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maoam · 3 years

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WHY HINATA IS NOT A GOOD CHARACTER

INTRODUCTION

I wanted to take a deeper look at Hinata’s character, considering there are a lot of claims about her out there, that she’s strong, that she’s kind, that she’s complex and relatable, that she’s the perfect woman and that she’s at least better than Sakura. I don’t really think so, and I’ll explain why. I’ll be focusing on canon, so no fillers or novels will be included in this post. I’ll say this as a warning, if you’re a fan of her character this probably won’t be something you’ll like. This will be tagged with the anti tags and put under read more so please do not complain if tumblr somehow puts this in the normal tags, it is not intentional. Also Sakura stans please don’t write lengthy comments about Sakura under this, I’m not a fan of her either and I’ll write about her later. Make your own post instead.

”HINATA IS STRONG AND THE BEST KUNOICHI”

Hinata is generally really bad as a shinobi and I’m not sure where the claims that she is strong come from. Hinata's entire character revolves around her being weak. This could have been fine if she actually developed, or if she found some other area for herself, yet she's mediocre at best and a waste of panels at worst, because she never becomes good or strong at anything. She’s not only physically weak from start to finish, but she’s also the equivalent of a damsel in distress. Everytime Hinata attempts to do something, she ends up failing, getting beaten up and having to be saved. She lost to her sister who is five years younger than her, which is what marked her as a failure in her clan. She tried to fight Neji in the chunin exams and ended up coughing up blood and losing her consciousness, and Naruto had to beat Neji for her. After Kabuto heals her fully, she spends the rest of part 1 either sleeping or missing in action. Very underwhelming.

If this had been only the beginning, it would have maybe been fine, but it’s a reoccuring pattern with her character. She throws herself in front of Pain, managing to do nothing but get one-paneled and almost killed. Even at the start of the war she had to be saved by Naruto. She tried to run to Naruto and tripped over a rock. Actually, she’s so weak she got Neji killed, when he had to jump in front of her so she wouldn’t get impaled. Why is she even in the front lines when she can’t fight? Even in Naruto the Last movie she had to be saved multiple times. In Boruto the movie she is still useless and reckless, leaving her daughter’s side to help Naruto, ending up defeated and having to be healed by Sakura once again.

I can’t say she’s mentally strong either. She has the personality of someone who hates conflict and tries to avoid it as best as they can, to the point of agreeing with others on everything, as Neji pointed out. Even without him saying it out loud, most of Hinata’s moments that aren’t her thinking about Naruto are her doing exactly this. This is not the personality of someone who is strong mentally. It’s the personality of someone who is too weak to have their own mind, someone who will go with the flow and is easily led and convinced. It can be dangerous the more you think about it. Hinata is also the bystander who never stands up for Naruto despite liking and admiring him. If she’s a compassionate girl, why isn’t she showing this by reaching out to Naruto and befriending him? Why doesn’t she show he’s not alone? Why is she only drawing inspiration from him? I don’t normally watch fillers, but there was one filler scene unrelated to Hinata where this girl says if you only look at the loser and do nothing, you aren’t much better than the oppressors, which probably wasn’t meant to be a call out for Hinata, but ended up being so anyway. Another thing that’s annoying is how she is berating herself often, yet doing nothing, it comes off as self-pity. Even in the Last movie, she is talking about how she must be a bad sister for knitting a scarf when her sister is in danger. Then why are you doing it and not stopping? Of course everytime this happens Naruto must cheer her up because she just can’t stop moping around and doing something herself.

Aside from all this, from the very beginning Hinata’s honor needed to be defended by Naruto because she couldn’t stand up for herself. Of course, after Naruto’s words she did stood up for a moment, and that was good, but it should have been a wake up call which altered her course. Instead, she kept doing the same she always did. If we take the Last movie into consideration, she’s still not strong enough to do anything even about her crush on Naruto. She needs genjutsu and Sakura to do the work for her. So even when it comes to the only thing she cares about 90 % of the time, which is Naruto-kun, she can’t do anything about it. That’s really sad.

”HINATA IS KIND AND SELFLESS”

There’s one mistake I see people make often, and that’s assuming characters that are quiet and shy are automatically kind. I wouldn’t say Hinata is as kind as the fandom makes her out to be. She simply comes off that way because you don’t really see her have her own opinions or disagree with the other characters. Hinata’s shyness on the other hand is most of the time a fetishized quirk to appeal to certain subset of fans. Her shyness doesn’t stop her from taking exams or hanging around Shino and Kiba, or talking to characters other than Naruto. She also has enough attitude to rub Neji’s status as a house slave in his face during their match, but because she stutters Naruto-kun every five minutes she’s supposedly kind. Kindness is shown through actions, not through standing around and stuttering. For comparison, we see Ino befriend an unpopular kid like Sakura, and give her confidence. That’s an act of kindness. Did Hinata ever cared about helping the branch members in any way? No.

She's supposedly "kind" but like I mentioned before she never shows this kindness by standing up for Naruto, or reaching out to him. She simply stares at him behind a tree and draws inspiration from his suffering. The only time she can actually stand up is to selfishly confess her love and die. She even said she felt like being selfish, and like I said she knew there was nothing she could do, she was told she’d only be in the way. She came there only to confess and commit suicide. This actually reminds me of another anime where this female character, after being unable to receive a male character’s love killed herself in front of him and said ”now you’ll never forget me”.

In the end, she cares about nothing but her own hormonal urges. Hinata tried to help Naruto cheat to pass an exam at the risk of disqualifying her whole team. This is the first individual action we see her character take. Did she consider Shino and Kiba during that moment? No, she didn’t even have an inner conflict on whether she should do this, whether it’s right towards her teammates. Even Naruto considers he might get Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura all in trouble if he accepts Hinata’s offer, which is why he doesn’t do it. Then when Hinata wonders if she can cheer for Naruto during his and Kiba’s match, she thinks Kiba might get mad. It’s more about how Kiba views her rather than whether she should cheer for Kiba because they are in the same team and should support each other. During the Pain attack, she left an injured shinobi, who couldn’t move, to go to Naruto, even when said shinobi told her she would only be in Naruto’s way. She didn’t try to save people, she simply wanted to confess and act in front of Naruto. This is about a threat to the entire village, which includes her comrades and her sister and she’s thinking only about her romantic feelings towards a guy she had maybe two conversations with and who barely remembers she exists. How is she better than Sakura? War arc really was the icing on the cake that Hinata’s character is only about Naruto. We should not forget the infamous ”Naruto-kun’s hand is so big… so manly...” is that really the right time to be thirsty? When Neji just died? Shikamaru mentions that he could help out Naruto as a right-hand man and then Hinata thinks “I-I want to be by Naruto-kun’s side too.” Then there’s of course the scene where she starts running to Naruto, leaving her post and teammates, even when Naruto is a mile away and already in the hands of medical ninjas, and even that ends up her pathetically tripping over a rock. Kiba has to remind her to use her byakugan because she is too busy gushing about Naruto. Eventually her only last line is “Naruto-kun”, when everyone is put into IT. It’s like a parody by this point. She doesn’t have any concern for her sister, her father, her teammates, Kurenai or her baby. It’s just “Naruto-kun” like it always is. Even in the Last movie, she is knitting a scarf for Naruto during the mission where they’re supposed to save her sister. Who brings a scarf on a mission? Why is she thinking about her romantic gift to Naruto so much she has to take it with her on a mission which focus is saving her sister? She even looks more devastated when Toneri tores the scarf apart than she ever does for Hanabi’s sake. It’s just silly and selfish.

”HINATA IS A COMPLEX CHARACTER”

Is she complex though? Her development goes from standing behind a tree looking at her crush she never talks to, to committing suicide for feelings that could never be reciprocated, to… waiting that a genjutsu and Sakura guilt trip Naruto enough for him to be with her? Like I already mentioned her character revolves entirely around Naruto, she has no hobbies or interests we know of aside from him. She has no motivations aside from being by Naruto’s side. She once had an interesting goal and backstory, but that was never fully explored, and it turned into her wanting Naruto’s attention and thinking about him. Her clan plot was irrelevant, she showed no interest in wanting to be a leader or even wanting to make things better for the branch members. It’s funny because immediately after the ending, no one cared about the Hyuuga branch and how the storyline was dropped and had no resolution. It was only when Hinata was being attacked for not showing to care did her fans start to over-analyze all the panels looking for the tiniest little clue that might hint at some changes.

It’s possible to be both shy, anxious and quiet and also to be strong, motivated and have interests and dreams. Hinata is never strong for herself, she’s only strong to be with Naruto, to die for Naruto, to motivate Naruto, to have Naruto look at her even for a moment. All the while Naruto doesn’t pay much attention to her unless she’s literally dying in front of him or she slapped him. Even when a big climax is happening, what’s on her mind is always her romantic feelings and her crush. I saw someone say if she were a male character, and she pulled this pointless sacrifice and theatrical confession in the final fight of an arc, she would’ve been universally mocked. Actually, I think even if it was Sakura who did this instead of Hinata the former would have been mocked, because their stans are unable to see the same flaws in their own fave as they see in the other girl. Naruto is a battle manga, characters are supposed to contribute to the defeat of the villain in some material way. The only reason people praise Hinata for what she did in the Pain arc is because they either pity her or because they’re men who think women killing themselves for a man is great because it boosts their ego.

I also notice many Hinata fans don’t notice the vanity in their own fandom. They call Hinata “princess”, ”heiress”, ”Konoha’s first lady” and draw fanart glorifying these concepts and how it makes Hinata good, because they like the superficial status, what they don’t care is the titles are unearned. I thought Hinata’s appeal was that she’s the underdog and a loser? Or maybe her real appeal is the idea of getting everything you want without doing much in order to get it? Another claim is that Hinata is the perfect woman, which you might see from men. This is what I might dislike the most. Men judge Hinata’s worth and whether she’s a good character based on what kind of woman they want and think is the right kind of woman. Hinata has big breasts, she’s submissive, she has no other interests than the man she likes, and she’s the only girl in her class who didn’t go for the popular guy. Many men hate Sakura, Ino and Karin for being fangirls but praise Hinata for being a fangirl. Basically to them if a character is a fangirl of the wrong guy, she’s a stupid slut. If she fangirls their self insert, she’s wife material and the ideal woman. If Sakura has to be saved, she’s useless. If Hinata tries to kill herself for Naruto, she’s ”so kind”. Rin is a one-dimensional character, but Hinata saying Naruto-kun for the 50th time is depth. Hinata is also claimed to be better than the other girls because she had more kids and thus is more ”fertile”. It’s like feminism never happened and we are back to the 16th century. Why are we judging women’s worth on how many kids they have and how much they can please a man?

I could also talk about how Studio Pierrot turned Hinata into a hentai bait for otakus, which also plays a part in her popularity, but I don’t think it’s necessary, so I will just offer this picture which speaks for itself.

END NOTE

Hinata is simply just a sexist stereotype, a shadow of a real woman, with not much depth, and who is certainly not better than Sakura either. Both of them are fangirls whose characters revolve around men. It’s wild to me how there are women who genuinely act like one must be a misogynist if they reject Hinata’s superficial, one-dimensional and boy crazy character. Her character itself is misogynist for crying out loud. And honestly, what does it say when even the creator himself assumes that Hinata is someone’s favorite character because he must like big boobs?

#anti hinata #anti hinata hyuga #mp #I'm not sure if I'm satisfied with this #but there's just not much to talk about when it comes to her character #it would just become repetitive

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ravysu · 3 years

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Sannin headcanons and thoughts

The last thing I would like to post for the sannin week. It is still 24.04 here! :D @sannin-central

This is long. Spoiler alert. Mostly Orochimaru, some Tsunade, a little of Jiraiya (because his story is pretty clear and spoken and idk what I can add). Also I recommend to read this meta about Orochimaru, it has influenced me a lot and has some good points. Sorry for any posible grammar mistakes. Also I really should put here a lot of references to the manga or anime but it was something that was piling up for a year and I'm soooooooo lazy. After all, those are just headcanons. Also: Im not excusing Oro's bad stuff here, Im trying to understand the reasons.

Ive already posted some hcs, here, here and here.

1. First if all, the chronology pic of sannin lifetime based on the info i found on naruto wiki and also some statements about wars from this post. It was tough considering what a mess naruto’s chronology is.

2. Sannin story shows what it cost to be a legend. They're like Team 7 but more realistic. Tsunade literally carried the war but left with nothing and developed a ptsd and have problems to just live on. Also anger control issues. I think she can be pretty bossy and stubborn which is not always nice. Jiraiya is the hero of the day but also very idealistic and can ignore some important details in the real word whether its the fight (he always injured during flashbacks maybe because each time he took too much to handle and on the one hand it's heroistic but on the other is a mistake that can lead your team to situations like in that Iwa cave) or your friends issues (I bet he saw what's going on but thought it's fine until Oro actually got red handed and left). He lives in his world and may have problems to get out to see it through someone else's shoes. As for Orochimaru, it seems like he was a normal guy for 20+ years (I mean, he didn't do crazy criminal shit and had something good in him and it was stated somewhere that it was his teammates influence. It is obvious they considered him as a friend, I don't thinks it was for nothing) but we mostly know his darkest side. Despite being a moster he is a human that have empathy and some ordinary human traits (man just decorates every bit of an environment he is in lol).

3. Tsunade was the leader of team Hiruzen.

4. Tsunade sometimes hit Jiraiya for some stupid things he did or said but never touches Orochimaru even if he did something same. Jiraiya complained about it once and almost got another hit.

5. Jiraiya had problematic parents that didn't care about him much and a lot of time he was wandering in the streets.

6. Judging by the look of Oro bangs and hair, he sometimes cut it off. A stress relief huh? And the fact that he doesn't do it now in Boruto..

7. It was shown that Tsunade and Orochimaru was acknowledged before they become a team. Maybe they did just before, or maybe some longer time before. I prefer the second option and hc that they met because both had no real friends - Orochimaru seemed weird and scary for everyone and Tsunade was Senju so everyone wanted to hang out with her but didn't really care. They weren't seen as what they were - people put the labels on them. But they didn't care about each other's labels and actually saw each other in true lights.

8. Tsunade knew it was an accident and it's not right but still she blamed Orochimaru for Nawaki's death for some time. It was something that seriously damaged their friendship and the team. Orochimaru was mad but also guilty, after all, he was responsible at least as a shinobi since Nawaki was under his watch. So he started to act cold and emotionless and was trying to distance himself from his teammates.

9. Jiraiya was in Ame while Dan died.

10. The whole his orphans mission was a bit irresponsible tbh. They already fought Hanzo and as he stated the conflict between Konoha and Ame is going to an end with Konoha's win. It's weird to stay here for three years in the middle of the war while there were other lands to fight. He left his teammates for some idea. Maybe that caused another crack in their team friendship.

11. If Tsunade would have find a way to live on with her trauma and follow the will of fire and stuff it would affect Orochimaru as well just as her grief affected him. It's like he would get an example that you can live on with this pain. So death isn't above human capability and we are not just the slaves of mortality (sounds stupid but i dont know how else to describe sorry). But as we know what he actually saw is that it broke her crucially to the point she couldnt be herself again. And so the death is above everything.

12. Oro wasn’t just acting as a cold pragmatic bitch in that cave but also tried to save Tsunade. Jiraiya knew it and that’s why he showed this sign to him like "I see what youre doing here" and that stunned Oro because he would prefer to look rather like a cold pragmatic bitch hehe

13. Just a thought. People in the village probably treated Oro as a foreigner or just wouldnt accept him because he looked so differently and had a weird attitude. That's why he sometimes didn't feel that Konoha is his home. After the wars where people were treated as means and tools, even the children, he himself developed this view on people - he dehumanized them and used as the means to his goals, just as his village did. Funny thing some people were straightly dehumanizing him too like Ibiki thought that he was a demon (tho he was a child). And he probably weren't the only one. Anyways the point is that it's logical that Orochimaru don't care about anybody but some few people, he's the product of his era. He's like Naruto that would chose the hatred way. But naruto had some good and understanding people around him and.. Orochimaru had them too, but match how Iruka treated Naruto and this Hiruzen's "I sAw tHe mAliCe in This cHiLd fRoM tHe BegGinNinG". And oro didn't even have a big ass evil fox in him. sry i hate hiruzen

ANYWAYS the moral of the story is not "go criminal if they hurt you" but always treat people like people. Waving my hand to Kant.

14. The reason why Orochimaru didn't pick some good morals to stick with through the hard times no matter what (like, idk, Jiraiya or Naruto) is because 1) I think he is/was pretty depending on people around him 2) the war fucked him and his friends up too much (Nawaki incident + Tsunade) 3) twisted addictions (though I don't think he's that sadistic, we never saw him torturing randoms just for fun, it was always some science experimental shit. He tends to get fun out of cruelty only when it's personal) that maybe developed as a way to sublimate anger and sadness caused by his parents loss (that's what they share with sasuke - unlicke naruto, they knew their parents and it's other kind of pain. Sasuke developed a revenge issue and Orochimaru - cruelty pleasure which... is kinda the same but less epic and more occasional lol).

15. Speaking of that, Orochimaru cared for Sasuke because he saw himself in him.

16. Oro hold grudges against Hiruzen for not choosing him to be Hokage not only because he was ambitious and/or egoistic, but also because Hiruzen was some kind of a father figure for him and his approval was important tho i doubt he was aware of that. He also probably could tell that Hiruzen was suspicios about him when he was a child and that led to many conflicts and was hurting as well.

17. Tsunade knew things weren't pretty with Orochimaru after the wars but she never expected them to be this bad. During the week that she was given in her arc she thought not only about how much she wants to see Nawaki and Dan again despite how wrong would it be but also was trying to bury all the good memories she had left of Orochimaru so it would be easier to kill him.

18. She poisoned Jiraiya exactly because she knew he would not let her do it. Jiraiya was always hesitant to kill and inclined to forgiveness, while Tsunade, as mentioned by Orochimaru, could be merciless (so much so that he was not surprised when Kabuto suggested that she wanted to use Jira for Edo Tensei).

19. That was one of her traits that scared Jiraiya and fascinated Orochimaru.

20. Remember how Oro grabbed Jiraiya's neck when the latter was trying to cover with hair jutsu? On the snake, in Tsnade's arc. Orochimaru could have easily kill Jiraiya by pulling the sword out of the mouth (arteries are right there) but he didn't. As well as he could kill Tsunade when she was still shaking - just aim for the neck or the heart. Instead, he just injured her lung and kicked her which is not a big deal for the kind of shinoby like her at all.. Also he helped Anko not accidentally kill herself but it would be way much profitable to let her do it. "Orochimaru has no feelings".

21. The reason he suddenly wanted to kill Tsunade instead of forcing her to heal his arms as it was planned (which is weird since it will not going to get him heals and he kinda said that he wouldn't want to kill her just minutes ago) is that not only she refused to help him (he thought he could work it out) but she also prefered the village over him (from his point of view). Out if everyone she was the closest to being able to understand him since the village caused her painful losses too but nevertheless she agreed to be on it's side.

22. He wasn't fighting her back in the end partly because he thought he deserved that. Somewhere deep inside hahah.

23. Tsunade got a fear to develop deep bonds so they probably weren't very close with Shizune (also the way she knocked her down in this hotel.. oh).

24. Orochimaru will be here when she'll die.

25. Orochimaru's eng dub to Tsunade: "I often wondered what it would be like to ring that pretty neck yours". No comments.

26. Orochimaru is either bi/pan or ace. Anything or nothing lmao

27. Hiruzen knew about at least some of the Oro’s illegal experiments and was okay just as he was okay with the Foundation all the time. Because it’s useful. Then he has discovered he went too far OR he knew everything and oro just became too inconvenient because of his methods. The way Orochimaru tells Sasuke about reasons they are well treated as the criminals is based on in his experience with Hiruzen.

28. As you may know the lyrics in Orochimaru’s music theme goes “don’t talk with the silence of the heart”. It was taken from one Indian song that also had lines like “don’t question life too much”, ”pain arose somewhere in the chest”, “don’t speak to the wounds of the heart”. Though I’m not sure 100% because I was translating it with some hindi dictionary with like zero knowledge of hindi

29. I like to think that this “silence of the heart” theme and the fact that he called his village a hidden sound village are somehow connected. The hidden sound is the possible explanation of all things waiting to be listened to but the truth is silent and you know it deep in your heart and it bothers you. The world is silent just like the life is meaningless but people can only hear. *Sigh* anyways

30. Orochimaru’s journey is the one about accepting death. When he saw Karin released her chains while was trying to get to Sasuke he understood that the death is a part of human’s strength.

Can’t wait to feel that everything I wrote is wrong or not enough or stupid and obvious lol. Anyways, it’s something that I wanted to share until I move to some other fandom.

#sannin week 2021 #orochimaru #tsunade #jiraiya #sannin #naruto #naruto headcanons

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quietlysatan · 5 years

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An Invincible Summer - ShanaStoryteller, AO3

Link: Here!!

Rating: T for read the warnings, but don’t worry too much because of them

Favorite Quote(s): I legit wanna tattoo this next quote on me somewhere

"Oh, the things that can be accomplished through ignorance of their impossibility,"

And this Straight Up Fact

“There’s no such thing as cheating as long as you win,” Natsu says, and the brat’s not wrong.

This one’s just funny

“Chouza,” Inoichi forces himself to say evenly, “Your teachings produced Ebisu and goddamned Gai.”

“Genma’s pretty normal though,” Chouza sighs, “I never could get through to that boy.”

Gently Gai casually caring about Kakashi’s well-being is my entire reason for living, speaking of which if someone wants to come be my Gai that’d be really fucking nice because us Kakashi’s don’t do too well on our own

He hesitates, but says, "Not that I do not find your newfound mentorship to be a most youthful endeavor, but -"

"I don't know," Kakashi interrupts his friend, "I met her while she was taking her genin exam and she, I don't know, adopted me or something. She just keeps showing up."

Gai nods thoughtfully, "Stubbornness is a useful skill to have when trying to cultivate a friendship with you." Kakashi elbows the other man, but doesn't protest besides that. "She's a good cook."

And this one because I love it when people Get It, ya’know?

That's really why he won't say anything, why he won't reveal that the Kyuubi's container and the fourth Hokage's child is still alive: they already killed him once. Naruto and Shikamaru are the same age, they would have been in the same class, and the idea that anyone could want to harm his innocent, precious son makes his blood boil

And this one, for accuracy

"This sounds like a most youthful endeavor. I will bring Anko! She will fan the flames of youth in our young Konoha blossom!"

Both Itachi and Kakashi look at Gai, horrified. "Please don't," Itachi says weakly, like he knows it'll fall on deaf ears but he has to try anyway.

"Don't worry," Gai attempts to assure them, going into his Good Guy pose, "They will produce youthful flames of feminine excellence!"

"They're going to burn down Konoha," Kakashi says flatly.

Gai's hair and teeth sparkle in the sunlight, and he doesn't attempt to deny it.

Another important one

"The world is a terrible place," she says, and she has to swallow before she speaks again, "and it's full of terrible people. But I don't have to be one of them."

I love that Natsu-chan has great balance, this is my number one favorite character trope, and I wish more people would write it

She bends down to look at him upside down, and Itachi can feel that she's not using chakra to stick onto him, and sometimes her balance just isn't logical.

I just love the idea of tiny genius Naruto, and I love that Natsu-chan is a seal master at like, fucking seven and a half lol

Itachi knows it's actually far more complicated than that, but just as he does not tell her minutia of the past shinobi wars in their history lessons, she does not overcomplicate her explanations of sealing. Usually he's grateful for that, but when she appears to break every known law to sealing and chakra, he's not.

"That's," he blinks and he's not going to tell her it's impossible because it clearly isn't, "new," he settles on.

A mood honestly

Inoichi now feels the urge to bang his head against the table top, because 'a huge pain' to Natsu is 'literally impossible' to everyone else.

Another mood honestly

Inoichi watches his former genin dig in with resignation. “When are you guys going to start picking up the tab? Feeding you all isn’t cheap you know.”

Hana swallows her mouthful, “Sensei, I am but a lone healer’s apprentice –“

“I have been a chunin less than a month,” Kabuto pouts, wounded, “and already you seek to profit-“

“Do you have any idea how much sealing paper and ink costs?” Natsu demands.

“Okay, okay,” Inoichi grumbles, but it’s not very effective considering he’s smiling, “I take it back, jeez.”

Okay so, since this is a 100k+ word fic, I’ve been doing this thing lately literally just now on this fic review where I only feature quotes from the first chapter (Depending on length.) but, I’m making an exception because I’ve never seen these three characters and my thoughts on them summed up so well by someone I don’t know which is to say anyone, no one I know cares about my interests really lol

"Maybe a little," he admits grudgingly, "Sakura's really smart, but she acts dumb for some reason. And her endurance is really bad. She probably would have been failed on that alone if she didn't have such good aim with shuriken. And Sasuke's good at like, everything, I still don't get why he didn't graduate earlier. He's just so-" Kiba rubs his hand over his face.

"So what?" Hana prompts, even though she's heard this particular complaint before.

"Sad," the genin sighs, "He's miserable all the time, and he works hard and if you yell at him for long enough he'll work with you, but - crap, I don't know. He's got this really great poker face so you think he's just a big jerk, but I can smell his emotions, the big idiot, and he's just this sad lonely kid who won't listen to anyone."

Hana hums, because if she opens her mouth she'll probably start cursing the Hokage and his dumb rules and his dumb ideas, and that is not the type of thing that leads to a long life.

Just one last quote because dudes, guys, pals, friends of mine it’s important and you should all stop and read it.

“Thanks for being cool with – everything. I’m really happy you’re not mad at me for not being honest with you.”

“You are my friend,” Gaara says warmly, “and you have always been honest about that.”

Words & Chapter(s): 136,306 words of greatness, and 6 full chapters of nicely done completion

Summary: When Naruto is five, he's gutted by a drunken civilian and presumed dead.

Six months later a girl with ash pale hair and dark blue eyes enters the Academy.

(Guys I swear on my cool as fuck username, and all around internet personality as practically satan and probably Lucifer and whatnot that nobody we like stays dead or severely injured)

Score: 13, this is one of my favorites for a reason, this is actually my second technically third time rereading this in as many weeks

Pairing(s): Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, background Haku/Zabuza, but don’t worry anything you’re thinking of is addressed quite nicely in the fic ultra background but still there’s a lot of relationships and I’m not going to tag them all

Warning(s): Naruto technically dies more than once because this is Naruto we’re talking about but they also technically don’t??? You gotta read it, but basically temporary character death, only the bad guys stay dead in this one.

Nobody knows that Naru-chan lived so there’s that angst for you, however, to be fair it’s not like this whole story is just characters mourning and crying and whatnot, at this point it’s mostly just passing thoughts and memories which, again, to be fair, does almost feel worse at times... Huh, regardless it’s not overly angsty

Kakashi is adopted whether he likes it or not by Natsu-chan, we love both of our emotionally fucked over fair-haired ninja in this house so you won’t have to worry about that sorta fic coming outta nowhere from me BTW... but anyways, Kakashi freaks out a bit, much like the abused dog he always reminds me of, but Natsu is the sweetest and most gentle, yet forceful person he could’ve possibly caught the attention of. (This is canon)

The Akatsuki are still bad, BUT ITACHI ISN’T technically SO WHO FUCKING CARES!!!! (The Massacre still happens tho...)

Mentions of The Flower District and what that implies, and also things a Kunoichi might definitely do

Oh my fucking god the Hyuga... Who would willingly do something so horrible as that? Of all the things... Warning for... The Hyuga branch family situation, it’s dealt with nearly as soon as we are informed but, gods, my blood ran cold, and my face whited out, my sister thought someone had died when she saw my face haha,,, who the fuck does this? And do they die? In canon I mean? I think I only watched up to the chunin exams or Pein’s attack, I can’t remember which tho...

Natsu cries because people are nice to her sometimes. And honestly that’s fair, I burst into to tears once because I imagined someone kissing my forehead softly so, Natsu is completely valid... Sidenote, I’m touch-starved and have no cure for this beyond younger siblings and my cat because I don’t have the ability to ask my mom for a hug without literally gross sobbing and I have A Thing about embarrassment sooooo... yeah if anyone has some therapy justu for me that’d be nice

Mentions of Gross Men that apparently want to have Natsu’s increasingly growing collection of the absolute most dangerous people she can befriend pay them a visit. And by that, I mean an old fuckwit has the gall to leer at a TEN-YEAR-OLD and a FUCKING THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD!!!!!! Ugh, I hate those kinds of pathetic worms.

On that note, there is technically underaged things going on, but they are also Ninja soooo???? They’ve killed people and are technically in their version of an army, and by the laws of their lands they’re all adults, actually I’m pretty sure by shinobi life expectancy Kakashi is middle-aged, Inoichi is a senior citizen, and Hiruzen is a walking corpse tbh

Alcoholism??? I don’t really think it is but I’m not sure, but some characters do drink often, and usually when stressed courtesy of Natsu and co. but still... I don’t actually know if it is because it doesn’t actually happen much, more like every few weeks/months

Mentions of past sexual assault, and attempted past sexual assault, neither happen in fic or to any of our main characters, the experiences are not graphic though they do talk about it in chapter five, it’s not to graphically described.

Also, a bunch of off-screen lemon

A Thing (That I copy-pasted from the author so that all of you will see it and not say a single word against it.): If you thought Natsu was too mature for her age - she has seen and been through some really horrible shit. But also: my cousin has, since he was like 4, hung out with kids that were about 4 years older than him because those were the kids that were in his neighborhood or whatever. Point being, even after he started school, his main group of friends was consistently older than him. He very quickly adapted to that, and to this day (he's 12) hangs out with that same group, and considers children his own age 'kids' because he adapted to the behavior of the group he was surrounded with. I hardly believe Natsu would be any different.

And also

4. Quick little note because some people mentioned liking my portrayal of the Sandaime. I base his decisions/motivations (and Itachi and Danzo's to a certain extent) around this quote by Clementine von Radics: "It is so hard to live half monster, to hurt everything you love by trying to protect it wrong."

Pros: Watching Natsu just casually disregard the idea of gender with little to no thought is the greatest thing anyone will ever experience beyond, I dunno, the party we’re all gonna collectively throw when soggy Cheeto dies (I still haven’t decided which song we should make chart number one when that happens)

Given that I’ve technically read this three times you should already know the writing is fucking amazing, like, whoa, mind blown type of amazing, like, wow, so good, I usually hate rereading something I’ve read before, and especially so soon after the fact but geez Louis is this fic amazing

Natsu is just as easy to fall in love with as Naruto, and they are still the same people with slightly different personalities as is to be realistically expected with a situation like Naru’s was.

Also, GENDERFLUID REPRESENTATION DONE FUCKING AMAZINGLY IS ALWAYS A PLUS!!!!!!!

The author manages to convey a very realistic genderfluid character in an incredibly believable manner, while also still keeping Natsu/Naruto themself. They’re still the Naruto that we knew and loved, but they’re different too, as is to be expected. when Natsu is a girl no-one stumbles, she is a girl without a doubt, even the author doesn’t trip up on societal expectations, and when Naruto is a boy there is next to immediate acceptance of this fact with absolutely zero (0) Zero bullshit from transphobes, which, as a genderfluid person myself, is always fucking nice to see. You’ll have to read it to know more though.

Natsu running around creating seals is honestly the greatest thing ever, and the end scene with the village made me cry a lil bit, and dammit this fic is so fucking good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, there’s a scene, where Natsu heals Kakashi, and the way the author handled explaining the intimate not sexual relationship between two of my favorite characters ever is just, so subtly beautiful, the sibling-bond these two have is beautiful, and a part of me wants to cry sometimes when I read it, and usually do cry a little when I get to this scene, and only partially because of what happened directly before it.

I love the way everybody just gets up and moves past their trauma and just decides to politely ignore it, oh they still have it, they still deal with it, but they care, and they are careful about it, and even though it hurts them like a knife-wound to the kidney in slow-motion they still get back up and keep fucking going. That’s hella admirable and I can respect that, I can respect even more that they slowly but surely let themselves heal as time moves on. This fic is beautiful on so many different levels but it is this one perhaps, that is the most magnificent. Perhaps.

Sasuke is adorable and depressing and adorable and I love it. And Ino is still a bad bitch but she’s a kid so we only see it like a handful of times in the first two chapters. The Akimichi/Yamanaka/Nara are all great, and I occasionally pity Inionchicause like, he’s putting up with a well-informed seal genius that’s still hyper, a slightly frightening medic-kunoichi with giant dogs, another slightly more frightening medic-nin who isn’t the greatest fighter but damn can he be intimidating and also really good at pointing out “Certain Things” while judging you about them which, honestly, is my greatest pastime. Itachi is so sweet and then so tragic oh my gods, and Natsu never even considers giving up on him. Kakashi is so sweet, and he slowly becomes less of a beaten dog as time goes on and I just love all of these characters.

Except for Hiruzen. Well, no, I still love this particular incarnation of Hiruzen, for all that he’s got one hell of a pathetically small backbone, I get why he does shit. But that doesn’t make me happy. Still, he’s better than dumbledouchebag. Granted that’s not difficult, and you might have to actively put an effort in to be as bad as that guy, but still. Plus, his hearts in the right place, and he’s less about the greater good then... certain disgraces to teaching and being in charge of a large group of people... Hiruzen is actually kinda sweet and admits he has issues and actually has an excuse that’s understandable for the shit that he pulls which is great, if sadly uncommon.

Anyways, Sakura is terrifying, and I remembered why I had a crush on her. She’s so badass, also, she ends up Princess Mononoke basically which, honestly, is fucking great, and the best thing we could’ve asked for, I love all of these characters so much!!!

Aesthetic: It reminds me off beefy stew (We don’t eat beef, so we used vegan soy beef stuff instead, and it was just as good.) it reminds me of the warmth, and friendship, and home that I felt after my mom and I make dinner together with nothing but a little music on and jokes passing back and forth between us. It reminds me of scraping my knee and having my friends help me to their mom, it reminds me of loyalty and compassion. It reminds me of dancing outside at night, alone in the forest with nothing but the moon for company and wind for music. It reminds me of the first time I realized that I could love someone despite their gender and that I should despite mine. It reminds me of finely spun handmade lace, and all it’s delicate while also reminding me of the sturdiest of steels, it reminds me of so much. It reminds me of acceptance, and understanding, and so much more. If I were to say what food and drink it reminds me of, I’d say chicken noodle soup, and sweet lavender-lemon tea.

Music Aesthetic: So, I made a playlist while I was reading this the first time around, and instead of a gif or twenty like I would usually prefer to do I’m going to add that playlist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbhXmTSBbAyjk0m1b4BZUp3t0RHL83LDK

But if I were to add a gif or two it’d be these

Because something about this fic reminds me of rainy days with tea and baggy clothes.

Every time Natsu/Naruto decided to fight ever, to be honest.

#sasunaru #naruto x sasuke #Sasuke x Naruto #Satan has great taste in: SasuNaru #kakairu #Satan has great taste in: KakaIru #long fic #Long Read #over 100k #Naruto #It's another Naruto one #sasuke #fem!naruto #sorta #genderfluid!naruto #give it a chance #trust me #fic rec

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wikiablogger · 5 years

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25 Things Wrong With Boruto Everyone Chooses To Ignore

Boruto is the successful sequel series to one of the most popular anime to ever exist: Naruto. As it follows the next generations of shinobi, fans get to see all the couples grow older and see their children become strong ninja themselves. Predictably, the main character of the show is Naruto's own son, Boruto Uzumaki.

Though the show echoes a lot of themes and styles from its predecessor, it has a lot of its own, new charm. It continues on from Naruto and grows into its own conflicts, stories, and adventures. Many fans consider it to be better than Naruto, as it took the good from that show, cut out the bad, and made it a better overall experience. At least for certain there are far less infamous filler episodes.

However, just like Naruto, Boruto is not beyond reproach. It still has flaws in plot, logic, and character growth. It might be easier to overlook blemishes because of Boruto's increased quality, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. For example, there's a lot of debate about Sasuke's home life that sends fans atwitter. However, there's more to it than just the continuation of the Sasuke/Sakura debate.

25. The Opening Scene

Boruto begins many years before the anime, showing the terrible destruction that will plague Konoha. It also implies all this destruction happened at the hands of Kawaki, a vicious combatant. Boruto himself steps into the battle, showing immense strength and defending the shinobi.

Then the series heads back to Boruto's youth, when he's a rebellious with daddy issues and a lot of angst about shinobi, a far cry from his future self.

Though it's an interesting hook, it does jar fans and mildly spoil Boruto's character growth. Part of Naruto's charm was his willpower and long-term growth into leadership, responsibility, and strength. This opening scene ruins that for Boruto.

24. Sarada's Identity Crisis

There's an entire arc in the series centering around Sarada and her parents. Since she has never really met Sasuke, she's unsure if she's really his daughter and that troubles her. This is the understandable aspect of her identity crisis

However, the less logical turn is when she starts questioning if Sakura is her mother. Sakura has raised her since birth, been with her every day, and cared for her lovingly. Even though Sasuke is a mystery, Sakura's devotion to her should be enough to assume she's her mother. They make look different, but thinking Karin birthed her or Sakura would care for Karin's child is ludicrous.

23. Boruto's Overpowered Abilities

Naruto was always powerful, even though he struggled to hone that power. However, Boruto is on another level. Despite his indifference to shinobi life and the Hokage title, he is easily one of the strongest students in his class in pure talent.

At best, Boruto appreciates winning and being powerful, but his strength is growing exponentially in comparison to his father.

Not to mention, his Karma marks add an absurdly powerful, currently unpredictable element to his power levels. Naruto became a powerful Shinobi, but Boruto might be on a completely different level that it's almost absurd.

22. Orochimaru's Involvement

Orochimaru, the troubled mad scientist of Naruto, is one of the most problematic characters in the series. He caused the shinobi of that time much grief with his schemes and plots.

However, in Boruto, he's just a parent coming to teacher meetings. Though Mitsuki hardly deserves exile for his father's deeds, allowing Orochimaru as much leeway as Naruto and Sasuke do is ridiculous. Mitsuki may be a genuine, talented, kind kid, but Orochimaru is still a complex, scheming man. He shows little growth away from that part of himself. After all, he is into making clones now, and sometimes very unstable ones like Shin Uchiha.

21. Burgers

Like Naruto had ramen, Boruto has burgers. Boruto loves eating the food with his friends and can be found often cradling a burger in his hands.

It gives the young shinobi a place to hang out and something the fill them up after hard work, but there is one big question: why burgers?

Naruto's world is heavily based in Asian mythology. After all, every land is full of ninja running around. Ramen made sense as their food of choice. However, burgers are an inherently European creation that's only been heavily franchised by Western culture. Boruto creators may be trying to connect with Western audiences, but burgers just don't make sense.

20. Katasuke Encouraging Boruto's Cheating

By Boruto, technology has greatly advanced in the 15 or so years since he Fourth Shinobi War ended. Doctors like Katasuke are even creating technology that hones ninja abilities.

Whole progress is exciting and Katasuke was desperate to get his tech tested and noticed, it was completely illogical to give it to Boruto to test in the exams. At best, Boruto wouldn't have been caught, leaving the Kote unnoticed. At worst, it could have completely failed and seriously hurt him. Instead, the middle occured: it worked great but the cheating and misuse of the Kote got both parties in great trouble. It was an overall dumb idea for Katasuke.

19. Sumire's Home Life

Sumire is a focal young ninja during the possession arc of Boruto. Why? Because all of the posessions and danger are looming because of her. Sumire's parents passed after their family was ostracized from Konoha for their involvement in Danzo's Root organization. She attempted to enact a revenge plot, but her friends stopped her.

However, beyond accepting her school life, what does Sumire have? If previous orphans are any indication, she lives alone and is depressed.

If Kabuto's orphanage is her home, that's frighteningly worse. Sumire's home life isn't talked about and isn't a concern, though it should be. After being trained to become an agent of revenge, she deserves a good home or at least some counseling.

18. Team 10's Leadership

The teaming up of Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka children is a classic shinobi combination. For generations, various heirs have paired up like this to create powerful teams. After all, together they build the powerful Ino-Shika-Cho Formation.

Another element to this team is that they are commonly lead by a member of the Sarutobi Clan to cement their bond. Consequently, the last trio was led by Asuma Sarutobi and was dubbed Team 10. However, Boruto's Team 10 is led by Moegi, a ninja with no connections to the Sarutobi clan. Instead, their leader should have been Konohamaru or Mirai, both strong shinobi and members of the Sarutobi clan.

17. Lack of Post-Ninja Careers

Boruto is set long after the Fourth Shinobi War, in a time of prolonged peace. Because of this, ninja have fallen out of favor and less are needed. Therefore, some of the older shinobi now have interest in finding non-ninja careers. There are complaints of there being a scarcity, however.

While it's an understandable plight for the older shinobi, this doesn't make sense in the world of Naruto. During the previous series, there were cooking-nin in the Land of Lightning and other similar occupations on display. It may require some travel, but there are certaintly jobs out there for non-combat ninja. Ino is a florist now, after all.

16. Sasuke and Sakura's Marriage

Sakura pined after Sasuke for the entirety of Naruto. However, Sasuke showed little interest in her romantically. At best, she was a friend who annoyed him. Sometime between Naruto and Boruto, though, they marry and have a daughter.

Despite showing no previous interest, Sakura and Sasuke are an illogical match.

Sasuke is very private, prefers not to be touched, and stays away for long missions. Sakura prefers affection, is constantly saddened by his absence, and it fairly open with her emotions. Their personalities don't match up well and it's bizarre the pair would end up a "happy" couple.

15. Mitsuki's Immeasurable Potential

Mitsuki is a very unique character, as he's the artificially created son of Orochimaru. From Orochimaru's genes alone, Mitsuki is understandably powerful. However, there's an element that makes him even more complex: his conception.

Artificial humans haven't existed before in this world. The shinobi have no clue if this will effect his powers. In theory, Mitsuki could be even more powerful because of the precision in his genetics. He could have more potential than any other shinobi has even had before. While that's wild enough, it's even wilder how no one seems as concerned or fascinated by his unknown, immeasurable potential.

14. Technological Development

During Naruto, technology is akin to the tech of the early 1900's with some odd tapes and other advances mixed in. However, 15 years later, by Boruto, the technology has rapidly evolved to the point it is far more akin to the modern technology of the early 2000s's, with sleek computers, phones, video games, etc.

Though peace can create rapid growth, it seems quite extreme that what took about 75 years for first world countries took only 15 years in Naruto. Either Naruto should have been a little further along in tech, or Boruto should be a bit further back. Maybe huge computers and block phones, not sleek, newer tech.

13. Kabuto Running the Orphanage

Kabuto was one of the most aggressive of Orochimaru's minions during the time of Naruto. He faithfully protected, resurrected, and destroyed for his master. He single-handedly caused a lot of pain for Konoha.

Kabuto had a change of heart during the final battles of Naruto, wanting to help save the world, not destroy it, but that hardly makes him a good person.

By Boruto, though, he's the leader of orphanage. Giving a twisted follower of a mad scientist agency over tons of young minds seems irresponsible and dangerous, particularly with all the Shin Uchiha clones there now.

12. Boruto Agreeing To Team 7

Team 7 was the iconic trio of Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto in the original series. When Boruto graduates Ninja Academy, he, Sarada, and Mitsuki are grouped together into a team. They were initially called Team 3, but after Sarada became wildly impressed with Naruto, she asked they be renamed Team 7. Her request was granted.

However, there's a serious snag in reviving the name: Boruto. While Boruto learned to work well with Sarada and respect her, he still has serious issues with his father and hates the idea of following in his footsteps. For him to agree to Team 7 is a complete breach of character.

11. Sasuke's Absentee Relationship With Sarada

Sasuke's relationship with Sarada is strained and distant, at best. However, it doesn't make sense for it to be. For starters, Sasuke is the best person to teach her about her genetic powers. After all, he's the only other Uchiha. He should be caring for his only heir much more closely for that reason alone.

Beyond that, though, he knows losing his parents, his troubled relationship with his brother, and the Uchiha Curse of Hatred led him down a dark path. To do better for Sarada, he should give her a doting father and lots of support to guide her away from hatred.

10. The Emergence of The Otsutsuki Clan

When Kaguya came to earth, it was already mentioned she wasn't the only one of her kind. However, it seemed she was the first to get distracted by love and, later, ultimately fail in her mission. It's understandable when Momoshiki, Kinshiki, and Urushiki come to the planet. The problem lies more in when they came.

Thematically, if Kaguya was the final enemy large enemy, it's insane to make her clansmen early villains in Boruto's lore.

Though it gave Sasuke and Naruto a challenge, it was a ridiculous feat for the genin main characters. The Otsutsuki clan should have appeared later to be villains for the younger cast.

9. So Many Ninja Housewives

Naruto showed us the strength of both male and female ninja in its many trials, battles, and wars. It gave fans the first female Hokage in Tsunade, the secretly powerful Hinata, intimidating villains like Konan, and more. However, by the time Boruto rolls around, most all of the remaining female cast are relegated to housewives.

While it makes sense for Ino to want to run her family flower shop, or Hinata to want to be close to her kids, some don't fit the role well. For example, Sakura is far more likely to have wanted to do something else with her time, perhaps as a village medic-nin. Instead, even she's a housewife.

8. Denki

When Boruto began, fans were introduced to the title characters closest friends. This included Shikadai and soon after, Denki. Unlike Shikadai, though, Denki is a terrible ninja and Boruto has to save him from bullies.

This seems like it might be setting up Denki for a growth arc, but instead he just always seems several steps behind everyone.

Also, Denki is prone to getting his friends into trouble because of his clumsiness, low confidence, and more. Even more, his skills in computers is barely used. Though it was a nice idea to have a kid who didn't want to be a ninja at all, it's disappointing his growth is so miniscule.

7. Karin Keeping Sarada's Umbilical Cord

When Sarada was born, Karin assisted Sakura in labor. After that, though, Karin kept Sarada's umbilical cord. It's a very strange decision already, but her reason for doing it is even stranger. She didn't keep it to remember helping Sakura birth life, but to have a momento of Sasuke's. A momento that is the epitome of his relationship with someone else that isn't her.

Karin can be misguided and creepy at times, but this perhaps takes the cake for craziest thing she's done. She has no use for the cord and it's disturbing to put romantic sentimentality into it.

6. Children Fighting Gang Members and Bandits

In Naruto, some of the teachers make questionable decisions by continuing fights with surprise enemies that may be too difficult for their ninja students. Boruto tries to bypass this by having rules for these situations. Students can only engage in combat with a teacher around.

However, that's nearly worse. Now, students are actively seeking trouble with gangs and bandits. And with the permission to fight them with instructors, of course headstrong shinobi like Boruto go out fighting without that supervision. Though a nice sentiment with better planning to fight with the kids, the random encounters made more sense and encouraged genin to pursue dangerous battles less.

5. Boruto's Low Levels of Character Development

As the main character of the series, Boruto has a surprisingly low amount of character development. In Naruto, the title character had a long way to go. He was rebellious but lonely, talented but erratic, courageous but headstrong. Boruto, on the other hand, has far less internal conflicts. He's rebellious but has tons of friends.

He's talented, focused, and strong. His courage is strong, but he also has a level head in a fight.

Many of Boruto's conflicts are not internal, but external. They can often only be dealt with in time or rely on others to change, too. This makes his growth inherently less noticeable and progressing, making him less engaging as a character.

4. Underusing Himawari

Early on, it's pretty clearly shown that Himawari, with time, might actually be the strongest Uzumaki child. Boruto may have his Karma mark and talent, but Himawari knocked out her father, Seventh Hokage, at the age of three and awakened her Byakugan. There is a raw strength to her, but she is also inherently kind and empathetic. She is a fascinating young character the show puts little spotlight on.

Moreover, it would be hilarious to see a young, cute girl achieving feats of power older children struggle with. It wouldn't be surprising if she could. Himawari could add more humor to the show and add another great power for fans to watch evolve.

3. Sasuke's Crimes

Throughout Naruto, Sasuke committed countless terrible crimes. Sasuke is now seen as a hero by the village despite all he's done. It was understandable for Naruto to forgive and forget, but not the whole village. Sasuke's actions destroyed some lives, after all, and he did try to destroy Konoha entirely.

Even more, though it's good Sarada doesn't have to suffer for her father's crimes, it's strange no one treats her differently for it. If everyone hated Naruto just for housing a dangerous creature, why wouldn't they treat Sasuke or Sarada poorly at times? Naruto's generation may be kinder, but those older generations are still alive and kicking. They wouldn't stay silent.

2. Boruto's Lack of Likable Goals

Until he becomes closer to Sarada and makes a goal of becoming her protector, more like how Sasuke is for Naruto, Boruto has very unlikable goals. Though he's the main character, he's very belligerent and angst-ridden about life. His only goal is to become nothing like his father.

Though Naruto is a questionable parent, he is a good leader and warrior.

His support of Sarada is the first goal that achieves something greater. That goal isn't realized until nearly 40 episodes into the series, though. Until then, he's only filled with abhorrence for his father, so much so that it makes his character fairly illogically angry and flat.

1. Naruto's Terrible Parenting

Naruto is now the Seventh Hokage, a fitting achievement for the powerful, willful young ninja. However, being Hokage makes parenting very hard. Naruto is also a highly neglectful parent, though, willing to send a shadow clone to his daughter's birthday instead of himself.

With Naruto's desire for family and loneliness as a child, it's ludicrous that his bad parenting is as serious as it is. The Hokage excuse makes sense to a point, but missing major life milestones and practically ignoring the troubles of his children is blatantly irresponsible. One would think he'd be an ecstatic, almost annoyingly interactive father. Instead, Naruto is nearly non-existent and that doesn't fit his zealous, loving personality at all.

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Do you think we missed anything else wrong with Boruto? Let us know in the comment section!

#boruto the next generation #boruto uzumaki #sasuke uchiha #sarada uchiha #mitsuki #karin uzumaki #anti sakura #orochimaru #chocho akimichi #naruto uzumaki #denki kaminari #hinata hyuga #anti sasusaku #anti ss #Konohamaru Sarutobi

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thefreckledone · 6 years

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such a funny way to fall

Well @bleakblood13, here is your requested Ibiki/Sakura! I hope you enjoy. Thank you again for all of your sweet reblogs and tags. They never fail to make me smile!

Warnings: There is mention of torture because well...that’s Ibiki’s job.

In the aftermath of the war and all of their losses, Tsunade named Sakura the Chief of Konoha’s hospital so that she can focus on newly and tentatively established foreign relations. Sakura is proud of the title, knowing the honor it is to be Tsunade’s successor in the medical profession. So, Sakura throws herself into her new task, setting about organizing and updating the hospital’s current system of patient information. More than that, her unique viewpoint as a first generation shinobi offers her clarity in a number of aspects that most clan-born shinobi would never consider.

Mainly mental health care.

The current structure of mental health care for shinobi consists of visiting the Intelligence Division and letting a Yamanaka poke around in your mind in the aftermath of a particularly brutal mission.

That, Sakura knows, is not enough. She’s seen the symptoms in many of the older career shinobi and now they are manifesting within her generation, in all of those who shouldered the burden of war. Most ignore them, passing them off as shinobi quirks, but Sakura knows that there have been suicides in the past linked to these symptoms. She thinks of Kakashi, of his father, and wonders if all of that anguish and tragedy could have been prevented.

The civilians call it PTSD and Sakura will be damned before she lets anyone else slip through the cracks.

So, Sakura strides into the Intelligence Division on a mission. They are, after all, consistently the worst about their health, both physical and mental. She is going to make them come in for check-ups, even if she has to drag them all the way there.

A couple of shinobi stand to stop her but, taking a look at her face and her set expression, they leave her be.

Sakura makes her way downstairs, unfaltering even as the screams of the tortured get louder and louder. Sakura wonders, briefly, if those that work here are put-out by Tsunade-shishou’s political overtures towards peace. Somehow, she doubts it.

There are always rebellious souls to bleed of their secrets.

She goes deeper underground, unfazed by the chill that begins to emanate from the walls. Finally, when she reaches the lowest level, she strides out of the stairwell and heads toward the only other room on this floor. From the other side of it, Sakura can hear wet gurgling noises and she throws the door open, taking a cursory scan of the room before her gaze lands on the one person she’s been seeking out.

“Ibiki!” she barks, channeling all of her frustration. This is the voice that makes all of Team Seven stand to attention and watch her very, very carefully. “Outside now!”

He opens his mouth to respond, but snaps it shut at the quelling glare she directs his way.

Sakura turns and heads out the door, pleased that Ibiki does follow her. He is dressed as he usually is in his trench coat, though it shimmers with fresh blood. His gloved hands are covered in viscera that Sakura recognizes as bits of intestine. Ibiki fairly looms above her, glowering down at her over his crossed arms. With the gore he is coated in as well as his general physique, Sakura should, by all means, be intimidated.

Sakura, however, has punched a goddess in the face. Ibiki does not bother her in the slightest.

“What is the meaning of this?” Sakura hisses, shoving an envelope in his face. “Return to sender? I know you opened it and read the contents, asshole. All of T&I has been mandated to report to the hospital immediately. So why the hell haven’t you come? I gave you a week. Imagine my surprise when, as I asked Ino why none of your crew hasn’t come by, she knew nothing of the mandate?” Sakura glares up at him, wishing she could punch him in his smug face. Maybe she’ll challenge him to a spar after he receives his check up. Or maybe she could challenge him beforehand to force him to go to the hospital. “Of all the immature, childish techniques, this one just might be the lamest. Did you really think I would leave it alone because you chose to ignore the summons?” She laughs. “Think again buddy.”

“Would you shut up?” Ibiki asks, jaw set at a dangerous angle. “Damn, you’ve got a shrill voice, woman. If you haven’t noticed, we’re a bit busy here. There are a quite a few individuals and organizations displeased by the idea of international peace. Cuts in on the profits they earn in illegal trade. These types of threats are much more important than ones you seem to imagine we have.”

Sakura stares up at him steadily, crossing her arms. “Ibiki, you work in T&I; you know the damage that can be done to the mind. Hell, you’re often the one causing it to those you interrogate. This isn’t imagined and it will take root and take hold of your people unless you do something to prevent it.”

“Listen, we’ve got bigger, more pressing issues to deal with right now,” Ibiki says, some of the tension leaving his body. It leaves him looking drained, tired.

“When was the last time you slept?” Sakura asks.

Ibiki squints down at her. “What day is it?”

“You need to rest,” Sakura says. “You’ve apparently been at this for ages. Take some time to recuperate and try again.”

“No,” Ibiki says mulishly. “We’re close.”

Sakura peeks around him at the door. “Once you crack the guy in there, you’ll rest?”

“Sure, princess, whatever you like,” he says. He blinks, emphasizing the rings beneath them, and Sakura realizes that the nickname was not meant to slip out.

“If I crack him,” Sakura begins, “you’ll get a full night’s rest and bring your entire crew into the hospital for a check-up.”

“You?” Ibiki asks, looking her over. His lips twitch like he wants to laugh, but he manages to restrain himself. “Listen, I know you’re a war hero and all, but this is different—”

“Look, if I fail, I’ll stop harassing you about going to the hospital,” Sakura wagers, sweetening the pot. Tsunade-shishou has taught her all sorts of tips and tricks with gambling and Sakura, thankfully, did not inherit her mentor’s luck. “Do we have a deal?”

“What the hell, sure,” Ibiki says.

He steps back, giving a bit of flourish to the way he opens the door. Sakura’s lips quirk at that, charmed by the show of humor. She gets the feeling that the sleep deprivation makes him sloppy, showing off bits and bobs of his actual character.

Sakura steps inside, smile saccharine sweet as she pulls on her gloves. “Hello there,” she says to what is left of the man bound to the chair. “I will be your doctor this evening.”

In all, it takes her just shy of twelve minutes to get the man, someone in the middle tier of this whole black market operation, to sing her all the secrets he held. Her task done, Sakura moves to the industrial sink in the corner of the room and sets about cleaning herself up. As she moves, she is tailed by a hulking shadow.

“How did you do that?” Ibiki asks gruffly as she turns the faucet on. “We’ve tried everything in the book, even got a bit creative, but that…” He trails off, looking dazed.

“There’s a reason that enemy shinobi always target medic-nin first,” Sakura replies. “And it’s only partially because they can revive their teammates. Any medic-nin worth their salt can do something similar. After all, we know the human body intimately; we know what it takes to break a person. Really, did you learn nothing about how dangerous medic-nin are from Kabuto?”

“I…I mean…damn princess,” Ibiki says, deep voice going even deeper in appreciation. Sakura’s toes tingle with the force of it, but she just sets about scrubbing her hands harder. “That was—that was something else.”

Sakura smirks, drying her hands. “Well, a deal is a deal,” she says, grinning up at Ibiki with triumph. “I will see you and the rest of T&I in my office three days from now at noon. Am I understood?” He nods, mouth dry. “Good!” Sakura presses up onto her tiptoes and pats Ibiki’s cheek. Even then, she can just barely reach. “I’ll see you then!”

Sakura sails out of the room, buoyant with her success.

Ibiki, on the other hand, stays where he is, removing a glove to press his fingertips against his cheek where Sakura’s hand just was.

It’s uncommonly warm.

He hears the slightest of snickers and turns to his assistants, glaring death their way. “Finish up here!” he barks, striding toward the door. “And clean up this mess.”

Ibiki exits the room, sorting his priorities as he fairly bounds up the stairs. First things first, he needs to sleep, probably crash for a day. And then?

Well, he’s going to see Sakura, long before their scheduled appointment.

Ibiki cackles, grin wild and mad as he begins to plan.

#ibisaku #sakura haruno #ibiki morino #bleakblood13 #my fic #gift fic #ibiki is more than a little unhinged #partially because of sleep deprivation #partially because he's ibiki #that's okay though #so is sakura #they get on like a house on fire #also #medic-nin are the scariest of all shinobi #it's just a fact

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hallwaydodge · 5 years

Text

long rambling reflection on my history as a naruto fan and why im deep in kabuto stan mode atm

soo i have been a naruto fan for a uhhh long ass time (17 years now?) and i was deep in fandom for ages before falling off sometime around the start of the war arc...it started with the emotional blow of losing jiraiya (me and a friend read the chapter when it released and just clung to each other sobbing lol, well written, just sad)...the dumbassery of pain resurrecting everyone.....mr sasuke choosing to honor itachi's legacy with destruction....i had not read it in a bit when my friend called me up to ask if i had read the most recent chapter cuz NEJI DIED and i literally lay on a dark basement couch all day sobbing and was deep in grief like couldn't eat or sleep for like the next 2 weeks....i started reading again in bits to see if neji would resurrect (HE DIDNT) and if his legacy would be honored (....) but whatever it was just endless uchiha clusterfucking so i got bored and dropped again, only really returning for Magical Brother Soulmates naruto and sasuke (#NEJI WAS RIGHT) and then the last chapters to see how it ended and gape at the endgame pairings & inojin, the most bizarre looking mf ...

(At least orochimaru ended up okay and pretty, I decided)

anyways, i've consumed a lot of what i missed in my off periods but one thing i never really consumed was the war arc A) cuz im a filthy bitter neji stan until the day i die B) as someone who crusaded hard for tobi NOT to be obito (as i loved them separately but knew if they were combined i would lose all sympathy and affection) (my naruto forum username was literally tobi-chan) and that twist makes my teeth gnash as it's just kinda a bad character story, obito hate club here, and that leading to aforementioned uchiha gangbanging and SPACE ALIEN REINCARNATION PROPHECY MAGIC, something so utterly divorced from what naruto's story used to be... yeah

(have i ever stopped writing my post series neji lives shikaneji epic tho?? no!)

now the other day i saw a mention was like, kabuto is more dragon then snake. i always did wonder about the horns...so i went to go reread the hilarious kabumaru reveal which led to many a joke back in those old forum days -- the chapter was being weirdly hard to find tho and i kept getting distracted by other chapters referenced on his nwiki page and i ended up reading a lot of his backstory (knew in general but) andwar arc stuff, especially him v itachi n sasuke, which i had missed

And i was like? Oh? Heres kishi writing style I've been missing + maturity gained from time? sasuke calling itachi perfect when itachi sympathizes with kabuto because sasuke is too emotionally immature to have that capacity, the submission of identity to authority that drove them to extremes w kabutachi vs sasuke being driven to extremes by well. trauma induced personality but still, his personality, you know, who he simply is ... sasuke then leading into having to resurrect mentor/parental figure orochimaru and ninja presidents to figure out "who am i" which was really "can i choose to help konoha and pals while still being me"

and theres kabuto...forced to Accept Himself by itachi's brainwashing (itachi, who has always had teeth, always been pleasant, always taught) ... kabuto standing there ... orochimaru (who bore witness to all this drama from his cosy place on anko's neck) feeling so much more tired than he has after any other resurrection, giving kabuto those inscrutable looks, removing his presence from kabuto in an absolution, an apology, a return to self that leaves kabuto looking so young and tired and empty), telling sasuke he's fine how he is and also, still young, knowledge inherently ages you in a way trauma, power, and the passage of years can't

(i cant believe orochimaru was trying to stop sasuke for his own purposes. he manipulated sasuke but he never stopped him. ntm following that path allowed orochimaru to get his arms back and just have some fun trolling the mage, so it was a path for from detrimental to him.)

he wants sasuke to keep what childhood, what sentimentality he can -- again, acting the parent

and there's kabuto still. a 'brother son student'* to him, one of his oldest orphans, a follower so loyal and useful orochimaru would never make a vessel out of him even when desperate, and yet kabuto in his search for identity did it anyways -- (remember how he offered himself to oro, back in that whole rotting arms, late sasuke era?) and later orochimaru essentially tells his old teacher (a parental figure to himself) that the reason he's gonna bat for the good guys is because he saw what Trying To Be Like Him led kabuto and the world to, and he wants to, essentially, do better with this child under his charge and instead of imposing his will, see what sasuke can do with All The Knowledge At His Disposal

he told kabuto to form a self around knowledge, but it was knowledge for sake of power ... a descent to madness he himself took from a quiet, helpful child ... as character parallels go, orochimaru has very little in common with sasuke and much more in common with kabuto

"shape them in his own image ..."

now orochimaru was never guardian of the year, what with the fufufu-ing and child experiments, but i disagree with assumptions that the loyalty he inspired was entirely down to Stockholm or fear, because at the end of the day, orochimaru did as many horrific experiments on himself as he did unto others. leadership thru example.

then there's kabuto. kabuto who has hated, tried to kill, resented, feared orochimaru, but also kabuto who also loved and admired orochimaru, saw him as his home, was someone whose company he generally seemed to enjoy, someone he wanted to both be and surpass. someone inspiring

kabuto and orochimaru are alike, so kabuto tried to supplant his identity with the assumption that being alike = having walked the same path = being identical and eventually had to face that he couldn't both love orochimaru and be him, that it was a twisted mirror, that all he has ever been or would ever be was someone who had to make his decisions based not on history or blood or origin or culture, but on what made him happy

so, the orphanage, a home that does not move or die, a brother whom he can love and admire who is so different from him its not a twisted mirror ... a kabuto and orochimaru who do not seem to have interacted in a very long time, but for the whole, they didnt exactly part hatefully or on bad terms, and thus a kabuto who could just as easily make the choice to never see orochimaru again as he could to see orochimaru, if he wants to, if he's sure enough in his own identity to not worry about losing himself again ... he finally has choice, even if he, orochimaru, and sasuke are all restrained by the ethical limits of konoha atm

and uh yeah characters who struggle with their identity & the control others can then exert over them are a favourite of mine?

so what this memoir/meta tl;dr is is just me working out my thoughts this fine friday morning on how yakushi kabuto has, like, objectively, one of the best character arcs in all of naruto -- hell, maybe THE best, and i am sorry to have missed it when it was coming out because just. damn. that's good writing, y'all!

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silverfootstepswrites · 6 years

Text

title Witness summary The more I know me, the more I hate her. pairing itasaku, tobisaku, hot messes

There was a tipping point each night. When a lull fell over everything. Like raindrops that froze in midair. The sudden silence that settled into the cracks of the moment.

Usually, that was sometime between 2 and 3 in the morning. When the sleepy drunks had stumbled their way home. The clubs had closed their doors, blinking lights gone black for the night. Just the lingering smells of fried food and cheap cologne lingering.

It was the worst part of the night, in her opinion.

Sakura opened her eyes. Itachi lay on his side, facing her. His hair tangling across his face. Raising her left hand, she snapped beside his ear. He didn’t stir. She sat up, tilting her head to the side as she watched his breathing. She grasped his hand, held it up over his face. When she dropped it, it smacked down against his cheek. He frowned a little but didn’t move.

She slid out of bed to get dressed.

Obito met her in Sumida. His mouth covered, scarf pulled up high around his face.

It had been hours since the last train had left. The station was completely deserted. Sakura settled on the opposite end of the bench from him, her hands deep in the pockets of her coat.

“I’m surprised you haven’t tried to run,” she remarked.

“I’m saving you the job of drowning me in the river, I guess,” replied Obito, staring straight ahead. His eyes blank. He slouched down in his seat, legs spread.

Sakura sent out a text. Obito blinked when a bright red dot appeared on his chest. He sighed. When he shifted a little, the light followed him.

“That really isn’t necessary,” he told her.

“Humor me,” she replied. She picked at some lint on the front of her coat. Chin tucked against his chest, Obito nodded.

“Was Madara telling me the truth?” Sakura questioned, “About everything, I mean. No half-truths?”

Obito crossed his legs. Uncrossed them.

“As far as I can tell, yeah.”

“Why was he poking around and trying to make deals behind the Uchiha-gumi’s back? And supporting Yakushi Kabuto?” she went on.

“Don’t you already know that?” Obito retorted.

Sakura raised her pointer finger, flicked it upward. The red dot followed. Landing directly on Obito’s mouth.

“Humor me,” she said one more time.

“He always hated the Fifth. Thought he should have been made head. He kept saying how he would stir shit up to make things more fun. I think he was just trying to start some trouble for everyone. He always said it was easiest to get his way when everyone was distracted,” Obito replied. When Sakura smirked, his eyes flickered over to her. Gaze lingering.

“Okay. Let’s talk Hong Kong. What’ve you learned during your time playing Red Eyes Chiu?” asked Sakura. Obito squinted, rubbing his hands together for warmth. He glanced over at Sakura, who didn’t seem the least bit cold.

“That you’re all rich as hell. But you, especially,” he snorted. This time, she met his gaze. She was still smiling.

“You might be even richer than the Dragon Head of the 24K. Which is ridiculous. Because that guy probably shits gold,” Obito added.

“Why did he leave you in Hong Kong for all those years?” Sakura then asked. She saw the way Obito’s lips twitched. Nostrils flaring.

“Because he could. And because he was a shit brother,” he grumbled. And then he looked over at her, “But he was my brother. And you killed him.” Obito’s eyes were icy as he glared at her. And Sakura’s answering stare was just as frigid.

“He didn’t want you threatening his position. He thought you might want to take over the Kobe-Uchiha’s,” Sakura realized. Obito said nothing.

Sakura huffed out a breath. Watching the white clouds spill from her lips. Dissipating in the air. She turned to him, lips curling upwards.

“Do you want to?” she asked.

Obito snorted. “The Godaime is definitely going to reabsorb us into the Uchiha-gumi. There’s no way he’ll let us run independently after the shit my brother pulled.”

Sakura’s hand slapped down on the bench between them. Leaning in closer. Her eyes narrowing.

“I asked what you want,” she clarified.

Obito froze. Just his throat bobbing as he swallowed.

“....Yeah.”

The corner of her mouth quirked up. She stood, hands in her pockets.

“I’ll be in touch, Obito-kun,” she declared. And when she pulled her hands free, she dropped something into Obito’s lap. She walked away, heels tapping and echoing in the empty train station. The red laser lingered on Obito’s face until she was out of sight. He sat for a long time. Staring into his lap.

Obito put a warmer in each of his pockets. He stopped shivering almost immediately.

Itachi’s eyes opened as she answered the phone.

“Wei? Ah. Yeah. With me,” she said in Cantonese. Her gaze flickered down to him when she felt him shift. He inched across the bed, throwing his arm across her lap. He wormed his arms around her waist, cheek pressing to the outside of her thigh. She patted his head, fingers catching in the snarls in his long hair.

She felt him sigh.

“What about Fai Tsai?” asked Sakura. She watched Itachi’s eyes drift shut. Eyelashes tickling against her skin.

“He’s predictable. Just like you said. Took over part of the bus route. Shook up a bunch of vendors in the night market,” Sai reported. Sakura’s eyebrows rose.

“And?” she prompted.

Sai chuckled. “I took care of them, Boss. No worries.”

She often thought that Sai was like something out of a slasher movie. He wasn’t a bad marksman, and he had studied wushu for a number of years. But his skills with a knife were something to behold. He had mentioned that he had been studying to be a surgeon before he had joined up with Mad Dog Kakashi. And then been passed along to her. She sometimes wondered how his patients would have fared under his care.

“The airport might be a bad idea right now, but Tenten is still in Tokyo, Boss. We could arrange for you to get to Shanghai by boat. And then get you a flight into Hong Kong,” suggested Sai.

Sakura glanced down at Itachi. He was still. Just his side rising and falling with each of his breaths. But just when she thought he might be sleeping again, his eyes fluttered open.

“Arrange for it in two days’ time. I still have a few things I need to take care of. By the way, put the Inuzuka-kai on our blacklist,” she said, her eyes drifting down to her bandaged arm. She was sure that it had scabbed over by now. But it ached whenever she moved her left wrist for any reason. It wasn’t deep enough for there to be nerve damage, but she wouldn’t be doing cartwheels on it anytime soon.

“This is going to drive me crazy. What happened?” asked Itachi later. He sat on the edge of the tub, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Sakura let him take her left hand. Examined the ugly blackish-red line raking up the outside of her forearm. It cleaved the body of the tattooed phoenix in two.

Sakura clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

“I was careless,” she tried to dismiss it. But Itachi held onto her hand. His eyes narrowing.

“With who?” he insisted.

Sakura sighed, trying to avoid his gaze.

“I heard you say Inuzuka’s name before,” Itachi told her.

Sakura sighed, head falling against the tile.

“You’re just too smart for me, Kumicho. How am I supposed to lie to you when you’re this hard to fool?” she remarked.

Itachi said nothing. He lowered her hand onto the edge of the tub, getting to his feet.

“Where are you going?” she called after him. She glimpsed him putting on his belt and then his coat as he walked back and forth. He stopped in front of the bathroom door. Hands bracing on either side of the doorway. Eyes black as coal.

“Don’t leave the hotel today,” Itachi told her. And then he was gone.

Sakura smiled. She ran her hands over her thighs. Down her calves. Wincing when the hot water touched her cut.

“Ridiculous man. Telling me what to do,” she laughed to herself.

The past sometimes felt like the pages of a book flipping by too quickly. Some of the days were blurs. Others, she lost completely. Sakura still remembered some events with startling clarity, though. Like the day when she had gotten the koi tattoo.

Orochimaru sat in the room with her, leafing through a magazine as the needle buzzed away. The black walls were covered with photos of past clients. She recognized many of them. Dirty Sam was up there, the intertwined snake and heart on his sternum on display. Hashirama and Tobirama had gotten their matching tattoos of Guan Yu here.

“Boss, you really don’t have to be here,” she told him for the second time. Wincing just a little as she felt the prickling in her skin.

“Nonsense. My cute subordinate was hurt defending me from a savage yakuza. How can I abandon her?” he replied without looking up. He licked the tip of his finger to turn to the next page.

She had come in last week to get the outline done. She liked this tattoo artist. He didn’t ask her stupid questions, or remark on the odd scars on her body. But that’s why a lot of people liked him. He was skilled and he kept his mouth shut. He had even set up mirrors to let her watch him as he did his work.

No one knew Orochimaru’s schedule better than she did. Which was why she was aware of just how busy he was. He was currently trying to get on the Huang Group’s good side. Their access to firearms through the Russians was something everyone envied. There weren’t many guns in Hong Kong, and the people who had them were at an obvious advantage.

“Luckily, I know a pretty girl who already knows their chairman,” Orochimaru had remarked to her weeks ago. Sakura screwed up her face.

“I dated his younger brother. It’s not like we have a real connection,” she had replied. But Orochimaru shook his head.

“Fatboy Huang is surprisingly sentimental. The girlfriend of his dead brother- he’d want to take care of you. Don’t underestimate how powerful someone’s death can be, Jing-Mei,” he had told her.

More than being painful, because it really wasn’t, getting a tattoo done was boring. She dozed off for parts of it, head pillowed on her arms.

Sakura blinked her eyes open when she heard Orochimaru’s footsteps. Polished black shoes crisp against the tile. The needle stopped. She felt the tattoo artist dab at the skin before he rolled back in his chair. Orochimaru leaned over her.

“Hmm...” he simply said.

Sakura twisted her head to look at him.

“It’s quite nice. You’ll like it,” Orochimaru assured her. And she smiled.

“I have to come back a third time to get it colored. I was planning on red,” she told him, putting her head back down. She heard the chair roll over again. The needle buzzing as it touched her skin.

“I look forward to that,” Orochimaru lied to her.

Because he had gone and gotten himself killed a week later.

She had gone back to the tattoo parlor. Gotten the koi filled in in black instead.

Leaning against the side of the tub, Sakura sighed for what felt like the millionth time. She stood and stepped out of the bath. Water trickling off her, pooling onto the tile as she stepped out of the bathroom. Leaving puddles in the shape of her feet as she walked over to the phone. She picked up the receiver to dial a number.

She waited for the line to ring. Two. Three. Four times.

“Hello?”

“Are you busy, Charlie?” she asked. Water dripping down into her eyes. She wiped it away with her free hand.

“Not too busy for you, Aunt Cheng,” he answered.

#eastern suns #writing #itasaku #triad!sakura x yakuza!itachi #tobisaku #triad!au

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frostmarris · 7 years

Text

Cherry Bomb

Chapter One - Regrets

summary: A recently retired superhero in a new city. Determined to heal from the wounds of her past and settle into life as a civilian, Sakura has sworn off being a hero and moved away from the city she's protected for years. But with the return of a dreaded enemy, she is faced with the decision to either return to her life as a superhero or let her new home and friends suffer. [MultiSaku]

notes: decided to go ahead and upload this here, i’ll probably be adding bad blood to tumblr soon too uvu

[Next]

Sometimes, villains could be so cliche.

A secret lair hidden in an underground base, complete with henchmen patrolling the creepy cave and a few bats flying around.

How unimaginative.

Sakura muffled a grunt, dropping down from a rocky ledge as quietly as she could before glancing around to keep an eye out for any guards, her jaw clenched behind her mask. Being quiet wasn't quite her specialty - her usual approach to most situations was to just cause a ruckus and break shit and, while she'd certainly broken a few faces so far, now was the time to be sneaky and not bring any attention to herself.

For weeks, she and her partner, Mind Jumper, had been searching the forest outside the city for the rumored secret base of one of Sakura's - Cherry Bomb's - most formidable and long-battled villains. While she might have known the villainous Kabuto when she was younger, any fond feelings had long since been destroyed.

The man was a monster.

Both he and Cherry Bomb shared a similar power but, while she used her healing abilities to help both her fellow heroes and civilians, Kabuto took his (admittedly impressive) healing power too far.

He'd always been very open about his villainous side. So much so that he had neither a 'secret identity' nor a supervillain persona. He was just Kabuto, a well-known supervillain in the hero community, and had admitted to her, years ago, that he saw no need in hiding behind a mask or pretending to have a life outside of his villainous deeds.

However, despite not really having a villain 'persona', he was often referred to as a crude Dr. Frankenstein because of his monstrous... creations.

He'd always struck her as a mad scientist of sorts when they were younger, but the fact that he used his 'healing' powers to bring life to haphazardly stitched-together creatures, modified with weapons and gadgets, horrified her more than she was willing to admit.

Their similarities didn't stop at the healing powers, however. While they both had astounding intelligence, it wasn't really a superpower - more of just a funny coincidence that they were both very smart. Again, luckily, their contrasting personalities reflected in how they used their abilites - Kabuto used his brain to create his weapons for evil-doing while she used her smarts to aid her allies.

Inwardly, Sakura found great satisfaction and comfort in the fact that their secondary powers were very different. Kabuto could utilize blades of pure energy with a terrifying precision, cutting through flesh easily and even bone (with enough force).

Sakura's super strength was... a little less refined. But she couldn't wait to punch that ever-present, insufferable smirk off of that creep's face (and maybe just send him flying into a wall).

Gritting her teeth, Cherry Bomb scanned her surroundings. Mind Jumper had gone ahead into the lair a while ago, sneaking past guards to the main chamber much more easily while Sakura took up the rear, taking care of any henchmen that would ultimately thwart their escape plans once they dealt with Kabuto.

She was so ready to finally end this - to put a stop to the villain once and for all. Rumor had it that he was up to something big and, while she didn't have all the information, she knew that it couldn't be good.

"Cherry," Sakura paused, listening carefully to the sound of Mind Jumper's voice through her ear-piece, static crackling slightly, "I think I'm getting close to Franky's main lab."

"Got it," She replied, hurrying down an empty hall, "Hang back if you see him, Jumper. Key me in on any news, but just keep an eye on him until I get there."

She could hear Mind Jumper huff over the radio and instantly imagined her rolling those pretty, blue eyes of hers.

"You don't think I can take him? That big brain of his won't due him much good when I hop in and take control."

Before Sakura could hiss out a reply, Mind Jumper was quick to continue, a pout pretty evident in her voice.

"Don't worry, I'm kidding. I'll lay low and watch while I wait for you to catch up. How far-" She suddenly cut herself off and Sakura held her breath, listening to the sound of cloth scraping against rock.

"Shit, I see him."

"What's the layout like?" She called back, following the directions Mind Jumper had given her earlier when she'd gone ahead. The path to what was probably Kabuto's main lab was pretty straight forward, but the cave had a lot of paths that branched off into dead ends and other tunnels. It would be easy to get lost if she wasn't careful.

"Big cavern but there's a lot of rocks and stalagmites that provide decent cover. The lab is down in the center, about twenty feet below the cave entrance. Lot of techy shit too - computers and junk. Creepy is near the center, messing with some weird gadgets. Ugh, Cherry, it smells awful in here."

Nodding to herself, Sakura continued her quiet run down the pathway before skidding to a halt as she turned a corner, suddenly facing a pair of guards. Luckily, she caught them by surprise and, moments after they shouted and scrambled for their weapons, quickly landed a few punches with enough force to knock one out and send the other flying into a wall, the impact rendering him unconscious. She didn't have time to hide the bodies and, muttering a quick curse, she hurried down the hall.

"We're gonna be short on time; someone's gonna notice the henchmen I just took care of and sound an alarm. But, I think I'm almost there."

"I'm moving closer," came Mind Jumper's voice, as well as the subtle sounds of her movement on her end of the connection. Anticipating Cherry Bomb's reply, she continued, her voice hushed now. "I need to get a clean shot at him if shit goes down. If he escapes, it'll be weeks of us running around trying to find his new base and more time for him to work on whatever he's planning."

Sakura sighed, muttering a quick, "Just be careful," before letting the line to go silent. A few more turns and she finally made it into what she assumed was the cave Mind Jumper had mentioned.

Quickly taking cover behind a large outcrop of rocks, she looked for both her partner and Kabuto, tugging her fingerless gloves more firmly onto her hands when she spotted the bastard. He looked as he always did, silver hair pulled back and his glasses gleaming wickedly when the light caught the lenses just right. Gritting her teeth, Sakura searched for Mind Jumper, her gaze eventually catching sight of her blonde hair, the heroine nestled in a cluster of stalagmites a ways ahead of her, dangerously close to Kabuto.

She was just about to call over the radio for her to pull back and regroup when, suddenly, a piercing siren broke the silence of the cave. Kabuto jumped slightly at the sound of the alarm, hurrying over to one of the computer monitors and keying something in before grabbing something off of the table of gadgets. Sakura's eyes narrowed, gaze flickering from the man to Mind Jumper, only to find the blonde no longer hiding amongst the stalagmites. Cursing, she moved to a different vantage point, finally spotting Mind Jumper now a few feet closer to Kabuto, her hands raised in front of her, thumbs touching and her forefingers laced in that odd hand-signal she made when she was about to use her power.

Glancing back to Kabuto, she watched him slip some odd metal band onto his head, electrical lights flickering on a panel near his right ear. His back was turned to Mind Jumper's hiding place and he quickly began gathering what looked like blueprints off of the table, the metal contraption fitted snugly around his head.

"I'm taking the shot." Came the blonde's voice and Sakura tensed, the muffled sounds of hurrying footsteps in the distance.

Before she could tell her to wait, Mind Jumper had used her mind transfer power, attempting to incapacitate Kabuto before his backup came.

However, Cherry Bomb instantly knew something was terribly wrong when the blonde's body didn't slump forward slightly like it normally did when she jumped into someone's head.

Instead, Mind Jumper's scream echoed sharply through the cave and Sakura could only watch in horror as her partner hunched over, her hands flying to her head as she continued to scream.

Just as quickly as it had happened, it ended.

Mind Jumper's body crumpled to the ground and, as Sakura scrambled out of her cover, the pinkette realized that Kabuto had turned to look searchinginly and was heading towards the blonde's unconscious body, a satisfied smirk on his face. Cherry Bomb was too far away to beat him to her partner, her heart pounding in her chest as she raced over the jagged rocks and stalagmites, down to the center of the cavern. She felt her blood run cold as she watched Kabuto drag Mind Jumper's body out of the cluster of rocks she'd been hiding behind, his hand gripping her neck as he held her up off her feet, her limbs dangling freely.

Sakura froze, Kabuto's head turning in her direction and his gaze settling on the pinkette as he smiled. Gaze flickering from his disturbing face to Mind Jumper, she was horrified to realize that there was a faint trail of blood coming from her ears, her blonde braid stained with more blood as well.

"Ah," came Kabuto's voice, her emerald eyes focusing back on him, "There you are. I figured you'd be here. I wasn't sure if this one," Here, he shook Mind Jumper's unconscious body slightly, his grip on her throat tightening dangerously, "would be tagging along, but I'm glad I was prepared." He tapped a finger to the metal band around his head and Sakura's gaze narrowed, her hands clenching into fists as she readied herself to dart forward and attack.

But before she could move, he raised his free hand, his black eyes falling on the blonde in his grip. Cherry Bomb could just barely hear him mutter, "Now, let me take care of the pest," before that familiar blue glow formed around his free hand, creating a wicked blade. His gaze flickering back to Sakura for a moment, he plunged the energy blade into the blonde's middle, slicing through the skin before pulling his hand back, blood quickly flowing from the new wound.

"JUMPER!"

Cherry Bomb desperately scrambled over the rocks and Kabuto threw the bleeding blonde away from him, her skull connecting with the rock floor with a sickening crack. Blood quickly began to pool around the heroine, both from the gash in her abdomen and the wound on her head from the impact.

Sakura saw red.

Barely thinking, she dashed forwards, her fist connecting with Kabuto's face with a satisfying sound and sending him backwards a few feet and down to the ground. Before he could even move to stand up, she was on him, her fist flying towards his form. He just barely managed to roll into a dodge, her punch creating a large crack and decent sized crater in the stone, throwing rock into the air, while the impact seemed to shake the cave itself. Eyes burning with rage, she moved towards him again, not even bothering to dodge the energy blade - or 'scalpel' as he liked to call it - that he swung at her arm before she managed to grab him, swiftly bringing a knee to his gut before holding him up off the ground by the front of his shirt.

"What did you do to her?!"

Kabuto's glasses were shattered and his face was bloody but he still had the gall to grin at her, reaching up to grab the fist that was holding him up. Blood ran freely down her other arm from the cut he'd given her, but she barely noticed, instead pinning him with a ferocious glare.

"I simply deflected that pesky mind transfer ability of hers right back at her."

"What?!"

He sent her a smirk, blood dripping from his nose onto her fist, his feet kicking slightly in the air as he searched for purchase, locking gazes with her through her mask.

"She's trapped in her own mind now. Well, so long as she doesn't bleed out first."

Sakura sent a desperate glance to Mind Jumper's unmoving form, fear flickering through her eyes before she turned her hateful glare back on Kabuto. Her reply was cut off when the cave suddenly shook, dust and rocks falling from the cavern ceiling. She glanced upwards and Kabuto took her moment of distraction to land a kick to her stomach. She grunted, doubling over slightly and quickly releasing him as he formed another energy scalpel around his hand.

She leaned backwards in a dodge as he swung at her again, his smirk only fueling her rage. Righting herself and pulling her fist back, she forced all of her strength into a punch that sent him flying back, impacting the wall hard enough to make the stone crack and cave in slightly. He fell to the ground, wheezing and coughing before the cave shook again, the crack in the wall shooting up.

It was quickly apparent that the cave was starting to collapse.

Before Kabuto could move, the ceiling above him crumbled and rubble rained down, large slabs of rock falling to crush him and cut off his cry.

Panting and bleeding, Sakura spared the pile of broken rock only a moment of her attention before she turned on her heel, rushing towards the blonde's prone form.

"Mind Jumper!"

A soft green glow quickly encompassed her hands and Cherry Bomb pressed them to the bleeding gash in her abdomen, desperately calling for her.

"Jumper! Stay with me; you need to wake up!"

There was no response, the blonde's eyes closed and her simple mask still resting perfectly on the upper portion of her face. The cave shook again and Sakura leaned over her partner, shielding her body from any rocks that might fall. A cluster of the stalactites, a few feet away fell and shattered against the stone floor, scattering flying debris. Still trying to stop the bleeding and wake the blonde, Cherry Bomb called to her again, the desperation shaking her voice.

"Jumper!"

Rock and rubble continued to fall and more of the ceiling of the cavern began to crack, the rest of the underground base beginning to succumb to the cave-in. Shoving her full-face mask off and tossing it aside as her tears began to fall, expression terrified and voice begging, Sakura gathered her partner's body in her arms.

"INO!"

The emergency teams and a few heroes who had been on call gathered around the secret entrance to the villain, Kabuto's, lair, having followed the signal of the tracker Cherry Bomb had set off before she and her partner had headed into the base. A few cried out in surprise as the ground shook slightly, bits of the mouth of the cave entrance breaking off. All were tense as they watched and waited, ready to rush forward at a moment's notice.

Someone called out when they could see a figure approaching through the clouds of dust, deeper in the cave but rushing towards the entrance as they dodged falling rocks. The heroes remained on guard, ready to fight if the figure proved to be a foe, but a few people in the crowd let out a collective gasp as the person escaping the cave-in came into focus.

They were all quick to recognize Cherry Bomb's pink hair, her ever-present mask turned askew and resting on the side of her head, revealing her face to the crowd. A few of the emergency aid members actually glanced away from her face before they realized that she wasn't alone.

"Medic! I need help, now!"

In her arms was the unconscious, bloody body of Mind Jumper. There were a few more gasps in the crowd before people started shouting orders, a couple of the heroes rushing forward to help Cherry Bomb. Tears still ran down her face, but she quickly caught the approaching medics up, telling them that she'd momentarily stopped the bleeding from the wound in Mind Jumpers abdomen, but she had a head injury as well and needed to get to a hospital immediately.

It all went by in a blur. One moment she'd been desperately running through the tunnel passageways, unable to heal a majority of Kabuto's damage with so little time, Mind Jumper in her arms as she tried to outrun the cave-in. The next, she was running through the halls of the emergency room, doctors and nurses shouting as she clutched the blonde's limp hand in her own, her gurney being speedily pushed through the hospital.

Cherry Bomb was forced to stay behind as she watched her partner be hurriedly wheeled through a pair of double doors and out of sight, tears still streaming down her face and she pulled her mask back into place.

Kakashi sighed to himself, gaze on the disarray of papers on his desk. Sakura sat on the other side, her expression solemn and her mask resting on the desk. He'd seen her face plenty of times before, as one of the few people who knew Sakura as more than the heroine Cherry Bomb, but it was still rare to see her without her mask.

"Are you... sure?"

Sakura nodded sternly, her clenched fists resting on her lap as she stared ahead at Kakashi, a former hero and a dear friend and mentor of hers.

"The past two months have been... difficult." She admitted, gaze dropping down to her lap before resting on her mask. "I can't focus and I've become more of a hindrance than a help. I've... lost my edge."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she held back her tears and Kakashi regarded her with a sympathetic look, waiting for her to continue.

"The nightmares haven't stopped. When I'm out working, if I hear a scream, I freeze up - it sounds so much like her's that everything comes flooding back and," she pauses, eyes clenched shut as her shoulders shook, "I can't do it. Not anymore. Screams, blood, anything seems to trigger it. The memory comes flooding back and I j-just see so much blood - her blood - and I get so lost in it that... that villains take advantage of my distraction and keep getting away."

He watched her silently and she took a breath, her gaze still cast downwards.

"I can barely sleep. All I see is J-Jumper and that bastard a-and-"

Kakashi cut her off when she started shaking more, glancing back down at the papers on his desk.

"She still hasn't woken up?"

Sakura shook her head, expression grim. That was the one relief she had from everything - Ino was alive.

Alive, but gone.

She hadn't woken up since that evening in the cave. Alive and healing and stable but just... gone.

The pinkette could only assume that what Kabuto had said was the truth. She was trapped in her own mind, stuck in a coma with no hope of awakening.

Sakura reached up, running her fingers over the back of her bare neck. She could still remember the first moment she'd seen Ino laying in her hospital bed, her long, beautiful, golden blonde braid missing. The emergency team had had to cut her hair for better access to her head wound, cropping it short in an unfamiliar, haphazard style and leaving Sakura to think, for only a moment, that she was looking at a comatose stranger rather than her dear Mind Jumper.

It was startling, to say the least, and she knew that, when Ino awoke - she had to, Sakura wouldn't accept the thought of her staying like this forever - she'd been incredibly annoyed at the loss of her lovely hair.

That night, the pinkette had gone home and cut her own hair as well, taking a pair of scissors to her ponytail and discarding the long, pink locks with an inward promise to keep her hair short until Ino came back.

Over the past two months, Sakura had spent a vast majority of her time at the hospital, watching and waiting and talking to the unconscious blonde, hoping that eventually she'd open her eyes.

But with no such luck, Sakura's work as a hero - and her life in general - had suffered. She was unfocused and numb; she barely slept and had to force herself to eat at times. Her mind was constantly consumed by the memory of that night in Kabuto's lair, the scene replaying over and over again.

She couldn't let the city suffer - she couldn't let innocent lives remain in danger due to her inability to handle her job anymore.

"I'm retiring from being a superhero and fighting crime. I can't be a heroine anymore."

The next five months went by in a blur.

There had been plenty of alarm when Cherry Bomb had announced her early retirement to her fellow heroes, what few the city of Shirogane had. Many understood her decision and wished her luck in turning to a life of a civilian, offering their support and well-wishes, as well as their sorrow in her leaving.

Luckily, in the months following her impromptu retirement, the city fell into an air of relative peace. Kabuto's minions hadn't resurfaced to cause trouble after the collapse of the base and the death of their leader and the remaining villains in Shirogane were handled by their heroes. And the city flourished.

But Sakura's mind was still darkened.

Everything seemed to have lost its vibrancy. She often passed through the days on autopilot, barely aware of her surroundings. When she wasn't at the hospital - a very special facility that took care of injured superheroes, the staff of which were all sworn to secrecy regarding any unmasked heroes under their care - sitting with Ino either in silence or trying to find something to talk aimlessly about, she was at home, trying to consume her time with distractions from her aching heart.

Mind Jumper's condition hadn't improved. Her wounds had healed, yes, but her mind was still trapped and Sakura had experienced a number of breakdowns, often begging whispers into her ear for her to wake up. There was never any change, the scanners and machines monitoring her condition remaining just as stagnant as the unconscious blonde.

Sakura found little solace in much of anything.

However, she did find temporary peace of mind in her gardening. It had started out small, a small pot of pansy seedlings on her windowsill, before she found herself focusing her attention on taking care of various plants around her apartment. While, at times, the flowers would remind her of Ino - the blonde had always had a natural green-thumb and spoke fondly of her parents' old flower shop - Sakura found the plants therapeutic. She knew that Ino would have been pleased to see her taking care of the flowers and, after several finally began to bloom, the pinkette began to bring some to the hospital, brightening up Mind Jumper's room.

Still, she knew that, while Ino was safe and under the watchful care of the hospital, Sakura wasn't getting any better.

So much of the city reminded her of the girl she loved so dearly and she'd often hole herself up in her apartment, mourning and suffering in her own way.

Fortunately, she wasn't the only one aware of her mental condition.

Which brought Sakura to where she was now, back in Kakashi's office, months after she'd announced to him her desire to retire. She hadn't been too surprised when he'd given her a call, as he'd kept in a fairly constant touch to make sure she was okay. When he'd asked her to come visit him, Sakura had been a little hesitant, having barely set foot in the building that acted as a sort of secret headquarters for the heroes of Shirogane since she'd given up being Cherry Bomb. But, she knew Kakashi wouldn't ask her over unless it was important.

Dressed in casual clothes and her pink, pixie-cut hair hidden under a hat so as to not draw unwanted attention to herself, she made her way up to Kakashi's office, flashing a quick ID card to the guards inside. It didn't have any actual personal information on it nor did it tell them that she was Cherry Bomb, but the symbol in the center granted her access to the facility without raising questions or revealing herself.

Kakashi was quick to notice how tired she looked when she slipped into his office. There were very prominent dark marks under her eyes and he was slightly alarmed to notice how thin she looked. Obviously, she hadn't been too concerned with her own health the past few months as she worried over Mind Jumper. He sighed, motioning for her to take a seat. He'd seen her occasionally over the past few months and what'd he'd noticed had worried him - Sakura wasn't healing.

She watched him, waiting for him to speak and reveal why he'd asked her to come over. Kakashi paused, leaning forward slightly and sending her an earnest look, his mouth turned down in a serious frown under his half-mask. Despite not really being an active hero anymore, he still had never revealed his full face to anyone, which Sakura understood but had always found a little frustrating for her curiosity.

"Sakura," he started, eyeing her carefully, "I'm going to make a suggestion that I want you to honestly consider. Okay?"

She tensed slightly, watching him warily before nodding. He looked over her face, frowning at her blank, numb expression - he had a distinct feeling that it had been months since she'd last been able to smile.

"You should leave the city."

Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly at his words and her frown deepened as she shifted in her seat.

"What?"

He regarded her with an even look, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think you should leave Shirogane. These past few months have been hard on you, but you're not healing - you're not getting better and you won't if you stay here."

"Kakashi," she started, a brief mixture of panic and vague anger flashing through her eyes, "This is my home. Ino needs me, I can't just-"

"There's nothing you can do to help her right now." He replied sternly, though she could see the concerned look in his eyes. "The only thing you can do for Mind Jumper right now is to wait, but you can't just wait here and let yourself waste away. Staying in Shirogane could very well kill you if you stay stuck in this pattern you've been living through the past few months."

There were tears in her eyes, he could see, but he continued, his tone turning gentle.

"You need a change of scenery, Sakura. Get out of the city, go somewhere new. Take a vacation, live somewhere else for a while, meet new people, anything. Just don't stay here and let the pain consume you. You're worrying me, Sakura. I can't bare to watch you suffer like this. I know you want to be here when she wakes up," He had to hold back his additional comment of "If she wakes up," and stood up, walking around his desk to stop in front of her, his hand resting on her shoulder. "But all you can do is wait, hope, and let yourself heal. And you can't do that here."

She shook slightly, dropping her gaze and staring down at her clenched fists. She loved Shirogane, she really did. This was Mind Jumper's home, Cherry Bomb's home - her home. But, she thought through Kakashi's words, an ache of sadness hitting her as she remembered how much everything about the city seemed to remind her of Ino.

Kakashi watched her, sighing softly as he stepped back but paused when she reached up and gently grabbed his wrist. Sakura looked up at him, her expression defeated and desperate but, as he watched, he could see a glimmer of determination in her eyes.

"You're right. I... I need to get out of Shirogane for a while. I won't do Ino any good when she wakes up if I've just wasted away and resigned myself to living like this."

She took a calming breath and offered Kakashi a brief - it was only there for a moment, he might have missed it if he had blinked - small, sad smile.

"Thank you, Kakashi."

It took Sakura a few days to pack. She'd often find herself staring down at some article of clothing or a book or a piece of jewelry Ino had given her, lost briefly in her reminiscing of a happier time. When she finally pulled herself from her thoughts, she always let out a soft sigh and gently packed the item into its appropriate box. Kakashi had offered to help her pack but she'd declined, giving him a quick hug before she headed back to her apartment.

It was scary to think that she'd be leaving Ino behind, but she knew the hospital would keep her under constant care and she could always get in contact with the blonde's nurse to check on her status. They would contact her if anything happened and alert her the moment Ino finally woke up.

Sighing, Sakura gathered up the last of the clothes in her closet, pausing when something fell and thudded softly on the carpet of her bedroom. She glanced down, chest clenching slightly at the sight of Cherry Bomb's mask. Gaze traveling back into the closet, she spotted her hero outfit, folded up and shoved into the farthest corner. Depositing the clothes in her arm on her bed, she moved back to the mask, kneeling down as her hands shook slightly as she recalled how long it had taken to wash Ino's blood out of her clothes.

Picking up the white, full-face mask, she trailed her fingers over the black markings, from the diamond on the forehead and down a stripe that trailed over an eye and towards the bottom of the mask before moving her fingers back up to the red markings around the eye.

She had the sudden, intense urge to break it.

But, taking a slow breath to calm herself, she carefully rose and moved back to the closet, gathering her Cherry Bomb uniform. With the black shorts and the red, midriff tank in her arms, she reached for the elbow guards, arm braces, and fingerless gloves, fingers trailing over the padding. It was all just where she'd left it months ago and, reaching blindly, she grabbed her knee-high combat boots as well, turning back to the boxes in her room. She grabbed her trunk of out of season clothes and pulled it closer, kneeling on the carpet as she removed some of the clothing until she could see the bottom of the trunk.

Carefully, she placed Cherry Bomb's clothes down, packing it all into the trunk with slightly trembling fingers. With the mask resting on top of the pile, she stared down at it all for a few moments before repacking the trunk, hiding the uniform beneath sweaters and coats. Clicking the latches into place she turned her back on the trunk and continued packing up her apartment, eleven years worth of memories of training and fighting villains and protecting the city rolling through her mind.

Once she had decided on where she wanted to go, Kakashi had been more than happy to help her find a place to live, making a few calls and easily getting her a nice apartment in Mabushii, a lively, exciting city about five hours away from Shirogane. Cherry Bomb's years of service to the city had landed Sakura with a pretty hefty amount of money for a nice, cushy retirement, all in gratitude for protecting Shirogane.

The thought of moving to a city where no one knew Haruno Sakura - and probably had only heard of Cherry Bomb - was... oddly nice. Sure, she might have traveled to a few nearby cities to chase down her enemies in the past, but Cherry Bomb had only ever really been one of Shirogane's heroines.

This was her chance to start a new life, if at least for a little while. Who knows, maybe she'd end up really liking Mabushii and Ino would come to live in the big, bustling city as well.

All of her belongings packed up into Kakashi's car, who had been happy to help her move out and into her new home, Sakura took once final glance around her apartment, making sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Unfortunately, she'd be leaving Cherry Bomb's motorcycle behind in Kakashi's care, so she'd have to eventually look into finding some other method of transportation in the future. Nodding to herself, she left the building and traveled down to the waiting car.

Before heading out on their trip, the pair made a quick stop by the hospital, Kakashi waiting respectfully outside Ino's room as Sakura stood next to her bed, thinking over her words. The soft beeping of the monitors and the sterile smell of the hospital was rather comforting to the pinkette, considering she'd spent a lot of time helping the staff and lending her healing powers over the years. Ino's hair was still growing back and Sakura reached up to run her fingers through her own short hair, which she'd been keeping cut as she had promised.

The blonde looked peaceful, resting on the hospital bed, and a stranger might have thought her to be simply sleeping. Sighing gently, Sakura sent her a small, sad smile, reaching down to gently hold her hand before finally speaking, her voice soft and careful.

"I have to leave for a while, Jumper. It's not... healthy for me to stay here. I need to let myself rest while you do the same." Her expression turned very determined here and she leaned closer, her free hand reaching up to brush a few stands of blonde hair off her forehead, her gaze gentle but steady.

"I'll wait for you, Ino. I'll wait for you and, when you finally wake up, I'll be here, right by your side. I love you."

Leaning down, she pressed a soft kiss to Ino's cheek before touching their foreheads together for a moment, resting and breathing out a careful sigh before finally straightening up. Giving her hand a quick, soft squeeze, she turned and exited the room, nodding to Kakashi and wiping at her eyes before her tears could fall.

"I'm ready. Let's go."

#thirrinwrites #cherry bomb #multisaku #inosaku #thats the only pairing in this chapter i guess

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thatsneakymedic · 3 years

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(If you're still doing the meme thing) 🤑😝👌🌸💦

(Putting it under readmore for obvious reasons and because it's long.)

🤑 - Would they hire a sex worker? Would they do sex work themselves? He's not one to judge if his current SO was a former sex worker due to the kind of world they live in and is understandable of how hard it is to find a stable job and an income, but he would not go out to seek out a working sex worker during his travels no matter how horny he gets or how beautiful/handsome they are. Not even if they've been offered to him.

Close secret of his, but he once impersonated as a sex worker one time to infiltrate and assassinate a target after extracting information from them. It worked, but too perhaps too well as not only did his target fall for him but also several uninvolved people and pimps/madams who were interested in him (with his cute looks and the rarity of young white/grey haired sex workers). The mission was a success without him having to sleep with anyone, but never again will he take on that disguise as he's now content with his harmless, weak, gentle medic impression.

😝 - Are they loud/vocal, or do they stay quiet?

He prefers to keep his voice low and muffles his cries to not attract attention or at least let everyone outside the room know what he and his partner are doing, depending on how rough the sex is, he will get loud unintentionally. When he reaches his climax, he lets out a loud groan and then a few quiet moans follow after. Hearing his partner's voice will always be a turn on for him, even in whispers.

👌 - Favourite position?

For women, it’s either them straddling on him on the bed, or wall sex. A bed is nice and simple, and somewhere alone where they won’t be disturbed. As for the wall, he loves nothing more than to pin them against the wall and have their legs wrap around his hips or turned around facing the other way. A perfect position for quickies that Kabuto really likes due to his busy schedules.

For men, it’s either being pinned down against the bed in either side, (on his back or chest) or the reverse straddle where his back is facing them. Extra points if his lover sits up and leave a lot of bites or hickies on his back and shoulders as he rides or they fuck him while being held in their arms.

Both: He loves positions where they’re able to hold each other close whether it’s missionary, wall, or on the table… so that the both of them can leave marks and love bites on each other on their neck, shoulder, or chest. Lips are also good too.

🌸 - Do they have an aftercare routine?

Depending on the mess, he would prefer that they both get cleaned up unless they plan on going again after taking a breather. But believe it or not, he's not the type to cuddle at first, just needing a moment to himself to calm himself before asking the other if they're ok. After that, he wouldn't mind holding his partner for a moment. He lowkey likes it when his partner takes care of him as well since as someone who's always serving others, by doing this, he'll appreciate them more. Sleeping or napping afterwards is always the best for him.

💦 - Any traits or physical attributes that really turn them on?

If both sexes have sharp teeth, not to the point of the ones on the kirigakure natives (maybe... >_>) but fangs are good. Just seeing their seductive smiles/grins and the fact that they could really hurt him if they wanted to but chose not to is extremely arousing to him. As painful as the bites are, they're still arousing regardless.

He prefers that by appearance wise, his partners should at least be healthy and a bit in shape since as a medic, health is a bit important to him. he likes women with noticeable but not to large breasts and nice voices and he likes men who are taller or at the same height as him and have nice hair and clean body odor, both sexes having nice hips and are in shape. If they have nice seductive or mischievous smiles that can make him blush or put him at ease, then they are for keeps.

#headcanon #not sfw #he really has a thing for teeth #I mean #orochimaru also has a nice set of teeth #kakashi too least the fanon one #>_<#I could see Orochimaru teasing him about it and saying how pretty he looks #and Kabuto will always get mad at him for mentioning it #anonymous

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dariussheeno-blog · 7 years

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Jack spent months wandering around aimlessly, trying to figure out what to do. He couldn't end his own life, as he valued it too much. No, he needed another way to get rid of himself. Something less...violent.

He drove his motorcycle until it ran out of gasoline. Sighing, he got out a spare gallon to refill it. Everything was going fine.

As Jack was finishing, he heard a slight sound of leaves. Looking up, he saw his father, looking at him. Jack, completely taken by surprise, stumbled back, and gasoline sprayed everywhere.

"Why, my son? Why have you forsaken us?" The apparition asked. There was worry in his voice, which just made Jack even more afraid.

"No! I haven't forgotten!" He shouted.

"But you have! And now you must pay the price!"

Jack tried to turn on motorcycle, but something went wrong, and a spark went flying. Jack was eventually able to turn on the motorcycle, but not before the spark reached land, combusting the gasoline and starting a wildfire.

Jack heard, "Do not forget where you came from!" from over his shoulder.

He just kept going.

In the grand hall of the fortress of One Aku, something big was happening. The essence Pureisuto consumed impregnated her, and while they weren't sure what was going to happen, Pureisuto was quick to dismiss the cult's worries.

"I will make new servants of Aku if it's the last thing I do!" she shouted.

Removing her headdress and mask, she let the other members take care of her. One of them was on the gong, ready to strike whenever a new life was born. The entire cult was in the grand hall, chanting for the children's health. A weak servant of Aku was not a servant at all, but a nuisance. A large stone table was placed in the middle, right in front of the statue of Aku. There, each child would be placed as an offering to Aku. Some people were opposed to the idea, but they couldn't do anything, as it was too late to back out now. Everything was set, and Pureisuto's water broke. It was time.

As a baby came out, the gong was struck. Everyone counted them in hopes of going higher.

1...

2...

3...

Pureisuto was screaming out in pain. Every baby that came out came as a relief, but it wouldn't be until the last one when she would be relieved completely of her pain. Each baby was placed in the stone table, crying out in unison. As the last baby was born, most of the others calmed down.

Seven children in total.

All female.

Several members put Pureisuto's uniform back on and she simply walked to the statue.

"Seven daughters to do your bidding, my master!" She declared. "They will succeed where so many others have failed! We will find favor in your glory!"

Everyone chanted.

The seven Daughters of Aku were here.

Jack decided to rest in a nearby village. He was tired, and not just from running all the time. He was getting sick of his visions of his family and the Omen. Not to mention Mad Jack constantly taunting him.

As he walked through the village, he noticed people were staring at him. This usually wouldn't make him uneasy, but now, as he walked around, he began feeling unsure of himself. As if he was being watched by someone other than the village people. Everyone was quiet, and that just added to the effect of something being seriously wrong.

Sure enough, a giant robot appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Samurai Jack! You have committed crimes against Aku! Prepare to feel the wrath of justice!"

Fists began flying as Jack swerved left and right to dodge any attack the robot had for him. Jack returned with a punch, but the robot took it very well, as Jack's fists were no match for cast iron. With one swing, Jack was on the floor, and the whole village watched as Jack began getting pummeled by the robot oppressor.

Jack was almost at the point of giving up where he heard a voice.

"You have forgotten us!"

"When were you going to focus?!"

"You could have saved us!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Jack screamed out. Feeling a new sense of strength, Jack braced himself for subsequent hits. As the robot was about to deliver the final blow, Jack caught the fist mid-air, and swung it around him, sending the robot to the floor. Jack leapt atop the robot, arm still his hands. He pulled hard, disconnecting the arm from its rotors and electronics and eventually breaking it off. He lifted it above his head, and he swung down hard onto the head of the robot. He kept swinging it back and forth until the robot was no longer functioning, and even after that.

"I! WILL! NOT! FAIL!" He kept shouting as he kept swinging it. When he was finished, the robot's head was nothing more than pieces of silicon and metal scattered across the floor. Panting, Jack rose, and looked around. Sure, he had saved the village, but everyone was looking on in fear of Jack, not in respect. Jack dropped the arm, which clanged onto the body, breaking the silence. People began whispering to each other, in a way Jack did not appreciate. He got off the robot and began his way back to the motorcycle. Before he mounted, however, an old lady popped up.

"I see you are having trouble with your emotions." She chimed.

"W-what! H-h-how. What?" Jack was confused. It was not like anybody to open a conversation with such a line.

"I can help you."

After getting his bearings back, Jack sighed and simply said, "Ok."

At the old lady's house, she made tea for Jack. She made conversation as she did so.

"So, Jack...anything bothering you?"

"No." Jack replied, knowing full well she knew it was a lie.

"You are seeing things, are you? Things you might not want to...see?"

Jack was taken aback by the sudden statement. "Yes...how did you-"

"I always know." She replied. "Do not worry. I can help you. Please. Come."

Jack followed her to the cellar. Once down there, the lady pulled a switch, and showed off her gift to Jack. An entire suit of armor. From head to toe, segmented armor protecting Jack from almost any attack.

Putting it on, Jack immediately felt much better, as if the armor had some sort of enhancement to it. It was agile, yet firm. Whatever Jack could do, he could now do better. And the helmet. Ooh, the helmet. The samurai Kabuto fit snug on Jack's head, and for the first time in years, Jack smiled. The old lady also offered weapons like a technologically enhanced trident, and more.

Before Jack left, the old woman handed him a mask. Something Jack would keep for a while. Resembling an angry dragon, it had a sort of anonymity to it. Jack simply looked at her.

"Thank you." He said before departing.

Aku was smiling. Destroying planets, enslaving entire species, and partying with his employees really gave him the time of his life. He couldn't ask for anything more. Jack was basically dead, as it had been years since anyone saw him. Right now, Aku was focused on bettering his life, and hopefully setting u for the long haul. Setting up puppet leaders and all that.

However, someone did have to come and ruin it.

"Master, you have a guest!" the announcer said.

Gracefully, Aku slid up the walls of the chamber until he got to the room for meet and greets. Aku was in a good mood, and it seemed nothing could break that.

"Welcome to my chamber, what can I do you for?"

"My lord Aku, please forgive me, for I bear very unwelcome news."

Aku was confused. He had the whole universe in the palm of his hand. What could possibly be wrong?

"Well, what is it?"

"The Samurai. He lives!"

"WHAT!" Aku was mortified. The Samurai should have died of old age. "SHOW ME!"

Up on a screen, it showed a chilling vision of Jack. A short beard, no gi, and he looked extremely angry. Aku couldn't believe his eyes. He turned only to find that his guest had disappeared, running before Aku could crush him. Aku turned back to the photo, and with a furious expression on his face, began shouting out orders.

"I WANT EVERY BOUNTY HUNTER IN THE GALAXY HERE!"

"I WANT SAMURAI JACK!"

Walking toward his motorcycle, Jack again noticed the villagers, all of them, staring. This time, not out of pity, but out of fear. With his new armor, Jack had become dangerous for even his allies.

As he mounted his motorcycle, one kid ran up to him and asked happily,

"Are you Samurai Jack?"

The child expected the answer to be a resounding, "Yes."

But Jack simply looked at the child. Looking at him dead in the eye. Before the smile on the child turned into a more serious expression, Jack simply said,

"No..."

He turned on the motorcycle, and drove away.

Author’s Note

Ok, so now we’re getting to the good stuff. Chapter X will probably be the last one I publish before going on vacation, so I’ll try to get it done as soon as possible. That one will get everything set up for the Season 5 timeline, so it should be pretty good. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

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