#and i know that there'll most likely be something that makes me stop reading it before the 25% mark

[sunnebeam]

backstreet buildings.

A 'CITY OF LIGHTS' DRABBLE.

pairing: jeon jungkook x reader

warnings: smut (minors do not interact), wet humping, fighting (not physical, but they have a big argument), cheating (kinda, the first col drabble explains it better so it's better to read that first!), gangster squad au

masterlist + disclaimers.

note: our col!couple is back at it (like rabbits) again! there'll probably be another drabble or two after this to complete the au ^^

— previous: city of lights. | next: neon lights.

You thought it would be a one-time thing.

But one night of pleasure turned into several nights of passion. One night of secrecy turned into several nights of indulgence.

It's not far-fetched to say that this arrangement with Jungkook, like many other things in your life, is going out of your control.

But you aren't complaining.

“Fuck!”

Jungkook says the word breathlessly, his hands on your waist as the both of you stand under the shower head. It's one of those rare morning-afters when you don't have to rush back home at dawn, so the both of you are making the most out of it.

“Jungkook, mmm,” you moan, shifting your weight on your feet and arching your back to get a better angle. “Wait— Just...”

His hands grip your ass to pull you flush against his body. Slowly but surely, he rocks back and forth, rubbing your pussy lips with the length of his dick, fucking you but not really fucking you at the same time.

"Don't worry,” Jungkook says, grunting when you cross your legs with his cock right between your puffy pussy lips, your juices making him glide deliciously back and forth. "Not inside, okay?" he tells you as you moan again, wiggling your hips to stimulate both of your pleasures.

“You’re so pretty,” he groans. “And so wet, fuck.”

“And you’re so big," you whimper. “Want you inside me."

“I know, doll, but you're still sore from last night, remember? Shit, just like that—” A roll of his hips. “Besides, We don't have much time. Taehyung's coming back at noon, right?"

Again with the 'Taehyung.' It's always 'Taehyung this, Taehyung that.'

Of course, you've known all along that Jungkook and his crew are planning something against your mob boss boyfriend. You've known all along how much of a pawn you are in the grand scheme of things. You've known all along that what you and Jungkook have right now has a hidden motive behind it.

You've known all that, and yet you can't help but be disappointed.

If you were just a pawn, Jungkook didn't have to bring you soup and heating pads that one time you had cramps. If you were just a pawn, he didn't have to be content just snuggling with you that one night you weren't in the mood for sex.

If you were just a pawn, he doesn't have to care if you're sore or not.

You halt his movements, pulling away from him to turn around with your back against his chest. “You know I’m Taehyung's girl, right? Not you? You're awfully more up to date with him than I am,” you point out, reaching between your legs to place his dick back between your legs and wet-humping it.

“Well, that sounds like a you problem,” he teases, reaching around to play with your clit. “Maybe I should be the one dating him, then.”

“You'd love that, wouldn't you?” You reply, his fingers and your hips moving even faster and moments later, the both of you reach your highs, with your hole clenching around nothing and him finishing on your pussy.

After a few breaths, he kisses you tenderly before wrapping towels around you and himself, and leading you back to the bedroom. As he's turning away to put on his clothes, you notice something shiny peaking out from one of his pockets. Your heart stops when you see something gold.

A police badge.

Much later when you're both seated at his breakfast table, you're holding in your doubts and questions, choosing not to say anything yet as you finish your makeup and put on the earrings Taehyung got for you.

Maybe Jungkook notices how you've spaced out. Or maybe he notices how you've gone a bit distant. Either way, the shift in the air is noticeable and the tension is undeniably thick.

"Do you have to do that in front of me?" he asks, scowling through a mouthful of cereal.

You stop and stare at him.

"Do you have to make yourself pretty for him in front of me?" he spits out.

"What's the matter?" you ask him blankly.

"Why are you dressing up so much for him?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were a cop?"

Silence. The cat's out of the bag and there's no turning back now.

After a few tense beats, he tries to placate you. "I hid it to protect you," he sighs, his hand reaching out to touch yours. "Trust me."

You pull your hand away.

"No," you scoff. "I don't trust you, Jungkook, the bible salesman." You add, "I should've known life would do me dirty again."

"Hold on," he bites back. "You knew we were planning something. You knew I was trying to bring Taehyung down."

"I thought you were just like all the others who tried! You think you're the first one, Jungkook? You're not special," you say angrily. "How was I supposed to know you were the fucking police?"

He doesn't answer. Or more appropriately, he can't answer. His mouth opens and closes, no sound coming out.

"So if you're a cop," you start slowly, softly, your eyes on the table, "and your goal is to have Taehyung arrested... Where does that leave me?"

You look up at him.

"I'm in too deep," you continue. "My association with Taehyung runs too deep for me not to be implicated. If you arrest him..."

"Doll..."

"...will you arrest me, too?"

His silence tells you everything you need to know.

You stand up hurriedly, packing your things mindlessly and heading out the door.

Storming out of his place, you leave your disappointed heart and wistful dreams behind.

COPYRIGHT 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

#bts x reader #jeon jungkook x reader #jungkook x reader #bts smut #jeon jungkook smut #jungkook smut #bts fic #jeon jungkook fic #jungkook fic #jeon jeongguk x reader #jeongguk x reader #bts x you #jeon jungkook x you #jungkook x you #jeon jeongguk x you #jeongguk x you #cat.writes

[hoshiseon]

desire ; preview

♰ pairings :: ot8 vampire!ateez x fem!witch!reader

♰ genre :: dark fantasy, smut, strangers to ?? to lovers, fluff, maybe slight angst?, soulmates/fated lovers

♰ content :: polyamory, references to religious themes, all of them are kinda down bad... some more than others, reader is enamored with them (i'll add more by chapter, they're not written yet)

♰ word count :: 580

♰ note :: all of the descriptions are general as this is the preview, please read the warnings for each chapter!! this is my first time not writing in third person :,) each chapter will probably focus of different sets of members. the chapters aren't planned, i'm writing this as i go so pls be patient. i'm not sure how many chapters there'll be. feedback is greatly appreciated and i should have the first chapter up very soon!! ♡

♰ gen. warnings :: blood, violence, predator/prey dynamics (non sexual & possibly sexual in later chapters), fear, anxiety, sight obsession, stalking, general dark themes, manipulation (non sexual)

☽ smut warnings by chapter, MDNI!!

as i look around confusedly, i forget that there was a small chance i was being followed by something. instead astonishment replaces the fear as i look around. but not for long. i start to hear the distinct sound of crunching leaves coming from my right. this time my entire body freezes for a fraction of a second and i do not turn to see whatever it is coming for me. instead i turn left and start to run. as i sprint through the tree line, i make it long enough that the clearing behind me starts to morph back into endless trees.

but turning back to look proves to be a mistake as i trip once again and fall, unable to catch myself as i collide with the ground. sharp pain shoots through my knee again and i know this time i would not just have a bruise. i wince and cry as i push into the dirt to roll onto my back. through my fear, i could only hear my boots making contact with the earth beneath me but now that i am still i can definitely hear the pursuit of something coming towards me. it doesn't sound like running but then again i may not be able to hear over the sound of my own pounding heart and heaving breaths. i attempt to scramble to my feet and push through the pain in my leg but i can only manage a weak limping jog. i feel tears pool in my eyes as i stop to lean my side against a tree. there's just no way i'll make it to my cabin like this. and there's no way i'd beat whatever it is that's following me. as the pain in my knee starts to throb, i sink lower until i'm sitting with my back against the tree.

through my wallowing i failed to realize that the sound from before had stopped. as i turn my head to look around, i spot a silhouette to my left. back from where i originally started running. it looks like.... a person? who in their right mind would be out this far? it seems like the seconds drag on as i stare wordlessly at the unmoving figure. i have no options to weigh so i wait. for impending doom most certainly. but there's nothing i can really do. trying to get up again really isn't practical and would just alert them to my location, if they don't see me already. i blink and suddenly the figure looks a lot closer than they were a second ago. no... my mind is playing tricks on me no one moves that fast. my heart rate kicks into high gear as the figure starts to become larger. they're definitely getting closer. my reflexes kick in and i scramble with no success to get onto my feet. i hear my breath stutter and a cry threatens to leave my lips as the figure finally really comes into view and then stops. though it's still very dark, they're close enough now that i can see the person is a man. he's human looking... enough. but that doesn't really quell my fear. he's still not close enough that he could hear me if i spoke in a normal tone but i shouldn't get my hopes up. i watch as his head tilts to the side for a second before he starts to walk, much slower now, towards me.

#ateez smut #ateez angst #ateez fluff #ateez fic #ateez x reader #seonghwa x reader #hongjoong x reader #poly ateez x reader #yunho x reader #san x reader #mingi x reader #yeosang x reader #jongho x reader #wooyoung x reader #vampire!ateez #vampire!au #fantasy au #vampire!ateez x reader #🪐 — works.desire!

[hellfire--cult]

Baring Teeth {Eddie Munson x Reader} - Chapters and Warnings

Picture for Banner: pitifulbaby

Chapters: Warnings - Ch. 1 - Ch. 2 - Ch.3 - Ch. 4 - Ch. 5 - Ch. 6 - Ch. 7 - Ch. 8 🔥 - Ch. 9 🔥 - Ch. 10 - Ch. 11 - Ch. 12 - Ch. 13 - Ch. 14 - Ch. 15

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Non-Traditional Omegaverse, Slow burn, Modern!AU

Warnings: Ab*se, Violence, Mental Health, Cursing, Smut, oral sex, p in v, unprotected sex, A/B/O dynamics but not explicit, dirty talking, breeding kink, bdsm, choking, mental abuse, manipulation, depression, self sabotage

Crossposted on: Wattpad & AO3

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

Summary:

The world only reigns in Betas, the middle in between an Alpha and Omega, someone who provides children with the adequate amount of treatments and prescriptions in medications, making them fertile. That is how the world procreated and mutated into just this kind of gender.

Alphas and Omegas were a myth.

Normal jobs, normal people, normal life, great friends. That's what you want. But of course, there's always a needle somewhere that pokes and doesn't stop. Yours was called Eddie Munson.

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

This has Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamics. Let me be clear, NONE of this is going to be relevant till a certain part of the story. It is a very important dynamic indeed, but there's no explicit behaviour in the characters at the beginning or in the middle of it. Like literally, PACKS DO NOT EVEN EXIST.

The smut will be MILD. I know that Omegaverse tends to go EXPLICIT, but I do not write that. There will be at some point, mentions of rut, heat, and other things that I will explain along the way. But if you are uncomfortable at some point, do not read. There will be though, dirty talking, because it cannot really be avoided. But it won't happen in all the smut, I promise.

Just treat this as a normal Enemies to Lovers AU, until the Omegaverse lore appears which won't be too explicit.

No Stranger Things lore involved.

Slowburn, of course. 

Specific topics will be included that may be triggering to some: ab*se, violence, drugs, mental health, and cursing.

There'll be no usage of Y/N in this story. 

I do not own ANY of the characters involved.

The picture of Eddie in the cover (Which is property of Pitifulbaby on tumblr) is actually how Eddie looks in this AU. Same old metal head, just with a beard and using manbuns.

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

Now: Let's go over some definitions if you are not familiar in the Omegaverse universe. (ADAPTED TO THIS STORY, OF COURSE)

- Alphas: In some stories, they may exhibit "dominant" behavior or have other temperamental quirks. They are able to impregnate Omegas. Male Alphas usually have a knot when aroused, and they go into rut for a specific amount of time.

- Betas: Betas are often presented as having "normal" human anatomy, with none of the special attributes of Alphas or Omegas. They may be the peacemakers between Alphas and Omegas. They cannot impregnate or get pregnant if not going through special treatment to do so.

- Omegas: They can get pregnant and go into heat for a few days, depending the person. Omegas are often portrayed as the most fragile of the hierarchy, with frailer bodies and painful presentations.

Alphas and Omegas have SCENT glands. They have them on their neck, wrists, and sometimes on their ankles. While Alphas scents are usually musky, dominant, rough; Omegas have a sweet, peachy kind of smell.

This scent only becomes stronger as they go into rut or in heat.

Alphas and Omegas also have a Mating gland, something that Betas do not have. This is always positioned between the junction of the neck and shoulder, and they have to bite one another to seal their bond, and be forever mates. 

It can happen that one of the two might not seal the bond, and not bite the other person. The bite will disappear in time, as well as the bond that the person that bit created, but it is a painful process for the biter. 

As there are no Alphas or Omegas in this story, the world is as we know it, except for the fertility treatments people have to go through to get a baby. 

There are no packs, no 'pups' as people call the children in this AU.

(If you have more questions, please don't be afraid to ask!)

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

Follow me for updates! ❤️

#fanfiction #eddie munson enemies to lovers #eddie munson #eddie munson ff #eddie munson fics #eddie munson lives #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things #alpha beta omega #omegaverse #alpha eddie munson #eddie x you #eddie x female reader #eddie x fem!reader #eddie munson x fem!reader smut #Eddie munson x fem!reader #smut #fluff #angst #enemies to lovers #abo

[munamania]

tried to type up a quick transcript of motaz's stories featuring the anonymous phone calls. it's baffling.

(i think my recording software might have cut off the end of some clips, and i may have misheard/mistyped slightly as the audio is muddled, so if you can go listen for yourself)

transcript under 'keep reading'

[BEGIN TRANSCRIPT]

caller: hello?

motaz: hello

caller: hello motaz, how are you?

motaz: i'm fine

caller: fine? fine day to go to the beach?

motaz: yeah, sounds lovely

caller: hm?

motaz: yeah, who are you?

caller: i don't understand

motaz: (slowly) who are you?

caller: ehh... i'm nobody. but anyways, um, can you like, post a story maybe condemning hamas so this can all end?

motaz: what?

caller: can you post a story maybe against hamas?

[next clip]

motaz: it's been going on since 1948, okay? and for us, we believe this is our land, and you believe it's your land, and this is the fight we'll never end until the last day of this life. okay? but i'm not understanding why you need me to show you what you want to show, because i'm palestinian. what do you expect me to show? show that -

caller: i expect you - i expect you to - what i think is best for you is - obviously you're a camera man, and i don't think you would harm - let's say you're - you're just a person you know

motaz: yeah, but if you are afraid from the pictures, you are so weak. you should know that. if the pictures are harming you, you should know there's something wrong with you.

caller: no -

motaz: because as you said, i can't harm anyone

caller: let's think for a second. gaza is divided into two. the north fled to the south

[next clip]

caller: i can say, all the people that are marching, protesting in the street, saying 'free palestine' they don't really care. honestly, motaz. if they cared, they would go fight the war together. people are fake. all the people that say in the comments when you post a post 'may Allah save you guys, may Allah -' no they don't - they care about it to a certain point. they don't really know anything about it. they're going to go down today, like - they're not going to do anything. they are just making noise.

motaz: yeah, making noise, but if this is annoying for you or for israel it's your problem, because you are killing people, okay? you are genociding my people. so if, if i'm gonna stand and watch - i don't know who the hell who are you, okay? and uh.. but believe me after what i saw, after what i experienced, i don't care about my life, okay? you destroyed the whole strip, like, the only part we were happy about having, a small part of our country, okay? and it's now destroyed. and you were right when you called the first time that there'll be [the army?] there'll be more bombing, more killing, 'don't go to the borders, don't go to the north,' and i try, uh, to be careful, but, uh, the killing never stops. i mean, i'm in the south, i'm in the middle area, eh, you can't -

caller: isn't it possible for your people to flee to egypt?

motaz: why to flee to egypt, man? it's not our country. why to flee? we have our country. why flee to egypt? be reasonable, okay, be reasonable when you are talking.

caller: i care about life.

motaz: you care about life? stop the killing, man. stop the killing. you are going to have the most powerful weapons in the whole world -

[new clip]

motaz: i'll say it to you, the first time you called me, i was terrified, because a lot of journalists have lost their lives. but now, believe me, now i swear to god i don't give a fuck, because we are all gonna die. so, at least, i will, if i die, i die while trying to do something for my people. this is from my side. eh, something else - you expect me to affect on my people, or to give them advice to go to, to egypt? to flee from the strip?

caller: yeah, it's not about right and wrong, it's about surviving. if you wanna die in the name of Allah, you can, you can say 'i don't care about dying anymore.'

-video cuts off-

[END TRANSCRIPT]

#i apologize if this is a really messy typed up version my speakers are shit. feel free to rb with translations if you can #but i think people need to see. just absolutely insane #keep talking #palestine #free palestine #israel #motaz azaiza

[nctsworld]

Your latest fic was so cute and funny. Deadass left me want to have more of it. Like, did the date go successfully? What other tricks our mischievous Gemini had up his sleeves? Seriously, short but so good.

thank you so much for reading at your earliest convenience! i won't be writing a continuation, but here's how it goes down:

reader is furious, and in retaliation, truly wants to set the bar high for the date

date activities requested: go to the movie theatre (and you tell hyuck he better be ready to buy every single snack and drink available), dinner at the most expensive restaurant in town (this shouldn't be surprising), then overpriced ice cream in the same area as the restaurant

but of course! hyuck turns it around and takes it a step up

he rents out an entire theatre to watch the movie, on top of clearing out the snack and drink section (hyuck is grateful for his friend, renjun, who is the manager of the theatre)

there's a moment when the back of your hands brush as you reach for the popcorn, but you deny your anxiety (and the obvious tension). obviously, it's only because you're the only two in this entire theatre.

afterwards, he doesn't drive you to the restaurant, but to the pier instead.

"i'm not even kidding—are you going to kill me and dump my body here?"

"i feel like if that was going to happen, you'd be doing that to me."

"then why aren't we at the restaurant?"

your brain clicks when you see it: the small cruise ship.

"you never said i couldn't bring the restaurant to you."

he isn't kidding, because he pulled strings to have one of the sous chefs from the restaurant to work tonight on his day off (you catch that his name is jaemin and that he owes hyuck a huge favour—okay, seriously? is this guy friends with everyone in town?)

and it's utterly romantic. only the two of you, besides some help and the chef.

candles light everywhere. wine and champagne, both readily available. the food is to die for.

you're warm. not from the alcohol and food. not from all the candles. not from all the smiling, laughing, and the truly, genuine good time you're having. something is blooming.

as the sun falls, especially by sea side, it becomes chillier. he offers his black bomber jacket and you accept, placing it around your shoulders.

when you finish dinner, you didn't expect to have a small cart roll up to you with several ice cream options.

"okay, i couldn't get the same brands from that store, but jaemin recommended these and they were pretty expensive."

following that, you catch yourself getting lost in his goofy smile, and after a beat, he laughs awkwardly.

"you okay? you're looking at me kind of funny."

shaking your head, you play into it. "because you do look funny."

the night ends perfectly. he drives you home, like the gentleman he is, and walks you to your door.

"i hate to say it, but i really had a good night."

"told ya."

god, that smirk.

"you're looking at me funny again," he says, but the expression on his face makes you think he knows something you don't.

you don't even compute the moment he leans in, cups your cheeks, and pulls you in for a sweet, deep kiss

the kind where it happens, you take a one-second breather, and then you dive right back into it

both of you, after making out for some time, realize you should probably stop as everyone can see.

"i'll text you later, yeah?" he says, drawing back.

you simply nod, mesmerized by him. his lips. his everything.

"for our next date, by the way," he whisper-shouts, walking backwards. "i'm calling the shots and it'll be a simple one."

"who says there'll be a second date?" you ask cheekily.

"oh yeah?" he raises an eyebrow.

you embrace for another few more minutes until a dog barks, breaking your bubble.

and hyuck ends off with a kiss on your cheek and a soft good night whispered into your ear.

#fullsunsets #cee.q&a #yn brainrot #haechan fluff #haechan imagines #haechan scenarios #haechan fanfic #nct fluff #nct dream fluff #omg i wrote way more than i thought i would but there ya go!!! HAHA

[taggedmemes]

SENTENCE MEME JACK'S MANNEQUIN / EVERYTHING IN TRANSIT

what's a girl to do with friends like this?

she let me drive her car so i can score an eighth.

my hair is growing long.

we can live like this.

if you left it up to me, every day would be a holiday from real.

we'd waste our weeks beneath the sun.

we'd fry our brains.

it's so much fun out here.

i'll come back for another year.

the rents are high and [city]'s easy.

it's a picture of perfection.

you sure look fine.

you wore my favorite sweater.

being poor was never better.

let's screw this one up right.

that's when i spend the most time thinking about what i've given up.

this is a warning.

i'm writing you a symphony of sound.

this mix could burn a hole in anyone.

it was you i was thinking of.

i read your letter.

you said you meant it.

there's a piece of me in every single second of every single day.

tell me how it got this way.

i can't get to you.

this is my mixed tape for her.

it's like i wrote every note with my own fingers.

i had to give you away.

sometimes perfection can be perfect hell.

i swear i didn't mean for it to feel like this.

every inch of me is bruised.

can you make this last?

i am finally waking up.

you haven't shown your face here since the bad news.

i'm unraveling with every word you say.

just think of all the thoughts wasted on you.

all i taste is blood between my teeth.

i'm ready, so don't stop.

i am aware i've been misled.

i disconnect my heart, my head.

when did society decide that we had to change and wash a t-shirt after every individual use?

i need caffeine in my blood stream.

my life has become a boring pop song.

i'm done.

the ending got twisted around.

i've got friends who will help me pull through.

i'm dulling the day with a drink.

i'm far too unstable to settle.

i don't know what you could possibly expect under this condition.

this night's a perfect shade of dark blue.

have you ever been alone in a crowded room?

the world could be burning down.

this flood is slowly rising up and swallowing the ground beneath my feet.

tell me how anybody thinks under this condition.

as the water rises up, the sun is sinking down.

now all i can see are the planets in a row.

we were boxing the stars.

finally i'm letting go of all my downer thoughts.

in no time there'll be one less sad robot looking for a chance to be something more than just metal.

she's so good.

she's no good for me.

why treat him like he's dead?

i've found someone to dull this lonely scene.

it's biblical how fucked my sleep can be.

i would never lie to you.

whatcha sad for?

this hurts like hell.

i had that dream again where i was lost for good in outer space.

tell me how to shake a waking nightmare that is only worse when i am sleeping.

i am losing feeling.

i'd prefer not to be rescued.

i'm following myself just this once.

i'm finally numb.

say you'll miss me.

i'm sweating out excuses that would make your stomach turn.

we filled our cups and lit one up.

maybe we were made for each other.

is it possible for the world to look this way forever?

i didn't realize i'd gona crazy.

i didn't catch my bloody nose or that my heart tried to explode.

some people never change at all.

we're still the same impulsive drunks we were when we were small.

someone get this man to a hospital.

you can breathe.

the rain's the rain.

i deconstruct my thoughts.

this fishbowl life is all they need.

i'm slipping into the airwaves.

the static's where you'll find me.

the gold-soaked afternoon comes slow.

something's not so right inside.

don't panic, there simply is no need.

#sentence meme #rp meme #sentence starters #roleplay meme #starter sentences #rp starters #rpc #starter meme #rp sentences #rp prompts #sentence prompt #roleplay prompts #sentence prompts

[theageofsims]

The Age of Sims 2.7 - Part 19- “Get Together”

Language Warning

Now that her bakery had reached rock bottom, the stress of it was starting to give her the same sensations she was afraid to experience again -- itchiness that would then turn into spots before they turned into stripes.

Once upon a time Gloria was able to take each day as it came -- a deep breath and a roll or two of her shoulders, and she could face the world.

But these days she the tension she felt was so stiffening at times she could barely move let alone think straight.

Baking up a storm was probably not the best idea considering she should spend time trying to unwind, but baking always seemed to calm her down -- something about focusing on the process that just made things appear so simple, and with a purpose.

----------

"Did you make any brownies?"

"I did... but with m&ms in them..."

"I don't like m&m's." William stated, "But I'd still like one."

"I'm not sure there'll be any left when you get here... I plan on giving most of what I baked away to my guests."

"What's this business about you throwing parties without me?"

"It's my business -- I've always thrown little get togethers, not 'parties'." She corrected him. "If you really want brownies, I can make a batch just for you."

He grumbled a little and all that came through had been words she couldn't understand.

"Are you losing connection?"

"No, I'm just... irritated."

"About the brownies?"

"No." He chuckled, "Not the brownies. Don't go through the trouble of making brownies. You've baked enough."

"It's no trouble. They're one of the easiest things to bake."

"Don't worry about it, Gloria... I don't really feel like brownies right now."

"But you said--"

"I know what I said."

She could hear so much more in his voice, but wasn't sure at all on how to get it out of him.

"This goddamned snow won't stop. All the flights are delayed... I should have just come right back from San Myshuno. I don't know what I was thinking going to Brindleton Bay... it's colder out here and San Myshuno was already cold enough. He angrily sighed, "I don't know why the fuck I even left Oasis Springs in the first place!"

"William..." She paused as she carefully thought what to say, "... Don't beat yourself up over this... I mean, you..."

"No I haven't. I haven't done all that I could have done." He thought back to his argument with Peter. "I didn't even try to be nice to him. I had it all planned -- that I would be kind when I found him and then I found him and I shot it all to hell. I scolded him and demanded he listen to me -- I treated him like he was a child."

She opened her mouth, but only sighed.

"I fucked up -- just like the last time. I keep fucking up every time it comes to this damn kid, I mean what the fuck was I even thinking? That's what made him run in the first place--"

"William, stop."

"Why should I?!"

"Because you've done far more than even his own parents are doing for him--"

"I've always done far more than they did for him! We both did!" He said, referring to his ex wife. "That's what makes this worse and... fucking..." He finished with a growl. "I've got to get something to eat and then find a place to charge this damn cellphone... I'll call you back in an hour, okay?"

"Okay..." She said quietly as they exchanged their goodbyes.

After the call ended Gloria found herself staring at the phone and reading his name across the screen as she wondered about his current state. It had been the first time she ever heard him speak that way about himself and it made her wonder just how often he did it -- and if it was just about his nephew or if it had been about other things in general as well.

It made her upset to think about it, but she did her best to hide it away so her guests would not see and think to question -- especially her so-called best friend who had been listening in to their conversation from the moment she had answered the phone...

#the age of sims #sims 4 story #ts4 story #sims 4 #ts4

[bustyasianbeautiespod]

Aziraphale and Crowley to the tune of some of Grey's favorite OPM music: The Playlist

Most of the songs in this playlist are in English, but for the Tagalog ones I have whipped up translations for them under the cut. Because I need as many people to Get It as much as possible and English translations for OPM songs are not as accessible online (or anywhere, really)

Umaapaw by Ang Bandang Shirley

A song, ears full of happiness In my memory, this is how it starts. Light, you were introduced. I was blinded by your beauty.

All my weariness seem to disappear In awakening, the dreams visit. My feelings are overflowing.

Lips, a desired kiss. At the tip of my tongue, sweet words. An embrace, the tightness of your arms At your touch, the blood flows.

It’s all mixed up in my head. The warmth, the voice, the sweetness of every day. My feelings are overflowing.

Ready to say and ready to show Don’t stop the waves In awakening, oh, the dreams! Don’t stop the emotions

The heart, let it function, In the next meeting, There’s something to bring.

A speech, in front of someone, Nothing is memorized. Everything is known by heart.

I wholeheartedly trust you. This is how sure I am. The warmth, the voice, the sweetness A song, an embrace, a kiss You are the water that will quench my thirst. My love is overflowing.

Antukin by Rico Blanco

The plane has already left you behind It's okay baby, don't ever change Just stay here and sleep by my side, sleepyhead

I will just take care of you sorry, you can't do anything about that just love me so so much So we're fair, yeah?

We will welcome the future without fear, without dread Fate has powerful wiles If you don't want, there'll always be a reason if you do, there'll always be a way

The palm reader made you cry We won't grow old together, they said Well, lucky for us, there's a heaven that will defend a love that is strong and persevering

We will welcome the future without fear, without dread Fate has powerful wiles If you don't want, there'll always be a reason if you do, there'll always be a way

As long as we stand as one whatever we collide against nothing will ever break us Nothing, and I mean nothing.

We will welcome the future without fear, without dread Fate has powerful wiles If you don't want, there'll always be a reason if you do, then let's just kiss the future with all of our heart. embrace it, even Fate is overrated anyway. If you don't want, there'll always be a reason if you do, there'll always be a way

Ilang2x by Ang Bandang Shirley

I don't know if it's a message that there's nothing being said by your lips that always smiles so sweetly and i'm confused if perhaps I'm a poet in all this reading I do of the poetry being recited by your tender eyes

I was just hoping you would change your mind. I was just hoping you would change your mind. I was just hoping you would change your mind. I was just hoping you would change your mind. I was just hoping you would change your mind. I was just hoping you would change your mind. I was just hoping you would change your mind.

Tadhana by UDD

In an unexpected meeting of worlds a small moment of connection and i can already feel the sound it makes

isn't all the pain i won't ever let you feel already enough? your eyes reveal you. they shout with love

Why not just say yes to this lacking affection? the both of us who are hoping, from north to south you are my destination, and as your home i will be the one to save you

Where are we going? barefoot and enchanted by you the storm of fate leads me to the warmth of your arms

Why not just say what you can't admit? Are you just going to let the wind decide? don't be afraid of the whispers of your heart I'm here. I will listen.

Burnout by Sugarfree

Oh, don't look at me like that Don't try to convince me. Don't ask me.

Because just like you I have also changed We're not like we used to be How fast a moment can be

Oh, I loved you for so long Oh, I loved you for so long

If you think about it, We weren't like this before Wait, just wait When did we get uncomfortable?

If you think about it, We weren't like this before It's just life can be so fast Even we got swept away

Oh, I loved you for so long Oh, I loved you for so long

I'm calling you I'm trying to get to you Even if you can't hear it. Even if you can't feel it.

Oh, I will love you for so long. Oh, I will love you for so long.

#i really severely do not have enough time in my life to be doing this #but you make time for the things you love (translating tagalog songs to english so that the podcast listeners can Get It) #mentioned

[lifeofkaze]

A Search for Balance

CHAPTER 17 - KEEPSAKES

Find the masterlist with all chapters of this story here, the previous chapter here, and the next one here.

Tagging: @flareshogwarts

October had come and gone, and the season was progressing nicely for the Wigtown Wanderers. And yet, Matthew wasn't happy. 

Despite his best efforts, none of the Wanderers’ executives had been willing to meet his demands and Lizzie’s contract negotiations had come to a halt. What had at first been a compelling challenge was slowly turning into a frustrating business, and Matthew’s interest in the matter was increasingly dwindling. 

Things with Lizzie had turned complicated as well. She was impatient with the situation but other than badgering him about the state of things, she had begun to keep her distance from him. Matthew had tried to engage her in multiple conversations about any topic he could think of, but she had an excuse ready to refuse him more often than not. 

When he learned that she had cancelled another fitting for her wedding dress without so much as telling him, it was finally enough. He wouldn’t let Lizzie make a fool of him any longer. It was time to take some action. 

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" asked Rita Skeeter as she slipped into the seat across from Matthew in a Muggle café in central London. He responded with a thin-lipped smile. 

"It's good to see you, too, Rita. How's work at the Daily Prophet?"

She arched her pencilled eyebrows. "I'm a busy witch, Mr McRae. Get to the point and don’t waste my time with chit-chat. Time is money, as you well know."

Matthew pushed his cup of tea to the side. "As far as I remember, you and I agreed on a deal on which you have yet to deliver. I’m surprised I’m having to remind you - you never struck me as a witch to let a story slip from her fingers." 

"Half a story is made by research, Mr McRae," Rita said, the smile on her red lips widening, "and trust me when I say that I'm the very best at researching."

"You have something for me then?"

"Depends. Do you have something in return?" 

Matthew reached into the pocket of his vest and produced a thick envelope sealed with the crest of his family. "This is our guest list. On it, you'll find everyone who will attend the wedding - and who they're going to bring." 

Rita snatched the envelope from his hands and had already put her finger underneath the flap when Matthew cleared his throat. "So, what's the deal?"

"The deal," Rita said without looking up from the guest list, "is that your darling girl isn't as perfect as you would like her to be." She stopped reading and pursed her lips. "The Deputy Minister of Magic? Really?" 

Matthew ignored her. "What do you mean she's not as perfect as I'd like her to be?"

Judging by the way Rita was watching him over the rim of her glasses, she was enjoying herself immensely. 

"What has she told you about Orion Amari?"

"That they know each other from school. They played on their house team together." 

"Oh, play they did, but not only Quidditch. Your fiancée hasn't been honest with you, Mr McRae." Rita pressed a hand to her heart. "Oh, the woes and wonders of young love! The first one is always the most exciting, don't you think? She and Mr Amari used to go out for just over two years, but it all ended most dramatically when he left the country in the dead of night." A smug grin formed on her face. "I bet your Lizzie could tell me all about it." 

Matthew’s mouth had gone dry. "This must be a mistake."

"It was easy enough to find out. Makes me wonder why someone with your wits didn't figure it out sooner."

"Who told you all this?"

"Protection of sources," Rita tutted. "I would have expected less questioning and a little more gratitude, I have to say. Maybe I should go and publish this story after all. Who knows if there'll even be a wedding to report on, now that your beloved is reunited with her teenage sweetheart. Who knows what they might be doing right as we speak? My readers would die to know the truth."

Matthew's thoughts were racing. Rita’s allegations sounded absurd, but they did fit with Lizzie's changed behaviour. The idea of her lying to him stung his heart almost as much as it did his pride, but he couldn't let Rita expose her like this, as much for Lizzie’s sake as his own.

"You will do no such thing. Publishing stories about my fiancée - and my family, by extension - with nothing but statements from unnamed sources… That’s not a risk you want to take."

Rita leaned forward, her eyes flashing. "Go and find me some proof then that she lied to you for no reason. If there isn't any, this story is off the table. But if there is, wouldn't it be the sweetest kind of revenge for being done so dirty?" 

She studied Matthew’s face, looking satisfied with what she was seeing. 

"If your Lizzie is the angel you're making her out to be, there's nothing for you to be afraid of. But believe me, everyone has their dirty little secrets. Some are just better at hiding them." 

***

Rita's words were still on Matthew's mind when he returned to Wigtown, so instead of going home, he made his way to Lizzie’s place. She and Skye were usually at the training grounds around this time, so Matthew didn’t bother with knocking and proceeded to walk inside their house. It was time to find out what else Lizzie had been keeping from him. 

Upon entering her room, Matthew startled when the cat lying on the bed, raised her head to hiss at him. Without much ado, he grabbed the wiggling animal by the scruff of her neck and dumped her into the hallway. The last thing he needed right now was that ragged fleabag hanging about. 

Shutting the door behind him, Matthew took a look around, before making his way towards Lizzie’s wardrobe. He reached onto the highest shelf, pushing sweaters and scarves aside until his fingers brushed against something solid. It was an old wooden box with a silver lock, full to the brim with Lizzie's sentimental trinkets. She thought that the box’s existence was a secret, but her secrets weren’t safe from him now. Not anymore. 

Feeling a sense of grim determination, Matthew took the box and sat it on the bed. The lock wouldn’t budge when he tried opening it with his wand, so he got up again and looked through Lizzie’s chest of drawers. There, on the bottom of the drawer holding an assortment of Quidditch shirts, he found what he had been looking for - a tiny silver key with a heart-shaped end.

Matthew shook his head as he picked it up. Lizzie’s romantic streak had once been something he had found endearing, but now, all he could think of was how foolish she was. It was so easy to see her through… and yet, she had somehow managed to deceive him. His flare of bad conscience extinguished by this humiliating thought, Matthew stuck the key into the lock and turned it. 

The first thing he saw once the box had sprung open were pictures of Lizzie's family and friends. Matthew thumbed through them before dumping them on the bed beside him. He did the same with the other things that held no meaning to him - a blooming twig of jasmine, a ticket to a match of the Muggle football club Lizzie liked, a smooth white stone with golden veins running through it, and a gold charm bracelet, all of which he set aside. 

As he brushed a few more trinkets aside, he came across a layer of smooth black fabric. His mouth went dry as he pulled out the Quidditch jersey with the black-and-white bird embroidered on the chest. Lizzie had never cared much for the Montrose Magpies, but Matthew knew one player who had played for them, even if only for a season. His heart pounding in his ears, he slowly turned the shirt around, staring at the white letters forming the name 'Amari' on the back.

In a sudden flare of anger, Matthew balled up the shirt and threw it against the wall with a cry of frustration. Taking deep breaths to regain his composure, his eyes fell onto the almost empty box once more. Several letters were covering the bottom, some of them stacked and tied together, others - the ones looking the most worn - lying loosely between them. 

He pulled one of them out and read it. Then he picked up another, and another, taking in the words another man had written his fiancée. There were even pictures stuck between some of the pages, and Matthew gritted his teeth at the image of Lizzie hugging and kissing someone else with a smile the like of which Matthew hadn't seen in weeks.

When he was done, he read the letters a second time, and with every word, he felt himself grow colder. Rita had been right. Lizzie had played him like a fiddle, and he hadn't suspected a thing. Fury mixing with his disappointment, he thought about everything he had invested into her and her career. And had she given him in return? Nothing but lies.

He was broken from his thoughts by a clicking sound coming from the window. An owl had flown on the windowsill and was now patiently waiting to be let inside. Matthew did so, taking the letter tied to its leg and sending it off again. He sat down at the desk and turned the heavy envelope around in his hands, his eyes resting on the image of a magpie pressed into the black wax of the seal.

The season was well underway, and the Wanderers had failed to announce any news about Lizzie's contract. It had only been a matter of time until other clubs would begin reaching out to her, and Montrose being among them was no surprise, either. Lizzie was in great shape and the Wanderers hot on the Magpies' heels; poaching a rival's players was a standard practice in the business. 

Matthew broke the seal and read through the offer as he made his way into the living room. It was a good offer, and only the starting point for negotiations, too. Lizzie could count herself lucky, he thought as drew his wand and knelt in front of the fireplace. Most players would sell their souls for a contract like this.

He tucked the pages back into the envelope and waited for the flames to catch on the logs. When they were burning high, he tossed the contract into the fire and sat on the sofa, watching the parchment crumble and burn to ashes.

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #harry potter hogwarts mystery #quidditch #orion amari #orion amari x mc #lizzie jameson #skye parkin #balance series #search for balance #sfb

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: Clarity 20

"This is a lot of reading," Aiko said doubtfully. She hefted the stack in her arms a little higher, nearly tipping backwards with the weight.

Godaime-Hottie's lips curved up. "Yes, it is," she acknowledged. There was something vindictive in her tone.

Looking around the Hokage's office, Aiko thought she might have an explanation for that. The Hokage was sharing her paperwork related misery.

Bitch.

"It's all very important," the blonde woman said mildly. She brushed a long, smooth pigtail back over her shoulder. "And you did ask for the ability to be helpful. In order to perform as I need you to at Konan's trial, you will need at least passing familiarity with the subjects of every one of those dossiers. It would be … awkward," she decided. "If you were to fail to recognize someone that you have previously met."

Aiko scowled down at her homework. "I would hate for things to be awkward," she lied with sarcasm that almost poisoned her lips on the way out.

"I'm so glad we agree." The Hokage did look very sweet with her big brown eyes and slight smile. She had to know that Aiko hadn't been serious.

'What does it matter? She has the power here.' Moodily, Aiko tightened her arms around her burden and went to spin around to stalk out.

"A-a-a." Hottie-Hokage held up two slim fingers sternly. "Those can't leave my office. Why don't you have a seat on the couch and start reading?"

Why wouldn't- oh. Sensitive information. She didn't want sensitive information leaving her office. That was fair enough, except-

"If I'm here, how will you do mission debriefings," Aiko pointed out. "That's sensitive information too." Feeling as though she had won, she let her expression slide into slight condescension.

The Hokage didn't so much as flinch. "Debriefings and meetings will run as usual."

Aiko's mouth hung open unbecomingly. Luckily, her burden hid the lower half of her face from the Hokage's viewpoint. That was…

'A ridiculous gesture of trust. She doesn't trust me- or at least, she shouldn't. I'm not loyal to her.'

Aiko knew that. The Hokage knew that. Which meant… was it possible that the gesture of trust was meant as a show for those who would be passing through the office?

'It makes a certain amount of sense', Aiko reasoned. 'I was apparently pretty well known here at one point, and then I disappeared for a year. There'll be rumors and theories about what happened. That's just how people work. They wonder and poke and prod. If she has me seen just casually in her company, it looks like we're close and the rumors won't approach any variety of scandalous that would damage my reputation for what she wants me to do.'

"Stop making that face," Hokage-Hottie sighed. "You looked like you just ate a lemon."

She shifted her weight. "This is just my normal face." Her tone was just a bit too defensive. She hadn't been making a face, had she? No one had ever mentioned that she had an odd thinking face before.

The hokage made a thoroughly undignified snort and a waving motion with her hand. "If you say so."

Mildly self-conscious, she lifted the pile of dossiers up just a little higher against her mouth and wheeled around to totteringly collapse onto the couch. The top of her pile slid ominously, despite her arms' firm grip around what she could reach of the stack. For a moment, she held her breath- and let it out with a curse as the papers lost their precarious balance. Most of it ended up sprawled across the cushions, but a good deal situated itself on her legs and the floor. Stupid Hokage-Hottie sniggered behind her, but Aiko didn't dignify her with a look.

'Just because some people have long arms and freaky unnatural strength…'

"Aiko."

The Hokage sounded a little uneasy. Uncertain, perhaps. The abrupt shift in tone was enough to make Aiko look up. Tsunade's pretty face was painted with discomfort and carefully pointed at one of her potted plants.

"I don't want you to be unpleasantly surprised," Tsunade explained. She licked her bottom lip. "Did you notice there are three blue folders?"

Aiko had not, but now they were apparent. She glanced down, measuring their distance from the top. There were about ten folders piled over those, after the mess she'd made of the neat stack.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously.

"That's because those are members of your family." Tsunade swung her head over to make reluctant eye contact. "If you're not ready to look at them, I won't pressure you. But you will need to read them before we leave Konoha. You'll be seeing all three of them in Iron."

Her heart jolted.

Family. Like Nagato? God, she hoped not.

Aiko tentatively pulled the corner of the first blue folder out to show more, contrasting the deep shade with the inoffensive yellow pallor of the others.

She could read it first. It might be nice to know.

'What would I do with family if I knew who they were? It's not like we'd just instantly click.'

Aiko frowned, brow creasing. She leaned back into the couch cushion.

'Where the fuck were they when Obito ran off with me? I mean, I was gone for a year. If they wanted me back, they could have made a bigger fuss. I… I don't know exactly what they could have done, but there must have been something.'

What did she want family for anyways? Family was just people who shared blood. She probably wouldn't like them, and who knew if they would like her?

'And the jinchuuriki is one of them. I know that for sure. He introduced himself with my name.'

She wanted to know.

She didn't want to know.

She swallowed. With her palms, Aiko lined up the edges of the piled dossiers and neatened the stack so that no obnoxiously blue corners were poking out. She flipped open the first folder with more force than was strictly necessary. And then let her eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

'This is a Konoha nin. I thought most of the dossiers would be foreigners.'

She snuck a glance at the Hokage, who had already busied herself with her own work and a surprisingly intense expression. Hmm.

Not only that, but it was a familiar Konoha nin. She barely noticed when the baa-chan who manned the desk waved a team of Chuunin in for a debriefing. Their mission was boring - carrying messages to a border post. They kept glancing at her with poorly hidden curiosity, but she was able to dismiss their presence in favor of her reading.

Apparently, the creepy weirdo had a name. Hyuuga Neji? Aiko rolled her eyes. Point taken: someone had seen her not-entirely gracious dismissal and thought her behavior should be rectified. To be fair…

She strained to complete that thought.

'Actually, I don't have a justification for my rudeness. I just don't care what he thinks.'

And by the looks of it, her old self wouldn't have either. It was creepy to read factual accounts of her relationships, but she plowed through what she needed to know. Apparently, he had been a year behind her in the Academy and her sparring partner. He was a taijutsu type with a bloodline manifestation and a stick up his ass. They had no significant interactions after graduation.

That didn't bother her at all. The thing that bothered her was sorting through the first six dossiers –all agemates- and realizing that she was noticing a pattern.

'I didn't really have any friends, did I?'

Aiko felt her forehead crease, but glaring didn't make the glossy picture any clearer. Yamanaka Ino appeared to be the strongest relationship of the classmates that she'd examined- and that was based off of a pattern of semi-regular spars that faltered to near nothingness after about age sixteen, six house visits, and occasional meetings for tea.

How crushingly lonely.

The second team of the day entered Tsunade's office self importantly. Probably a genin squad, judging by the exasperated Jounin herding them.

'Not like I'm doing any better now,' she noted with dark amusement. 'I had one really good friend who turned out to be an inconsiderate weasel butt. And now I'm not even trying to make real connections when they're banging on my door. Funny how shit works out.'

"You'll be taking your first C class mission," Tsunade's voice informed from the other side of the room to a chorus of excited squeals.

That was probably why these Konona nin were at the top of the pile of people for her to look at. It was perfectly sensible, but Aiko didn't like being manipulated into coming to other people's conclusions. It rankled. Once she'd finished reading about Yamanaka Ino's apparently deft social intellect, she tossed that folder onto the small pile of examined dossiers. It might have been paranoia, but Aiko keenly felt Tsunade's gaze on the side of her head. It tickled, slipping heavily against her jawline. Huh. The office was otherwise empty. When had the genin left?

'I could turn my head and look. Find out if she really is staring.'

Aiko considered it. Instead, she lifted a thick stack of folders –no doubt filled with Konoha nin- quite deliberately and shunted them off to the side.

The indignation from the other side of the room was almost palpable. She savored it while she readjusted for comfort and settled in for a scintillating read about some lunatic who wore a lot of face paint. Oh. The Kazekage had a brother? Good for him. Was he also a reasonable man? She worried at her lip. Ah, not so much. He was a-

She slapped the folder shut and pushed it off her lap. She'd read enough. Puppets. Fuck that guy and the saddled pig he rode in on- she wouldn't be talking to him.

"What, exactly, will I be doing?" Her voice was just a little too high to be casual, but thankfully the Hokage didn't comment on it.

"Testifying. We'll have to keep your presence as quiet as possible," she said in a tone of faint distraction. "The group who receives us will know, of course, but they'll be bound to respect the privacy of all interest groups in order to maintain their impartial status." She ran a hand through her hair, nearly loosening her right ponytail. "The international community is aware that we are bringing at least one significant witness, but I believe they will be expecting only Itachi-san. It is my hope that you will give them quite the surprise and interfere with the testimony planned to counter his."

'Who the hell is Itachi?' Aiko wondered. She nodded, pretending to understand. "Aa."

Hokage-Hottie gave her an amused look, looking up from the last of her paperwork about her meeting with the genin team. "It won't be terribly exciting for you, I'm afraid. You won't see the testimony that happens before yours, and you probably won't talk to anyone out of our delegation. I will summarize what has already happened for you, of course," she assured. "And tailor what you need to say. In the meantime, keep your head down," she grumbled. "The situation in Konoha is tenuous enough."

Aiko stared, not caring about the Hokage's problems. "So it's not really my testimony," she pointed out. Unimpressed, she stretched her legs out to take as much space as possible. "You're putting words in my mouth. Why bother teaching me about all these people if I won't be talking to them?"

Either she was just a tool, or she was meant to be an informed, thinking participant. It didn't work both ways.

"Something could always go wrong." The Hokage raised one perfectly penciled eyebrow. "And besides, you only need to lay low until your testimony. After that, our strategy is obviously out in the open."

'I'm not sure I like being your mouthpiece.'

"Hmm." She opened the next folder and ignored the Hokage, signaling that conversation was over despite the rudeness of the gesture. Oo, the Kazekage himself. He…

"doesn't look particularly reasonable," Aiko said under her breath. It almost looked like he was wearing fabulously thick eye makeup, but no. The Kazekage had deep bruising all around his eyes, and two premature lines in his skin that indicated he spent a great deal of time with his brows furrowed.

'He looks stressed and worn. Very thin. Cute, somehow. I wouldn't peg him as the greatest threat out of the kage, though.'

"What?" Hokage-Hottie seemed confused.

"Oh, nothing."

Obito had thought the Kazekage was the one to be cautious of. Was he mistaken or simply better informed than Aiko was? It could be dangerous to make the wrong assumption.

The door opened on silent hinges. "Hokage-sama, your next appointment is here."

Aiko glanced up, curious about the strain in the baa-chan's voice. Her wrinkled face betrayed nothing of her thoughts. Tsunade groaned without even looking at the door, burying her face in her palms. "Send him in," she ordered, resigned and muffled. The baa-chan disappeared back to her desk. Oddly, no one walked in. The door swung entirely shut and remained that way for three full seconds.

'Maybe they left?'

The door burst open, banging against the wall. "I have arrived!" a very male voice bellowed. He sounded like he was announcing a great personal victory.

She froze. What-

Tap-tap-tap. Jiraiya-sama skidded into the room sideways, making the maximum amount of noise possible with his geta. His arms were held wide enough out to the side that he couldn't possibly have walked through the door like a normal person.

Wait.

'How is he making that sound through the carpet?' Aiko's mind whimpered. It made no sense. Her grip on the partially-read dossier faltered.

"Tsunade-hime! I have come to grace the most beautiful woman in Fire Country- no, the world," Jirayia-sama gestured expansively, turning to face her directly. "with my presence! When you called, I came instantly!" He winked. "and then I journeyed here. Why-"

Jiraiya-sama cut off and dropped to the floor on all fours like a ridiculously fluffy, oversized cat. A kunai winged directly into the air where his chest had been and planted itself in the wall.

"Cut the crap," Hokage-Hottie said, hand still extended. Her eye twitched. "You are embarrassing yourself, and, more importantly, me. In fact-" her gaze cut to Aiko. "Why don't you go for a walk? I'm sure Sasuke would like a break as well if you ask him. He's doing budgeting." She paused, hand halfway up to her temple. "Bring back caffeine."

It didn't take a genius to conclude that this meeting was either about her or above her clearance. Possibly both. She pasted on a smile to hide her resentment and stacked the folders that had been on her lap off to the side. "Good. I could use the exercise."

'Kami only knows why that woman isn't fat as a house from sitting around all day, reading and giving out orders. I don't want to risk that.'

What she had actually said aloud was mostly inoffensive, but Jiraiya-sama tossed his hair back and gave a barking laugh.

She didn't stay to hear any more. Baa-chan issued her a sympathetic glance when she stalked out. Aiko nodded at her and then walked past the receptionist's desk to rap her knuckles against Sasuke's office door. He opened it in a huff, already looking mildly pissy.

"I am busy, you-"

"The hottie suggested we go on a coffee run," Aiko interrupted. She did not feel like dealing with his attitude. Besides, she might be able to overhear something interesting if they hurried on their errand and returned before that meeting was over.

Sasuke looked a little like he had been slapped in the face with a fish. "Oh. I thought-" He frowned, shouldering her out of the way and pulling the door shut behind him. "It doesn't matter. Fine. Let's go."

'The mention of coffee got him moving fast.'

He took her to a place ten blocks away. It must have been a normal convention for businesses to break or run errands at ten, because the streets were surprisingly packed with young professionals toting office supplies or refreshments. Aiko got solidly whacked with a bag hanging off of some man's arm. He hurried away without acknowledgement.

"Be careful," Sasuke warned dryly. "Some people aren't really human at this time of day." When she looked confused, he elaborated. "They're crashing from their morning caffeine and making the decision to get another dose or work through the sudden loss of mental acuity."

"How…"

'painfully banal'

"Interesting," Aiko lied politely.

Sasuke huffed, ducking into the coffeehouse. "I'm sure." When they emerged, it was with a total of four coffees between them. Which was nice, yes, but there were five people in the office. (Shizune was sequestered in the hospital for the day, as far as Aiko could tell).

"None for the pervert," Sasuke explained sternly. He didn't seem to notice that he was scowling. "If we make him feel welcome, he lingers like a bad smell." By the end of the statement, his tone had traveled from 'strict' to 'darkly predictive'.

"Ah." Aiko looked away from him and made a face. How rude. She leaned sharply to the right to avoid brushing her shoulders into the swinging arm of another shinobi who might have forced her to spill hot coffee on her front.

He glanced down, mouth open to offer apology- and stilled. For one quiet moment, details popped at her. The four vertical lines in his worn hitai-ite. The goggles hanging around his neck. The surprise in his eyes, and the way he focused on the shade of her hair.

Then he looked down to her eyes and the moment ended. His disappointment was obvious at whatever it was that he saw in her face.

"Sorry." And the stranger was gone in the crush of people.

'What was that about?' Aiko frowned, disconcerted. It was like he had expected something. Had he heard about her? Had Obito told anyone about her Rinnegan?

No. That was crazy, she dismissed. Her mind had just conjured up the strange anticipation of that moment.

"About time." Sasuke's gaze seemed to follow the man she'd noticed, apparently aided by his extra height in keeping track in the crowd. He seemed phenomenally unamused. "Messenger," he explained curtly. "Four man team that regularly goes between Ame and Konoha. He's a day late. We're waiting to officially confirm…" He trailed off, seeming to remember how divorced she was from Konoha's politics. "We've been waiting," Sasuke finished instead with a tone that said he would not be discussing the matter further.

That explained very little to her.

"Aa, I see."

"Uchiha!"

Sasuke's grip on the coffee cup in his right hand tightened ominously. How conscious of his strength was he? Aiko took a cautious step to the side, coming far too close to the frowning man who was attempting to get Sasuke's attention.

'Surprisingly aggressive for a civilian,' Aiko noted.

Of course, he wasn't just any type of civilian. The cut and fabric of his clothes said 'nouveau riche', but the thick muscles and scarred hands told a story of a life of manual labor. He was every bit as physically imposing and confident as she would expect from someone of that description.

"Hey, I think the Hokage owes us some answers." He settled with his legs spread wide and his arms akimbo.

Sasuke didn't seem terribly intimidated, but the crowd around them oriented to face the sound. She straightened her back.

'What is going on? This was not mentioned. Tsunade hinted at problems, but she did not say civil unrest and some type of anger at the leadership was a thing.'

"We aren't releasing a public statement at this time."

Aiko stole a glance up at Sasuke. He sounded perfectly civil and professional, despite the stutter in self control that she had witnessed.

"You will have to wait," he continued. Sasuke held his hands up in a gesture for peace that was somewhat marred by the coffee- or maybe it wasn't. It did make him look less like the Hokage's apprentice and more like an underling running errands.

The crowd deflated, moving on with their business. Sasuke kept eye contact with the other man for a long moment. He seemed to be debating trying to argue, but he nodded. "Of course. Good day, Uchiha-dono."

Sasuke inclined his head the absolute least angle that was socially acceptable as acknowledgement.

'Dono?' Aiko gave the back of Sasuke's head a skeptical look as they started walking again. 'Surely being the Hokage's apprentice doesn't give him that kind of pull or respect. Does it?'

He still looked like a normal teenage boy to her. A pretty one, yes, but no one she would acknowledge as a social superior.

'Then again, there's a lot I don't know about the people here.'

She stole a glance at Sasuke again. She could ask him a few things. No. Just one. She didn't want to seem too interested or like she was trying to hold an interrogation. But just one casual question shouldn't hurt.

"Sasuke."

He grunted softly.

It took her a second to phrase her question, and it didn't come out terribly well anyway.

"Who was that boy who gave me back my equipment?"

She'd forgotten the name she'd been given, and she couldn't very well say, 'tell me about your junchuuriki'. That would seem a bit suspicious, coming from a former Akatsuki.

When she didn't get a reaction, Aiko frowned and clarified, "It was weeks ago. Some blonde kid." She waved a hand dismissively, despite being out of his sight.

'Some blonde kid with an inappropriately cheery attitude, astute political analysis that hints at a close relationship with Tsunade, and a monster hidden in his body. There is no way that Sasuke doesn't know this kid.'

"I know the one," Sasuke said carefully, slowly. He didn't turn to face her. "You used to know him well. I'm not surprised that he sought you out. You mean Naruto, right?"

"Sure." She shrugged guilelessly. "I thought it was something dumb. That sounds about right."

Sasuke exhaled just a little too loudly. "He and his team are out of the country. You'll see them soon enough."

Aiko rolled her eyes. "I can't help but notice that doesn't answer my question," she bit out.

Sasuke stopped, and turned to the side to face her. "It's not really my question to answer."

She sucked her lower lip in. Damnit. He was going to make her say it, wasn't he?

"He's related to me somehow," she let out in a rush. "I know that, he used my last name. And the Hokage gave me a dossier on him and two other people and-" Aiko faltered, unsure of where to go from there.

With a surprisingly amount of delicacy, Sasuke averted his eyes and quietly said, "You're not ready to look. But you want to know about him."

Pretty much.

"Well, it sounds stupid when you say it that way. Forget it." Aiko kicked a rock, sending it flying into the back of some poor man's knee. She hastily pretended to be occupied watching a bird fly overhead when her victim spun around.

"He's a baka," Sasuke said in a rush. "He's loud and excited and he's still a chuunin because he can't keep a cool head." The last bit was just a little smug. Someone was proud of their recent Tokubetsu Jounin exam. "He's been like that since we were kids, but he grew up quite a bit after…" His voice faltered only for a moment. "After the first time we attempted the chuunin exams," Sasuke finished.

'Their first chuunin exams? How long ago would that have been?'

She subtly assessed her companion. It was hard to guess. He was a good-looking kid, but Sasuke seemed awfully young to be working for Tsunade as he did. What was he, seventeen? Sixteen?

(No, something protested. He's older than that.

Ridiculous. He was so inexperienced and temperamental for his rank. He couldn't possibly be much older than seventeen.)

Still.

"Chuunin exams aren't that big of a deal," Aiko prodded, twisting the end of her ponytail when he didn't continue talking. It sounded like there was a mildly interesting story there.

And holy shit Sasuke's cold-as-ice veneer cracked for an instant, though she had no frame of reference for interpreting what his expression meant.

'Other than I could bring this up again later if I need to throw him off balance.'

"It was a shock for our team," he said stiffly. A muscle jumped in his neck. Kami, he really was inexperienced. Was he even trying to conceal his thoughts?

'Team? Sasuke was on Naruto's team? They must be close. I… must have known Sasuke relatively well before, then. No wonder he's sought me out.'

Sasuke's tone had pretty well signaled the end of conversation, but Aiko didn't care. She had enough to ponder.

"I'm not certain that I see the purpose of this." Jiraiya gave the love of his life a skeptical look a solid minute after the door had closed behind his unfortunately confused godchild. In return, she gave him a look that could melt steel. But that was probably because his feet were propped up on her desk. "She can't possibly become a fuinjutsu master again in time. This is a ridiculous gamble."

"It isn't beyond the realm of possibility that she will remember enough," Tsunade countered. She looked away, out the window. He silently admired the lines of her neck and the strong shape of her chin. Something in his chest ached a little.

'She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.'

Jiraiya wanted badly to draw her as she was now, ticking off points on her fingers.

"Last week was a breaking point. Yamanaka Santa said she should be integrating memories from now on; Yamato noted that her behavior patterns are changing to be more in line with the playfulness he remembers; and she actually asked Shizune what she could do to prepare. That's possibility, proof of integration, and demonstration of interest. It will have to be enough. I'm not risking another Shintenshin session after her poor reactions to the jutsu." By that point, Tsunade had her hands on her hips and appeared to be attempting to cow any potential challenges with sheer physical intimidation.

Jiraiya waved for her to stop, holding both palms out in front of his body. "Alright, you've convinced me. I suppose the worst that could happen would be she isn't ready."

"The worst would be that she never regains the Hiraishin," Tsunade pointed out, leveling her index finger at him rudely. She snorted. "That would be a damn shame."

"Could make things a bit awkward," Jiraiya acknowledged, picking up the official invitation to Konan's trial in the Land of Iron and waving it. His student. His only surviving student, other than Naruto. His eyes darkened, but his tone stayed light. "I'm hoping that you didn't tell them that you would be arriving by Hiraishin."

His old teammate tossed her head. "It was suggested," she started archly. "that I use such a form of transport. However, it could have been taken as a gesture of aggression." She blinked innocently. "Especially by our valued diplomats from Iwagakure, who are generously assisting the Land of Iron in maintaining order during the upcoming affair. It would be more politic to arrive as the others do."

Jiraiya pressed down a real smile, not the jester's affair he usually used. "You sound just irritated enough by the inconvenience that it could be the truth."

"Good." She pushed back from her desk and moved to crane out the window, around the foliage. There was just enough visibility cleared that the main road in from the public gates was shown. "That group from Amegakure checked in at the gates forty minutes ago."

"They're sure taking their time to get here," he observed impassively.

Tsunade shrugged, uncaring. "Their real mission is showing the populace that Ame nin aren't all complete lunatics. Wandering the streets, talking to people, and going out for a hot drink before they deliver their message are sound strategies." She held out a hand for the paper that Jiraiya had picked up and gave it the slightest glance before putting it away in a folder. "Besides," she admitted, lowering her tone. "Konan and I are only exchanging perfectly friendly but impersonal cookie recipes and book recommendations. Though it causes me distress, I can wait to discover the nuances of her apparently famous mochi. Itachi-kun really wants that recipe."

What.

Jiraiya gave her a disbelieving stare. After a moment, her serious expression cracked and Tsunade let out a laugh. "Oh, come on," she defended. "What else are we supposed to talk about? Our politics don't line up, our agendas are established, and anything we actually have to sort out on the personal level is a poor idea." Her nose wrinkled in distaste.

He took a moment to think about that. Konan had been part of an organization that had wanted to kill the boy Tsunade thought of as a pseudo grandchild. Konan had also kidnapped that boy's sister and nearly let her die from medical neglect.

On the other hand, Tsunade had weakened Konan's best friend and then allowed his death by sending him from Konoha unprotected, knowing full-well that he would be targeted.

There was some potential for clashes there, he had to admit.

"Still." He tugged on his hair. "That just seems so undignified for two village leaders. What if someone opened and looked?"

His reputation was deliberately bad, yes. But he wasn't a kage and never would be. His behavior didn't reflect on an entire country.

"Already happened." Tsunade waggled her eyebrows. "They thought it was code and tried to sell the information."

Of course. Jiraiya sighed. Why did he even bother?

"They should be here relatively soon." Tsunade glanced at the window again. "You should get going. You're a little bit of a …touchy subject. Besides, don't you have work to do? Study the seal." She shrugged, giving him a stink-eye that they both knew hid amusement at an old joke. "Practice not perving on a young woman while you're at it. You'll need all the help you can get." She tapped a finger against her chin. "Actually, maybe it would be best if you weren't alone with her. That could seem intimidating, and you're not familiar with her learning style in any case."

"I don't have a copy of her seal," Jiraiya pointed out slowly. Tsunade-hime was strangely forgetful today. Was she just preoccupied? "Weren't you going to give me one?"

Her expression froze. "I don't have time. Just- grab Hatake," she decided, waving her hand dismissively. "He has an active seal. Make a copy and hurry the hell up. Bring him with you when you work with her."

"Aa," Jiraiya acknowledged with a sigh. "Don't work too hard while I'm gone, hime. But first-" He cocked his head. "What's going on with Waterfall?"

"Young lady! What are you doing?"

The scandalized whisper was uninteresting, so she dismissed it. Ear pressed to the heavy wooden door, she held her breath and strained to hear.

Mutters cut off. There was momentary silence. Then- "Come in, Aiko." The older woman sounded like she was forcing down another, less charitable order.

'Damn. They're done talking.'

She heaved a sigh. Ignoring the outraged expression that the baa-chan was leveling at her back, Aiko pushed her way into the office.

Both Sannin were staring at her with faint amusement. Ah. At least no one was upset.

Aiko pressed her face into something that vaguely resembled a smile and settled a drink on the Hokage's desk. Hottie-Hokage picked it up possessively, tired eyes perking up.

"Hey, thanks." Jiraiya-sama plucked Aiko's coffee out of her hands and saluted her with it.

What.

She opened her mouth in a snarl to tell him off.

He was already breezing past to her the door. Jiraiya-sama twisted around just enough to holler back, "I'll see you next week for practice, Aiko-chan!" And then he was gone.

On another day, she might have chased him and attacked him to recover her property. At the moment, she was rather caught up on something else.

"Why am I seeing him next week," Aiko wheeled on Tsunade and demanded. She planted her palms firmly on the desk and leaned over to loom aggressively, absolutely fucking sick of being out of the know. "Why."

A little bit of coffee trickled down Hokage-Hottie's face, spilt when she jolted in surprise.

'I'm fast enough to startle a kage?'

"Because," Hottie started firmly. She turned her face away and wiped a discreet finger on her chin to mop up the hot liquid. "You're going to have to do a lot more than recognize key people in order to maintain the appearance of normalcy. If you appear to have stagnated or god forbid regressed, that's going to set off warning bells."

Wait. Did that mean in terms of combat?

"Thanks to Yamato, one of your signature moves has been perfected past the point that any records exist of it."

Apparently so.

Hottie set down her coffee with a quiet scuff. "That will help give the impression that the time you have been uninvolved in international affairs has been somewhat normally spent."

Aiko straightened her face and carefully did not think about strolling into Ame for Obito. Or all the drugs and weapons she'd moved over borders. Konoha didn't need to know that. Shinobi nations got strangely twitchy about trifling matters like that.

Somehow, the Hokage didn't seem to notice. Perhaps she'd been bluffing earlier about the ease she had reading Aiko's face?

"If pressed into combat, fall back on chakra chains. However!" Hotkage raised two fingers. "There is at least one more technique that is considered your signature move. If you do not re-master it, or manage to give the impression of having done so, the situation may get sticky."

Aiko furrowed her brow and tilted her head slightly in query.

"The international community at large will consider the Hiraishin to be proof positive of your identity, and the absence to be proof positive that you died a year ago and that we're trying to pull a fast one with your testimony," Hotkage said dryly.

Part of her was stuck on the word 'Hiraishin'. She knew enough fuinjutsu to know that she had nowhere near that kind of competency haha what a funny joke. But her mouth was moving, and the words coming out sounded suspiciously like, "But you are pulling a fast one."

The vicious glare she got for that pulled her back to the real world instantly. "Who are you, my grandfather?"

Aiko put her hands up, palms out and clearly unarmed.

The Hokage harrumphed and leaned back. "I'd have you working today," she grumped. "But it's probably best that you finish that project first." She tossed her hair and nearly inaudibly added, "And the pervert needs a chance to acquire a copy of the seal you used."

That brought her back to the surreal part of the conversation.

"Hiraishin?" Aiko asked very quietly, hoping she had misheard. "The thing that the fourth Hokage used?"

"The thing your father used," the Hokage confirmed mercilessly. "I don't suppose Tobi ever told you about that, did he?" There was something bitter and sympathetic in her tone. "If you'd known that you could leave at any time…" She trailed off.

Some muscle twitched in Aiko's neck. The floor in this office was fascinating. It looked new and luxurious. The Hokage had good taste.

"Oh, cheer up." The older woman sounded uncomfortable, maybe even guilty. She cleared her throat. "It could be worse," Hotkage offered with much more conviction. "You're back now. And you're not even the one dealing with progressively cranky letters from Waterfall."

Aiko made a baffled face. "Who cares about what Waterfall thinks?" She didn't keep the condescension out of her tone. Waterfall was a tiny village filled with gigantic jerkwads. Aiko regretted the whole 'bijuu extraction and murder' thing, but she didn't feel particularly bad about commandeering Fuu directly out of that cesspit.

The Hokage gave a surprised laugh, shoulders shaking. "That-" She shook her head to compose herself and offer a more measured response. "I have heard worse questions."

"And?" Aiko tilted her head.

"They are our allies," Tsunade pointed out dryly.

'Our allies? Does she genuinely think I'm on her side?'

"And they've asked for our help sorting out a situation that has failed to be resolved diplomatically." Her lips twisted. "We are obligated to lend assistance. Unfortunately, the country that they're having problems with is also one of Konoha's allies."

"And this second party is a more valuable ally?" Aiko surmised. That made sense. Almost any shinobi village would provide more tactical value than Waterfall, for one reason or another. Also, Waterfall sucked.

The Hokage glanced over, opened her mouth, and then seemed to remember herself. She gifted Aiko with a thin smile. "You should get back to reading."

'I think that's a yes,' Aiko decided. She did get back to reading and definitely did not sulk. The Kazekage's file was kind of interesting, after all. After a few pages, it leapt up to 'fascinating stuff'.

Oh snap. 'I personally know the Kazekage?' Her excited thoughts trailed off with a sinking realization. That…

'I would say that's cool, except I think a previous acquaintance makes the fact that I unleashed two bijuu on his country even more awkward. Somehow.'

She frowned at the papers. Well. Maybe he wouldn't find out.

'What happened with that situation anyway? I haven't heard anything about horrible deaths in Suna. So they probably fixed it,' she assured herself. 'Sealed them away in some nice, loyal Suna nin. Pity and all that I won't have to see Hamburger and his grumpy friend again, but I'll struggle on.'

The flippancy didn't obscure another, much more worrying tangent. She had made Hamburger a promise to attempt to revive his jinchuuriki friend. It would seem that he was no longer capable of enforcing that. On the other hand, what happened if he got loose in the future and she hadn't kept her word?

No, no. She didn't want to lie to a bijuu.

'I don't want to raise the dead either.'

Troubled, Aiko rubbed at her chest with a palm.

It was sick. Unnatural. Wrong. Amoral, as much as anything could be. She hated her freakish dead-but-healthy-flesh. She'd done it to Fuu and that had been sick and selfish, a balm for her guilt and not anything done for Fuu's sake. It had been wrong of her. She knew better than that. Contemplating doing that to another person- intentionally, and with deliberated intent- It was- it was-

'I'll have to think about this.'

Somehow, she managed to focus enough to retain information from six more dossiers before her head was pounding. Aiko grimaced.

'I'm sitting fifteen feet away from the most renowned medical nin in the world and not asking her to take a look at my headache. Sometimes it would be nicer to trust some of these people, because the irony might actually kill me before the eyes do.'

On the bright side, she was now familiar with the Kazekage's knockout sister (who she had apparently got on with in past) and a smattering of Kiri shinobi of varying importance, from the Mizukage herself (she may have been prematurely hasty in handing out the sexykage title), her bodyguards, and jinchuuriki.

One of whom she had personally made into a jinchuuriki, and the other she had dragged back to Kiri like an errant child. No wonder Utakata had been so cranky with her. Especially after she told him that she didn't remember him. Oops.

Aiko sighed, rubbing at her neck.

'I should have pretended to recognize him, or at least not explicitly pointed it out. I wonder if that's going to come back to haunt me.'

When she showed up at her normal training ground, Yamato gave her a mildly unhappy expression.

"You could have told me." He somehow managed to pout without letting his face display anything other than big, brown-eyed sorrow.

"Wait. What?" Aiko drew her head back a little. "I have no idea what you're talking about, crazypants."

Yamato raised an eyebrow. "That you have other plans for training today?" he half-asked.

Uh… what now?

Her expression must have clued him in. "Ah. I see." Yamato turned ever so slightly pink under his tan. "I assumed- that is to say," he fumbled, scratching at his leg. "I thought that-"

"Please stop," Aiko ordered authoritatively. She didn't notice raising her hands so much as that they were suddenly held high enough to push back the onslaught of embarrassed babble. "What are you talking about?"

He straightened, and hooked a thumb over his shoulder. "Senpai and… Jiraiya-sama," he said with a faintly displeased expression, "asked me to convey that practice has been scheduled in-"

"Thank you, we'll take over from here."

Yamato yelped and bristled like a cat, leaping away from the oversized hand that had clapped down on his shoulder.

Jiraiya-sama grinned widely. Hatake slouched into visibility behind him, appearing completely unimpressed.

'Actually, he might be asleep.'

Ugh on both counts. Jiraiya-sama was a warrior poet and had been her personal idol for a very long time, but she was currently pretty disillusioned with him after the Obito vs Madara debate. Her idol had no faith in her. Either he thought she would lie about something pointless, was delusionally ignoring the truth, or that she was such an idiot that she could fail to properly identify someone that she had lived and worked with for a year. None of the options appealed to her.

Reminded of her beef, she gave Jiraiya-sama a glower that he completely failed to notice.

"Come on, Yamato-kun." The Sannin leered. "You need to pay more attention. It's like you were completely distracted. What could do that, I wonder." He stroked at non-existent chin hair.

Yamato sniffed, looking faintly injured. "I have no idea what you might be referring to."

"Riiiight," Jiraiya-sama dragged out mockingly.

Aiko stole another glance at Hatake, who had leaned against a tree and slid down slightly. There was bark on his shoulders. Maybe he was dead? That'd be pretty okay.

That sounded a little cold, but in her defense- he also held one of the three unflattering opinions of her that Jiraiya-sama must proscribe to. In addition to that (which was reason enough to put red ants in his underwear), she also had reason to suspect that he was cold enough to kill his genin teammates. Not someone she wanted to spend much time with.

"Come, children!" Jiraiya-sama held his right fist high and began marching to some inaudible music. It might have been a waltz.

She winced, but reluctantly fell in line behind the one person there that she actually wanted to spend time with.

"Not you, faceplate," Jiraiya-sama scoffed. "Go whittle or something."

Yamato stopped in his tracks and gave Hatake a pleading look. Hatake pushed himself upright, eyed the group, and flapped a hand.

"Go on, run and play," he said mildly.

The hope for inclusion fled from Yamato's eyes and he huffed. "Fine," he sulked. "I understand when I'm not wanted."

"Sure, but only when it was explicitly pointed out by two people," Jiraiya-sama called over his shoulder in a tone of contemplation and not the cruelty that the insult seemed to merit.

Aiko gave the light-haired men a dirty look. "I'm sure you can do better with your day," she informed Yamato haughtily. "If I had a choice, I wouldn't be going with those scruffy reprobates."

"Ouch," Hatake said, sounding not the least bit hurt. He began walking, clearly expecting her to catch up.

But the ploy did the trick- Yamato gave her a hint of a smile and a joking salute before he split off in a different direction. Jiraiya-sama led the remainders out of the training field, but through a second entrance that Aiko hadn't even known existed.

"Is there any particular reason that field is unsuitable?" Aiko asked after a few minutes of walking.

Jiraiya-sama snorted, but didn't turn around. "You don't think that all the broken timber just laying around might be an impediment to a safe learning atmosphere?" he asked rhetorically. "You're better off with a flatter, more regular terrain to practice something like this on." He flung open the back gate and strutted out onto what appeared to be an ill-used street on Konoha's residential outskirts.

Jiraiya-sama, she couldn't help but notice, spent an improbable amount of energy smiling and waving at the people that they passed.

She might have dismissed it as mere friendliness, but a pattern was beginning to appear. Aiko glanced in the direction Jiraiya-sama was looking just in time to see a young woman spot him in the crowd. The girl turned red with fury, and tightened her fingers on her floral handbag. Even from a distance, Aiko could read the tension in her arm as the potential for violence. So did her companion- an older man who narrowed his eyes and placed a calming hand on the woman's arm.

Ugh. Now that she was paying attention, even from behind, Jiraiya-sama appeared to be leering at nubile young women and even some sleek, pretty young men.

'And so my literary hero turns out to be an overly dramatic, disrespectful loser. I can't believe he's staring like that.'

She crossed her arms over her torso and dug her fingers into her side with nearly painful force, but didn't slow down. If she did, the people with longer legs would leave her in the dust.

She didn't want to believe it. But young women, as a general demographic, were giving their group a suspiciously wide berth.

'And so I must pull down the golden statues of my idol. The innocence of childhood is gone, and my vision is clear. It turns out that Jiraiya-sama is in fact disrespectful and kinda gross.'

It pained her to demote one of her longtime idols, but- well. No one who had given that many people reason to skitter away from him –with expressions ranging from rage to panic- deserved to be her hero. His books could be great, but he clearly had odious habits.

"You know," she ventured with a noncommittal tone to hide her bitter disappointment. The two walking in front of her didn't turn back, but they were clearly both listening. "You're not subtle, Jiraiya-sama." His back stiffened, like an offended cat.

"What?"

"Your leering," she clarified with an edge in her tone. "It's rude."

The silence that followed was terribly awkward. Hatake coughed, shoulders shaking.

She looked away, hearing nothing but the soft sounds of two sets of sandals and a pair of geta on the dirt road. Apparently she wasn't going to get a response.

The route that he led them was intermittently occupied by small crowds around vendors and –was that a bathhouse? Aiko made a note to return at some point. It was miserably hot out. A nice soak would grant relief.

They finally pressed out of the residential districts and down a route to a set of training grounds that Aiko hadn't been taken to before.

"Here we are!" Jiraiya declared, far too jovial for the emotion to be genuine. "My favorite training ground."

Hatake mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, "For reasons that are entirely innocent, I'm certain." She was fairly certain that she wasn't meant to hear that, guessing by Jiraiya's guilty chuckle and backwards glance at her.

'Ugh. Stupid boys.'

"So." Aiko rallied herself, pulsing her chakra to check that they really were alone. Hatake pushed open the gate and let the others enter ahead of him. "You said I need to work on the Hiraishin?" She pulled her hair up absently as she went.

If her tone was a little disbelieving, surely no one could blame her. It was… difficult, to come to terms with the idea that it had once been the technique she was most known for. It put Fuu's commentary in a strange new light.

Still, this had definitely not been what she had in mind when she had attempted to find a way to prove herself useful.

'Duly noted: If you offer a centimeter, Konoha will take a league.'

The pervert gave her an amused look. It felt disconcertingly like he knew what she was thinking. Aiko consciously avoided stepping back and breaking eye contact.

'Don't be stupid. You're just paranoid because of Yamanaka-baka. He can't read your mind.'

The old man scanned the area. She thought it was for observers- but then he alighted onto the top of a comfortable looking stump, and she realized that he had been picking out seating. He did cut an imposing figure in the midday sun. The white of his hair was all but blinding when he tilted his head down to give her a serious expression. "If you don't know this when we travel to Iwa and anyone asks for a demonstration or favor, everyone will think we've sent an imposter to testify in your place."

'So, like, no pressure or anything.'

"Kakashi. Would you- Yes, thanks," Jiraiya mumbled when Hatake stepped far too close and handed her a little notebook.

Slowly, she unfolded her arms to take the offered book and ran fingertips over the paper. She breathed in crackling ink and tried not to think too hard about why Hatake would have had what appeared to be one of her sealing notebooks.

Talk about high stakes. This scenario was absurd. Why had she learned such an infuriatingly distinctive technique in the first place? 'I suppose I couldn't have known how much trouble this would turn out to be later. Still, what a pain.'

Completely unaware of her thoughts, Jiraiya went on talking. She flipped open the book- and her eyebrows rose. This wasn't her work, she was sure of it. Her handwriting was tighter than this, and whoever had written this had a heavy hand. She frowned, disliking the deep indentations in paper. She didn't write like this at all. Surely that hadn't changed.

'What ugly writing. I want to cry, just looking at it. This can't be Hatake's writing, can it? He's supposed to be a genius.'

"As an advanced fuinjutsu masterwork, very few shinobi have been known to use Hiraishin. It was developed in Konoha. You use it a little differently than your father did."

She snuck a glance at Jiraiya. The quiet wistfulness in his tone made him seem very old and tired.

The Sannin smiled, lost in memories. "He tended to use the seal cooperatively by giving marked blades to his allies. Minato-kun could fell a dozen men before the first blade landed. In your hands, Hiraishin ended up largely used as a diplomatic tool." His voice shifted from admiration to a quiet pride as he talked, but Aiko was barely paying attention. "You have seals on quite a few internationally important people. The Kazekage, the Mizukage, a few jinchuuriki…"

'Diplomatic tool? That's a little underwhelming. I can see why instantaneous communication or transport would be revolutionary, but what a disappointing use for a fuinjutsu masterwork. Not very glamorous.'

And what she was seeing deserved to strut. Even in that ugly handwriting, the seals she was seeing boasted hard, clean lines combined for surprisingly efficient and complex effect. If she'd been asked to invent a seal that did what Hiraishin was purported to do… Well. It probably would have collapsed under its own weight as she added and added and added.

'Whoever designed this was a genius.'

Frowning slightly, she traced the symbols with a fingertip. The bizarre thing was that the symbols were all familiar, although she wouldn't have thought to arrange them like that. Something just wasn't right. Some thought kept trying to occur, an undercurrent to her admiration for the original fuinjutsu master.

Oh, that thought was almost right. It was something about the original fuinjutsu master in contrast or comparison to herself. She didn't realize that she was all but scowling at this point, forehead deeply creased.

"How did you say this worked again?" The much-abused paper crinkled under her caress.

Hatake shot Jiraiya-baka a quick glance, and then spoke up only when it was clear the sannin had no intention of speaking. "The Hiraishin is a space-time manipulation technique that relies on a connection between the seal and the user." The hair on the back of her neck pricked up as she considered that. His voice went on, a soothing drone reciting information that was probably meant to jar her memory. "The user can travel to any seal with no lag in time. It demands heightened perception and a fast reaction. As far as I know, there is no limitation in distance and the only chakra cost is the effort expended to create the tag-"

"Please stop talking." Aiko scowled at the stubbornly silent paper, feeling a crease form in her forehead. Something really obvious was bugging her. The last parts of Hatake's recitation just hadn't seemed right.

'Whatever this is, I know it.'

Something about the design was pulling at her memory. But what was it? The gates of the eight tips on the seal indicated maneuverability and a sense of outward direction; that fit with what they were saying. Agh, it was something about limits that was trying to occur to her. Something about the limits that Hatake had described sounded like what she had heard about the Hiraishin but didn't line up with how she wanted to think about it.

"You said there's no limit on distance?"

"None," Jiraiya confirmed. "A user can travel to any seal."

That was the phrase that was ringing false. Something sparked, a match rasping against the edges of her memory to illuminate an old sense of accomplishment.

"You said my dad used these on airborne weapons?" She didn't even have to wait for the reply. Suddenly, it was obvious.

"That's not what I did." Aiko snapped her fingers, cutting Jiraiya-sama off carelessly. "That's not how I would use this seal at all. Traveling to a seal is the most basic application. It's level one." She straightened her back and talked with her hands, gaining enthusiasm and momentum as she went. She could see that neither of her listeners seemed convinced, and picked up the pace.

"That principle is the meat of the technique, of course, and it's the most efficient application of the seal in terms of focus and intellectual effort in the moment of travel. Hiraishin behaves like a body-switch technique, wherein the appropriate amount of force, for lack of a better word, is applied to one seal as a- as a- signpost for the destination instead of a physical object within view," she improvised, struggling for a word for the concept. That wasn't exactly right, but it got the point across.

Both men were staring at her with mildly perplexed expressions, but she didn't care. Oh, it was brilliant, didn't they see that?

"That basic Hiraishin concept (Jiraiya-baka flinched) is incredibly accurate because it relies on orientation around a very specific point in space at a very specific point in time. You don't even have to think about it, you just pull on that seal and then you're displaced. But you're thinking about it all wrong, you're talking like displacement is a constant with no variation or personalization."

Jiraiya opened his mouth, unfolding his legs and taking a step towards her. "Buh-"

She shook her head in emphatic denial before he got out a word, ponytail whipping around to smack her in the face. The short, loose hairs below it clung to her neck, plastered with sweat.

"It's not. If it was, there would be no control for the way the user appeared in relation to the seal. Clearly, the user's chakra system isn't actually centered on the seal for arrival, or I would have a lot of paper in my gut. I'm glad that's not how it works, of course, but that would have been the most logical probability with the theory that the Hiraishin allows for no variability."

In the brief moment when she paused to take a breath, the men exchanged a helpless glance. Hatake's fingers were twitching, as if he wanted to do something but had no idea what would make the babble cease.

Aiko grinned, making a slashing motion with one hand. "Eliminating that possibility leaves only appearing in close proximity to the seal, which would either be randomized or the exact same every way upon every utilization. Neither of those options could possibly be true unless my dad only threw kunai from one direction, which would be pretty much useless. If he couldn't control his landing with that randomized location, so to speak, then he would have ended up skewered on his own weapons and wow, that would be embarrassing."

She paused to suck in a breath, heart pounding. "That didn't happen of course, which proves that even if it was only unconscious, he could-"

"Aiko," Jiraiya interrupted weakly, shaking his head. "Get to the point."

She blinked, belatedly realizing that her audience still seemed less enthusiastic than she felt. Jiraiya-sama looked a little green about the recitation of ways Minato could have killed himself with the technique, truth be told.

"Oh, fine." Aiko deflated a bit. "Dull. I was getting around to saying that I didn't travel to seals, or at least I didn't only travel to seals. It takes the same amount of energy to displace the matter of my body regardless of destination, but it takes a lot more concentration and even math to move the landing point away from a seal."

"Move away from the seal," Jiraiya-baka repeated, professional curiosity piqued. His pale lashes stuck together when he blinked. "How?"

The sun burning down into her scalp was probably going to give her a burn. She gave another futile head toss. "By selecting multiple seals and varying the tension applied to each connection when I slipped dimensions, I could orient to any space between three or more seals. Although it'd be a really good idea to keep them at the same altitude and as close together as possible."

"Just, saying," she cleared her throat and let her voice trickle to a meek mutter, finally feeling self-conscious about her enthusiastic outburst. Was it weird to be excited about re-discovering something you already did?

'This could be the trump I need against Obito. If I have Hiraishin, we'd be on much more even footing.'

A hand rose up to rub at the back of her neck, and she looked down at her toes. "It opens up a lot more maneuverability, since you're not stuck with only the locations of seals that you manage to hide or whatever." Aiko shrugged, glancing up through her lashes to glean their reactions.

Jiraiya-baka's eye twitched. "Did she ever mention this to you?"

Hatake shook his head ever so slightly, eye fixed on Aiko as if he was trying to puzzle something out. "No. But that does explain some things."

"Why wouldn't she mention this?" Jiraiya-baka asked himself in an undertone, running a hand through his hair. Then he blinked and re-focused on Aiko with a slight frown. "Why wouldn't you mention this?"

'I never told them about how I used Hiraishin?'

The sun jolted from position over head to sinking in the west, welcome warmth dappling her skin through trees. Her body was sore from collisions, riddled with what would be bruises and goosebumps from the chill fall air. Kakashi looked much like he always did, but she knew he was amused. Dangerously close on her left side, Yamato, that pointy-kneed bastard, had a surprised expression frozen onto his features. They were alone in the training field- sheltered by tall, broad trees that only let in spots of sunlight.

"Well, that's one way to do it." Kakashi's attention slipped off of her and the man at her side, apparently bored.

Asshat. Like he would do any better with Hiraishin.

And then it was noon again, a stifling heat that made her chest feel tight.

'What the actual fuck.'

How long had she drifted off? Had that been a memory, or just a heat-stroke inspired hallucination?

Jiraiya and Hatake were still waiting for an answer. Shit. Shitshitshit.

'What was the question?'

She had to shrug to buy time, digging a toe into the ground while she improvised. They'd been talking about the Hiraishin still, right? "I probably just thought it was funny to spread misinformation."

Her heartbeat was pounding, and her gut was doing something acrobatic. It was hard not to stare at Hatake. She'd been training with him in that… whatever it was. If that hadn't been a hallucination, she had once trusted him enough to practice Hiraishin on him and Yamato, even if she hadn't told them what she was doing.

'There's something about Yamato and Hatake- I definitely associate them with each other. It has to have a basis in the past. Maybe it's connected to why they have such odd chakra readings. I'm no sensor. I shouldn't be able to detect them from the distances that I do.'

Hatake leaned his face down into a palm and was very still for a moment.

'It's hard to believe I was ever so close to Hatake. Yamato, sure. Yamato just seems trustworthy.' She swallowed. 'Maybe I thought so back then too. We were standing awfully close to each other.'

A thought for another time.

"Where did you even get an idea like that?" Jiraiya-baka frowned, interrupting her thoughts. "I'll bite and assume that you are correct and this modification works. But why would you think to improve on the Hiraishin? I've never thought about what you describe in terms of limitations." He cocked his head, tone turning philosophical. "Perhaps Minato would have known about the technique weaknesses that you're talking about because he used the Hiraishin for so long. But he didn't mention that in his notes, and you didn't even have the technique long enough to become bored with it. You had to have been thinking about the technique in non-traditional terms from almost the first times you used it. That doesn't make sense."

Obviously, she- she had thought- thought that-

Aiko consciously stopped herself from pressing a hand to her forehead to dull the headache. She didn't know. She knew that she should know but she didn't know. Nerves shot, she clenched her free hand into a fist to hide that her fingers were shaking.

'I can't deal with this right now. I just can't.'

"Does it matter?" She bluffed.

Currently, Jiraiya-baka's mouth was opening and she didn't think she could hold herself together long enough to continue this conversation.

"Can I take this?" She waved the notebook around to get attention, letting the pages flutter. "I'd like to copy this seal and play with it. This is the one that I used, right? Not made by me, of course," she muttered to herself, a statement and not a question, babbling to fill the air so that Jiraiya-sama couldn't. "This isn't mine at all." Someone else had recreated her seal from memory or notes. Jiraiya, probably. She didn't want to consider the fact that Hatake had been the one holding it.

Jiraiya made a small, frustrated sound and threw his hands up. "Take it." Then he gave her an odd look, eyes narrowing with a glint of hard intelligence.

'Fuck.'

She chose not to contemplate what her expression had given away about her mental state. Aiko fled before she could betray any more weakness. She made it to the gate before Hatake's voice rang out in falsely cheery tones.

"Just a minute."

She froze, neck stiff. Soft footsteps sounded behind her.

"I'll walk you home."

Her stomach sank down to rest between her hip bones.

'Open hostility would be a bad idea,' Aiko reminded herself. He didn't have to know exactly how uncomfortable she was. So she just nodded and let Hatake slouch along. Her pace picked up, but he managed to keep up while still ambling. Stupid jerk with his stupid long legs.

They passed most of the training grounds in a tense silence. At least, it was tense on her end. She couldn't read Hatake.

'And that's the problem, isn't it? I don't know what to think about him.'

She curled her tongue in her mouth, and then flattened it to rub against the hard ridges of her palette.

'I could ask him about Obito. Confirm Obito's story and then see how I can confirm his identity.'

Aiko opened her mouth- and then pretended to yawn, covering her mouth with a palm.

'This is stupid,' she criticized herself, making a fist. 'He's not that intimidating. He used to be my teacher and I clearly used to trust him to an extent. I can choose to disregard his perspective, but I have to hear it first. He probably isn't enough of a lunatic to attack me for asking questions. And if he is, I'll just kick his ass.'

She was hyperaware of his presence, despite the fact that she could barely see him out of the corner of her left eye.

'I could ask him about Naruto. If he was my teacher, he might have a different perspective than Sasuke.'

"Saa…" Hatake tilted his face up to the sky, drinking in sunlight.

Aiko waited. And waited. And- "What?" she asked, stopping for a moment so that their steps aligned.

He rubbed at the back of his neck with gloved fingers. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking that it was a lovely day, that's all."

A lovely-

"We're broiling," Aiko said disbelievingly. "It is not a lovely day. I am cooking in my own skin like a potato."

Hatake winced. "That's… vivid." He actually sounded a little put-out. Which was ridiculous. He was a veteran-there was no way that she'd turned his stomach with that simile.

'He can't actually be that squeamish. Right?'

She felt the line form between her eyebrows, but couldn't muster up enough give-a-damn to wipe her face clear.

'He's trying to make me relax,' Aiko decided. 'Hatake plays the idiot to put others at ease.'

That had to be it.

She wouldn't let it work on her. How thick did he think she was? Hatake was an S-class shinobi; famous for his very public assassinations and double-duty as a tracker and assault specialist. There was literally no possibility that he was an idiot.

'He could, on the other hand, genuinely be socially incapable. That would explain the way he prompted me to start the conversation he wanted to have. And…' Her mind went back over their interactions, thinking of how quiet he had been in most of them-only piping up to offer facts or analysis. 'He doesn't know what to say, I think. He doesn't know how to have the conversations he wants to have.'

Oh, fuck it. They were never going to get anywhere at this rate. She was going to have to just fucking go for it.

Aiko pitched her voice into cheery conversational tones. "So, I hear you killed your genin teammates?"

Hatake stopped in his tracks. Aiko pretended not to notice, forcing him to collect himself and restart walking to catch up.

'The silence is not at all damning, darling.'

It was heavy, though. She shouldn't have asked. Sweat ran over her scalp to nestle in droplets at the base of her ponytail.

'dangerdangerohmyfuckinggoddanger.'

"Who told…" Hatake trailed off almost as soon as he had started, voice tight. "Ah. Your Uchiha."

"He's hardly mine," Aiko pointed out. If her tone was bitter, she ignored that.

Hatake was silent for a long moment, but it felt nothing like the quiet of earlier. Aiko kept her face angled forward and her posture relaxed. It took conscious effort. She counted her heartbeats, purposefully calming her body.

When she finally turned her head, he was gone. A moment's focus revealed that the unique song of his chakra was halfway across Konoha and still moving. She hadn't realized quite how tense she was until all the stiffness fled her body at once.

'So, that's a yes, then?'

She pursed her lips. Or more accurately, evidence that he thought he'd killed his genin teammates. Being incorrect about fifty percent of supposedly concerned kills in a sample was not impressive. …It was a pretty good demonstration of how reasonable-seeming guesswork could be far off the truth, however.

She gave a sigh, shaking her head. 'It seems likely that Obito was telling the truth about Hatake killing one teammate and leaving him for dead; but I shouldn't make any assumptions. I need details and real information.'

As soon as she reached the safety of Shizune's apartment, Aiko burrowed face-first into her futon and tried to calm down enough to sort through her new memory. Memory of using the Hiraishin with just a thought and the brief pull and of camaraderie with- with- Hatake, of all the fucking people. She shuddered.

'New plan. Make lunch, eat lunch, and do not contemplate confusing bullshit for at least a night.'

The first step was poking her head out reluctantly into the stale air. After she managed to get out of bed, it got a little easier.

Two hours later, Aiko had mostly tabled her failed conversation and the utter creepiness of her flashback to move on with her day. She felt a chill like fingers walking up her spine- which was the reason she jolted to attention and noticed Hatake's chakra signature approaching her side of town. Then her district. And then heading towards Shizune's apartment building.

Her toes curled inside her slippers and fingers tightened on the sealing notebook she'd been perusing.

'I wonder how pissed he is that I brought that teammate thing up?'

Upset enough to be coming up the stairs to Shizune's apartment, apparently. Aiko cast an uncertain look at the door to the balcony. She could slip outside, run up the building, and escape. It wouldn't be that hard to evade someone who she could sense.

However tempting, that course of action would be counterproductive. Perhaps he had an answer for her. Before he could knock, she composed herself with false confidence, adjusted the book on her folded legs, and lifted her head.

"Just come in, Hatake."

The door opened and shut with intentional noise- probably a polite gesture so that she could know he had entered. It was of course unnecessary. Aiko didn't bother to look up when he slouched into the room, busy hiding the tenseness in her hands behind the fuinjutsu notebook.

"You're supposed to tell me that I'm late," he informed her with a light tone she'd never heard before.

Okay… That was weird.

She looked up to deliver her line dispassionately. "You're late."

He beamed- or, at least, she thought he did. His eye creased in what looked like rapture. Was the pupil dilated? It was a little hard to tell, with his dark gray eye color. "Sorry about that! There was a cat up a tree that needed a double dose of anxiety medication."

'The eye is probably dilated,' Aiko decided. 'This man is a train wreck.'

"That story holds together," she played along with what he wanted. If he was going to pretend nothing was odd, so could she. She inhaled slowly through her nose, lifting one eyebrow. 'That was a weird story to tell. Why bother mixing in a lie with a probable truth? Why justify himself to me at all?'

His eye widened, innocent charm in every centimeter of his being. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean." He settled on Shizune's other couch.

'He's much wordier than usual. He definitely overcompensates when he pretends to be someone cheerier.'

It would have been cute, if she didn't suspect that it was a coping mechanism.

…Okay, it was still cute. How was a thirty-something man cute? Handsome or charming or whatever, sure. But cute was a diminutive compliment for a reason. It implied childishness, immaturity, the behavior of- Her tummy squeezed, unwelcome tension in her core. 'Fuck. Is this-'

And that was when she realized why she found the disarming smile and loose body posture appealing. Obito. Hatake was reminding her of Obito at the moment. Holy shit. He was moving and grinning like Obito at his most playful and light-hearted. Was that what Obito had been like as a child as well? It made some amount of sense.

'Am I seeing things? Or is he actually mimicking…'

"Konoha to Aiko-chan." Hatake waved a hand back and forth.

She wrinkled her nose, feeling nauseous. "Chan? That's familiar of you."

Inappropriately familiar, in fact. It was icky.

Hatake tilted his head to the side. "I think that after your earlier question, we may be past that sort of familiarity. This must mean we're friends." He practically beamed at her, grin almost visible through his thick mask.

Oh. So that was how this was. Pacified by the potential for more information, Aiko pressed her lips shut and nodded slowly. She could ignore the jab for data. "We must be. Friends do things like that and share secrets."

He might have grimaced, but her only clue was the changing wrinkles on his mask. That thing was an impediment to good information gathering.

So Aiko made a face and opined, "Good friends don't hide their faces from one another either. Not even Obi-Tobi did that," she wheedled. Perhaps it was a dirty trick to pretend she only remembered to use the diplomatic name at the last moment. But if her hunch meant anything at all, Hatake had a strong emotional attachment to Obito's memory. He did things that he thought Obito would have done. He was now doubtlessly going over his memories and weighing them against the potential value of the conversation he had intended to have.

'Which doesn't fit with the story that Obito told. Why would you leave someone to die and then mourn them for twenty years? Regret and guilt don't extend that far, do they?'

Slowly, three fingers reached up and curled around the curve where fabric stretched across his nose. Aiko wiped her face clean of any damning victorious thoughts. Hatake pulled the fabric down in one smooth motion, dark eye boring a hole into her face.

She didn't know what he was looking for in her expression, but he seemed dissatisfied.

'And strangely dramatic about such a small demonstration of trust.'

"We are good friends." Hatake said quietly, displaying just a flash of pointed teeth. "Although as you have noted, I have a history of failing my friends and teammates. I led one teammate into an ambush out of arrogance, and the other teammate leapt in front of one of my techniques."

'The first would be Obito, the second Rin? He's stressing the incidents in a different way than Obito.'

Still, sincerity was in every carefully selected syllable and the slight clench of his jaw. No wonder he wore a mask. His poker face needed wok.

'Unless that's acting to throw me off?'

No, Aiko chided herself. That way only led to madness. At some point she had to form an opinion. She focused her gaze on pale lips, dissociating the conversation from the person she was having it with.

"Bummer. But is two incidents really a pattern?"

On some level, she was genuinely curious.

Hatake swallowed. "I have not experienced great success with my students either," he allowed.

'Is he talking about me?'

Aiko tilted her head in silent invitation for him to continue. He did not. "Yes?" she prompted mercilessly.

She could see a muscle twitching in his neck above the line where the fabric of his mask was bunched. "Two of them found better sensei, one is dead, and one seems lost."

Her chest felt cold. Did he realize that she knew she was his former student? She'd thought she was his only student, actually. Who were the others?

"Am I the dead one or the lost one?" Aiko didn't consider the question before it meekly slipped out. She glanced down, focusing on the fascinating stitching on his vest. Someone had done home repairs on it- someone who wasn't a seamstress. Looked sturdy enough, though.

"What?" He sounded genuinely bewildered. "You're not dead."

She snorted. "Yes I am." A fist clenched. Deadthingdeadthingdeadthing. "Obito told me. Nagato. No, Pein," she corrected, using the name he would know. "Because of Pein."

"Aiko. You are very much alive."

Her hand was shaking. Imagine that, how funny.

"Aiko. Calm down."

"I am calm," she refuted, hyper aware of how her face moved and stretched.

"You're not dead," he tried again. Aiko distantly confirmed her hypothesis that Hatake was a very awkward man. Anyone else would have attempted to give some sort of physical reassurance at this point. He might as well have been sitting on his hands, for all that he knew to do with them. "You were revived. And- and you were only gone for an hour," Hatake continued, sounding very much as if he was repeating someone else's words.

She had just enough presence of mind to roll her eyes. "I understand that I was brought back; I'm not a complete moron. But I think I would know a little more about the ramifications of that than you would."

Although Fuu had seemed fine. Maybe it was because Fuu was a little odd. And Fuu didn't remember her death- no, strictly speaking Aiko didn't eith

Searing heat in her head flesh ripping and a bloody-minded dragon of satisfaction curled around her chest because that fucker looked so surprised

er. Anyway, Fuu was probably regretting being a zombie monster too. God, what kind of asshole was she? She'd done the same thing that had been done to her to another girl. And she'd genuinely thought she was doing a favor.

'How can I even consider doing that to another person, no matter what a bijuu thinks?'

"Aiko?" Hatake sounded a little distressed. She focused on him.

Whoa. He was suddenly in strange detail, the paleness she remembered overlaid with purple shadows. It was an interesting look. Had it gotten dark out? She cast a glance toward the window. Huh. Still sunny.

When she looked back, Hatake appeared to have stopped breathing and was outright staring.

"What?" She furrowed her brow.

He gathered himself and looked away casually. "Oh, nothing. Just wondering if your eyes are alright."

What? Oh dear.

'I seriously turned on the Rinnegan by… what, experiencing strong emotion? Panic?'

When she had a moment to let that sink in, her feelings plummeted past irritation. 'I'm a special kind of moron, aren't I? Aiko: Daddy's little blunt weapon. Fantastic.'

She gave a short laugh entirely devoid of humor.

Hatake leant back. "There goes my trump card." Aiko clenched her jaw, grinding teeth together. She had just given Hatake a significant hold over her. "Ugh." She closed her eyes and shut the chakra feed down. When she opened them, they were black again.

No reason to let him know that there were two other levels of freaky in her eyeballs, if he didn't already know that the Rinnegan and Sharingan were connected.

"Trump card?" He sounded a little strangled.

Strangled? Now, there was a thought. She lifted her eyebrows in consideration- and then deflated.

'There's no way I could keep the Rinnegan secret by killing him. I have nowhere to put a body. Could I threaten him into silence? Blackmail? Intimidation?'

"Yes, you twits appeared to have genuinely believed that Obito didn't teach me any jutsu in a year." She tossed her hair and kept her head up high. "I thought it was best to play everything down so that it would be easier to crush any who opposed me in an emergency."

Was that subtle enough? No? Well. Who knew if he would catch on to anything opaque.

"That's…" Hatake trailed off. "Honest of you."

"It's not like you couldn't put that together with the information you have now," Aiko dismissed. "Besides," she changed the subject. "I really did need to practice with chakra chains. Those will be an unpleasant surprise for Obito."

She hoped. She desperately needed a strategy to deal with his kamui. Kamui wasn't a perfect technique, but it was a very near thing.

There was a moment of quiet while he digested that. "I think," Hatake said slowly, "that we're better friends than I realized, if the metric is that friends share secrets."

'He's sentimental.'

She gave him a disbelieving look, despite her hope that he would keep his mouth shut. It just wasn't probable. "I know that you're not going to keep this secret. You're going to tell SexyKage. That's your job."

He made a face, pulling at the thin scar that disappeared over his jaw into his left ear. "I'll tell her that she's been taking the wrong track with your psych evaluation and treatment," he said dryly. "They missed some important things. "But… no. If you ask, I won't say anything about the Rinnegan."

No way. Would he? He could get in serious trouble if the Hokage found out that he'd kept something like that from her.

"Pinky promise?" She didn't let her tone hint at any hope, just mocking, because she was waiting for the other shoe to fall. But Hatake held up a pinky. Bemused, she unfolded her legs to stand and took a step closer. She reached out and linked her little finger with his. She hadn't actually intended- but whatever. Okay.

"Don't promise if you don't mean it," she warned, feeling reluctant admiration bubble up her chest. Not that he was that cool, of course. It was just sort of impressive to find a village-bound shinobi who put anything above kissing their kage's ass. Even if he was a socially incapable, damaged shitshow of a person.

Hatake's eye had pinpricks of a pretty, light gray shade in the light. It looked serious enough. "I think I've done enough talking for a while, don't you?" He bent the pinky around hers.

Good point. He had been chattier than she had anticipated. Aiko stood and brushed off the front of her pants. That was about as good as she was going to get. "Well. This was a lovely talk. Thank you for visiting, we should do this again."

He sat there for a moment, not taking her hint.

So Aiko put a hand on her hip and said in a stern tone, "I think you should go now."

"Aa." He stood, pulling up his mask almost as an afterthought.

After he left, she stood and just looked at the closed door for a moment, trying to wrap her head around how so much had changed in a few hours.

"That could have gone better."

#vapors #uzumaki aiko #electrasev5n #ninja daily #fanfiction #naruto fanfiction #clarity

[love-songs-for-emma]

This isn't an ask as such, it didn't seem appropriate to pull it out of the tags to reblog to empathize over our related losses.

Also, I am so autistic, so I worry about going about things wrong so my apologies upfront if this breaks Tumblr social norms, but also I guess the older sibling in me, just couldn't leave that unacknowledged in my tags.

Hi hello I am the op of the Hannibal's defiance of god post

I'm an older sibling, though it doesn't matter the details of how I lost my baby brother, it should have been preventable, and even had it not been, it makes the universe feel stormily unbalanced in my experience, losing a sibling, just a big hole of overwhelming emotions where there used to be so much life

Anyway I don't want to be soppy in your DM's or whatever, I just wanted to send you a big brother hug I guess, some empathy and support at least. No matter how long it's been, there is always that empty place where your sibling is supposed to be

Then I saw that you're also chronically ill & disabled on my way over here, so apparently we have other things in common that are less heart wrenching so I am also generally saying hello, nice to meet you, in the most awkward way possible. *Waves like a strange nervous little gremlin*

(post being referenced)

hi !! first off,, if you'd rather i didnt answer this publicly *pls* lmk and ill remove the post asap. i'm also a gremlin who's unsure of tumblr social norms from time to time lol

secondly,, thank u So so much for reaching out. this was incredibly sweet of u & made me v emotional to read (/positive). *a big hug from a younger grieving sibling right back at you*

there is so much to say about losing a sibling and i worry if i start, i'll never stop (which is already true seeing as it's been years and i've written countless words about this specific grief). i relate so much to the things you've said here; dead siblings are a phantom limb we'll always be trying to move. i don't think there'll come a day where something big happens and i don't think of calling them.

there's a reddit comment i came across years ago talking about grief that i'll never forget and i think it's always worth sharing, especially to someone like you who i think will appreciate and understand it:

"In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don't even give you time to catch your breath. All you can do is hang on and float. After a while, maybe weeks, maybe months, you'll find the waves are still 100 feet tall, but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. But in between, you can breathe, you can function. You never know what's going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It can be just about anything...and the wave comes crashing. But in between waves, there is life."

and because i can't shut up about grief, here's a spoken word poem that brings me comfort. particularly the ending,

"We are not created or destroyed, // We are constantly transferred, shifted and renewed. // Everything we are is given to us. // Death does not come when a body is too exhausted to live // Death comes, because the brilliance inside us can only be contained for so long. // We do not die. We pass on, pass on the lightning burning through our throats. // When you leave me I will not cry for you // I will run into the strongest wind I can find // And welcome you home."

i don't know what i believe in this world, but i know that our siblings do live on through us, in all the ways they affected us and the stories we tell. and this pain will be with us forever, but there is a life to be lived in between all of that. and sharing them with others is part of it. and it is a gift to have known them and get to share them in moments like this with others.

gah! i know u came here to comfort me (despite me giving u all these comforting words in return too) but u truly *have*; i feel comforted by being given a space to talk about them. i imagine you feel it too: the way it's a little taboo to talk of the dead at all, the avoidance of statements that make people ask questions. i try to still talk freely about the ones i've lost, but people hear "dead" and don't think of a real person who once was Everything to u and So Full Of Life. (similar to what i was saying in the tags of your god post,, mischa is more than just a Dead Girl Trauma Backstory of hannibal's. she's real. she was there. she was *alive*.)

if you've made it through all that,, well congrats! you've got a peek into our new friendship; i am either silent (overwhelmed/Goin Thru It) or saying All Of The Words Ever! regardless, thank u again for reaching out & i'm happy to have met you, even and especially if thru a lil trauma-bonding. hehe♡ be well, luv!

#grief #personal #maria is literally just rambling. hi #.txt #abominable-space-they #<33333 btw. #asks #writing

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

I nEvEr GeT aSk GaMe StUfF

✨🦋🌿🎀💝💥💎💌

Geee, alright already! 🤣🤣🤣

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

Okay, first things first, I'm pretty satisfied with how all of my fics have been perceived so far, so I can't really complain. 

That being said: Someone who cares is doing significantly less good than Hic sunt dracones, statistics-wise. It is my own emotional support fic and incredibly close to my heart, so I really am delighted about every positive comment I get about it. 

🦋what are you most insecure about when you post a fic?

Erm, everything? Can I say everything? 🤣

I'm literally a nervous wreck after posting, anxiously hitting F5 and waiting for feedback, mind in a constant loop of self-doubt.

What if my characterization is off?

What if the premise sucks?

What if my readers don't like the direction I'm taking the story? 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!! 

🌿how does creating make you feel?

So many things!!! 

For one thing, it scratches the brain itch. I’ve always had to create things, as far back as I remember. When I was a kid, my parents could stick me in a corner with some paper and scissors and crayons and glue and wouldn’t hear from me for hours. 

Even during the 15 years that I didn’t write, I always had to be doing something creative. Knitting, painting, drawing, photographing, you name it. It’s an urge that I need to fulfill and I get crabby if I can’t. 

Seeing the end results makes me feel insanely proud and accomplished. It may not be perfect, but I made that! I sunk my teeth into it and saw it through and made this wonderful thing that I love. 

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

How dare you make me say nice things about myself?! 

Okay … I guess my writing does something to other people that makes them want to create their own stuff. People have repeatedly told me that reading my fics kickstarted their own imagination into creating stories or art of their own. And every time that happens, I get so incredibly happy because that is like a god-tier compliment right there! That somebody found my writing so engaging that it made their brain spin off on a tangent and they created something out of it! 

💝what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

Dragons! Dragons dragons dragons dragoooooons!!!! 

The feedback I am getting for this fic just won’t stop blowing my mind, seriously, and every time I think it’s done, you guys hit me in right in the feels again with your gorgeous comments and rec lists mentions and fucking FANART! I am incredibly happy and humbled and awed that people are loving it so much! 

💥find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

That would be Someone like you, which is a little bonus story to Someone who cares. It's a purely self-indulgent little one-shot featuring married Steddie and a baby. This universe is my emotional support AU and I loved visiting the boys again. 💕

💎why is writing important to you?

Wow, where to start? 

Because it's incredibly fun and allows me to completely immerse myself in the story I'm creating. Because I get to be self-indulgent and spoil myself and make the story exactly like I want it to be. 

And because I have met so many amazing, creative, lovely ppl through it over the past few months, who bring me joy and make me smile every single day.

I honestly don't know how I could ever go without it for so long! 

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

Okay, so I'm still firmly stuck on the demon!Eddie brainworm and fully planning on turning it into a chaptered fic. I'm still figuring out a lot of the specifics, but I've already got some nice twists and details planned. There'll be demon besties Eddie and Chrissy, a nice side of Buckingham, lots of smutty goodness, Dustin running a mystery YouTube channel and so much more, it will be glorious! 

#steddie #steddie brainrot #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steddie fanfic #fanfiction #fanfiction writer #my writing #fanfic #asks and replies #hic sunt dracones #someone who cares #demon eddie munson

[fandomscompilation]

300 followers celebration prompts

There's 35 prompts on this list. You can request fics for the characters and fandoms that are in my masterlist. Other fandoms will be taken under consideration.

You can ask for more than one prompt.

If you write your own work and use any of the prompts below please let me know (tag me, send a private message) I'd like to read your approach to those if so.

1. All I ever did was protect you! I sacrificed my own wants and needs just for you to be happy! I gave everything for you! How can you say that I don't care?!

2. I saw you last night. In your room.

What are you talking about?

I saw you cry. You never cry.

3. Is this what you want? Do you really want for all of this to fall apart?

4. We survived, we went through hell and back, just for them to deem us traitors. There'll always be people that will try and bring you down, no matter who you are and what you do.

5. If she/he comes back.. will you forgive her?

No. She/he'd do the same thing if given another chance. I will not forgive that.

6. I wanted for you to see me. All I ever wanted was for you to notice me.

I did. I always did.

No! You never saw me. You had expectations and some weird perfect version of me in your head. Was I not enough?

7. I'm willing to die for you.

I don't want that, please.

I know. But it has to be done, you cannot die. They need you.

And I need you! I can't do this without you!

You must and you will. I know you will.

8. I've seen a lot of things in my life. But I never saw anything as marvelous as you.

Then you must be blind.

9. I love you. I love you in the way a blind man loves his darkness. I love you in the way stone loves wind that shapes it. I love you although it hurts me, even when I know it might be my downfall. And I would not change a thing, I'd love you over and over again, in every life.

10. I can't focus with you around.

Am I that irresistible?

Yes.

W-what?

11. I have never cared for someone as much as I do for you. And it makes me scared.

No one said caring was easy.

No, of course not. But I just never believed I would love someone that way.

12. If I could I'd give you the world.

What if I don't want the world? What if all I want is you?

Then you have me, I'm yours. Always.

13. Have you seen her dress?

Unfortunately, I wonder which seamstress did she disrespect.

I don't think its their fault. She's simply not fit for something more luxurious than rags.

14. We don't judge people.

Yesterday you said our waitress looked like someone punched a sphynx cat!

She was old and wrinkly! That was just an observation!

15. He's looking again.

Of course he is, we're the most beautiful people in this room.

Damn right we are!

16. You won't believe what I just saw!

What is it?

I saw (character) laughing! They were laughing with (character)!

No way! Where are they now?

17. (Character) just told me that (character) wrote a love letter to (character).

Why would they tell you that?

They said it was a secret! Can you believe that?

18. Did you see my watch?

No, did you lose it?

No. I just wanted to brag about it, why do you think I asked idiot?

19. Where did (character) go?

I don't know.

I just saw them walk away from you.

Maybe, maybe it was just your imagination.

I'm not delusional!

Are you?

20. Why do you keep coming here?

I feel safe here.

Safe? This might be one of the most dangerous places and you feel safe here?

Why wouldn't I? No one ever bothers me here.

21. Do you think they love me?

Of course, you're wonderful.

You say that because we're friends.

No, I say that because you are. You'd do anything for others and you care so deeply that it makes saints look unholy.

22. I always wanted to tell them the truth.

What stopped you?

Fear. I feared they wouldn't understand. That they'd turned their backs on me.

23. Every leader has blood on their hands. No matter how just and devoted they are. Sooner or later someone will die for them, willingly or not.

24. She/he's gone.

What? How?

Does it matter? Would it change anything?

25. How did you go from someone so caring to an emotionless monster?

I grew up.

Stop lying to me! Growing up doesn't do that to a person. What happened to you?

You want to know? Fine. I lived through pain and death. I survived every battle. I lost everything and everyone. I do not care anymore. I grew up.

26. Everyone told me to give up. To protect myself from the heartbreak.

You should've listened to them.

Why would I?

Because I can't give you the love you want.

27. I used to look up to the stars and wished to be among them. To feel the freedom they have.

That's sounds beautiful.

I thought so too. But each star is long gone. We see them, but in reality they're long dead.

Only you could turn something beautiful into something depressing.

28. Your ability to ruin my mood is astounding.

Thank you, I work on it every day.

29. After meeting you I started to thank my parents for not giving me a younger sibling.

You're welcome for repairing your relationship with your parents.

30. I'm leaving.

Where to?

I don't know, maybe another country, another continent.

Right. Where are you really going?

To the market. I'll bring dinner.

31. I don't know what to do.

Do what you do best. Get up and straighten your back. Lead them the way you always do. With fury in your heart and fire in your eyes. They don't need a leader that's merciful. They need a leader that will make rivers overflow with the blood of their enemies. So get up and win this war, for your people.

32. You might have never said it, but I always knew.

How?

Your eyes. No matter how much you try to hide your feelings I can tell by your eyes.

33. I think you're the only person that stayed by my side through everything.

I promised you I won't leave. And I always keep my promises.

34. Have you ever wondered what our lives would be like if we never met?

No. I don't want to imagine that. I don't think I could survive a day without you.

35. You hurt me. Not once, not twice but over and over again.

Then why are you still here?

Because I hope that you'll finally see your mistakes. That you'll stop pushing me away.

What if that's who I am? What if I will never let you close?

Then I'll die trying.

#fanfiction #writing #fanfic #requests are open #prompts list #writing prompts #300 followers #shadow and bone #marvel #harry potter #marauders #ragnarok netflix #teen wolf #twilight #Shadowhunters #the vampire diaries #the originals #vikings

[wotchergiorgia]

🍸

🍓

🐥

I love 'em all! ty💕

🍸 character who inspired your mc

I believe that ivan karamazov (tbk) played a pretty huge part in the ideation and description, being him one of my all time fav characters. I think he's probably one of the most complex characters I've ever read about and, especially with the second draft of my novel, I realized how he could inspire me to deepen my mc.

🍓 worst thing you've done to your characters

lots of things, actually... physically and mentally, psychologically, but probably the worst is making them waste time. I made them die, shout, leave, betray, suffer and lots of other stuff, but most of all I chose to make them waste precious time. it perhaps is a transposition of how I perceive life as well, as I can't stand boredom, not doing anything or similar. I hate getting bored and I hate wasting time doing things I don't give a damn about - I hate seeing others waste their time as well - mostly because I think I'm afraid of regret. thus, I transferred all of this on my characters. they have lots and lots of regrets, they wasted time over thinking (something I do continously), crying about their past, living by what ifs, being so angry and self-centered that they cut anyone from their lives (as for the mc especially), and only at the end realizing how much they could've done better, how much more they could've made out of their lives. and these are my fears - being on my death bed and asking myself what really my life has been like, just to find out that I did nothing but wasting my time on superfluous things, people and experiences.

🐥 here's some writing motivation!

thank you, I really need it - editing is a hard process, but I'm determined.

to every other writer out there: do not ever stop. do not ever leave your amazing and unique work. I know you think you won't ever be good enough, I know. writing is something only perfectionists do. but I reveal you something: your work will never be perfect. there'll always be errors in the punctuation or in the spelling. there'll always be a better way to say something, to write that damn scene, but it doesn't matter at all. as long as you write for yourself, out of passion, and as long as you believe in what you have to say, your work will always be enough and perfect and amazing.

tysm @rodionismyhero for the wonderful asks you sent me

#writers problems #writers on tumblr #ask games #ask me stuff #ask ask ask #writing #writers #i am a writer

[malachiexists13]

Its like midnight rn so my words may be all over the place but this is something else I should explain-

The reason I don't bother putting "minors dni" or "ageless blogs dni" on my oneshot posts is because I know they don't listen. So it feels pretty pointless to me. It would also feel hypocritical since Im writing that shit while I am technically considered an ageless blog (Im assuming here. I dont actually know-) since I have never revealed how old I am. All I have really said is that Im not 18 yet. And I understand that people just put that there so minors don't try and repeat the acts in the fanfics irl, or at least, some do.

That's why on my fanfics and oneshots, if there's something I consider problematic in the writing, then I make sure to point it out in an author's note and explain why it's wrong before the story. I know not everyone reads the author's notes, but it's the most I can do since I can't stop minors from reading my works. Even if I say I don't want specific people on my profile, I can't actually stop them. So may as well point out the toxic or negative things and explain why rather than just being rude and saying fuck off.

Saying fuck off will get you no where, while kindness and calm explanation might lead you a little further. There'll still be people who don't listen, but that's their problem, not yours.

#giyuu tomioka x reader smut

[storytellerpanic]

I'm sure there'll be a lot of posts like this today, but I just want to place my honest feelings somewhere, y'know?

It wasn't until recently that I realised I'm probably aromantic, or at least the feelings I thought were romantic attraction were probably something else. I never realised how much amatonormativity affected me until recently - from the age of about sixteen I sort of pressured myself into wanting a romantic partner - I think I still might want one, just not in the way most people would. It's so expected that we'd end up with one other person for the rest of our lives to rely on and love the most, which sounds nice in theory, but I feel like my love is different. Just because it's not as 'concentrated', if you will, it's still there. I love my friends so much, I love the planet and its ecosystems and it hurts me so much thinking about how humanity has seemingly doomed itself through capitalism and the climate crisis. I feel like because my love is so spread around, I'm easily distracted, but I'm also a threat to the system, because I can't spoil every person on earth with gifts, nor can I dedicate all my love and attention to any one person, or buy enough gifts or whatever to express my feelings. I want to care for a lot of people, but I cannot do it in the way I'm expected to, which leads me to turn my back on the world and on myself.

I'm learning to love myself and the world. It's a difficult process. So to my sixteen year old self, I want to dedicate this post. It's okay, you probably won't end up with someone, and valentines day is just another commercial cash-grab by this point. You go ahead and give out tiny flowers to your friends, and stop worrying. Life gets harder, but it also gets easier every time you discover a little bit more about yourself.

I don't quite think the point of this message has been written in the way I wanted when I initially started writing. Maybe it doesn't make much sense. That's okay. One post isn't going to change the world, only action will. To anyone who may be reading, I hope you have the strength and energy to do what you need to today. I wish you success. Go out and love your friends, your family, that random bird or squirrel - maybe it doesn't have to make much sense. It's just another date, after all.

Remember, if it feels like you can't do anything to save the world or yourself, you can. It might take more than one person to do so, but hey, humans are innately social beings. I don't like most people, but I know there's people out there who feel just the same as I do, which brings me a sort of comfort.

#personal rant #rants n rambles #valentine #aroace #aromanitc #self love #shitpost #long post