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obsessionsdumpster · 4 years

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A/N: sooooo idk what this is exactly, I just had an idea and decided to try and write my own fic for once though I’m not sure if it turned out good lol I think it’s a bit too long and I realised I don’t know how to write kissing scenes. Anyway please enjoy and let me know what you think

A Ninja’s Day Off (Kakashi x reader)

(Y/N) stepped into the Hokage’s office, finding Tsunade sitting by her desk, a pile of books and important documents surrounding her.

“Hokage-sama, I’m here to provide you with the mission report”

“Excellent, I’ve already received and deciphered the scroll your team has sent me with all the informations you were able to collect. It seems all went smoothly, good job (Y/N)”

Despite the formalities Tsunade and (Y/N) were rather well-acquainted, being (Y/N) one of the few Hokage’s personal ANBUs meaning that she certainly trusted her. Because of that, Tsunade glanced at the girl standing in front of her and even though she was wearing the ANBU mask, she could clearly see the exhaustion that was radiating from her, hence she spoke: “(Y/N), you’ve been out there constantly completing quest after quest for quite some time now, I know that is due to the high amount of missions the village is currently dealing with, but I can see you’re at your limit, that’s why I’m giving you the permission to take a couple days off in order to rest and recover”.

“Thank you, Tsunade” replied (Y/N) with a smile, and with that, she was off.

When she reached her apartment block, she opened the door and stepped inside. The room was a mess, to say the least: there were dirty clothes scattered all across the floor mixed with random ninja scrolls with all sorts of seals written on them, along with some kunai knives and shurikens all over the apartment. She sighed to herself, realising just how long it had been since she actually stayed in her apartment for more than 10 minutes or so, just enough time to change and pack for yet another mission.

(Y/N) decided that a nice hot shower would help her take away some stress and tiredness, so she headed towards the bathroom, stripped off her clothes and stepped under the hot stream of water that felt so nice on her bare skin.

After she was done, she stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her form, then, feeling her stomach grumble, she decided to head in the kitchen to have a snack.

Unfortunately for her, when she opened the fridge she realised that everything had already expired meaning that she had nothing to eat. Nice, she thought.

That’s when her eyes fell on a small paper bag that was laying on her kitchen table. She reached to it to inspect the content and saw to her delight that inside the bag were three big red apples, her favourite. Besides the apples she saw a small note: ‘figured you wouldn’t have much at home to put in your belly after being away for so long. Enjoy - Kakashi’

(Y/N) couldn’t help but smile widely at the kind gesture. (Y/N) and Kakashi had been best friends for a long time now, having been on the same team during Kakashi’s ANBU days and continued to hang out even after he left and became a sensei. To (Y/N) he was more than just her best friend though, for as time passed she started developing romantic feeling towards the copy ninja but always shrugged off those feelings out of fear of ruining their amazing friendship and because of the fact that a potential relationship would have been a rather difficult thing to handle for two Leaf Jounin such as themselves, their positions implying a dangerous lifestyle that put their lives constantly at risk; it wasn’t a secret that a normal love life wasn’t something that two Jounin of that caliber could aspire to. Truth is, she had been told by some people like Jiraiya (though he didn’t seem very reliable) that Kakashi did in fact return her feelings. It’s not that she considered that to be impossible, she had to admit that sometimes she could feel the chemistry between the two of them, but it was like they both shared some sort of unspoken agreement that kept them from bringing the relationship forward, preferring to stay as best friends. She would say she was fine with that, what she cared about the most was being by Kakashi’s side and she really enjoyed their unique friendship but she couldn’t deny that, sometimes, this situation made her kind of sad. (Y/N) thought that things were going to stay like this forever, but she was wrong.

Chewing on her apple, she started cleaning the apartment, picking up all the clothes from the floor and reorganising and storing all her scrolls. After she was done with that, (Y/N) finally sat on her couch determined to either take a nap or just relax. However she found herself just sitting there staring at the wall, boredom taking over as she started repeatedly tapping her foot on the floor. She was so used to so much action in her life that a simple day off was starting to become more difficult to handle than she could have imagined.

Suddenly an idea popped up in her head: ‘you know what? I’m gonna pay Kakashi a visit. He must be at the training ground right now, training with his team. I’m sure it’ll be fun watching him and team 7, maybe I’ll even be able to help him out, who knows’.

Thinking it would be fun to sneak up on them while they were training, (Y/N) approached the training field making sure to suppress her chakra to avoid being detected. She positioned herself on top of a well hidden branch of tree and, rather amused, observed what Kakashi and his team were doing. It looked like they were learning how to conceal themselves, judging from the fact that Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were all trying to find a good hiding spot to avoid getting caught by Kakashi.

Naruto managed to find a spot on the same tree as (Y/N) without noticing her. An idea popped to her mind and, with a mischievous grin, she appeared behind the blond’s back:

“Yo, Naruto” she said without a warning.

What came next was a scream and then a thud. Naruto had fallen off the tree and was now lying on the ground, his teammates and sensei approaching him, a puzzled look on their faces.

“W-Wh-What was that?!” said a shocked Naruto, followed by (Y/N) making her appearance jumping off the tree and landing in front of them.

“Hi everyone”

And before anyone could say anything, Naruto started screaming again.

“(Y/N)?!?!? Why would you do that??? I was perfectly hiding from Kakashi-sensei until you came and revealed my presence to everyone!!”

“Your ability to conceal yourself from other ninjas is the worst Naruto, it was obvious you were hiding on that tree” said Kakashi before giving (Y/N) his signature one-eyed smile “anyway, (Y/N) you’re back already, what are you doing here?”

“Well it’s my day off, so I though I would pay you a visit you know, to thank you for the apples and to see what you and team 7 where up to” she replied a bit embarrassed, realising she just admitted she wanted to see him on her day off.

“It wasn’t a big deal, really, I just figured you would like them” he said with a smile, scratching the back of his neck, which, (Y/N) thought, was kinda cute. “But since you’re here” he continued “would you mind giving us a hand? After all, ANBUs concealing techniques and chakra suppressing abilities are the best”

“Sure! When do we begin?”

And with that, Kakashi and her began teaching the young Genin all the tricks in the books.

When they finished practicing the sun was setting. All three team 7 members improved their skill a lot, especially Sasuke, but even Naruto did surprisingly well considering he wasn’t very well versed in hiding his presence, being the show off he was.

After saying goodbye to the kids, (Y/N) was left alone with Kakashi who, making sure his students were gone, spoke up:

“Well that was intense...are you hungry? We could stop somewhere on our way back and have dinner, if you would like to of course”

“I would love to! I’m starving, plus we haven’t hung out in a while, it’ll be nice to chat a little”

“Yeah” was what Kakashi replied, though he seemed, (Y/N) thought, to be a bit tense but she shrugged off that feeling once they started walking back to the village.

They decided to stop at one of their favourite cafes in Konoha (consciously avoiding Ichiraku’s ramen to avoid bumping into Naruto) to have dinner together and talk about the usual stuff like mission etc.

(Y/N) really missed talking to Kakashi, he was like a soothing presence to her, his voice never failed to make her feel a little happier then before. Whenever they were sharing these simple moments, even as just friends, (Y/N) couldn’t help but feel butterflies in her stomach each time. It was a bittersweet sensation in which she felt both very happy and sad because of the fact that she was in love with her best friend, but would be to scared to actually make a move.

She snapped out of her thoughts when food came and they ate in silence.

When they finished eating their dinner, they both exited the shop and started walking together through the village.

“So how was your last mission? You’ve been gone for quite a while. Tsunade told me it was a very important top secret mission” asked Kakashi after a while.

“It worked out somehow. I didn’t think it would take so long either but we had to deal with something unexpected which caused us to carry out the mission for 3 weeks straight”

“I see” said Kakashi before he went silent again. To be honest he was being pretty silent, not that he was and extremely talkative person, but still when he was with (Y/N) he would usually be more relaxed. This time however he seemed to be lost in thoughts and she found herself wondering what it could be.

They sat on a bench, admiring in silence the starry sky. It was a comfortable silence, each of them appreciating the others presence.

(Y/N) let out a small shiver when their arms accidentally brushed against each other.

“Are you cold?” asked Kakashi.

“No, I’m fine” she answered before letting out a long sigh.

“Is something wrong? Your mind seems to be somewhere else”

(Y/N) was taken aback by his comment, realising she had been just staring at the sky for a while, thinking about him, to be honest. She didn’t exactly know why but she felt the urge to be honest to him so she spoke her mind: “Nothing’s wrong it’s just- I really missed hanging out with you, you know, being with you and just talking about nothing in particular. And it makes me a little sad that these moments have become a rarity lately, because of our schedules and everything...”. She had no idea why she went that far expressing her feelings towards him. Damn this almost sounded like a confession.

When she realised what she just said, (Y/N) turned her gaze from Kakashi, trying to hide her face that was now a blushing mess.

Kakashi didn’t say anything. He was looking at her, a blush of his own barely visible under his mask. (Y/N) had never been this sentimental with him before. Could it be possible that she was trying to tell him what he wished she was trying to tell him? - he thought.

It was now or never, thought Kakashi. She had just opened up to him and now he felt like it was the perfect time to do the same and tell her about his feelings. “There something I want you to know (Y/N)” he spoke up, making the girl finally turn her face towards him with a questioned look.

“I really like you, you know, more than just a friend”.

That’s it. He said it. There was no going back, so he went on “I’ve been acting like we’re just friends but I can’t do it anymore because I think-“ he stopped for a second, thinking about what he was about to say “- I think I’m in love with you and can’t keep pretending otherwise”

(Y/N) stood there, her eyes widened and a shocked expression on her face. There she was thinking she had just made a fool of herself in front of Kakashi for almost confessing her feelings to him, and now she just heard him say he loved her??

Soon enough the shocked expression she wore was replaced with a closed-eyed smile: “I love you too Kakashi” she finally said, then added with a chuckle “I was scared to tell you ‘cause I thought it would ruin our friendship but if you put it like that...”

When she reopened her eyes she saw Kakashi lower his mask (which didn’t shock her much since being best friends for such a long time meant that she had seen his face in many occasions) and leaning forward, cupping her cheek. She did the same until their lips finally met.

(Y/N) thought that the feeling of Kakashi’s soft lips on hers was the best.

After a few seconds, they gently started moving their lips in unison to deepen the kiss.

When the two broke apart, gasping for air, they both smiled at each other.

Maybe, (Y/N) thought, things did change after all.

#kakashi x reader #kakashi hatake #kakashi imagines #naruto fanfiction #idk this probably sucks #its my first fic so bare with me #fluff #friends to lovers

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karinrumi · 4 years

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Gambler of Feelings - Chapter 19

With trembling hands, she opened the blue box that belonged to her mom to look into what's inside. Pretty stationery was sticking out.

Multiple letters.

Some of them were empty, some of them were scribbled all over with her mom's favourite black pen. But that meant the note Boruto found three months ago was real. Sarada couldn't deny evidence she held in her hands. No, she should calm down. It's not like she knows what's written in them, right? For all, she knows the rumours she heard could be baseless, and her mom is a friend of Boruto's father. Their parents seemed to know each other for some reason. All of that could be just her being unnecessarily paranoid.

Dear Naruto

Meet me today at our usual place. Don't let Hinata or anybody know about it, you know what I mean, right? Anyway, I'm counting on you!

Sakura Uchiha

Sarada recognised the words written in the first letter she took out. That was the same one Boruto pulled out three months ago and based their bet on it. She decided to ignore Boruto was peeking out from behind her shoulder since he was an involved party just like her.

Dear Sakura

Got it! I will promise to arrive on time, believe it! Are you sure you're alright without Sasuke around? I can always call him to come back for you, ya know.

Naruto

"Call back for dad? What for?" Sarada wondered out aloud.

"Maybe my dad, your mom and dad formed the love triangle in the past? Wouldn't surprise me, really." Boruto chimed in jokingly.

"Shush. There's more," she said, curious to see the entire exchange.

Dear Naruto

I am sorry Hinata heard those stupid rumours. I went to explain to her everything personally. I cannot blame her for that considering all three of us were in an open-relationship before because I wanted to make my current husband jealous. We all made stupid things when we were teenagers, right?

Thank you for keeping your promise. And no. You don't need to call Sasuke. We're not teenagers anymore focus on your family, okay?

Sakura

"I was right, ya know! In some way. The love triangle part happened with your mom and my parents. Isn't that awkward?"

Sarada was too shocked by obtaining this information behind her mom's back. She expected many things. That maybe her mom had a secret romance with Boruto's father, that maybe there's the hidden reason why she's so upset when she hears about the dream Sarada and her grandma shared. Not that Boruto's parents and her mom were in the poly-relationship as teenagers!

"It is awkward," she responded, still shocked by the things she recently learned about her mother.

Sarada felt incredibly bad for not asking her mom about everything in person and snooping around her stuff. But who could blame her? It wasn't Sarada's fault that her mom had a bad habit of hiding the family past.

It hurt she always needed to discover events hidden from her by herself. Sarada hated her family was so-secretive sometimes. Both mama and papa supposedly did it to spare her feelings, but it had an opposite effect.

Dear Sakura

Guilt-tripping again, eh? We all did stupid things as a teenagers, but I don't think the whole experience was negative. We are where we are because of it, right? Besides, it looks like my son is getting along with your daughter well. Both you and Hinata should meet up and explain everything to each other. I have a feeling we all meet soon considering our children are friends, ya know? We can talk about granny death in detail in person later, got it? I feel bad hiding our small letter exchange from Hinata. I don't want to make her angry.

Naruto

Sarada slid the letters to their respective envelopes and looked at Boruto to relax. "Let's stop reading these letters. I am feeling bad about reading our parents' private correspondence."

"I am shocked about some things written in here too. Mom never mentioned to me anything she did as a teenager, even if I asked her a few times." Boruto added still staring at her small collection of books

"Are you interested in borrowing a book from me?" she questioned him.

"Ahh, no. I just like how neatly those books are put." That was the weakest excuse Sarada heard coming from Boruto. Something was up, and she never had a chance to ask what was bothering him. Consumed by her own feelings, she decided to move that subject for later. However, they were alone in her room now, so that's her only chance to ask him what's up straight up.

"Hey, what's wrong? You space out a lot lately. Are you feeling alright?" She didn't try to sound incredibly worried, but lack-of-communication with other people for so long made it an impossible task.

"It's nothing serious," he paused and directed his gaze at her. "Sarada, you have something you want to do in the future, right? Why you want to pursue that dream?"

"To make my grandma's wish come true. It's the only thing that was left to me after she died. You can think it's stupid, but I've never moved on after her death. I feel like making our dream come true can give me a sense of closure." Granny death has shaken her pretty hard. When Sarada thought about this, it was around that time she stopped talking to other people besides Chō-Chō. She only spoke with her club members and teachers afterwards. Rest of the students were afraid of her, or just not noticed she exist.

"That's an awesome dream, ya know! Personally, I don't know what to do in the future, or with myself after I graduate. All the talks about plans for the future just makes me feel pressured, and in the end, I am unable to choose the path I want to walk on. The whole too-cool-for school act just paints me as a popular troublemaker, " he sighed, sharing his worries with her as if it was the most natural thing to do.

Sarada wanted to embrace him, tell him it's alright, and she'll help him find the dream he wanted to pursue. That people will stop seeing him as a troublemaker sooner or later. Like she did and has fallen in love with him.

Would he like to hear it from her? Boruto was popular at school, a lot of girls confessed to him daily. There's no way she could compare to them. Although, he's kind Boruto was way out of her league.

"There's some time for you to think before we graduate, or you can always accept the position of my future assistant! I need a lot of help if I want to pursue my dream too," she said. It wasn't what she really wanted to do, but Sarada hoped her words cheered him up. Just like he always did it for her, even without knowing about it.

"Thank you, Sarada," his smile came back, and she drowned in his beautiful blue eyes again. She needed to redo the Uchiha family training from the scratch. Staying composed around Boruto was starting to get harder for her as of lately.

・・・・★・・・・★ ・・・・

Boruto felt like a heavy burden left him. He spent so much on creating his 'cool' persona, so he rarely talked about his worries. Most of the time, people didn't take him for the type that would be serious about the future. That's why being near Sarada was like the breath of the fresh air.

"Glad to help you," Sarada said, the concern still visible on her face. It's probably the first time he was cheered up by a person that wasn't his family member nowadays.

"By the way... Are you sure it's okay for me to be in your room for so long?" Boruto pointed out, feeling suddenly self-conscious of what he was implying.

"Yes? Is there something wrong with my room?" she tilted her head in the way she always did when he said something that was confusing to her.

Sarada was the type of girl that interacted more with books than people. He shouldn't be surprised she didn't catch on his implications, or that he enjoyed teasing her to see how dense she can be. Her reddening cheeks every time he called her 'Lady, Meow, Meow' were adorable to see.

"Not at all, ya know! I like how neatly you lined up the books, but I think I've told you that already?" He needed to distract her somehow and just have fun. Having a fun time with Sarada helped him a lot recently.

"Oh, no, no, no, no! This is a disaster!" she shouted, pointing at the box where the letters they read were inside. They weren't allowed to take this box, not to mention see the content inside.

"Don't panic, Sarada! I have a great idea about what to do with this small issue. You don't have to worry about anything, ya know," he reassured her. His idea wasn't that dangerous.

"I don't like how smug you look right now. I think you came up with the idea I won't like."

"Where is your sense of adventure? Jumping out from the window in your room and hiding the box outside isn't that bad. I'll catch you, kay?" Boruto had too much fun seeing how an expression on Sarada face turned from annoyed to terrified.

"Are you crazy?! There's no way I am jumping out of my window!" she shrieked out. Was he that much of a bully when he liked spending time with his friends? The answer was a resounding 'yes'.

"Don't worry, I am reasonably crazy," he decided to smile, hoping that he can put his plan into action.

Before Sarada had a chance, he ran up to her and snatched her into his arms. He gave her the box with the letters too when he was close to the window. Luckily for him, it was open, so climbing up on the windowsill wasn't that big of a problem. Faster than lighting, he jumped through the window still securely holding Sarada that let out the loudest scream in the entire history of their friendship. Just like Boruto predicted they landed safely nearby some trees. He decided to hold Sarada in his arms longer, considering how pale she was after the sudden jumping.

"See? I told you I am reasonably crazy." Boruto knew he played with fire here. However, it was so amusing to see the new expressions Sarada showed to him lately.

"You are a moron! I thought I will die and you'll drop me down at the last minute!" The tears streamed down her cheeks. Damn. He didn't want for her to cry.

"I am sorry. But isn't this whole experience valuable? Now we know that when we're jumping through the windows, I won't ever let you down!" he said, gently putting Sarada on the ground and giving her a head pat to calm her down.

"Let's hide the box somewhere. I didn't survive this whole ordeal for it to turn out to be useless!" Uh-oh, he made her angry, or maybe not? Maybe she likes him more than she admits and his words made her embarrassed. Ha! In his dreams.

"Yeah, let's hide it."

And so they did, the box that gained the nickname of 'I cannot believe we jumped through my window' from pretty shook Sarada because of Boruto executing his crazy idea.

"I don't understand why you have fangirls with that type of character," Sarada muttered, the night sky reflecting her beauty.

"Because I am great. Though, I don't care about fangirls opinions that much." Boruto cared just about the opinion of people that were close to him, he just left it unsaid unable to tell her such cheesy words.

"I thought so before too. That I don't care about the opinion of strangers, but by meeting you, I very soon discovered I lied to myself." Sarada's confessing something so personal wasn't a usual occurrence.

Boruto strangely didn't feel surprised by her sudden talkative mood. They both put it aside but were equally shocked by their parents hiding so many things written in those letters. Sliding into friendship mode they had, delayed the matters they had eventually face head-on. Like having an honest conversation with the family members, finding something he wants to do in the future, supporting Sarada, overcoming his fears towards the commitments in romantic relationships... All of this was honestly overwhelming and tiring.

Maybe that's why he wanted for Sarada to open-up to him so badly. He needed a person he can freely open up to without consuming him fear that his trust will be betrayed. Boruto knew his friends had his back, but his friendship with Shikadai and the rest of the group didn't feel the same after his break-up with Asami. Well, an exception was Mitsuki that joined the club after those events.

He was hopeless, wasn't he? Allowing for this irrational fear to get in the way of his friendship with Sarada. How could she open-up and trust him when he couldn't do it in return? Running away from his problems by jumping through the window together with Sarada cannot solve anything. She was right, he really was a moron.

"You lied to yourself? Really? What made you realise you were lying to yourself?" he asked, hiding his own inner struggle.

"Boruto, you know? Once I asked myself about the meaning of feelings." Sarada hands were shaking when she averted her eyes from him. "I was thinking it wasn't worth it. Acting on something unreliable as emotions... But I-I...," her sudden outburst didn't finish yet.

She looked preoccupied to convey what she means to him without lying. Boruto couldn't help but feel glad about it. That she wanted to be honest with him of all people in her life.

At the same time, a pang of guilt hit him when listening to her words. Isn't that something he wanted? For her to open up to him and not holding any punches? But what if she bottled so many things inside he wasn't aware of until now? What if she hates him for being a bad friend? Does Sarada really think her personal feelings won't matter to him, or anyone else?

His heart ached.

"I was taught by you to be honest with how I really feel and to act based on those emotions. Stop lying to myself I don't feel them. Being straightforward is something I admire about you." Her smile was like a wave that washed away all of his worries.

"Hey, Sarada?" Boruto longed to say these words to her for a long time. His cheeks heated up, hearing she admired him for being reckless. Gathering the courage to say something so cheesy wasn't like him at all!

"Yes?"

"Can we stand next to each other a little longer? I am glad out of all the people I've met you're my friend." Just a little while longer he wanted to savour the moment, where the feeling of peacefulness, remained in his heart.

"Sure, I am glad out of all the people I've met you ended up as my friend too."

Sarada's answer filled him with an unknown source of happiness. He didn't mind they will probably get a solid scolding from everything they did today from their parents. He wanted to stay here with her just a little longer, since having her by his side felt like he could face anything he worried about head-on. That feeling of blissfulness was the reason he realised he wanted to protect her.

This realisation made that peaceful moment more special to him. God, he really was an idiot. But that's a secret he doesn't plan to tell anyone anytime soon.

・・・・★・・・・★ ・・・・

AN: Hello, everyone!

This chapter is dedicated to all of my readers. ;) I cannot believe we're on the chapter nineteen. Soon we enter the round number of twenty! Thank you for your support now and in the future.

Your Clumsy Author - Karinrumi ;)

#GoF #BoruSara #boruto uzumaki #sarada uchiha #borutoxsarada #boruto - naruto next generations #Multi-chapter fics #high school au #romance #comedy #drama #fluff.

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harunoheart · 5 years

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Oneirophrenia C7

———————

Sasuke Uchiha

———————

The next morning we woke up at sunrise. The fire pit was still smoldering from the night before, a few coals glowing in the pile of ashes.

I threw some dirt on the coals to suffocate the flame and did a final check on our rations for the day. Our goal was to travel for a few hours at most, just a quick here and back trip to test Sakura’s distance theory...but we packed enough for two days, just in case.

“Are you ready to go?” She asked, looking up as she laced her boots. Her backpack sat next to her, full of medical supplies she preemptively summoned last night.

I gave her a quick affirmation and pulled out a few barrier tags from my cloak. Placing three in a triangulated position around our campsite, I activated the seal with my chakra and watched the campsite shimmer into the background of the forest. That should protect us from unexpected visitors, at least the human ones.

Squirrels always seemed to find their way through these things.

Sakura walked up beside me and slung her bag over her shoulder with a determined smile on her face. “You’re up first, Sasuke-kun.”

Concentrating my chakra into my eyes I felt the Rinne-sharingan whirring to life. My vision shifted into hyper awareness and as a breeze passed through the forest I was suddenly aware of every leaf falling off the trees as the first signs of autumn made itself clear.

Out of my peripheral, I could see Sakura tightening the Velcro on her gloves, anticipating anything. Her forearms flexed and I could see her pulse racing in her wrist. I turned my head so she wasn’t in my line of sight while I opened the portal.

Focusing all my chakra I picked a fixed point in space. Visualizing a pinprick sized hole tearing wider and wider still. The trees began to distort and the portal came into view, black and ominous and wildly unstable.

I could only keep it open for a moment or two. Widening the portal until we could safely jump through we were finally ready to begin our mission.

“Let’s go.”

————

Stepping through the portal felt like jumping into a magnetic field. You can feel the shifting of the atmospheric pressure as we entered the mountain range.

The sky glowed with an ominous green, but the sun rose in the east, just like home. You could see the hazy outline of the moon where Kaguya and Zetsu are imprisoned, fading into the sky as the sunlight filtered through the atmosphere.

Sakura looked around, scanning our surroundings for threats. “So far so quiet,” she said, kneeling down to the earth. Grabbing a handful of dirt from the ground she examined the soil. “It’s damp, and cool, it probably rained a few days ago. There’s potential for sustaining plant life but...” she looked around again straining her eyes into the distance, “not a tree in sight.”

“Grab a sample, everything helps.” I allowed my eyes to rest from the strain, a headache beginning to form. Sakura took a vial from her bag, packing the dirt inside and capping it with a cork before labeling it with the Kanji for mountain again.

A wave of exhaustion washed over me as the flow of chakra to my eyes suddenly halted. I pinched the bridge of my nose and waited for the headache to pass. On my left I heard the sound of water sloshing in a bottle.

“Here, take a break. It’s my turn,” she smiled, handing me the drink. I gratefully took it while she rummaged through her bag for supplies.

Sakura pulled out a Kunai and a stack of what appeared to be exploding tags. I watched as she wrapped the handle of the knife with the parchment and pricked her finger on the blade, placing a drop of blood on the handle before embedding it in the dirt on the top of the peak we stood on.

“How good is your eyesight?” She asked, putting the extra tags back in the bag.

“Do you have to ask?” I said, raising an eyebrow at her.

She rolled her eyes, “If we run into trouble, this beaconing tag is coded to my chakra. Wherever we end up, I can activate it to send up a flare so we can find this location again.” Sakura ran her other hand over the pinprick to heal. Her hand glowed green as she continued, “if we need to, can you use Amenotejikara to switch places with the kunai, or do you need something bigger?”

As to be expected, Sakura continues to surprise and impress me. Her analytical skill is almost at the level of Shikamaru.

“Theoretically, a kunai should work, but I’ve never brought anyone else with me with my Amenotejikara.”

“Then we will have to test your range with it while we explore.” She said smiling. Getting up off the ground and dusting off her knees she maintained the sparkling sense of optimism she had as a kid. I’ll never admit it out loud but it made the work feel less heavy. I appreciated it.

“Your theory about relative dimensional space seems to be holding up so far. The sun seems to be rising in the same direction as back in our world. We should travel A few miles south. If you’re right, we should be able to open up another portal closer to the main road we traveled on.”

Sakura nodded in affirmation and we began to walk, the kunai glinting in the sunrise behind us.

——

“Sasuke?”

“Hn...”

“You see it too...right?”

“....yeah.”

The valley in front of them shimmered like a prism, reflecting light in a soft wave that seemed to breathe with the landscape. It looked like a barrier of some kind, stretching out across the mountains for miles beyond where we could see.

Sakura picked up a rock from the floor and tossed it at the apparition from where we stood, a good 30 feet away. It appeared to fall right through, not disturbing or awakening anything, so we cautiously got closer.

Looking up towards the sky the shimmer stretched into the cloudless blue, its iridescent reflection glittering in the sun.

“Sasuke, look...” Sakura pointed straight ahead. Our outlines began to reflect themselves in the prism, like a cloudy haze. The figures mirrored ours as Sakura lifted her right arm, the reflection moved it’s left. “Do you think it’s some sort of genjutsu?”

“It’s definitely a trap. Until we know what it does, we should be cautious,” I said. Sakura nodded in agreement, grabbing a kunai from her pouch and preparing for a fight. Out of my periphery I see her try to take a step forward, and instinctively blocked her movement with my arm.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Naruto isn’t here, so one of us has to,” her hand reached up to grab mine, “And you’re out of chakra,” she said, shoving past me without hesitation and approached the shimmer in front of her. Her hazy reflection did the same, gaining clarity with each step. Soon she was face to face with a mirror image with an iridescent sheen.

Sakura moved her head side to side and watched as the copy did the same. She side stepped, and the copy moved in sync with her, but with a slight lag. I readied my grip on my sword and stepped closer, poising to interfere.

Slowly, Sakura reaches out towards her shimmery self and smiles. The reflection smiles back. My heart suddenly raced with anxiety as they got closer...I had a bad feeling about this...

Their fingertips touched and it was like the world collapsed.

“Look out!!” I yelled, drawing my sword. But it was too late...

The shimmer collapsed and I heard Sakura scream. Running towards her as she collapsed on the ground I don’t see any sign of the shimmery Sakura or of the barrier that divided the valley. I scooped Sakura off the ground and propped her up against a nearby boulder.

Her face shimmered with an iridescent sheen before fading back into her skin.

“Sakura...Sakura wake up,” I shook her shoulder and pressed my hand against her cheek. She was still breathing, but was fully unconscious. Great. Im out of chakra and my teammate is passed out.

I couldn’t even tell if she was under a genjutsu or not. I drew my sword and decided to scan the surroundings again. The shimmer was gone, and the horizon looked the same as it did in every other direction. Full of fucking mountains. I grit my teeth and tried to strategize the next move when I heard a deep, guttural laugh from behind me.

A chill went down my spine as I turned around.

Another deep, sinister laugh erupted from Sakura’s chest. She straightened up and her eyes glosses over with a dark haze.

The smile on her face was not hers anymore, it was sadistic and dangerous.

Ice ran through my veins as I saw her body become possessed. My heart dropped in my chest and I took a step backwards, gripping the handle of my sword.

“Aaah...Finally!,” she laughed, her hands rising up in front of her face. She clenched her fists, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Some fresh fucking air.” She pulled the hitai-ate off her hair and shook it out, tousling it so it was more loose and messy than usual.

“Who are you?” I asked, ready to strike at any moment. Sakura looked at me confused.

“Who am I?” She asked, raising a finger to her chin to ponder she finally “What do you mean, Sasuke-Kun? It’s just me....” She drawled out and feigned an innocent look before a smirk found its way into her face. She bit her lip playfully and I tried not to think about why I felt a blood rush.

Shit. This was bad.

I pulled the sword from its sheath and pointed the blade at her neck. I didn’t want to hurt her though, so this was going to be difficult. I needed my sharingan so I could get inside her mind and figure out why she was acting like this.

“Leave her. Now.” She laughed again, stepping towards me.

“Oh please,” she said, her voice low and dripping with sarcasm, “I’ve been here the whole time, Sasuke-kun. Hiding in plain sight,” she touched her fingertip to the blade and sliced it. Without breaking eye contact with me she put the wounded finger into her mouth and moaned. “That shimmery thing probably just scrambled my consciousness around,” she pondered, healing her finger, “I have an awful headache...” she pouted.

I still didn’t have enough chakra to activate my sharingan, I needed to stall her. I pressed the blade against her throat instead. “What are you?” She smiled sweetly, her face looking so much like the girl I knew but those ghostly eyes left me feeling uneasy. I had to think fast, how do I free her from this without...

With a flick of her finger, the blade shattered. Disintegrated down to the hilt until I was left with nothing but the leather grip in my hand. In my surprise she caught me off guard and stepped in closer.

“Mmm...” she sighed, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. “Are you worried?” She sighed, melancholic and a little pouty. Her fingertips traced my collarbone through my shirt, I looked down to see her usual bright green eyes were now dark, like a forest. Her chakra felt the same, but it had a different flow to it now. Usually it ebbed as naturally as breathing, but now...now it was almost playful. It reminded me of the Ninneko, when their tails would sway back and forth before pouncing.

“Think of me like a Genjutsu. Sakura’s hidden will. She created me on accident, a long time ago. When she was just a little girl struggling to find herself. I’ve been here since before we even met you.”

Her hand reached up to grab my jawline and she held it firmly in her grasp as she leaned in, stopping just before kissing me.

“Do you want to know where she is?” She whispered.

I didn’t answer.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. We share the same heart after all. My attraction to you however, is a little more...primal than hers...that is if you feel the need to differentiate. Technically I’m just unrestrained.” She dragged her fingertip under my chin and stepped away with a flick of her wrist. “I’ll give you some of my chakra if you want, so you can find her in my memories.” She held out her hand, smirking. “Unless you wanna have a different kind of fun,” she winked.

Ignoring the uncomfortable forwardness of THAT...her offer felt like a trap. “What’s the catch.”

“No catch, Sasuke-kun. But I’m warning you, it’s not very pretty in here,” she pointed to her head. “And now that I’m the one awake, all of her demons have come out to play. All the hatred, sadness, and suffering we endured is being let out of all the little boxes she put us in to ‘compartmentalize’. You just need to find which one has dragged her under. Sakura manifested me out of her fear of being anything less than delicate,” She sneered at the word like it was poison. “There is an entire realm in her mind that belongs to me and the illusion she created to restrain herself in reality. This is where you need to start your search for her consciousness. I’m warning you though...it doesn’t take kindly to visitors, just ask Ino.”

“What does the Yamanaka have to do with this?”

“See for yourself,” She said, holding out her hand .

I weighed the options...and hesitantly reached out.

The rush of chakra filled my body like a glass of water and my sharingan spun to life.

———————

Sakura Haruno

———————

Am I ...dead?

I felt myself blink but the world around me was nothing but darkness.

What happened?

I lifted my hands and was pleasantly surprised I could see them. I looked down at my feet, bare and standing in...water?

Cautiously, I took a step forward. The sound of water splashing with my footsteps echoed in the darkness.

Where am I?

I looked around, but saw nothing but black. I took a few more steps forward but heard a sound coming from behind me. I turned around to find a younger version of myself, crouched down near the ground and crying softly.

Coming face to face with my younger self was...jarring. I was so small...

My hair was choppy and growing in uneven, it covered my tiny round face in a halfhearted attempt to hide. I kind of wanted to laugh, the little pout on my baby face was so cute and sad at the same time. I remember feeling like an outcast, being teased.

I know now that what I went through wasn’t anything compared to what Naruto had to deal with growing up but as a child that was my reality. My world was so small, and I stayed safe for a long time.

I walked towards her and crouched in front.

She looked up at me and wiped her eyes, trying to compose herself. Putting on a brave face before looking up at me.

“I’m lost...” she said softly, wiping the tears from her face.

“Me too,” I smiled, holding out my hand, “Do you want to look with me?”

I wasn’t even sure what we were looking for, but it beat sitting in the darkness.

The little me nodded and took my hand, and without anything else to do - we started walking.

————

Sorry for the VERY late update everyone. I just had to pick up and move my entire life across the country so I’ve had a lot on my mind. But the new Sasuke Retsuden spoilers are giving me LIFE and I’m ready to jump into writing this story again.

I have a lot planned, and a lot of puzzle pieces to assemble so bare with me.

Hope you enjoy!

#fanfiction #oneiropherenia #chapter 7 #Sasuke Uchiha #Sakura Haruno #sasusaku fanfiction #sasusaku

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kuriquinn · 5 years

Text

Wayward Son [SPN Fusion]

The Usual Disclaimers ETC (Also, Supernatural doesn’t belong to me either)

Author’s Note: So I didn’t actually write this recently, cuz I’m still not having a great time of it writing-wise, but I had outlined it like two months ago and just fleshed it out today.

Warning(s): Appropriation of dialogue from the spn episode Lazarus Rising.

Dedicate to: All my followers who are part of other fandoms than the SS fandom :)

The only light in the warehouse comes from naked lightbulbs hanging and spluttering from the roof, loose wires winding down the walls to the generator.

Kakashi draws an obscure character on the cement floor with a spray can, one of countless symbols on the ground, walls and ceiling. Sasuke frowns at the nearest ones, studying them for a clue as to their meaning.

“I’m not sure I’ve seen most of these symbols,” he remarks.

“Traps and talismans,” Kakashi murmurs, adjusting his bandana around his face to keep the fumes at bay. “I had to dig deep into mythologies all over the world for some of these.” He glances up. “How are you doing?”

“The usual fare,” Sasuke replies, nodding at his stash of stakes, knives, tire irons, silver bullets and salt. “I suspect we can catch or kill anything I have ever heard of.”

“I still think this is a bad idea.”

Sasuke doesn’t reply.

He knows exactly what Kakashi’s thoughts on the matter are. If he’s being honest with himself—which he has always actively avoided—he feels the same. There’s nothing good that can come out of this, but he has learned better than most that ignorance can kill you just as much as knowledge.

His head feels too full, too busy since he awoke in an unmarked grave somewhere in Shiga Prefecture, surrounded by a field of dead earth and trees. He doesn’t remember Hell—it’s a small mercy, and one he doubts will last much longer, given his luck. All he remembers is being torn apart by the hellhound, and then waking up and looking for Kakashi, and then Itachi. His reunion with Itachi, and his brother being…different.

Sasuke knows Itachi is hiding something but getting him to open up will take time; it has never been easy to get him to talk, and there’s somehow too much distance between them to reach him right now. He suspects at least some of that is residual guilt—Itachi is the oldest, he was supposed to protect Sasuke and find a way to save him from Hell, but he couldn’t—and perhaps resentment of Sasuke for putting him in the predicament in the first place.

For bargaining his soul to keep his older brother alive.

But it’s been twenty-four hours since he’s been back, and he can’t do anything to deal with Itachi just now, and he’s never been good at waiting. With all the strange things that have been happening since he dug himself out of his grave—the high-pitched scream following him around, that seer Kin getting her eyes burned from her skull, the yōkai at the restaurant being too afraid to even try to kill him, the burning hand-shaped brand on his right shoulder—he wants answers, and he wants them now.

He wants to know why this—Sakura, Kin called her before her face erupted into flame—is hunting him.

He doesn’t say any of this to Kakashi, of course, and the man who all-but raised him and Itachi knows better than to prompt him. He simply nods, reluctant, and treads over to a rickety table nearby to take a pitch of some foul-smelling powder and sprinkle it in a large bowl.

Smoke wafts in the air, and Kakashi begins to chant in an ancient Chinese dialect; Sasuke doesn’t know what it means, but he’s familiar enough with most incantations to get the gist of it. He half-expects there to be an explosion, or the air to vibrate and twist the way it does when a ghost materializes, but nothing happens.

The smoke keeps billowing until it vanishes completely, and the warehouse remains empty.

Kakashi seems unsurprised, and hoists himself up to sit on the table, drawing a battered paperback novel out of his pocket.

“Is now really the time?” Sasuke grumbles, scowling at the lurid cover.

“It could be a while,” Kakashi answers, opening up the book. “For all we know, whatever it is that’s been following you around is out of phase with this dimension and needs time to materialize. Or it could be a yōkai created by whatever spell brought you back and is simultaneously existing and not existing. Sort of a Schrodinger’s Demon.”

He’s worse than Itachi when he gets started, Sasuke grumbles to himself. Out loud, however, he prompts, “If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be best to be prepared when it shows up?”

Kakashi’s attention remains glued to the bodie-ripper, but he lifts his rifle with his right hand, and Sasuke knows there’s no point to arguing with him. Besides, even when he’s supposedly immersed in his books, Kakashi has the best reflexes Sasuke has ever seen outside of the Uchiha family.

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke leans back against the table, arms folded and stares at the sealing circles, bordered by jumon incantations and mantras, and surrounding the Devil’s Traps on the floor.

What is there that exists that wouldn’t get trapped by that?

“Are you sure you didn’t get the ritual wrong?” Sasuke asks twenty minutes late when still nothing has occurred.

Kakashi glances up from his book, raising an eyebrow at him as if he’s just been insulted. Sasuke doesn’t back down—he’s said much worse to the older man in his time—and Kakashi shrugs.

“It’s a dead language,” he replies. “Older than Buddhism. One that isn’t spoken anymore. It’s possible I mispronounced something, but that shouldn’t affect the invocation itself.”

“But how can you be sure—”

A loud rattling shakes the roof.

“I’m sure,” Kakashi remarks, jumping to his feet with his rifle. Sasuke checks the two semi-automatics in his shoulder-holster, then puts his hand to the katana at his waist. The demon-slaying Kusanagi has killed every supernatural beast it’s come up against, and so it stands to reason he might need it now.

The air is charged, like it might be just before a bolt of lightning arcs through it, and there’s a thundering sound moving closer. When it hits up against the far-end of the warehouse, the walls themselves tremble as if they are about to fold inward. Before they can do so, however, the wide door slams open.

The gust of wind that emanates from behind her makes Sasuke’s eye’s water, and he blinks rapidly to keep his eyes on the figure that has materialized in the doorway.

That’s…not what I expected.

The creature has the form of a petite woman, dwarfed by the giant doors still straining back against their wall. Her hair is the colour of cherry blossoms, a somewhat bizarre contrast to her pantsuit, tie and what appears to be an immaculate white lab coat.

She glides toward them with a slow, deliberate ease that is marred only by the light bulbs that shatter above her as she passes, raining sparks down on her.

As she gets within their range, Sasuke and Kakashi both open fire, intending to slow her down.

It becomes apparent almost immediately that the bullets have no effect, and so Sasuke tosses his semi-automatic to one side and bends into a stance for battōjutsu.

“Who are you?” he bites out, hand poised and thumb ready to flick his sword from his sheath.

The woman cocks her head to one side, as if confused by the question. “I am the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition.”

“Allow me to thank you, then.”

He darts forward, drawing Kusanagi and slicing the blade upward and across her abdomen, before reversing the blade to shove through her chest. He waits for the flicker of electricity to sizzle through her body, the sign of the blade destroying its host, but nothing happens.

She doesn’t even flinch.

He is sure of this because his move brings him within inches of her face, close enough to observe that her eyes are a startlingly clear green for a Japanese woman. Something about them makes him release his hold on the sword and jump back.

What is she?

The woman considers the blade sticking out of her front, and then slowly pulls it out. There is no blood on it.

As the sword clatters uselessly to the floor, Kakashi attacks, charging forward while shooting his rifle point-blank at her face. With a movement Sasuke barely sees, she slides forward, taking hold of the weapon and using it to draw close, before touching the side of Kakashi’s head.

He crumples to the ground while Sasuke’s heart clenches, and the woman then looks up at him beatifically.

“We need to talk, Sasuke-kun,” she tells him. “Alone.” He swallows painfully, eyes flicking to Kakashi. “Your friend is alive.”

“Who are you?” Sasuke asks again.

“Sakura.”

“I figured that out already. What are you?”

“I have been called many things. Tennyo. Apsara. Angel of the Lord.”

“There’s no such thing,” Sasuke says immediately.

“Oh, Sasuke-kun…” she sighs, sounding disappointed and comforting at the same time. “This is your weakness. You have no faith.”

Lightning flashes—from where, he’s not sure, because they are still inside the warehouse—and he watches in astonishment as the shadows of two massive wings stretch out against the wall, like a bird about to take flight. An aura of unquestionable power radiates from the woman before her, and for a moment he thinks he sees something on her forehead gleam, and black designs crisscross around her body.

The electric light fades away and the image disappears, leaving the small woman before him, looking human but not.

“I apologise for earlier,” she says, looking contrite. “My real voice can be a little overwhelming to humans.”

It takes a beat for him to realise what she’s talking about, and he remembers the high-frequency, glass shattering scream that had him bleeding from his ears for several hours the day before. “That was you talking?”

A little overwhelming?

“Yes. I am sorry. Normally, certain people—special people—can perceive my true form and my true voice. I believed you would be one of them, but I was wrong.”

“And what form are you now?” Sasuke demands, flicking his eyes over her form again. “Holy hospital CEO?”

“This…this is a vessel,” she replies, sliding her hands down the curves of her body in a way that a human might intend as seductive, but comes off as clinical.

“You mean you’re possessing that girl.”

“She is a devout woman. She prayed for this.”

“Bullshit. No one volunteers to give up their body,” Sasuke snaps. “What are you really?”

“I told you.”

“Even if I believed you, why would a celestial being pull me out of Hell?”

“Good things do happen, Sasuke-kun.”

“Not in my experience.”

In his experience, everything always goes to shit just when they seem to be getting better. He and his brother haven’t been able to catch a break since the fire that burned their mother to death on the ceiling of his nursery. The fact that he survived as long as he did before getting himself killed was dumb luck.

It has always been Itachi doing everything for him and protecting him. If anyone should be saved, should be given a second chance at life, it’s Itachi. Itachi, who was happy in law school before Sasuke dragged him off to look for their missing father, who was cursed with a demon’s powers, who had his spine severed right in front of Sasuke which led him to make the deal in the first place.

Sasuke clenches his fists, and Sakura frowns, cocking her head to one side. Those luminous green eyes fix upon him again, and he has the uncomfortable feeling she can see right through him.

“What is the matter?” she asks him. “You do not think you deserve to be saved?”

“Why’d you do it?” he asks harshly, though it comes out in a whisper.

She smiles then, pleased at the question. Reaching out—farther into his personal space than he allows even his family—she settles her left hand firmly on his right shoulder. Immediately his entire body feels bathed in light, burning from the inside out, but it’s not a painful sensation so much as disquieting. There’s a very real, very terrifying sense that this woman—this creature---knows every molecule of his being.

When she pulls away, he is torn between leaning in and scuttling away from her as fast as possible.

At last, she tells him in a serene voice, “I saved you because it has been commanded from on high. Because you have a greater purpose.”

Staring into those clear, sure green eyes, Sasuke almost believes it.

I realise it’s an odd choice to have Sakura as Castiel, but I find that comparing Team 7 and Team Free Will, she has the most in common with Castiel. Also, the only brothers of consequence in Naruto are Itachi and Sasuke, so they had to be the Winchesters. I would probably make Naruto Crowley. You know, since he’s BFFs with Sasuke/Dean lol.

Don’t think I’m going to go anywhere with it, but the idea wouldn’t leave me alone :P

栗

#sasusaku #rating: t #sfw #fusion au #naruto fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #uchiha sasuke #hatake kakashi #haruno sakura #spn #drama #angst #prelude to ust

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tabletibbletobobble · 4 years

Text

Gone in an Instant - Prelude

It was a cool October night and laughter echoed down the lonely street.

“You can’t do that!” a young boy shouted. “You can’t wear roller skates.”

It was true; she was wearing roller skates. “There’s nothing in the big invisible rulebook of tag that says I can’t,” she reminded him. She was eight, with black hair and golden-brown eyes. Her hair was curly and fell just past her neck.

“You’re too fast, it’s not fair,” the child continued to protest. His pale face was turning red, his lips rolled into a pout. A small group of fellow players circled around the boy, most nodding in agreement. “You can’t play until you take them off.”

“Who died and made you king of tag?” The girl countered. Her voice was harsher than she meant, but her face remained scrunched up in anger.

“Who made you so bad at running that you need wheels?” The boy laughed. A few children behind him gasped and oo’d.

“Fine!” she shouted. Her fists curled up in anger as she began to kneel down to unlace her skates. “I was just trying to be nice. I’m much faster without them,” she bragged, even unsure herself.

“This ought to be good,” said a spectator.

The girl’s skates weren’t just too big for her, they were high too, with lots of laces. She began unlacing, muttering every almost-swear she could think of. Her mom can’t get mad at her for almost-swears, right? The skates were hand-me-downs from the girl’s aunt. She was an odd woman who used slang incorrectly and talked a lot about bands the girl had never heard of. Her bumper sticker said “Disco Never Died.”

She was just about done with the first lace, when the boy who was it shouted, “Time in!” The entire group scattered.

“You guys are gonna be so sorry when I’m done.” She could here the pattering of footsteps getting more distant. She had to focus on the laces if she was going to be able to play. “I’m gonna run circles around-“ The girl was interrupted by a small hand pushing her firmly to the ground.

“You’re it!” The mean boy exclaimed as the girl winced in pain.

She pulled herself to her feet and saw not a single kid was in sight, except one, who watched the girl from a distance. One foot still in a skate, the other in nothing but a fluffy purple sock. She stood there feeling defeated and humiliated before looking at her arm. A small red cut puffed from her brown skin. She touched it and sucked in through gritted teeth. The girl pulled off her left elbow pad and threw it on the ground, before collapsing down to a knee once more to remove the other skate.

The remaining boy approached her. His hair was a dirty blond falling to bangs above his brown eyes. He wore an orange t-shirt with a shark on it, and a striped black hoodie over it. He walked slowly, as one would approach a stray cat.

“Are you okay?” the boy was nervous. He didn’t want to get yelled at, and he definitely didn’t want to be “it”.

“What do you care?” The girl sniffed, choking back tears.

“That was mean of them,” the boy offered. “I’m sorry.”

“Boys are jerks,” the girl muttered. She might’ve been the new kid, but she knew boys like the ringleader. They’re everywhere.

“Nuh-uh,” the boy argued. “Not all boys are jerks.”

“Name one,” the girl demanded.

“Name one what?” the boy scratched his head.

“Name one boy who’s not a jerk,” the girl looked up at him, as she pulled off her last skate with an “oof”.

“I’m not!” the boy protested.

“My mom says you’re not allowed to say if you’re nice or not.” The girl stood up, she was about the same height as the boy. Maybe a centimeter taller. “She says you can’t judge yourself. So, try again.”

The boy thought a moment. “Mufasa, Simba’s dad.”

“Nuh-uh,” the girl rejected. “He was a bad guy in Star Wars.”

The boy reconsidered for a moment. “What about Naruto?” The boy smiled triumphantly.

“Mom says kids who hurt their friends are jerks,” the girl quickly pointed out. “And him and Sasuke fight a lot.”

“They fight over a girl though!” the boy exclaimed. “They both like her.”

“Mom says boys who fight a lot like each other.” The girl put her hands on her hips confidently.

“Wait,” the boy’s eyes opened wide. “Boys can like other boys?”

“Yep!” the girl exclaimed. “My uncle Nate likes his boyfriend. They live in Boston.” The girl twirled around, picked up her skates by the laces, and began walking toward the two bikes lying on the grass.

The boy followed her. “How’d your mom get so smart?” the boy asked earnestly.

“She always was,” the girl smiled.

The boy smiled back. “Cool.” The two reached their bikes and pulling them up and walking down the street at their sides. “You’re new, right?”

The girl nodded.

“Do you have any friends yet?”

The girl nodded again, “I do, but they’re back California.”

“You can’t be far-away friends with someone,” the boy argued. “They’re pen pals. Do you have any friends here yet?”

The girl shook her head. “The boys are jerks, and the girls are bees!”

“Bees?” The boy questioned.

“It’s what my mom says when a girl is a jerk. I think it stands for something, but I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

“What did the girls do?” The boy asked.

“They said I couldn’t join sports because they didn’t have a surf club and that kids from California only know how to skateboard and surf.” She sighed. “And I don’t even surf! I mean, my dad does, and me and my mom tried it once, but my mom got stung by a jellyfish after we fell off so we had to go home.”

“Whoa!” the boy gasped. “Did she die?”

“No but her foot got red and puffy,” the girl explained. “I think it laid it’s eggs in her. Like in that movie dad said I couldn’t watch the rest of.”

“Which one?”

“ET, I think.” The girl finally mounted her bike. It had a sleek silver paint job, with pink and black waves painted on the handles and frame.

“So you need friends, right?” The boy stat out kind of startling.

“I guess so,” the girl answered. She shrugged. “If my pen-pals don’t count.”

“I’ll be your friend,” the boy offered. Releasing the didn’t even know each other’s name, he shoved out his hand, offering a handshake. “My name’s Nick.”

“Railly,” the girl reciprocated. She took the boys hand and shook it as hard as she could. The two laughed and jumped on their bikes. They raced to the end of their street, then back up where they had played tag. They dodged invisible alien laser blasts and chased off an evil space ship. Railly’s ship was faster, but Nick’s had a more armor and didn’t have to dodge as much.

It wasn’t long before the sky began turning orange and purple. The two were lying on the grass talking about their favorite Saturday cartoons, and who they were going to be for Halloween. Railly was still in her socks, not having removed her sneaker from her school backpack. Her eyes danced around the autumn sky. The gray clouds and what remained of the leaves made Railly think of visiting Uncle Nate. The sky was blue but was starting to shitft. At the first sign of sunset, Railly jumped up. “Oh shoot!” She exclaimed. “I told my mom I’d be home before now!”

The two pulled themselves onto their bikes and raced down the street. “Crap, crap, crap,” Railly repeated to herself. The two sped down the right side of the street, only slowing to cross the street.

Railly’s fuzzy socks were a present on the birthday before they moved. Her mom said she needed to stay warm in the great white north. Railly was not exactly used to the extra bulk of these socks as one got caught in the gears of her bike. She attempted to pull it away, but she over-corrected in trying and swerved to and fro. It was only inevitable that her bike would pull her off road. Onto the grass leading down the hill, into the forest. “Whoa, who, whoa!” She cried as he bike jumped the curb and began it’s bumpy descent. She swerved, nearly slamming her front tire into a large rock, but the bike was still on a collision course for an old willow that marked the forest edge. She should have hit that tree.

Nick’s eyes widened as he watched what had just unfolded. This fast, graceful girl thwarted by a sock, and now hurdling down the hill. He jumped off his bike, leaving it to fall in the middle of the street. He ran after her. He saw her mere inches from the tree and instinctively closed his eyes to avoid seeing the contact. But there was no crash, no scream, no thud. Nick opened his eyes to see nothing but woods and the small creek behind the tree line. Did she jump off her bike and hide just to scare him? Was she a ghost the whole time? Nick rubbed his eyes. There was no Railly. Just an empty silver and pink bike, leaning against an old oak tree. He called out to her. He tried again and again as sun set and the sky turned dark. His new friend was gone.

Railly stumbled forward, rolling into the orange dust of this strange place. She pressed forward back onto her feet, still only with the fluffy purple socks against the rock dirt beneath her. She looked up, seeing the red sky above her, and the orange mountain range in front of her. She looked around, feeling helpless and alone. She turned and pressed her hands against the dirt hill behind her. Could she go back? Could she get home?

#my writing #short story #magical girl #origin

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365daysofsasuhina · 5 years

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[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Thirty-Seven: Country Field ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Itachi ] [ SasuHina, blood, gore, animal death ] [ Verse: Divine Light ] [ AO3 Link ]

He didn’t sign up for this journey to become some sort of hero. All Sasuke wanted was what he was promised: for the light mage to heal his brother. But that quickly turned into some harebrained scheme to drag them halfway across the continent to her people’s abandoned capital.

Which means weeks of travel.

And they’re only about one set of seven days through it when major trouble finds them.

They’ve just cleared the edge of a forest, emerging from the sun-dappled road obscured by boughs to the full light of a country road. The path slopes downward toward a modest village, surrounded by fields of crops and cattle alike. At the fore is the light mage astride her grey mare, Itachi just behind her on a dark bay gelding lent by their father for the journey. Having abandoned her own family to join them, Hinata sits with Sasuke atop his black steed, much to his chagrin. Apparently they’re to find her her own mount here, finally finding a town with a proper livery.

“So, how are you to pay for this steed?” Sasuke then bothers to ask. “Did you really bring enough coin for something like that?”

“I brought all my savings. Which...isn’t a fortune, but I hope it will be enough. If not…” The fledgling water mage reaches into her neckline to pull out a silver chain. A moonstone and sapphire depict the night sky and crescent moon along the apex. “I may be able to trade this.”

“What is it?”

“It was my mother’s. She gave it to me the night we fled the city, a few days before she -”

Their conversation, however, is cut short as a great bellow sounds from the valley below. All three horses spook, dancing in place on the roadway as the group tries to spot the source of the sound. “What was that?!”

“I don’t know, it sounded like -”

From the treeline far to their left, the sound erupts again...this time followed by the crashing of trees. From among them stumbles a cyclops.

“Oh twelve,” Sasuke swears under his breath, gripping the reins and attempting to calm his gelding.

Wielding an uprooted young tree as a makeshift club, the creature takes a few steps to gather its bearings, blinking its large eye in the sudden sunlight. Once adjusted, it gives another roar, holding up the weapon and charging toward town.

Crying for action, the light mage kicks heels into her mare and plunges down the road, Itachi soon following.

“Hang on…!” Sasuke mutters, urging his mount into a swift gallop. “I need you to jump off once we’re near town, then I’ll swing back and try to head that thing off.”

“What about me? Can’t I help?”

“You barely know how to wield your element,” he cuts in. “You’ll spend more time getting in my way than anything else.”

“But -!”

“But nothing! I’ve slain beasts before. This will be no different. I’m sure the Luxerian disciple will need help calming the townsfolk. You can handle that.”

His brother precedes them into town, Sasuke wheeling his gelding around at the gate. “Get off!”

Thankfully Hinata complies, and then he’s off again like a shot.

For now, the giant humanoid finds itself distracted by the town’s cattle. The beasts run in fear, bellowing and making for their barns. One isn’t quite fast enough, crushed into the earth by the creature’s club with a shower of dirt and one last bleat of terror.

Sasuke grimaces, but...at least it wasn’t a human. Drawing his bow from his back, he knocks an arrow and summons flame to the head. It sings through the air with a twang of the string, landing its mark in the brute’s brow as he examines his kill. A roar of pain echoes through the valley, reeling back and swiping at the bolt to brush the shaft and feathers aside. Small splatters of blood arc as he tosses his head.

“This way you fat bastard!” Sasuke calls, already drawing another arrow from his quiver. It too alights and arcs to land in a shoulder.

Now blinded with rage, the one-eyed beast gives another cry and begins charging across the country field, swinging its tree in hand. Baiting it back south, Sasuke keeps his mount at a pace to maintain its attention. Arrows, he knows, won’t take this thing down - he’d need a hundred quivers before they’d begin to kill it. He has neither that, nor the time. His horse can’t run forever.

But neither can the cyclops.

Built for brute strength, not speed or stamina, it’s not long before its breaths labor. All Sasuke needs is for it to stagger and fall. If it’s on the ground, he can get his sword to its throat. Thankfully there’s a river along the vale’s spine he can probably use to slow it further.

Before that can happen, however, Sasuke pales as he turns around from taking another shot. Having ignored his command, Hinata stands along the water’s far edge, looking both determined and terrified.

“What in the twelve hells are you doing?!” he screams. “GET OUT OF HERE!”

But rather than listen, her hands raise, aglow with a deep blue light. The rapids begin to roll in greater turmoil, bubbling and raging against the bank.

“You don’t know what you’re doing! You’re just gonna -!”

Having kept his eyes from his target too long, Sasuke yelps as a particularly close stomp rocks his steed’s footing, causing it to topple over with a squeal. The beast is only a few steps behind him now, closing in fast.

Rolling to his back, Sasuke’s eyes go wide. Palms lift, sparking with energy before streaming flames at his foe. Its legs are caught in the blast, instantly burning as it cries in pain. The distraction spares his horse, the giant running forward blindly on its own momentum.

Right for Hinata.

“NO!” Helpless as he tries to scramble to his feet, Sasuke stops as surprise stills him.

Now stone-faced with calm, Hinata finally unleashes the built-up energy in the river. Tendrils of water whip like living vines, all reaching for the beast at her command. They snatch his flailing limbs, roiling about his legs and hissing against the heat of Sasuke’s lingering fire. Like a mountain he topples with a crash that rattles Sasuke’s bones, just on the other side of the river. More and more water abandons the banks at Hinata’s calling, until he’s completely encased. Weighed down, his struggles are slow, cries unheard and forming bubbles of wasted air. Despite his flailing, the element overwhelms him...and the giant drowns upon the bank.

Silence.

Only once she’s sure the creature is dead does Hinata release her spell, crashing to her knees as the water recedes back into the flow.

Sasuke stares.

Cries then echo from town, a great crowd emerging to see the fallen spectacle. Among them, the light mage fends off onlookers from Hinata, helping her gently to her feet.

Sasuke’s gelding then noses at his temple, drawing his gaze and begetting a remount. Together they cross the water to the other mages.

Looking more than a little dazed at her sudden drop in energy, Hinata leans upon her white-haired companion. “I...I told you I could help.”

“You damn near got yourself killed - this isn’t something to celebrate!”

Before they can argue further, the town’s mayor pushes his way toward them, asking how they can be repaid for slaying the monster. He looks to Sasuke...who pauses, and then jerks his head.

“...she’s the one who killed it, not I. Give her the reward.”

The next morning they leave town with full supplies, and not three, but four horses, Hinata astride a palomino mare. Sasuke eyeballs it critically.

“...what?”

“There won’t be any hiding her, that’s for certain...but I suppose we already have a grey that stands out,” he mutters.

“Well we can’t all be riding black horses,” she sniffs in reply. “I think she’s beautiful.”

“She’s nice. Good confirmation, solid build...but also bright as a campfire.”

Leaning forward in her saddle, Hinata weaves fingers through the mount’s flaxen mane. “I think I’ll call her...Aurarius.”

“...fitting.” Silence falls for a time before he offers, “You really were foolish yesterday.”

“I know. But you needed help.”

“I was doing fine -”

“Until he knocked you on the ground!”

“Because I was too focused on you!”

Dark brows disappear up under her fringe.

“You...you were right in the way - I thought you were going to get yourself trampled.” Sasuke gathers up his reins in a gesture of irritation, earning a toss of his gelding’s head. “...and you were lucky. We’ve not had much time to train you in using your ven yet. It could have failed you if you’d hesitated, or lacked the strength to do what you intended.”

“Well...it turned out fine.”

“Just...promise me you won’t do that again.”

Red eyes stare into pale blue before she heaves a sigh, looking ahead. “...fine. But you have to also promise to teach me more. So I’m ready. And then I can do that again.”

The igni mage deadpans. “...fine.”

Hopefully, they won’t be running into any more terrorized towns any time soon, and he won’t have anything to worry about.

This is late again, I'm so sorry - today was VERY stressful irl, and I couldn't find a chance to write until late...and even then had trouble focusing due to stress. But at least it's done! A piece in my original fantasy verse! I don't get to write this one too often, but it's a lot of fun to cross Naruto with. And it's good practice and helps with world / lore building, ahaha! Sasuke is, of course, a fire mage...and Hinata water. Opposites in almost every way, but...you know what they say about opposites! Anyway, on that note, I really must call it a night, I'm exhausted. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, and I can get my drabble done at a better hour! Regardless, thanks so much for reading~

#uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #uchiha itachi #sasuhina #blood //#gore //#animal death //#divine light [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

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ninhcs · 6 years

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The Goddess and the Ninja

Chapter 1 in all its unedited and untouched beauty

I’m the great Captain Jack sparrow...Wait what?!

{luna P.O.V}

I wake up in my tree ‘I’m hungry when are we eat’ I thought lying down on a branch then something jumps on my back causing me to freak out.

“AHHHH!!!!” I scream as I fall out of the tree I look out of the bush I fell in and glare at who’s Star looking at me as if she was about to laugh.

“How many have I told you not to do that to me Star?” She just turns her head to the side and my eyebrows twitch.

“Anyway star do you have the list of the Konoha ninja or what?” She nods

“Good that means we can eat sooner!” As I start looking through the pages I try to find someone near the same age as me because it would be easier for me to act like them since I don’t act mature at all.

“Found one!”

“Sasuke, Uchiha. . . Hmmm sounds familiar oh well” I say while I transform. ‘Good now I can get food.'

“Let’s good get us some food!” Star barks in agreement

{Fast-forward}

Ok so we just got into the village since I’m a thief I have to stay far way where no can find me. As I’m waking I see a blonde kid with blue eyes running away from two ninja ‘my thoughts on this: what…the…hell’ as I walk down the busy streets with star in the ally wait for the chance get food.

“HEY Sasuke!”

‘Oh crap what do I do now?’

“Uh y-yes” I say as I turn around to see a guy with porcupine hair.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Umm…you see bye!!” so I made a run for it but he was too fast and he grabs me by the ear.

“Ow let go you stupid human porcupine!”

“Come on I’m taking you back to class “Then he dragged me into a building

“Hey Iruka I got Sasuke Uchiha here” the so called Iruka was a tall, tan man with a ponytail and a scar across the bridge of his nose. When we got into the class room it looked like they were taking notes.

“What? But he right here”

“Then who’s this?” he picked me up by the ear again

“Ow Ow let go you baka!” then I sensed that all eyes were on me so I stare back at them O_O.

“Who are you?” the porcupine asked me

‘Time for my random distraction’ I stood up

“Well isn’t it obvious… I’m caption jack sparrow!”

‘I just need a few more minutes I need to distract them until star gets here’ I jump from desk to desk until I get near a window.

“I captain jack sparrow will now tell u one of my amazing tales” they just looked at me like I was crazy.

“On a peaceful afternoon I the great captain jack sparrow was kidnapped for the 45th time to be exact” then I see Star in the corner of my eye.

“And do you know what did?” there was silence “I escaped!” I said as I jumped out of the window and I ran like hell.

{The Real Sasuke’s P.O.V}

‘Who the heck was that and why was he pretending to be me?’ I thought ‘I thought Naruto did this but he looks just as confused as I am. Who was that person?’

{luna P.O.V}

“That was to close for comfort” I said and looked at me like I was stupid

“How about we use someone older? We still haven’t eaten today” I said as my belly growls I start to look through the book star stole for me

“Kakashi Hatake. . .”

“Come on star to the bakery!!!” I said as I pointed to a random direction

‘I am again on the streets and hopefully this time I won’t get caught.’ I thought as I entered the bakery

“Hello.”

“Hi.”

“I was hoping you could help me with a cake you see and, I having trouble picking out flavors.” ‘I really don’t sound like a dude right know =.=lll’

“Sure we have many flavors.” she says as I see Star sneak in the back She starts talking about flavors and I’m not listening just waiting to see star leave. I see star leave which is my cue.

“Thank you I’ll think about it” I said as I leave

“We finally have food!” I say as walk with star with a whole bunch of cupcakes.

“You know it’s wrong to steal”

‘Oh crap not again’ I looked at star but she wasn’t there.

“Where did she go? That wolf always leaving me alone” I mumbled

“Uh hello there I was just um returning theses” I said as I turned around then I realized that the person that caught me was the same person I copied.

‘Not again’ I thought ‘well there’s only one thing I can do at this point run!’ I took out my sword from behind my back.

“Who are you?”

“Captain Jack sparrow!” I say as I swing the sword causing dust and dirt to fly and cloud everything so I ran back to the woods where I could hide. I stopped after a few minutes of running near a tree and transformed back.

“wow…that…was…close” I panted

“Oh there you are”

“What the heck where did you come from!!” I said pointing at him

“You’re coming with me” he said as he threw me over his shoulder

“Hey! Put me down you baka!”

“Just be quiet I’m taking you to the lord hokage”

“Put me down NOW!!”

“What the heck where did you come from!!” I said pointing at him

“You’re coming with me” he said as he threw me over his shoulder

“Hey! Put me down you baka!”

“Just be quiet I’m taking you to the lord hokage”

“Put me down NOW!!”

#naruto #bad naruto fanfiction #i couldn't help myself #i hate this so much that i love it #TGATN #i still kind of use this oc but she's grown so much #i never saw pirates of the caribbean when i wrote this

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teavious · 6 years

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i’m between your past and future right now

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: Sasuke x Hinata

Summary: Probably this is why he is thinking of it right now, he supposes, as he stops a bit in his tracks, allowing Naruto to catch up with him, checking out his walk, calculating if they can make it each to their own bed without another break. Sasuke Uchiha, after a two months long mission, is sickly homesick. 2.6k words. AO3.

He has blisters on the heels of his feet, and each step is a painful reminder of the fact that there’ll be blood and flesh to clean up and tend to once he’s home. It makes him push forward with more determination, ignore the discomfort and Naruto’s talking at his side. He has been sporting a migraine for the past couple of days, a mix of sleepless nights, no food and a chatterbox for a partner for this mission, and the soreness has spread all over his body, that he’s not even sure what he’d complain of first, if asked.

But he’s a ninja with a mission, and however much unwanted it might have been, Sasuke Uchiha gets it done, and he does it well, and fast as well. For how much he’s been busy organizing diplomatic meetings, even Naruto is a bit impressed by the efficacy he displayed in this first actual mission; and Sasuke allows this one remark to pass by with just a smile, and a somewhat kind pat to his best friend’s shoulder, who is about to be a groom in less than two weeks.

This is why, Sasuke Uchiha tries to reason, he is ignoring all the nerves in his body screaming at him to stop. This is why he pushes away Naruto’s hand away from his arm, throwing biting remarks over his shoulder to get the blonde pumped up all over again, like this is a game, like they’re twelve again. Things could have been worse, he supposes. The night is clear, a chilly, but not totally unpleasant wind rustling through the trees accompanying their footsteps, and the air has that familiar forest smell that can only mean home.

If one were to ask the last survivor of the Uchiha years ago, back when he was but a child with bitterness as his only guide, when he was blinded by the notion of power, when his dreams were nothing but boastful pride where he would be at his current age, the answer would have been so easy:

Dead.

Well, present situation ignored, Sasuke cannot find many other things to complain about in life. He’d found some kind of peace in what was left behind the war, he found some kind of purpose in rebuilding so much of what was destroyed: people’s hopes, bonds, trust. In the beginning, he has worked on the new hospital wing in Konoha, alongside simple citizens, under blazing sun and chilly rain, screamed at as if he didn’t have a zombie hand now for his war efforts, served the same dull soup every afternoon, men boisterous at his side, the helping girls cautious,but welcoming. That was easy: fitting in, playing pretend at being just one of the others. And it worked, for as long as there was need for him there. Then, the last nail was hammered in, the last door was fixed, and one morning, out of habit than anything else, Sasuke turned the corner and saw children at one of the windows he helped mount, had a nurse wave at him on her way to the store to fulfill one patient’s needy request.

That’s when the politics started tugging at his sleeve, and in-between cleaning out his own district, making space for refugees coming in from worse-off areas, in hope of a better, new future in the village of the two heroes of humanity, Sasuke found himself quite often loudly arguing with a sighing Kakashi, or biting his lips to keep from teaching one young noble at a time what respect looks like.

He wasn’t loved, but he was good. He struck the best deals, he knew when to back down with his head bowed, when the flatter, and when to swear and fight his way into an agreement. It took time, but the eyes watching his back were less incriminating, less attentive, and Sasuke found himself breathing easier, smiling more in Naruto’s way, his grin blinding; allowing Sakura an afternoon here and there, to catch-up over tea; accepting Kakashi’s head ruffling the hair on the top of his head.

He was loved, by those who mattered.

Probably this is why he is thinking of it right now, he supposes, as he stops a bit in his tracks, allowing Naruto to catch up with him, checking out his walk, calculating if they can make it each to their own bed without another break. Sasuke Uchiha, after a two months long mission, is sickly homesick.

From a few meters in front of him, Naruto howls. Above them, one of Sai’s birds is looking back at them, and his best friend is jumping up and down, like his shoulder isn’t bleeding again, and muttering an idiot under his breath, Sasuke plops to the ground, head in his hands, and waits. Naruto is sprawled now on the lush grass, his backpack used as a pillow, and Sasuke wonders how the gifts for Sakura will survive under the blonde’s hard head, though he doesn’t seem to think too much of the consequences of his actions. There’ll be someone to pick them up soon enough, patch them in and get the reports on the last leg of the mission out of them.

“Nothing quite compares with Konoha,” his friend says, and the Uchiha can only nod along, even if it’s barely noticeable. But Naruto has always been good at picking up Sasuke’s feelings without needing explanations, without needing proof, without him even knowing he does it at all. After all, as Sakura likes to make fun of them when she gets drunk, possessively clinging to Naruto’s side and twisting their fingers together, they are the closest thing to soulmates she has ever seen.

Yes, Sasuke thinks, that would be one way to put it, although he suspects that he’s not the first person that comes to Naruto’s mind when he hears the term, just as Naruto isn’t his either. But it’s one easy way indeed to describe the desperate need for the other one to be happy, coupled with all the possible efforts to help them reach exactly what they need.

And it’s comfortable to know that whatever happens, he has Naruto, Konoha’s skyline and the rustle of the leaves during clear nights.

The briefing is short: Konoha missing them just as much as they missed it, and there’s a whole lot of urgency in being shoved in Kakashi’s office, and the warm cups of tea waiting for them on his desk. Neither dare to sit down, their muscles aching even worse after they took the earlier break, and they try to ignore Kakashi’s knowing and understanding smirk, because it feels like they’re 8 again and doing stupid young things.

Kakashi loops one final signature on the papers, making them disappear in a puff of smoke the next instant - and his pen is thrown somewhere on the opposite end of the room, as he takes on a very tired, slouched position. Sasuke is sure that under his mask, he must be smiling still.

“Agh, Naruto, you should have hurried a bit more. Sakura’s been scolding me for not having picked flowers for the wedding already, like it’s my fault that you couldn’t reply to any of her letters.”

At the mention of letters, Sasuke’s heart leaps in his chest. All contact has been forbidden throughout the mission, but knowing that Naruto’s fiancee still tried made him feel in a particular, strange way. Curious, maybe.

Naruto’s smiling too, scratching sheepishly at his neck, in an attempt to cover part of his blushing cheeks. Kakashi is laughing at his actions, pleased to have succeeded in making his loudest student even a bit bashful, though he knows too that it’s all tiredness and neediness.

The door slams to the wall, a teary-eyed and ravished Sakura standing in the doorway. For a few seconds, the two lovers just take each other in: Naruto’s grown beard, Sakura’s too big frog-patterned pajamas. Then, in a flash, Naruto’s voice pierces his ear with a scream, as he scrambles her all in his arms, and Sakura loudly sobs in his shoulder, hiding her face against his neck. After that, Uchiha at least has the decency to look away, towards his old teacher, silently asking for permission to leave. Kakashi weaves a dismissive hand, still enraptured by his other two students as they’re now sharing short kisses with each other, in-between hushed status updates. Sakura’s hand are green already by the time Sasuke makes a run for it.

The Uchiha district is eerily silent, and his own footsteps are thumping loudly in his head. He wonders, a bit, why he didn’t stay on Kakashi’s couch at least for a few hours, make himself a bit more presentable after such a long time, wash off some of the caked dirt on his skin, replace some of his old bandages. Spare his own haven the sight of his tiredness.

All the doubts disappear when he’s finally in front of his home: everything as it should be, everything as he remembers it. It’s the familiarity of it that presses at his throat, making him choke as he dumps his backpack on the floor at the entrance, as he slowly takes off his sandals. He almost stumbles and falls at the first corner, and a laugh bubbles at his lips, because he’s just so damn content to be home . He falls into his usual habits fast, eyes darting to the dresser at the entrance, immediately noticing the pile of letters with his name on it neatly stacked at one end. He grabs them in one of his hands before silently moving forward, making sure his slippers are on.

When he raises his face again, he is welcomed with the sight of her. Her hair is frizzled all around her like a dark halo, and her eyes have to blink several times before they finally focus on him. He’s smirking by the time she is properly realizing that he’s back.

“ Hinata,” he breathes, and she pushes forward with mad determination. He expects a hug, or a scolding for having been gone so long, but she is silent, and her hands are hesitant around him.

“Can I touch you?” she asks, barely audible even in the still silence, and something in him molds around the tone of her voice, follows the rise at the end of the question, and he finds himself blinking rapidly trying not to cry. He nods his head, bangs falling in his face and the first thing Hinata does is to get on her tiptoes and push his hair back behind his ear, meeting her beautiful, beautiful eyes with his.

Her fingers flutter lightly at his temple, immediately easing his painful migraine, and Sasuke almost moans in pleasure when her chakra is fast to fill up his own lacking one. She has one hand pressing at his back, softly pushing him forward, and he complies with her guidances until he’s sat on the bed, a bowl with warm water and three rolls of different types of bandages spread on the bed next to him, the letters still grasped in his hand.

Only the lamp by her side of the bed is on, and as she works silently, from time to time humming along to a song played on the radio in the morning, Sasuke is going through the stack of papers in his hand, discarding aside all that are of no real interest to him. Until something catches his eye: envelopes, at least ten of them, with just his name in the neatest handwriting he’s ever seen.

“Hinata,” he tries again, but she is not looking up from under her bangs, and he takes it as the slight embarassment that it is, and allowance to go on. He opens one, at random, and the same familiar handwriting, Hinata’s, welcomes him, filling up pages. She tells him of her days, of the weather, of the people living in the district, of those who asked her of him. She tells him of the food she’s eaten, friends she’s visited, cats she pet. She never says something directly about her, and it’s this underlying absence in all of her texts; of an actual presence to grasp, that makes him realize that his absence has been as frustrating for her as for him.

Hinata bends closer, wet cloth at the cut near his brow, carefully cleaning up his face, disinfecting the wounds she finds in the way, healing those that she knows she can.

She ignores Sasuke’s hisses, she ignores his attempts to push her back, to try and clean and patch himself up on his own, suddenly shy in front of her. They have staring contests over the smallest things, his fingers wrapped around her wrist to stop her each time she makes a go for his shirt, for the wet cloth, for the ointment she herself made. Everytime he does so, her frown deepens, her lips form a pout.

When she reaches for his pants, she is blushing; and only then does Sasuke notice that she’s wearing one of his sweaters, sleeves rolled up out of the way, whole body swallowed underneath the material. She ignores his hand shaking up around her waist, under the material of her top, the fingers almost ticklish on her skin.

“Hey,” he tries again, though it sounds rather like he’s purring out the word. She stammers, trying to say it back in return, and he laughs, pleased.

“I missed you so much,” he goes on, tugging at her body, getting her closer to him so that he can hug her her, resting his head over her tummy, as she’s still standing. Her hands automatically go to his hair, so much longer now, playing with the ends, humming once again. Her lips brush against the top of his head, and he automatically buries his head in the material of that damn sweater that smells entirely like the love of his life. Like his soulmate.

“Welcome back, Sasuke,” she soothes, dropping to her knees so she can once again look directly at him. Much like a cat, he pushes forward, his forehead against hers, relishing in her presence.

“I’d really like to kiss you,” he breathes, hand now cupping her cheek. She surges forward, like under a spell, lips stumbling just a bit awkwardly against his, but he pushes forward, more force, more need and they find their rhythm, arms lounging to get closer and closer. Only after they part can Sasuke breathe, can convince his brain that yes, he’s home and everything is fine. Hinata takes his hand in hers, fingers tangling together, and when their eyes meet again, she smiles so prettily that Sasuke wants to kiss her all over again.

“I missed you,” she says, and it’s the first selfish gesture he’s seen from her since he entered the room, and he positively gleams at her admission. She can pick up his joy flickering in his own eyes, and just as she’s about to retreat into herself, embarassed, Sasuke drags her after him, tumbling in the bed: bowl splattered on the floor, paper wrinkling at their feet, bandage rolls painfully digging in their sides.

“Sasuke,” she tries to admonish, but her voice ends with a smile he can hear in her voice, so he knows she’s not actually mad. He tugs her closer, almost suffocatingly so, but she is not complaining. Instead, her hand darts for his hair, playing through it once again, and Sasuke closes his eyes against her touch, pleased. His own thumb is drawing circles at her hip, and Hinata shifts just the littlest, so that their legs tangle together.

“Tell me, again,” he asks, almost dozing off to sleep already.

“I missed you.”

“More.”

“I’m happy you’re back.”

“More,” he presses, his hand squeezing her thigh.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Don’t go again,” she whispers, and they are so close that he can almost know the words by her breathing pattern.

“Ok.”

Thank you for reading! If you enjoy what I'm doing, consider donating to my ko-fi page! If you enjoy how I'm doing it, leave a request with your donation, and I will write it for you!

#sasuhina #sasuke uchiha #hinata hyuga #naruto #sasuke x hinata #hinata hyuuga #uzumaki naruto #haruno sakura #narusaku #kakashi #UHM it's been so long i don't know how to tag things anymore :(#but yeah.... hope you enjoy it!!!!#i was just sad and i wrote this to make myself feel better :(

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delicatewrites-blog · 7 years

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Conjure - Chapter 1 (Wrath) SasuSaku (Naruto)

Sakura sat by the window, staring towards the clearing and the line of trees beyond. She had been like that for the past hour or so, waiting on the sun to go down.

“Staring out the window isn’t going to help you know.” Sasuke grumbled at her.

“It doesn’t hurt to know what’s coming either. Don’t you have to make preparations or something?” She quipped back at him, turning from the window to look at him. He had made himself comfortable at her crowded kitchen table and was currently sipping a chipped cup of tea like The Queen herself.

“I am all the preparation I need.” Sakura was unsure about whether to be impressed by his confidence in himself or annoyed by his arrogance.

“Of course you are.” She muttered.

The shadows of the forest outside had grown deep, the light fading into a crisp twilight. A burst of gold illuminated the trees.

“Wow what a beautiful sunset” the pink haired witch sighed.

Sasuke appeared behind her suddenly, scaring the wits out of her in the process. “That isn’t a sunset.”

“Wait you don’t mean..?”

“Congratulations sweetheart – you frightened them enough to warrant pitchforks AND torches. I’m impressed.” His tone dripped sarcasm.

She grasped his hand between her own, delicate fingers intertwining with his large rough ones. Totally ignoring his crappy mood, she stared into his strange hypnotic eyes.

“Please don’t fail me” She whispered. Her bright eyes wide with sincerity. The fear he found in those emerald depths sent a pang through his heart. He immediately shook her off.

“Go hide.” He ordered her. “Don’t come out until I get you. Do you understand?”

She nodded vigorously at him. “I mean it Sakura. Don’t move for anything.” Was he concerned? He scoffed internally at himself. Of course not, he was only holding up his end of the bargain. His freedom depended on it. Nothing more.

The tremors that ran through her fingers however made him feel jumpy; try as he might to deny it he felt a need to protect the young witch from these humans. She had shown him no judgement, she had even offered him hospitality in the form of a chair to rest on and some tea. If anything she was only curious about him, not afraid. Fear was all he had ever instilled in anything.

“Okay.” As she moved towards the other end of the house, she turned back to him. “Hey Sasuke?”

“Hn?”

“Be careful.”

He rolled his eyes at her. “Stupid girl. Go.” With that she turned and ran towards her cellar – A small space for herb storage hidden beneath a trap door in the floor. She never saw it, but for the first time in a long time a smile formed on his cruel lips.

He waited on her small wooden porch, leaning against one of the beams supporting its roof when they arrived. The majority were men, some had brought their young sons with them – clearly trying to teach witch hunting at an early age. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes at them. In their hands they held all manner of tools as weapons. Every second one or so held a torch in their grasp. It was totally ridiculous- the idea that witches had to be burned. Sasuke had experienced Hell for long enough to know that fire didn’t “cleanse” shit.

“Who are you sir?” One particular voice boomed at him. “Are you with or against the foul woman who services the devil here!?” Sasuke laughed at that – a crackling cackle. The leader of the charge clearly took offense at his response. “ANSWER ME!”

“You pathetic worm.” He finally cast his gaze towards the hunting party – revealing his marked eyes to them. “I am the devil.”

His grey, leathery clawed wings sprouted from his back - the blood that was shed from their protrusion from his skin sprayed the old wood of the porch behind him. His hair grew in length, unearthly blues joining with his usual raven colour and the white of his eye faded to an empty black. Predatory fangs sprang from his mouth, and black claws grew from his elongated fingers.

A few screams tore through the air at the sheer sight of him. A few stragglers decided to run at that point, not up to the task of taking on a demon.

He laughed once more, this time a thunderous boom. “So you brave men were more than happy to take down an innocent girl, but when faced with true evil you run? How sad.”

The party leader let out an intense war cry before charging towards Sasuke, a farming sickle aimed towards the demon. Those who had stayed followed. As if bored, the demon slowly unsheathed his Katana from its holster. The souls it would harvest tonight would sustain him for quite a while.

Sakura slumped in the dank cellar. A few candles were all she had as a light source, and she used them sparingly, not wanting to set any of her drying herbs alight. She could slightly hear male voices outside through the woodwork of her little cabin. Suddenly loud cried erupted from several men, clearly they were attacking. Her fingernails dug into the skin of her arms, as she had crossed them across her chest in an attempt to keep her nervousness at bay.

Although Sasuke was a demon – and a rude one at that – she didn’t want him to get hurt on her account. Which was strange as she had summoned him as a shield of sorts in the first place. Yet the idea of him in pain made her ache. She supposed it was his beauty. Sakura had never expected to summon a warrior demon who looked like that. Smooth skin, high cheekbones carved into his face, and that jawline. Thinking of it made her want to drool. How could a jawline be that sexual anyway!?

Thinking of his handsome features and his muscular body made her ache in a different sense. Those hands were heavenly. She remembered the way his calluses dragged against her fingers earlier, and wondered how they might feel grasping at the skin of her hips, pushing apart her thighs….

Before her eyes could roll back into her head at the very idea a screech erupted from outside. She jumped, smacking her head on the low ceiling. Another pained scream caused her to wince. She had no desire to know what Sasuke’s methods were but they sounded brutal. After a few minutes the screams had subsided to silence, and Sakura prepared herself to leave the cellar. She didn’t think demons cleaned up after themselves and figured she was about to see a gruesome scene outside her house.

Footsteps creaked across the floor over her head and she figured Sasuke had come to get her. Her mind raced, hoping that he was okay, knowing that he probably was but she had to know ASAP anyway. Without thinking she sprung open the trap door, racing up the step ladder into her home only to be met with dirtied hands around her neck.

She gurgled as she was dragged up the rest of the way, her feet kicking against the ground and giving her bruises. Her nails dug into the meat of his hands, scratching and pulling in the hopes of being freed.

“You nasty fucking bitch, I’LL KILL YOU I’LL BURN YOU I’LL-“

A sharp sword skewered the male through the throat before he could continue his crazed speech. Its tip stopped short of Sakura’s face before it was ripped away. Blood rained down upon her, staining her white dress red along with the rest of her. She screamed as the body collapsed on top of her – which only resulted in her getting blood in her mouth.

His weight was booted off of her cowering figure, and strong arms grasped her by her shoulders. Callused fingers slid along the blood covering her arms as she was lifted to her feet.

“You little idiot. I told you.” A familiar voice sneered at her. She couldn’t see him for the blood had covered her eyelids and she couldn’t open them. Nonetheless she clung to him, wrapping her arms around the demon who had saved her and squeezing him tight as if he might disappear any moment.

Sasuke sighed at the witches’ tiny trembling figure. He knew he was being harsh but the way she had thrown herself so carelessly into harm’s way angered him in the most irrational sense. Regardless of his anger and his annoyance with himself he took care to soften his voice. “It’s over, you’re safe for now.” He also took care to wipe her face clear of blood so she could see, mindful that his claws didn’t mark her.

She blinked up at him, confused at the sight of the form in front of her. It was definitely Sasuke, only he was so different to what had originally appeared in her salt circle. “Please don’t scream again. I’ve heard enough for today.” He huffed.

She only shook her head at him. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to… never mind. So are you leaving me now?” Her question sounded so sad, he wanted so badly to believe that it was because she wanted him to stay. She was probably only upset at the prospect of being left vulnerable again. Being a demon had trained him to automatically assume the worst regardless of whatever he really wanted.

“I can’t just yet…” He stared at her, gauging every millisecond of her reaction to his words. So far she seemed pleased. “Quite a few fled in the beginning. I’m sure they will return with reinforcements and more appropriate weapons.”

She screamed with joy in her head, eyes sparkling with glee – she made sure to compose herself before replying “Right, I suppose your end of the bargain hasn’t been upheld completely as of yet.”

He only nodded, a little confused at her degree of happiness.

“I guess I better go run a bath then. Won’t be a moment.”

“A bath?” He stared in amazement as the woman spun around and practically skipped to the bathroom.

#conjure #sasusaku #chapter 1 #naruto #fanfiction #smut #demon #witch #violence #strong language #lemon

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lilachaeyo · 6 years

Text

Staying in the Shadows (A Naruto Fanfiction) Chapter 3 - Part II.

Part I Chapter 1 Chapter 2

Jinko remembered the next day to be the worst survival training she had ever done and that's saying something.

Kakashi sensei instructed each of them to grab a bell which were hanging from his jacket. The problem was there were only three bells rather than four. Meaning one of them was going back to the Academy. All they had to do was to attack him with the intent to kill. Everyone hid themselves amongst the trees and the bushes. Everyone except of Naruto. "Okay you and me right here!" he charged at Kakashi. Jinko pinched the bridge of her nose annoyed. Baka!

Before Naruto did any harm, (not that he could have), Kakashi sensei got behind him and poked him in the butt. "Thousand years of death!" he yelled and Naruto was sent flying into the pond. Seeing this everyone got into action and attacked Kakashi. But Kakashi wasn't a layman, he was a Jonin. The four genins were not even in the same league as him even if combined. Each of them tried their best to catch hold of those bells but none succeeded. Although, Sasuke came quite close. Jinko saw from her hiding place in the bushes that he almost had it. His fingers graced them but Kakashi sensei was fast, he moved away quickly. Jinko thought it was now her chance to attack him as he would be caught off guard. She jumped out with her hands balled in a fist. "Hyaaa!" she yelled, but Kakashi quickly blocked her punches with his mere palms, while still focusing on Sasuke. "You're punches are pathetic," he chastised her. Jinko's mouth opened and a gasp left her lips. Jinko had given all her energy into that punch but he didn't even flinch. Jinko put her other hand in her sachet and pulled out a kunai. Her hand moved towards his arm which was holding her fist but Kakashi simply slapped her kunai away. "You expect such attacks to hurt me?" he sighed. He straightened up and let Jinko's hand go. Jinko fell on her butt with a thud. She looked around and found that Sasuke had taken this opportunity to run away. "I'm giving you one more chance," Jinko looked up at Kakashi. "Hide wherever you want. You take this seriously and attack me with all your strength. If you are going to just play around then don't waste your breath." Kakashi then disappeared leaving Jinko on the ground. Jinko couldn't believe he thought she was not taking this seriously. She really wanted to hurt him and take those bells. What did he mean 'stop playing around'? She wasn't. She came at him with the intention to kill, like he asked them to. Suddenly Sakura's scream was heard through the forest ground. Jinko stood up and ran in her direction. She saw Sakura lying on the ground and rushed forward, however Kakashi sensei jumped out of nowhere and aimed his fist at her. Jinko couldn't block his punch and fell to the ground.

This happened many times. Jinko tried to attack Kakashi and he didn't even need look up from his book to block her. She made a clone and attacked him but the clone was as good as her. She couldn't block the attacks of Kakashi either. She had been hit in the stomach twice and once in her upper arm. Kakashi had disappeared and Jinko was heaving. She didn't have anymore chakra left for another attack. She fell to the ground. The sun was above her head and Jinko could hear the faint ringing of the timer. She got up and started walking towards the stumps where they had began their training. It took all of Jinko's strength to not fall over. As she reached the stumps, Jinko saw Naruto tied to one of them. Sakura and Sasuke sitting on his each side of Naruto and Kakashi sensei was standing before them.

"There you are Jinko!" Naruto said as he saw her walking towards them. "I was wondering where you were. We've all been waiting for you." Suddenly, Naruto's stomach growled. "Uh oh, stomach's growling huh? That's too bad," Kakashi said. "Oh by the way, about this exercise, I've decided. I won't send any of you back to the academy."

Jinko couldn't believe her ears. He's not going to send us back, she thought. "I'm going to drop you from the programme. Permanently." Kakashi finished. Naruto and Sakura yelled in disbelief. Sasuke got up and attacked him with a kunai. Kakashi flung him to the ground and stepped on his body with his foot on Sasuke's head and his arm holding Sasuke's behind his back. "You can't step on Sasuke like he is some kind of bug!" Sakura yelled.

Jinko couldn't hear all the commotion around her. All her brain was capable to think currently was that she wasn't going to be a ninja ever in her life. Jinko wasn't surprised. She was pathetic today no wonder he is dropping her.

"You all think it's a game. Did you determine what's the point of this exercise? Why are all of you put in a team and not individually?" Kakashi explained calmly. Not individually? Because a team is supposed to act together. Otherwise they are no good. "Team work," Jinko said looking down at her feet.

"Yes. Team work. If you all had figured that out and worked together you might have taken the bells."

"Wait a minute!" Sakura yelled. "There were only three bells and four of us. If we had worked together only three of us would have the bells and that would lead to group conflict and fights!"

"Exactly. I pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could over come that and put your team ahead first. But it didn't even cross your mind," he explained. "Sakura! You were so obsessed with Sasuke when he was gone but you didn't help Naruto who was right in front of you."

He then addressed Naruto, "You, Naruto, do everything alone. Everything." Kakashi then angled his foot which was rested on Sasuke's head, pushing it more against the ground, "And you Sasuke, you think others are so far beneath you they were worthless. Arrogance." Kakashi hissed.

He then looked at Jinko and his eyebrow crease eased. "As for you Jinko," Jinko looked up. "For not having any Ninjutsu or Genjutsu I expected your Taijutsu to be strong. Unfortunately, it wasn't." "I have ninjutsu! I can produce a shadow clone!" Jinko defended herself. Kakashi was taken aback. "Oh. Well. You are too weak then." He scratched the back of his head. Jinko looked down. She remembered what she had said the other day on the rooftop. She wanted to be the best kunoichi. Guess she was just aiming too high.

Kakashi then demonstrated how during a mission the enemy can take someone hostage and one of them can get killed if they didn't follow team work. He also mentioned the heroes who were K.I.A. but Jinko wasn't listening. She was focused on not letting her tears slip from her eyes. She felt hopeless.

"Alright. I'll give you all one more chance," he looked at them. Jinko looked up, her eyes red. "I'll give you three hours to get those bells. Eat your lunch to build up strength but Naruto won't have any. It's your punishment." Kakashi then walked away leaving them with their lunch boxes.

Everyone sat down and opened their lunch. Jinko was staring at her nails. Naruto's stomach growls again. Jinko sighed. "Here. Take it," Jinko offered her lunch. "No. Jinko it's your food, I can't take it," he protested.

"Take it. I'm not hungry anyway." It was true. Jinko wasn't hungry. Her stomach was churning with her need to cry. She felt as if she had even a bite of food, it wouldn't pass through her throat. She held her dumpling towards his mouth. Naruto opened his mouth and took it in whole. Tears flowed down his face and he was being dramatic about how she cares about him and she is his only best friend. Sakura argued that she was going against Kakashi's instructions and might fail the test.

"Let him." Jinko said adamantly. A surge of anger and rebellion was flowing through her. She was angry at herself, her luck and maybe even Kakashi. Jinko didn't know why she was so angry even when it was true and Kakashi didn't mean her any harm. He was just doing his job.

"Jinko is right. We need to work as a team and for that Naruto needs his strength," Sasuke sided with Jinko. He offered his rice balls to Naruto. Seeing this Sakura gave her food too claiming she was on a diet. Naruto began sobbing earnestly about how wonderful friends they are and he was grateful to have them.

The atmosphere changed quickly. There were black clouds surrounding them. Thunder rumbling. Sakura tumbled back with fright. Naruto, Jinko and Sasuke stood still with their eyes wide. "You!" Kakashi jumped out of nowhere. His face to the closest proximity of Naruto's. "You all passed." He said with a closed eyed smile.

"What?" Naruto yelled.

"Yes, you all passed. You helped your team mate when he needed you," Kakashi replied.

"But you said not to feed him?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"Yes. In the shinobi world, you're required to follow your instructions and those who don't are considered scum. But those who leave their comrade behind are even worse than scum," Kakashi explained calmly.

And hence, Team 7 was formed.

Jinko's reminiscence was interrupted when the door to the office opened and the guard from earlier stepped out. "You can go in," he said, holding the door for them.

Mitsuki and Jinko walked in. The room looked quite modest. Almost nothing had changed since she last saw it. The office looked as bland as it did in the earlier days when she used to come with Team 7 for her missions. Two guards were standing near an office desk. Jinko eyed the masked man sitting on a chair in front of the desk, with his signature bored expression. Jinko felt nostalgic for her childhood days but then she remembered those years and how even breathing was painful and the hair on her neck stood up. Mitsuki had shrunken behind her, clutching the obi of her dress.

Jinko bowed her head. "My lord," she said. Jinko hoped she looked presentable. She wanted to make a good impression. Perhaps, to wipe out her first those many years ago. She slid her hand on the sides of her houmongi, hoping to straighten any crease.

Kakashi's eyes never left her. He looked at her from top to toe. The last time he saw her she was only thirteen. And now she stood, seventeen years later, a full grown woman. She turned out good, he thought. After all, the family was of a feudal lord. The yellow colour of her houmongi brought out her black eyes. Her black, silky hair was tied in a bun. His eyes fell on Mitsuki who was clutching her hand. Look at that, she is a mother now.

"Jinko Eguchi."

"Lord Hokage," Jinko bowed. Eguchi? Mitsuki wondered.

"What brings you here?"

"My lord, I wish to admit Mitsuki—," she placed a hand on Mitsuki's back and nudged him forward. "— into the Academy. They don't have ninja schools from where I come from and he has great potential, my lord. I wanted to place him into the guidance of a Leaf shinobi so that he could be great ninja someday."

Kakashi looked at Mitsuki. His pale skin and snake like eyes looked nothing like Jinko at all. "Is he your son?" Kakashi voiced his suspicion.

Jinko looked down, "No, my lord. I'm his guardian." Kakashi kept his stoic face.

"And is that all you want?"

Jinko shook her head. "There's one more thing, lord Hokage. We wish to settle here, me and Mitsuki. If Mitsuki gets admitted in the Academy, I wish to stay with him. It is the duty that I've been assigned and also for personal reasons," Kakashi looked at the floor. "I hope what we ask isn't too much." Jinko finished.

"I need to counsel this with the others. As you can see, you are outsiders. Though you were a Leaf shinobi Jinko, you aren't now seeing as you don't have your headband. Also, this is a matter of security. It's nothing personal. The elders will discuss it and we will inform you as soon as possible. Till then you could stay in the village as visitors," Kakashi laid back in his chair.

"I understand, my lord." Jinko bowed and turned back to leave. "Oh, and Jinko," Kakashi stopper her. "If the decision is a negative, then you'd have to leave the village the very day. I'd would escort you myself to the village gates."

"Yes." Jinko replied firmly and left the room.

It was clear that he didn't trust her. He would have an ANBU to tail me. I bet he already asked for a background check on us by now, she thought.

"Jinko where will we go now?" Mitsuki asked looking up at her as they walked out of the building.

"We will stay in a hotel till the decision comes," she replied.

"What if they don't allow us to stay?"

"We will cross that bridge when it comes. But for now let's go find Ichiraku ramen shop!" Jinko tugged at Mitsuki's hand and dragged him to the streets of Konoha.

#kakashi hatake #team 7 #naruto shippuden #Naruto #narutouzumaki #sasuke uchiha #sakura haruno #the sixth hokage #the bell test #fanfic #fanfiction #lovestory #new generations #chapter3

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milkshake-fairy · 7 years

Text

Say My Name

Author: Milkshake-Fairy

Pairing: Sasuke x Naruto

Rating: Mature

Summary: That one name that means more to Naruto than anything else in the world.

♡♡♡Happy NaruSasu Day ♡♡♡

“Sasuke,” Naruto growls, anger sparking through him as Sasuke dismisses his intelligence once again, much to the amusement of the rest of the students in Iruka sensei’s class. The bastard had a talent of getting under Naruto’s skin more efficiently than anyone else the blond had ever met in his eleven years of life. A few words and Naruto was thoroughly enraged.

Perhaps it was because Sasuke was admired by so many, the attractive “cool guy”, the center of attention. People expected great things from Uchiha Sasuke, given the reputation of his clan, and so far he was living up to those high standard, being the number one student in the class. Perhaps it was because Sakura-chan didn’t notice any other boy’s existence other than Sasuke’s, especially not class clown Naruto’s. Perhaps it was because somewhere deep in his mind Naruto doubted himself and his dreams when he saw Sasuke’s abilities, couldn’t help the nagging sense of incompetence that crept through his mind knowing he could not yet compare to the other boy. That needed to change if Naruto wanted to be Hokage. One day he would definitely defeat the bastard.

Whatever the reason was that Sasuke bothered him so much, Naruto only knew that no one else could evoke so much emotion within him, could set him on fire instantly. Before he has the chance to yell at the other boy more, Iruka sensei shushes him, threatening to send him out of the class if he didn’t calm down. Clenching his jaws and forcing himself to sit down, Naruto tries to ignore the small smirk on Sasuke’s face. Bastard

******************************************************************************

“Sasuke,” Naruto mutters as he looks up to see the bastard had grabbed his ankle, saving him from crashing to the ground from the tree branch that Naruto had failed to hold himself onto with his chakra. He was always ahead of Naruto, always egging him on with a smug smile. Always saving him as well. Naruto didn’t want to admit the last part.

He probably did it to show off anyway, to remind Naruto that Sasuke was the better ninja, but somewhere in his mind Naruto knew that wasn’t true. Sasuke was an extremely hard worker, skilled but driven, unyielding in his fight to reach his goals, and Naruto had to begrudging admit to himself that it was admirable.

He glares at the other boy, who looks down at him, the infamous smirk on his face, fingers still gripping Naruto’s ankle tightly. Naruto needed to work even harder, train more, push himself farther, give everything he had to catch up to and surpass his rival.

************************************************************************************

“Sasuke!” Naruto screams as he watches his team mate sink to the ground, Haku’s needles piercing through various parts of him body, blood spilling down from the numerous wounds. He had jumped in front of Naruto, protected him from the the fatal attack. Why. Why would you do that for me? Why abandon your goals for me?

The initial shock is overcome by pain, heart tearing apart as he watches the life draining quickly out of Sasuke. Naruto can’t remember the last time he felt so much anguish, so deep within his core, as if a part of his soul is being ripped out of him. He doesn’t understand why, but the pain is unbearable. The anger that burst through him is unprecedented, unleashing the demon within him.

***********************************************************************************

“Sasuke,” Naruto whispers, lying awake in his bed, losing track of time. He had failed to bring his friend back to Konoha once again. He had never felt so incompetent, so weak and useless. He had failed Sasuke.

There was a fear hidden in the corner of Naruto’s mind, which was probably the biggest reason for his insomnia. He was disappointed in himself, frustrated at the situation, mad at Orochimaru, at Sasuke as well, but underneath it all, he was afraid, terrified of the inevitable if he continued to let his former team mate run rampant. At some point, if he wasn’t stopped, Sasuke would be killed. The thought alone left Naruto painfully breathless, nauseous with dread. He would not let that happen, could not let that happen.

Burying his face in his pillow, Naruto wills his panic to subside. He remembers the time he thought Sasuke had died, the utter loss of control that had whirled through him, the intensity of pain, anger, and emptiness. I won’t survive it, he thinks, this time I won’t survive it.

Naruto doesn’t understand it completely yet. He’s trying to save his best friend. That’s what he keeps repeating to himself and to anyone that asks, but there’s more. Of course there’s more, and Naruto knows everyone can see it. Their bond, their connection, the feelings between them, it’s overwhelming, too much so for Naruto to fully grasp. All he knows at the moment is that if Sasuke were to die, Naruto was going to die with him.

**********************************************************************************

“Sasuke,” Naruto mumbles, bloodied and beaten, bruised in almost every part of his body, missing his right arm. Regardless of everything his heart feels light, the wave of sadness that had been weighing down on him for so many years finally lifting.

Sasuke lays beside him, equally battered. Their battle had finally come to an end. Naruto’s mind flashes though everything they had been through, all the suffering, distress, and sorrow that their journey entailed. Sighing, he lets a smile lift his lips, feeling the warmth of the sunlight above him. He turns to look at Sasuke, who looks back, and Naruto feels a certain warmth envelope his heart. Perhaps it’s the sun, the bright rays seeping though his skin into his chest, but, as he looks into familiar dark eyes, he knows it’s not.

***************************************************************************************

“Sasuke,” Naruto moans as his body meld’s against the other, pleasure searing though his veins, heating his sweaty skin and leaving him dizzy with lust. He turns his head to bury his face into Sasuke’s neck, surrounding himself in the comforting scent as Sasuke thrusts into him again, drowning him in nirvana. In these moments, Naruto feels utterly complete, heart, mind, soul, and body connected with his other half.

This is what he fought for, what drove him past his limits, what tore him down and rebuilt him. Love. Love was the center of it all. His arms tighten around the other man, drawing him as close as possible, one body one soul. Sasuke was the center of it all.

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“Sasuke,” Naruto laughs as he spots the other crouching behind a billboard and bolts towards him, ready to tackle his husband down and win their elaborate game of hide-and-seek. Sasuke jumps up, preparing to escape, but their son runs at him from the other side, colliding into him and knocking Sasuke down before throwing his small arms in the air and shouting out his victory.

Naruto cheers, running up to his family, watching as Sasuke pretends to be sad about his loss. Their son gives him a comforting hug before spotting Naruto and crashing into his arms, bragging about beating his father as Sasuke catches Naruto’s eyes and grins.

Sasuke, and it had all been worth it.

#sasunaru #narusasu #SasuNaruSasu #mywriting

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luna-orlha · 7 years

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

Ao3

----

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Shikamaru?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Yes, no drinking alone.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You are my heir, Sakura. Be proud.”

“Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It’s okay. We’re here.”

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

Then Sakura stops running.

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is like she was not even missed.

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

This Haruno Sakura isn’t her anymore.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Sakura!”

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

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

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

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

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

He waves her off, briskly setting their pace.

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

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

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

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

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

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

“A- a… few years?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Ino-”

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

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

“You’ve no idea how worried we were!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You kept them?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It wasn’t for you, Dickless.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I'm not a workaholic!"

"Yes, yes. You did not sleep here last night."

"How did you-" Sakura buries her face in her hands. "It's you! You're the one who tattled to Ino!"

"Don't stay too late!" He smirks, slamming the door behind him.

"Stupid Shika!"

She skids backwards, launching herself at Kakashi even as he falls. To go up against a Goddess has to be on the top of the most insane things she had ever done, but insanity has always been what Team Seven deals in.

Sakura can see claws run through Kakashi’s torso. Too much, too deep. The possibility of Kakashi surviving is far too low for her liking. Her hands are gleaming with green medical chakra when she reaches him. Her heart sinks as she takes in his extensive injuries. Even with the Byakugo seal, there is a high chance of her failing.

“Kakashi-sensei...”

She reaches deep into her reserves, desperately trying to reconnect the pierced organs back together. She can do this. She can save him. She can-

Kakashi’s hand wraps around her wrist. “Sa- ku- ra…”

“Don’t talk, you idiot!”

She ducks as Naruto is thrown towards her. The blood on her hands makes it slippery and hard to hold onto the parts that she is trying to reconnect.

“Stay with me, sensei.” She channels more chakra into her healing, even releasing her Byakugo for the extra boost. Kakashi is the strongest shinobi she has ever known. If he falls in battle, then what about her? What about the rest of them? “Please, Kakashi-sensei… Rule number two. Don’t die.”

His hands slips off hers, falling limply to the ground, and she lets off a keening wail.

She has to- has to-

Sakura gets up to join the fight. It’s just Naruto and her left. The Goddess is gone, but Naruto-

Oh kage, not Naruto too. No, no, NO. Not him too.

She wakes with a sob at the back of her throat. Her gasps fill the silence of the room. Sakura leaps out of her window, her bare feet scampering across the rooftops.

“Sakura? It’s two in the morning,” Shikamaru yawns, shifting so that she can squeeze in beside him.

“There, there.” He pats her head sleepily. “Nara’s here to keep the shadows away,” he murmurs, eyes already closing before Sakura can even crawl under the blanket. Tucked in the blanket smelling of him, Sakura finally fades into a deep sleep.

“I was wondering whose cold feet was that on my calves.” Sakura wakes up to the low baritone sighing in her ears.

“Shika?” Sakura yawns, then realises that her arms are wrapped around him. “S-sorry!” She backs away quickly, almost falling off the bed had Shikamaru not caught her in time.

“Don’t start your day with a concussion. That’d be so troublesome.”

“Everything to you is troublesome,” Sakura says cheekily.

His eyes softens for a moment, his lips hitching up at the corner, and she felt the breath catch in her lungs. When she left Konoha, she had been too blind to see the things she left behind, too consumed in her grief to see anything beyond it. How had she missed it?

Shikamaru smirks, grabbing her by the waist and hauling her over his shoulder. “Too early for deep thoughts, Sakura!”

“I- I wasn’t thinking deep thoughts.” She could feel a flush start in her cheeks and climb down to the back of her neck. She had been thinking of the tug in her heart when she saw him smile.

“Yea, sure,” he drawls. “You weren’t.”

He dumps her at the kitchen table and tosses her a shirt too large to be anything but his. “Come on, since you crashed my bed, it’s time for you to pay rental fee in breakfast, troublesome woman.”

“I- Inojin really acts more like you than Genma.” Sakura smiles as she watches the brown haired baby drag his stuffed deer across the living room.

“Kage, I hope so. Can you imagine him having Genma’s personality? He would be breaking hearts before he even gets into academy,” Ino grouses, rubbing her growing belly. “Ahh, I swear Genma is trying to repopulate Konoha without my knowledge. The morning sickness is so bad.”

Sakura rubs some medical chakra across Ino’s stomach, carefully checking the fetus.

“Well? How is she?” Ino asks, a slightly anxious tone tinging her voice. “What’s wrong with my baby, Sakura?”

Sakura rubs her nose bridge. “Well…” she starts, trying to make sure she read the feedback properly. “There isn’t anything wrong with your baby per se. It’s just that you should be calling them babies instead of baby.”

Ino lifts an eyebrow. “Are you saying I might be having twins?”

“No, I’m saying you are having triplets. There are three growing chakra coils in your womb. I had to double check to be sure.” She shrugs, taking a seat beside Inojin.

Ino sinks into her couch, her face paling at Sakura’ revelation. “Oh… oh kage, I’m going to kill Genma.”

“It’s not so bad, at least you and Genma are going to be three steps closer to repopulating Konoha with your offspring.” She helps Inojin stack the blocks and he blabbers to her excitedly, pointing to each block.

“Then what about you?” Ino teases back, nudging a toe into her ribs. “I’ve seen the way you look at Shikamaru.”

Sakura holds her hand out, letting Inojin put his blocks into her hand and back into the container. Ino has seen the way she looked at Shikamaru? What does she mean by that? Sakura hasn’t looked at Shikamaru any differently from her usual way. Unsure on how to respond to Ino’s question after musing on it for awhile, she cocks her head at Ino with a puzzled look. “What do you mean?”

“Well…” Ino grins. “For starters, you have that crinkle when you see him. Is there anything going on between you two?”

The memory of waking up to Shikamaru smiling at her, his hair spread out across the pillow. Her eyes wander from the domesticity of Ino’s house. It isn’t very hard for Sakura to imagine all this belonging to her. Out in the wilderness, while she was tramping across the continents, she had occasionally missed the Sunday afternoons in Ino’s shop and Friday evenings feeding the deer in the Nara forest.

Waking up next to Shikamaru…

Sakura tucks her chin into her neck, focusing on helping Inojin stack his blocks. There is a sense of contentment in that idea. An idea that she wouldn’t be unwilling to follow, but Shikamaru probably doesn’t see her that way. She has been Ino’s friend for the better half of their relationship and Shikamaru does consider Ino his unofficial sister.

Ino isn’t put off by her silence. Sakura knows she’s a far cry from her pre-shinobi war days or even her post-shinobi war period. It worries Ino, and when it worries Ino, she always sends Shikamaru over to harangue her into visiting or something. Sakura’s just used to not talking that much now and though she craved human contact during her travels, sometimes in the village the amount of people on the streets makes her nervous.

“You know, Ino. You should stop nagging at Shikamaru to nag at me.” Sakura feels bad for all the times that Shikamaru has been forced by Ino to come over. She knows Shikamaru would never really say ‘no’ to Ino, especially not how they had lost Chouji in the war.

Ino looks amused, hands twined on her stomach. “You think I do that, but I don’t.” Her lips twists wryly.

“Oh,” Sakura replies faintly, not really sure how to take in her words. Could she be overthinking it? She hasn’t even noticed Shikamaru until recently and Shikamaru has always been like that. No, she pushes the small bloom of hope in her chest. She has to be simply overthinking it.

“-you have to tell her!” Sakura catches Ino’s voice as she rounds the corner. Her feet still when Shikamaru’s irritated voice answers Ino.

“Tell her what?”

“Tell her you love her! She’ll never make a move if you don’t.” Ino’s reply jars the cracks in her heart. She had hoped that Shikamaru would come to like her as more than a friend, she hadn’t taken into account Shikamaru already loving someone else.

“I won’t. I didn’t do all those things because I wanted her to be with me, I did it because she would be happy. She’s not ready for a relationship. If I made a move and she rejects me, then she would have no one to lean on. I’m not going to do that to her, Ino.”

Sakura always knew Shikamaru was that sort of man. Her heart lurches at his words, wishing she had done something first. Maybe if she had stayed in Konoha, maybe if she hadn’t left- Her fingers claw into her white medic skirt.

“Shikamaru…” Ino’s voice murmurs and Sakura can hear Ino stepping forward. “I’ve seen the way she looked at you…”

Oh kage, the girl loves Shikamaru back. She-

Sakura takes a shuddering breath, the records in her hands falling onto the ground with a loud thump.

“Who’s there?” Shikamaru commands, slamming the door open. “Saku… ra?”

She’s not ready for this. If she had stayed in Konoha maybe things would be different! Coward, her mind whispers as she swivels around and leaps out of the window.

“Wait! Shit!”

If there’s anything to be gained from her… journey, it is that her speed and stamina are better now. She can feel Shikamaru chasing after her, rooftop after rooftop, but she’s not ready to look at him now. Shikamaru loves the girl with all his heart. There will never be space for her. She has to be happy for him. He’ll get a happy ending, especially with what Ino just told him.

So happy.

The thought brings hot frustrated tears to her eyes and she swipes them away with great fury. She should be happy for Shikamaru.

Eventually she senses Shikamaru’s presence disappear from her range. She wedges herself on a tree branch in an isolated training ground.

She’ll cry now, and the next time she sees Shikamaru, she will smile and be happy for him. Like a friend would, she tells herself.

Her shoulders shake with each stuttering gasp.

She will smile.

A fresh wave of tears rolls down her face and before she can tuck her face back into her arms to cry, her body freezes. Her head turns to look down at the lone figure delineated by the sunset.

“Come on Sakura, just… hear me out, okay?” He runs a hand down his face.

“No- leave me alone.” She wants to run away but Shikamaru has her trapped in a body paralysing jutsu.

“Just hear me out, and if you still don’t want to talk to me after that, I’ll go away and never bother you again.”

Her eyes heat up again with another wave of tears at the idea of Shikamaru never being in her life again. She doesn’t think she could stand that. He is the one she came back for.

“Don’t cry!” Shikamaru says in a panic. “Please don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it,” she sniffs, and he sighs loudly.

“Look,” he starts and then stops, pushing a frustrated hand through his hair. “I don’t know when it started. All I know is that one day you were there and the next you weren’t. And all I could think was of you. I didn’t realise it until you were gone, that I was… I was in love with you. But I- I didn’t want you to think that I was doing all that for something. I just-”

Shikamaru lets out an exasperated growl. “I just wanted you to be happy, okay? You were hurting and I wanted to be there for you.”

“You love me?” Sakura asks, not believing her ears.

“Yes, damnit Sakura. I love you. Maybe for three years, maybe since academy. I don’t know.” Shikamaru looks up and she can see the curve of his lips as he gazes her. “But there’s this warm feeling in me when I look at you that tells me everything is right.”

Even with the yellows and reds tinting the light, Sakura could see the blush all the way to his ears.

“Shikamaru… please release me.”

A disappointed look floods his face and he nods, placing his fingers together to form the jutsu release seal. Sakura stands, heart thumping loudly in her ears. Shikamaru has already confessed, she has to tell him too.

She lands in front of him and she opens her mouth for words she can’t find.

Shikamaru gives her a sad look and shakes his head. “It’s okay, Sakura. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same.” He turns from her, his broad shoulders casting a shadow onto her. Sakura grabs his vest, halting his steps.

“Shikamaru- I- I-”

He rubs her head. “It’s okay, Sakura. I knew it was a possibility that you didn’t love me back and if it makes you uncomfortable, I can stop. I just-”

“No! I- I came back for you. I came back to Konoha because of you,” Sakura says in a rush before he leaves. “Be-because you were always there and I never noticed. I came back for you but I stayed because I realised I loved you.”

“You love me?” He laughs and turns to pulls her in, tight. “She loves me!”

Shikamaru spins her around and then cups her chin, his thumb stroking her cheek. “May I kiss you?”

Instead of replying, she tugs him down by his jounin vest collar, capturing his lips with hers.

When they break apart, she rests her forehead against his collarbone and he strokes her hair gently. “I’m sorry I took so long,” she murmurs. “Why did I wait so long?”

“Because you’re troublesome,” he tells her, grinning.

She whacks him in the ribs and kisses him again.

#fanfiction #Naruto #Haruno Sakura #Nara Shikamaru #ShikaSaku

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