#though of course these notes start after the chuunin exams

[geekthefreakout]

The GaaNaru Letters (part 1 of ?)

AN: this might not be anything, but its been floating in my head. It's a tumblr post instead of going on Ao3 because it's lower commitment rn.

Dear Gaara,

Heh, it's weird calling you dear when we only kinda know each other. But Iruka-sensei said that's how letters are supposed to start. This is my first time writing to someone else- all my friends are in my village! Anyway, I just wanted to see how you are after that asswhooping I gave you! That's not me bragging, by the way. It's just. You seemed lonely. Like I told you back then, I know what that pain is like. I guess I want to help you with it. And I think you and me have something else in common, too. Do you know what I mean? Anyway, everyone knows that the Sand village only attacked the Leaf because Orochimaru-bastard was manipulating you, so I don't think we have to be enemies anymore. That snakey bastard killed the Third Hokage, but I heard he killed your Hokage too? I hope you get this and write back, maybe?

Love From, Uzumaki Naruto

Uzumaki Naruto,

I have been informed that honorifics are not required at the beginning of letters if one does not wish to include them. Unless this is one of the cultural differences between the Leaf and the Sand, you should not feel obliged to use "dear" for me. This is also my first time writing a letter to someone. I am not sure what to say, but I will answer your questions.

I think I do know what you mean, if you are referring to that red chakra that you summoned. Do you have a monster within you as well? It is difficult to imagine.

Orochimaru did indeed kill our kage, though the Sand Village has a Kazekage, rather than Hokage. Rather than in a great battle such as befell your leader, the Kazekage seems to have been murdered on the sly. That man was my father. I am told that most children mourn their fathers. I have not mourned anyone since Yas I was small, and I see no need to change that. Perhaps if my father did not try to assassinate me so often, I would feel differently. At any rate, my siblings are too afraid of me to press the issue.

You, however, are not afraid of me. Despite the damage I wrought on your friends and your village, you are still reaching out. I find myself wondering why? Perhaps we are not actively enemies, but we are not allies either. What use am I to you? Why should it matter to you that I am lonely?

Why did you weep for me, Uzumaki Naruto?

From,

Gaara of the Desert

Dear Gaara,

I already said- I know what your kind of loneliness is like, and I want to help! It's not some big complicated thing. You don't have to have a use to me, you know? Except maybe to talk about stuff.

Like the monster thing. This is kind of a secret so I probably shouldn't confirm or deny that I have a giant demon fox sealed inside me, but I want to tell you. I've never met anyone like me before, you know? Even if yours is different, with the sand and the crazy laughing and all. Mine doesn't laugh, he's just mean and grumpy and scary. When did you first know about yours? Have you always been able to use its power?

I'm sorry about your dad. Not that he's dead, but that he was an asshole! And I guess that he's dead too. I can see how that would be complicated. Did he try to kill you because of your demon? It's not how I would do things. I don't know who my parents are, or were, but I hope they wouldn't do that to me. I think parents are supposed to support their kids no matter what!

I guess it makes sense for your siblings to be scared of you when you do scary things, but I heard you apologize to them back then. So if you're trying to do better by them, they should give you a chance!

I'm going on a journey with Pervy Sage soon to look for our next Hokage-- whoever it is better meet my approval, because I'll be the next Hokage after that, believe it! And I want to get the job from someone awesome. Anyway, if I'm not in the village I'm not sure how to get mail so if I don't reply for a while it's cuz I'm out there being awesome!

Also- didn't forget what you did. You tried to hurt my friends, and that's not okay. But I kicked your ass about it already, so as far as I'm concerned it's all settled. So don't keep thinking there's something bad between us!

Sincerely (This is a new sign off I learned. It's nicer than From!), Uzumaki Naruto

PS: Iruka-sensei said you're right about the "dear" thing, but your name looked kinda naked if I didn't write it, so I'm gonna keep using it, OK?

Uzumaki Naruto,

Your answers leave me with more questions, but I will continue asking them as long as you are amenable.

My demon is the One-tail, Shukaku. He does laugh a lot, though it is not a pleasant sound. I have always known about him, for his voice has always been in the back of my mind. Furthermore, I was told outright when I had a strong enough grasp of language. Your question implies that you have not always known about yours. You called it a demon fox- could it be the Nine-tails? Is he truly so quiet that you could be unaware of him? As for tapping into Shukaku's abitilities, that has not always been conscious on my part. He is often eager to emerge and inflict is insanity upon others, so if I fall asleep he will take over on his own.

Needless to say, I am seldom allowed to sleep.

Shukaku is one reason my father tried to kill me. The other is that I killed my mother the day I was born. My existence has always been fueled by blood. I am not sure if I can change that. Can my siblings be blamed for resenting me?

Are genin often involved in the selection of political figures in the Leaf? Perhaps that is more efficient. In the Sand, it seems that the council just sits and talks in circles. My team's sensei, Baki, has taken a leadership position there, but has not assumed the title of Kazekage. I assume it is because the council wants him free to keep an eye on me. They are not sure what I will do. I am not sure either. For now, I have tried to appease them with silence. I do not wander at night, and I have not hurt anybody since our return from the Leaf. I have kept to myself. I can't say if it is doing any good. Temari and Kankuro speak gently to me, but I see the fear in their eyes if I move unexpectedly.

You keep saying that you "kicked my ass." No one has ever done that before. Yet I seem to recall you being unable to move at the end as well. Did I "kick your ass" too?

It is interesting that you view our fight as an instrument of peace between us two. Perhaps if I let Kankuro hit me, he will stop jumping whenever I speak.

I like your new sign off, so I will use it.

Sincerely,

Gaara of the Desert

TBC, possibly

PART 2

[silverskatana]

see through me

word count: 2284

author’s note: hello! i know it’s been quite a while but i’m back - since most (actually, all) of my requests have been about angsty neji, i thought i’d come back with some neji content for all of you :)

... bet you couldn’t see that coming.

not this time.

(three.)

Wide, pale eyes. Searching, desperate, and frenzied. Seeing them, the gentle lavender-white eyes you’ve grown so accustomed to, makes you smile. It makes you remember everything, right from the start. The start, before the start, the final chapters, and everything in between.

You met when you were young, barely starting out as fledgling ninja-to-be in Konoha’s Academy. You don’t recall the specifics (you never thought he would mean so much to you, anyway) - you only remember his pale, piercing gaze and the stoicism of his tone as he introduced himself.

And of course, you did what any respectable young shinobi would do upon encountering a Hyuuga clan member - look him straight in the eye, and ask with the most confused voice you could possibly muster, “What clan is that?”

You weren’t all very good at reading facial expressions back then, nor were you at recognising the almost-white hue of his eyes as that of the famed Byakugan. But back then, as those words left your lips, you were dead certain you could see murder in his eyes.

In all fairness, you were never born nor raised in Konoha; you had grown up a carefree child in a remote village to a retired kunoichi of a mother and a civilian father. Your mother had only taken you to Konoha after your father’s passing to enrol you in the Academy and see if you had any potential in becoming a kunoichi like her. Frankly speaking, back then, you had never cared about becoming one, nor did you care about anything related to them, so it wasn’t really that much of a surprise when the name Hyuuga drew nothing more than blanks across your mind.

Most of the Academy days were a smattered blur in your memory - you barely paid attention to both the teacher and your classmates, only sticking around a select few friends. The Hyuuga boy (that’s what you called him in your head, because you never interacted with him enough to memorise his name) was decidedly not one of them. You do recall getting by with less than average grades, always meeting the bare minimum and not much else, a stark contrast from what the Hyuuga boy seemed to be getting, if the proud looks the teachers kept giving him were any indication (in comparison to the mortified glances they shoot your way when you nearly shave their hair off, again, with mishandled shuriken).

You suppose the furthest significant memory you can actually clearly recall would be the day of your graduation. You were all told to report to class early in the morning as newly-minted genin; your mother had forced you to go early. “Make a good impression” - you still remember her lightly scolding tone - “Stop showing up late, you’re a genin now.”

And as luck would have it, as you stepped through the classroom doors that day, unnaturally early, only one person was already there. Hyuuga boy. You remember stopping in your tracks, staring at him in contemplation for a good five seconds, before choosing the seat on the opposite end of the classroom.

But that was the first time he had spoken directly to you, aside from the encounter on the first day. “You actually passed the test?” It wasn’t a very polite question, underlaid with the derisive scorn of I can’t believe you were good enough, but you had never been a polite one yourself, so you only shot back, “Sorry for being better than you think, Hyuuga boy.”

It still makes you smile to remember the way he slowly turned his head, pale lavender eyes narrowed in a mixture of mild annoyance and shock, and the way the words fell quietly from his lips. “... Hyuuga… boy?”

“I guess I never paid enough attention to you to catch your name.” That was the second time you were convinced you weren’t going to live to see another day, courtesy of him. You suppose it was good that the teacher walked in when he did.

But that was also the day you learnt his name. Uttered softly as he brushed past with his new teammates, “Hyuuga Neji.”

(two.)

His facial features are set in a frown, eyebrows furrowed, eyes alight with horror. You wish he would smile instead. You still remember the first time he smiled at you - in the middle of the barren training grounds in the haphazardly-falling rain. Your respective sensei had somehow thought it would be a good idea to pair the two of you up in a match; it, unsurprisingly, ended up with you on the ground and him standing over you, a smirk planted on his face.

The first smile you got from him was, to say, the least, mocking. “I can’t believe they thought I should be sparring with you” - those were the exact words he commented as he began to walk away. Not contemptuous, nor spiteful, but more so uncaring, laden with an underlying tint of something you couldn’t quite make out at that time - disappointment, maybe?

It was then that you caught his wrist, stopping him in his tracks, your determined gaze burning so deeply into his that he had to blink and look away for a second. “I’ll make you eat those words next time.” You remember the way your chest swelled with some form of odd pride as you spoke those words - you were convinced, deeply convinced, that if you trained hard enough, you’d be able to match up to him someday.

He had stared at you for a moment before shaking your grip off and beginning to walk again. “There won’t be a next time,” were his final words, echoing back to you in the middle of the empty training grounds.

That was the day, you fondly recall, you made up your mind - that you would prove Hyuuga Neji wrong.

There was a next time. Next time was after the Chuunin Exams - the same exams you didn’t get to go to because your teammate ended up in the hospital fighting for his life after a C-rank took a turn for the worse. Next time was out of nowhere, when you were least expecting time. Next time was when you were minding your own business, about to buy lunch back, and Neji appeared in front of you.

Apologising. That was something you never thought Neji would do, and yet in the middle of the street, holding on to no more than his packed lunch and his dignity, he raised his head and apologised to you. “I looked down on you,” he’d told you, “If you want to spar some more, I don’t mind.”

That’s how the next time came about. And from there, many more next times. It became a routine, almost, for him to show up right as you were buying lunch, or vice versa. Short sparring sessions stretched into longer training sessions, and lunches together became a whole day’s worth of meals spent together. There was a joke going around that Neji spent more time in the training grounds with you than in the Hyuuga compound, or with his team. You never bothered refuting that, though - it was partially true, after all.

You never stopped trying to best him, both as a means to prove your growth and to irritate him, as you always have been doing. You’ve never stopped annoying him in little ways here and there, from tripping him purposely in the mornings or swapping his lunch out with something far less appetising when he wasn’t looking. Each time, though, he’d manage to catch you. Especially during sparring. You’ve won some matches against him, but he’s won more. “I can see right through you,” he’d tell you, jokingly mocking, and you knew he wasn’t referring to his Byakugan.

But at some point - you can’t remember when - that was the pattern that the two of you fell into. Always trying to best the other; for him, maintaining his winning streak, and avoiding your pranks like the plague. For you, trying to deceive him in some way, trying to catch him off-guard, do something he wasn’t expecting. Most of the time, it failed on both ends. But the two of you did it anyway.

In the end, the two of you essentially grew up together; training side by side, occasionally sharing the same missions. He became a Jounin first - you followed the year after. By then, half the village was under the assumption that the two of you were dating. Hell, even Tenten interrogated you more than once on your interests in her Hyuuga teammate. The two of you always declined the rumours with polite smiles and humoured laughter, though - you had never really entertained the idea before, and you were sure he was too busy with his ninja duties to mull over it, too.

It was the announcement of war that changed many things. You still remember the day - now, you think back on it with an odd, bittersweet swell in your heart. That evening, you had been walking from the training grounds with him, both of you buzzing with a form of nervous anticipation at the declaration of war. You had always imagined fighting on the same side of the battlefield someday - but neither of you had expected it would be so soon.

“I’ll protect you,” Neji had told you, so soft and muffled you could barely hear him, but you did anyway. And in your old, teasing way, you had said, “what?”, nudging him in the side to get him to repeat what he said. (Of course, he just shot you an unimpressed glance and ignored you.)

You had laughed, your eyes crinkling at the corners. “I don’t need your protection.”

“You’re going to do stupid things.”

“Oh? And what makes you think you’re going to be able to stop that?” you had retorted, a smile fitted across your lips.

He’d rolled his eyes, almost as though he were tired of saying the same response so many times over; yet it fell from his lips like liquid, coated over with a pleasant blend of joking scorn and semi-lucid affection. “I can see right through you, you know.”

The memory of it all makes you smile.

And that day, before war hit, he had grabbed hold of your wrist - a fleeting touch, and the contact of his slightly cold fingers wrapped around your skin had been enough for you to halt your steps, enough for you to turn to him with your head tilted knowing something had been weighing on him. “What’s wrong?”

“When the war’s over,” he had said, in his typical mix of cool embarrassment, “I’ll take you out. For real this time.”

And back then, it had felt like your heart had imploded into a million tiny little pieces, all singing their own little tunes of happiness. You hadn’t been able to hide the smile that fell onto your lips (you didn’t bother to try), or the pale crimson that spread across your cheeks and the luminescence of your gaze onto his.

The memory of it all makes you smile.

(one.)

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” he breathes, voice barely above a muted murmur, his pale-eyed gaze flickering over your hunched-over form, and you smile weakly up at him.

“Sorry,” you whisper.

And that’s all you can possibly say.

“I didn’t know,” Neji utters, and his voice shakes, “Fighting on the same battlefield one day… would lead to this.”

The ache in your back, dangerously close to your spine, is beginning to grow, the pain throbbing through the entirety of your body, and it takes all you can to remain conscious. The blood begins to well up in your throat again, a thick, metallic tang heavy on your tongue, and it’s hard to speak, so you opt to look up instead - at his widened lavender eyes, pale skin, dark hair. The tone of his voice and the look on his face. Everything about him - you commit it all to memory.

“This isn’t what I wanted,” he says, and he reaches out to you, holding your trembling frame in his arms, not minding the way your blood stains his clothes a grotesque shade of darkened ruby.

You fight to keep the smile on your face, memorising the calming warmth of his embrace. “This isn’t what I wanted,” he whispered, and your eyes soften.

It’s the first time you’ve ever seen Neji cry.

You force out a quiet laugh, even as blood bubbles through your throat and renders it near-impossible to breathe. “Bet you couldn’t see that coming,” you mumble against his shoulder. Your eyelids are getting heavy, your head growing light. The projectiles from the Ten Tails are embedded deep in your flesh, and you know it’s only a matter of time before you stop holding on.

Neji hushes you, holding you a little tighter. You know you’re not going to make it, and you know he knows. You know he knows you’re going to die in his arms; you know he knows you’re not going to be able to see the end of the war with him, or go out as the two of you had promised; and you know he knows you’ll never get the future you wanted together.

Your breath hitches, and your chest tightens. Your vision is getting hazier with every passing second; your breathing is getting shallow, and you know you couldn’t say a word even if you tried. You brush your fingers, trembling, against Neji’s, and his gaze softens.

Thank you, you want to tell him. Your chest burns, and your heartbeat is beginning to slow in your ears. I love you.

And I’m sorry for everything.

And you hope he knows.

(zero.)

[holicanth]

Joy and Union

Day 2 of Shinoweek 2021 - Winter, Friends/Family

Words: 2.3k

Genre: Fluff, friendship, FRIENDSHIP!!!

Warnings: Self-hate, suicidal thoughts.

Tags: Shinohina, Hinata’s worries and fears. Kiba acts like a clown, Team 8, Team 8 is chaotic and share one braincell. 

Author’s Note: This is a onehsot. Wanted to make something light to counter the absolute shitstorm im about to make tomorrow :”v Hope you like it :D

Summary: A simple task—to tail a group of chuunin-level gangsters who had been extorting money from one of Konoha's poorer regions. The group was interested in the mining industry of the area, but have tried to take the compound with illegitimate force.

An insect user has to be able to adapt to all forms of weather, using chakra to regulate body temperature and balance at all times.

 It takes a while for Shino to master this technique, but now he uses it almost automatically.

 The reason being his persistence to use cloaks and the like in the heat of summer.

 Shino knows that there is nothing wrong with his skin. It isn't scarred, tan, or even rough. The Aburames are all born with extremely regenerartive skin, but Shino fears the disgust reflected on his comrades when they see bugs dig out a hole from inside him

 (He used to be more blatant with it, reveling in their shock. But Shino learns that this has left him more alienated than accepted)

 So in summer months he would cover up with loose robes, with enough ventilation to help his bugs move freely. Of course, Shino prefers the warm embrace of sunlight, but he finds that the winter months can be more comfortable than they seem.

 It was during a reconnaissance mission, dead winter, and Team 8 was assigned to a small village to Konoha's North. 

 A simple task—to tail a group of chuunin-level gangsters who had been extorting money from one of Konoha's poorer regions. The group was interested in the mining industry of the area, but have tried to take the compound with illegitimate force.

 Kiba and Akamaru left to chase after the gang leader, while Shino and Hinata were to guard and uphold the mine from other assailants.

 It was a quiet morning. The villagers were scared (as they should be) and have decided to hide themselves in their homes. Shino's bugs were less effective during winter, but enough to ward unsuspecting intruders.

 Meanwhile Hinata was observing all around with her Byakugan. She has been up for a few long hours. 

 Shino is not a fool. He notices the pattern that Hinata's behavior takes during missions. To do her best. To never give up. To prove that she is worthy of something.  Even if it pushes her over the brink. He’s always hated the way she thinks so poorly of herself, as if she deserved all the discomfort that comes from being a shinobi. He understands the feeling well, though.

 "You know that you can leave this to me, right?" Shino muses next to her, "Rest, Hinata. You'll overwork yourself."

 Hinata deactivates her Byakugan, lightly rubbing her eyes in an attempt to release strain

 "B-But your bugs can't move much during winter, Shino-kun. You need extra chakra to regulate their temperatures." She glances at him, worry apparent on her voice. "You’ve saved me from their attack before. I don’t think you should move much…”

 The aforementioned gang was comprised of a compilation of rouge ninja from all sorts of villages. They have a particularly bad reputation within poorer villages but are in esteemed positions in Sunagakure. They’re particularly dangerous for their rejection of manipulation of Suna politics. Not only that, they have weapon masters, innovators, and a single scientist who aid them in their operation.

 The whole gang have been on the prowl for a long while, keeping themselves low for the last five years. Three months ago they’ve begun to act more hostile. Starting from a robbery in October to in a mining heist in December. An anonymous tip signaled that the whole gang are on the move, and going on extortion operations as a collective. This information went to the Hokage’s office, who then decided that the elite of the Konoha 9 were to deal with the issue. ‘They’re probably pissed that Gaara’s kazekage now’, Tsunade mentions.

 A series of sneezes distracted Shino's thoughts back to Hinata.

 Without thinking, Shino had automatically gave Hinata his coat. Winter is harsh towards insect-users, but Shino thinks he can handle this. Of course he can, after everything Hinata has done for the mission.

 "Aren't you cold Shino-kun?" 

 They had a scuffle before, in which one of them surprised them with a Fire-style jutsu, resulting in the loss of 40% of Shino’s kikaichu. Kiba had been fast enough to dodge, but Hinata had to be shielded by Shino. Luckily, both of them were left unscathed. Leaving Hinata to her guilt and her disappointment.

 "No, I'm fine. I'll be on guard now, you've done enough, Hinata."

 Hinata has always felt lacking. Even if she excelled physically to her teammates, even when she's the de facto taijutsu master in her team. She was always too kind, they'd say. She's too forgiving. From the very beginning, Hinata has left Kiba and Shino to do the dirty work for her. Murdering a team of genins during the Chuunin exams was just the beginning of it.

 And Hinata doesn't reject this. She was truly grateful that she didn't play an active part in these deeds.

 (And all the while she weeps in regret.

She believed that Shinobi are meant to protect those precious to them.

She never thought that a Shinobi would do such immoral things.

But she never grew out of this mindset, either.)

 Years has passed, and they've all grown into more mature, well-adjusted shinobis. She thinks about how to apologize to them. How to reverse the horrible things they've done in her stead. A shinobi is, ultimately, someone who protect those who are important to them. This is what she had trained so hard for. To protect and nurture. The idea of having to harm others in the name of protection—she detests it with her whole being.

 Sometimes she thinks,

That if she dies, the souls of those her team has taken would be put at peace.

 "It will be fine, Hinata. Don't worry, I can handle this amount of cold." Shino says, as he turned his back on her, facing to step outside the cave.

 The Kikaichu were not fully recovered. Should another ambush take place, there was a high chance that Shino would be injured.

 (Something in her urges her to rebel against his words. She didn't want it to continue like this—to have Kiba and Shino go out of their way for her.

 Especially Shino.)

 In a sudden fit, her hands clamped themselves around the boy.

 She has always known that Shino was tall, but now that she's close to him did she realize how different their heights are. Hinata notices too that Shino was not as skinny as she thought he was, but she hadn't noticed rhe boy's confusion.

 "Hinata what-" 

 Her ears were red.

 "I'm sorry, Shi-Shino-kun, I..I was--"

 Panic. She had to find an excuse immediately.

 "I-I just think that you're warm Shino," she blushes, looking to the side "You're good at regulating your body temperarure so..."

 If she could turn back time Hinata wishes that she could pull herself out of this situation. How silly of her. Hinata makes sure that she was always careful in every action--something she learned from her family the hard way--but she's found herself becoming clumsier than ever. 

 A trait she inherited from Kiba she supposed, 

 But this was not time to reminisce. 

 She has yet to release her hold. She thinks that she shouldn't. Her mouth doesn't form the words that she wants, and she's left speechless with the rush of emotions that gobble her. Her heart tears with a feeling of sorrow. Was she going to be left behind? She despises the way that her sincerity gets in the way of her job.

 (Shino Aburame was not someone skittish. Had it been anyone else he'd have felt a bit odd, resistant even, but the fact that it was Hinata eases his mind.)

 He doesn't bother her clutching on to him like this. But he doesn't immediately welcome the hug either. The idea of skinship was something he choose not to familiarize with, as people were always quick to avoid his advances, anyways.

 (Shino had always been isolating himself against his peers. He strives so hard to be level-headed. He tries his best to do well in class. But none of that made him any more likable--with all the bugs and unfriendly demeanor.)

 It started with a slight tap on the back, to one arm wrapped around her, and finally Shino eases himself enough to reciprocate the hug. Their eyes met. Somewhere, somehow, a strong feeling of compassion gripped him. In an instant, he felt an innate understanding rush to his head, as if he was absorbing all of Hinata’s emotions as they hugged.

 (Silence fell still on them—the serenity of the scene filling them with an odd elation. Hinata’s mind was previously occupied with dark thoughts, but now she can think of nothing but the winter and Shino’s warmth.)

  A lucid, fuzzy feeling overtakes Hinata. Her arms hugged tighter and she smiles into Shino's chest. At first, she was afraid that he'd jump out of her grip. Afraid that, like her family, Shino would have downright rejected any affectionate gesture. 

 (And the thought terrified her to death. The idea of being separated from her teammates. Separated from her home.)

 Shino was pleasantly surprised at himself, too. How simple it was to connect with someone—how easy it had been for Hinata to break his walls. For the first time in a while, Shino feels the joy of having a genuine union with someone, and God did he crave for it so badly.

 (Try as he might, but he has always lingered nearby her. Like a moth to a flame.

 It felt so natural for Shino, yet his own insecurities had lead him to stubbornly reject all attempts of friendship)

 They stayed like that for a minute. And that minute soon grew into half an hour. And just like that, Akamaru comes barking while dragging a group of chuunins tied by rope.

 Both of them had known that the gang was strong, feared even. What they didn’t expect was Kiba to be so fast in tracking them down, defeating them single-handedly, and bringing them back to the village. He was always feisty and feral from the beginning, but Kiba really changes when someone hurts his teammates.

 "Gee, look who's getting nice and cozy while I do all the work for us. I am so getting a day off after this..." Kiba mused, hauling the unconscious criminals to be taken by Akamaru to Kurenai.

 "Kiba-kun! I'm... um... It's not like that..."

 "Hinata thinks that I am a heater." Shino says, deadpan. "You can come near if you're cold, too."

 Kiba processes Shino's words as his brain buffers. Shino? Allowing physical contact? It must be raining cats and dogs outside. Kiba was in disbelief but there was also a sense of pride in knowing that his teammate's ice cold facade had began to thaw.

 Kiba had always been wary of Shino (In a good sense). He made sure not to overstep his boundaries after learning from several prank attempts that you can never escape Shino’s bugs, especially when he decides to use centipedes. Regardless, Kiba acknowledges his existence and understands that some people are a little bit more difficult to get by,

 "Hmph. You think I'd need some warming up after all that chasing?" He pouts, looking to the side. 

 "Because you're fucking right!!" He yells as he tackles both of them to the snow, a cheeky grin lit on his face. Kiba’s brashness made both Hinata and Shino tumble into the snow. Now they’re all tired and not warm. Damn Kiba. His big idiot energy did not register the fact that snow is, indeed, cold. 

 "Kiba you stupid--now you've got us all cold!" Shino's remark gained light laughter from his teammates. 

 "That's right,” Kiba replies with a hearty laughter. Because we're going to the hot springs after this mission."

 "Hot springs?" Hinata asked, turning to face Kiba "Where do we get the money for that? All the hot springs in the area are luxurious ones..."

 Konoha’s northern side was known for it’s winter hot springs. A luxurious view of the mountains as you aid your body in the springs. The nearest one was renowned and popular among ninjas, claiming that the water had rejuvenating properties and could make one younger.

 "That. Is something I can deal with." Kiba replies, in his leader-esque voice. 

 "And how would that be?" Shino is suspicious, but he seems to already know what Kiba is up to.

 "You see...These criminals we're after are pretty bad, yeah? Extortion and all that. So when I wrang them up, I happen to find pouches of coins nearby."

There is a lot to be questioned from the word “happen to find”.

 "Their pouches are awfully thick, stealing more profit than the ones they took from this village from God knows where. This is clearly our jackpot."

 "Kiba-kun... I don't think that's allowed..."

 "It is," He replies, sitting up, "We can return most of the money back, take a small fraction of it as added bonus. Don’t underestimate the Inuzuka’s Puppy Eyes Jutsu! Now, if we leave before they wake up, it’ll be in the bag!" 

 The three of them looked at each other. Nodded. And off they went, finishing affairs with the village chief and storming out of the village. This wasn't the first time Team 8 commited petty crimes, but getting away with it is part of a shinobi's skillset. Or so Kiba thinks.

 Shino never thought winter could make him feel so giddy. He should have been freezing to death, especially when Hinata was borrowing his longcoat. But the andrenaline from Kiba's mischief was infectious, and he was unexpectedly more riled up than usual. Hinata too, was under the adrenaline rush. 

 If the old Shino saw him now, he’d berate him for being so loose. For willingly participate in childish mischief, during a mission, nonetheless. Oh, but Shino couldn’t care less for formalities that day! He’d brush the conduct as “misdemeanor due to injury” and sleep it off.

 Shino finds that the winter months are more comfortable than they seem. Warm food, hot springs, and a good night's rest with your comrades. He wishes to meet many more winter months with his precious friends, together.

:)

[neverwatchedonepiece]

652-654: "The Last - and Bloodiest - Block! Block D Battle Begins!", "A Decisive Battle! Giolla vs the Straw Hats!" and "Beautiful Sword! Cavendish of the White Horse!"

“Complication?” 

YOU ARE A CELESTIAL DRAGON!!

Or is he...?

Shins of Steel

Usually leave the huge reveals to the end but I can’t wait to talk about this major plot point, since it’s knocked a dent into my immovable “All Celestial Dragons Are Wet Lettuces” viewpoint. It’s like I smugly posted a “Change My Mind” meme and Doflamingo cracked his knuckles and proved me wrong.

Or did he?

After opening with Rebecca and Cavendish in the Colosseum (more on that later), the story veered back to Law, Doflamingo and Fujitora. I thought, “This is nice. Haven’t seen Law in a while. Let’s see what the rascal is up to.”

He was pretty much where Oda had left him: running like hell from a chuckling Doflamingo. And he was still reeling from Doflamingo’s deception.

“I have no interest in your past!” Law proclaimed. Which was totally unfair because I was definitely interested.  “The only people who can use the World Government to deceive us are Celestial Dragons!”

“So what?” Doflamingo answered.

At this point I figured Doflamingo somehow had them in his pocket. That Doflamingo was so wealthy and well-connected he could even manipulate them.

There was a flurry of attacks. Doflamingo pulled a Sasuke vs Orochimaru in the chuunin exams: wired up Law and pinned him to a tree. He was like, “You can’t buy any more time, Law.”

“You said it’s complicated before,” Law said, (buying time). What do you mean?”

But Doflamingo is not so easily led into talking.

“If you wanna chat, hand over Caesar and his heart first.”

“Caesar... no, those SMILEs are that important to you? I guess they are,” Law laughed. “Without the SMILEs, Kaidou’s gonna kill you and it’s all over for you.”

A different sort of attempt at buying time, as Law’s shit-talking made Doflamingo lose his temper and attack. Law shambled his way out of the literal bind but Doflamingo was too quick. It was lucky Fujitora was there because Doflamingo was ready to kill and loot for Caesar’s heart.

Boom went the gravity. Law was pinned to the ground beneath crushing force. (I think I’ve said this before but Fujitora’s power is... it’s just great.)

Doflamingo was like, “Wtf, Fujitora? I almost had him, you party pooper!”

Fujitora, who has played this entire situation suspiciously by-the-book, just said, “Gotta stop you right there, Heavenly Yaksha. I am here to arrest, not execute. Soz.”

Doflamingo had a quiet seethe to himself, then said, “FINE! But I need Caesar’s heart back.” Once Doflamingo stringed the heart into his hands, he cheered up a bit. The odds seemingly in his favour, he was more willing to talk. “By the way, you seem quite curious about that complication I mentioned. You wanna hear about it?”

At this point, I was thinking, “Law, if you do not say yes, I will start flipping tables.”

Luckily, Doflamingo was now in a talkative mood.

“A long time ago - it goes back eight-hundred years, Law - twenty kings from twenty countries came together at the centre of the world and formed one giant organisation. The World Government. The kings who created it decided to move to Mariejois and live there with their families. The Nefertari family of Alabasta refused, so there were nineteen, to be exact. The descendants of those creators who still live there and reign over the world are known as the Celestial Dragons. It means, however, that those nineteen countries lost their royal families eight-hundred years ago. In those countries, they elected new kings out of necessity and new royal families arose. In the case of my country, Dressrosa, the new royalty was the Riku Family. And the old family who moved to Mariejois as the creators of the world was the Donquixote family.”

THE DONQUIXOTE FAMILY.

“But, but, but....” I thought. “Weren’t all Celestial Dragons useless, dangerous spoiled brats like St Charloss and What’s-His-Face who washed up on Fishman Island?” Doflamingo is hyper-competent. How could this be?? Muh prejudices!

I guess that explained the Heavenly Yaksha nickname. Heavenly is similar to celestial, right? I suppose Vergo’s warning to Law, re. lack of knowledge on Doflamingo’s past also makes sense now. Law was technically pitting himself against a Celestial Dragon who can pull World Government-level strings. 

Not only that, but it seems the situation really is complicated.

Because Doflamingo had a bit more to say.

“So you’re called a Celestial Dragon, Doflamingo!” Law raged.

“I was. But not anymore. What is bloodline? What is destiny? I don’t think there are many people who have lived such a chequered life as mine. I wish I could tell the story of my life before I met you, over drinks. But I don’t have time for that. I’ve got to do something about the Strawhats in Dressrosa. I know there are quite a few people who underestimated them and got hurt.”

THANK YOU, ODA!

The plot gods have answered my plea. But these answers have raised only more questions.

1. Doflamingo used to be a Celestial Dragon. Not anymore. What happened? Did he abandon the rank willingly or was it taken from him? The whole “What is bloodline? What is destiny?” stuff is highly suspicious. Makes me think Doflamingo is not a fan of the Celestial Dragons.

2. The Riku Family. They were the ones who took over. They were elected fair and square. Everything seemed to be fine. Until Doflamingo came back to claim the territory his family abandoned eight-hundred years ago. Why return to Dressrosa? The answer to this question is probably tied up with point one.

3. The Nefertari were Originals. Even back then, the future Celestials must have been total moonfruits because the Nefertaris were like, “Ehhhh, nah, you guys go and have a good time on your island.” Imagine being stuck with those losers for eight-hundred years? No thanks.

4. Not underestimating the Strawhats. Doflamingo is smart. He has seen these new whippersnapper pirates topple too many Big Names and institutions to ignore the threat they pose to his territory. I actually cheered when he said this. A villain who can lay aside ego for the sake of the task at hand. I suppose Doflamingo does have the benefit of hindsight. Crocodile never had that luxury.

After that, there was a funny scene with Caesar and a heart-swap (Law still has his heart! Those heat-seeking Karma missiles are locked on Caesar. (LOCK ONNNNN!)) Fujitora also heard a KABOOM of thunder from the direction of the sea, even though the weather was perfectly calm. Law knew that would be Nami. The Strawhats were heading his way.

This was not a good thing.

Amid the chaos, Law made a desperate bid for freedom. Doflamingo pursued. He tried to lure him away but unfortunately, Doflamingo is smart.

Which leads us nicely to...

Debatable, But Okay...

(Side note: I loved how Toei segued seamlessly from Doflamingo’s sinister villain reveal laughter to Brook’s cheerful deceit laughter in 653. Did me a big lol there.)

And at first it seemed like Brook had found a new pal on Sunny. Not only that... he had betrayed the Strawhats? Surely not?

Had Soul King placed his art above his solid gold friendships with Nami and Chopper? Why was he hanging with Giolla? This was an outrage!

Giolla wanted to surprise Law (and gain Donquixote points) by picking up Caesar in Sunny instead of the Strawhats. Oh, what an excellent day it had turned out to be. Her latest art transformation depicted the tragedy of Dressrosa so perfectly! And it would only take ten more minutes for Nami, Chopper and Momonosuke to become part of her art and suffocate.

Like a total rookie, she babbled her plan to Brook, who smiled (if he could smile) and nodded and played the perfect gentleman. In the background, the others wailed and lamented Brook deserting them for art.

“May I play a song to celebrate?” he asked.

“Of course!”

“Then could you turn my violin and bow back to normal, please?”

Oh, Brook, you absolute legend. As soon as Giolla made that fatal error, Brook said, “You see this violin? There’s a cane sword inside. I already cut you.”

Suddenly, Brook was the hero! (Brook is always the hero.) Imagine doubting him, Nami and Chopper, you silly sausages!

There was a bit I didn’t like much that followed when they bickered over who would cuff Giolla. Nami demanded that Brook or Chopper did it, which was ridiculous because they are Devil Fruit eaters. If they touched those cuffs, their strength would sap and Giolla could overpower them. Nami, you should have done it. Doesn’t matter if you think you’re a coward or you view yourself as weak, you should have taken one for the team there. Not cool.

They spent so much time bickering, Giolla woke up and they missed the opportunity to restrain her. They were forced into fighting. Which was actually kind of good, in the end. Nami, Chopper and Brook used their heads to outsmart Giolla’s Giant Picasso Form and fire a Gaon Cannon bolt. Then Momonosuke shanked her from behind when she was down. Nami finished her off with a thunderbolt.

Teamwork, amirite?

Unfortunately, Fujitora heard the thunderbolt and told Doflamingo. So when they sailed round to Green Bit to collect Law and Caesar, Chopper saw the horrendous sight of Doflamingo approaching at speed through his binoculars.

I hope he recovers soon.

Who Says Zoro Can’t Compromise?

Once again, the Strawhats have split up. Usopp and Robin have reunited with Franky at the King Riku Army HQ beneath Flower Field. Zoro originally left with Wicka to check in on Sunny and rescue the others from Giolla, but met Sanji and Foxfire on the way.

Wick was like, “Who dat?”

In keeping with the Legendary Heroes names, Zoro introduced Sanji and Foxfire as Spiral-Brows-land and Topknot-Land (lmao)

Zoro updated Sanji on the dire situation on Sunny. Of course, Sanji was intent on rescuing Nami and the others, so Zoro stayed behind with Foxfire to find Luffy.

Then Violet appeared like a ninja from the shadows to tell him Giolla had hijacked Sunny. How did she know this?

Turns out she has a Very Useful Power.

Clairvoyance. It usually means seeing into the future, but it can also mean gaining information about a person, including their location, through extra-sensory perception. Nice. For Violet, this means she can see things within a 4000km radius, top-down, as a bird would. She is a walking surveillance satellite and can see everything going on in Dressrosa. She guided Sanji to Sunny and updated him on what was going on in Sunny. 

Like I said, a Very Useful Power.

But, since it is a Very Useful Power, the Donquixote Crew are not pleased that she’s betrayed them. Back at the palace, a new character called Gladius is Very Upset. Since he despises and wishes death upon people who cannot follow plans and are not punctual, I’m guessing Violet has used up her two strikes already and is dead to this hilarious weirdo. 

(Why does his hair explode?)

Violet eventually picked up Sunny and informed Sanji the dreadfully bad news that Sunny had been struck by lightning. She was puzzled when Sanji did not react as expected. Instead, he boosted with fury to the ship, where, I expect, he was surprised to find Doflamingo doing the exact same thing.

“Watch this, Law!” Doflamingo laughed. “I will viciously slay your allies right before your eyes!”

Doflamingo sure knows how to turn the thumb screws and punish people, doesn’t he?

But Sanji was like, “NOT TODAY, SATAN!”

He smashed shins with Doflamingo.

And I cheered.

Sanji, you have just gained all your cool points back. I forgive you for being distracted by Violet.

(Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Bartolomeo recognised Zoro and totally splooshed on sight.)

Rebecca and Cavendish: You Beautiful Legends!

Now Doflamingo has spilled some of the beans on his past, his treatment of Rebecca is odd. If he wanted to get rid of the Riku Family, he could have easily killed her years ago. It’s almost like he wants to drag their memory and reputation thoroughly through the mud. If it’s a propaganda campaign, it makes sense. Keep the people blind to what’s been going on by dangling the scapegoat in front of them. But this is a cruel and unusual punishment. It’s almost like he actually *hates* the Riku family. Or am I reading way too much into this?

In the first scene of 652, Rebecca walked out into the ring. The way Oda had the crowd behave - reduced to shadows, red-eyed, shrieking, inhumane shapes - might be a dig at the sorts of people who love blood sports. Animals and humans risking their lives to entertain uncaring humans and prop up gambling industries.

The insults they hurled at Rebecca were harsh. “Drop dead, Rebecca!” “Foul blooded!” “Today’s your execution day!” “The shame of Dressrosa!” And the worst one, for some reason, “Set her on fire! That’ll make her pyro grandfather happy.”

Ooft. 

Well, it was pretty disgusting, and I wasn’t the only one who thought so.

Enter Cavendish on his Farul, his white horse.

Ohhhhhh, he was not happy. Not happy at all. He heaped abuse on the crowd and called out their rank hypocrisy.

“ENOUGH! I don’t care why you hate her so much but she’s a young woman who stands in the ring putting her life on the line. You guys are not risking yoru lives so you have no right to jeer at her. If you really want to kill her, take a weapon and come down to the ring yourself! The voices of people who have no guts are nothing but irritating noise! I have my reasons for entering this competition, but even so, I cannot stomach it. The lives and deaths of warriors are not a show!”

Well, Cabbage just earned himself some major cool points there. I was like, “YOU TELL ‘EM, CABBAGE! NO MERCY!”

Even Luffy agreed. “Oh, Cabbage spoke up and said the right thing. I’m impressed!”

Well.. sort of. 

“Still don’t like him, though.” (Lmao, Luffy.)

Cavendish’s impromptu speech had an interesting effect on the crowd. They still hate Rebecca but instead of focusing their abuse on her, they decided they would use all that energy to support Cavendish, instead. 

It’s a win-win situation. Rebecca can kick-ass in peace and Cavendish, well, since the crowd started chanting his name, he had a tear-filled, “YOU LOVE ME! YOU REALLY LOVE ME!” moment. 

He’s already contemplating his media strategy.

Classic Cavendish.

When Doflamingo’s here, and you feel the end is near. 

Diarrhea. Diarrhea.

[herzenswarme]

“Naruto: Passion of the Shinobi”: A Naruto fan-made fighting game #5 - Early roster overview part 2

Last edited: 2019-03-28

Note: 

The characters marked with a [*] are characters that, while they have a concept, I have not found a model for them yet. Which means I can’t follow my usual process. The inclusion of these characters are tied to whether I can obtain a model or start making the sprites from scratch. They may not make it in or just do so later on.

On the other hand, the characters that are missing in sections to which they should belong, like Ino and Shino. Are still not conceptualised but may be so in the future.

The other leaf genin

Shikamaru Nara

Shikamaru is a character whose implementation is not still clear due to some incompatibilities between his canonical abilities and a 2D environment.

The concept for his play-style is something I’d call a set-play character. He tries to either lure/push the enemy to a corner or to set up a helper to extend his effective range (as it can be seen in his fight against Temari in the chuunin exams). This way, Shikamaru is a character that wants to create an opportunity first and go into the offensive second.

His move-set is based around a stance in which he can’t do anything but instead you will be controlling the shadow in order to attack and keep the opponent away with a variety of moves from the shadow itself. The problem, however, is that his Shadow Possesion Jutsu is made effective as soon as it touches the opponent on the ground. Due to this, a canonical implementation seems not viable. So for him I’ll have to either come out with a way to balance it out or disregard this part of the canon.

Hinata Hyuuga

Much like Neji, Hinata is based on pressing the special button at the time of a move making contact in order to generate special effects. Hinata, however, will attack the health of the opponent directly.

When timing correctly on block, Hinata will start dealing virtual damage that is not effective at the moment. By consecutively timing the special button correctly over a reducing frame window she will do more and more of this damage (the base amount is based on the damage of the move). This damage is just virtual and won’t be able to finish the enemy.

However, when she lands the hit and has correct timing, each move will deal extra damage by consuming the virtual damage and turning it into effective damage, making her a character with potentially really explosive damage.

In order to break defence, aside from general tools, she is planned to have dedicated frame traps and block point attacks.

This system is inspired by the concept that the Hyuuga taijutsu attacks the internal organs as opposed to regular taijutsu in the same way Neji’s is inspired in his ability to attack chakra points.

Kiba Inuzuka

Kiba is the main puppeteer character of the game. He can use his companion Akamaru to attack for him, and being able to keep both of them safe and in correct position will be a key factor when playing them.

Akamaru can be made move and attack with different inputs that use the special button, much like Zappa’s dog summon.

Akamaru can also be hit and might also have limited HP, so you must be specially careful as opposed to the usual puppet character.

The duo of the mist

Haku [*]

As anyone would expect, the ice mirrors will be a key tool in Haku’s move-set. Haku will be an agile character focused on the positioning of projectiles and mix-ups. In a way, he is similar to characters like Answer in Guilty Gear or Bang in Blazblue.

By putting mirrors on the screen Haku will be able to get in them, allowing him to move immediately from one to another, fly between mirrors hitting during through the trajectory, throwing needles or grabbing the enemy; as well as releasing his super.

These mirrors melt with time or on command, generating a puddle. This puddle can be used for ice based attacks and maybe also for regenerating the melted mirror.

Mirrors can also break, not leaving any puddle. This can happen if counter hit when performing a move from a mirror or when going into it, which deals extra damage to Haku.

The nuances of the mechanics are, as this is an early concept, very susceptible to change due to the balancing.

Zabuza Momochi [*]

Zabuza is a character that barely made it into my initial plans, as his concept is extremely simple. However, when reading the Naruto Wiki page about him, I found an “entry point” in order to approach his design.

Zabuza's signature weapon was the Kubikiribōchō, an over-sized broad sword, whose shape was thought to decapitate enemies. This large weapon has the unique ability to absorb and utilise the iron from all the blood it sheds, from whoever it cuts, in order to reform itself if damaged or broken.

Capitalising on this small detail, I decided to include Zabuza as a character with an additional meter that focuses on footsies in order to win. While simpler that I’d wish, I feel inclined to still include him in the game.

Zabuza’s moves are for the most part long ranged melee attacks using the sword. When blocked or on whiff, the sword will lose resistance, deteriorate. Much like it would be in a Dark Souls game; the sword may lose durability when blocking, too. When the sword completely deteriorates, it breaks, an you are left only with physical attacks. However, when you land a hit, the sword will recover part of its durability.

Additionally, he may get a specific set of moves that will leave the sword stuck in the ground and will be able to jump back and forth to it for combo extensions.

The Sand

Gaara of the Sand

Gaara, most likely the second character to be made after Neji, is designed to be a pure zoner. What I mean by this is that he will have a virtual are of the screen at which he wants to remain and outside of which he wants to keep the opponent at all times. Unlike many zoners in fighting games, Gaara doesn’t intend to allow the enemy in the zone at all and won’t capitalize on a knockdown with okizeme mix-ups.

Gaara’s sand will be both his defence and offence. As you use his sand based long range projectlies, you will start to lose sand. That sand will then set wherever it goes.This does not apply to mid-range normals.

This has 2 effects. First, the less sand you have with you, the worse your defence is, to the point that if you lose it all you won’t be able to block or, at least, blocking will lead to full damage with block-stun. Depending of what play testing suggests, he might be able to block automatically when full with sand and block normally only within certain values.

On the other hand, and since this game doesn’t have general chip damage, Gaara has tools to make the opponent want to approach. As sand starts building up on the floor, Gaara can use it for offence, giving him access to an unblockable move whenever enough sand is built up.

Gaara can then recall the sand in order to replenish his gourd and thus recovering his blocking abilities.

Kankurou [*]

Kankurou is of course another puppeteer. This one, however, is a bit special. Unlike Kiba, Kankurou can’t attack on his own and he’s completely dependant on the puppet.

He’s meant to attack from a distance with the puppet and once the puppet is surpassed, go into the defensive. While he can’t attack, he is able to control the puppet when blocking. The freedom this offers is being considered. It may range from complete control (even though this implies dangerous directional inputs during blocking) to a simple pre-designed movement in which the puppet will get closer and eventually grab the enemy, dealing a bit of damage but most importantly letting Kankurou get away.

The dynamics of the puppet also have multiple viable options. It certainly won’t have limited HP, but the damage suffered by the puppet may leave it useless for a set period of time or hurt Kankurou’s chakra. It’s important to remember that losing all your chakra is a win condition for your opponent.

[onceabluemoonwrites]

The Message of Boruto the Movie: Hidden Underneath the Underneath

The lesson in Boruto the movie seems to teach is: ‘’Cheating is bad and always ends badly too’’. Great message, I’d say, for a movie about a twelve-year-old kid. But it bothers me because it does not fit with what I know of the Naruto universe at all.

It was brought to my attention by this fic by @kumeko: Technically, Sasuke cheated in the second task of the chuunin exams. It got me thinking about this particular issue, especially when compared to Boruto the movie. I’ll begin at the beginning, by looking at the chuunin exams in Naruto.

But in truth, the entirety of Boruto the movie is centred around this:

‘’Sasuke says he met Boruto and the boy has turned out to be just like Naruto, who insists that Boruto reminds him of how Sasuke was like when he was younger. However, Naruto retracts that by saying Boruto is not either of them because he has never had to work hard as a ninja and the pristine condition of his clothes serve as an example. They then make a bet on whether the nature of a shinobi has changed in regards to Boruto, to which Sasuke says it hasn’t and Naruto says it has.’’

In the end, after the final battle in the movie, Sasuke declares he won their bet, and Naruto agrees. But why? Did Sasuke actually win?

For that, I dove into the story, using the Boruto the movie wiki page to illustrate my points. 

The first exam

The first exam in Naruto’s first chuunin exams an incredible example. Misdirection is a part of being a ninja. There are a lot of things that could be seen as cheating, but for the sake of my peace of mind and your valuable time, I’ll just take the most important part of the first exam: the encouraging of cheating in order to gain the information needed. They’re basically telling these kids: ‘’Hey, go ahead, as long as you don’t get caught, cheating doesn’t matter!’’

That’s logical. That’s what being a ninja is.

This is what Sasuke’s view in the bet is. Ninja’s haven’t changed. This is still his vision.

Naruto opposes this, which, to me, implies that he believes that the ninja way as a whole has changed. And, seeing the movie’s main issue and lesson, that includes a drastic change in the way cheating is viewed in Konoha.

Several excerpts from the Boruto the Movie wiki page that support this:

‘’ Inojin asks Boruto to help him and Shikadai beat the boss in their game and Boruto gives him his data to make the game easier. But this only upsets them that Boruto is cheating and they leave,’’

‘’ Boruto is unsure whether to use his Kote because it is deemed a form of cheating and he doesn’t want to disappoint everyone,’’

My next point concerns Sasuke. In the movie, Boruto wants to become Sasuke’s apprentice, who will only accept him if he manages to create a Rasengan. These happenings follow:

‘’Finally, Boruto is able to perform the Rasengan and shows it to Sasuke, who notes that his is much smaller compared to his many predecessors. Boruto interprets this as Sasuke being disappointed and, in frustration, throws the tiny Rasengan at a tree and it disappears half-way from impact, which Sasuke watches with interest, before he runs off. … As Sarada speaks on Boruto’s behalf, Sasuke says he never said Boruto failed and he was going to accept Boruto as his student.’’

‘’Boruto goes to Katasuke, who comforts him, as Boruto explains that the training didn’t produce any results. Katasuke gives him a Kote, which he says can create a Rasengan, and Boruto accepts it without hesitation but doesn’t tell Naruto or Sasuke, knowing they will disapprove.’’

From Boruto’s point of view, this makes sense. He doesn’t know Sasuke very well, met him only a few days ago. The guy’s his father’s best bud, though, and his father, and his society as a whole, condemns cheating. Why wouldn’t Sasuke agree with him on that point? Of course he’d be disappointed in Boruto!

But the thing is, we know Sasuke believes the ninja way has not changed. And the ninja way as it was during Sasuke’s chuunin exams, condoned cheating. Sasuke does not disapprove in the way Naruto later did.

‘’The next day, Boruto creates a standard-sized Rasengan and shows it Sasuke, who notices the Kote on Boruto’s forearm. Knowing Boruto is using an instrument, Sasuke voiced his suspicions about Boruto being able to make a larger Rasengan in one day. Boruto replies his talent is nothing like Naruto’s and Sasuke says he was hoping that wasn’t the case before he starts to walk away. This angered Boruto and he reminded Sasuke of their deal of becoming his student if he learned the Rasengan, and Sasuke agreed to take him as his student.’’

As the above signifies, it may look like Sasuke disapproves, but still takes him on as a student. Why do that? Because Sasuke does not disapprove of the cheating, he disapproves of the fact that he caught Boruto cheating, which is in line with the old ninja way.

The second exam

‘’Boruto faces another genin team who nearly overpowers him with the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and is seemingly about to get his flag. In desperation to win his father’s recognition, Boruto uses his Kote to use Water Release and then Lightning Release, defeating his opponents. ‘’

Let’s see. The second task of Boruto’s chuunin exam. A ninja version of capture the flag. I’d like to compare this to the second task of Naruto’s chuunin exams. Unlike Boruto’s exam, Naruto’s was a fight to the death. Killing seems prohibited in Boruto’s exams, which is another change in rules compared to the old chuunin exams,

which leads to an interesting question.

Is Boruto’s cheating less justified’s than Sasuke’s was?

Technically, Sasuke using the cursed seal was cheating. We could ramble on about this forever, but the cursed seal could be easily equated to the Kote. It is a power that does not require skill, yet gives the user immense power. Then again, the seal was forced upon Sasuke, while Boruto was given the Kote. Both, however, made the conscious choice to use their ‘’cheating methods’’ when it came down to it.

Sasuke did so in a life or death situation, which would make more sense. But the chuunin exams are meant to emulate war. Even when killing is prohibited, it is meant to simulate a life or death situation. Yes, Boruto’s situation was different from Sasuke’s, but how different?

The third exam

While training for the third exam, this happens:

‘’Naruto then says he heard from Konohamaru that Sasuke is training Boruto and Naruto hints his sadness at not being able to train his own son but says Sasuke was right about the nature of a shinobi never changing. Sasuke agrees and leaves.’’

Naruto, seeing Sasuke training Boruto the same way Jiraiya trained him at the time, says the nature of the shinobi has not changed. They still need to train. Even if power seems more easily acquired these days (see: the number of people using shadow clones in this movie), it does not mean that they have it less difficult. Hard work still yields results.

Naruto basically retracts this part of his statement: ‘’ Boruto is not either of them because he has never had to work hard as a ninja and the pristine condition of his clothes serve as an example.’’

But as I said before, the cheating issue is also still playing a big part in this. There is more than just technological advancement allowing Boruto to cheat this way- their entire society has changed the way they look at the ninja way, with cheating being something one does not do being featured immensely in this movie.

The next events only confirm this notion. Naruto catches Boruto using the Kote during the third exam:

‘’Disappointed that his son has been cheating, Naruto confronts Boruto, deems Shikadai the winner and disqualifies Boruto by taking away his forehead protector and tells Boruto that he will lecture him when they get home.’’

This was a shocking moment in the movie. While I personally do not agree with way Naruto handled it, and believe he would have done better to inform the actual exam proctor and let them handle it, he is human and makes mistakes. This instance gains a lot more significance afterwards, though, when Boruto goes to his father’s office after visiting his mother in the hospital. He meets Sasuke there:

‘’Sasuke tells [Boruto] that everyone at the Exams scorned him and he got his headband taken away from him, and he is no longer a ninja. He also comments that if it had not been for his sister who adores him and his mother who worries about him, Boruto would be in the same situation as Naruto has been in the past.’’

This reaction is so out of proportion in the eyes of the current rules of our own society that I don’t even know how to begin talking about it. Both from Sasuke and everyone around Boruto. Cheating, in our society AND the one Boruto currently lives in, is not seen as good. But equating cheating once to a lifetime of being hated? That’s… a VERY serious repercussion. Far more serious than it would be in our society, especially regarding a twelve-year-old child [See footnote 1].

Sasuke being the person who tells him this is especially strange, as Sasuke was aware that Boruto had the Kote and had used it to cheat before, and didn’t explicitly and out loud disapprove of this or call him out in a clear manner (aka not just implied through only showing ‘suspicion’).

Meanwhile, during the second task of Naruto’s chuunin exam, there was no issue made about Sasuke cheating. There was an issue made of Sasuke’s cheating method harming him, and, possibly the village as a whole. Which seems, to me, at least, a far larger issue than Boruto’s, yet there were no repercussions at all.

In that very same conversation, this also happens:

‘’Boruto asks Sasuke why he would bother with someone like him and Sasuke replies Boruto is a strong shinobi with the potential to surpass Naruto, and further elaborates that Boruto is not only his best disciple but a bigger loser than Naruto because Boruto hates to lose.’’

Let’s just ignore the great big ‘’it’s all about Naruto’’ show over there, and look at what Sasuke’s actually saying. Why is Sasuke still talking to Boruto when everyone else except his sister and mother have written him off completely for cheating? Because Boruto has potential. Because Boruto has power. Because Boruto, when it comes down to it, has the potential to become a great shinobi. And while the rest of Konoha might seem to operate on a whole different code now, Sasuke still believes in the old one. Cheating doesn’t matter- the fact that Boruto thought he could substitute other skills with cheating was. That’s a problem he wants to cull at the source, and he’s using the situation for it.

Once Boruto understands that? To Sasuke, who still believes in the old ninja way, it’s simple: Teach the kid how not to get caught cheating.

‘’The four Kage ally with Sasuke in the mission to rescue Naruto and Sasuke lets Boruto go with them. Hinata refused to let Boruto go out of fear for his safety, but when Boruto put on Sasuke’s scratched forehead protector, she remembered how Naruto was like when he was younger, and she decides to trust him and asked him to take care of his father.’’

This is interesting because Boruto chooses to wear Sasuke’s symbol of dishonour to Konoha to show that he wants to do better for Konoha. When thinking about what this signifies, it becomes shockingly clear. In a movie in which all we can see is how much shinobi have changed, this one thing has not. The forehead protector is a badge of honour. Those who refuse to wear it, spit upon Konoha’s name. Those whose forehead protector get taken away, are literally dishonoured.

Sasuke doesn’t wear one because he does not feel worthy of it. Boruto’s gets taken away from him by Naruto because he cheated, and Naruto pretty much declares: ‘’Dishonour on you, dishonour on your family, dishonour on your cow!’’

The honour Naruto has always associated with the headband, the symbolism in it that was always there, has been blown up over the years. So large that it being taken away is tantamount to total ostracization.

This is what has changed.

The final battle 

‘’The four Kage engage in battle against Kinshiki and Momoshiki while Sasuke and Boruto rescue Naruto, who asks about Boruto and why he’s wearing the jacket, and Sasuke says many things happened but Boruto has become a shinobi.’’

Sasuke states Boruto has become a shinobi. This statement is vague but does appear to support the theory. It directly mirrors Naruto’s first statement: ‘’Boruto is not either of them because he has never had to work hard as a ninja and the pristine condition of his clothes serve as an example.’’

Naruto claimed the ninja way had changed because Boruto had never had to face hardships like they did. But here Boruto is, wearing Naruto’s own old, torn jacket. The symbolism itself shows it. Boruto wears the same coat as Naruto did. Hardships are different from person to person, but everyone has them.

And this is the point where we realize it. While Konoha’s culture at the time condemns cheating to the extreme, the actual problem with the cheating when it came to the ninja profession and as such nature, lay here: Boruto believed in shortcuts which did not exist. Shortcuts that would give him power, but it is power that could just as easily be taken away [See: Footnote 2]. This would eventually cripple his growth and endanger his life if he had continued on like he did. But he didn’t. He learned that hard work was important to achieve his goals.

‘’After the battle, Naruto and Sasuke sit by each other and Sasuke declares he won their bet, to which Naruto agrees.’’

The aftermath

‘’For his role in defeating Momoshiki, Boruto has become a hero and received lots of attention, although Sarada remained angry at him for cheating despite Boruto’s many apologies to her.’’

Despite the extreme dishonour cheating generates in this culture, Boruto is forgiven because he regained his honour by helping to save the world.

This, however, makes little sense in the way it did to us- Boruto was scorned at large for the mistake he made in the third exam, nothing of the other instances being known. Not to mention the fact that the public is not as closely involved with Boruto as his family, or even we, the audience were. The whole quick changing of opinion gives me a headache, to be honest.

In conclusion: The message of the story, ‘’cheating is bad’’ is looked at in an ambiguous way. It is a part of the nature of shinobi, which is at odds with the current beliefs of Boruto’s society.

Has the nature of shinobi changed? No, but the culture around it certainly did.

Footnotes:

1. Shinobi culture, when Naruto was twelve, seemed to see genin somewhat akin to adults. Sure, they act immature, but from the moment they become genin, they could be realistically expected to kill. That’s not coming out of nowhere. These kids have adjusted to this reality. They don’t view themselves as that young, and neither do the adults around them. A twelve-year-old is perfectly capable of betraying their village and will face the same charges for it as an adult will.

In Boruto’s time, however, it is unclear if this still counts. Just how has the way of the ninja changed? They certainly don’t kill other shinobi during the chuunin exams anymore. But they DO produce weapons that could easily cause mass destruction like the Kote, which requires little skill to use but causes extreme destruction and is difficult to monitor in distribution because it is not a skill taught by someone, but a weapon.

Has the idea of maturity shifted? Have the kids in Naruto become closer to our idea of a twelve-year-old?

2.       Despite the movie not showing the Kote’s ACTUAL weaknesses, it certainly does have many. As the wiki tells us:

‘’The user initiates one of their techniques before sealing them into a scroll. The scroll is then shrunken to pill-size and is put inside the Kote. Afterwards, they can release the scroll and use the sealed technique.’’

Imagine this being stolen, though. Imagine those scrolls being used by another. It’d be fighting your own techniques! Not to mention the way a written down version of it must be terrifyingly easy to reverse engineer. It’s a security risk. A HUGE security risk. The Sharingan of the technology, I’d almost say, only slightly slowed down. Because unlike weapons, which could be stolen, the enemy does not need a particular hard-won skill to use the Kote. Its devastating power is easy to use for not only Boruto, but also anyone who might steal it from him, and turn its power against him.

[theclosetpoet7]

Of Apples and Cinnamon

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto.

Notes on chapter: In which Sasuke asks Sakura for a favor.

Summary: Their love was not built on rose-colored petals or romantic walks on the beach. If there was one thing Sasuke and Sakura has always had, it was most definitely chemistry. A series of one-shots and random drabbles.

Rating: T

He Wants Her To What?

Haruno Sakura stares at the person standing on her doorstep.

The pinkette doesn't think to hide her surprise. It was evident in the way she allowed herself to gawk blankly at the item Uchiha Sasuke held in front of her.

'What the hell was this supposed to mean?'

Don't get her wrong, she was quite happy to see the raven-haired prodigy. Although it would have been better if she knew he was coming then she would have changed into something more appropriate. The young woman shyly pulls the edge of her cotton shorts down. Her form is awkwardly hunched, spaghetti straps hanging loosely off one pale shoulder. She attempts to hide the fact that she isn't wearing any chest binding by clasping her hands to her front.

'Crap'

Sakura swallows the lump on her throat and tries to let this occurrence sink in. It has always been a dream of hers, to wake up one morning, hear a soft knock on her door and find her dear Sasuke-kun, looking as devilishly handsome as ever, hesitantly standing on her porch, trying to get the right words out, presenting to her, the one thing she craves the most…a wonderful, perfectly shaped, shiny…

.

.

.

Pair of scissors.

'Wait, what?'

It takes a second for her to snap out of her daydream. Her vision zooms in on the object.

Is this his idea of romantic?

She hesitantly reaches out to the item, confused as to what her first love was trying to say with this unusual gesture.

"Uhm, Thank you?"

It was uncanny for her to say thank you when given such a dangerous tool, well, aside from when she was operating on a patient. But, she tells herself that with him, she'll take whatever she can get. Before she could even touch the handle however, Sasuke pulls his hand back and lifts an eyebrow at her. Sakura abruptly stops and lifts an eyebrow as well.

'Eh? What's happening?'

Realizing that she was crazy for ever thinking that he was here to woe her with …. sharp objects , she mentally kicks herself in the shin. Uchiha Sasuke must have had a motive as to why he decided to visit her today. Sakura crosses her arms and examines him, trying to hide the embarrassment.

"Ano, is something wrong Sasuke-kun?" she questions.

"I." he starts.

"Yes?" she looks on at the wanderer.

He was standing there, hands in his pockets, with an annoyed expression on his face. Onyx eyes bored onto the floor as he held the sharp object in his left hand. Sakura briefly wonders if he plans to jab it at her.

'So much for happy ever after.' She thinks to herself

'Well, that would be a good idea, considering my senselessness a while ago.'

"I need you to give me a haircut."

Sakura manages to stop herself from gasping. But her eyes widened anyway. This had to be a joke right? She observes the stoic nin. His head lifts to look into her emerald eyes and quickly averts his own to narrow them at her rose bushes.

He looked too adorable.

Who would've thought that one day; the greatly admired Sasuke Uchiha would come knocking on her door, asking her to cut his gorgeous black mane? He was her teammate, yes, but she didn't think that he would ask her to do something like this.

Or maybe she was just overreacting.

This didn't really mean anything special right? Ever since the young Uchiha came home a few months ago - and started a somewhat confusing relationship with her -

- (one that made her question if he even had feelings for her- and what the hell did he mean by 'I'll see you when I come back.' anyway? Were they seeing each other now? Oh fuck, she didn't really know) –

-he had started to allow her to do small things for him.

And she was more than happy to do that.

Ecstatic really.

She just didn't expect him to go directly to her for something as personal as getting a haircut.

"I..are you sure Sasuke-kun? If you want, I can accompany you to the barber or maybe Ino can do it for you. I'm sure she can handle it better." She nervously rambles on, a finger scratching her left cheek.

"I trust you."

The sentence catches her off guard.

"So, will you cut it for me?"

Her eyes go to regard the handsome man again. He seemed serious, though a little embarrassed for having asked her for a favor twice. A surge of warmth immediately fills her. He was asking her because he trusted her, that was enough to tell her that maybe she was special, or so she hopes. She smiles fondly at her love, going swiftly into caring mode.

"I see." Sakura takes his hand in hers and leads him inside her apartment. She blushes when he doesn't pull away.

The two Sannin remain silent as she directs him to her room. She tells him to sit in front of her dresser, busy hands clearing it of items that would hinder her in completing this task. She lays the scissor Sasuke brought with him first, and then goes to the bathroom to get a glass of water, some powder and her blow dryer.

Sakura tries to hide her nervousness, but it is obvious to Sasuke because she is talking silently to herself, trying to figure out what else she needs. She walks around her room, gathering more items, putting on a huge sweater to cover her state of undress. He sits up when she finally puts a shiny black cloth around his neck. Sakura notices this but tries to not let it bother her. It takes him only a brief second to realize that he isn't in any danger.

"So." She starts.

"How do you want it to look?"

The young medic looks at him through the mirror. Green eyes meeting black and purple ones. She allows him to ponder on this for a minute because she wasn't sure if he even knew what kind of cut he wanted. Did he want her to just trim it and bring it back to his infamous chicken butt hairdo?

"I want one side to cover the Rinnegan."

Sasuke surprises her the second time that morning. She didn't expect him to want to hide the power so forcefully trusted upon him.

Did it bother him? The difference in the way he looked with one eye color different from the other? She decides not to question his decision.

"Ok."

Her hands weave themselves through his dark tresses as she angles his head, trying to imagine how she was going to go about it. She almost groans at the softness of his hair. He was a guy for Kami's sake! Why was it so smooth and silky?

'I bet he doesn't even put conditioner on it.' She muses with envy.

After a few minutes, she finally reaches out to the pair of scissors.

_________________

The room is noiseless, except for the snips and the quiet hum Sakura fills the air with. Sasuke relaxes into his position on the chair. This was something he hadn't planned on doing this morning, getting a haircut. A few hours ago, he had woken up like usual, ready to start his routine when he saw himself in the mirror. It wasn't the usual, brush his teeth, wash his face look at his reflection way.

He was really seeing himself.

It looked strange.

Staring into his one eye and not seeing his clan's characteristic black iris.

It made him feel like something was missing.

The same way it felt when he lived for years without his left arm.

He studied the Rinnegan closely, it stood out like a sore thumb.

And he concluded,

Something wasn't right.

It took him less than five minutes to decide. He didn't want to be constantly looking at it, so he hastily grabbed the pair of scissors on his bathroom sink and grabbed a fistful of his hair. He stopped when he realized that although he wanted to change his hairstyle, he was not familiar with the skill. That's when he thought of her.

Sakura.

Of course, she was the only person he could think of who would do this for him. Though she wasn't the most skilled (he distinctly remembered her horrid locks when she had violently ran a kunai through them during the Chuunin exams – though she was doing it to save him), she was at least the only person who wouldn't question or judge him for this decision.

He didn't even realize that he had reached her apartment and was knocking on her door until she appeared in no more than thirty seconds, a vision of pink cotton candy and fair rosy cheeks.

He snaps himself out of his brief flashback.

Did she always answer her door looking like…

Pure sin?

It took all his willpower not to let his oculars scan over her scantily clad form.

He takes a mental note to tell her to not answer her door without at least putting on a robe next time.

What would she have done if he wasn't the one on her porch? What if it was some kind of pervert?

Sasuke smirks as he answers his own question.

Of course, she would pummel them to the ground if they ever tried something.

Haruno Sakura was…

If there was one word to describe her.

Scary as hell.

She was a monster wrapped under a guise of soft skin and a petite height. A small caring medic with light pink innocent tresses which would sway so prettily in the wind as she punched humongous holes into the ground.

She would make the earth shake every time she wanted to make her presence known, or was that his insides shaking whenever she was around?

He didn't really know.

Honestly, he knows that his future is with this ex-fangirl.

He knows that home was where Team Seven is.

Where she is.

He knows because he had always had a weakness for her.

Be it her insistence on always making him special.

Or the sincerity in her heartfelt confession.

Haruno Sakura would always remind him of unconditional love.

It was still confusing though.

He never really thought about how he was…

How he was going to court her.

It was something he was extremely inexperienced with because in all his twenty-one years in this world, he had not considered asking someone to become his girlfriend.

Who would he ask anyway?

Aside from her.

Weren't they already going out in a way? They spent an ample amount of time together, training, dinners, festivals and what not. She was the closest girl to him, and he had implied her place in his life when he came to her the second he was back in Konoha.

Did he need to do anything else?

He silently muses on the thought.

.

.

.

.

.

"Does it look okay?" She nervously looked at his reflection through the mirror.

"Aa."

"Hontou ni? I wouldn't get hurt if you just told me the truth." She anxiously nibbles on her bottom lip as she maneuvers his head to the left then to the right to see the hairstyle better.

"It's fine Sakura."

"Oh? Okay."

Sakura cleans up the drawer, hands shaking as she grabs the brush and dusts a few stray strands from Sasuke's neck. She is hyper aware of her actions trying to mask the fact that she was furiously blushing. Blushing because she had just done something amazing. Blushing because, she didn't think that Sasuke would ever be hotter than he already was.

And he is.

Hotter.

'Shit, it looks good on him.'

The hairstyle suited him well. Long soft strands covered the left side of his face. The side bangs reached up to just below his chin. All black and straight. She managed to maintain a light spiky do at the back, keeping the look he had when he came back from his journey. The hairstyle gave him an air of mystery.

'As if he wasn't mysterious to begin with.' She inwardly scoffs.

Sakura almost jumps when he suddenly stands from his position, straightening his back and stretching his arms. She gulps as she stares at him. The black cloth was still hanging off him, it looked like a cloak, adding more to the look.

Sasuke notices her stare and raises an eyebrow at her.

"What?" he asks.

"I, uhm, you look good." She manages.

There is a hint of a blush on his face and he coughs into his hand, clearing his throat.

"Hn."

It was plain awkward from then on out. After keeping the things she used, Sakura ushers Sasuke out of her apartment, mumbling a 'I have to get ready for the hospital and it was nice seeing you today.' He doesn't mind because he knows that they are in an uncomfortable atmosphere as of the moment. Without any complaints, he finds himself outside her door again. With a simple nod of his head, he turns to leave. However,

"Sasuke-kun!"

Her voice stops him.

"I… Uhm. Thank you for, er trusting me with this. It makes me feel, extra, really super happy! So I uh…" She groans in frustration at her stutter.

"Sakura."

"Hm?"

"I should be the one thanking you."

"Ah, You're welcome! You're always welcome. Haha! I don't know why I'm so nervous...so.."

The sentence is cut short as she feels it again.

The poke.

"Annoying."

She blushes beet red immediately, bowing her head to hide her face from him. She could see that he is smirking. Then, as if losing control of her body, she lifts a hand, and grabs one of his.

Sakura tries to think of anything other than her small hand holding his strong, calloused one. She feels like she's about to catch fire.

She doesn't notice the warmth on his cheeks too for she is hiding behind her bangs.

'What now?' she asks herself.

Her heart was beating fast, as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.

"Sasuke-kun… Will you go out with me? Wait, not go out like date go out..."

She bites her lip to stop herself from stammering again. Seriously, was she turning into Hinata now? She hasn't heard someone stutter as much since the purple heiress started going out with Naruto.

"Dinner! I mean, dinner. Let's have dinner." She fretfully laughs.

"Yes."

She is shocked at the abruptness of his reply. Before she can lift her head to look at him however, he is off her porch and going on his own way, waving a hand in dismissal.

She waves back in silent defeat.

.

.

.

Later on that day, during lunchtime, Haruno Sakura nearly chokes on her sushi when she realized something.

.

.

.

She didn't really know what Uchiha Sasuke just said yes to.

R & R. :)