroTPs, and NoTPs? I’m getting a feeling that GaixKakashi is one of your favs ;)

OHOU! What an interesting question! It’s no secret I’m a multishipper, so I can happily and quite placidly ship multiple conflicting pairings at the same time – usually by making up different possible timelines in my head. While I have some pairings I actively seek out more than others, know that I can be convinced to ship (and therefore read, write, and draw) practically anything.

And I do mean anything ahahaha sorry world~

For example, I ship Kakashi with just about everyone under the sun. You can throw him against anyone and how he reacts (and how they react to him) is immensely interesting to me. Can be sexual, can be platonic, can be consensual or not, I embrace any and all fictional content if he’s in it!!

Primarily, though, the ships I adore the most are as follows:

- Kakashi and Gai (endgoal relationship 4sure; as husbands or as queerplatonic bros, I don’t mind, I just want them to live until they die close by each other)

- Kakashi and Tenzo/Yamato/Kinoe

- Kakashi and Obito and Rin

I’m also absolutely open to playing around with what ifs involving Kakashi and Minato and/or Kushina, or Kakashi and Team 7 (Sakura, Naruto, and/or Sasuke in any possible combination), or Kakashi and his other peers (aka, Iruka or Asuma or Kurenai or Genma or hell, even Ibiki. S’all cool with this bean :D). My not-so-guilty ship is Kakashi/Jiraiya because I think they could have some pretty wild kinky sex with no strings attached and not lose any respect for each other.

For characters that aren’t Kakashi, I primarily ship:

- Hashirama and Tobirama (pretty much onesided on Tobirama’s part, but I will take any and all content – I am all for Tobirama’s diehard loyalty to Hashirama who could never quite allow himself to let it be mutual)

- Zabuza and Haku (similar to above, onesided for Haku for maximum angst, though of course I love it when they come as a set from the start too)

- Itachi and Kisame (though I’m all for onesided Kisame because Itachi throughout the story is emotionally dead and physically dying and not really there at all)

- Sakura and Ino, because god damn it they totally should have had a thing together at some point in canon why is this not a thing

- Yamato and Sai, because they are ex-ROOT and outsiders and could help each other understand the world (especially one where ninjas are no longer wanted or needed)

- Hiruzen and his backstabby but bizarrely enduring and very codependent ot4 with Danzo, Homura, and Koharu (and how this affects his family because man, Asuma hated his dad so very much, what was going on there, what happened here to evolve into such a fierce and adamant rejection for so damn long, I need to know more)

- Jiraiya and Tsunade and Orochimaru, because they were totally an ot3 as kids and my god they messed each other up big time, enough so all three ditched konoha on a semi-permanent basis, tell me more damnit i live for the mess

I also tend to love threesomes and moresomes, or dynamics between multiple people that transcend the usual platonic bond, so throwing an extra person into any of the aforementioned pairings is always up my alley.

For the darker ships, because you bet your bottom dollar I love the messed up, no-good mindfuck pairings as much as the saccharine and genuinely sweet ones, I ship –

(cw: child abuse, incest stuff)

- Madara and Obito (someday I intend to draw an extremely dark and mindfucky stockholm syndrome type comic about the year Obito spent trapped underground, set before Rin’s death, tentatively called “Lateralus (Spiral out, keep going)”)

- The Uchiha clan in general really (Madara/Izuna, Itachi/Sasuke, Itachi/Shisui, what is up with these incestual multigenerational uchihas, i want to know more about just how fucked up this isolated and insulated clan was and why it combusted)

- Danzo and ROOT (Danzo/Yamato is horrible and I am absolutely curious about it; Yamato and ROOT agents in general, too, there must have been jealousy there because Yamato came from nowhere and stole Danzo’s attention for years and years, and then Yamato stole their anonymity by going publically topside with Kakashi…….)

- Orochimaru and his test subjects (Orochimaru and Yamato’s dynamic post-canon fascinates me, what’s going on there; Orochimaru and Team Taka too, wtf is up with this dynamic; Orochimaru and anyone he’s ever been in contact with basically)

- Madara and Yamato, especially considering Yamato was captured for like, a ton of time in the fourth war??? And since Madara is 1000% obsessed with Hashirama and Yamato is a knock-off Hashirama clone…….

BASICALLY I HAVE THIS REALLY INTENSE YAMATO ORIGINS COMIC IN MY HEAD that I’d love to draw if time permitted but likely won’t ever happen (especially since it’d be so extremely dark and mindfucky and not mainstream appeal at all, ugh, why am I like this). In my headcanon his first “healthy” relationship was Kakashi, and even then it was weirdy because Kakashi was not in the best place to be in a relationship during his ANBU years…basically Yamato had an extremely messed up and confusing time growing up and even as an adult he was always kind of lost and being used by others. There is a happy ending tho, I promise!!! I like to think Yamato finds a place being Sai and Ino’s third, but anyway that’s a story for another day lmao~~

I don’t think I have a NoTP? There are characters I simply don’t care for, but I don’t particularly loathe any character enough to refuse to read well-written content of them. I can dislike a character because they’ve been poorly fleshed out or handled, sure, but honestly speaking I can convince myself to find anyone interesting under the right circumstances XD;;;

=bows shyly and ducks out=

[sumigakure]

Apples on Trees

To: @will-zeke-thomson

From: @arrowsbane

Title: Apples on Trees

Rating: T

Wordcount: 1313

Prompt: I’d like to see a story about how Tenzou fathered a bunch of kids (doesn’t need to be from one woman or be romantically involved with one at all) because he wanted his wood release to be carried on to future generations.

Notes: I went off on a bit of a tangent here, but hey, it worked. Also, I’m pretty sure I bent the timeline here, but who gives a crap. Ace!Tenzo. 3some!Santa-Shisui-Hana.

Summary: Tenzo never really had a proper family, so it stands to reason that the family he made wasn’t exactly normal. You know what they say about apples and trees – they don’t fall far.

Tenzo never really had a proper family.

He didn’t have a mother and a father, instead he had a mad scientist experimenting on his genetic structure, and an old war-hawk with a serious micro-managing problem.

He didn’t have a grandfather, instead he wound up with a Hokage in the shape of a crooked old man who ripped up one side of Root, and down the other with a ferocity that burnt hotter than foxfire.

He didn’t have a brother or a sister either, instead he got a Kakashi… and he’s pretty sure it’s broken.

So it stands to reason that when he did, eventually, build his own family, it wound up a little… odd.

…

It takes a while, but Tenzo finds himself stood in front of the Hokage, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

“I wish to have offspring,” He states, and the Hokage frowns contemplatively. In the background, Tenzo can hear at least three of the ANBU guards slip from their perches in shock, and a fourth choke on his own spit.

“I see.” The Hokage replies, his tone neutral. Tenzo relaxes in his place, before the Hokage adds.

“But you don’t have much experience with children.”

Tenzo blinks.

“I am both capable of, and able to provide care for infants.” He says, confused. After all, one of his duties for Root was to care for the younger recruits – ensuring they were fed and clothed.

“Nothing beats experience Tenzo,” the Hokage tells him, before grinning cheerfully, and tosses a dossier at Tenzo’s head. He catches it, and opens it warily.

“Hokage-sama?”

“It’ll be very good for you,” the Sandaime replies, “and most amusing for me.”

…

Tenzo finds himself blinking down at his six new companions. Three Genin: Uchiha Shisui, Honda Santa, and Inuzuka Hana - plus three ninken puppies who are tearing apart… something.

His first thought, is that this is not going to work.

…

Fast forward a year or so, and Tenzo finds himself with honest-to-god actual minions who will do anything he says, so long as it involves the humiliation and suffering of somebody very much so not-them. The little voice at the back of his head whispers that this is not quite like having kids, but he has gotten better at handling small people with emotions.

Maybe the Hokage does know what he’s doing after all.

…

His first child is, of course, a daughter. A daughter named Kaede, with maple hair and dark brown eyes and lungs that have more strength than a hurricane. She never seems to sleep either, and so ­­Tenzo and his genin quickly learn to pray for her naptime, because it’s the only time they ever have that is peaceful – unless they take shifts, of course. The only problem with shifts… is that Kaede has a sixth sense for when they try to sneak away and loses it.

It’ll be years before they find out she’s a natural-born sensor with a range that would make the Nidaime weep with jealousy.

There will come a day when missing-nin will flock to Konoha, because they could run and run and run and she would always, always find them.

…

Masaki and Mikio come next, fraternal twins who were apparently demons in a past life, because nowhere is safe once they learn how to crawl. Even Hana’s poor ninken aren’t spared – their tails and ears being pulled at every opportunity.

Hana whimpers whenever it’s her turn to change the nappies, and does so with an honest-to-god clothes peg on her sensitive nose.

Shisui tried to hide… only to be dragged back by his long-suffering girlfriend who is not putting up with his crap goddammit.

[Somewhere in between the Twins being born, and the next kid coming along, Tenzo comes to the conclusion that not only have his brats his puberty – hard – they’ve folded themselves into some kind of threesome. Huh.

In all honesty, he doesn’t care – so long as they keep it to the bedroom, and nothing happens with the kids around.]

Santa… Santa has the strange civilian ability to breeze through child-rearing with an ease that is normally associated with a ninja killing somebody, which is probably why the others hand the kids off to their boyfriend at every opportunity.

It’s terrifying.

And yet, it’s because of this that Tenzo is beyond grateful that the Hokage gave him brats before kids.

…

Naoki.

Where does one even begin to describe this one? An accurate assessment would be to describe him as the second coming of the Shodaime – a genius, but an emotional genius.

He’s been known to catch Jonin in his traps before even making Genin, and yet… he’s also been caught trying to teach various plants and shrubbery how to recognise – and attack – shinobi from other villages.

It seems to work though, because it stops the Hyuuga incident cold when one particular bush of roses wraps a Kumo nin in thorny ropes when said nin tries to kidnap the three-year old heiress.

The Hyuuga take special care to water this bush now, and have been witnessed making many trips to the Yamanaka flower shop to purchase both fertilizer and companions for it – and now the entire compound is surrounded by various colors and species of roses. It’s both beautiful… and deadly.

Tenzo is so proud, he doesn’t even have the words.

Shisui does. He practically keels over giggling about Killer Roses, and asks permission to plant them in the Forest of Death.

Sarutobi actually finds himself considering it…

…

Haruki is his last child (with a glare that can stop a Kage in its tracks and a demeanor that convinces many that he’s the reincarnation of Senju Tobirama), and like all the others, was born with the help of a surrogate.

The only difference being, is that the psychological evaluator clearly flubbed his job and Tenzo found himself on the verge of a custody battle, before the Hokage put his foot down.

Haruki is the only one of the lot who has visitation with his birth mother – and even then it’s carefully monitored; as the birth mother turned out to be a distant, but favoured, cousin of the daimyo.

Haruki also happens to be the only one who would grow up to be an undercover agent for the Daimyo’s court, so there’s that.

…

The kids grow into righteous rage, shaped like small people with big brown eyes and smiles that could cut you as easily as the weapons they wield. As luck would have it, they all present with Mokuton, and Konoha has never had it so easy in the fruit department as orchards of fruit-bearing trees seemingly sprout overnight.

His Genin grow too – Hana becomes a skilled veterinarian and tracker, heads and shoulders above the rest; her puppies are now strong and swift ninken, although they’ll still chew his zori to pieces if given the chance.

Santa goes into the medical field, and specializes in poison and using medical techniques in battle – he’s in charge of the greenhouses too, which makes Tenzo proud as… well, proud as a green-thumbed ninja with successful students.

Shisui… Shisui masters his Sharingan, and becomes famous for his use of the body flicker in battle. So famous in fact, that he’s got a flee-on-sight order for three out of the four other ninja villages.

The only ones who don’t take him seriously are Suna, and that’s because they’re all terrified of meeting Santa in the field. 

If only people knew Shisui’s skill came from being a sleep-deprived Genin who just wanted to change a nappy and go back to sleep. 

If only.

…

Twelve years after that strange, strange day when Tenzo confronted him with the desire for offspring, the Hokage finds himself beaming with pride as a pack of tiny wood-producing children terrify ninja and civilians’ alike.

It’s almost like having Hashirama-sensei back.

If you enjoyed this piece, why not take a look at other pieces written by the same author on AO3.

[myaekingheart]

70. Sekkachi

So say goodbye to all your friends I fell in love with her again My baby 'Cause I'm not that kind of girl -Not That Kind of Girl, My Chemical Romance

               Sekkachi nearly spat her tea across the room when Guy told her the news. “I’m sorry, Rei did what?” she asked.

               Guy nodded dolefully. “Kakashi seems pretty upset about it” he said. It was clear he felt bad for his eternal rival—losing love was never easy. And deep down, a part of him felt a little guilty for having constantly asked him about the proposal plans, only for the relationship to fall apart.

               Meanwhile, Sekkachi was fuming. She gritted her teeth and squeezed her cup until her knuckles turned white, drumming the fingers of her opposite hand on the table. “After all those years” she growled, “All those fucking years of whining and complaining and senpai, notice me!”—here, she slipped into a mocking, high-pitched tone the likes of which she used on missions as Shitagi—“and she has the audacity to throw this shit away just because god forbid she’s a little depressed. I swear to god, if I ever run into her on the streets, I am going to pound her face into the dirt so hard!”

               Guy couldn’t help but laugh as he took a sip of his own drink. “So you do still care about her after all” he said matter-of-factly. He knew that at the end of the day, she could never bring herself to do such a thing.

               Sekkachi rolled her eyes and scoffed. “As if” she spat, taking another swig of her tea. “I couldn’t care less what that little carrot-haired runt does. I just hope she knows if I see her, I’m going to beat her up.”

               “Well, I wouldn’t get so hasty” Guy then said. “I almost forgot, there was one thing she wanted me to give you.” Sekkachi cocked a brow, eyeing Guy suspiciously. If Rei had something to give her, she didn’t want it. Guy reached into his back pocket and slid a small gold foil box across the table. She skeptically took it and opened it up, finding a single aquamarine earring inside. Immediately, Sekkachi covered her face and turned away. Guy reached across the table to rest a reassuring hand atop hers. Her chest rose and fell unevenly, and the hand covering her eyes quickly grew damp.

~o~

               It was a blistering summer day in Konoha. She had three more blocks to walk and Sekkachi was already sweating through her fancy clothes. Truthfully, she didn’t even understand why she needed to dress so nice in the first place. It was just a birthday party. She knew it wasn’t her place to demand these sorts of things, but dressed like this, she was wildly out of her element. But it was at Naru’s request, and she couldn’t possibly refuse.  

               It was her thirteenth birthday party and she insisted it be special. After all, she had said, you only become a teenager once. This is a rite of passage! I’m a fancy adult now and therefore we need to act as such. Sekkachi pressed a hand to her gurgling stomach as she remembered her own thirteenth birthday. She didn’t feel any more mature afterward than she had when she was twelve. Actually, if anything, she felt worse. Nowhere did she say she had wanted to commemorate teenagerhood with a needle through her belly button, the small ring now rubbing against her too-tight dress.

               Thirteen, however, suited Naru rather nicely. She opened the door, brimming, and tugged Sekkachi inside. On the surface, she looked no different than before but there was something in her attitude, perhaps a newfound albeit placeboed sense of confidence. Delicate flowers were weaved through a headband of braided hair and when she walked, her flouncy dress bounced and bubbled like she was some sort of fluffy cheesecake. “I thought turning thirteen meant becoming an adult” Sekkachi commented as she followed Naru back to the garden. A modestly wrapped gift was tucked under her arm. “Don’t you think that dress is a little childish?”

               “Oh, pfft!” Naru swatted the air dismissively. “You’re not getting the point! Being an adult doesn’t mean putting away childish stuff, it just means I can do whatever I want and no one can say anything about it!”

               Sekkachi had to admit, as precious and petite as the dress made her appear, it certainly suited Naru’s personality. The pastel blue complimented her bright eyes, the shape of it accentuated her bubbly personality, and the flowers printed on the fabric perfectly matched those weaved through her hair. For all intents and purposes, she looked like a princess. Sekkachi smoothed out her own dress, suddenly feeling significantly underdressed. Her only relief was when they reached the gardens where Rei awaited their return, also wearing something far less extravagant. It was then that Sekkachi realized just how much the whole thing seemed to make sense. After all, this was Naru’s birthday. She was the center of attention. It was natural that she look as such—though then again, when wasn’t she the center of attention?

               The Fuzuki clan was rather well-off and, as such, lived comfortably near the center of the village. As history foretold, they were one of the first clans in Konoha and were instrumental in helping to establish the current standard of government alongside Hashirama and Tobirama Senju. They retained close ties with the village’s leadership and Naru’s father even served as a correspondent for Lord Third. Their financial status was clearly exhibited through their intricate, sweeping garden and fine china. She really is a princess, Sekkachi thought to herself as she surveyed the place.

               Naru squealed as her mother handed her her birthday present, wrapped in a small gold foil box. She removed the lid to find two dainty aquamarine studs inside, the perfect shade to match her dress and eyes. She thanked her parents profusely and asked their maid to fetch her a mirror so she could fix them to her ears in that very moment.

               Anything else her family gave her left Sekkachi feeling extremely self conscious about her own gift. She wanted to believe she knew Naru well enough, but she proved rather difficult to buy for. In a fit of panic, she had settled for a floral haori she found in an antique shop. It was simple and perhaps a little too subdued for Naru’s tastes, but Sekkachi had hoped it would at least be appreciated. Now, however, she wasn’t so sure.

               “Your turn!” the blonde then announced, grinning to Sekkachi. The blue-haired kunoichi’s eyes went wide and she tried to stammer out a protest, but Naru wouldn’t hear of it. When Sekkachi froze, Naru took it upon herself to take the package herself. As she watched her pull apart the twine knot and unfold the wrapping paper, Sekkachi felt as if she was silently exploding. This was a terrible mistake. She was going to hate it. She didn’t do a good enough job. She was going to hate her.

               Naru gasped loudly as she held up the haori and a strange look painted her face. Sekkachi wasn’t sure whether it was delight or disgust, and Naru was taking way too long to clarify. And then it hit her: it was too big. Oh god, it was too big for her. “Y-you know, I can return it if it doesn’t fit, or—” Sekkachi started but then Naru hugged it to her chest and grinned.

               “That won’t be necessary!” she announced. “Of course I’m going to keep it. I love it!”

               “Y-you do…?” Sekkachi asked in disbelief. “I-it’s not too big…?”

               Naru rolled her eyes. “You say that as if it’s a problem!” she laughed. “It’s a little big, but that just means I can keep it forever! I won’t have to worry about outgrowing it!” For once, Sekkachi was eternally grateful for Naru’s unending optimism. She sighed and sunk back in her seat, a relieved smile touching her lips, and she realized it was likely the first time she had relaxed since arriving.

               The last present opened was from Rei, which Naru insisted was the way it must be done as she was her best friend. From her, the blonde received a pair of shoes that Naru went wild over. They were chunky and pastel with little pink bows, the exact sort of thing you would expect for Naru. Sekkachi wondered how difficult a time Rei had picking them out, if her comrade had struggled the same way she had. But then again, likely not. Naru and Rei were much closer and had known each other much longer, at least in an amicable sense. They were sharing lunches and having sleepovers while Sekkachi berated them in the academy. It was a level of friendship Sekkachi knew she could never reach.

               “You should eat something!” Naru insisted later that afternoon, motioning toward the grand cake they had cut into. Just the mere sight of it in its sugary glory made Sekkachi’s stomach flip. She hated to deny her, though, and so feeling as if there was nothing else she could do, Sekkachi succumbed.

               "Just a small piece” she insisted, but it was too late. Naru had already cut her a large chunk of cake, strawberry jam oozing from the fluffy layers and thick white icing caked on the sides. She grabbed a fork and stared at her opponent questioningly, thinking to herself If I have to die today, it might as well be by birthday cake. And then, mustering all her strength, she took one large bite.

               As expected, the cake was absolutely delicious. The icing was light and sweet, the strawberry filling perfectly tangy, and the cake itself moist and spongy. Sekkachi fell into it for a moment, closing her eyes and letting herself enjoy the taste. She at least owed herself that much.

               One bite wasn’t so scary. It was the second, third, fourth, and so on that heightened her anxiety. One bite meant just a taste. It was safe, polite, demure. To eat the whole slice was to succumb to gluttony, to jump off the cliff knowing full well she was destined to crash straight into the raging waves below. She wasn’t prepared for the intestinal suicide. She wasn’t prepared to go home early, crawling on her hands and knees, suppressing the impending flare-up. As such, she forced herself to linger. She chewed the prongs of her fork as she pretended to be interested in the small talk about boys and fashion and who’s dating who. Her stomach began to churn.

               “What do you think, Sekkachi?” Naru then asked, snapping her from her daze.

               Sekkachi stammered, her fork falling out of her mouth, bouncing off the edge of the table, and jamming into the dirt. “W-what? About what?” she asked, blinking.

               A sly smile touched Naru’s lips as she rested her chin in her hand. Sekkachi grew weak, the color draining from her face. For a moment, she truly feared for her life. “Well, I was going to ask you if you thought Chikara-sensei was dating anyone, but now I’m curious about what you were thinking about!” she exclaimed. It was too late to try and save face. There was no way she could deny her absentmindedness.

               “I wasn’t thinking about anything…” Sekkachi lied. Panicked, she started shoveling cake into her face. Naru’s grin widened.

               “I guess I should’ve asked who you were thinking about, then! Although I’m pretty sure I already know!” she said. She could hardly suppress her girlish laughter.

               Sekkachi froze, mouth stuffed, and asked in a muffled tone, “Wait, what?” Her cheeks turned bright red. She hadn’t been thinking about anyone. Or at least not during this conversation.

               Rei cupped her hands over her mouth to stifle her laughter. This was too rich. Naru beamed as she replied, “We all know you and Guy are secretly an item!”

               Now Sekkachi was choking. The maid raced in to give her the Heimlich and once she had caught her breath, Sekkachi glared at the two of them and asked, “Where the hell did you get an idea like that from?!” The minute the curse word dropped from her lips, Naru’s parents shot her a stunned glare. The other thing about the Fuzuki clan was that they were borderline virginal. Curse words and anything else considered inappropriate within a formal setting was vilified to the extreme.

               Unlike her parents, however, Naru found a certain charm in Sekkachi’s unfiltered language. She had grown quickly accustomed to it, as well, and was therefore totally unphased. She took a sip of her tea, fully prepared to spill whatever she knew and excited to do so, at that. “We all know you meet up with him for weekly sparring matches. You two are so close, it’s only natural to assume you’re dating! Now I’ll admit, I had never pegged Might Guy of all people as your type but whatever you’re into, I guess!”

               “That’s a far-fetched idea” Sekkachi muttered, wiping the crumbs from her mouth. “I swear, Guy is just a friend and nothing more, okay? I don’t understand why you always have to go prying into other people’s business, anyway. People have a right to their privacy, you know.”

               Naru simply giggled and took another sip of her tea. She clearly struck a nerve, meaning that Sekkachi was, in fact, hiding something. It was only instinctual that she would want to figure out what. And truthfully, there was a myriad of things that Sekkachi kept hidden but the most pressing of which had nothing to do with romance. In a quick moment, Sekkachi’s stomach creaked and she could feel her insides rearranging. Fuck. Chewing her bottom lip, she sprang from her seat and hastily bid everyone goodbye, insisting that it was getting late and she had forgotten she had an errand to run for her mother. She booked it out of the Fuzuki household and raced as far down the street as she could manage. She was only halfway home when the pain overtook her and she had to duck into an alleyway to keel over and hyperventilate.

               Her mind raced as she clenched her eyes shut and tried to breathe through the pain. Deep down, she was cursing the old woman, the matriarch of her clan, about that damn belly button ring. The purpose, she had said, was to redirect her chakra and therefore cure her of her affliction. But here she was two years later and she was still just as sick as ever, if not moreso. She looked left then right, trying to get her bearings on where she was, what was nearby, and where she could find a bathroom she could die in. No luck. Groaning in frustration, she pounded her fist against the ground and curled up into a fetal position. This was it. This was the end. They would find her soiled corpse tomorrow morning when the cloud of flies became unbearable. As she huffed and cursed, however, a familiar voice then rang overhead and she suddenly was unsure whether she was saved or doomed.

               “Sekkachi!” he called, “You’re not looking so good. What’s going on?”

               I’m about to shit my brains out, that’s what’s going on, she thought unkindly. She opened her mouth to speak but could form no words. Fortunately, Guy caught on rather quickly. Without a second’s hesitation, he tossed her onto his back and raced through the streets of Konoha, dodging civilians left and right like a madman, before skidding to a halt in front of the Fumeiyo clan’s grounds. By the time they arrived, Sekkachi was certain she had left her intestines in the dust. It took a few minutes before they finally caught up with her, burying her face into Guy’s shoulder with a groan. He kicked the door open and waltzed inside as if it was his own home, then carried Sekkachi all the way to the bathroom. She slithered out of his grasp and crawled to the toilet, ripping her dress off frantically and shrinking in on herself.

               It was only a few months after they had met that Sekkachi was forced to admit to Might Guy that she was sick. Her thirteenth birthday had just passed and the piercing certainly did not do it’s intended job. She had no choice but to cancel her weekly match, employing the stomach flu as her excuse. At least that way, anyone who attempted to pry wouldn’t believe she was lying. Guy was not one to sit back and do nothing, however. If his dear friend was sick, he would ten to her and ensure that she was healing. He had gathered a colorful bouquet of get-well flowers and a basket of onigiri and set off, a part of him almost too excited to see the look on Sekkachi’s face. She was so coarse and blunt, the thought of doing something to make her happy exhilarated him.

               Her house was nothing like what he expected. Not that his expectations were very high, but this was certainly a shock to his system. The Fumeiyo clan had been historically tread upon for generations, almost as much as the Uchiha, thanks to a long-standing curse that their ninja were liabilities in battle. The working men of the village wanted nothing to do with these harbingers of disaster. As such, their tight-knit clan resided on the outer edge of the village where a stream trickled and weeds grew high. The house itself was in utter disrepair.

               A sour old woman turned Guy away at the front door, insisting he never bother them again. Defeated, he began trudging home but not before the wind carried soft-spoken gossip to his ears. He snuck beneath a window and listened closely as a man and woman discussed Sekkachi’s fate.

               “The outlook is bleak” the man said. “The ritual should have cured her. At this rate, I don’t think she’ll last another year.”

               “That’s not true” the woman replied. “She’s tough. I’m sure she’ll pull through.”

               “Even if she does” the man argued, “what about her quality of life? She’ll never be normal.”

               The woman sighed. “I’d hate to break the news to her. It would break her heart.”

               Guy didn’t stick around long enough to hear the rest. He raced home in a daze, unsure of what he had just heard but knowing full well that none of it was for his ears in the first place. His limbs felt disconnected from his body, and his mind wouldn’t shut up. So she was sick. That much was true. But there was no way this could be a simple stomach flu. If not that, then, with what? And would she ever be cured? He hoped so. She didn’t deserve to suffer. He had so many questions, and he desperately wanted answers, but now was not the right time.

               When she finally returned, Guy was overjoyed. She had pulled through after all. He surged forward and hugged her tight, exclaiming of how much he missed her. Sekkachi cocked a suspicious brow and shoved him off of her. She was sick. So what? It wasn’t that big of a deal. She could tell he was going easy on her as they sparred, however, which only pissed her off that much more.

               “Alright, what is your deal today?” she asked, voice forceful, during a lull in their training. “Why are you going easy on me? Do you think I’m weak or something? Huh? What is it?”

               “N-no!” Guy stammered. “I didn’t mean to, I just--! I didn’t want to push you too far if you were still getting over your sickness!” He knew that, for himself at least, he was willing to strain himself to the utmost limits whether he was feeling well or not. Those were his own self-rules, though—no one else’s. He could never subject those standards onto anyone but himself.

               Sekkachi narrowed her eyes and leaned down so as to get right up close in Guy’s face. “Going easy on me isn’t going to do me any favors” she growled. “I want you to pound me into the dirt, I want you to kick my ass. I want you fight me like a man, got it?”

               “Are you sure?” Guy asked. Sekkachi grimaced, forcing him to quickly add, “Listen, it’s not that I don’t want to! I just don’t want to hurt you.”

               “I’m not a fragile piece of glass, Guy” Sekkachi insisted. “Besides, it’s not like I haven’t been sick before. What makes this time any different?” Guy averted his eyes, stammering, and Sekkachi could feel her gut drop. “Oh my god, what do you know?” she asked quietly, angry and scared and confused. He was crossing a line she had firmly drawn in the dirt. No one was ever supposed to know about this.

               Back then, the whole thing was so weird. He explained everything quickly and anxiously, almost as if he expected Sekkachi to strike him. Instead, she sunk into the grass in disbelief. It would take her a minute to process all of this information, to process the fact that someone finally knew of her affliction. A charged silence surged between them for a long while before Guy pursed his lips and finally muttered, “I just want to make sure you’re okay. I care about you, Sekkachi.”

               Well shit. There was no way out of it now. Sighing, Sekkachi tightened her ponytail and braced herself for the explanation. “Guy, I’m sick” she started. “I’m never going to get better. I’ve got this chronic digestive disorder that makes normal shit a living nightmare. I can’t eat anything without being fucking terrified that it’s going to make me sick. Even if the food itself doesn’t fuck me up, the anxiety does. Sometimes it’s so bad, I pass out from the pain. My clan, they say that these piercings are supposed to help”—here, she motioned to the belly button ring in her stomach— “something about redirecting my chakra to help with the pain. It’s never done any good. My belly button, all the way up my ears, my nose, none of those have helped, and I’m sure anywhere else they try to stick holes in me isn’t going to make much of a difference either. I have to live the rest of my life knowing I will always be dysfunctional. That I’m always going to be sick no matter what. I’m going to have to suffer through every day of the rest of my life.” By now, she was starting to get choked up. This was exactly why she never wanted to say anything. She had already cried in front of Chikara-sensei about it, the night of their very first mission. Food was so culturally significant—existing not just for sustenance, but as a tradition and social ritual. It only emphasized her disability that much more. She hated food. She hated everything about it, the fact that it was so varied and delicious and that she couldn’t have any of it without feeling like she was going to die.

               Guy reached out and took her hand in his. “I’m sorry for what you’re going through, Sekkachi” he said. “I can’t even imagine how tough that must be to live with every single day…but I know you’re much more than what you’re going through. You may not be able to do ninjutsu or genjutsu, and you may be sick, but you are still one of the strongest ninja I’ve ever known!” Sekkachi rolled her teary eyes and scoffed, confident that that was a lie. Guy chuckled and smiled at her. “And if it means anything, I am going to stick by your side no matter what! Just let me know when you’re feeling sick and what I can do to help and I’ll come running.”

               Sekkachi wiped her nose with the back of her hand and smiled sadly. “You’re way too nice to me, you know” she commented. “You have no reason to be this nice.”

               “Of course I do” Guy replied. “After all, you’re my friend. You might even my best friend! And that’s just what best friends do.”

               From that point onward, Guy’s friendship proved to be indelible to Sekkachi over the years. Guy was certainly a man of his word, and on this blistering summer afternoon he had definitely kept his promise. He stayed in the hallway outside the bathroom the entire time, pacing back and forth on his hands so as to get training in while he was on standby. He refused to walk away and risk not being there if she needed him. During the entirety of her flare-up, however, all she could think about was what Naru had said at that party. Did she really believe her and Guy were a thing? And if she did, then who else had bought into it? A shiver ran down her spine. If only Naru knew how false an accusation that was.

               Guy grinned as the bathroom door creaked open and an exhausted Sekkachi trudged out into the hall. “You okay?” he asked, patting her on the back. There was something so weirdly casual about it, as if he was congratulating her on a good effort in a game of football or something.

               She gave a single, definitive nod as she crossed the hall to her bedroom and began changing into a pair of loose sweatpants. She had no reservations about doing this in front of Guy, and he certainly couldn’t care less. “Can I ask you something?” she asked, tying the drawstring loose around her bloated waist. Guy arched a bushy brow in intrigue. “Do you think people assume we’re dating?”

               “Dating?” Guy repeated. “Why? What gave you that idea?”

               Sekkachi shrugged and seated herself on the edge of the bed, hugging a pillow to her stomach. “Some things happened today, some words were said. I don’t want to get into the details. The important thing is that apparently people think we’re something of an item. I guess the minute a guy and a girl start hanging out together, they’re automatically treated like a couple or some shit.”

               Guy shook his head. “Well, this is the first time I’ve heard of this” he replied. Sekkachi wasn’t sure why, but that came as a relief. Maybe because that meant Naru’s rumor wasn’t as widespread as she had feared. If Naru was overcompensating, then perhaps their reputations were saved. “Are you trying to tell me something?” he then asked, cocking a brow in intrigued suspicion.

               Sekkachi didn’t think she could do this anymore. Her hands began to shake at her sides, both an after-effect of the flare-up and a result of her anxiety. She propped open the drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes, fixing one to her mouth and igniting the end. As she shoved the pack back in the drawer, she propped the window open so as to better dispel the smoke.

               “You really shoulnd’t do that, you know” Guy commented, shaking his head as he took a seat at her desk chair. “Isn’t that going to make you sicker?”

               Sekkachi scoffed. “Sometimes these days, it’s the only thing that makes me feel healthy” she replied. She took a long drag and let the smoke billow up from her lips slowly. Guy couldn’t really see the appeal, but whatever worked for her, he supposed.

               “You never answered my question” he then said. She knew. She wasn’t sure if she could now. “You know you can be honest with me, Sekkachi.”

               “Guy” she sighed, “you are the nicest person I have ever met. Did you know that?” Might Guy smiled back at her. She toyed with the tassels on the edge of the pillow, her cigarette in her opposite hand. She didn’t want to look at him. She was afraid of what he was about to say. “I just need to know…guys always have ulterior motives, you know? They always do things for the sake of getting something out of it for themselves. Usually because they like someone. And I just need to know, and be totally honest with me here, do you…I mean, you don’t—”

               “Sekkachi, I’m going to stop you right there” Guy interrupted, holding up a hand. Sekkachi froze, finally gazing back at him with wide, uncertain eyes. “You know I consider you a good friend of mine. I don’t want a rumor like this to ruin the friendship we have.”

               Relief washed over her, sighing out her cigarette smoke. “That’s good to know” she said. “Because I was so scared you were going to admit that you loved me or something.”

               Guy shook his head. “Sekkachi, I consider you family. I don’t think I could ever think of you like a lover.”

               “Honestly? I feel the same way” Sekkachi admitted. Her hands trembled as she could feel the words rising up in her throat, something she had never before said aloud threatening to spill. She leaned forward and locked eyes on the ground, suddenly very aware she had no control over whether or not she was about to say it. “I love you, but like a brother. You’re always there for me, you’re always pushing me to do better. I feel like I can be open and honest with you. And that’s why…Guy, there’s something I need to tell you.” Guy’s brows raised as he leaned closer, fearing the worst. He knew she was sick, but was it worse than they expected? Was she dying? He needed to know. She took a nervous drag of her cigarette, exhaled, chewed her bottom lip. This was it. Now or never. “Guy, I’m gay. I like girls. I’m a lesbian.”

               Might Guy leaned back a moment, processing the confession. This was a huge moment and he needed to tread carefully. Sekkachi’s leg bobbed up and down on its own accord as she awaited his response. This was killing her. Then suddenly, before she knew it, Guy’s arms were wrapping around her in a tight hug. She blinked a few times, not quite understanding, and then he said, “I’m proud of you, Sekkachi.” Her cigarette snuffed out and fell to the floor as she broke down. No one else knew.

~o~

               “You sure you’re going to be alright?” Guy asked as he walked Sekkachi home. She clung to that little gold foil box, terrified of losing it if it wasn’t in her grasp at all times. As they ascended the stairs, she nodded and then smiled softly at Guy.

               “Yeah, I’ll be alright” she said. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

               Deep down, she knew that was impossible for him, but he knew better than to press her. He bid her a brief goodbye and then they parted ways toward their respective apartments. As she reached her front door, however, there was a small basket on her doorstep covered by a gingham dish towel. A small note was folded and placed squarely on the top.

               This was highly unusual for a number of reasons, and for a moment Sekkachi was terrified this was some sort of planned terrorist attack. She wasn’t sure why, exactly, anyone would be targeting her of all people but her anxiety was getting the better of her. She inspected the basket closely only to find that whoever left it was, in fact, trying to kill her. There was nothing but food inside.

               Finding no other choice, Sekkachi kicked her door open with her foot and carried the basket inside, leaving it on her desk. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at it for a good long while before finally picking up the note attached. The message was short and simple yet shocking.

               Sorry for your loss. Here is some comfort food. Hope you enjoy. -Mikazuki

               Sekkachi had only met this girl a handful of times, one of Rei and Naru’s comrades in the ANBU, but this seemed wildly uncharacteristic considering her shy demeanor. It also didn’t make any damn sense. There was no reason whatsoever for this girl to be leaving food on a practical stranger’s doorstep. Sekkachi peeled back the dish towel (which she assumed Mikazuki would want back, if only she knew of a way to return it to her) to find a myriad of comfort food inside: onigiri, homemade senbei, manju filled with red bean paste.

               It was a nice gesture, of course, but felt so inappropriate. I hope she knows all of this is going to go to waste, Sekkachi thought to herself. She couldn’t eat any of it even if she wanted to. Or perhaps she was just being difficult. Deep down, she knew many of these foods were actually rather palatable for even her hypersensitive stomach. She supposed she feared that eating it would mean accepting whatever ulterior motive Mikazuki was after. There was no way she was doing this just to be kind.

               Sekkachi looked down to the little gold foil box in her hands and sighed. When did life become so damn complicated? If Naru was still alive, none of this would be happening. The memories of that birthday party were still so vivid in her mind. They were so young and stupid, so naïve. If only the three of them knew what was waiting around the corner. And then of course her mind leapt to Rei. A seething rage bubbled up inside of her chest at the thought of her. This was all her fault. Breaking up with Kakashi was almost deserved. A solid punishment for everything she had done. And yet…she couldn’t quite wrap her brain around why Rei would go to the trouble of relaying her this box. She popped open the lid and watched the single earring roll around inside. It almost made her nauseous. Perhaps so many years spent working together left Rei and Sekkachi far more telepathic than they had expected. Sekkachi rose from her seat, box in tow, and approached her desk, opening the top drawer and pulling out an identical aquamarine stud. How the two earrings got separated, Sekkachi would never know. Naru had a strange way of organizing her belongings, sometimes meticulously color coded and other times a complete mess. None of that mattered now, though. All that was important was that the pair was back together, and it was all because of Rei.

               Sekkachi clutched the earrings in her fist and sucked in a sharp breath. Nothing was ever going to repay what Rei had done, yet perhaps she had been too hasty. Naru was gone. All they had left now was each other. Her eyes shifted to the framed photograph on her desk of the three of them when they were just genin, so bright and happy and confident. She grazed the glass over Naru’s image, tightened her grip on the earrings, let the stones press into her the flesh of her palm, and then truly let herself break down.

Oof I'm gonna be totally honest with you guys, this was a REALLY difficult chapter to write. I really wanted to explore the origins of Guy and Sekkachi's friendship, but more importantly Sekkachi's illness. Her chronic illness is based on my own so all of her struggles with food and her digestive system hit really close to home, and it was EXTREMELY hard to try and find the line between being honest but tasteful and being gross and way too honest about the literally shitty experience of having a sickness like this. I just hope I did it justice.

[kuriquinn]

The Flip Side

Summary: “This is probably the most useless thing you’ve ever done to get my attention,” she informs him later, as the sun begins to set. “And considering you shaved your head that time Chōji told you I liked boys with short hair…” [SasuSaku Festival 2017 – Day 9 – Prompt: “Community Service”]

Disclaimer: This story utilises characters, situations and premises that are copyright Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Shonen Jump and Viz media. No infringement on their respective copyrights pertaining to episodes, novelisations, comics or short stories is intended by KuriQuinn in any way, shape or form. This fan-oriented story is written solely for the author's own amusement and the entertainment of the readers. It is not for profit. Any resemblance to real organizations, institutions, products or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All plot and Original Characters except for those introduced in the canon books, manga, video games, novelizations and anime, are the sole creation of KuriQuinn. (© KuriQuinn 2016- )

Rating: T

Warning: AUish. Deals with evens from the Naruto Movie Road to Ninja. OOCish. Because RTN version of our beloved characters. 

Author’s Note: Sasuke was very interesting to write in this one. It’s like, the total opposite of who he is. And it was soooo hard to write Sakura! I have such a hard time imagining a world where isn’t utterly smitten with him!

Beta Reader: Sakura’s Unicorn

Sakura arrives at Training Ground Three bright and early to find the familiar sight of Sasuke and Menma glaring at one another.

Under normal circumstances, she would brush it off as their never-ending competition—they are so alike in temperament and skill that they’ve always been natural rivals. Since the three of them were assigned to Team 7, it’s been a constant string of one-upmanship. Sakura had to become Tsunade’s apprentice just to keep up with them (although she usually tells them it’s to get a break from the testosterone).

Today, though, when she approaches the boys, she gets the sense she’s stumbled onto something else.

“Hey,” she greets, inwardly preening a little when Menma is the first to glance her way.

“Sakura,” he says quietly, nodding in her direction.

Sasuke turns around, brightening at the sight of her. “Hey, kitten. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

Sakura glowers at him. “Stop calling me that!”

Geez! He has to start right away!

“Ah, Sakura! There you are!” Kakashi declares, straightening up from the ground where he’s been doing push-ups. She wouldn’t have seen him except for the white shock of hair. “It’s odd that you’re late. I remember when we ran missions together; you were as dedicated to punctuality as Konoha’s White Beast of Prey!”

“He still talks about himself in the third person?” Sasuke inquires with a yawn.

Menma nods. “It would seem so.”

“He’s right, though,” Sasuke agrees. “You’re never late.” An expression of concern passes over his face. “Are you still tired from being stuck in that other world?”

“I’m fine,” she shrugs him off. “I only found out from Lady Tsunade and Shizune just now that I had to come here. They wouldn’t say what it was about, so what gives?” Menma frowns, looking down at his feet, and Sasuke scowls. “Have I missed something?”

“Not at all, my most esteemed and youthful student!” Kakashi declares. “For your sake, I will gladly repeat the mission! You see, in light of the recent attack on the village, Lady Tsunade has decided that you’re all to be placed on probation!”

There’s silence. Then –

“EHHH?!”

Sakura exclaims, “What? Why?”  

“Tch. I guess it’s better than I expected,” Sasuke muses.

Kakashi rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Well, I imagine it has to do with the fact that one of you almost destroyed the village, the other went AWOL during an all-hands-on-deck emergency situation, and the third defaced Hokage Rock. I’ll let you fine young people ponder who exactly did what.”

Menma tenses, still looking at his shoes, and Sakura’s gaze softens.

Since being back from her strange visit to another world, she’s heard bits and pieces of what happened from Ino. How Menma somehow came to possess the Nine-Tailed Fox spirit that everyone thought was sealed inside his mother, and how it corrupted him. If it weren’t for the other Sakura and Menma—No, wait, they called him Naruto, didn’t they?—he might’ve been lost for good.

As it is, he’s being treated like a pariah lately while the village tries to come to terms with what happened.  

And he’s not the only one…

Whatever happened while she was gone, the girl who everyone thought was her went missing during the attack on the village. Instead of organizing evacuations and directing field medics to help the villagers, her doppelgänger was nowhere to be found. But everyone thinks that it was Sakura who abandoned her post.

So that explains the first two offences, but not…

Her brain catches up with what Kakashi said and her head whips around to stare at the Hokage monument just visible through the trees. Lord Hashirama’s sombre expression has been altered with several slashes of paint, and the blue and red that speckles Lord Tobirama’s face makes him look like a prostitute. She didn’t even notice this morning because she was in such a hurry to meet with her master.

If Menma was battling his doppelgänger and she was in another world, that leaves—

“What the hell, Sasuke?!” she demands, rounding on her teammate. “Why would you spray paint all over Hokage Rock, you stupid ass?!”

Sasuke is unbothered by her outburst and instead offers her his usual flirtatious smile. “So I could ensure I spent more time with you, of course. We haven’t seen each other in a while—ow!” She bashes him on the head, only just reigning in her strength to keep it from turning it into a skull-crushing blow. “Come on, Sakura! I didn’t—ow—do anything to your father’s face—ow—you know I wouldn’t—ow!”

“You two are an embarrassment,” Menma sighs.

“Embarrassment or not, the Hokage has tasked us with an important array of community service tasks,” Kakashi says. “With the village recovering, we’ve been put in a precarious situation. Anyone who might try to take advantage of Konoha in the interim needs to know we’re still able to do our jobs! So, all our away missions must continue! And while our shinobi forces are dealing with that, it means there are fewer people here to fix the place up.”

“And by fewer people, you mean no one,” Sasuke says.

“Exactly! Until further notice, we will be carrying out community service missions that other shinobi don’t have time to do. The responsibility falls to you three!”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Kakashi-sensei, but if all of these tasks are so important, shouldn’t there be more people doing them?” Sakura wants to know.

“Weeeeell, originally Lady Tsunade suggested a team of squads, but that wouldn’t be a penalty—or a challenge—at all! I told her we could manage all of the work ourselves, and she should focus the efforts of the other teams elsewhere.”

Menma, Sakura, and Sasuke groan in unison.

Typical…

“Besides, not only will it give us all time to re-forge our team bond, it will be character-building and boost morale among the villagers! After all, who better to lead by example than those who embody all the finest qualities of our immaculate village! The students of the Legendary Sannin!”

“You realise that name is more of a joke than anything else, right?” Sasuke deadpans. “More like the legendary monk, crone, and shut-in.”

“Don’t speak ill of the dead,” Menma orders. “Lord Jiraiya was a great man and he sacrificed a lot to keep Konoha safe. Unlike your master.”

Which is true, more or less. Orochimaru is basically a prisoner of the village these days, living in a library and reading up on obscure jutsu. The only reason he ever agreed to train Sasuke was because the guy hounded him every day for weeks after Menma left with Jiraiya. Orochimaru was once Akatsuki, which means he is the best link Sasuke has to his estranged older brother.

“And yet mine is still alive,” Sasuke muses out loud.

More glaring.

“All right, you two. Put away the measuring sticks,” Sakura grumbles, once again playing peacemaker. She addresses Kakashi. “Let’s just get this over with. How long do we have to do this for, Kakashi-sensei?”

“Act as if you’ll do it for the rest of your life!” Kakashi crows and brandishes a scroll. When he unfurls it, the list of tasks pools on the ground.

“Oh, man! I’m going to be older than Lady Tsunade when we finish all this,” Sakura complains.

“I promise I’ll still find you attractive,” Sasuke informs her magnanimously.

A vein pulses in her temple and, with a growl, Sakura knocks him out.

ロードトウニンジャ

It’s as if, overnight, their entire team has been demoted back to genin rank.

While the rest of their friends and the active shinobi corps carry out important jobs—rebuilding fallen structures, repairing collapsed watermains, organizing field clinics, and even leaving the village on away-missions—Team 7 is left with barely D-ranked missions.

They can’t even complain to Kakashi about it, either.

The first day, he appointed himself as official messenger of the village, zooming around, bringing notes and memos to people. Then he got the bright idea to use his Sharingan to teleport himself across town to save on time, and knocked himself out for the next few days.

Idiot…

“So much for a team-bonding exercise,” Menma mutters as they pack emergency supply crates to distribute later.

“Are you really surprised?” Sasuke challenges.

“Oh, admit it. You’d think something was wrong if he wasn’t so enthusiastic,” Sakura points out.

“I can’t even imagine it,” Menma admits. He pauses. “Was he like that in…in the other world?”

Sakura starts at this, realising suddenly she hasn’t actually had a chance to tell her teammates about her strange experience. There’s only been the debriefing with Lady Tsunade, and then she was sent straight to this community service punishment.

“I don’t know. I didn’t run into him while I was there. Maybe?”

“What else did you see?”

“It was completely insane,” she tells them. “Think of the most backwards world you could think of, and that’s what it was.” She shudders. “Everyone was different. It was like I walked through a mirror.”

“What do you mean?” Sasuke asks.

“Like…like Hinata was really shy and quiet and she was actually nice to me. Kiba got along with Akamaru, and Shino actually liked bugs and—”

“Hinata?” Sasuke snorts. “Nice? That is bizarre.”

“There’s nothing wrong with Hinata,” Menma points out sagely. “She’s the heiress to the Hyūga and the first woman to lead them. She’s got a lot to deal with. And when you factor in that she’s related to someone as perverted as Neji…”

Sakura’s heart sinks. “You’re defending her a lot stronger than usual.”

“Never mind that,” Sasuke interrupts. “What about me?”

“What about you?”

“Was I different in this other world?” he asks and then strikes a pose. “Or just as handsome and talented as I am here?”

Sakura rolls her eyes. “I have no idea.”

“What? Why?”

“You weren’t there.”

“What do you mean, I wasn’t there? Where would I be?” He is puzzled.

“Well, Ino said—the Ino from over there—she said that you were out of the village.”

Menma frowns. “A solo mission perhaps?”

“How many chūnin do you know get assigned solo missions?” Sasuke counters.

“Maybe your alternate version is just a lot more talented than you are.”

“Says the idiot who got his ass handed to him by his own doppelgänger.”

“Guys!” Sakura snaps, cutting off the usual detour into bickering.

Luckily, the cart for the next supply delivery returns, and Sakura can busy herself with loading it up. All by herself, as usual, because the guys are such complete wimps when it comes to heavy lifting.

Angry grudge match to the death? No problem! Let’s destroy an ancient waterfall! Moving a few boxes? Oh no, Sakura. We couldn’t possibly. One of us might break a nail…

Still, as she loads the crates, she can’t help but think back to that strange world she was pulled into.

She didn’t notice then, being so busy trying to acclimate to new surroundings and regain her memories, but thinking on it now… The other Ino seemed sad and uncomfortable about how Sakura reacted to Sasuke not being there.

Like if he had been there, he would’ve jogged my memory or something? I wonder if it’s possible that the other Sakura and the other Sasuke were…?

She shrugs and shakes her head. That other girl must have no self-respect, especially if the other Sasuke is as big a playboy as her Sasuke is.

My world’s Sasuke, she corrects herself, and determinedly puts her focus back on the task at hand.

The next few days pass quickly.

Team 7 makes coffee and runs lunches across the village to all the workers then they wash dishes. One morning, they babysit a group of kids who are too young to be at the Academy, but whose parents are busy with the reconstruction process. They fetch groceries, do laundry, paint fences, mow lawns—

Even Kiba is more useful than we are, and he’s running a Find-Your-Cat shelter!

They spend several days working at the soup kitchen that’s been set up in the centre of town. The three of them are given aprons and hair nets to wear while they dish out mass portions of ramen. Menma spends most of that day sick (the smell of ramen always makes him ill) so they give him the job of cleaning up after people have finished eating. Sasuke isn’t given the same opportunity to escape doling out noodles, and every time he sees one of his relatives in the area, he cringes.

Most of them don’t say anything. According to Sasuke, they’re all giving him the cold shoulder for embarrassing the clan with immature antics. But the curly-haired man named Shisui teases him something merciless. If it weren’t for Sakura holding Sasuke back, he’d probably set his cousin on fire.

Then it’s back to picking up litter, removing debris from the streets, painting over scorch marks on buildings, cleaning windows—one day they’re expected to clean up the area around a busted sewage line.

The three of them stare at it until Sakura makes an executive decision.

“This one’s all yours,” she says, clapping both boys on the back and walking away. When Sasuke and Menma open their mouths to argue, she only has to crack her knuckles once and utter silence reigns.

The jobs are endless, and they are mind-numbingly boring. Sakura returns to her empty house every day without the energy to even eat, collapses on her bed, and sleeps until her alarm sounds. And then prepares for another cycle of never-ending, repetitive scut-work.

Given how busy she is, it’s understandable it takes a week before realises the graffiti still hasn’t been cleaned off Hokage Rock.

Understandable, but still unacceptable!

“It’s on the list of things that need doing, but it’s not a priority right now,” Shizune says the next day when she asks about it.

“But it’s an important symbol for the village!” Sakura protests.

“Perhaps in another week or two. Right now, even the smallest child is helping to restore our village, and the extra labour can’t be spared. Even those of you on probation.”

“The monument will be put to rights once I know everyone in my village is properly cared for,” Lady Tsunade declares gravely. “If you want to fix it before then, you’ll have to do it on your own and during time not spent carrying out the community service tasks you and your team have been assigned.”

ロードトウニンジャ

In the end, that’s what she does.

Sakura gets tired of seeing the graffiti all over the rock, even if her father’s monument hasn’t been touched. It’s an insult to the office of Hokage, which she intends to become one day, and in her view, it’s just as important as picking up litter and watching children.

And so, at the end of the next day, she stops at home to change into something old and worn, and heads for the caretaker shed behind the monument. There’s bound to be tools and cleaning equipment there, and even if she can’t get it all done, she can at least get started.

Which is why she’s utterly shocked upon arriving to find Sasuke with several buckets of paint remover and water.

“Doesn’t it defeat the purpose of doing it, if you’re going to clean it off without someone telling you to?” she asks, climbing down to the scaffold in front of the Second Hokage’s face.

“Who says someone didn’t tell me to?” he counters. She raises an eyebrow and he grumbles, shoulders stooped. “No one told me to. I heard you speaking to Tsunade earlier and figured, if it meant something to you, I’d fix it.”

“You wouldn’t have to fix anything if you didn’t do it in the first place,” she reminds him, picking up a rag and dousing it with solvent.

“I admit: not one of my best ideas.”

“So much for being a genius.”

He knocks her shoulder with his, and for a while, they work in companionable silence. Sasuke isn’t so bad when he isn’t being the epitome of a hormonal teenaged boy.

“This is probably the most useless thing you’ve ever done to get my attention,” she informs him later, as the sun begins to set. “And considering you shaved your head that time Chōji told you I liked boys with short hair…”

Sasuke scowls. “You promised not to mention that again.”

“You promised to stop doing stupid stuff like this.”

Sasuke scrubs furiously.

“It wasn’t really to get your attention,” he admits eventually. “I said that because Menma was around, and bringing up the real reason…” He shrugs. “He feels bad enough for being the cause of all this, and it wasn’t really his fault.”

“That’s oddly magnanimous of you.”

“Hey, just because I call him on his shit doesn’t mean I don’t recognise when the guy could use a break. And considering he didn’t say anything when…” He trails off, shakes his head, and then tells her, “The Hokage hired Akatsuki during the attack. To rescue the other you.”

Sakura’s eyes widen. “Oh.”

Itachi Uchiha is the black sheep of the Uchiha clan. Once hailed as a prodigy, the next clan leader, and possibly the first Uchiha who might wear the mantle of Hokage, he instead chose to flee the village at the age of thirteen and become a mercenary. His parents disowned him and for that reason, Sasuke is now next in line to be head of the clan.

It’s a position that comes with a lot of expectations, and having met Sasuke’s parents, Sakura knows it isn’t an easy destiny. On top of all that, he and Itachi were close. She remembers the older boy picking Sasuke up after classes so he could train him.

“He was here and he didn’t tell anyone,” Sasuke continues now through clenched teeth, hands balled into fists. “It was just a damn job to him, and he didn’t bother to… I just wanted to speak to him! If I’d known he was here, if someone had just told me—!”

“You would have dropped everything and gone after him,” Sakura says gently. “Then there’d be more than one of us on this team who went AWOL in an emergency. And unlike him, you’d be considered a missing nin if you didn’t come back.”

The only reason Itachi isn’t considered a criminal is because he sends reports back to the Hokage about the situations in other countries. Akatsuki’s reach is far, and it offers him the opportunity to travel. She thinks this might make Sasuke more resentful than anything else.

“All I want is for him and my father to sit down and talk,” Sasuke confides. “If they’d just do that, they could figure out this whole mess and things would be good again. And I wouldn’t have to worry about my mother bursting into tears every time someone even mentions his name.” He shoots her an apologetic look. “Never mind. I shouldn’t be saying all this to you.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s always best to talk about things that bother you. No one ever benefitted from bottling those kinds of feelings up.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s just… You must think I’m pathetic, complaining about my family problems when you…you’ve lost yours. I’m being an ass.”

“No, you’re not. You care about Itachi. And your entire clan acts as if he’s dead. You’re allowed to be hurt. And who says my pain is more important than someone else’s?”

Sasuke offers her a grateful smile, and for a moment, all is right with the world.

Then he reaches forward and swipes a thumb across her chin. “You’ve got a little paint just here—”

“Oh for the—! Are you serious!” she demands. “Why do you always have to cheapen the moment with your crappy pick-up lines?”

“That wasn’t a line! You actually do have paint there. So what if I happen to capitalise on that fact?”

“You really can’t take no for an answer, can you?” she groans. “Geez, you’re so annoying.”

“No, I’m persistent,” he says, all charm.

“That’s another word for annoying.”

“I’m just being patient. If I wait long enough, eventually, you’ll appreciate my feelings.”

“You’ll wait a long time then.”

“Not as long as you’ll be waiting for Menma,” he quips.

Sakura chokes and rounds on him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

He ducks out of her way.

“Just what everyone else knows,” he replies, apologetic. “He doesn’t care for you that way. You’re more like a sister to him. He knows as well as I do that you’d have a boring, unhappy life together if you settled for each other.”

“S-settled?!” she sputters. “H-have you two been talking behind my back?” She lashes out and grabs the front of his shirt. “And what the hell do you mean, settled? As if he could do better than me? My father was the Fourth Hokage and I’m the apprentice of the Fifth Hokage! Or maybe I could do better than him? We’re the students of Sannin, the top shinobi in our year. We’re friends. We get along. We agree about everything—”

“Exactly,” Sasuke nods. “You’d be bored within a week of actually being with him.”

“So you say!”

“So I know,” Sasuke snorts. “Trust me, kitten, relationships are my forte.”

“You’ve never had a relationship!”

“Well, I’ve done a lot of research.”

“Reading Gai-sensei’s Icha Icha series does not count as research!”

“Spoken by someone who has no appreciation for the genre,” he retorts. “The problem with you two ever being a relationship is that there’s no passion between you. For a relationship to work out, one has to be able to bond—to fill in the parts of you that are missing with the parts of your lover.”

Sakura’s eye begins to twitch, her cheeks flooding with warmth. “Are you serious?”

“You two are both too focussed on success and results. You make decisions with your heads, but never your heart,” Sasuke continues matter-of-factly. “Any relationship between you would be cold, or at worst, a duty.”

She opens her mouth to protest, but she cuts off when he suddenly leans closer, his eyes soft and humorous.

“You deserve someone who’ll bring a spark into your life. Someone who’ll go to the ends of the earth to make you smile and laugh and cry. Someone who doesn’t care what you look like when you roll out of bed, or who appreciates those tasteless, off-colour jokes you make under your breath when you think no one is listening.”

She thinks her cheeks are rivalling tomatoes in colour right now.

 “Th-this is ridiculous,” she attempts.

“No, it’s not. It’s the kind of relationship you deserve. The kind my parents have. The kind your parents had.”

The warmth in her face abruptly drains and she narrows her eyes. “Don’t you pretend to know what my parents—”

“I’m not insulting your parents,” he cuts her off, a note of exasperation in his voice. “I’m saying what they had, their relationship, was worth envying. They cared for each other, so much that your mother refused to leave your father’s side even in the end.”

Sakura looks away, angry. “Yeah, she loved him so much that she wanted to be dead instead of being with me.”

“She wanted to give you your best chance. And going with your father, she was making sure that his sacrifice did what it was supposed to do: save the village. Even the most unpleasant members of my clan think she was honorable for what she did,” Sasuke tells her. “And that love that she had…that’s what I want some day. And I want it with you.”

Her chest constricts, and her eyes snap to him, wide. She can’t hide the shock at this because Sasuke flirts—he does that as easy as breathing—but he’s never said anything as direct as this before.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m not expecting you to return my feelings right now,” he tells her softly. “Menma is the one in your heart, I know that. He’s the first guy you’ve ever cared for. I know that’s not something so easily forgotten.” He leans closer. “But one day, when you see for yourself that you two aren’t suited, when you realise you’re much better off as friends, I’ll be there. Because I intend to be the last man you ever love.”

Sakura makes a strangled noise in her throat.

“How can you…how can you say those things! When all you do is trawl around the village, flirting with every girl you see and handing out your stupid roses!” she snaps, shoving him back with one hand. “They hear you and think you’re swearing to be with them forever, and then they get their hearts broken when they realise you say that to everyone!”

A bitter memory surfaces of their Academy days, clutching a broken rose and watching him blithely hand out others with the same pretty words he’s given her. She vowed back then not to fall for anything Sasuke had to say ever again.

He raises an eyebrow at this. “So, you worry about who I give roses to?”

“Of course not,” she huffs. “That’s your business. I’m just pointing out the hypocrisy. You’re talking about love, and you can’t remember the names of the girls you go out with.”

“I’m not trying to hurt anyone, Sakura. It’s to make them feel special. Any girl having a bad day gets her spirits lifted when someone is nice to her and gives her a gift. And I have rose bushes behind my house, and a lot of them would just wither and die without being appreciated if I left them,” Sasuke explains. “Why not give them out? For an hour, a girl can be happy, the centre of the universe. Is that so wrong?”

She shifts uncomfortably, not liking that she might possibly agree with that argument.

“Exactly,” he says, taking her silence for agreement. “Making someone happy for an hour, it’s such a small thing. But you—” His eyes become intense and she imagines flames behind them. It’s as if, in this moment, there’s no one else in the world but her. “—you deserve more than an hour. You deserve our entire lives. And one day, I’m going to give you that.”

Her heart thumps against her chest, the utter conviction in his words faintly frightening. She’s only ever seen Sasuke intense about one thing, and that’s finding his brother. The idea that he believes she is as important as that…

She shivers, half-uncomfortable, half-thrilled despite her brain’s tired insistence of but you like Menma!

“You…shouldn’t say exaggerated stuff like that,” she tells him with forced levity.  “You’re an Uchiha. You’re the heir to the Uchiha. As the next head of the clan, your parents are probably expecting you to settle down with someone from the clan. Aren’t you practically engaged to Izumi now anyway?”

Sasuke rolls his eyes. “That’s my father’s plan, not mine. He doesn’t seem to get that Izumi won’t agree to marry anyone while Itachi is still breathing somewhere in the world,” he scoffs. “Even so, I don’t want her.”

“Because you’re convinced you want me. You wouldn’t if I was just some normal girl, I bet.”

The intense look in his eye is back. “Even if you were a civilian, even if you had no talented shinobi relatives, and if you hadn’t been a prodigy since our Academy days, I would still choose you. Because you are kind and good and strong and being around you makes the world better somehow. Even when it’s horrible.” His gaze softens, and his tone turns gentle. “There’s no one else that I’ve ever felt like that about.”

He leans over, their faces getting closer together, and Sakura finds herself frozen.

“So, I constantly live in hope that maybe…”

Oh my! He’s going to kiss me!

“…just maybe…”

And I think…I think I’m going to let him!

Her lungs are tight, and she realises she isn’t breathing, just waiting there in anticipation as Sasuke looks down at her. And just when she expects his lips to lower to hers—

Tap!

His index and middle finger rap lightly against her forehead.

“…maybe the next time we have this conversation, you’ll have me in your heart instead of Menma,” he concludes and calmly turns back to scrubbing paint off the rock.

Sakura gapes noiselessly at his back for several seconds, trying to reorient herself and figure out what the hell just happened. Then she emits a howl of frustration and throws the nearest bucket at his head.

“You…big…jerk! Shannaro!”

終わり

Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome, but if you feel like keeping me caffeinated out of the goodness of your heart, it certainly would be appreciated! I’m also starting to post original works to my patreon.

I’m only able to keep writing as I do thanks to the support of readers like you, so every bit helps!

栗

[sasusakufestival]

The Flip Side

Summary: [SasuSaku Festival 2017 – Day 9 – Prompt: “Community Service”]

Disclaimer: This story utilizes characters, situations and premises that are copyright Masashi Kishimoto, Shueisha, Shonen Jump and Viz Media. No infringement on their respective copyrights pertaining to episodes, novelizations, comics or short stories is intended by the author in any way, shape or form. This fan oriented story is written solely for the author’s own amusement and the entertainment of the readers. It is not for profit. Any resemblance to real organizations, institutions, products or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. All fiction, plot and Original Characters with the exception of those introduced in the books, manga, video games, novelizations and anime, are the sole creation of KuriQuinn and using them without permission is considered rude, in bad-taste and will reflect seriously on your credibility as a writer. You will be forced to scrub away graffiti with a toothbrush if you are found plagiarizing.

Warning: AUish. Deals with evens from the Naruto Movie Road to Ninja. OOCish. Because RTN version of our beloved characters. And not edited, because I didn’t have time.

AN: Sasuke was very interesting to write in this one. It’s like, the total opposite of who he is. And it was soooo hard to write Sakura! I have such a hard time imagining a world where isn’t utterly smitten with him!

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Sakura arrives at Training Ground Three bright and early to find the familiar sight of Sasuke and Menma glaring at one another.

Under normal circumstances, she would brush it off as just being their never-ending competitiveness – they are so alike in temperament and skill that they have always been natural rivals. Since the three of them were assigned to Team 7, it’s just a constant string of one-upmanship. Sakura had to become Tsunade’s apprentice just to keep up with them (although she usually tells them it’s to get a break from the constant testosterone).

Today, though, when she approaches the boys, she gets the sense she’s stumbled onto something else.

“Hey…” she greets, inwardly preening a little when Menma is the first to glance her way.

“Sakura,” he says quietly, nodding in her direction.

Sasuke straightens up and turns around, brightening at the sight of her. “Hey, kitten. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

Sakura glowers at him.

“Stop calling me that!”

Geez, he has to start right away in the morning!

“Ah, Sakura, there you are!” Kakashi declares, straightening up from the ground where he’s been doing push-ups. She wouldn’t have seen him except for the white shock of hair. “It’s odd that you’re late. I remember when we ran missions together you were as dedicated to punctuality as the White Beast of Prey!”

“He still talks about himself in the third person?” Sasuke inquires with a yawn.

Menma nods. “It would seem so…”

“He’s right though,” Sasuke agrees. “You’re never late.” An expression of concern passes over his face. “Are you still tired from being stuck in that other world?”

“I’m fine,” she shrugs him off. “I only found out from Lady Tsunade and Shizune just now that I had to come here. They wouldn’t say what it was about, so what gives?” Menma frowns, looking down at his feet, and Sasuke scowls. “Have I missed something?”

“Not at all, my most esteemed and youthful student!” Kakashi declares. “For your sake, I will gladly repeat the mission! You see, in light of the recent attack on the village, Lady Tsunade has decided that you’re all to be placed on probation!”

There’s silence. Then –

“Well, it’s better than I expected,” Sasuke muses.

 “EHHH?!” Sakura exclaims. “What? Why?”

Kakashi rubs his chin thoughtfully.

“Well, I imagine it has to do with the fact that one of you almost destroyed the village, the other went AWOL during an all-hands-on-deck emergency situation and the third defaced Hokage Rock. I’ll let you fine young people ponder who exactly did what.”

Menma tenses, still looking at his shoes and Sakura’s gaze softens.

Since being back from her strange visit to another world, she has heard bits and pieces of what happened from Ino. How Menma somehow came to possess the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit that everyone thought was sealed inside his mother, and how it corrupted him. If it weren’t for the other Sakura and Menma – No, wait, they called him Naruto, didn’t they? – he might have been lost for good. As it is, he’s being treated like a pariah lately while the village tries to come to terms with what happened.

And he’s not the only one…

Whatever happened while she was gone, the girl that everyone thought was her went missing during the attack on the village. Instead of organizing evacuations and directing field medics to help the villagers, her doppelganger was nowhere to be found. But everyone thinks that it was Sakura who abandoned her post.

So that explains the first two offences, but not…

Her brain catches up with what Kakashi said and her head whips around to stare at the Hokage monument, just visible through the trees. Lord Hashirama’s sombre expression has been altered with several slashes of paint, and Lord Tobirama’s face is speckled with blue and red that makes him look like a prostitute. She didn’t even notice this morning, because she was in such a hurry to meet with her master.

If Menma was battling his doppleganger and she was in another world, that leaves –

“What the hell, Sasuke?!” she demands, rounding on her teammate. “Why would you spray paint all over Hokage Rock, you stupid ass!”

Sasuke is unbothered by her outburst and instead offers her his usual flirtatious smile. “So I could ensure I spent more time with you, of course. I told we haven’t seen each other in a while – ow!” She bashes him on the head, only just reigning in her strength from turning it into a skull-crushing blow. “Come on, Sakura, I didn’t – ow – do anything to your father’s face – ow – you know I wouldn’t – ow – !”

“You two are an embarrassment,” Menma sighs.

“Embarrassment or not, the Hokage has tasked us with an important array of community service tasks,” Kakashi says. “With the village recovering, we’ve been put in a precarious situation. Anyone who might try to take advantage of Konoha in the interim needs to know we’re still able to do our jobs! So all of our away missions must continue! And while our shinobi forces are dealing with that, it means there are fewer people here to fix the place up.”

“And by fewer people, you mean no one,” Sasuke says.

“Exactly! Until further notice, we will be carrying out community service missions that other shinobi don’t have time to do. So the responsibility falls to you three!”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Kakashi-sensei, but if all of these tasks are so important, shouldn’t there be more people doing them?” Sakura wants to know.

“Weeeeell, originally Lady Tsunade suggested a team of squads, but that wouldn’t be a penalty – or a challenge – at all! I told her we could manage all of the work ourselves, and she should focus the efforts of the other teams elsewhere.”

Menma, Sakura and Sasuke groan in unison.

Typical…

“Besides, not only will it give us all time to re-forge our team bond, it will be character building and boost the morale among the villagers! After all, who better to lead by example than those who embody all the finest qualities of our immaculate village! The students of the Legendary Sannin!”

“You realise that name is more of a joke than anything else, right?” Sasuke deadpans. “More like the legendary monk, drone and shut-in.”

“Don’t speak ill of the dead,” Menma orders. “Lord Jiraiya was a great man and he sacrificed a lot to keep Konoha safe. Unlike your master.”

Which is true, more or less. Orochimaru is basically a prisoner of the village these days, living in a library and reading up on obscure jutsu. The only reason he ever agreed to train Sasuke was because the guy hounded him every day for weeks after Menma left with Jiraiya. Orochimaru was once Akatsuki, which means he is the best link Sasuke has to his estranged older brother.

“And yet mine is still alive,” Sasuke muses out loud.

More glaring.

“Alright, you two, put away the measuring sticks,” Sakura grumbles, once again playing peacemaker. She addresses Kakashi. “Let’s just get this over with – how long do we have to do this for, Kakashi-sensei?”

“Act as if you’ll do it for the rest of your life!” Kakashi crows, and brandishes a scroll. When he unfurls it, the list of tasks pools on the ground.

“Oh, man, I’m going to be older than Lady Tsunade when we finish all this,” Sakura complains.

“I promise I’ll still find you attractive,” Sasuke informs her magnanimously.

A vein pulses in her temple, and with a growl, Sakura knocks him out.

ロードトウニンジャ

It’s as if overnight, their entire team has been demoted back to genin-level.

While the rest of their friends and the active shinobi corps carry out important jobs – rebuilding fallen buildings, repairing collapsed watermains, organizing field clinics and even leave the village on away-missions – Team 7 is left with barely D-ranked missions.

They can’t even complain to Kakashi about it, either.

The first day, he appointed himself as official messenger of the village, zooming around bringing notes and memos to people. Then he got the bright idea to use his Sharingan to teleport himself across town to save on time – and knocked himself out for the next few days.

Idiot…

“So much for a team bonding exercise,” Menma mutters as they pack emergency supply crates to distribute later.

“Are you really surprised?” Sasuke challenges.

“Oh, admit it, you’d think something was wrong if he wasn’t so enthusiastic,��� Sakura points out.

“I can’t even imagine it,” Menma admits. He pauses. “Was he like that in…the other world?”

Sakura starts at this, realising suddenly she hasn’t actually had a chance to tell her teammates about her strange experience. There’s only been the debriefing with Lady Tsunade, and then she was sent straight to this community service punishment.

“I don’t know. I didn’t run into him while I was there. Maybe?”

“What else did you see?”

“It was completely insane,” she tells them. “Think of the most backwards world you could think of, and that’s what it was.” She shudders. “Everyone was different, it was like I walked through a mirror.”

“What do you mean?” Sasuke asks.

“Like…like Hinata was really shy and quiet and she was actually nice to me. And Kiba got along with Akamaru, and Shino actually liked bugs and –”

“Hinata?” Sasuke snorts. “Nice? That is bizarre.”

“There’s nothing wrong with Hinata,” Menma points out sagely. “She’s the heiress to the Hyūga and the first woman to lead them, she’s got a lot to deal with. And when you factor in that she’s related to someone as perverted as Neji…”

Sakura’s heart sinks. “You’re defending her a lot stronger than usual.”

“Never mind that,” Sasuke interrupts. “What about me?”

“What about you?”

“Was I different in this other world?” he asks, and then strikes a pose. “Or just as handsome and talented as I am here?”

Sakura rolls her eyes. “I have no idea.”

“What? Why?”

“You weren’t there.”

“What do you mean, I wasn’t there? Where would I be?” He is utterly puzzled.

“Well, Ino said – the Ino from over there – she said that you were out of the village.”

Menma frowns. “A solo mission perhaps?”

“How many chūnin do you know get assigned solo missions?” Sasuke counters.

“Maybe your alternate version is just a lot more talented than you are.”

“Says the idiot that got his ass handed to him by his own doppelganger.”

“Guys!” Sakura snaps, cutting off the usual detour into bickering.

Luckily, the cart making the next supply crate delivery returns, and Sakura can busy herself with loading it up. All by herself as usual, because the guys are such complete wimps when it comes to heavy lifting.

Angry grudge match to the death? No problem, let’s destroy an ancient waterfall. Moving a few boxes? Oh, no, Sakura, we couldn’t possibly, we might break a nail…

But as she loads the crates, she can’t help think back to that strange world she was pulled into.

She didn’t notice immediately then, being so busy trying to acclimate to new surroundings and regain her memories, but thinking on it now… The other Ino seemed really sad and uncomfortable about how Sakura reacted to Sasuke not being there.

Like if he had been there he would have jogged my memory or something? I wonder if it’s possible that the other Sakura and the other Sasuke were…?

She shrugs and shakes her head.

That other girl must have no self-respect, especially if the other Sasuke is as big a playboy as her Sasuke is.

My world’s Sasuke, she corrects herself, and determinedly puts her focus back on her tasks.

The next few days pass quickly.

Team 7 make coffee and run lunch across the village to all the workers and wash dishes. One morning they babysit the group of kids that are too young to be at the Academy, but whose parents are busy with the reconstruction process. They fetch groceries, do laundry, paint fences, mow lawns –

Even Kiba is more useful than we are, and he’s running a Find-Your-Cat-Shelter!

They spend several days working at the soup kitchen that has been set up in the centre of town. The three of them are given aprons and hair nets and dish out mass portions of ramen. Menma spends most of that day sick – the smell of ramen always makes him ill – and they give him the job of cleaning up after people have finished eating. Sasuke isn’t given the same opportunity to escape doling out noodles, and every time he sees one of his relatives in the area he cringes.

Most of them don’t say anything – according to Sasuke, they’re all giving him to cold shoulder for embarrassing the clan with immature antics – but the curly-haired man called Shisui teases something merciless and if it weren’t for Sakura holding Sasuke back, he’d probably set his cousin on fire.

Then it’s back to picking up litter, removing debris from the streets, painting over scorch marks on buildings, cleaning windows – one day they are expected to clean up the area around a busted sewage line.

The three of them stare at it, and then Sakura makes an executive decision.

“This one’s all yours,” she says, clapping both boys on the back and walking away. When both Sasuke and Menma open their mouths to argue, she only has to crack her knuckles once and utter silence reigns.

The jobs are many and endless, and keep them all busy – but they are mind-numbingly boring. Sakura returns to her empty house every day without even the energy to eat, collapses on her bed and sleeps until her alarm sounds. And then prepares for another cycle of endless, repetitive scutwork.

Given how busy she is, it’s understandable that she doesn’t realise the grafitti still hasn’t been cleaned off the Hokage Rock until a week later.

Understandable, but still unacceptable!

“It’s on the list of thing that need doing, but it’s not the priority right now,” Shizune says the next day when she asks about it.

“But it’s an important symbol for the village!” Sakura protests.

“Perhaps in another week or two. Right now, even the smallest child is helping to restore our village, and the extra labour can’t be spared. Even those of you on probation.”

“The monument will be put to rights once I know everyone in my village is properly cared for,” Lady Tsunade declares gravely. “If you want to fix it before then, you’ll have to do it on your own and during time not spent carrying out the community service tasks you and your team have been assigned.”

ロードトウニンジャ

In the end, it’s what she does.

Sakura gets tired of seeing the graffiti all over the rock, even if her father’s monument hasn’t been touched. It’s an insult the office of Hokage, which she intends to become one day, and in her view, it’s just as important as picking up litter and watching children.

And so, at the end of the next day, she stops at home to change into something old and worn, and heads for the caretaker shed behind the monument. There’s bound to be tools and cleaning equipment there, and even if she can’t get it all done, she can at least get a start.

Which is why she’s utterly shocked upon arriving there to find Sasuke, with several buckets of paint remover and water.

“Doesn’t it defeat the purpose of doing it, if you’re going to clean it off without someone telling you to?” she asks, climbing down on the scaffold that has been set up in front of the Second Hokage’s face.

“Who says someone didn’t tell me to?” he counters. She raises an eyebrow and he grumbles, shoulders stooped. “No one told me to. I heard you speaking to Tsunade earlier and figured if it meant something to you, I’d fix it.”

“You wouldn’t have to fix anything if you didn’t do it in the first place,” she reminds him, picking up a rag and dousing it with the solvent.

“I admit – not one of my best thought out ideas.”

“So much for being a genius.”

He knocks her shoulder with his, and for a while they just work in companionable silence. Sasuke isn’t actually so bad when he isn’t being the epitome of a hormonal teenaged boy.

“This is probably the most useless thing you’ve ever done to get my attention,” she informs him later, as the sun begins to set. “And considering you shaved your head once because Choji told you I liked boys with short hair…”

Sasuke scowls. “You promised not to mention that again.”

“You promised to stop doing stupid stuff like this.”

Sasuke scrubs furiously.

“It wasn’t really to get your attention,” he admits eventually. “I said that because Menma was around, and bringing up the real reason…” He shrugs. “He feels bad enough for being the cause of all this, and it wasn’t really his fault.”

“That’s oddly magnanimous of you.”

“Hey, just because I call him on his shit doesn’t mean I don’t recognise when the guy could use a break. And considering he didn’t say anything when…” He trails off, shakes his head and then tells her, “The Hokage hired Akatsuki during the attack. To rescue the other you.”

Sakura’s eyes widen. “Oh.”

Itachi Uchiha is the black sheep of the entire Uchiha clan. Once hailed as a prodigy, the next leader and possible the first Uchiha who might wear the mantle of Hokage, he instead chose to flee the village at the age of thirteen and become a mercenary. Their parents disowned him and for that reason, Sasuke is now the head of the clan.

It’s a position that comes with a lot of expectations, and having met Sasuke’s parents, Sakura knows it isn’t an easy destiny. On top of all that, he and Itachi were close. She remembers the older boy picking Sasuke up after classes so he could train him.

“He was here and he didn’t tell anyone,” Sasuke continues now through clenched teeth, hands balled into fists. “It was just a damn job to him, and he didn’t bother to…I just wanted to speak to him. And if I had known he was here, if someone had just told me –”

“You would have dropped everything and gone after him,” Sakura says gently. “Then there’d be more than one of us on this team that went AWOL in an emergency. And unlike him, you’d be considered a missing nin if you didn’t come back.”

The only reason Itachi isn’t considered a criminal is because he sends reports back to the Hokage about the situations in other countries. Akatsuki’s reach is far, and offers him the opportunity to travel. She thinks this might make Sasuke resentful more than anything else.

“All I want is for him and my father to sit down and talk,” Sasuke confides. “If they’d just do that, they could figure out this whole mess and things would be good again. And I wouldn’t have to worry about my mother bursting into tears every time someone even mentions his name.” He shoots her an apologetic look. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be saying all this to you.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s always best to talk about things that bother you. No one ever benefitted from bottling those kinds of feelings up.”

“No, it’s not that…it’s just, you must think I’m pathetic, complaining about my family problems, when you…you really have lost your family. I’m being selfish.”

“No, you’re not. You care about Itachi, and your entire clan acts as if he’s dead. You’re allowed to be hurt – and who says my pain is more important than someone else’s?”

Sasuke offers her a grateful smile, and for a moment all is right with the world.

Then he reaches forward and swipes a thumb across her chin. “You’ve got a little pain, just here –”

“Oh for the – are you serious!” she demands. “Why do you always have to cheapen the moment with your crappy pick-up lines?”

“That wasn’t a line, you actually do have paint there. So what if I happen to capitalise on that fact?”

“You really can’t take no for an answer, can you?” she groans. “Geez, you’re so annoying.”

“No, I’m persistent,” he says, all charm.

“That’s another word for annoying.”

“I’m just being patient. If I wait long enough, eventually you’ll appreciate my feelings.”

“You’ll wait a long time then.”

“Not as long as you’ll be waiting for Menma,” he quips.

Sakura chokes and rounds on him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

He ducks out of her way.

“Just what everyone else knows,” he replies, apologetic. “He doesn’t care for you in that way. You’re more like a sister to him. He knows as well as I do that you would have a boring, unhappy life together if you settled for each other.”

“S-settled?!” she sputters. “H-have you two been talking behind my back?” She lashes out and grabs the front of his shirt. “And what the hell do you mean, “settled”? As if he could do better than me? My father was the Hokage and I’m the apprentice of the Fifth Hokage! Or I could do better than him? We’re the students of Sannin, the top shinobi in our year, we’re friends, we get along, we agree about everything –”

“Exactly,” Sasuke nods. “You’d be bored within a week of actually being with him.”

“So you say!”

“So I know,” Sasuke snorts. “Trust me, kitten, relationships are my forte.”

“You’ve never had a relationship!”

“Well, I’ve done a lot of research.”

“Reading Gai-sensei’s Icha Icha and series does not count as research!”

“Spoken by someone who has no appreciation for the genre,” he retorts. “The problem with you two ever being a relationship is there’s no passion between you. For a relationship to work out, one has to have be able to bond – to fill in the parts of you that are missing without the parts of your lover.”

Sakura’s eye begins to twitch, her cheeks flooding with warmth. “Are you serious…?”

“You are both too focussed on success and results. You make decisions with your heads, but never your heart,” Sasuke continues matter-of-factly. “Any relationship between you would be cold, or at worst, a duty.”

She opens her mouth to protest, but she cuts off when he suddenly leans closer, his eyes soft and humorous.

“You deserve someone to bring a spark into your life. Someone that will go to the ends of the earth to make you smile and laugh and cry and irritated. Someone that doesn’t care what you look like when you roll out of bed, or who appreciates those tasteless, off-colour jokes you make under your breath when you think no one is listening.”

She thinks her cheeks are rivalling tomatoes in colour right now.

He’s actually heard me…?

“Th-this is ridiculous,” she attempts.

“No, it’s not. It’s the kind of relationship you deserve. The kind my parents have. The kind your parents had.”

The warmth in her face abruptly drains, and she narrows her eyes. “Don’t you pretend to know what my parents –!”

“I’m not insulting your parents,” he cuts her off, a note of exasperation in his voice. “I’m saying what they had, their relationship, was worth envying. They cared for each other – so much that your mother refused to leave your father’s side even in the end.”

Sakura looks away, angry. “Yeah, she loved him so much that she wanted to be dead instead of being with me.”

“She wanted to give you your best chance – and going with your father, she was making sure that his sacrifice did what it was supposed to do. Save the village. Even the most unpleasant members of my clan think she was honorable for what she did,” Sasuke tells her. “And that love that she had…that’s what I want some day. And I want it with you.”

Her chest constricts and her eyes snap to him, wide. She can’t hide the shock at this because Sasuke flirts – he does that as easy as breathing – but he has never said anything as direct as this before.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m not expecting you to return my feelings right now,” he tells her softly. “Menma is the one in your heart, I know that. He’s the first guy you’ve ever cared for. I know that’s not something so easily forgotten.” He leans closer. “But one day, when you see for yourself that you two aren’t suited, when you realise you’re much better off as friends, I’ll be there. Because I intend to be the last man you ever love.”

Sakura makes a strangled noise in her throat.

“How can you…how can you say those things! When all you do is troll around the village, flirting with every girl you see and handing out your stupid roses!” she snaps, shoving him back with one hand. “They hear you and think you’re swearing to be with them forever, and then they get their hearts broken when they realise you just do that to everyone!”

A bitter memory surfaces, of their Academy days, clutching a broken rose in hand and watching him blithely hand out others with the same pretty words he’s given her. She vowed back then not to fall for anything Sasuke had to say, ever again.

He raises an eyebrow at this. “So, you worry about who I give roses to?”

“Of course not,” she huffs. “That’s your business. I’m just pointing out the hypocrisy. You’re talking about love, and you can’t remember the names of the girls you go out with.”

“I’m not trying to hurt anyone, Sakura. It’s to make them feel special. Any girl having a bad day gets her spirits lifted when someone is nice to her and gives her a gift. And I have rose bushes behind my house, and a lot of them would just wither and die without being appreciated if I left them,” Sasuke explains. “Why not give them out? For an hour, a girl can be happy, the centre of the universe. Is that so wrong?”

She shifts uncomfortably, not liking that she might possibly agree with that argument.

“Exactly,” he says, taking her silence for agreement. “Making someone happy for an hour, it’s such a small thing. But you –” His eyes become intense here, and she imagines invisible flames behind them. It’s as if in this moment, there is nothing else in the world but her. “ – you deserve more than an hour. You deserve our entire lives. And one day, I’m going to give you that.”

Her heart thumps against her chest, the utter conviction in his words faintly frightening. She’s only ever seen Sasuke intense about one thing, and that’s finding his brother. The idea that he believes she is as important as that…

She shivers, half-uncomfortable, half-thrilled despite her brain’s tired insistence of but you like Menma!

“You…shouldn’t say exaggerated stuff like that,” she tells him with forced levity.  “You’re an Uchiha. You’re the heir to the Uchiha. As the next head of the clan, your parents are probably expecting you to settle down with someone from the clan. Aren’t you practically engaged to Izumi now anyway?”

Sasuke rolls his eyes.

“That’s my father’s plan, not mine. He doesn’t seem to get that Izumi won’t agree to marry anyone while Itachi is somewhere in the world still breathing,” he scoffs. “Even so, I don’t want her.”

“Because you’re convinced you want me. You wouldn’t if I was just some normal girl, I bet.”

The intense look in his eye is back. “Even if you were a civilian – even if you had no talented shinobi relatives, and if you hadn’t been a prodigy since our Academy days, I would still choose you. Because you are kind and good and strong, and being around you makes the world better somehow. Even when it’s horrible.” His gaze softens, and his tone turns gentle. “There’s no one else that I’ve ever felt like that with.”

He leans over, their faces getting closer together, and Sakura finds herself frozen.

“So, I constantly live in hope that maybe…”

Oh my -! He’s going to kiss me!

“…just maybe…”

And I think…I think I’m going to let him…!

Her lungs are tight and she realise she isn’t breathing, just waiting there in anticipation as Sasuke looks down at her. And just when she expects his lips to lower to hers –

Tap!

His index and middle finger rap lightly against her forehead.

“…maybe the next time we have this conversation, you’ll have me in your heart instead of Menma,” he concludes.

And he calmly turns back to scraping the paint off the rock.

Sakura gapes noiselessly at his back for several seconds, trying to reorient herself and figure out what the hell just happened.

Then she emits a howl of frustration and throws the nearest bucket at his head.

“You…big…idiot! Shannaro!”

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終わり

I hope you enjoyed the story! As part of the SasuSakuFestival, please go to the ssfest page and vote, like and/or reblog, it would be majorly appreciated!

クリ