#NIN Wave Goodbye

[man-kills-everything]

Couldn't find the original so had to re-make it myself

The 2009 stomach flash gif that used to float around here from time to time

Source

#NIN #Nine Inch Nails #NIN Gifs #NINGifs #Nine Inch Nails Gifs #Trent Reznor #Trent Reznor Gifs #NIN Live #Nine Inch Nails Live #NIN 2009 #Nine Inch Nails 2009 #NIN/JA Tour #NIN/JA #Nine Inch Nails NIN/JA 2009 #NIN/JA 2009 #Wave Goodbye #NIN Wave Goodbye #Wave Goodbye Tour #Nine Inch Nails Wave Goodbye Tour

[nastytransmasc]

nin performing "Somewhat Damaged" on 7/03/09 at Roskilde Festival, Denmark

#trent reznor #nin #flashing gif #my gifs #ts era #wave goodbye tour #nin live #nine inch nails #he looks good from behind #watched as a treat and decided it deserved to be shared lol #love that old man

[t-800]

LITTLE PIGGY PIGGY PIGGY PIGGY PIGGY

#nine inch nails #nin #trent reznor #march of the pigs #2009 #wave goodbye #video #flashing tw

[pachu09]

MadaTobiIzu, Shifter AU

One day, Madara and Izuna entered Tobirama’s office in their shifted forms. Madara as a Lion and Izuna as a Cheetah sidled smoothly towards the Albino.

Tobirama, upon seeing the brothers is at first confused why they insistently sniffed his head, his chest, his hip and even his feet. When Tobirama asked them what they are doing the brothers refused to answer and they left a baffled Tobirama thinking about their bizarre behavior.

However, tomorrow comes and the Uchiha Brothers did it again. And then they keep doing it everyday, until weeks passed by. Only Hashirama and Mito knows why they were doing it. Touka was getting angry at her cousin's behalf and its only a matter of time before her patience snap and she'll hunt the Brothers down for sport. ( Only Tobirama’s request at her not to do anything had stilled her hand. )

Little did Tobirama knows that the real reason why the Brothers were sniffing him was...

Madara and Izuna didn't know what kind of shifter Tobirama is. In the years since Konoha was founded not once did they even saw Tobirama shift. They knew Hashirama and their other (dead) brothers are all Bears, but Hashirama confirming Tobirama isn't a bear made them curious. Only one time Hashirama’s frown and mysterious words made their curiosity more intense.

" Tobi's animal Shift isn't really suited for Konoha's climate. "

~●~●~

A month after they started their newest bizarre ritual; Madara and Izuna burst inside the Hokage's office, with a loud bang.

" Where's your brother, Hashirama?. " Madara demanded, Izuna looked around the office thinking Tobirama must be hiding somewhere inside it.

Hashirama who was startled out of his wits confusedly replied. " What?. Why are you looking for him?. "

Izuna hisses and pouts. " We're looking for him since the morning and its already late afternoon and we still can't find him.

Hashirama who looked relieved, answered happily. " Oh. You won't see Tobi for the next two weeks here!. "

Madara and Izuna freezes in shock. " Why? Did you give him a long mission?. " Madara asked suspiciously.

Hashirama laughs. " No. My Otouto and Mito–chan are going somewhere. I don't know where it is but its their yearly ritual, since Mito–chan married me. "

Madara and Izuna Iook at each other then stared down at Hashirama who's obliviously doing his paperwork. " Is it because of Tobirama’s shape shift?. "

Hashirama hums. " Maybe?. "

Madara grumbles. " Why can't you just tell us what's Tobirama's Shifter form anyway "

Hashirama looked up at his bestfriend and frown. " I promised Tobi. And I will never ever break that, Madara. "

Madara and Izuna grumbles and pouts. Its not fair that they had to investigate what Tobirama’s Shape-shift is. They don't think the Albino would be too pleased if they asked outright. So they had to resort to sniffing him whenever they can, to determine/guess as to what he is. It really bothered them that they don't know what kind of shifter a member of their Pride was...

Madara sigh. " Let's go, Izu. We can't really do anything. We might as well hope Mito–san and Tobirama would come back early. "

Izuna huffed in annoyance and jump out of the room's window. He didn't bother to wait for his brother, knowing Madara would just follow after him.

Madara turn to say goodbye at his bestfriend. " Sorry for his rudeness, Hashi. " he awkwardly says to his Hokage, fortunately Hashirama ( the idiot that he is ) only waved away Izuna’s rude behavior with a jolly laugh.

" Its okay, Madara. Just follow after him and make sure he doesn't maim any other Nin that might be on his path. " Madara paled and nodded, he threw a quick salute at his Kage, vanished using a Shunshin and quickly followed after his wayward brother.

~●~●~

A week later...

Madara and Izuna walks into the Hokage office again. They freezes for a second, when they saw the giant five tailed fox lounging on Hashirama’s feet. Its red tails possessively curled around the Hokage's legs and feet. An eyelid peeled open to reveal its dark eye and its smirk reminded them certainly of someone.

" Uh, Is that Mito–san?. " Izuna awkwardly asked. He slowly move to hide behind his brother as the fox yawn widely and revealed its rows of sharp teeth.

Hashirama beamed at them and petted the fox's head gently. " Yes, this is Mito–chan. I'm surprised she and Tobi went home early. They're usually gone for two weeks when they went vacationing.."  The Brothers watched amused as Mito delightedly pushed up her head onto her Husband’s hand.

But as soon as they realized what their Kage had said. Madara and Izuna had quickly scrambled out of the nearest window to find Tobirama.

And when they visited Tobirama in his Home laboratory. Instead of seeing the Albino. They saw a pretty Snow White Leopard deeply asleep beneath a massive desk....

Hours later...

When he awakens, Tobirama was surprised to see a Lion and Cheetah comfortably sandwiching him between them. When he tried to get out of their inappropriate cuddling fest. He found out he couldn't, because he was tightly squeezed in between the two brothers. His shifter form was smaller than them so it stands to reason he's weaker than them in this body.

Tobirama startled as Madara ( who was apparently awake ) suddenly licked his whiskers and Izuna laved his tongue on his forehead. He chuff uncomfortably as both brothers started to groom him. Their heavy weight on top of him made him breathless. He batted away Izuna ( when he tried to lick him on his mouth ) or Madara ( who tried to groom his prized fluffy tail ).

When they shifted on top of him —Tobirama yowled loudly when both of their combine weight nearly crushes him.

An angry hiss and a swipe of his clawed paws made both brothers quickly retreated. Tobirama hisses and spits in anger. With his ears pinned on the top of his head, his fur puffing up, he showed how he's so displeased with their disrespectful actions. He was nearly crush to death and no amount of the brother’s purring will make him forgive them easily.

He chuffed, shook his entire body and warily eyed the purring brothers. He tentatively step out underneath his working desk. But before he could get out successfully. Izuna’s wet nose pressing on his belly made him jump away in fright. He hisses and batted the Cheetah away from him. Quickly darting out of his laboratory, Tobirama ran as fast as he can towards the safety of his own room.

Unluckily, his paws never even graced his bedroom doorway as he was again pinned down by the Uchiha Brothers. Tobirama snarled and tried to bite any limbs within his reaching jaws. But Madara who clamp his jaw on his nape made him limp in an instant. His protesting meows are ignored when Madara started to dragged him out of his own house. He was dangling limply in the Lion's mouth and he's displeased at how people will perceive him when they witness he's being carried like an unruly cub.

Tobirama glowered at Izuna who ( even in his Cheetah form wore a disturbingly shit eating grin, ) cheerily walked alongside them.

The Albino curled tightly and bit his tail when he noticed many of the Konoha Citizens stared at them wide eyed and with gaping jaws. This is a humiliation the likes he had never wanted to experience...

When he transform back into his Human form he'll make sure the Brother will pay for this humiliation. Tobirama thought darkly; but first, he needed to conserve his energy because Summer in Konoha makes him pretty lethargic. His Snow Leopard form isn't really suited for Konoha's climate. He'll probably be pretty too out of it the moment Madara drag him to the Uchiha Compound....his thoughts trailed off as he yawn widely.

' Yes, he'll have his revenge...'

As soon as that idea crossed his mind. Tobirama didn't notice he slip into a deep sleep again. Never even knowing that when they arrived at the Uchiha Compound most Uchiha had scandalously stared at their smug Clan Head and Heir....

#madatobiizu #madatobi #izutobi #senju tobirama #uchiha madara #uchiha izuna #shifter au #naruto fanfic #founders fanfic #amsen writes

[lunamagicablu]

Il canto elfico di Galadriel Ai! laurië lantar lassi sùrinen, Yèni ùnòtimë ve ràmar aldaron! Yèni ve lintë yuldar avànier mi oromandi lisse-miruvòreva Andùnë pella, Vardo tellumar nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni òmaryo airetàri-lìrinen. Si' man i yulma nin enquantuva? An sì Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo ve fanyar màryat Elentàri ortanë ar ilyë tier undulàvë lumbulë; ar sindanòriello caito mornië i falmalinnar imbë met, ar hìsië untùpa Calaciryo mìri oialë. Sì vanwa nà, Ròmello vanwa, Valimar! Namàrië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar. Nai elyë hiruva. Namàrië! Ah! Simili ad oro cadono le foglie al vento, lunghi innumerevoli anni come le ali degli alberi! I lunghi anni sono fuggiti, come rapidi sorsi del dolce idromele, in aerei saloni oltre l'Occidente, sotto le azzurre volte di Varda ove le stelle tremolano al canto della sua voce, una voce sacra di regina. Chi riempirà ormai per me la coppa? Ahimè! la Vampa, Varda, Regina delle Stelle, ha innalzato le sue mani al Monte Semprebianco come nuvole che ascendono al cielo,ed ogni sentiero è immerso nella più cupa oscurità; fuori dalla grigia campagna, il buio sovrasta le onde spumeggianti che ci separano, e la nebbia ricopre per sempre i gioielli di Calicirya. Perso! Perso è ormai Valimar per coloro che vivono a oriente. Addio! Forse un dì tu troverai Valimar. E forse anche tu lo troverai un dì. Addio! Tolkien by SYLVIAsArt *************************** The elven song of Galadriel Ai! laurië lantar lassi sùrinen, Yèni ùnòtimë ve ràmar aldaron! Yèni ve lintë yuldar avànier you command me lisse-miruvòreva Andùnë pella, Vardo tellumar nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni òmaryo airetàri-lirinen. Si 'man i yulma nin enquantuva? An yes Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo ve fanyar màryat Elentàri ortanë ar ilyë tier undulàvë lumbulë; ar sindanòriello caito mornië i falmalinnar imbë met, ar hìsië untùpa Calaciryo mìri oialë. Yes vanwa nà, Ròmello vanwa, Valimar! Namàrië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar. Nai elyë hiruva. Namàrië! Ah! Like gold, the leaves fall in the wind, long countless years like the wings of trees! The long years have fled, like quick sips of sweet mead, in air salons beyond the West, under the blue vaults of Varda where the stars flicker at the song of his voice, a sacred queen's voice. Who will fill the cup for me now? Alas! the Vampa, Varda, Queen of the Stars, has raised her hands to Mount Everwhite like clouds that ascend to the sky, and every path is immersed in the darkest darkness; out of the gray countryside, darkness hangs over the foaming waves that separate us, and mist forever covers the jewels of Calicirya. Lost! Lost is now Valimar for those who live in the east. Goodbye! Maybe one day you will find Valimar. And maybe you too will find it some day. Goodbye! Tolkien by SYLVIAsArt

[x-authorship-x]

Holy shit! HI!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TORSHIP!! You’re an amazing writer and an even BETTER person. You’re so fucking creative because HELLO??? *POINTS AT YOUR AO3*  I feel bad if i don't do anything for your birthday so here's a few drabbles (more like rough drafts… www)  of shisui!! (some ideas maybe taken from your asks lol)

O1・Drawing, oh and shisui & obito r brothers

“Ne ne, Obito-nii?” Shisui tugged his older brother’s shirt, “What are you doing?” the scribbling sound stopped– Obito looked towards his younger brother; He was crouching, both his knees apart while his hands held each of his knees. “I’m drawing, wanna take a look?” Obito replied with a smile.

Shisui made a “waah~!” sound as he nodded, Obito shifted his knees as Shisui got a closer look– “Uhm,” He squinted at… something, “What is that?” Shisui pointed at it. Obito furrowed his eyebrows as he looked towards what Shisui was pointing at. “Where are you pointing…?” Obito asks– Shisui blinked rapidly, “What do you mean ‘where am I pointing’?!” Shisui said agasp, his hands covering his mouth.

“What do you mean ‘what do you mean’!” Obito’s lips pressed together,  “Nevermind…” Shisui grumbled as got back up. “Hey– Wait!” Obito shouted towards his younger brother.

O2・Time loop – kinda AU of ur AU (Not really)

Oh my god. I can’t take this fucking shit anymore. Everytime I die I return to this date and I don’t think I can take it anymore. The last loop was going so well aswell! 5 whole months! I was so close! Now we gotta do that AGAIN. I just wanna slit his throat out. I’m getting so impatient you don’t even understand.

Why why WHY? I can’t understand why I'm looping currently. Maybe I’ve been focusing on the wrong thing– I have all of the time in the world don’t I? … Wait, do I leave timelines behind me when I die? … Let’s not think about that. Goodbye journal! I’ll be writing in you tomorrow about all of the stuff and info about the last loop because I’m too high out of my mind to be thinking about that right now.

O3・idk missing nin shisui sounds cool so

Shisui grips at the piece of sheet he’s holding. His breathing was labored– “Are you sure this is the best decision?” Shisui mumbled, “Couldn’t we just… use my eyes on th–” Slam!

“That was a temporary decision. It’s either you kill the whole entire clan and–” Danzo waved the cane around, “–spare Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke or–” Danzo’s eyes pierced into Shisui’s skull. “–I get your little companion to do it.” Shisui’s eyes grew dull. “... Fine, Danzo-sama.” Shisui got up from where he was sitting and walked towards the exit.

His footsteps stopped– He took a deep breath, “This’ll be the last thing I’ll do for Konoha,” Shisui hissed. “Hmph. Watch your tongue, boy.” Danzo rebuked before Shisui walked towards the exit again.

Extra ideas:

Deja Vu by Uki Violeta with Uchiha Shisui

Golden Age by Rin Penrose with Kakashi/Shisui + Royalty AU

Modern AU where Shisui is in a band with the rest of squad 2– he’s an singer + a guitarist (maybe a bassist?)

SVSSS but Shisui

Okay that’s all i’ve spent an hour writing all of these lol (I need to start writing faster~)

- N

Hey N-anon! Thank you so much, you're so lovely and sweet ❤️❤️❤️ I hope you also have a great day/night~

These are so fun! (Especially the angst haha) ObiShi bros are such cuties and I recognise these AUs (the spirit of the thought at least) haha! Thank you, I'm charmed 😅✨ Ooooh, a band AU is such a vibe!!! I really appreciate the time you've taken to write this out, wow!

Thanks for being such a gem, N-anon ❤️

#torship #torship talks #ask #n-anon #anon #HBD #GTKM #shisui #shisui drabbles #shisui fic ideas!

[wikimediauncommons]

file: Wave Goodbye NIN 8 28 09 (3912160306).jpg

#music #humanity

[superpandapoetry]

Shadow and Bone

One bed (Jesper)

Dating Jesper

You are done for (Kaz)

My heart beats for you (Jesper)

The good in goodbye (Jesper)

The apple falls far from the tree (Jesper)

Without you on my mind (Kaz)

Forgotten (Kaz)

School (Jesper)

Surprise (Jesper)

Gemstone (Jesper)

To love Kaz

Nine long years

Deadly fever (Kaz)

When am i going to lose you (kaz)

Sweet dreams (Kaz)

Aura (Nin,Kaz)

Can't shake the devil (Kaz)

Blood river (Kaz)

Crush (Kaz)

Stray (kaz)

Take it slow (Kaz)

Bishop (Kaz)

Come running (Kaz)

Blood on your lies (kaz)

Inside Job (Kaz,Inej)

My kid (Six of crows)

Reflection (Kaz)

Delicate (Kaz)

Little gremlin (Six of crows)

Death do us part (Kaz)

Short (Jesper)

misinformation (jesper)

Sister (Jesper)

Weak link (Kaz)

The Pie (Kaz, Inej)

Love (Kaz)

Dark days (Kaz)

Clothes (Jesper)

Inked (Kaz)

Give me a minute (Inej)

Jester (Six Of Crows)

Bookshop (jesper)

Don't let go (Kaz)

Mans bestfriend (kaz)

Heartless (Kaz)

Sick (Jepser)

Boyfriend (jesper)

Matchmaker (jesper)

Pain Killer (Kaz)

Kaz Masterlist

More of ^

Dense (Kaz)

The little ear(Kaz)

Home (Kaz)

Milo (Six Crows)

Red Ribbon (Kaz)

Peace (Kaz)

Warmth (Nina)

Reminds me of home (Jesper)

Pentice (Jesper)

Hope (Kaz)

He didn't care (Kaz)

That sick (Kaz)

Believe me (Kaz)

Touch (Kaz)

Songs (Kaz)

Need (Kaz)

Behind closed doors (Smut, Kaz)

Unraveling (Kaz)

Flowers (Kaz)

Magic on a canvas (Kaz)

Take a hint (Kaz)

Halcyon (Kaz)

Mori (Kaz)

Sit a while (Kaz)

Bet on it (Kaz)

No you can't (Inej)

A flower (Kaz)

Crows Feather (Kaz)

When the waves crush over (Kaz)

She kept him human (Kaz)

Stubborn (Kaz)

[power-strength-appetite]

Trent and Robin onstage through the years, starting with shitty screencaps from Closure

Fragility Tour - slightly more pixels!

We're into the 21st century - pixels no longer a problem

Here's a rare moment you actually see them talking onstage

2018 version of Burn.

There are many great moments in the CBI version of Piggy. This was their last show together to date, 15 December 2018.

#trent reznor #robin finck #nine inch nails #trent and robin through the years #self destruct tour #fragility #nin|ja #wave goodbye #cold black and infinite #24 years later #trent loves robin #see you in cleveland

[amazeofmonochrome]

#Nine Inch Nails #Trent Reznor #Wave Goodbye #2009 #live #nin #ripped

[man-kills-everything]

Nine Inch Nails - Ruiner

#Ruiner #NIN #Nine Inch Nails #NIN Gifs #NINGifs #Nine Inch Nails Gifs #The Downward Spiral #NIN Live #Nine Inch Nails Live #NIN Ruiner #Nine Inch Nails Ruiner #Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral #NIN The Downward Spiral #Trent Reznor #Wave Goodbye Tour #Wave Goodbye 2009 #Wave Goodbye #NIN 2009 #Nine Inch Nails 2009

[sup-hoes-its-me]

Falling II (Kakashi x Reader)

A/N: part two of the hanahaki AU. Ive really been struggling getting back into writing, it took me nearly 6 months to get out this two parter and i'm genuinely sorry for that. Essentially in this kakashi finds out about ur hanahaki disease and you struggle with a tough decision to make.

Word count: 5500

____

Y/N and her team arrived home once again, but not without difficulties. Of course, she was one of the Hokage's most trusted shinobi and could complete any mission successfully, that didn't mean her team hadn't had their ass kicked a couple times along the way. Normally a mission as easy as this one would have been a breeze, if not for the sickness plaguing her.

She'd seen it all. Poisons of all kinds on every weapon imaginable, people from every nation with all types of chakra nature, bugs and wildlife you wouldn't imagine. The problem recently was this pain in her chest, it held her back from doing her job properly.

"Y/N, if you're getting too old to do this kind of thing, you can always advise Kakashi," Shikamaru would tell her offhandedly when she'd collapse after each battle, coughing and gasping for breath. He didn't understand what was wrong with her, didn't need to. Something was seriously fucked up and she needed help. He told her to see a medical nin, but she always refused.

She would never go to the hospital, not for Gai or Shikamaru, or anyone else that expressed their concerns. She was fine the way she was, and if it got worse then so be it. She would soldier on until the very moment she couldn't muster the strength anymore.

Perhaps that was out of fear, that or pride, the woman didn't know. It didn't matter anyway. Chances are she was going to die. All she wanted to do was cherish the time she had left, going on missions and seeing her friends.

Her team walked her through the gates before going their separate ways. She was the leader so she would report their findings to Kakashi for the day. They were probably hungry and tired after such a tedious journey, so she was happy to see them off to take care of themselves. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and took a deep breath, feeling the wood restrict her chest from inflating with air as she waved them goodbye with a strained smile.

With a shaky breath, she made her way up to the Hokage tower, passing by the guards and each doorway. She didn't need permission to enter, even at this late hour. Normally a shinobi might wait until morning to report on their mission when the Hokage was ready for guests, despite him staying up a lot of nights working anyway. Whenever he was there, she was welcome as well.

Not that the woman wanted to visit him like that anymore. He was far too busy to listen to her stories, or hear her complain about one thing or another. She stayed at home alone, imagining the days when he would sit down with her after missions and get barbeque, on her of course, that cheapskate. Maybe she could have made an effort to find time to be together outside of work, but she felt guilty. It was selfish to take him away from the village when she felt like being needy.

He had plenty of friends anyway. What made her so special? What made it okay for her to just waltz into the room and visit him, even if he was drowning in work? God, she just felt so pathetic as her eyes rose up the door and she did her best to compose herself. Straighten her back and pinch her cheeks in an attempt to bring some healthy color to her face

Deep breaths.

"Kakashi?" she rasped, knocking on the office door which was only slightly ajar. Her voice was hoarse after walking up all those stairs, a feeling similar to collapse creeping up to her. She was just so tired, with the pain bearing heavy on her entire form. Her hand went to grab at the wooden doorframe, supporting herself as she waited for a reply.

"Y/N?” he asked from within the depths of the Hokage’s office, littered high with boxes of paperwork and reports. “What’s wrong?”

Cough.

"I-I'm okay. I came to give you the reports from the last mission. We just got back," she told him, taking a step inside the room and softly shutting the door behind her. He was relaxed behind his desk, swallowed by paperwork but still just chilling in his big Hokage chair. The lights of Konoha's nightlife sparkled behind him through the round window, and she admired the way they lit up his concerned eyes.

He really was the most beautiful man, even after all this time. Especially with the light highlighting the sharpness of his jaw and the boldness of his eyes. She watched as he turned his head, undeniably soft hair bounced utop his head, something she found quite charming. Her heart raced at the thought, and she had to fight down the heat rushing up her neck. Her chest ached as the seconds flew by, but she didn’t think it was serious enough to warrant leaving. Not yet.

Wheeze.

The harder she tried to take in a full deep breath, the more she began to crumble.

"No, something is wrong," he shook his head and pressed on, "Something has been wrong for months now. You're sick."

She felt her cheeks begin to heat up under his interrogation. He was right, and she should have known he was going to mention it sooner or later. Surely he'd noticed a long time ago, but he kept his mouth shut out of respect for her. She replied back shortly, "I just have allergies. It's nothing serious."

He dismissed her quickly, waving his hand at the mere thought of it just being allergies. He had allergies, everyone has allergies. These weren't it, and if they were, Tsunade would have fixed her up with a prescription years ago. "Cut the act. I know you."

What was she to say? She felt at a loss for words. It wasn't like she could just explain her bouts of hanahaki. He wouldn't understand, and he would no doubt push her to make a decision once he knew the severity of the situation. If only she could pretend to be normal just until she was done with this meeting. If only he would give up and stop pestering her, maybe everything would be okay.

But that’s not how things work.

"Just leave it alone. We have mission reports to go over."

He was tempted to do just that and leave her alone about the entire thing, since she seemed to want to be difficult about it. But how could he when she was sicklier every day, and he could see the way she yearned for a full deep breath. It had been a few months now, and it was getting exponentially worse with each week that passed.

He was worried. So worried, he thought he might escort her to the hospital himself with all the power he possessed.

"Y/N, you can tell me anything, you know that? If you need to talk-"

Wheeze. She hated that he cared so much. It made everything so much harder.

"Kakashi, please," she coughed out, pressing a hand to her chest in an attempt to appease these pains she was feeling. Unsurprisingly, nothing helped. She let her bag drop from her shoulder to the ground as her arms and knees struggled to hold the weight. "Oh god, not now."

"What's happening?" The hokage questioned and he moved from his seat, rushing toward her in an attempt to break her fall. He narrowly missed as her knees hit the floor with a painful thud.

She hunched over as shockwaves of torment climbed through her chest, into her lungs, throat, and mouth. Blood rose to her tongue and she spat that out onto the floor, staining the carpet red. The bitter metallic taste only agitated her nausea, stomach turning so strongly her head began to spin.

This was bad. This was really truly bad. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. He had triggered an attack and now she was trapped in his presence.

The facade as she knew it was falling apart.

She coughed harshly toward the ground, saliva and blood dripping from her lips, staining the carpet. Tears welled up in her eyes and she sobbed through the pains. More coughing ensued and she tried to swallow back the contents, she really did. It worked at first, the rotten petals being swallowed into her stomach.

"We need to get you to Sakura right away," her friend demanded, the panic obvious in his voice. He stared down at her like she had two heads, scared to death of what was happening. He didn't know the extent of her suffering, what she must have been hiding from him. If this is what she was going through on a regular basis due to his negligence...he couldn’t forgive himself.

He went to pick her up from the ground, cradle her to his chest and run her to the infirmary for help, just as he had before when she was broken, only this time instead of embracing his kindness, Y/N used the last of her strength to shove him away. He sat back beside her and felt his hands itching to do something, to rescue her from this pain. "Don't be stupid, Y/N. We have to go."

"No. Sakura can't help. No one can help," the woman moaned between coughs. She longed to feel his touch, for him to carry her off to the hospital and hold her close to his chest like that. Like the moment she found herself beginning to fall in love with him. It would only cause the attack to grow worse though. Every move he made and second he spent caring for her would bring about these issues. "Just sit with me until it's over."

He wasn't convinced. How could he be? She was coughing up blood right in front of him. Was he supposed to take that lightly? Still, he found himself sinking to his knees beside his friend, waiting with a blunt absence of much patience if any at all..

The flowers started shortly after. Red and pink petals coming out in dense bunches, coated in blood and saliva from the tears along her throat. She watched as they fell to the floor within his gaze. He made no sound but she knew he was shocked from the way his entire body tensed at her side.

Thankfully, it was almost over, the finale just at the back of her throat.

A rose stem finally poked up and hit the roof of her mouth. With a tentative touch, the woman reached her fingers in, pinching the wooden stick and slowly pulling out the thorny branch complete with a bright red rose on the end. She gagged as it came up, fear of vomit coming with it. Miserably, Y/N held the branch out in front of her and cried harder as she felt the fit finally subside, allowing air into her lungs again.

"Y/N…"

She couldn't stop herself from crying now, snot dripping from her nose and tears from the chin. How embarrassing that he was to see her like this. It was all supposed to be a secret, and he was the one real person she was desperately trying to keep it from. So far she'd dodged him anytime she felt the attacks coming up. Hiding in storefronts and launching herself into bushes just to avoid this entire situation.

"How long has this been going on?! Why did you keep this from me?" He asked, anger rising up in his throat through a thick veil of confusion. Despite being a calm and collected person, he cared deeply for a childhood friend, as anyone would. He could feel his heart pumping in his chest, faster and faster the longer he thought about her predicament.

Y/N was dying. Not just sick, but dying. Gone forever in the blink of an eye. The tale was as old as time, a tragic romance full of angst and hurt and pain and loss. Jiraiya even wrote a novel about the disease, as much as it seemed like a work of creative genius, the harsh reality of it all slapped him in the face. This entire time, while he was in his office dozing off and signing papers mindlessly, he had been watching her slowly march toward her grave and hadn't even known.

He felt ashamed. He felt angry. Burning up inside at himself for being so ignorant. For letting himself get caught up so deeply in his own world that he couldn’t see something so heartbreaking happening right in front of him. He was so tired, they all were, but that was no excuse.

She couldn't look at him. Not now. Preferably, never again. Instead she turned away from him and shut her eyes, imagining what expressions might be running across his features. She pleaded softly, barely loud enough for him to hear amongst her harsh breaths and cries.

"Please don't."

"Don't what? Worry about you? Want to know what's happening? Why you have Hanahaki and haven't seen Tsunade yet?"

She shivered. He cared. So much. It felt wrong, so guilty and malicious, to keep such important secrets from him. "I can't, Kakashi. You wouldn't understand."

Maybe he couldn't understand, that was a good possibility, but that didn't mean he wouldn't try and empathize. They were best friends. At least, he would consider them so. It stung to know she hadn’t confided in him. Did she really mistrust him so strongly that she hid this from him? He scolded himself. Of course she wasn’t coming to him with all her problems, he was Hokage. They weren’t soldiers hiding out in each other’s rooms at night, gossiping about this and that. He was her boss, a busy, burdened man. She was a soldier, never home and living off food pills.

He pressed his hands firmly over his eyes and groaned. He wanted to be a hero, protecting her just as he did before his promotion. Now, he felt weak, pathetically stupid watching her crumbling as blood and spit dribbled down her chin.

"Why not? I understand that if you let this get any worse you'll die. Is that not enough?"

A surge of courage ran through her as she lifted her eyes to meet his. They were dim, burdened and exhausted. It had been a long time since she’d seen him look so defeated, and this time it was completely her doing. Y/N grimaced and looked back at the flowers on the carpet.

Her words hit him clear in the chest as she whispered, "I'm just afraid. I'm scared, Kashi. It hurts so much."

"Why don't you do something about it?"

"Because I can't confess to him, but at the same time, I can't lose him forever. I just can't," she sighed, "I need him."

"This man...Y/N, he can't be worth more than your entire life. Be rational."

She smiled bitterly and shook her head. "That's what you won't understand. To me, he is worth dying for. That has been true even before all this mess. Even before this sickly love that cursed me. I’d give up everything, even my life, just to love him until the end of my time here.” She sighed, swiping away a stray tear in her eye. “I never knew love could be like this. I loved my parents, my friends, boyfriends and crushes, but nothing can compare to how I feel now.”

Kakashi flicked his eyes up to the ceiling and held his breath. His chest was tight at her words, sickness rolling over him. He wanted to press his hands over his ears and ignore her, drown out the thought of her intense love for someone other than him. It was wrong to be jealous, to be so expectant that she was going to fall in love with him when he put in such little effort to sweep her off her feet. He had no right to be upset.

Yet he was. He wanted to cry. His best friend and the love of his life was going to die because she was in love. With someone else.

Fuck.

“Have you ever known a love like that, Kakashi?”

“I can’t say I have.”

Only, that was a lie.

He couldn't imagine a man that would be so high and mighty she might die for him, give up everything she ever had just to keep him in her heart until her last painful moments. He wanted to yell at her, scold her for being so stupid and reckless.

Yet, he knew love was hard to comprehend. It took him years to come to terms with his own feelings, and even now he felt himself stumbling down the wrong path. He understood what she was going through to an extent, and it only made him feel worse. Maybe that's why he was so desperate to know, to change her mind.

"Who is it?" Kakashi asked finally, after a moment of contemplation.

"You know it's not that simple."

"It really is though. You used to tell me everything."

"It’s just not the same anymore,” she confessed, and he felt his heart crack into more tiny pieces. Was what they had before gone? Did he ruin everything? “I hid this from you for a reason. I didn’t want to bother you with something so intense. You have so much work to do, and I can handle myself-"

“You can’t just handle something like this! You need help.” He groaned inwardly. It would be just his luck that the woman of his affections not only was desperately and hopelessly in love with another man, but she refused to communicate. Why wouldn't she just listen to him? The answer was right there. She even had two options to choose from. "Just tell the man and get it over with. If he rejects you, then you would be better off without him anyway."

"Ignorance is bliss. I'd rather die than feel the heartbreak knowing he never loved me and then live the rest of my life with a missing piece from my heart. I’d be half the person I am today without him."

Fucking stupid, he thought. Poetic bullshit. He clenched his fists at his sides in an attempt to release the tension that was building up in his muscles. His heart pounded in his chest as he felt the blood pressure rise in his veins. His gaze couldn't help but flicker toward the bunches of hydrangeas and the rose stem on his office floor, pools of blood sunken into the carpet. The thought of her enduring this pain for so long, all alone. He was fucking sick.

"Please, you have to do something. At least see Tsunade."

"I'll go see her, but I doubt much will come of it."

"Thank you," he mumbled, "A little peace of mind knowing the best medical nin in the world is monitoring you."

She nodded, her eyes trailing up to meet his face once again. He looked positively heartbroken, and for a moment, she was tempted to confess it all to him. To leap into the unknown and see what happened.

But she was never one to take risks.

Soft words fell from her lips, nothing else to say but a bitter apology.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi."

"I'm sorry, too."

______

Y/N kept up with her promise, visiting Tsunade in the hospital upon special request. Normally, the woman would refuse an appointment in her retirement, but this was upon recommendation from the Hokage so she found it quite difficult to refuse. He wasn’t the type to make a fuss of anything, after all. It would have been just as easy to see Sakura, but the Hokage and his Hanahaki kunoichi doubted the young girl would have any clue about the ancient disease.

As she sat in the waiting room, she anticipated the worst to come. Tsunade's judgement. A terrible diagnosis. Even worse treatment options. She wished that just maybe the old woman had a way to fix it all without taking away her memories. It was a baseless dream, but she could hope.

"L/N, come in," the medical nin voice called from down the hall and shakily she stood from the chair. Her knees felt weak and her head was spinning with thoughts. She tried to smile at the woman as she entered the room, but instead an ugly, awkward grimace came out.

"I'm not one to make assumptions, Y/N. I'm here to help you," she drawled, her eyes running slowly up and down the younger woman, examining, "But with the way Kakashi demanded I see you immediately, well, you can see why I might be coming to some wild conclusions."

"It's really not what you would think." Her breathy words were hoarse, and she cleared her throat in her hand to make it easier. "It's in my chest. It's um-" How could she explain this properly without sounding silly or dramatic. "Maybe you should just check it out for yourself."

"Take a seat."

Her hands hovered an inch or so above Y/N's chest, a green light emanating from her palms. It only took a moment, a long moment of silence and concentrating before her eyes widened. She leaned in closer, as if to check again, just in case she sensed something incorrectly.

"There's something in there. It's...it's alive."

Y/N coughed into her sleeve, not quite at the beginning of a fit of hacking but enough to hurt and sting her throat. When she lowered her arm, the unmistakable sight of blood stained the fabric. Something stuck to the back of her throat, and she felt herself beginning to gag. Carefully, she reached into her mouth and grasped the loose object lodged there. A rose bud, pink but slick with crimson blood.

She displayed the flower for her elder to see, and Tsunade sucked in a tight breath.

"I've never seen this before, not in all my life, Y/N. I've heard rumors of it happening in small villages but I didn't think-"

She rasped, "It was real? Yeah, me neither."

"How long?"

"About four months now."

"How could you wait this long? I've never heard of someone lasting more than six months without treatment!" She exclaimed, taking a step back. "It's probably done irreversible damage to your lungs."

She sighed, "I know."

Tsunade turned her back to the girl and walked to the cabinet, pulling a tube and syringe from the drawer. "I need to take your blood, and we will have to schedule extensive scans and tests for later. I-I just can't believe you of all kunoichi would disregard your health like this," she scolded, working to tie a tourniquet around the young woman's arm. "And to think we considered you as the sixth Hokage. Unbelievable."

Wow, that was a low blow, but she rightfully deserved it.

Y/N knew what she had done was wrong and stupid, but she hadn't changed her mind on what she wanted to do. She would let Tsunade do her testing, get some information and research done for healing others in the future, but she would refuse treatment. She hadn't given up on her stance.

She didn't even flinch as the needle pierced her vein and blood was pulled through. "I'm going to die soon, Tsunade."

"Don't be so dramatic. We have a cure-"

"Not an option."

She raised a brow, peering up at the woman for a second from her handywork. "Not an option?! Don't be fucking stupid."

"I don't want it," she repeated herself firmly, despite the weakness in her voice, "We all know the tales. The terrible things that happen to a person's emotions and memories during the treatment. I just can't go through with it."

"Well, you do know quite a few people are going to have a problem with that, don't you?" A couple people came to mind, including the obvious ones like Kakashi and Shizune and her team, even if they'd grown independent of her by now. Her chest burned at the thought, and another cough ran through her.

"Doesn't matter. I don't want a life without my memories. They are a part of me. He is a part of me."

Tsunade tucked the vial of blood in her coat pocket and exhaled. In the stories, it was common for people with Hanahaki to react this way, to pick this option. It was cruel, but that is what love does. She could understand the inherent need to stay close to her lover, after all, the medical nin had lost the greatest loves of her entire life over the years and suffered every bit afterwards.

Certainly, she could understand the fear Y/N held in her heart. But letting herself die over it? It was tough to just watch that happen, yet she couldn't make the decision for her.

"It's him, isn't it?"

"Depends on who you mean."

"Don't play me for an idiot. It's Kakashi Hatake. It's been obvious since I became Hokage, you fool. Why do you think I assigned you so many missions together?" Y/N only ducked her head, and the medical nin took that as confirmation of her suspicions. She rolled her eyes at the obvious nature of the entire thing. This really was foolish, just like this young woman. "You need to tell him."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

She confessed, "I'm scared. What if he doesn't reciprocate? Wouldn't I be a dummy then? Going through all of this suffering for nothing?"

“Is your life worth nothing to you?”

“It is, but I just can’t lose him, not when I have the choice,” Y/N told her elder with a deep sigh. “I’d like to die happy. I’d like to die with Kakashi at my side. Even if he only cares for me as a friend, I can still pretend with my last dying breaths that he loved me the same way I loved him.”

“And if he does love you?”

“He doesn’t.”

“You have no idea-”

“Kakashi will never love me in that way. There’s no point, and you can’t change my mind.”

“Fine, choose to live the rest of your life in agony because of your cowardice,” the blond put bluntly, turning her back to her patient. “But just know, whether Kakashi loves you romantically or not, he will miss you when you die. He will mourn your loss like no other. He will cry for nights on end and he will beg whatever fucking diety there is out there to bring you back to him.”

“Tsunade-”

“Trust me, you will never forget this kind of loss. It sticks with you, it haunts you, it makes you consider terrible, awful things just for a chance to see them again. Kakashi can’t lose someone else, Y/N,” she said, her head turned downward. “For fuck’s sake, girl, don’t be so selfish.”

With that, the woman left the room and shut the door harshly behind her. Y/N fell back on the patient’s table and shut her eyes, feeling tears brim the edges of her eyes. Was Tsunade right? Would Kakashi really react that way? She couldn’t possibly imagine him crying himself to sleep over someone as simple as her.

But after hearing such intense words, she wondered if maybe it was better to confess after all. Just to save her friend from a world of heartbreak. The decision would be hard to make, but she had time left. She still had so much time to make up her mind.

____

It was nearing the end, with the branches wrapping around her ribs and threatening to penetrate her organs. Y/N could tell that it was almost time to say goodbye, and each night as she lay in the hospital bed staring out the window, she cried. She didn't know if she was doing the right thing, letting herself die. Her friends begged her to do something about it, to save herself but she just couldn't. No matter how many long nights she spent contemplating everything, she couldn’t go through with the surgery.

The thought of that void in her heart forgetting Kakashi would make...it was too painful. Yes, she was terrified, and the pain meds they gave her could only do so much. She was in agony, and would be until her last moments. Kakashi sat at her side, book in hand but his eyes rarely went to scan the pages. Instead he watched her silently. Bravely. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t let her know how terrible he was feeling inside and make the whole experience worse for her. It was different dying on the battlefield, so quick you don’t know what’s happening to you until it’s already done.

Unlike now.

The researchers would come into the room every now and then to take notes on her condition, and the doctors would run through to make sure she was comfortable with what pain medication they had. Everything still hurt though, just not as bad as it had been before. She had a living, growing bush of roses in her chest. No amount of morphine could dull that ache.

“Do you think Gai will stop by again tonight?” she asked, feeling her heart beginning to race just at the thought of that loud mouthed, energetic fool coming to see her. While he could not match the somber atmosphere completely, he did try. “And Shizune?”

“I’m not sure.”

She turned her head to the side and coughed aggressively, blood splattering on the clean bed linens. She cleared her throat, spitting up the twigs that got stuck in her teeth. “Please, tonight, I need you to gather everyone. My old teammates, Gai, Naruto, Shizune. Bring them to me one last time.”

One last time? No. He shook his head. That couldn’t be right. She had more time left.

He reached over to gently cradle her cheek in his palm. She shivered at the feeling of his calloused fingertips against her neck, and at the intimate touch she couldn't help but start having a fit. Her lungs seemed to be giving up on her as she coughed up flower after flower, littering her lap with sticky wet flora.

He still held her through it all. After all, he'd come every day and seen her at her worst. He might not be her lover, but she trusted him enough to hold her as she died so agonizingly slow. He had duties as Hokage, yes, but he would spend his days rushing work just to spend all night with her. The bags under his eyes darkened with each near sleepless night.

He cursed the man who caused this disturbing illness. He hadn't even had the decency to visit her this entire time. After a month in the hospital, Kakashi asked for her visitor logs to see if there was some clue as to who was doing this to her. Only a few men around her age had visited: Gai, Genma, and Kakashi himself. It was hard to believe she'd developed romantic feelings for either of the other two men. She just never seemed close enough to them.

Maybe he was just dimwitted and hadn't noticed her attachment to someone else. Maybe it was Genma, who knows. She wasn't confessing to anyone. At this point, if he could get her to confess her undying love to even Orochimaru and see her live another day, he’d be content.

When she was done coughing, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and groaned, leaning her head further into his touch. It provided comfort, enough to ease the pain even a fraction. Her chest struggled to expand now, being full of thick restricting branches.

"Kakashi, I don't think I can do this much longer," she wheezed.

"I know."

Maybe it was because her death wasn't sudden, that he had time to prepare for it, but he didn't feel tears in his eyes nor did he have a knot in his throat. He simply felt hopeless. He would lose another person he loved, viciously continuing an endless cycle of loss.

God, he loved her. For as long as he could remember, he had his eyes on her. Perhaps not always in the romantic sense, but he wanted her companionship. It wasn't until he started having daily nightmares about her brutal death, whether it be by enemy or his own hand that he knew he was in too deep. He cared too much, and his desire to protect her interfered in his life. To make sure not a single bad thing ever happened to her again, it burdened him in his work and personal life. Ever since the abduction all those years ago, he realized he loved her, that he needed her to live until they grew old and bickered with each other in the retirement home. He had so many wants, so many fever dreams of a happy ending that would never come true.

It broke his heart.

"Are you sure you don't want the treatment? It's not too late," he pleaded, even though he knew the answer.

"I've accepted what's about to happen. You have too, haven't you?" she tried to smile, “You were always the most mature out of all of us, you know.”

Not really. He would consider it anyone but him. Kurenai was a mother with a wise soul. Y/N was a strong warrior who didn’t like to play games. Gai was a gymnast who never stopped grinding once in his entire life. Kakashi compared to them was just a silly man stuck in the past, reading his romance novels and posing as a leader.

"Please, change your mind," he tried once again, but she just ignored him, looking off into the room mindlessly. He felt his shoulders tense, and he tried to quell the anger that was bubbling in his stomach. He found himself spilling his thoughts faster than he could filter them out. “Look at me for once. Y/N. Just look me in the eyes and tell me you want to die. That is what you really want?”

She bit back a few tears as she turned her head and met his eyes. Her lips opened to say something, but she quickly shut them and turned her eyes away. She wasn’t suicidal. She wanted so badly to live, more than anything else in the world she wanted to live her full life with her family.

He nodded, confirming what he already thought.

He groaned, "Fuck, I'm tired of pretending this is okay. That you dying for some loser is something I'm okay with."

"Kakashi-"

"No, you need to think about me for once. Me, alright? Have you ever considered my feelings for one second?" She pulled her head away from his hand and turned away, shame masking her eyes. Honestly, she hadn't even thought about him as a friend. All this time, she only considered him a possible lover. Even after her conversation with Tsunade, she still only considered her own feelings. “I’ve spent years putting you on this pedestal. I’ve protected you the best I could from rogue ninja, terrorists, fuck, even resurrected Uchiha freaks. It feels like my entire life has revolved around you, and now you do this to me? You take away a piece of my heart so easily?”

She sniffled, lifting her hand to rub her eyes of any stray tears. “I don’t know what to say.”

"Exactly. You are selfish," he said. He shut his eyes for a moment to take a breath. "Will you consider what I have to say?"

"I'll try."

"I have been thinking a lot lately about this entire thing and it's all been so simple this entire time,” he muttered, his eyes rolling up to the ceiling for a moment as he worded his next statement. “We can be a family, Y/N. You and I. I know it might seem strange, the thought of coming home to my dumbass and a bunch of talking dogs, but I promise you, I’ll do whatever I can to make you happy." The man reached out and took her hand in his. Her mouth felt dry as she processed his words, confusion and denial running thick in her mind. "If you get this treatment and you survive...maybe you can try loving me, because I can't give up on you."

"Kakashi, that's not how this works."

"Why not? Why can't we have a happy ending?"

“I-I don’t know.”

“Just be happy with me,” he pressed, squeezing her hand tightly in his. “I’d do anything for you, I’m just asking you to do one thing. Why can’t you just forget about that other bastard?”

She felt herself brimming over with emotion. A knife could cut through the tension in the hospital room and she felt the tears gather in the corners of her eyes. She squeezed them shut as the truth finally broke free. "Because you're the reason this is happening to me. You caused this, and if you don't love me right here and right now as we are, I can never get better."

"You’re telling me-" he paused, a deep and tired groan leaving his lips. "Love you?! Of course I love you! What do you think all this was about? Why do you think I've been here every night mourning for you?” He questioned, standing from his seat and taking a step back. He ran a heavy hand through his hair as his eyes wandered the room. A strange mix of relief and frustration ran cold through his body as he thought about the mess they were in. “This whole time, I thought you knew. I thought you were in love with some other man and letting me down easy," he told her.

The next breath she took was suddenly a lot easier.

"Oh."

She leaned back in the bed, letting her empty head hit the pillows. All this pain, all this worrying, for nothing. She felt like the biggest idiot in the world. A huge coward for keeping this to herself when it could have been resolved months ago, when the first petal rose up in her throat. Yet, how was she supposed to know? He was a nice guy, she just assumed he acted similarly with everyone.

“I just wish you would have said something to me. Any hint at how you felt. All this suffering was for nothing,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Despite being elated that the woman of his dreams was in fact in love with him all this time, he was exasperated and tired. The emotional turmoil everyone was going through because of this foolish relationship was embarrassing now that everything was seemingly resolved.

“I’m sorry, Kakashi. I don’t know what to say. I was just too afraid of rejection. I was so scared because I knew I was dying, but the thought of losing you, Kakashi, I couldn’t stand it. I would rather die than lose those feelings,” Y/N explained. Her hands quivered in her lap as she confessed such deeply emotional thoughts to him, things she had kept buried inside her for months now. “I’ve spent years not acknowledging it. I only realized after you stood there waiting for me in that terrible storm on the day I nearly lost my life how much you meant to me. You were the home I wanted to come back to.”

He could only stare at her weakly, his lips turned down in a pitiful wince. They really were a pathetic bunch, dancing around their feelings for so long it led to something so disastrous as this. He hadn’t confided in a single person his feelings for the woman. He was a private person. He just wondered if maybe he had told someone, maybe if he confessed to her all those years ago when he fell in love for the first time, things would be different.

“I was serious when I said we could be a family. I know it’s not much, and I know I’m busy with work most days, but I would like to try,” he said. “I can take care of you, Y/N, for the rest of our lives. All I’ve ever wanted was to take care of you, to wrap you up and protect you from this awful world. I’m just so disappointed I was the one that put you in this position.”

“It’s okay now.” Her hand reached out to grab ahold of his, hanging limply at his side. She gave it a light squeeze, still absent of the majority of her strength, although it was slowly beginning to sink back in. “I’m excited to see what you and I become. Kakashi, you truly are the love of my life."

"The feeling is mutual. I guess it always has been, huh?"

She nodded, letting her soft lips curl into a weak smile just for him, just for this moment they shared together.

“I’m going to get a nurse and tell them what happened. They probably want to check on you.”

With a nod from her end, he walked out the room and into the hall, waving down one of the many nurses that he’d seen working at her bedside in the past few weeks. Fearing for the worst, she shot him a concerned look as the blood drained quickly from her face, “Lord Hokage, is there something I can help you with?” the young girl asked hesitantly, a bit of a shake in her words.

“Seems things are improving now.”

Her brows softened with sympathy. Their poor Kakashi, holding onto hope that his long time best friend wasn’t going to die. It was heartbreaking to see really. Painfully, she replied, “Improving? That’s impossible, she’s a Hanahaki patient, the only way to-”

“Yes, I know. And like I said, she’s improving now.”

“What do you mean-” It was as if the gears had shifted in her head. Her eyes widened and her cheeks reddened, “Oh my Lord, let me get the CNO.” She stumbled over her words as she started down the hall in the opposite direction. He watched as her lips giddily curled up into a smile. After a moment, he grinned to himself and leaned against the wall, shutting his eyes for just a moment.

Nurses came rushing down the hall almost as quickly as the girl left and rushed in the room, leaving him behind to sink into his thoughts. He had yet to really process the situation but it was finally sinking in now. How much this woman loved him, how much a single person could care about him when he thought he was alone on this earth. He felt a flutter in his stomach.

Maybe life wasn’t so bad after all.

A/N: that's it, guys! Tell me what you think and if you want more Kakashi content in the future! Have a wonderful day!

#kakashi x reader #kakashi hatake #kakashi oneshot #kakashi hatake x reader #naruto x reader #naruto oneshot #naruto fanfic #x reader #oneshot #naruto #naruto scenario #kakashi scenario #kakashi fanfic #kakashi fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic

[im-lad-ris]

Stars in Your Eyes: Tauriel X Reader

Prompt: “You’re back!!!!!! Soft Tauriel x reader where they celebrate the Feast of Starlight together please ❤️❤️❤️❤️”

Submitted by: anonymous

Words: ~930

A/N: JEEZ this is so late, and I absolutely apologize. I have been dealing with a lot of bs recently and had to deal with writer’s block on top of it. I hope this come off as too stilted or anything, cause I feel rusty. NOT Edited (yet)

Mellon nin: my friend

---------

“If you don’t stop moving, I’m going to pinch you” you mutter as Tauriel sit in the chair in front of you. You had been helping her get dressed up for the Feast of Starlight and had just started to put in her little hair clips that, when hit with a flash of moonlight at just the right angle, seemed to light up.

She had asked you to help her get ready a few days before the actual feast, knowing you probably would not be interested in going yourself. You had gone every year in your childhood, but as you grew you realized it was always the same. Childhood memories of the nights spent sitting at a table staring at the stars flashed through your head, but at a certain age you figured you could really do that any night you chose too. In fact, you had not gone in the past few years, even at your friend’s insistence and her telling you how flimsy of an excuse you had created.

To her credit, your excuse was flimsy, and you knew it. You simply just could not bear to attend the event anymore. You had harbored feelings for Tauriel since you were both young and watching her with the prince had made you quietly seethe, even if you knew that nothing was official between them. As you let your memories pass, you tucked a piece of Tauriel’s hair behind her ear.

You angled your wrist a little more and secured the first hairclip in her hair near one of her ears, and then the second and third clips followed suit higher in her hair. As you were about to secure the fourth clip, the door was thrown open by none other than the prince of the realm.

“There you are, mellon nin. The Feast will begin soon.” He shuffled over to you both, ignoring you as you secured the last clip in Tauriel’s hair.

“All done” you said quietly before she got off her seat to walk and meet the prince. Not that this greatly surprised you for you had assumed Tauriel had asked for your help getting ready in the first place because she was accompanying him to the Feast. After all, that is a prince, and if you were not already head over heels for the woman whose hair you had just finished, you probably would be trying to impress him too. You sighed but waved back as she gestured goodbye, taking her leave with the prince.

---------

About an hour later, you were in your rooms preparing to go take a nice hot bath. You needed to relax, for as much as you knew being there would hurt, you just could not stand the fact that not going at all somehow hurt too.

As you opened your door to head for the bath, you came face to face with a fist, you blinked before the fist was slowly lowered to give you a view of a rather short elleth.

“I was given a message for you. I know not why, but they have need of you in the library, immediately. The terrace was mentioned specifically.” She said to you, ignoring your quizzical look before she left down the hallway, not even bothering to wait for you to ask any more questions.

You sighed. You had really hoped you could have the night to yourself, but you guessed not. You shut the door behind you and took the few minutes’ walk to the rather large library. You stalked through the stacks and shelves of books, running your hand along the spines as you made your way to the terrace.

As you approached you noticed soft candlelight, before you felt something against the side of your head. You flinched on instinct, but a soft grip on your wrist held you in place.

“There,” Came a familiar voice, “It looks perfect”. You instantly relaxed as you touched the side of your head a felt the beads of one of Tauriel’s hair clips.

“I know you don’t like the Feast, but I had hoped you would spare a few moments of your time for me” she said to you, a slight sparkle to her eyes. You couldn’t help but to smile at her and nod in affirmation.

“I always have time for you, mellon nin” you replied, as she laced her fingers with yours and pulled you toward the balcony. As you reached it, your eyes lit up as they noticed the twinkle of the stars above you. It was magnificent, and just ten minutes ago you had been missing out on it.

As Tauriel led you to one of the benches, she blew out the candle, causing the dark of the night to settle over both of you. She sat on the bench besides you, her hand still lightly lying within yours before she laid her head on your shoulder. As you sat you couldn't help but to twirl her auburn hair around your fingers. A small smile grazed your lips as you noticed the way the moon splayed light on her form.

You somehow spent the next few hours in complete silence, watching the stars with your hands laced together. As you waved goodbye to her, hours after the festival festivities had died down, you cradled the hair clip to your chest with a bright smile on your face. And if the next day you felt as if you had a leg up on the prince, you did not think anyone would blame you for it. 

---------

Tag List: @writing-fortolkein​ @your-pixels-are-showing​ @emastrangee​ @abbiesthings​ @bilbo--watson​

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#the hobbit #the hobbit imagine #tauriel #tauriel x reader #imagine #tauriel imagine #LOTR

[silverstarlightlion]

the final entry in the team seven dies on the bridge au - this one got way away from me but oh well, I’m not editing it because that’s not how this chain works

Team Seven take the mission to the Land of Waves. On the bridge, they fight Zabuza and Haku.

On the bridge, Kakashi dies.

It happens in a flash, a shout and a burst of chakra and blood. The ice mirrors trapping Sasuke and Naruto in with Haku crack and break, and there's a high-pitched electric whine that lasts for a moment longer than the voices, before everything turns eerily, horribly silent.

In the ghostly silence, the mirrors collapse and smash into the half-finished Bridge, shattering, and Team Seven comes apart and shatters with them. Kakashi drops to one knee – thud – as the lightning in his palm winks out, and Zabuza steps back with a sneer. At his side, Haku lowers their hands, ignores the streak of blood across their side, and relaxes their stance. They move into Zabuza’s wake, following him as he strides past. Towards Sakura.

Towards Tazuna.

Naruto shouts, incoherent, and all at once he's wreathed once more in the strange and sticky red chakra, and throwing himself at Zabuza. Sakura is struck dumb, frozen, unblinking, watching Zabuza approach with sightless eyes, her kunai still held before her – her grip is textbook and too tight, and wavers when the Kiri-nin get too close.

She doesn't move, as Haku lashes out to stop Naruto's descent, flings him back. She doesn't move when Zabuza walks past her. She doesn't move as Sasuke snarls and jumps after Haku as well, as their fight re-engages. She doesn't move when Tazuna cries out behind her, she doesn't move when her name rings in her ears, she doesn't move when it ends with a whimper and a gurgle. Sakura doesn't move as Zabuza sets his sword on her shoulder.

She thinks, for a minute that lasts her whole lifetime, that Zabuza’s going to kill her too. She's not sure that she minds.

It's only when Zabuza grunts, dismissive, and turns on his heel – taking his sword with him, leaving a nick in her collar so shallow it doesn't even hurt – that Sakura finds the will to move. Gasps in a deep breath, like she's been drowning. Naruto and Sasuke are still fighting around her, flashing back and forth as Haku fends them off, but it all just sounds like echoes as she remembers how to walk and starts creeping towards Kakashi-sensei.

He's sprawled gracelessly, and his head is turned just a little too far to the side. He's half on his stomach, shoulders flat to the concrete, with one leg crumpled up underneath him. The grim, grey light of overcast morning winter is reflecting in his eyes, a glimmer that feels like a lie.

"Kakashi-sensei…?" she hears herself ask, her voice absolutely tiny, and her knees give way to drop her at Kakashi's side. Naruto is shouting something behind her, getting distant, and Sakura can't tell if he's moving away from her or if she just can't trust her senses anymore, but she can't bring herself to try figure it out. Her ears are ringing. Kakashi doesn't respond – doesn't move, doesn't blink, doesn't lift his gaze to her. His pupils don't respond to the light, too dilated. His mismatched irises are almost eclipsed. "... Kakashi… sensei…?" Her voice is a ghost in her own throat. When she reaches out, it feels like watching someone else do it; her hand is shaking violently, numb and cold, and her very skin feels like it doesn't belong to her, clingy and fuzzy and tingling all at once, like she's both trying to crawl out of herself and is the thing trying to be climbed out of.

Kakashi's face is warm when she touches him. It's a struggle to roll him over, the effort a blur of sound and nauseating breathlessness as she grips his shoulder and pushes. He's limp, utterly so, and his limbs drag and twist when she manages to get him more on his side. There's no movement in his chest or stomach.

He doesn't blink. He's not breathing.

The blood is pooling underneath him where Haku had torn a hole in his side, from all the cuts Zabuza gave him. When Sakura touches his face again, tries to turn his head even though she doesn't even know why, she can feel the broken bones in his neck grind.

Her tears taste like bitter acid as she collapses, each sob into Kakashi's unbreathing chest torn out of her as if she's turning inside out. Sakura can feel each beat of her own heart, like being kicked, a thunderous stomping in her ears, and it's a betrayal of the highest order when she can't feel Kakashi's under her hands. She thinks she screams, maybe. She's not sure.

It's not real. It can't be real. If she can just cry hard enough, if she can get out the huge, heavy, writhing thing that's crawling up her throat, if she can just make it all stop for just a moment, she can make it stop being real. Because it has to be a lie.

Kakashi is one of the strongest shinobi in Konoha. He's their teacher. He's improper and lazy and grouchy, and he's fought so hard to get this mission done, and he can't be dead. There's so much more he still has to teach them.

She thinks that one of them touches her, maybe, but it registers only as searing pain and she cries out between choking sobs, and it's only when she eventually has to pull back from Kakashi— From Kakashi's… body… from Kakashi that she remembers she's got the incredible misfortune to exist, and that there's still a solid world around her. It's revolting. That the world dares to continue being when it should be shattered.

But she pulls back, because her sobs are getting caught in her throat and she's gagging on them, stomach convulsing as the force of her crying slides into violent coughing, until she jolts and vomits.

Naruto, returned from the fruitless chase, keeps at Sakura's side and rubs her back, and tries to figure out what to say. How it could have possibly gone so wrong. They should have won. They were supposed to win – they were supposed to save Inari and prove that goodness meant something and make sure that Waves would be okay.

But there's nothing but the cold wind and the grey sky and blood on all sides, and the smell of death and salt and bile while Sakura struggles to breathe through her tears and retching.

Sasuke hasn't made a sound. He stands a few feet away, eyes dark, staring at Kakashi with hatred and icy anger. His hands are clenched. He knows too well that Kakashi is dead and they failed and it doesn't mean a damn thing. Because life is cheap and death is worthless. Sasuke is seven years old again, and trying to figure out how to say goodbye to the corpses that are no longer his parents, and Kakashi will never even know if they mourn him or not. He can't find the will to care or fight or cry. It doesn't matter. None of it matters. Nobody matters.

Death comes for all. Why should it mean anything if it found Kakashi now, or later? It would find everyone eventually.

Sasuke would make sure of it.

And across the countries, far beyond the knowledge of the now-lost genin, Konoha is split apart with the howls of eight ninken.

It's the ninken who find them first, in the end. They haven't moved from the bridge, half-completed, when the ninken arrive. It's late afternoon, and they've huddled together and done not much else. Sakura is in a small ball, curled up on the ground and holding onto Kakashi's body like he might still wake up at any moment and give her something to do. Sasuke stands nearby, arms folded, silent. He's watching, guarding, perhaps, except that he spots the ninken incoming and says nothing and moves neither to block their approach or welcome it. There are several Narutos milling about, one sitting with Sakura, hand still rubbing her back, while the others do… something. Even they're not really sure. But Naruto is a creature of action, and he can neither figure out what it is he's supposed to do nor tolerate the prospect of doing nothing.

There are Anbu on the ninken's tails, and they quickly take charge of the situation, and everything blurs together into noise and colour and pain.

When they arrive back at Konoha, the Anbu have to drag Sasuke up to the Hokage Tower with them. Naruto trudges alongside voluntarily, his gaze straying constantly to Kakashi – pale and still and cold and stiff in the Anbu's arms – and he silently prays that Grandpa Hokage will know what to do, because everything… seems a lot less simple than it did before, suddenly. Sakura offers no resistance, tucked against another Anbu's chest as she has been since they first picked her up in Waves Country. She's still shaking, each breath shallow and rattling, her gaze distant and empty. Putting her down isn't an option. Naruto is pretty sure she would simply stay curled on the ground where she was set, if the Anbu was to put her down.

Hirizen is unusually serious, when they're taken into his office, but that makes sense, Naruto supposes. The death of a Konoha jōnin is a big deal. Orders are given over their heads, and Naruto stays quiet despite the endless questions clawing at the inside of his ribcage, because Hiruzen does know what to do, obviously, because of course he would, so Naruto just has to wait until he tells them what they're supposed to do.

Right?

And it'll be okay? Like it's supposed to be?

… 

Sasuke fights. He snarls, and then shouts, and then draws a kunai. The Anbu who'd dragged him up here in the first place knocks him unconscious, somehow, too fast for the genin to track, and carries him out. Sakura doesn't even ask where they're taking him.

And she… quits. Not on the spot, it's not until they attend Kakashi's funeral – and Sasuke attends too, shackled to an Anbu member, and it's the first time they've seen him since Hiruzen's office – but at the end of the day, when almost everyone else has gone, when Sasuke's gone (and he didn't even acknowledge them, didn't say a word to them, ignored Naruto's shouting after him when the Anbu walked him away), she finally finally finds her voice to speak. She's been silent since the bridge.

"I'm… I'm quitting," she whispers to him, while her parents stand just a teeny bit back to give them space. Her eyes, dull and hollow green, are fixed on Kakashi's headstone. "I can't do this. I can't do anything."

She sets her hitai-ite on Kakashi's grave, and Naruto never sees her in training again.

He finds out where Sasuke is, through a combination of stubborn defiance and reckless rule-breaking. Hiruzen allows him into what can only be a secret Anbu facility, and takes him down endless stairs until finally he sees the torchlit cage that Sasuke is in. He's doing pushups when they arrive.

It isn't until Naruto appeals to him as a friend that Sasuke finally stops, gets to his feet, storms up to the bars. "We are not friends," he hisses.

"What are you going to do?" Naruto can't think of anything else to ask him. What can he possibly be doing? How can he be okay down here?

"I'm going to kill the people who deserve it."

Naruto visits Sasuke six more times, and six more times he's almost fully ignored while Sasuke ceaselessly trains, alone in the dark, as if he doesn't even care that he's locked up like some kind of criminal. Naruto dares once to ask Hiruzen to let Sasuke go, and he learns that day just why the Kage's are so respected and so feared. It's the first time he's ever been scared of Hiruzen, and no amount of apologies or make-up ramen afterwards can undo it.

If this is what being Hokage really means, Naruto's no longer sure that he wants it.

The seventh time, Sasuke is gone, and no one will tell Naruto where he's gone.

When, months later, Iruka takes Naruto to meet Jiraiya, Naruto leaps on the offer of training. He's been… not wallowing, but his team has disintegrated and his training has gotten spotty. He needs a teacher, someone incredibly strong like Jiraiya, because Naruto has to get stronger. He needs to get strong enough to protect the people who matter. He needs to be strong to make sure that nobody else dies because he couldn't stop it – he needs to, because maybe if he can get there, if he can promise safety, then he can earn back his family. Sasuke and Sakura had been, pretty much, for the short time they'd been a team.

His team was everything. How could he protect Konoha if he can't even protect his teammates?

And so Naruto leaves with Jiraiya, single-minded and dogged, and if he pushes too hard too fast then it's all Jiraiya can do to try and keep up with Naruto's pathological need to chase strength.

…

Sasuke relinquishes freedom. He has no use for it. In the dead of night, he's whisked out of the Anbu Red Vault and into a silent promise of power and revenge. He allows the Seal to be placed on his tongue without resistance. He's called upon, eventually, to murder the other child he's been trained alongside, and he does so without hesitation or mercy. He dons the black uniform and the pale mask and he carves himself into nothing more than a blade, and he lays himself in Danzō's hand. One day, he is promised, he'll be the weapon wielded to end Itachi's life.

…

And Sakura leaves. She does it out of mercy, she thinks at first. It's her fault, after all, that Kakashi is dead. That Sasuke is gone. That Naruto is alone. She knows nothing of their fates, and she dares not ask after them, because if she involves herself then, she's sure, she's just going to get in their way.

And it’s a guilt that she's finally realised she isn't strong enough to carry. She stood by, on the bridge, and she did nothing. It doesn't matter that she was Tazuna's last line of defence; Tazuna is dead. It doesn't matter that she was told to guard him; the man who gave that order is dead, too.

It's her fault, it's her fault, it's her fault, it's HER FAULT.

So she sneaks out, and she means it to be mercy, because the only way she can think of to make sure she never does it again – does nothing – is… if she's not around to. And it's mercy, really, if she doesn't force her parents to be the ones who find her. She's never been able to scrub her own skin free of the way Kakashi's had felt. Warm and faintly damp with sweat and smooth between the endless minute scars, cooling into tacky rigidity. He'd still looked like himself, when the ninken had got there, but he'd felt like stone under her hands. Like he wasn't real.

Like none of it was real.

Sakura decides, in the dead of night, that she's willing to give anything to make it not real.

And, in the end, someone extends mercy to her parents but it's not her. The first moment of freefall, when she jumps off the edge of the Hokage monument, is exhilarating. Freedom. Safety. She's going to escape, and she won't have to take down anyone else with her ever again.

The next few seconds overwhelm her with terror, and Sakura loses her grip on reality as it suddenly registers what her freedom really means, and as the ground hurtles up towards her, all Sakura can think is that she's afraid. Like she was on the bridge. Like maybe that's all there is, after all. Fear.

So when a pair of arms wraps around her and snatch her out of the air, Sakura clings on and sobs without knowing who it is that's saved her, or if it’s even real, and it feels like being on the bridge all over again. But the arms stay close, hold on tight, and eventually Sakura manages to remember how her senses work.

"... Gai-sensei?"

He's still dressed in his signature green jumpsuit, but there's a grimness to him that's unfamiliar. Holding her entire meagre weight close to his chest with just one arm, Gai brushes her hair back out of her face, sticky and matted with snot and tears. "It's going to be okay, Sakura." She can't wrap her head around why Gai's here. How is he here? But Gai glances at her at the same moment Sakura realises he's walking, and she can't get the whine in her throat to make any more words, but Gai seems to understand. "If you were to die now, then Kakashi died to protect you for no reason. And I know you don't want to squander that."

Her fault. But Gai says it differently. Like for her isn't the same as her fault. Was it for her? Sakura isn't sure of anything, anymore. If anyone knows, it must be Gai-sensei. A shudder goes through her, and she buries her face in Gai's shoulder. Her senses are screaming at her, her heart still wild and painful in her chest. It seems to think she's still falling to her death.

"... What can I do?" It was already squandered. Wasn't it? Sakura couldn't do anything. She'd stood by and watched.

But Gai grunts, pets her back. "It's never too late to stop giving up. Get strong. Protect the things Kakashi can't anymore. Protect yourself. Protect Konoha."

And it’s pathetic, but Sakura is pretty sure she's pathetic no matter what, so she scrunches up her hands in Gai's shirt, and wishes they would stop shaking so bad, and shakes her head. "I can't. I'm not strong. I'm… I'm not strong."

"You're here." She almost wasn't.

And the whine breaks out. "I'm here bec-cause I'm weak. B-because he was— was strong."

Gai hums. She can't tell if it's agreement or not. "So do him proud. I'll show you how." Gai loosens his grip, just a little, and picks up Sakura's head. Forces her to meet his gaze. His face is oddly shadowed in the moon- and lamplight. "It's not easy. It's never easy. But it's worth it. You're strong – let me show you just how strong you are."

They're on the other side of the village, Sakura thinks, now that she's looking around. Still shaking – shivering, really – but they're in a residential area, closer to the outskirts, where the houses have little gardens and families and—

Gai carries her to a house. Lee is on the porch, watching anxiously.

"Why are you doing this?" Sakura manages to ask, while Gai brings her inside, and carefully deposits her on a couch. Lee appears at his side a moment later, and he offers Sakura a glass of water. Automatically, she takes it, and Gai steadies her hands so she doesn't drop it. Their faces are blurry through her tears. "Why…?"

It's Lee who speaks up, and he's quieter than usual but no less intense. "Because when we lose a family member, we should come together to support each other." Gai nods, beams at Lee proudly. "Kakashi-sensei was Gai-sensei's family, so he was my family. And you're Kakashi-sensei's family, so you're our family."

The water tastes like adrenaline and steel when Sakura makes herself sip it, but the gentle chill of it diffuses in her chest and something she doesn't have words for eases slightly.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Lee," Gai says, pulling Lee down into a hug with his free arm. "So. Let us help you be strong, like Kakashi wanted."

It's surreal. So many things have happened in so little time; a few minutes ago, Sakura had been convincing herself to jump from the top of the Hokage monument. How can this feel so different, so quickly? She's in— Is she in Gai-sensei's house? And it can't fucking be real – but nothing feels real anymore, hasn't for a while now, and… if anyone knows what Kakashi wanted, then it's Gai.

And it’s Gai.

… Can he really teach her strength? Does it matter?

"He's not totally gone while we remember him," Lee says quietly, and he lays a hand on Sakura's knee. "So if we do what he wanted, then it's like he accomplished his goals."

It doesn't make a lot of sense to Sakura, because Kakashi-sensei is definitely gone, but… Well, she can always jump off a high place later. Maybe they're right? Would Kakashi want her to learn strength from Gai?

Sakura drinks the rest of the water.

"Okay."

#StarlightLion #Starlight Writes #Naruto #Team Seven #Hatake Kakashi #Uzumaki Naruto #Haruno Sakura #Uchiha Sasuke #Maito Gai #Rock Lee #Kakashi dies #and Team Seven fractures #Naruto is beyond his reach #and Sasuke has given himself over to the dark #but by gods Gai will save Kakashi's kids if he can #Sakura is his now #also please consider: Sakura with the power to open the Eight Gates

[uchihashisuii]

come home safe;

Shisui/Akari ramblings + a small bonus at the end

-----

Akari yawns into her wrist as she stretches beneath Konoha's main gate, groaning quietly at the pop of her joints. She'd been on the 1am patrol, and as her shift came to a close she'd spotted a familiar head of curly hair leaving the village. Not wanting to miss waving Shisui goodbye before a mission, she'd hopped down from a rooftop to land noiselessly beside him. He'd offered her the remaining half of his coffee, grinning unashamedly as she all but inhaled the whole thing.

His squad approaches and it's time for him to leave and for her to report back to the Foundation. As Akari goes to re-affix her mask Shisui leans over to give her braid a farewell tug, laughing at the flat look she shoots him.

"Come home safe," she tells him, her smile warm and cheeks dusted red. Shisui gives her a wave and a crooked grin, and assures her he will.

-----

They sprawl next to each other beneath a tree in training ground five, limbs splayed and heads close together. Shisui cracks a joke, making an obscene gesture that causes Akari to bury her face in his shoulder, whole body shaking as she stifles her laughter in his shirt.

They're silent, after a time; Akari still tucked close to his side, her eyes darting up to see a nervous Shisui, bottom lip caught between his teeth. She opens her mouth to ask the moment he turns to look at her, and suddenly they're nose-to-nose and Akari feels her breath catch in her throat.

He lifts a hand to brush a lock of hair behind her ear, dark eyes watching her with an underlying intensity. Akari swallows around the lump in her throat, arching her neck just a little, just enough -

Akari inhales and Shisui exhales and they move in tandem as his hand cups her jaw, her palm curving against his chest to feel the thundering heart hidden beneath. Her eyes slip shut just as the barest pressure finds her mouth -

A cleared throat makes them spring apart, a masked Foundation nin not saying a word about what he'd just interrupted as he relays instruction for Akari to report to Danzō for an assignment. She's already standing and smoothing down her hair as she turns to Shisui to offer a nervous-looking wave, flushing from her cheeks to her chest.

"Come home safe," Shisui tells her with a two-fingered wave, his smile crooked and face as red as hers.

-----

They pass one another in the street. It's a normal, peace-filled afternoon that sees vendors hawking their wares, children darting about, and the rising murmur of laughter and conversation. Akari passes through the crowd, mask clipped to her hip and smiling amicably at any who catch her eye as she follows Kakashi and Tenzō. They need to report back to ANBU HQ on a mission done and dusted, though they meander slowly, in no real rush as they bicker about where to get dinner and whether Kakashi is even paying attention from behind his bright orange book. Akari laughs, feeling weightless and free from being surrounded by home and family, her smile turning to something far more tender as she spots Shisui coming her way. The pack slung over his shoulder and apologetic expression ring clear that he's leaving just as she's returning, an unfortunate serendipity though she does feel an undercurrent of gratitude that they were able to see each other at all.

Akari slows her steps, falling behind her squad just as Shisui comes close enough to touch. He offers her a wink that makes her heart flutter, and as they brush shoulders her eyes follow him in her periphery, pausing mid-step to watch him. Shisui has the same idea, spinning on his heel and reaching for her wrist before the crowd can part them once more. He tugs her gently, smiling only for her as he leans down to meet her. Akari smiles against his mouth, her hand coming up to cradle his cheek as they share a kiss, secret and sweet and over much too quickly. The crowd falls away as Shisui kisses her once more, for good measure.

"Come home safe," she murmurs softly, catching his eye before pulling away.

-----

There is something dark brewing that makes Akari's stomach clench and turn, feeling suspiciously like fear. The wind is changing, and she doesn't know what exactly that means or entails, all she knows is that it will not be good.

Shisui watches her dress in the early hour of morning with an unreadable expression, tying his harness with a determined set to his jaw. He has a mission he won't name, for the clan the only explanation given. Akari supposes it's only fair; she readies herself for an assassination that she will not give the details of. They understand each other without words, knowing that the life they lead as shinobi is rarely simple or clean.

Even though she knows she's a hypocrite for it, still she cannot brush off that odd feeling of fear creeping its way through her veins.

They pause before she can pull open the door, Shisui leaning down to press his forehead to hers. Akari's eyes slip shut as she moves to cradle his face, his arms circling her hips to pull her flush against him. They breathe in the quiet and breathe out the calm, eyes meeting for the quickest moment before she's going up on her toes to capture his mouth in a bruising kiss.

"Come home safe." They both whisper it in tandem when they part, twin smiles blooming as they laugh quietly, almost loud enough to drown out her anxiety.

-----

Akari sits atop the gate leading into the Uchiha compound, blocked off by layers of warning tape and more silent than she's ever heard. She can still faintly smell blood on the wind as she studies Shisui's tantō, the wind stinging the tears that fall down her face.

How it had all come to this, she doesn't think she'll ever understand. Her legs dangle in open air as she feels something uncomfortably heavy weigh down her heart, spinning the blade in her hand and wondering, distantly, if Itachi would have killed him, too, had he lived.

Shisui has been gone a year, his clan gone a week. And Akari has no one to come home safe to, no one to wish luck on his missions. She pushes herself to standing atop the gate, giving the compound one last lingering look before disappearing in a rush of leaves.

-----

(+ bonus)

Thirteen years later and Akari is in a rush, strapping on her holsters with fumbling fingers and muttering to herself as she makes sure she has everything sorted. Why there was an emergency summons for her particular skillset, as the ANBU messenger who tapped on her window had claimed - she still doesn't know. But she is loyal to her Hokage, and Kakashi is nothing if not efficient.

Akari hops around with one foot in a sandal as she tears apart the living room, looking for her mask and cursing her roommate without any true venom in her words. She'd been a glorified babysitter for nearly a year now, and she shoots Obito an annoyed look where he leans against the wall, looking far too amused with the situation.

He watches her antics with a smirk, before finding his mercy and heaving a sigh. He nods at the kitchen table, where beneath a pile of paperwork and mail and the odd kunai sits the porcelain white of her beaked mask. Akari huffs impatiently but smiles regardless, moving to swipe her mask and sliding it over her face. She pulls on her other sandal and straightens her sash, opening the door and throwing a wave over her shoulder.

"Come home safe," Obito calls after her, already turned towards the living room and unaware of the way she has gone utterly still, eyes wide beneath her mask and gripping the door hard enough the wood creaks.

"I will," Akari whispers, something warm and familiar blooming beneath her breast before she steps over the threshold, something about it feeling almost like the first step towards a new beginning.

#shisui x oc #shisui uchiha #uchiha shisui #naruto #naruto oc #i once again have no idea what im doing #akari #shikari #jules writes

[aarcanechaoss]

1. Seeing Red

Masterlist

A little more of the battle and the aftermath of both Tenten and Shikamaru’s death along with a very very confused Tenten.

Just a reminder that I aged them up Tenten was 26 in her time and is now 19

Warnings: war, blood, vomit and death

Glassy eyes stared at the sky, tear tracks marking her dirty face but a peaceful look had settled as she passed. Her sensei allowed himself to cry for her as he shut her and Shikamaru's eyes, the second student he had lost to a battle. They'd seen her fall, seen how suddenly her stomach had become a hole, Guy and Lee had seen Shikamaru fall just before her to the same thing though neither saw who or what did it.

It hadn't registered when Guy and Lee had kneeled either side her body. It hadn't registered when she spoke words softly as she stared at nothing. It had registered as she said goodbye making both men crumble at her defeat.

"Not now." Guy sensei said pressing his hands to the abdomen of his student, she wasn't breathing.

"Not your time." Lee was crying, that much was obvious as he held his friends hands waiting for her to tell him she was okay.

"Can't let you go like this."

"Not yet." She wasn't breathing. Guy's hands began to tremble.

"Come back."

"Tenten please!"

"Please no no no." A new voice called, Temari was running like her life depended on it- it did- rushing towards Guy and Rock Lee. "Wha-"

Temari's eyes welled with tears as she crashed beside the bodies of her husband and her friend. She'd been looking for them both for so long but- a scream ripped from her throat notifying her younger brother and Naruto who now ran towards them.

"Tema-" her name fell dry on his tongue, Gaara's eyes widened at the scene. Both Shikamaru and Tenten's stomaches had been torn open.

Looking closer the Kazekage noted the sliced throat of Shikamaru and the peaceful look on Tenten's face.

Naruto was livid. His friends had died seemingly recently... while the war had fallen stagnant something had attacked his most trusted friends.

Sasuke was barely holding on after Sakura had been attacked and had to watch as she was taken into emergency surgery, Chouji was making sure all shinobi had enough to eat- who was going to tell Chouji.. Ino and Hinata were severely injured, Shino... Shino hadn't made it either. Kiba and Akamaru were severely injured and might not make it out. This battle was going to shit... utter shit.

Guy lifted Tenten up, her body limp and unmoving as he started towards the camp the Leaf Nin had set up. Naruto lifted Shikamaru and did the same while Gaara opted to use his sand to carry his sister and Rock Lee.

Chouji saw them first and gave a wave as if to say you guys need to eat... the solemn look on their faces made the man pause before looking again. Neither Tenten nor Shikamaru were moving and Temari was crying... no all of them were crying. Chouji dropped his soup ladle and ran. Tripping and stumbling as he followed them into the medic tent.

"What happened?" Ino asked, Sai helping her to stand. The group just shook their heads and moved the bodies to where the deceased could be properly checked. Ino and Chouji couldn't do anything but stare. Their friends weren't coming back from this.

Whoever, whatever had done this... there was no mercy whatsoever.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

A strangled scream ripped from the brunettes throat. Her hands clawed at her stomach the pain almost unbearable as she turned over, vomiting on the floor of whatever room she was in. Sweat trickled down her neck as fear and worry kicked in... why was she in a room?

Tenten took in the familiar space amidst the pain, this wasn't her home nor was this the battlefield that she most certainly died on.

The door slammed open surprising the confused woman still clutching her stomach.

... Neji?

Her eyes began to water as she noticed him at the door. She couldn't look at him after six years this had to be a cruel joke played by whatever gods there are.

"Tenten what happened?" The Hyuuga asked the spacing out woman. "Tenten?"

"Friend Tenten?" Lee asked worriedly stepping into the room as well, Guy hot on his heels.

"What's wrong?" Her sensei asked.

"I-.."

"Someone get a cool wet cloth now and some kind of bucket and maybe ask the staff to come in and clean up in here." Neji commanded as he pressed a cold hand to her burning forehead.

"I shall get them!" Lee announced as he rushed to where the owner of the inn was undoubtedly sleeping.

"Tenten can you tell me what's wrong?" Guy sensei asked replacing Neji's hand with his own.

Her mind was racing, where was she.. when was she? This had to be a cruel joke. Neji was dead, Guy sensei should have a metal brace around his waist and legs and Lee... well Lee was fine. Lee never changed but seeing Guy walking without help and seeing Neji alive was sending her for a spin.

      She wanted that nice voice to talk to her again, wanted that nice voice to hold her again. He seemed warm and sweet.

"Stomach... it..." her breath shook. "Burns.."

Guy and Neji looked at each other.

"Lee will be back anytime now, can I carry you to another room?" Guy said. Tenten nodded, tears welling in her eyes as she whispered.

"Though it hurts, what a nice dream this is." She fell limp.

"Tenten?" Neji frowned. Shaking her shoulder a little his frown deepened.. what did she mean by nice dream? She was in pain for one and for another this was not a dream.

After getting his ass kicked by Naruto he began to notice things, things like how Guy Sensei's grin was too forced some days or how Lee seemed to push himself too hard or how Tenten was stronger than she believed and how she wasn't the weakest or most useless member of the team.

Right now however he had noticed she seemed confused when he stepped into the room, seemed worn out and in pain but mostly confused. He noticed she looked scared when he spoke and she wouldn't look him in the eyes- no she wouldn't look at him at all and now Guy carried her towards the room he, Lee and Neji were sharing.

"Guy Sensei, Neji I found the owner she says she studied as a medic nin in the land of wind!" Lee called as he met them in the hall, owner a few steps behind.

"May I have a look at her?" The woman asked.

"Yes I'm just bringing her to our room since she threw up." Guy Sensei said guiding the owner into their room.

"Friend Tenten may use my bed Sensei." Lee said as he quickly fixed the sheets so they could lay their unconscious teammate down.

"Are you heading for a mission?" The owner questioned?

"Coming home from one." Neji answered.

"Ah..." resting beside Tenten the woman placed a glowing hand over her body. "Her temperature is pretty high but it seems like she's completely fine really." The woman frowned.

"She does not seem fine Miss owner:" Lee said.

"It's Sally kid... no she doesn't seem fine but my scans show nothing abnormal besides the raised temperature and the fact that she threw up at most I could say is phantom pains."

"Phantom pains?" The three men ask.

"Has she ever been severely injured in the stomach area?"

"I don't believe so." Guy says. "Outside of training I do not believe she's ever sustained severe injuries around her stomach."

"Maybe ask her when she's conscious." Sally shrugged. "I'll send someone to clean her room, keep a cool cloth on her forehead and wake me if anything happens."

It was sunrise when Tenten woke next. The ceiling. Turning to the right she saw Lee fast asleep on the floor, Guy and Neji in their respective beds... so it wasn't a dream? 

Turning to the left she saw a calendar... January ninth of the- her eyes widened as she sat up at stared at the calendar.

Two months before her nineteenth birthday.

Two months.

A year and a half before the ten tails would kill Neji, a year and a half before Guy would lose the ability to walk without aid and a year and a half before her heart broke into a million pieces and she stopped really living.

"Tenten?" Neji's voice... he was alive... this wasn't a dream. She didn't answer, she couldn't. Six years without him she couldn't bear to look at him... not after seeing him die, not after all she went through.

If this was definitely her past then she was going to do anything she can to make sure that future never happens again. Her own personal mission to save everyone in Konoha- from the Akatsuki to the tailed beasts to the monsters she fought until she died.

That future can't happen again not in this life not when she can change what happened, not when she can save everyone from what was to come.

#nejiten angst #nejiten #Naruto #naruto angst #neji hyuga #Tenten #neji x tenten #guy sensei #mighto gai #might guy #rock Lee