#and of course that had everything to do with kakashi's own personal issues and nothing to do with yamato

[maoam]

DISSECTING SAKURA - WHY IS SHE SO TERRIBLE?

INTRO

I promised to write a post about Sakura’s character long time ago so here’s that now. If you want to read my Hinata post it’s here.

Sakura is a character that is very hated in the Naruto fandom. Many people acknowledge she’s one of the worst female characters in anime. And yet, she also has many dedicated stans that defend her character and insist she is simply misunderstood, that she’s actually a good shinobi and a person, or not as bad as people think. While there are many videos and essays about Sakura, my issue with them is that they often either praise Hinata who isn’t any better than Sakura or they do not acknowledge Sakura is supposed to be the way she is. She is intentionally written as an unlikeable person and she was never supposed to be inspiring or a positive character. I will try to explain this to you the best I can by dissecting her character. As usual, if you’re a fan of her character you might not want to see what’s next. This will be tagged under the anti tags so if you see it in the character tag that is not intentional.

SAKURA AS A SHINOBI

I will first focus on Sakura as a shinobi and her skills in fights since Naruto is a battle manga. Sakura is, as it's often acknowledged to the point of memes, pretty useless. A lot of her stans don’t understand why. She might get to punch once every 200 chapters or heal fodders but in the end she is featless. She is placed in many important situations where she does nothing to contribute or even gets in the way. This is not acceptable for a main character that has a lot of screentime. Naturally, this is something that annoys many people but it’s made even more annoying by the fact Sakura is constantly talking about how much stronger she has gotten and how she wants to be on par with Naruto and Sasuke.

In the beginning, during the bell test, Sakura doesn't even attempt to get the bells from Kakashi and only ends up fainting. In the Land of Waves, because Sakura was able to climb the tree due to her chakra control, she became smug and overconfident and thought she doesn't need to train. Which is funny considering she does nothing except stand around during an actual fight while Naruto and Sasuke actually contribute to the fight with the main antagonists. She's tasked to protect Tazuna, yet she can't do that either, but Kakashi has to intervene and get injured. It’s also worth mentioning Kakashi pointed out that during the tree climbing Sakura was able to control her chakra better because she had little chakra to begin with. Thus Kishimoto establishes very early on Sakura as someone who brags and overrestimates her own skills.

In the Chunin exams, Sakura hopes that Naruto and Sasuke aren’t foolish enough to cheat during the written exam, and she’s sure that she can answer the questions based on her knowledge. But what she doesn’t realize is that the real intention of the test is for the takers to use their observation and deductive skills to gather information and cheat. We find this out in the same chapter through Sasuke. Sasuke, unlike Sakura, realizes that the test makers want them to act like a shinobi. Sakura is book smart and a rote learner, but as we have seen in the Land of Waves and what we will see in the rest of the Chunin exams, being book smart won’t help her on the battlefield. Kishimoto wanted to show us that Sakura is just someone who brags and thinks she’s got everything under control, despite the fact she’s not the right kind of smart to be a shinobi, she doesn’t think like one.

In the Forest of Death, we then see she isn’t able to actually put anything into practice and Naruto and Sasuke again do all the work, while Sakura does nothing except stand around, scream and cry. Sasuke even has to yell at her to stop merely standing around. Eventually though, when Naruto and Sasuke are knocked out after the encounter with Orochimaru, Sakura has no choice but to protect them from Orochimaru’s henchmen. But she of course fails. She sets traps that fail, and gets mocked for her amateuristic skills by her opponents. We see characters like Kiba are able to put up traps that actually work, but Sakura who is supposedly smart isn’t. Then Rock Lee arrives to her rescue. After he gets beaten up, Kin grabs Sakura by her hair and calls her out on her vanity and tells her she should have trained more, which is basically what Sasuke did at the beginning of the arc, when he told Sakura if she has time to flirt maybe she should use that time to learn a jutsu or two. In the chapter cover she is also seen brushing her hair in front of a mirror in the forest, so Kishimoto makes it pretty clear Sakura is someone who cares a lot about her looks even during a mission. Kishimoto uses the villains to point out Sakura’s flaws, since the main characters can’t do that considering she is one of the main characters. So we see Dosu point out Sakura’s lack of observation skills and talent, and Kin point out her vanity and boy chasing personality. Sakura then dramatically cuts her hair and gives a speech on how she wants to walk in front of Naruto and Sasuke and wants them to look at her back. Despite the little fight she puts up, she is easily beaten down and is saved by Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji, before Sasuke wakes up and beats up Orochimaru's henchmen, driving them away. Sakura acted like this was going to be her moment, yet it wasn't at all. She had five other characters, 4 of them supporting characters, all of whom showed much better ninja skills than her, come to her rescue.

During Sakura and Ino's match, Sakura starts boasting how Ino is nowhere near her level. What happens is despite her bragging, she falls right into Ino's trap. Unlike Sakura, Ino actually used her wits and shinobi like strategy during the fight, using Sakura’s ego against her to successfully trap her. But because Naruto yelled Sakura's name, her inner Sakura somehow interrupted the fight and it ended in a tie. I think Ino should have won this fight but regardless it didn't make Sakura look good, just an overconfident brat who got lucky.

The rest of Part 1 Sakura spends moping over Sasuke and getting one-paneled by Gaara in the Konoha crush arc where she again becomes a damsel in distress to no one’s surprise. Her uselessly holding a kunai has become a meme because she does it many times during the series. Despite being a liability to her team she never thinks about how to better her skills nor tries to train. After Sasuke leaves and Sakura fails to stop him, she goes to Naruto and begs him with tears in her eyes to bring Sasuke back. Considering how many support characters have contributed massively in Part 1, a main character like Sakura achieving nothing just puts it into perspective how useless she really is. She has been a damsel in every single arc. When Naruto fails to bring Sasuke back, Sakura decides to ask Tsunade to train her, and tells Naruto next time she will go with him to get Sasuke back. The thing is, she should have had the resolve to train and change herself already before Sasuke left. She should have realized she put her team constantly in jeopardy by being weak. She read all about what life of a shinobi entails yet she seemed to treat it as some playground where she can play damsel while everyone around her protects her. It’s only when her crush left and Naruto failed to bring him back that she bothers to make an effort.

At the start of Part 2, Kakashi gives Naruto and Sakura yet another bell test, and Sakura shows some potential by showing off her chakra punch. But in the end, they manage to finally get the bells due to Naruto's plan. Some people act like Sakura is the smart one in team 7 yet she constantly fails to showcase this smartness of hers. Next, team 7 is assigned by Tsunade to rescue Kazekage Gaara. Sakura swears that this time, she will save both Naruto and Sasuke. Again, she sets up a high goal for herself, only to never achieve it. Sakura does however, mix up an antidote to heal Kankuro after he got attacked by Sasori. Next Chiyo and Sakura get ready for a fight with Sasori. Notice how this is the only fight where Sakura actually manages to not fail? It's because Chiyo is literally directing her moves, both verbally and physically. But I will give her credit for using the antidote to survive Sasori's poison, and taking the hit for Chiyo. Sasori was also apparently suicidal and didn’t avoid the last hit but I don’t dwell on that too much.

Now I need to mention something that is very important to note when it comes to Sakura’s character writing. Whenever Sakura does anything she’s complimented countless times by Kakashi, Chiyo, Sasori, and basically everyone she comes across. Kakashi starts to talk about how she might be able to surpass Tsunade, just because she punches the ground once in front of him. Chiyo hails her as a girl who can surpass Tsunade as well, before even seeing her fighting abilities. Hashirama thinks her power might be greater than Tsunade’s despite not even seeing what his granddaughter can do. And this goes on and on. This is Kishimoto intentionally raising up the audience's expectations, only to later intentionally bring them down. Superficial readers think she is smart and could possibly surpass Tsunade because other characters say so, but people who actually read the manga and pay attention can see that Sakura never lives up to the expectations placed on her.

Right after this arc, Sakura goes back to being useless and not contributing much especially considering the screentime she gets. Despite being able to avoid Sasori’s attacks with the help of Chiyo, in the Tenchi Bridge arc she gets first knocked out by Kabuto's flying butt because she's not watching where she's going, and needs to be saved by Yamato. Then she doesn’t let Yamato do his job and gets knocked out by Naruto's 4-tailed form, and needs to be saved by Yamato and healed by Kabuto. When they finally meet Sasuke she charges at him with no apparent strategy and needs to be saved by Yamato again, who gets injured in the process.

So after the entire part 1 of being useless, and 15 chapters of not being useless, Sakura needs to be saved multiple times by Yamato while contributing nothing. To people who paid more attention when reading the manga, this arc made them realize Sakura was never gonna change and this is how her character would always going to be. But others were still starstruck by the previous arc, and would only realize it later.

In the Akatsuki Suppression arc she pretty much does nothing worth mentioning. She is tasked to go help Shikamaru but the latter has already taken care of Hidan by himself. In the Itachi Pursuit arc she doesn’t do anything either, but only follows the dogs tracking Sasuke’s scent. In the Pain arc a lot of characters contribute in the fight against Pain, even Konohamaru who is just a kid manages to defeat one of the paths of Pain, while Sakura is again shown crying and screaming for Naruto. What was that about saving Naruto and Sasuke? If she’s so strong as she acts like she is she could have at least tried to buy some time for Naruto instead of crying like a total whimp.

There’s also a constant pattern of Sakura trying to demonstrate her "powers" or "strategy" and failing. This happened again in the start of the Five kage Summit arc when she tried to fight with the Kumo warriors, got immediately facekicked to the ground and had to be rescued by Naruto yet again. And this is not even the worst. In the same arc she attempts to take down Sasuke by herself, drugging her teammates so they can’t help her, and ends up failing when Sasuke figures out what she’s trying to do and she needs to be saved first by Kakashi and then by Naruto. As always, she aims too high and falls flat on her face. She ends the arc moping how she can’t do anything except to trust Naruto. Of course, Kishimoto doesn’t forgot to mention that Sasuke is resistant to poison, so Sakura’s attempt of killing him whether she succeeded stabbing him or not would have been futile either way. Again, she is failing to come even close to her own goals she set for herself. She is once again a liability that needs saving. And so the audience is frustrated and annoyed with her character. They are thinking, why is this girl who is constantly bragging about her skills constantly making a fool out of herself, crying pathetically and needing to be rescued? Well, that would be because she is supposed to be a person who is completely misguided about her own skills.

In the war arc, Sakura isn’t any better. The war arc only amplifies what we already have seen and know. That Kishimoto uses subversion to show Sakura’s character as overall irrelevant, and to show she’s all talk. In part 1, Sakura is said to be smart and she boasts about her skills yet she can’t do anything in an actual fight, but has to be saved by multiple characters, including Naruto, whom she considered inferior to herself. This of course made people annoyed with her character. When part 2 started, other characters were again commenting on her potential and how she had supposedly grown. So many people got hopeful that she had actually grown a lot and changed. And yet, as I have pointed out, she tried to show off many times and failed miserably. Which made people even more frustrated with her. Because they had gotten their hopes up. The Five Kage Summit arc was definitely the ultimate breaking point. After Sakura’s ridiculous attempt to manipulate Naruto, her drugging her teammates while leaving them defenseless on the ground and her trying to take down Sasuke and failing, she was certified as the fandom’s laughing stock. But some of her stans still remained, and thought she would redeem herself. Somehow.

Then comes the 4th shinobi war. Sakura has mostly been in the background healing people, but when Sasuke shows up, she is suddenly motivated to show off for real. She even gets pissed when Naruto is about to go with Sasuke and suggests to her that she could take a break. Sakura insists she is also part of team 7 and that she surely can keep up with the two of them. We have a panel hyping up Team 7. Then Sakura gets a moment to make a big punch after which she boasts and thinks she’s better than Tsunade, insulting the latter in the process. But she’s not paying attention to her surroundings and needs to be saved by the boys, after which she starts to boast how she will steal the Hokage seat from Naruto and how now they will all fight together with their backs to each other. She then reaffirms herself that she has finally caught up to Naruto and Sasuke. This level of arrogance needs to be backed up, otherwise the audience will get annoyed. And it did annoy a big portion of the fandom, considering they had seen for the past 600 chapters or so Sakura talking about how she wants to be on par with Naruto and Sasuke, how she won’t be a liability anymore and it all leading to nothing except disappointment after disappointment. Sakura’s confidence and ego are greatly disproportionate for someone of her capabilities, which a big part of the audience notices, whether consciously or subconsciously. And this is of course intentional.

She is left on the sidelines again when Naruto and Sasuke are too busy being ”the main act” and fighting perfectly in sync. Sakura has to ask Hinata what is even happening with the two of them. Sakura keeps healing people, but eventually Naruto’s chakra starts to help her with the healing.

Then we get to one of the most infamous moments with Sakura, that resembles another infamous moment in the Five kage summit arc, when she tried to take down Sasuke with a poisoned kunai. In this moment Obito is asking Sakura to stab his rinnegan eye with a kunai. In both moments, she can’t come up with a resolve to use her kunai but just trembles centimeters away from her target. Taking her time shaking she then gets attacked by her opponent, and ends up being saved. In both cases, she wastes her chance because she’s a total whimp who has no resolve to do what she pretends she can do. And thus, the audience is annoyed once again. And the people who always knew what she was like make fun of her.

But Kishimoto won’t stop there. In the very same chapter, when Sakura is trying to heal Kakashi, Naruto takes over and not only heals him but also gives him a brand new eye, something Sakura of course isn’t able to do. Healing was the only thing she could do and even that was taken from her! So much for her being a relevant member of Team 7 who is on par with Naruto and Sasuke.

Kakashi then starts reminiscing about Team 7, and it ends with him reminding the three about his first lesson, which was team work being the key to success. So what happens?

Sakura begans to once again nurse her own insecurities and tries to show off to satisfy her own ego by charging at Madara and telling the boys to follow her. She has no idea of Madara’s strengths and weaknesses and what would you know, her punch is stopped and she gets stabbed in the chest and is once again rescued by Naruto. And what does she do? Mopes that Sasuke doesn’t pay attention to her nor seems to care. She cares more about showing off to Sasuke than defeating Madara, even when this is about a threat to the whole world. What a great shinobi. It’s a callback to part 1 when she moped over the fact Sasuke didn’t care about her climbing the tree. Just like with her shaking with the kunai, it’s just another moment that shows she never truly changes. Not in ways that matter.

And then we see Naruto and Sasuke actually fight Madara, and Sakura literally just stands there in awe of them. She’s shook by Madara’s power which she obviously had no clue about. Of course Sakura still tries to go after the boys but Kakashi stops her and says it’s pointless to do so unless she has a plan. And she stops, and stares at Naruto and Sasuke’s backs as they disappear. Hah. She once again, has failed to achieve the goal she sets for herself. Kishimoto hyped up team 7 yet constantly showed Sakura failing and being left behind, despite how much she claimed she could keep up with the two of them. The way Kishimoto writes her, by making Sakura herself or others hype her, and then showing she’s actually lame is very consistent and relentless.

Taking into consideration that she’s a main character, and all the times that she’s promised major improvement, what we received was just pathetic. When you add it to the fact that she’s a member of such an over-achieving team, it makes her look pitiful in comparison. But it’s supposed to be. Don’t even think this is unintentional from Kishimoto. Sakura was supposed to be someone who never changes.

SAKURA’S PERSONALITY AND HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS

Now a little more on Sakura’s personality and the way she interacts with others which is definitely one of the reasons why many people hate her.

In the beginning, she is introduced as a shallow girl who is focused on her looks and getting the attention of the popular boy in the class, rather than being a good shinobi. She gets called out on her vanity by not only Sasuke but also by her enemies. She is pretty quick to give up on the bell test which annoys Sasuke. One wonders why is she even a shinobi when her resolve is so weak. She beats and berates Naruto and is only able to treat him better by mimicking Sasuke. Despite Kakashi’s comments on all of them maturing Sakura hasn’t changed at all at the start of the Chunin exam arc but she keeps asking Sasuke on dates instead of training and also squeals for him like a fangirl. She mopes that she’s not good enough for the Chunin exam and only gets motivated when Sasuke compliments her. This type of shallow and weak characterization made many people instantly dislike her.

In the chunin exams we also find out she broke her friendship with Ino after she found out Ino liked Sasuke as well. This is something that gave more background to her character but at the same time made people dislike her even more, since Ino is someone who reached out to Sakura and helped her build her self-esteem yet Sakura simply dumped her and started a catty rivalry over Sasuke. In Part 2, they only interact once, and during that moment Sakura wants Sai to call Ino ugly. You can’t really call it a beautiful friendship when Sakura is constantly shown as catty and the only person who does anything for the other is Ino. It’s Ino who reaches out to Sakura. It’s Ino who comes to her rescue in the Forest of Death. It’s Ino who compliments her after their match. What has Sakura done for Ino other than wanting her to be called ugly and teaching her kid to keep Ino away from Sasuke?

During Sakura and Ino’s match, Kakashi says Sakura isn’t the type to brag and bully others, even when we have seen her do both constantly. Already in the Land of Waves she bragged how she doesn’t need to train despite not being able to do anything in a fight. She also constantly berates Naruto and acts superior to him, aside from punching him all the time over nothing. Sakura having a bloated sense of superiority and tendency to brag about her skills is a consistent character trait of hers. But she never manages to truly back up her arrogant attitude but comes off as weak and overall irrelevant, which is yet another thing that makes her an unlikeable character in the eyes of the audience. In the war she also insults Tsunade, the one who taught her, while boasting how she is better than her like she’s some badass when she is far from it. When has she created her own jutsu or made anything revolutionary? During the same chapter she also brags how she’s gonna steal the Hokage seat from Naruto. Yes Naruto, the guy who keeps saving her useless ass all the time.

Speaking of Kakashi, he is a character that Kishimoto used in his writing as someone who treats Sakura with kid gloves and coddles her. This is one reason why some people defend her character, and why some people ship the two of them. If you’re a Sakura stan, it must feel validating when some character constantly defends your fave’s stupid behavior. But Kakashi is someone who not only admits to not understand Sasuke, but also someone who clearly doesn’t understand Sakura, as we see from the earlier image how Sakura’s behavior contradicts with Kakashi’s claims since the beginning. Basically, if you need to know how Sakura really is like, just flip what Kakashi says about her and you’ll know. Since Sakura is part of the main team, Kishimoto needed some character to defend her behavior so she wouldn’t be confronted about it too much. But smart readers aren’t fooled. It’s also worth noting that Kakashi tells Sasuke Sakura still loves him despite the fact Sasuke tried to kill her, while conveniently omitting the fact Sakura went there to kill Sasuke herself. This makes Kakashi look hypocritical but Kishimoto needed some character to do this because of Boruto, and it’s not like he was gonna use Naruto, the one he himself called Sasuke’s ally.

Then we have Sakura’s hypocritical behavior, that Kishimoto also consistently portrayed. During Sakura and Ino’s match, Sakura says Ino is a girl who is focused only on her looks and that she wouldn’t want to be on the same level with her, despite the fact Sakura herself was shown brushing her hair in the Forest of Death and getting dragged for her vanity. She also got upset and hit Naruto when he tried to pee in front of her, saying she’s a lady, yet thought to herself how she would like to see Sasuke pee in front of her. When trying to plead to Sasuke to not go, Sakura says revenge won’t bring anyone happiness, but when it doesn’t work she flips completely on what she said and asks Sasuke to take her with him so she can help him. Even if she acts like she cares about Sasuke’s well-being, what she really cares about are her own feelings. Sasuke unsurprisingly finds this annoying as do many readers. Sakura makes fun of Naruto and insults him, yet gets enraged when Sai calls her names and she proceeds to hit both him and Naruto. She also gets mad at Konohamaru and Naruto for their sexy no jutsus, yet when Konohamaru showed her hot boys naked, one of them being Sasuke, she went all gaga over it.

Sakura is also introduced as a bully who beats Naruto up and mocks him in front of Sasuke who then proceeds to call her out on her terrible behavior. In this chapter, Kishimoto made Sakura call Naruto ”annoying” and then made Sasuke throw her own insult back at her when Sakura mocked Naruto, by calling her annoying. Something that is worth noting is that while Sakura also reacted to Lee badly at first, after he saved her she didn’t do anything bad to him anymore. Yet while she later realizes she was wrong about Naruto’s resolve, and that he cheers for her when she needs it, and that he saved her countless times, she keeps beating him up over nothing and berating him. She still keeps calling him stupid and acting like she knows better. This is why whenever she cries for him, it’s hard to feel any liking to her, because she comes off as more like a poser who will surely soon bash his head in if he dares to behave like himself, or drop him for the sake of Sasuke. Her treatment of Naruto is unreasonably bad at times, but it’s easily explained. In the beginning we find out Sakura dislikes Naruto because she thinks he comes between her and Sasuke. And we see many instances where this notion is amplified by the text. But Sakura is too delusional to understand the reason there is distance between her and Sasuke is simply because Sasuke isn’t interested in her, she’s too shallow and juvenile for him to pay attention to.

Her fake confessing to Naruto and trying to manipulate him made a lot of people lose all respect for her. She also showed she knew so little of Naruto she accidentally managed to tap into all of his insecurities in her confession. She also somehow believed Naruto was really chasing Sasuke for her sake and that he would give up if she offered herself to him.

Her second confession to Sasuke is also very telling of her jealousy of Naruto and Sasuke’s bond. She yells how she can’t exchange blows with Sasuke, how she can’t get close to him, how the only thing she can do is cry and beg. Considering how Naruto is the one who is about to exhange blows with Sasuke yet again, and how Sasuke after their fight talks about how Naruto kept coming closer to him, Sakura is clearly thinking of Naruto when she is having this meltdown. Sakura was shown to be jealous of Naruto’s improvement and skills in Part 1, but she is also jealous of Sasuke’s care and love for Naruto, which she wants for herself and thinks she is entitled to. Even at the start, Kishimoto said Sakura thinks Naruto stole Sasuke’s first kiss which she thought belonged to her. It’s no different at the end of the series. Her outburst is her fighting for what she thinks is rightfully hers, Sasuke, despite the fact he has given no indication that he loves her. But this makes sense. Afterall, we see Sarada come between Ino and Sasuke while Sakura laughs nervously in the background. Despite everything Ino has done for Sakura’s sake, she still sees her as a threat, to the point her own kid is doing the dirty work for her.

Let’s talk more about Sakura’s relationship, or lack there of, with Sasuke. We know Sakura was portrayed like any other fangirl of Sasuke in the beginning, who liked his looks and how cool he was. She never tried to approach Sasuke as a friend but only kept asking him on dates despite his blatant rejections. She never says why she loves him, or even likes him. According to herself Sasuke never says anything to her. Her first confession showed how little she understood Sasuke. She was the girl with everything, with family, while Sasuke and Naruto had nothing. Yet she had the nerve to say if Sasuke left she would be just as lonely as he was. She’s comparing the massacre of Sasuke’s family to a boy she never talks to leaving her, while disrespecting her own parents in the process. How juvenile that must have sounded like to someone like Sasuke. In Part 1 Sasuke occassionally protects Sakura because she’s too weak to protect herself, and in part 2 Sakura probably wanted to entertain the thought Sasuke would still have this consideration for her. But in Part 2 Sasuke treats Sakura like a fodder ninja. She doesn’t manage to get a proper reaction out of Sasuke who focuses on Naruto everytime he meets up with his former team. Sasuke also leaves Sakura to die couple times while choosing to save Naruto instead. Despite all this, Sakura still thought she’s entitled to Sasuke, and in her second confession she started to yet again scream how much she loves Sasuke and how much she hurts due to it. In both of her confessions she is guilt tripping Sasuke and trying to make him pity her. In both of her confessions she makes everything about herself. She admits to herself she can’t do anything for Sasuke, yet she tries to win him over by pity. But she annoys Sasuke once again, and he puts her in a murder genjutsu. Sasuke then says they have no reason to love each other. And he’s right. What does Sakura know about Sasuke? Clearly nothing, considering she said the worst things she could have said during both of her confessions. She heard Sasuke talk about wanting change, yet she started to scream how if Sasuke stays with her, things can go back to how they were. It’s like the most basic things she doesn’t understand. She’s just an overemotional child who has nothing of worth to say. Kakashi who coddles her tries to talk to Sasuke on her behalf as well, insisting Sakura suffers for loving him. Sasuke then thinks of his family and says perhaps those are ties to a failed past. As in Sakura literally lives in the past. And she does. Despite the fact everything has changed, she thinks about the moment when Sasuke thanked her, and ignores him calling her annoying for her ignorant comments, or the fact someone who wants change obviously doesn’t want to go back to the way things were. This brutal rejection though still won’t slow Sakura down, but after Sasuke is leaving to his atonement trip Sakura blushes like a school girl and asks to come with him. After him mocking her and putting her in a genjutsu, this is what she does.

And Kishimoto still won’t stop there. After all of Sakura’s boasting that ended in failure, after the brutal genjutsu and her being made mostly irrelevant, we see her destroy her own house because her kid asked about her marriage with Sasuke and she got insecure. I have to ask how do some people not realize Kishimoto despises Sakura and writes her as a terrible person? She is a bad daughter who doesn’t understand how lucky she is but is ready to ditch her parents for an indifferent boy’s sake. She is a bad student who disrespects Tsunade for no reason. She is a bad friend who treats Ino and Naruto badly out of insecurity. She is a bad person who treats the target of her crush like an object instead of a person. She is a bad shinobi as well who is most of the time a liability. And she is a bad mother as well. When she’s insisting to Sarada that Sasuke cares about them, she’s sweating and looking nervous, she’s clearly not confident in what she says. Kishimoto also drops two implications that Sasuke never kissed Sakura. Because that is apparently important for us to know. Sakura then tries to insist a forehead poke is better than a kiss. Yet when Sasuke is leaving, she is waiting for a kiss and not a poke. And she is rejected, and looks like a wet rag just like everytime Sasuke rejected her before ever since she was a kid. It’s hard to think of a female character that is more pathetic than her.

And yet, we have SS insisting Sasuke surely knew Sakura could take care of herself, that’s why he left her to die and saved Naruto instead, who didn’t need saving. Surely Sasuke thinks about Sakura as an individual and not just a member of team 7. Despite the fact we have never seen Sasuke think about Sakura outside of team 7 context nor say anything about what he likes and admires about Sakura. Surely Sakura is the most important person to Sasuke, that’s why Kishi wrote Sasuke say to Hagoromo, to Naruto and to himself that Naruto is the only one he still cares about. That’s why Kishimoto wrote Sasuke say Naruto is the only one who never gave up on him. That’s why he wrote Sasuke say Naruto alone saved him. Despite the fact Sakura wanted to be part of saving Sasuke with Naruto, Kishimoto would never let her. Because he doesn’t like her, or SS.

As a final note, a lot of the manga revolved around the importance of family and bonds, yet Sakura, the girl who had parents unlike the rest of her team, is shown to disrespect them everytime she brings them up. And she’s never redeemed on this. This is also intentional from Kishimoto, of course. Sakura is too selfish, too ungrateful and shallow to understand what she has. She’d rather chase a guy who keeps rejecting her like he’s some trophy she owns, all the while trivializing his pain over the loss of his family, by acting like she understands. And she’s ready to throw away her parents, her friends, and her dignity for the sake of this guy who was never interested in her. What’s worst is she had many opportunities to change and mature, yet she choose not to. And thus she remained the same self centred, superficial person she always was.

Actually this is the final note: @sneezemonster15 is a co-creator of this post. She has also talked about Sakura on her blog, for example that war arc part here. Another example is here (but you can just generally go through her anti-sakura tag). But I wanted all this on one big text since certain people are very stubborn about us “picking” supposedly minor things to bash Sakura for when this is throughout the whole manga. And since tumblr doesn’t let her add more than 10 images to a post for some reason I decided to write this down.

#anti sakura

[009720kakashi]

Rules

Hey all! I go by Mhiyah and rp for 15 + years meaning yes, I’m an adult :D and so is the character.

I do not want to interact with minors and I do not want them to follow the blog. I’m dead serious on that. No exception. It makes me uncomfortable. Please respect that.  

Please note the following rules:

1. I’m not a native speaker in English. I actually do have an online dictionary open constantly :D. I do my best but there will be mistakes. Please be lenient.

2. No godmodding and don’t force your headcanons about my character on me. I’m very willing to adapt to the things you have created for your own character but not when it comes to my character. Also please note that if I make mistakes with your headcanons it’s not on purpose. I do my best but for many characters there are a lot of headcanons. Usually I try to check them again before replying. This is not possible if I reply on a mobile device though. Just tell me and I change the reply.

2. No pairings with minors obviously.

3. No exclusives.

4. No stress please. I’m a relaxed person and I do this for fun. It’s strictly character here. You won’t find me post all that much completely unrelated to the character or rp on this blog. If I do it will be deleted after a short period of time. I refuse to participate in any tumblr animosities. If people have problems with each other don’t drag me into it. I won’t take sides. I will block the person who pressures me into this stuff.

5. No hate of any kind. If I see any hate (be it homophobic, transphobic, racist or whatever) on your blog I block you immediately without any comment. I don’t want to interact with stupid hateful people. It’s as easy as that.

6. If a rp blog posts too much ooc stuff I will unfollow it. Also I don’t automatically follow back.

7. I won’t necessarily reply to threads in order. That is because sometimes I need to think about it a moment before replying. It has nothing to do with you, your character or your reply. I just want to give you a decent answer because that is what you deserve for taking the time and effort to write.

8. I don’t expect anyone to match the length of my replies. I sure tend to babble sometimes. However if I constantly just receive one or two sentence replies to a long paragraph  I will get the feeling that you are not awfully interested in the thread and then I’ll probably drop it. It’s just no fun for me then. It’s the same if everything I write is ignored. I usually do quite some research especially when it comes to fighting scenes and the jutsus used in these scenes. Fights are very difficult to write. So if a jutsu, attack or block fails (which they should at times of course) please tell me why so I know what to do with it. Usually there is enough room for interpretation after all. Also keep in mind that with battle stuff we eventually will have to go for exits and end the thread otherwise one character ends up dead :D

9. Relationships: Yeah well, that’s a difficult issue. I do not see Kakashi enter into a relationship. He sure has sex but definitely has issues committing to someone. He does not easily open up. Someone would have to be very understanding and persistent I suppose. Never say never though. As for sexual relationships. I think he does have those but no strings attached.

10. I also tend to write him a bit more ‘serious’. There are two sides to him. One being rather goofy and the other being very serious. I think to a certain degree he tends to hide behind the goofy side. Though it definitely is a part of his character too. However he has had a very rough life and lost almost everyone dear to him. 10 years of ANBU sure did not help his mental health either. Caring for Team 7 pulled him out of that darkness a bit but that also was not exactly a win for him considering he did not manage to keep the team together. Sasuke lost to Orochimaru, Naruto went with Jiraiya and Sakura with Tsunade. It was quite a short lived experience. Kakashi has to deal with a lot of guilt and self-doubt and has a very low opinion of himself. That shines through in his dark moments in the anime and manga. I don’t think he ever overcame that really. He maybe can accept that others do not think that about him. It does not change that he thinks himself to be a fraud. He avoids the topic to the best of his abilities.

11. The mask thing: I don’t think there is much depth to this really. Honestly he does reveal his face for instance while eating in the anime and it is absolutely impossible to hide your face constantly. Especially on missions. This is probably the one headcanon I have since it has never been confirmed. For me he started wearing the mask as a kid because he has a heightened sense of smell. To deal with that the mask helped and that’s it. Additionally he does have a pretty face but never gave the impression to enjoy attention. For that the mask also helps. Now he is just used to it and it still has it’s merits. However he will pull it down and not make a fuss about it.

12. Also I have a job.

13. That’s it for now. Looking forward writing with you!

#Mun speaks #rules

[panharmonium]

this is legitimately one of my top five favorite kakashi scenes.

i love seeing kakashi break the rules in the name of doing the right thing, and this scene especially is particularly satisfying to me, because his moment of defiance here is, to my mind, long overdue.  

one of my eternal frustrations in early naruto is how the leaf village administration gives kakashi the job of caring for a group of super high-needs children and then continually makes that job as difficult for him as possible.  they task him with being solely responsible for the development and well-being of three twelve year-olds - a group that includes naruto (a walking disaster with a god’s power trapped inside his body) and sasuke (a genocide survivor fixated on killing his own brother), BOTH of whom are being hunted by different groups of supercriminals - and then the village keeps getting in kakashi’s way or dropping the ball or actively ordering him to prioritize other things.  

so much of what goes wrong with the kids in this period is the result of other people interfering with kakashi’s work or being negligent or endangering the kids/putting kakashi in impossible positions.  team 7’s first big mission sets the tone for everything that comes after, with someone else’s lie putting kakashi in a situation where he has to single-handedly protect not just the client who deceived him, but the three children who were supposed to be the clients’ other protectors.  and after that, the list just multiplies:

ten anbu operatives can’t manage to protect sasuke’s hospital room from orochimaru’s minions, so kakashi has to do it himself and then whisk sasuke out of the village for a month, leaving naruto in the hands of a substitute and sakura with her parents

genma orders sasuke to chase after gaara when the chunin exams blow up, saying “you’re at chunin level already,” which forces kakashi to immediately dispatch more kids to bring him back, because “ffs NO i do NOT want him out there doing that why the fuck would you tell him to do that?!” 

aoba runs his mouth off about itachi when sasuke is standing RIGHT THERE, instantly undoing all the work kakashi just did to prevent itachi and sasuke from coming anywhere near each other (and thus sending sasuke to that disastrous first encounter, the outcome of which ultimately leads to sasuke’s defection)

jiraiya decides he should let sasuke try to fight itachi himself, “out of respect for the boy’s feelings,” leading to sasuke ending up in a tsukuyomi coma

tsunade orders kakashi to drop his teaching work and leave the village on a mission even though a) he’s just gotten out of his own torture-induced coma and b) sasuke is having a crisis that kakashi is trying to manage

and then when kakashi gets back from that mission and finds out that surprise, all of this meddling has led to a disaster, tsunade tries to order him away AGAIN

but this time - he just says no.

he walks right out of her office.  he turns his back on her.  and there is NOTHING i love more than seeing kakashi embody the philosophy that he’s chosen to adopt as his guiding light: those who break the rules are scum.  but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.

it’s not that he doesn’t understand where tsunade is coming from here.  but he knows she’s wrong.  she’s making her decisions based solely on concerns about the Leaf Village being in a tight spot - feeling like they can’t turn down missions because they’ll appear weak and thus become vulnerable to attack when they’re already operating at half strength.  she sends a group of twelve year-olds to bring sasuke back because supposedly the village can’t spare anyone else, “even if it means letting the sharingan fall into orochimaru’s hands” - but like.  it’s not the sharingan.  it’s a child.  sasuke isn’t just a repository for his hereditary jutsu; he’s not a pair of eyes to be passed around from one wielder to the next.  he’s a human child.  

tsunade doesn’t know sasuke.  she’s new to the situation and doesn’t know enough about it to understand how serious it is.  i don’t even think she was still in the village when the uchiha massacre occurred; the timeline makes it sound like she left long before that.  she doesn’t really understand who sasuke is or how much trouble he’s in - she makes her decision because she feels like her first priority has to be the well-being of the Leaf as a whole, not the individual people who comprise it.  kakashi, though, who a) lives his life by a very different philosophy and b) does understand sasuke’s situation, would not have dealt with the issue like this, and if the village had let him do his job from the beginning, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point in the first place.

kakashi is horrified that tsunade sent a bunch of twelve year-olds out to fight orochimaru’s ninja, and i think he’s also probably angry and/or frustrated about having been ordered out of the village in the first place.  he was dealing with the situation before tsunade sent him away.  he interrupted the fight between sasuke and naruto even though he himself had literally just gotten out of the hospital, and then he continued addressing the issue with sasuke privately (unlike jiraiya’s non-attempt to address it with naruto, when he said he was going to give naruto a talking-to but actually flaked out).  kakashi knew sasuke was struggling, and he was doing all the things a teacher is supposed to do to address it, but then he was ordered away, and even though it was just for two days, it was enough time for everything to go to hell.

if people would just let him do his job - if the administration would let him focus on the task they themselves assigned to him - things would be different.  but everybody wants him to do everything.  they want him to be everywhere.  they want him to protect the nine-tails jinchuriki (who is also kakashi’s dead teacher’s son), and train the last surviving uchiha (which is a task only kakashi and his sharingan can perform), and give equal attention to a third kid, for good measure, and they want him to do it without stepping away from any of his other burdens, all while other people around him constantly frustrate the progress he makes.

so this time, when tsunade tries to send him away, he refuses.  he disobeys her orders and walks out of the room.  he doesn’t care about the rules or what he’s “legally” obligated to do.  he knows what the RIGHT thing to do is, and so he rejects his new mission in favor of rescuing the kids.

i love these moments.  i love when we’re shown so clearly the person kakashi has chosen to be - someone who does what’s right, not just what he’s told.  he made an active choice many years ago to adopt that philosophy, and he’s been living by those new rules ever since.  he's wiser now than he was when he was a child - sometimes you have to break ranks to do the right thing.  sometimes you have to buck the system, even if it means you might face severe personal consequences.

he had one of two choices: either save the mission or his comrades.  of course, according to the law of the village, you cannot abandon a mission.  but to save the life of his comrades, he put the mission on hold.

kakashi may have spent a good chunk of his childhood trying to reject everything the subject of that story stood for, but none of his attempts to harden his heart ever stuck.  he is, in the end, his father’s son.

#naruto #pan watches naruto #meta #i got lost on the path of life #* #anyway i just LOVE seeing kakashi break the rules #gives me so much satisfaction #he's worked so hard to become who he is today #and he's grown so much #on the other hand... #i HATE seeing kakashi take all of his frustration with how the village has mishandled things #and immediately turn it around upon himself #'i was too naive' #'i'm too late' #'it was my cowardice that drove the three of you apart' #'i'm sorry you have such a careless sensei' #none of that is even REMOTELY true #literally the last thing kakashi ever was with these kids was 'careless' or 'cowardly' #the deck was stacked against him from the beginning and he still did EVERYTHING he could #but he blames himself for all the things that went wrong #even when they were completely out of his control #and that's why i maintain that the last hurdle kakashi is going to surmount in this story is guilt #that's the natural progression of his character arc #the one thing he has never been able to do - #despite all his other achievements and hard-won personal growth - #is let go of his guilt and shame #that's why his character design looks the way it looks #the way he wears that headband isn't a fashion choice. it's a symbolic representation of how he hasn't cleared this obstacle yet #he has never released himself from blame or forgiven himself for anything #maybe someday...but i guess i'll just have to wait and see

[naruto-scenarios-plus-akatsuki]

Are you going to make a part 3 for the Neji one where he has a crush on the branch member and ten ten and Lee find out. You don’t have to but I really enjoy it!😁

Well it took me a lot longer than expected but I say that about all my work now, lol. Sorry everyone I’m a slow writer. But I hope you all enjoy the final piece to this fic. 

Part I  Part II

Welp! The secret is out, Neji: Part III

The look in Neji’s eyes of pure unfiltered irritation was a look that Tenten would never forget. The minute that you stepped out of the room, Neji had quickly fixed his glare on the two of them. His voice left a chill in the air as he told them to get out with the most even tone. Lee began to apologize, fumbling over his words in his stark surprise.

Tenten’s eyes had snapped way from the cup of tea Neji knocked over in Lee’s hands purposely while your back was turned. She couldn’t believe her eyes and her head was still trying to wrap around the events that transpired. She had to grab Lee to leave when she saw Neji’s fists tighten while he closed his eyes. She knew in that moment that Neji did not want any apologies. He was holding back his anger, so she made a quick getaway towing Lee with her, even while he was still apologizing.

Tenten could only hope that Neji would find it in his heart to forgive Lee for spilling the beans. She knew how private of an individual Neji was; especially, when it came to expressing feelings. She was afraid that this might be the last time he would trust them with his secrets. She sighed, knowing this was a delicate situation.

Lee was currently wailing about his woes while they waited in the training fields for Neji and their sensei.

“I can’t believe I spoke so carelessly.”

“It’s alright Lee,” Tenten tried to console, half-heartedly. “I’m sure Y/N didn’t catch on” at least Tenten hoped and she hoped Neji wouldn’t hold a grudge for too long about the incident either.

“How will Neji ever forgive me?” Lee continued to whine, but then jumped up at an idea. “I know! I’ll offer to do his laundry, or I could buy him some tea.”

“I don’t think Neji’s going to let you touch his laundry.” Tenten shot down, knowing Neji probably had a precise way of doing it and who’s to say if he would really let his whites be washed by Lee. “And… I don’t think tea would be a good gift after what just happened,” she mentioned thoughtfully.

Lee slapped his forehead and exclaimed, “Of course! Not tea! That would definitely remind him of my transgressions. But what can I give then? What can I do?”

“Well…” Tenten started but she was a little lost too.

Neji wasn’t much into sweets, nor was he really into gifts of any kind. Tenten had placed her hands on her hips and was continuing to think of what could appease Neji when he appeared on the training field. Both team members were surprised.

“Neji!” they both exclaimed but Tenten was the first to stutter out a response.

“You’re back so soon.” That had her worried. They barely rushed out thirty minutes ago.

“Yes.” Neji’s tone was flat.

“Is everything okay?” Lee asked, concerned.

“Perfectly,” He spoke shortly. His eyes sharp, but his expression was blank. “Lee shall we get started?”

Neji spoke so coolly that Tenten felt a chill run up the back of her neck. Lee easily agreed to start sparring with Neji; wanting to do anything to please him at that moment. However, Tenten could easily see that Neji was not at all at peace. His strikes were fierce against Lee. It was obvious that Neji wanted to pacify his anger and direct it at Lee. Training was the perfect guise for that.

Lee took everything that Neji had. He would block hits and strike with his own but there was a lack of effort on Lee’s part. He fell to the ground many times but kept getting back up to take what Neji had in store for him.

During their skirmish, Gai arrived and stood beside Tenten. He spectated his pupils with interest and noticed right away something was off.

“My intuition is telling me something is off between the two of them.”

“Your intuition is not wrong,” Tenten replied. Her brows were furrowed down in concentration. Her teammates were typically rough with each other, which is why she had little concern, but she was worried about Neji holding a grudge over them for a long time.

“Say you wouldn’t happen to know what this is about, do ya?” Gai questioned. “Neji’s attacks seems to be very targeted at Lee with blunt force and normally, Lee holds a better stance than that and seems to be putting in less effort as if he’s conflicted.” He reasoned, his voice calm.

Tenten sighed. “You’re not off point. Lee accidently confessed to Neji’s crush that he liked them. I don’t think Neji was ready to tell them yet.”

“Ah, yes. A young man’s love can often stir up the fire in his being,” Gai nodded to himself for a moment, stroking his chin. Then once he came to a decision, he patted Tenten on the shoulder and gave her a thumbs up. “I got this.”

She sweat dropped, not sure if her sensei would make things worse, but before she could say anything Gai was already breaking up Neji and Lee’s sparring session.

“Alright that’s enough. Lee why don’t you continue training with Tenten. Neji, come and walk with me,” Gai directed. He put a hand on Neji’s shoulder briefly to signal for him to follow, leaving Lee and Tenten to their own devices.

Neji followed out of respect. He was still feeling grim and annoyed on the inside. When the two of them were far enough away from his teammates, that’s when Gai addressed the issue.

“So, I hear Lee had spilled the beans to the one who has your affections”

“I think Tenten should not be repeating Lee’s mistake and learn to keep her mouth shut.” Neji’s eyes narrowed and his voice was cold once more. He knew exactly who had informed Gai about the situation and it annoyed him further.

“Tell me about the one that ignites the fire inside your being,” Gai prompted, not at all bother by Neji’s display.

“I rather much not talk about it. Especially after today's events,” Neji mumbled, his cheeks tinting slightly red. This was something he did not want to talk about with his sensei of all people.

Gai nodded, understanding Neji’s hesitancy and ignoring it. He understood how Neji operated after three years of training him and he doubt his other students meant to cause such trouble for him. Their intentions probably meant well but a small slip of the tongue probably left Neji in a very unwanted situation. Gai knew that the Hyuga clan which Neji belonged to highly respected privacy and lacked open affection.

His face was serious and did not scold or reprimand him in tone when he continued.

“When I was a young man, I found one such as you did that ignited the fire within my loins. They were beautiful and caught my eye. Not only was my eye caught, but others as well stared at their beauty. I wanted so badly to catch their attention like they caught mine, but alias, my rival had won them over before I could. Yet! I knew to not give up the chase and at least make my affections known.”

“And?” Neji asked simply, not sure where his sensei was going with this. “Did they return your affections?”

“No,” Gai answered and Neji deadpanned.

“Then what is the point of your story?” Neji asked a bit impatient due to feeling uncomfortable.

“That you never know how someone feels unless you try. The one who caught my affections never carried the same affection for me, but their affections were also not returned by Kakashi either. My courage in telling them (despite how they had felt about me) gave them courage to make known their own affections. One just has to come forward in order for any two to be together. You see what I mean Neji?”

“Yes…” He admitted.

“If you like this person, there will never be nothing more if you never tell them how you feel. You’re young and with the life we live, you never know when your last day is coming. It’s better to say all that is on your heart now, than to have it on your mind during your last breath,” Gai mentioned somber.

He stepped forward towards Neji and patted him on the shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile.

“Now why don’t you skedaddle and take a moment to reflect. Come back when you have settled what is in your heart. And try to forgive Lee and Tenten.”

With that Gai took his leave and vanished into the trees.

Neji took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He was still slightly annoyed but not so much anymore. He knew Lee didn’t mean to say what he had on purpose and he knew Tenten only wanted to help and make peace of the situation. His teammates were cavalier at times, but they were good and honest friends of his. What had really annoyed him was himself for not telling Y/N how he felt sooner and not knowing if you even felt the same.

He hated to admit it but Gai was right. He had no way of knowing how you felt unless he were to confess his own feelings first. He wouldn’t have been so bothered if he didn’t let the fear of the unknown keep him from revealing himself. He could never be with you, if he kept his feelings locked inside unless he had the courage, or you did.  

With that, Neji took a slow walk back to the Hyuga compound. He was stalling as he was mauling over what to say to you. He wanted to make things right for earlier as well. He had upped and dashed. He caused a spill you had to clean up. He felt guilty and rude for doing so.

He passed by some wildflowers on his way and picked a few white and yellow daises. He twirled them in his hand, wondering if that was sufficient as his mind ran. When he got to the Hyuga compound, he headed towards his personal corridors and went to his kitchen, looking for something meaningful. He grabbed a tray and started preparing an array of snacks on said tray. He then took an extra step to start squeezing some lemons to make lemonade for you since he knew you did not care for tea. Lemonade was your favorite drink. He grabbed two cups to place on the tray next to the pitcher and the flowers he picked for you neatly placed along the snacks.

When he was ready, he took the tray and headed to your quarters. He knew exactly where you resided. He braced himself as he stood in front of your door. He knocked, trying to steel himself.

When you opened the door, you took his breath away. You weren’t dressed up, but your natural beauty and lovely lavender eyes made him lose himself slightly. You had appeared in your normal attire that you were wearing before he left, your curse seal left uncovered. Your hair was down and cascaded round you.

“Neji?” You questioned, surprised to see him at your door holding a tray out to you. “What is this?”

“An apology for earlier.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to.”

“I do, because I had created the mess earlier when my teammates were here,”

Your eyes grew wide and your mouth formed an o-shape.

“But that’s not all,” Neji continued. “I wanted to do this for you because I like you.”

“I…” You were stunned and felt your heart flutter at the confession. “I like you too, Neji.”

“Would you like to have refreshments with me?” Neji asked more confidently, but there were still butterflies flying around in his stomach.

You smiled in awe at his gesture and were overwhelmed with joy. “Yes.”

With that you followed Neji out into the courtyard, where you two sat and got to know one another better and enjoyed the fresh lemonade he made especially for you. You were finally happy to have gotten answers, that the one you always admired had you written in his heart. Both you and Neji being grateful to his teammates for letting the secret out.

#neji #neji hyuga #neji scenario #neji imagine #Neji Hyuuga #Neji Hyūga #neji x y/n #neji x reader #welp secrets out #rock lee #tenten #branch member #gai

[effeminateboyninja]

♡ konoha 11 wedding hcs pt. 2 ♡

+ kakashi

Ino

she makes a reservation at your guys' favourite restaurant, and the staff are all in on it because she wants it to be perfect. when you arrive the table has flowers and candles

at the end of the meal she orders a desert for you two to share and at first you don't notice the flash of gold on top the small cake, you're too busy staring at her. but when she finally points it out you throw yourself across the table to hug her, accidentally getting some icing on your shirt, "yes, yes! I do!"

glamorous and classy summer wedding! instead of one person waiting at the end of the aisle, you decided to enter from opposite sides and then walk up together, hand in hand, and she doesn't let you go until the ceremony is over. you invite everyone you know and throw a huge party for your reception!

your song: at last by etta james

Shikamaru

he debates for a long time whether he should even propose. i mean, do you really need a piece of paper to love each other for the rest of your lives? but he knows you'd appreciate the symbolism. and if he figures if he's gonna do it he might as well come up with a plan, but the day comes and nothing is working out as he had imagined

you end up loving every bit anyway though. then he gets down on one knee after one too many mishaps and says, "(y/n), I'm sorry today wasn't perfect, but I think you are. marry me?" but you thought it was perfect the whole time anyway, "of course!"

you guys elope one bright, spring day. he's not one for a big wedding and you don't care as long as you're marrying him. it's just you two and the officiant, surrounded by the trees of nara forest, and it couldn't be more perfect. when you guys get back from your honeymoon you have a reception to celebrate with all your friends

your song: dead sea by the lumineers

Choji

gets shikamaru to help him plan the proposal, and he's really nervous but he knows how much you love him. he really wants to make it personal and not generic, he knows you'd expect him to propose at a restaurant

so he decides to make a gourmet meal for you himself at home! you walk into your apartment to the smell of delicious food and find him sitting at the table waiting for you, that adorable smile on his face. he kneels and asks you to marry him, and you enjoy your meal as a newly engaged couple

big wedding!! Ino does florals of course and they're perfect. Choji is such a sweetheart i feel like he wants everyone to be there. he does not hold back when he sees you, you're just so perfect and he's not afraid to show it so he's beaming and let's those tears flow with pride

your song: lucky by jason mraz and colbie caillet

Neji

he knows for a long time that he's wanted to marry you, but he's also a naturally hesitant person when it comes to this sort of thing so he considers it for a long time before he decides to make his move

one day he wakes up beside you and he just knows its time, so he talks for a walk to a scenic pond, and everything is going perfect - until it starts pouring. but he's not giving up, so he gets on one knee and looks up at you with his long hair stuck to his face from the rain (*swoon*) and asks for your hand in marriage

(yes he says it like that, he's cute n traditional ok??)

anyway, a romantic, private wedding where you two can really express your feelings for one another. it takes place in the morning instead of the evening so the sun is rising above you while you say your vows and the way the morning light hits his face he you can't believe he's your husband

your song: till kingdom come by coldplay

Tenten

you guys both got rings for each other and have been carrying them around for months because you share a braincell. and one day you're walking through the village together and she's looking at your gorgeous face laugh at something she said and she's like, this is it

so she gets down on one knee. and you just start... laughing more? and at first she's so scared but then she sees you pull the ring from your own pocket and get down on your knee as well. then she throws her arms around you joining in your laughter, "I love you so much ."

whimsical, midsummers night dream type summer wedding. your guys' ceremony is super personalized and non-traditional, everyone has so much fun at the reception that people are talking about it for weeks after

your song: you and i by ingrid michaelson

Lee

first person he tells when he knows he's going to ask you is Gai of course, and he's so happy so him he cries. goes all out for the proposal, i feel like he's the type to do something wild and extravagant because he just thinks you deserve the world

we're talking this man tried to spell it out in the sky but due to some logistic issues he had to "settle" for a perfectly planned proposal in front of all your friends along with a pre-schedule professional photographer. he thought of everything.

spring wedding under the cherry blossoms, it's perfect in everyway. like Choji he is not afraid to let his emotions for you show so he's practically bawling as he watched you walk towards him. vows of just absolute devotion and love

your song: make you feel my love by adele

Kakashi

actually so nervous to pop the question, stresses about it and confides in team 7 (big mistake) they're of course, SO enthusiastic but less than helpful

one day he's just looking at you and realizes there's no such thing as the right time. he even forgets to get down on one knee, just pulls out the ring beside you on the couch. you're not sure if you're imagining things at first. "is this real?" "yes, (y/n). marry me, please?"

fall wedding surrounded by the changing leaves in a small, intimate ceremony with your closest friends. he doesn't cry when you walk down the aisle, he knows how to keep his composure in front of others, but by god does he want to. your vows are so personal and full of emotion people almost feel like they're intruding listening to them

your song: first day of my life by bright eyes

#naruto imagines #shikamaru nara #shikamaru x reader #shikamaru x y/n #shikamaru x you #shikamaru headcanons #shikamaru imagine #ino headcanons #ino x reader #ino yamanaka #choji akimichi #choji x reader #choji headcanons #choji imagines #tenten #tenten headcanons #tenten imagines #tenten x reader #neji x reader #neji hyuuga imagine #neji x y/n #neji headcanons #neji imagine #neji hyuga #rock lee #rock lee imagine #rock lee headcanons #rock lee x y/n #rock lee x reader #my hcs

[justice4sasuke]

Alright I'm going to try to keep it together, but that might be hard because this is the second best page of Naruto and I cry every time.

I think by this point it's clear that every relationship Sasuke has had has been extremely conditional. To the point where everyone around Sasuke treats him more like an object than a person.

I do believe Sasuke's mother and father and clan loved Sasuke for the short time he was with them, I think the issue there is that the affection Sasuke wanted was from his dad and his dad was not good at giving that to him since he was more focused on Itachi.

Naruto always says he understands Sasuke but makes no effort to actually get to know Sasuke or try to sympathize with him. Like all his other relationships Naruto just assumes his feelings onto other people and that's the only way he identifies with others. Naruto cares more about how Sasuke makes him feel than he cares of Sasuke as a person or Sasuke's feelings. He constantly disregards the boundaries Sasuke makes.

Sakura's entire relationship with Sasuke is based on her feelings for him. She does not appear to care about Sasuke's feelings or respect them. She also disregards the boundaries Sasuke tries to set.

Kakashi sees his past self in Sasuke and cannot see Sasuke for who he truly is. He cannot help Sasuke because he's too busy hating himself and being disappointed Sasuke isn't acting how he wants him too. Doesn't acknowledge Sasuke's pain as separate from his own or Sasuke as a different person who experiences the world differently.

His Konoha peers see him as just a popular, smart kid whether that is good or bad in their view. And are quick to be like well guess he has to die when he appears to be "evil" based on what they heard and make it their collective responsibility as his peers to kill him if need be.

Orochimaru just sees Sasuke as a vessel for his own ends, as does Kabuto later. (And later later Orochimaru just wants to see what Sasuke will do???? Because that's just what he's into now??? And the narrative just NEEDED him around for some reason during the war.)

Some will say Karin cares more about Sasuke than say Sakura, but Sakura is upset when Sasuke gets hurt and stuff too. It's just that her moral threshold is different from Sakura's so she's not objecting to things that Sakura would object to. As soon as Sasuke gets too "evil" for her she's the same as Sakura. Also she centers her feelings for Sasuke around herself and doesn't respect Sasuke's boundaries.

Sasuke is just an emotional replacement for Kimimaro for Juugo. So while Juugo acts respectfully toward Sasuke it doesn't seem like any of his actions come from caring for Sasuke as a person in particular.

Suigetsu is feral and doesn't seem to care about anything.

Itachi has the distinction of being someone other than his parents that Sasuke consistently cares about throughout the series. Itachi spends the series not knowing what it means to love someone, much like everyone else on the list of people in Sasuke's life. He is basically forced to traumatize Sasuke, but his solution to the fact he has to do this is to almost prevent Sasuke from healing by giving him the goal of killing him. He spends the rest of his life trying to railroad Sasuke to the path he believes is best for him, not taking into account what he's putting Sasuke through or his feelings or who he is. Itachi thinks the best way to love Sasuke is to direct Sasuke's course based on his own values to the point he would use a genjutsu on him to make him protect the village.

Sasuke probably doesn't even consciously realize it, but he can probably sense the fact that no one cares how he feels and everyone wants him to follow their plans. And Sasuke definitely knows that Itachi, the most important person in his life, is the same way. That part from before the flashback when Sasuke says goodbye like he fully expects nothing from Itachi because that's every relationship he's ever had. Everything is conditional. He has to prove himself to his father, Naruto's relationship with Sasuke is for his own ego, Sakura sees him as a love object, Kakashi just wants Sasuke to not be him. And when he is not those things he gets pushback. Why should Itachi be any different. Especially when Sasuke told him he still wants to destroy Konoha, something Itachi explicitly does not want.

But that's not what happens.

Through this experience with Sasuke Itachi finally sees Sasuke for who he is. Sasuke is his own person who will choose his own path and if Itachi doesn't like it, well he didn't exactly help in that regard. In fact his actions made everything a lot worse. He might as well tell Sasuke the truth and let Sasuke make his own decisions from there. And like Itachi says he doesn't expect or necessarily want forgiveness, but he can impart on Sasuke what he's learn which is what showing love is. Because I think Itachi always loved Sasuke, he just did not know how you show love.

And loving someone means I will love you no matter what you decide for yourself.

This is the first time in Sasuke's life that someone tells him that not only can he decide his own actions, but that they will love him no matter what choice he makes. And that is the most beautiful thing Naruto has ever given us.

Probably the saddest aspect of Naruto is that no one else learns this same thing and though Sasuke gets it from the brother who he loves the most it doesn't really make up for the rest of his life where no one else gives him that.

#justice4sasuke #i will love you always i cry every time #whitney starts playing out of nowhere

[justsasuke]

Here’s the thing about Kakashi. He’s quite possibly Konoha’s worst (yes, you read that right) worst Sensei. Mostly due to the fact that he’s so caught up in his guilt and past that he literally had nothing to give his students.

I’m not saying this to hate on Kakashi, he’s his own person with very valid struggles and I don’t want to slam him bc of his life experiences, but for the purpose of this here writing I’m going to ignore Kakashi’s right to be stuck in the past and talk about why he isn’t qualified to do the job the 3rd Hokage assigned him. Specifically in relation to Sasuke (bc let’s be real, after shippuden started was Kakashi really Naruto and Sakura’s sensei anymore? also this blog is about Sasuke so if you’re expecting any other type of content IDK how to help you)

Let me start by saying Kakashi had a lot of potential to help Sasuke out; they come from somewhat similar backgrounds - prominent families in the village that at some point were no longer favorable to the village, and then losing said families.  Both were child prodigies and (I assume) had a lot of external pressure to live up to and not enough time to work through their own feelings...

you’d think with everything they had in common Kakashi could have used his experiences to relate to Sasuke and then guide him down a much healthier path--but instead he only made things worse.

and here’s where we get into the main meat of this rant and my list of reasons why Kakashi was a horrible sensei (grab some popcorn bc I’m about to go off)

1) Kakashi identifies Sasuke’s issues early...and then does nothing. without a doubt, Kakashi knew who Sasuke was.  He knew what had happened to the Uchiha clan, and he could probably imagine what kind of pain Sasuke was going through and yet when Sasuke very openly admits that he doesn’t have any purpose for his future except to avenge his clan Kakashi simply makes a mental note that it was ‘just as he thought’

2) Kakashi doesn’t really say anything nice... your mileage may vary with this one, and of course it’s a matter of personal taste, but Kakashi doesn’t say anything nice about Sasuke.  Not to his face anyway.  and it’s not just that he isn’t nice, he taunts him too. To a regular person this may not cause much damage, but we have to look at the fact that Sasuke has grown up alone and un-nurtured for the last 5 years and that the last person who was important in his literally told him that he was worthless and unfit for anything (hello root cause of Sasuke’s insecurity) Kakashi’s words then become really destructive and damaging to any chance he had of creating a safe space for Sasuke to open up and feel looked after/get the help he needed

3) Kakashi didn’t get it This happens during the infamous treetop chat, where he literally ties Sasuke to the tree so he can say what he wants to say. (red flag right there bc honestly what is with this village and constantly trying to force Sasuke to do what they want him to do without actually taking the time to listen to him or address his problems directly.  Seriously.  Also why are you waiting until just now to reach out to him when you’ve known he’s been struggling since day one.  see #1 on this rant)

I hate this scene because it’s a really good moment outside of the context of, well, Sasuke and all that he is and has been through. It was meant to be a call to reality scene where Kakashi helps Sasuke see that he’s not alone in his suffering, that he has friends who care about him, that leaving the village isn’t going to help him, and his life situation isn’t actually all that bad. (can you spot the sarcasm?)

Spoiler alert: this scene is another example of people who thought they understood Sasuke and knew how to help, which is not the same as actually understanding him and knowing how to help. See also Naruto, Sakura, and Gaara to name the most prominent other ones.

4) “sure, but everyone I ever loved is already dead... :)” Ok listen.  I get where Kakashi is coming from, I really do. but this line.  I hate it. Again, it’s a great line out of context of everything Sasuke is dealing with. And yeah, I can see why Kakashi thought it might help. But just to recap, Sasuke’s entire clan, his immediate family, probably the bulk of his friends because Bigotry™, his extended family, everything he’s known and loved and held dear, his security, the family culture he grew up with, any promise of a bright future etc. was taken away from him by his older brother whom he loved more than anything in one night.  He literally lost everything that would help him gain any sort of bearing of identity and sense of worth, not to mention anyone to love him, in one night.  and it was taken by the person he loved most, someone he trusted and looked up to and believed in.  And then that person told him he was completely worthless. Kakashi on the other hand lost his best friend during a ninja mission (a devastating loss but common within the context of everyone being ninja and it being wartime), and lost his father and other friend/crush? to suicide. All very real pains, but different than Sasuke’s.  

Sasuke’s lash out of “what if I killed everyone you ever cared about” was a plea for someone to understand the kind of agony he was carrying everyday, and Kakashi--who honestly out of everyone else should have sensed a need to sit and listen--ignored it by taking the opportunity to invalidate Sasuke’s very specific pain.

5) Kakashi kind of ....gave up? At some point it seems like Kakashi just gave up trying to help Sasuke and decided that it was unavoidable and inevitable that Sasuke was going to “go bad” and leave the village. I mean, he noticed it on day one, right? (srry, I’m salty about that one if you couldn’t tell).

6) Except he didn’t At some point he decides that as Sasuke’s sensei he should be the one to take responsibility for Sasuke going “bad” and kill him. Forget talking to him, forget apologizing for not taking the time to talk to him earlier, he decided that he’s going to fight Sasuke and “take care of the problem once and for all”.

I could go on, but at this point I think I should stop and take a really, really long walk. In summary:  While you’d expect Kakashi to have seen and treated Sasuke differently he didn’t, and while he was set up to be the perfect mentor character to Sasuke (Naruto got Jiraiya so you’d think Kakashi would’ve stepped in to help Sasuke more) he really fell flat. Overall as a sensei I think he was too bogged down with his own pain and survivor’s guilt to really be present, and maybe he was too scared to help Sasuke grow because he thought if he fed the fire it would only get worse. In any case, other than teaching Sasuke chidori, Kakashi was really detached from Sasuke’s struggles except when he thought it had gone too far.  And by then it was too late to do any good. I think if he had stepped in a little more, listened a little more, helped Sasuke channel his feelings productively, maybe even helped Sasuke work through said feelings, things could’ve been great. He could’ve been the Iruka to Sasuke’s Naruto, you know?   but he wasn’t.

#Rant #Sasuke #Kakashi #Pro Sasuke #Thoughts #Answer to anon

[depressedhatakekakashi]

I was going through my playlist and this scene popped up in my head for some reason- (i guess it was the tone cuz the lyrics had nothing to do with it lol) Dimension Travel but it's only the Jounin-Sensei's, this is a reverse universe where everyone who is dead in their universe is now alive but now THEY are the ones who are dead, basically no one is having a good time plus they need to go back immediately since there's an uncoming war going on.

They're all in disguise and during their search for the exit they see how different things are, Kurenai could barely hold herself back from comforting a grieving mess Asuma standing over her grave, Gai flinches seeing his Papa trying to go on life as youthful as he can but coming home so so alone- greeting his young son's memorial picture lovingly, Kakashi avoiding Team Minato as much as he can but unable to forget his sensei and Kushina still mourning the loss of his student and recently- their child who was lost in miscarriage at the nine-tails attack, Rin and Obito- not as perfect as he thought they would be grown up but instead human and so so flawed; handling the guilt over his death just as well as he did, and of course finally- his Father and Mother, now retired and barely coming outside their home anymore, mourning their son who was taken from them so incredibly young.

A universe where Kakashi did what he had dreamed of so many times in the past- sacrificing himself to save his teammates lives, A world where Dai didn't know about his son being in danger and Gai fought the swordsmiths himself to let Genma and Ibisu escape, and a world where Kurenai went on the mission to fight Kakuzu and Hidan instead of Asuma. They were supposed to feel happy seeing their loved ones alive, and yet seeing them just like they are- grieving and doing their best to keep the pieces together. Hurt more than they could've ever imagined-

(and that's it- idk how to continue lol XD they get back eventually, their not gonna stay- i just wanted to get into that survivor's guilt of 'things would be better if i was the one who died instead-' but NOPE it rarely ever is that perfect XD, i don't think they all think that but it'd still be a pretty surreal experience seeing a loved one who is dead grieve over YOU, and also yeah my playlist put me into a mood of existencial dread and my stacks of unfinished homework)

I don’t think any of them have the thought of ‘if it was me it wiuld be better’. Kakashi is the closest but even his issues are ‘what could i have done to save them. I should have been stronger, faster.’

Kakashi lives because it means protecting people. Something he can’t do if he’s dead.

But gosh that’s so f***ing sad.

I can’t inagine any of them handling it well, and they all have to refrain from rushing out to hug their loved well and telling them it’ll be alright

It will get better

They’d be lying after all. It never gets better. The pain never goes away

They just learn to live with it and it sucks

(Also Obito would be dead too in this case, because in canon he lives until the war)

Edit: Sakumo and Yua moarning Kakashi really kills me because I can see Kakashi standing there watching them from far enough away that they can’t sense him. Wondering what it would have been like if he had been allowed to keep his parents. To know his mother at all.

Imagine him walking up to her in disguise during one of those rare visits out when she’s getting groceries, and chatting her up. Watching her shoulders relax and a faint smile spread across her face.

Imagine him standing there realizing all the things he got from her for the first time in his life, from the mole on his chin that matches her own, to the cold and calculating personality

Imagine Kakashi standing there wondering if it was ever possible. If there’s a world out there where he didn’t lose everything

[tcookies777]

Here is a sneak peek at a side story I've written for The Anatomy of Love (a KakaSaku modern college au - AO3 hyperlink included)! You don't need to have read the fic to read this side story since this is a flashback to Kakashi's past when he was a teen, but it does help to understand since it's in the context of the fic itself!

The Anatomy of Love: Side Story - The Angel from Hell

About 14 years ago….

Summer in Sound country was utter shit.

Fire country had its droughts for sure during this season, and more often than not the trees would catch fire just from the mere glare of the sun on a dried leaf. But at least the trees also offered plenty of protection from the heat so long as the Firewatch was making sure those trees weren’t burning first.

Sound country, on the other hand, had nothing but empty golden plains that seemed to stretch on for eternity. If it didn’t look like a sort of heaven, Kakashi would’ve thought he was in hell what with the sun burning through his clothes and the scorched patches of earth peppered throughout the fields—a telltale sign of the bombs that had rained down on the area not too long ago.

A summer thunderstorm last week had given them a brief reprieve from the intense heat wave, but it had still left them uncomfortably soaked in their own clothes. A week later, the sun was back with a fiery vengeance, and they were back to soaking through their tactical gear in their own stink and sweat again, but this time with the muck of the marshlands clinging to their boots.

It had taken almost the whole day to sludge through the marshes and find shelter at a farmhouse that seemed to have been completely abandoned days ago. They’d cleared the house and finished in disappointment upon finding that all of the livestock were either gone or already getting feasted on by the maggots. Most of the food in the pantry had also long been raided save for a single jar of strawberry jam and a cracked egg left to spoil on a shelf. It wasn’t that everyone was starving—although they were certainly hungry after a day out trudging through a war zone—but a jar of sweet strawberry jelly was practically bliss compared to their MRE rations. Even Kakashi himself was getting wearier and wearier over every pound of rice he had to eat with the bland curry packed in his ration meal.

So the moment Anzu had spotted the bright red jar, there had immediately been a scuffle over who got to eat it. Being the fifth in command (and with the first four already dead), Kakashi had asserted the order that each person would get their fair share of strawberry jelly: one scoop and only after they’d finished their MREs for tonight. Everyone except Obito had glanced warily at each other, reluctant to follow the command of a 17-year-old boy despite him outranking them all. But, not wanting to throw a tantrum over strawberry fucking jelly of all things, they’d each grunted in answer.

And now that last bit of the jelly was getting scraped out of its jar by Obito after Kakashi had passed his share over to him. Sweets weren’t his thing anyway even if he would kill for something homemade rather than a meal full of preservatives.

The leftover spicy powder clung to the base of Kakashi’s back teeth no matter how many times he swigged down some water from his canteen. It was like chewing on sediment, and judging by the faces of everyone else, he was willing to bet none of them were intent on eating curry anytime soon after the end of this tour. He didn’t blame them.

“Piece of shit!” Tsutomu suddenly snarled, unsheathing his kukri to swipe at the fly that had been assaulting his face for the last half hour. The fat insect buzzed around him before disappearing into the man’s beard that was still coated with the blood from when a Sound soldier had tried to bash his face in back at the marshes. With a growl, Tsutomu swatted at his beard, prompting two flies to crawl out and give him double the work.

Sitting closest to him, Yori ducked when his blade nearly chopped her ear off. “Watch it!” she barked at him, flicking her chocolate brown braid aside to pick up some of the cards she’d dropped. She was the only woman among the twelve of them here, and she was also the only one besides Kakashi who had the guts to speak up against Tsutomu whenever his bitching got too loud or too obnoxious. Usually both.

The rest of the unit was in the middle of a very intense game of Spoons, using a beat up pair of playing cards someone had the smarts to bring. Considering it was his first tour though, Kakashi initially could not fathom who would want to play a card game in the middle of a war zone, and especially deep in the trenches of enemy territory. But he’d soon discovered that a card game was the best way to pass the time when there wasn’t much else to do but scout, kill, and sit on their asses to do it all over again. As it was now, they were on their thirty-fourth round of Spoons, and he just needed an Ace of Hearts to complete the set in his hand.

Passing another card to Obito, Kakashi wiped away a bead of sweat from his brow. Tucked beneath his shirt, the hot metal of his dog tags rubbed uncomfortably against his slick chest. Summer nights in Sound country were almost as bad as during the day. The good thing about it was that the humidity dropped, leaving the air so dry that his tongue felt like paper every time he opened his mouth. The bad thing was that, with the place so arid, they couldn’t risk lighting a fire lest they burn down their only shelter for the night (or attract the wrong kind of attention). So they’d turned on their flashlights, thankful that the equipment had somehow survived the trip through the marshes but not so happy that they couldn’t even light a cigarette.

Even without a fire, the summer heat had become far more unbearable than the mosquitoes that assaulted them every hour of the day. By midnight, everyone had resorted to stripping their tops off and leaving only their tactical vests on, filling the small space with their stinky sweat. It went against protocol, but nobody—not even Obito—listened to him when he offhandedly commented that they were sooner to die from a mosquito bite than a bullet wound if they dawdled around half-naked like that. Even Yori had given up, leaving Kakashi as the only one fully clothed in his combat fatigues.

“Bet you we could cook an egg on the ground with this heat,” Obito rasped out, pressing the cool, flat edge of his kukri against his cheek. Not the smartest move unless he wanted to risk stabbing his eye out, but he was far too desperate to care at this point. “Fuck, man, what I wouldn’t give for a sunnyside egg.”

“There’s one on the pantry shelf downstairs if the flies haven’t got to it yet,” Kakashi replied dismissively, passing a Queen of Hearts card to him and then picking up—ah-ha!

Holding his fourth and final Ace, Kakashi surreptitiously slid a hand out to grab one of the eight bullets that sat on the stool they were all sitting around. It took twenty seconds for anyone to notice that there were now only seven bullets remaining, and then chaos ensued as the rest of the unit members wrestled for the last bullets.

Once the dust had cleared and the knocked-over flashlights were propped back up, they each opened their hands to show who had a bullet and who didn’t. Tsutomu didn’t, and he did not look pleased about it.

“All right, who won it this time?” Midori sighed even as everyone looked expectantly to Kakashi who’d already flipped his deck around to show them his complete set of Aces.

“Fuck this!” Tsutomu threw his cards down and jabbed his kukri in Kakashi’s direction. “He’s always winning!”

“And you’re always too slow,” Yori said with a roll of her eyes. “You don’t hear me bitchin’ about it.”

“Maybe because I would’ve made you shut the fuck up!”

Before the two could begin snapping at each other's throats again, Midori was already nudging his glasses up as he said aloud, “He’s a Hatake. They don’t call him the prodigal White Fang for nothing, so of course he'd win. He's one of those freakin' geniuses who excel at everything.”

One of the Aces in Kakashi’s hand folded slightly under his grip, but he said nothing as Obito glanced his way.

“Sounds like a freak to me,” someone mumbled.

With Anzu collecting all the playing cards to reshuffle, everyone had time to listen in on the conversation now.

“Ah, yeah, your old man was one of the hotshots in the military, right?” Genki sneered at him. His face looked like a weasel’s what with his long, sharp nose, narrow jaw, and beady eyes that twinkled as if he was constantly thinking of an insulting joke for anyone who caught his attention. But he was also the kind of weasel that shrunk back when a predator stared him down, and he did just that when Kakashi calmly turned his sights onto him. “B-Bet he has plenty of medals to show for it.”

Kakashi quickly looked away in disinterest. Fuck if he cared about his father’s medals. They were probably collecting dust and cobwebs somewhere in the back of a closet.

“Heard his Pops always carried a lil’ sword around in battle,” Tsutomu nodded to the hilt jutting out from behind Kakashi’s lower back. “Just like that one.”

“Who the fuck brings a sword to a gunfight?” Genki sniggered but just as soon stopped when he saw nobody else was laughing.

“It’s a tantō, you nitwit,” Obito said, slamming down the empty jar of jam with more force than necessary. Genki jolted in his seat from the harsh sound. “And it’s really no different from the standard-issued kukris we all carry.”

Tsutomu frowned at the knife in his hand that was almost double the length of Kakashi’s shortsword. He met Kakashi’s gaze over the curved blade, tawny eyes squinting at him for a second as if they were having a dick-measuring contest. Pleased with the extra inches he had over the younger man, Tsutomu lowered the knife to give Kakashi a smug grin. His shit-eating grin instantly flipped into a scowl, however, when the two flies from earlier suddenly appeared to attack his lips.

His breath must be that rancid, Kakashi thought with faint bemusement. While he could stand the pompous ass and his snide remarks, he couldn’t stand to watch Yori have to consistently dodge Tsutomu’s knife as he returned to stabbing at the flies with a vengeance.

Kakashi nodded towards the staircase that led to the bedrooms upstairs. “Tsutomu, Genki, switch off with Haya and Jun. It’s your turn to be on lookout.”

They clicked their tongues in unison but obeyed without question, grabbing their flashlights to head upstairs and keep watch for the next hour. As soon as they left the cramped room, the stink seemed to follow after them (although that wasn’t much of a surprise). Haya and Jun came in, propping their sniper rifles against a cabinet that held nothing but smashed plates within. As they searched for a decent seat where they could put their feet up and relax as well as they could in a warzone, Kakashi pulled out a map from his pack and spread it out on the floor. With the beckon of his hand, he urged everyone to pay attention.

“Amegakure is fifty miles from here,” he explained, tapping a finger on the northeast quadrant of the map. “The package is reported to be held within an underground bunker disguised on the topside as a water tower. At 0600, we’ll be leaving to cut through the Dead Marshes to reach Ame by 1800.”

“Why is it called the Dead Marshes again?” Anzu asked before slapping a fly off his sweaty face.

“Because a hundred of our men died there just last month. Cut down in an ambush after the enemy got ahold of our intel. Everyone’s been calling it the Dead Marshes since then.”

“So why the fuck are we going there?” Yori demanded. “I'm betting those corpses are still floating around for all the fishies to nibble on.”

“Then that just means we have even more cover,” Kakashi said.

Jun snorted and leaned over to snatch the map off the ground. Like most of the other survivors here, Jun liked to question Kakashi’s leadership at every chance. In fact, he was the kind of guy whom teachers would rip their hair out over had he chosen to stay in high school rather than head straight into the military academy. Running a hand through his greasy blonde hair, he snorted at the map before tossing it back to Kakashi. “There’s a river that we can follow for a few miles. It’ll lead us straight to Amegakure much faster than the marshes.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Because it's too tiresome to explain to a numbskull like you. “Because I said so.”

“A fucking kid said so.”

“At least I have a high school diploma.”

“And a Bachelor's and a Master’s,” Midori coughed out. When Jun glared at him, he took off his glasses and pretended to get busy cleaning them.

With a sneer, Jun pointed his flashlight directly into Kakashi's face. “I don’t care if you're a Hatake. I don't care if you're some genius with a dozen degrees. And I definitely don’t give a flying fuck if our superiors kiss your ass and call you the White Flash—”

‘Fang’, Kakashi almost corrected him, but even he found the nickname distasteful.

“—I'm not going to put my life in the hands of some kid who cares more about the mission than his own comrades,” Jun spat out.

“Look,” Obito sat forward, prying the map from Kakashi’s grip and smoothing it back down on the floor. “The obvious choice is the river, right?”

Jun nodded and then stepped on the foot of Haya who’d been too busy staring at Yori’s cleavage. “Y-Yeah, duh!” Haya nodded vigorously until the heel digging onto his toes relented.

Obito spread open his palms in gesture. “Then you would think they’d have an ambush set up for us there too since it’s the ‘obvious choice’. The river will be guarded, but Sound won’t expect more Fire soldiers to try the marshes after the first group failed.”

“Ah, so reverse psychology?” Yori still didn’t look so convinced, but she was already eyeing the marshes on the map again with renewed interest. She frowned and then looked to Kakashi. “You said you want to use the dead bodies for cover?”

“The marshes are our best bet if we want to get to the package on time. And without getting butchered,” Kakashi added firmly. “We’re the only ones left of our unit, so we need to play it safe but right. But I also wouldn’t expect Sound to turn a blind eye, so we need to move with stealth.”

Yori rolled her eyes. “Tsutomu is the opposite of stealth, but I guess we could always use his bitch ass for cover if needed. I just fucking hate the marshes,” she said with a sigh, sagging in her rickety chair, still exhausted from slugging through the marshes all day. “But Hatake’s idea makes more sense.”

“The fuck it does not!” Jun snapped at her. “I say we take the river—”

“And I say we’re taking the marshes,” Kakashi said, his voice low but harsh enough to make the fresh graduate stiffen. When Jun fell silent, Kakashi swept his gaze around all the others sitting and staring at him. He took turns challenging each and every one of them silently for a moment, daring them to question his orders anymore. “I don’t care what you think of me. I don’t care if you don’t like swimming with the fishes and corpses. I don’t care if any of you live or die. I care about completing the mission—and that is securing the package. That is our duty as a soldier and if you disagree then you are free to take off your vests and dog tags, put down your guns, and walk out that door and all the way back home.”

Everyone shut up at that, and for the first time in six months, Kakashi was finally afforded the peace of silence without someone bitching about the insects, the commercial taste of their rations, or a stone that had found its way inside their boot. Satisfied with the room’s consensus, Kakashi leaned back in his chair, unsheathing his tantō to wipe off today’s coat of blood and mud that stained the edges.

It was Yori who broke the begrudging silence first when she suddenly withdrew her pistol from its holster. “You keep staring at my tits, Haya, and I'll blow you a new eye. Right in the center of your fucking forehead.”

“Chill, darlin'!” Haya raised his hands placatingly. “I was just checking out your tags.” As if to prove his point, he leaned closer to her, training his eyes on the cleavage that could be seen just above the collar of her vest. Still under the pretense of reading her tags, he hummed and stroked his chin. “Impressive.”

Yori cocked her gun in warning.

“Hey, I got a place where you can blow me,” Jun snickered at her, prompting Haya to do the same.

“That’s it—”

“Enough,” Kakashi leaned across to grab Yori’s hand that was reaching for the kukri at her hip. Something then slipped out of his front pocket, fluttering down until it landed atop of the map to reveal little Rin shyly hugging onto a scrawny boy with silver hair and a dead gaze.

Jun swooped down in the blink of an eye, snatching up the photo with his blood-stained fingers. He whistled low, angling the photo for Haya to see. “Damn, Hatake! You like your girls really young, huh? But I didn't take you as a guy who likes four-year-old pussy! Or is she three?”

Over the men’s cackles, Kakashi resisted the urge to skewer the Private 1st Class with the tip of his tantō. Especially not when he had just finished wiping the blade clean of today’s muck. “The only pussy here is the one in front of me,” he replied coolly.

Midori choked on the water he’d been sipping from his canteen, letting it splash all over the glasses he’d just finished cleaning.

While Jun was still sputtering from the retort, Obito stole the photo away from him. He peeked at it for just a split second before handing the picture back to Kakashi who immediately tucked it back into the safety of his pocket. He wiped his sword down one last time and then sheathed it loudly enough for both Jun and Haya to flinch.

A grim silence fell over the group as everyone else seemed to recall all the beloved people they themselves carried in their pockets. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, and lovers. They were all waiting for their soldiers to return home—even if it meant in body bags or as dog tags.

“Is she your girlfriend?” Obito quietly asked as Anzu started to deal cards for the others to play a round of Thirteen with.

It was a sincere question, but it was still a personal one that had Kakashi scrubbing a hand over his jaw. His hand came away tinged with the thin film of blood that had yet to finish congealing on his mask. He could smell the sharp notes of copper with every intake of breath, so he made a mental note to retreat to the bathroom later and wash off the grime. It was pointless, he knew that. By tomorrow noon, his mask would be dyed in splotches of red again, but tonight he wanted to sleep without inhaling the stench of a dead man.

Sensing Obito still waiting for an answer, Kakashi wiped his hand on his trousers and then sighed.

“She's a girl. And she's my friend….” And he had kissed Rin before, but that was more out of curiosity than desire. Besides, he didn't count it as an actual kiss since he'd just been seven years old at the time. “She's… special to me,” was all Kakashi gave in answer. “What about you? You got anyone back home?”

This time, it was Obito’s turn to shift in discomfort. He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “Nah, I was... disowned by my family. I was always the black sheep, but one day, I fucked up and...” He paused to scratch his cheek for a moment. “And it cost my twin brother’s life. I mean, he’s not dead,” he added quickly. “But he got fucked up pretty badly from the accident to the point that... he’s like a shadow of himself. So I got kicked out of the family after that, got put in a group home, then joined the academy as soon as I could. I haven’t talked to my family or my twin brother ever since, so if I die... guess that’s it for me.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s the end for you. I mean, you’re free to haunt me if you’d like.”

Obito's mouth quirked into a grin. “You don’t mind me pulling all that poltergeist shit on you?”

Kakashi snorted. “With your butterfingers, you’d be dropping shit rather than throwing it.”

“Oh, fuck you!” Obito shoved at his shoulder with a laugh.

His laughter was cut short, however, when the heavy tread of boots stampeding down the staircase followed by the most unholy screeching interrupted everyone. Genki and Tsutomu appeared at the threshold, faces flushed with angry scratched lines marking their cheeks as if a cat had gotten the jump on them. But it wasn’t a cat that was making that screeching noise; it was a girl. Slung between them with her wrists bound in ripped sheets, she thrashed around wildly in search of an opportunity to—not escape but to bite at the men holding her captive.

White teeth flashed between long tresses of ebony hair as she tried to snap her jaws at Tsutomu’s thick neck. The man responded with a harsh slap that sent her face whipping towards Genki who was forced to reel back to avoid her bites.

“Lookie what I caught!” Tsutomu announced, grinning proudly as he grabbed the girl by the base of her head and yanked it back. She winced but made no sound that she was in pain. Even though her whole face was streaked with filth, it was obvious that she couldn’t be any older than fifteen years old. Only two years younger than Kakashi himself, but already looking as if she’d lived through an entire war. “Caught this lil’ bitch skulking around in one of the bedrooms. Probably was finding a spot to hide in so that she could slit our throats while we slept.”

There was no way she could’ve taken on twelve armed soldiers even with the element of surprise, but Kakashi didn’t doubt that she would’ve tried it anyway.

“I would’ve shat on your corpses too afterward!” she sneered at Tsutomu, earning a second slap to the cheek and making Genki flinch when specks of blood from her mouth landed all over his face.

“How the hell did we miss her?” Jun asked, stopping Tsutomu from slapping the girl again. “I thought we cleared this house from top to bottom.”

Apparently, you guys were sloppy about it, Kakashi was half-tempted to say. Instead, he stood up and yanked the girl out of Genki and Tsutomu's clutches by her bound hands. She struggled against him but just as soon froze when she felt the sharp tip of his tantō dig into the small of her back. Don’t move, Kakashi told her with a mere prod of his sword.

“Hey! Finders keepers,” Tsutomu growled, displeased that his catch was being taken away from him. His grubby hands reached for the girl, but Kakashi pulled her away from him and towards the staircase.

“We’re guests of this house,” Kakashi said aloud despite knowing that there wasn’t much of this house or its occupants left anymore. “This girl will be locked up in the master bedroom where no one is to touch her. Is that understood?”

Tsutomu took a heavy step forward to protest but stopped when the young Hatake turned his steely gaze onto him.

“Is that understood?” Kakashi spoke low, the lethal edge in his voice cutting through the tension like the blade in his hand. When Tsutomu bowed his head in answer, Kakashi glanced over at Obito who was looking at him strangely. “Relay to Tsutomu and Genki the plan for tomorrow.”

With a sharp nudge of the sword against the girl’s back, Kakashi prompted her to continue up the stairs. She remained silent on the way to the bedroom, but she didn’t stop trying to squirm out of the sheets roped tightly around her wrists. Kakashi took the moment to observe her calloused hands, deducing that she was a surviving member of this household. Probably the daughter of the farmer who’d lived here.

He didn’t ask where her parents were or why she was still here. Even though there hadn’t been any bloodstains found while clearing the house, he guessed that the rest of the girl’s family was already dead in a ditch somewhere.

“If you’re going to kill me then just do it already,” she finally said the moment she stumbled into the bedroom.

Kakashi closed the door first, watching her flinch at the sound of the latch clicking in place. “Turn around.”

She hesitated for a moment before obeying with a slow, reluctant pivot. Under the sharp beam of his flashlight, Kakashi could see the tear tracks that left a clean streak through the cake of dirt and dried blood on her cheeks. He raised his sword and she bunched her shoulders up despite the defiant tilt of her chin. The tantō flashed under the moonlight for a split second as he swung it down upon the girl.

She squeezed her eyes shut but then opened them when she found herself still alive... and with her hands free now.

Kakashi jut his chin towards the bed. Its sheets were still made as if nobody had ever slept in them at all. “Lay down there.”

She stiffened at this order, her body locking up more notably than the last time she’d hesitated. She took one step forward, and Kakashi caught the way her whole frame seemed to tremble before she hurriedly crossed the room and laid down on the bed, stiff as a board. The springs of the mattress creaked harshly, and her eyes widened as if the sound was a threat itself.

Grabbing a chair by the vanity mirror, Kakashi dragged it to the side of the bed before plopping down. His sudden close proximity to her had her sitting up rigidly, slim hands squeezing into fists on her lap. He would've preferred for her to remain lying down, but it seemed she was more comfortable sitting up, so he let her.

Leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, he took the moment to study the girl. She had a split lip, a small cut above her brow, the red mark of a building bruise on her cheek (no doubt courtesy of Tsutomu and Genki), and dark bags of exhaustion weighed heavy beneath her eyes—eyes so black that they seemed to pierce right into Kakashi’s soul the longer he held her sharp gaze.

He looked away to reach for something in his pocket, pausing only when he sensed the girl stiffen again. Slowly, he withdrew the white handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the girl. “Wipe your face.”

She scowled at the implication but snatched the cloth from him. Glimpsing the little sunflower design Rin had sewn into the corner of the cloth, the girl stared at it first before remembering to wipe the dirt off her face.

“My name is Hatake Kakashi,” he said as she cleaned herself. “What’s yours?”

When she refused to answer, he reached into another pocket, slowly again like last time. He watched as her wary eyes flicked down from his to the orange thing in his hand.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, peeling the fruit for her. “It’s a mandarin orange.”

A rare delicacy among their rations, but he was never one for sweets anyway.

The girl watched him peel the skin of the orange off like a hawk would with its prey. As soon as he offered her a slice, she seized the small piece from his fingers and stuffed it into her mouth. Her lashes fluttered slightly as she took that first bite of tangy sweetness.

“Good?”

She froze at the question as if she was a thief who’d been caught stealing the mandarin he’d offered her. Without warning, she spat the mashed bits of orange to his face, her frown deepening when she saw Kakashi didn’t even flinch from the attack.

“You’re a bastard!” she said as he casually brushed off the pieces of orange clinging to his mask. In an effort to add insult to the non-existent injury, she flung the now dirty handkerchief back at him. Kakashi merely plucked it off his chest, folded it two times into a small square, and then tucked it into one of his pockets before placing the rest of the orange in front of her.

He stood up and she shrunk back from him after clutching the orange to her chest.

“We’ll be gone in the morning,” Kakashi said as he scanned the room for any dangerous objects she might try to use in retaliation. “You can rest easy tonight. I’ll make sure no one touches you.”

Although he was kind of late for that.

“But if you try anything, we will have to use force.”

The warning was vague, but it left her shivering and glaring at him with enough spite to make any man give pause. He gave her one final look of caution before leaving the room to make his way to the bathroom. The farmhouse was old, and every floorboard creaked under his boots, but he preferred it that way. It kept him on edge—kept him alert for any signs of danger that may be lurking around the corner.

Even upon entering the bathroom, he swept aside the shower curtain just to make sure no other stray kid was waiting in the tub to ambush him with a butterknife or whatever these civilians resorted to.

Seeing the coast was clear, he stripped off his tactical vest and then the black sleeveless shirt underneath. The water ran lukewarm as he turned the knob of the faucet, and he splashed a handful down his chest for a brief respite from the blistering heat. Taking his shirt, he detached his mask and held it beneath the stream. Black, brown, and red tainted the pool of water along with loose sediment of dried mud. He grabbed the soap bar from the corner and scrubbed his mask inside and out, letting the bubbles froth.

After rinsing his mask, he wrung out the excess water before hanging the cloth on the edge of the sink to let it finish dripping.

A shout could be heard from downstairs—either Tsutomu or Jun since those two loved to butt heads with everyone—but Kakashi didn’t care so long as heads weren’t rolling. Scrubbing a hand down his face, he shrugged on his shirt and vest but paused upon hearing a sharp creak just outside his door.

Creak...

There it was again, but further this time.

Kakashi heaved a sigh and then yanked his mask back on, unsurprised to find it already dry. Tugging the door open, he stepped out of the hallway and was met with the hulking figure of Tsutomu. His burly back was hunched over as if the guy was in the middle of sneaking... towards the girl’s room.

The rest of this side story chapter will be published soon on AO3 and Fanfiction.Net! Thank you for reading!

#the anatomy of love #kakasaku

[bakubabes-tatakae]

54: “ I can’t stand the thought of loosing you. ” and 62: „I want to protect you“ for Kakashi in his relationship with his gf please ☺️ I think these two phrases fit him so well and they go together I guess 😅

Ooooh. I like this one. 😙 I had so many ideas flowing through my noggin before I even started writing.

Protection From Loss || Kakashi x Reader

AO3 Link

Word Count: 977

I leaned forward on our kitchen counter, admiring the flowers that were sitting on the windowsill above the sink a little more than I should have been. Kakashi was pacing back and forth, about to crawl out of his own skin. His sharp tone rang through my ears, snapping my attention back to him. “Y/n, are you even listening to me?”

I looked back into the eyes of the silver haired Jonin, trying my hardest to keep my tone from sounding too upset. “I’m listening, Kakashi, I just don’t understand what the big deal is.” I turned from the flowers and leaned against the counter, crossing my arms. “It’s only one mission, I can handle it.”

He placed a hand over his face, groaning at me. “I don’t understand why you can’t see my issue with this.” He sighed harshly. “I won’t be there with you, what if something happens.” His tone turned from anger to sorrow, his emotions unable to be controlled. “I can’t bear the thought of something happening and not being able to stop it.”

I used my hands to push myself off the sink, sauntering over to him. “Kakashi, I’m sorry.” I placed a hand on his cheek. “I didn’t think of it that way, but you can’t leave Team Seven, they need you right now. You guys have your own mission, the kids would be so bummed out if you cancelled on them.”

He placed his hand over mine and the softness of his voice brought me down to earth. “I just can’t stand the thought of losing you, Y/n.” His eyes welled some. “You’re my everything. What would I do if I didn’t have you in my life?”

I smiled gingerly, hoping that the sight would ease him some. “Kashi,” Just the sound of his nickname caused him to brighten some. “I promise that nothing is going to happen to me. I can handle it. I’ve learned from the best, you’ve taught me everything I know. People would kill to have the training that you gave me.”

He grabbed my arm and pulled me to him, wrapping me tightly into his muscular arms. “I know you can handle it, but I can’t bring myself to let you go.”

I buried my face into his chest, his vest muffling the sounds of my voice, but Kakashi still heard every word. “I leave tomorrow Kakashi. I can’t change my mind now.”

He kissed the top of my head, letting his lips sit there for a moment, the feel of the silk of his mask cold against my scalp. “I’m going to miss you so much, Y/n.”

“I’ll miss you too.” I wiggled myself some and looked up at the man before me. “I’ll be back sooner than you realize. The kids will keep you busy.”

“Yea,” He let a hearty chuckle out. “They’re pretty good at that, aren’t they?” He lowered his arm. “I have a couple things to do before it gets too late, I’ll be home shortly.” He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on my lips before turning for the door and swiftly exiting.

* * * * * *

As the morning sun rose, the team for the mission gathered at the entrance of the village. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, I had never been on a mission without Kakashi, my nerves were a little high, I had to calm myself. Becoming unfocused on a mission was something you should avoid at all costs, I couldn’t afford to be careless. The goodbyes that Kakashi and I had exchanged this morning had shaken me up a little, I had never seen someone as strong as the Copy Ninja so vulnerable.

As our team leader approached and began to tell us some guidelines I was starting to zone out, thoughts of Kakashi and the possibility of never returning to him riddling my mind. A hand touched my shoulder and jumped me out of my stupor. I turned quickly, about to scold the person that had scared me, when I met the familiar faces of some of my favorite people. I had never seen so much happiness on the faces of the three Genin that stood before me. Naruto was elated, jumping up and down, talking about how he couldn’t wait to get out into the world. Sakura held her fists out in front of her, motivation painting her face. Even Sasuke looked excited, the Uchiha’s face full of intent and dedication to keeping his team safe.

I looked up at the man standing behind them. A smile spreading from ear to ear, the happiness sending heat to my face. “What are you guys doing here?”

Kakashi put his hand behind his head, scratching nervously. “I didn’t want to tell you because I was afraid you’d be mad. I went and talked to Tsunade after we talked yesterday and she agreed to let Team Seven accompany you guys.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, my ears had to be deceiving me. “Are you serious?” I looked between the four of them before throwing myself into Kakashi’s arms,

Kakashi caught me, stumbling back a little, before situating his hands under my thighs to hold me up. “Of course I’m serious.’ His voice lowered and he spoke, only for me. “I’ll always be with you. I want to protect you.” He kissed my temple. “I’ll always be there to protect you. Even if it’s the last thing that I do with my life, you will be safe Y/n.”

I grabbed both sides of his face and planted a kiss on his lips, all of the feelings of unease from leaving him falling away. It was like a weight had been lifted off of my chest. Now it was time for this team to move out and kick some ass.

Naruto Content Taglist 💕 @chidori-mint

#kakashi hatake #kakashi #hatake #kakashi hatake imagines #kakashi hatake fanfic #kakashi hatake fanfiction #kakashi x reader #kakashi hatake x reader #kakashi imagines #kakashi fanfic #kakashi fanfiction #hatake x reader #hatake imagines #hatake fanfic #hatake fanfiction #anime #fanfic #fanfiction #imagines #anime imagines #anime fanfic #anime fanfiction #the copy cat ninja #kakashi of the sharingan #sixth hokage #request #ask harlie #harlie speaks #the copy cat ninja kakashi #naruto

[owlsbride]

Icha Icha and Prejudice: The Book Club

Chapter V: A Suitable Marriage

"So…" Sakura answered, arriving at an obvious conclusion observing her cup of sake "now you have to go all way to Suna to solve Naruto's mess."

"Yes," Kakashi nodded, looking at the empty space behind her "I'm not exactly thrilled about it, but it's my job after all." He concluded finally directing his gaze to Sakura to look at her big furious green eyes. He suppressed an inner smile.

"But why? Why don't you send Naruto back again? He was the one that asked the Kazekage an extra train program to be a better Hokage" Sakura started annoyed "And Gaara accepted. What was he thinking? Besides, they both made this mess together."

It was infuriating. Gaara, the most collect man she has ever known, all so stoic, silently analyzing everything around him with his sharp mind. Separated from the world, absorbed in his thoughts with his celestial eyes always directed to the horizon, protecting his village. She couldn't understand it.

"Maa, Sa Ku Ra, calm down" Kakashi spoke with his soft tone, guessing what was going on inside her mind "Gaara may be the Kazekage, and a great one, by the way, a fine young man, but inside he's still a child. I think he's still trying to figure out what human relationships are all about, and when being too friendly or solicitous is too much. I guess he couldn't say no to a friend." There was so much tenderness in his words that Sakura sighed leaning back in her chair a little less angry.

"God, he's worst than Sai." Sakura agreed finally most to herself than to Kakashi thinking about the problems that the young man with black hair suffered and caused due to his lack of social empathy.

"Trust me Sakura, if I were to choose between them both..." Kakashi left the phrase hanging. He was not mad at the Kazekage nor Naruto, he was just tired and resigned with the last one. Naruto would never really change.

"Still..." Sakura began again "I don't know why you can not solve this problem from here. Was it that bad?

"You couldn't just start to imagine."

"But this weather..." She was less angry but pushier now.

"If I didn't know you better, I would think you don't want to let me go, Sakura" he spoke in such a suggestive way that Sakura trembled under his gaze "but I'm sure is not the case, right?"

"Of course not Hokage Sama" she was blushing, a lot "I'm just worried about the security of our leader." Sakura finally answered, wrinkling her nose. Kakashi laughed at her face.

"Relax Sakura, I'm not just an old useless politician".

"I guess you are right... you are not a politician" Sakura said, sticking out her tone.

"Careful Sa Ku Ra, the cat may eat your tongue someday" Kakashi answered her with a deep dark tone licking his own lips, or at least that's what she believed. Again the warm feeling forming in her low stomach, now she was sure, it was not her chakra.

"Yeah... anyway..." she tried to hide her excitement and shame at once adopting a much more professional stance, "I think I should go with you." She finished crossing her arms on the table.

"And that could be because...?" Kakashi leaned back on his chair taking distance from Sakura, eyeing her suspiciously, he had seen this coming. He knew that Sakura was going to ask her to go with him.

"I think it's pretty obvious Sensei." He hated the honorifics, but he just stopped fighting it a long ago with Sakura. It was just a mannerism, a way of speaking, not particularly a sign of respect or distance. It was merely their ways, and it was ok, strange and alluring at times, but ok.

"Go on..."

"I believe that the company of a nin doctor in this weird mission of yours, trying to recover Suna from the Tsunami named Naruto, could be of much help." She finished matter of factly.

"For what? a heatstroke?" Kakashi wasn't going to fall in her charms.

"Stop mocking me, Sensei" Sakura pouted. Now she was feeling hurt.

"I'm not mocking you." He smiled. She was cute sometimes. "I'm just saying that there are no risks in my short journey to Suna. It's a safe trip. Only three days and I'll be back; besides, you forget something."

"What?" Sakura asked in confusion

"You are on vacations."

"Yes, a vacation I didn't request for." It was evident that she still felt horrible about that decision.

"And yet, here we are. Having dinner in your second night of" Kakashi said raising his cup, even if he was not going to drink it with Sakura watching straight to his face.

"I guess..." Sakura did drink her sake and started again with all the Suna issue "So, you are going alone? Who is going to be encharged during these days?"

"I asked an old friend to help me here. Luckily she said yes. Having you not accepting the recess and Naruto trying to put his last training in practice is too much of a danger to leave the village alone. And no, I'm not travelling by myself" Kakashi gave her a wink.

"Hey! I'm not that bad. I'm not going to break the rules Hokage Sama". Sakura was starting to feel offended. She was not a girl anymore. He had to stop seeing her like one "I'm not a gir..."

"A girl. You are not a girl anymore." Kakashi finished for her "I'm well aware of that". Eyes darker.

"So, Who is this friend of yours and with who are you travelling with?" Sakura asked incredulously. She didn't know Kakashi had friends except for Guy Sensei and Genma, (who were definitely not suitable for cover him in these three days) less a woman. Why was she a bit jealous, and why was Kakashi noticing it? He laughed a true-hearted laugh.

"Easy Sakura, Lady Tsunade is going to take my place these days, I think she is more than capable, don't you agree? He was genuinely asking her opinion.

"Wow!" Sakura said in surprise "She must really love you like to say yes."

"Doesn't everyone love me? He was such a Drama Queen. "And about the travelling arrangements, I'm going with Shikamaru."

"Well..." Sakura pondered "Shikamaru is really capable, and he is your advisor. I think he is the most suitable for the job." Sakura concluded.

"Yes," Kakashi stated. "though, I think he has his personal agenda on this journey."

"Oh... You mean..." Sakura didn't want to talk more words than necessary. She didn't know how much information Kakashi had about Temari and Shikamaru's relationship.

"Of course Sakura," Kakashi spoke as it was the most obvious thing in the world "The princess."

"So you know..." It was not a question.

"Sakura, I'm not the Hokage for nothing, you know?" There was fun in his voice. "I've seen how they look at each other, I've listened when they talk at the phone. I've been there when they fight together side by side at the Fourth War. It was just a matter of time." He finished almost with longing.

"Like us" Sakura whispered to herself not expecting Kakashi to listen.

"Like us, what? His eyes were gleaming. Sakura felt nervous.

"Just..." she had to think quickly. "Just like the rest of us, you noted the romance coming back then too." That was closed. Kakashi shifted his mouth uncomfortably under his mask, wrinkling his nose. He wasn't buying it.

"Yes." Disappointment in his words. "Anyway... I think a wedding is coming soon and it will become most profitable for both villages. Suna and Konoha united forever. Shikamaru and princess Temari, we couldn't ask for more." Kakashi spoked low.

A cold chill ran down Sakura's spine upon hearing Kakashi's words. It was the Hokage who spoke: cold, distant, calculating. She wasn't sure if she liked this version of Kakashi. Yes, she has witnessed terrible decisions that he had to make as the village leader, she had seen the horrors of the war and what makes people do. But why this bothered her so much? Was it because she had lost sight of the fact that he was the Hokage after all and not just his partner, friend, and secret fantasy? Was she so in love that, now, only one sentence about the convenience of marriage was enough to make all the bandages fall off?

Kakashi hadn't actually said anything about fixing a marriage, but that's what it sounded like, and inside her, it seemed painful.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" Kakashi asked full of worry. He had just realized after his lazy conversation that something had bothered Sakura.

"Is that how you see us?" Sakura began without looking at him "only as exchange goods, potential political deals or war unions thanks to a good marriage and the lineage that can come out of it?"

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but I can't see the problem there" Kakashi answered in all honesty.

"Sure..." Sakura said dryly in a mocking tone "then maybe I can go for the Kazekage. What do you think? I'm sure that is highly beneficial".

Kakashi was confused, but he was not going to recoil.

"Well, Sakura, good luck with that, cause I don't think Gaara is into girls..." He started doubting "Actually, I think he is into nothing at all, but that's your choice." Why was he getting angry? "Now, if instead, you would like to set your eyes on the brother, Kankuro, that could be something entirely different."

"You can start making the arrangements then, and as Hokage, you can walk me down the aisle." Sakura suppressed a tear.

"That would be your father´s job. I may be old, but that´s not my place" Kakashi retorted angrily, but without racing his voice.

"My parents lost faith in me long ago, I don´t think they are interested in my wedding, they think I´m already too old for that" She was sad, resigned. They have stopped talking to her when she refused to marry Sasuke, another suitable arrangement.

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not one of those characters of that stupid book of yours, Lizzie."

Sakura looked down, suddenly she was feeling a bit ashamed. She avoided his eyes at all cost, and she was safe by the waitress announcing that the restaurant was closing. Kakashi paid the bill without saying anything, and they both started walking home, strangely taking the same path.

Sakura was the first in breaking the silence.

"You are reading the book, eh?"

"Hmmm" Kakashi hummed as the only answer.

"Already bored?" She was watching at the stars.

"Actually no" Kakashi began "Even if I don't know yet what to think about it, debating my self between if it is a good manner manual or a statement of the women position in the society, I have to recognize it's quite interesting."

"You haven't read enough yet" Sakura was acting childish. How was it possible that he still didn't realize that the book was actually an ode to true love.

"I supposed." He closed the conversation.

They continue walking a few more blocks before arriving at Sakura's door. Finally, they face each other.

"Sakura, listen" Kakashi needed to clear some things before parting to Suna "What I meant earlier" he swallowed hard "I would never jeopardize the happiness of any of you for the good of the village. You are my priority. The marriage between Shikamaru and Temari is indeed a benefit to Konoha, but that does not mean that I'm directing your lives from a desk. All of you already risk enough every day out there. I would not take love out of your hands."

Sakura nodded with her mouth dry, she needed a drink, a strong one. She finally locked eyes with him and smile much more relaxed.

"Are you going to send me a text as soon as you arrived Suna?" Sakura asked in a happy tone.

"Of course" he simply answered, hands in his pocket.

"And are you going to send my regards to the Kazekage and his brother?" Now she was teasing.

"If that's what you wish..." Kakashi left the phrase got lost in the air. The storm menacing again once more the Konoha's sky.

Sakura laughed heartedly.

"Good night Kakashi Sensei, have a good trip." Sakura said, turning her back to him.

She suddenly stood frozen with her keys trembling in her hands.

Warm breath sifted through the mask ran down her neck and the lobe of her ear. Kakashi hadn't gotten to touch a single hair of her, but all of it rose on her body. Her breath stopped for an instant that seemed like hours, his words tickling as he spoke.

"Have a good night you too, Lizzie." And just like that Kakashi disappeared.

Inner Sakura was going to be happy.

Notes:

So many things to say

1- It´s getting really really late here but I wanted to post it anyway

2- A little bit of tension is not that bad

3- Next chapter we may know, or not, what Naruto has done at Suna. Also, I´m pretty sure that the virtual chat is coming back.

4-Kakashi is making his homework after all.

5- I like the idea that Gaara may be a bit of asexual, though the story shows us different.

6- You Know what to do.

7- If there is anything else you would like to know, please write to me

8- Can somebody be so lovely and helpful and explain me how to link the chapters for making it easy to read? I'm almost as stupid as Kakashi with tech

#fandom #fanfiction #fan #love #share #review #follow 👑 share ❤️ enjoy 🍑 #naruto verse #kakashi fanfiction #kakashi hatake #kakashi x sakura #kakasaku fanfiction #kakasaku #sakura fanfiction #sakura haruno #sakura hatake #sakura #haruno sakura #icha icha paradise #icha icha tactics #pride and predujice #jane austen #literature #supportartists #supportwriters #reblog #ao3 fanfic

[delavyck]

In the beginning Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these other than my Fanfiction story.

(illustrated by Yomi-Gaeru, Character officially from Kishimoto)

Chapter 1

Summary : This one week of break after 3 months of winning the 4th Ninja War will be interesting for Sakura, as she met the man who caused it all, but instantly changed directions after seeing the cherry pink haired kunoichi roaming around the Land of Mist.

Ships : Madara/Sakura, Hinata/Naruto, Side Sasuke/Sakura, Kakashi/Shizune Chapters : 20

Main Characters: Madara Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha

Characters : Tsunade Senju, Shizune, Kakashi Hatake, Sai, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuuga, Genma, Orochimaru, Karin Uzumaki, Suigetsu Hozuki, Juugo,

Kaguya Otsutsuki ( mentions ), Zetsu (Mentions), Obito Uchiha (Mentions), Katsuyu, Naruto Civilians/Village Civilians

Time line : Post-war, 4th Ninja war , Naruto

Rated : T - M (in a few chapters)

Circumstances

Third Person POV :

It was 3 months after the 4th Great Ninja War has ended, people were traumatized and scared until now, others have long forgotten about the past and stayed with the present, while others disappeared on who-knows-where. Medical Ninjas were stabilizing people and children that had traumas in that situation. Medical team Sakura, Ino, Shizune, Tsunade and Hinata were in charge on taking care of each level of the Hospital. Sakura was in charge of any Physical Help, Ino was incharge of Mental Help using her Mind-Tranfer Jutsu, Shizune and Tsunade were in charge of any help, and Hinata was incharge for chakra help using her byakugan.

Ino was slacking off a little because of what happened to her father, Inoichi.

Hinata was dating Naruto for almost a month now. But hardly moved on with Neji’s death.

Shizune was still taking care of the hospital.

Tsunade was thinking on resigning as the Godaime and make Kakashi as a candidate as Rokudaime.

And Sakura. She was 17 now.

But.

Sakura didn’t know anything anymore.

All she did is.

Heal.

Fight.

Heal.

Fight.

Everything just repeats. It was getting boring, but she had to serve the village.

How she wishes that Naruto will always bother her.

How Sasuke will always call her ‘annoying’.

How Kakashi will just look at her while reading his Icha Icha. But every one of those just vanished on her own very eyes.

She hasn’t seen Naruto after a week Sasuke left.

Sasuke left the village to atone for his ‘sins’.

And Kakashi just was too troublesome to think of, many emotions that can’t be described behind that mask.

I guess the 4th Ninja war really took a big toll on her, even if Sasuke says he’s sorry for everything despite the fact he almost killed her multiple times and brought her to a heavy genjutsu, just hurts to eternity. She has never seen an such obsolete human, so cruel, so evil yet it makes him look pathetic.

Naruto probably didn’t even care about her anymore since he had Hinata but she still missed his Joyful and Loud voice.

Kakashi probably didn’t care for her too anymore, it’s considered that she can be promoted to Jounin within the year.

Sakura POV; in her mind :

“Forget Sasuke. He doesn’t care about you, he left you after only 1 week staying in Konoha, he probably will come back with a son/daughter next, or probably a wife, who knows? Pfft, Don’t let him take advantage of you this time.”

Inner spoke in my mind.

After all, I guess it’s all true, I do think it’s time to let go of these feelings. It isn’t worth it anymore, years of loving and patience, all gone to waste. But I know I dont care about it anymore. Everything is the truth, the truth does hurt.

“I guess you’re right. You will always be with me right?” Sakura spoke

“Of course Sa-ku-ra, I’m stuck with you and your mind forever, so that leaves me no choice you know?” Inner talked. And chuckled afterwards.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get too cocky”. She said as she rolled her eyes.

“Forehead? You there?” Ino said as she walked past by her.

“H-huh? O-oh yeah! I’m fine.” ‘Completely and obviously not!’

“Are you sure? You’ve been dozing off for quite sometime now. I would’ve used my jutsu to check on what’s going on with your big head”.

“Don’t even dare Pig.” She shot a glance at Ino that made her head sweat.

“Fine, fine, just tell me what’s going on next time, I won’t be too patient Billboard Brow.” Ino said sarcastically.

“Yeah, yeah, anyways, what time is it?”

“It’s almost past noon forehead, I was waiting for you to pick up lunch with me until I saw your gaze completely gone from earth.”

‘Crazy forehead girl’.

“Well why didn’t you say it now? Let’s go!”

They laughed as they went running from the hospital and going around the streets of Konoha just to reach Naruto’s Favorite place to eat.

At Ichiraku’s Ramen

“Ino pig, aren’t you eating too much?” She laughed while sipping her noodles as Ino’s soup made her choke by her words.

“HEY! DON’T MOCK ME. AND SAYS THE ONE WHO ATE 3 BOWLS OF RAMEN OFFERED BY NARUTO AND DIDN’T DECLINE!” Ino shouted at her frantically.

“Alright alright geez, your anger issues are taking a poll on you ya know? You’re getting as angry as me.” Sakura said while grinding her teeth.

“Hmph, fine, but you’re paying today, it’s your fault i’m angry like this.”

“Cheeky pig.”

‘Heh, fell right into my trap.’

Ino snorted afterwards.

—————————————————-

Oh how I wish it was like this everyday.

Everyday, happy.

—————————————————-

“Earth to sakura? Hello???”

As Sakura heard her bestfriends voice, her mind came back to reality.

“oh yeah, Hey!”

“Sakura, are you sure nothing is bothering you? You seem a little… distressed.”

Distressed? Maybe.

De-arranged? Yeah sure.

“I’m fine Ino, i’m really fine, there’s nothing I am worrying about, I’m just really stressed like you said, maybe the hospital is just too much for me right now.”

“Oh yea, Lady Tsunade said there is an opening tomorrow for people who wants to take a break for 3 days - 1 month, maybe you want to take a break? I can take your patients if you want.”

“I think that will be nice, I’ll think about it.”

“We should eat our ramen Forehead, it’s getting cold.” Ino said as she got annoyed.

Sakura nodded as a response.

‘The same as always.’

——————————————————————-

After 2 hours of bonding with Ino, she actually got satisfied. She actually felt happy for once.

She’s happy she’s there with her, she’s happy atleast Ino was by her side.

And she actually will take Ino’s word on taking a break, she’ll maybe need it.

She was actually surprised she hasn’t seen that annoying little yellow haired boy in the streets of Konoha. What is that little fox upto?

Walking the streets of Konoha after another 2 hours of going back to the hospital, she was going back to her apartment. In a flick of her eyes, she saw a tall, busty blonde and a black haired female just about the size of her. She saw Tsunade-Sama and Shizune-san near her apartment. Thinking of what’s going on, she knows it’s about her.

She chuckled, this night will be interesting.

Seeing the two females

“Tsunade-sama? Shizune-san? What happened For you guys to pass by?”

“Ah, Sakura, welcome back, anyways I have received a letter that Uchiha Sasuke will be returning in a week, so I maybe thought to inform you and Naruto to escort him through Konoha at night, of course, Genma and the others staying at the gate won’t interfere, I have already noticed them about your appearance next week.”

Sakura’s eyes widened at what Tsunade just said. ‘That can’t be possible, why did he even come back for? To become a Konoha nin again? That isn’t right.’

“A-ah Tsunade-Sama, he is really coming back isn’t he?”

Tsunade Nodded.

“Ah I see, I understand on what we are going to do, I’ll ask Naruto instead about this, you should be going to the Hokage Office Tsunade-Sama, It’s getting dark.”

“Alright, I pass you this. This is the mission scroll, and yes, this is a mission, an A-Rank one to be exact. And also this. This is the form you’re going to need for next week, it’s not any form Sakura, this is a form of seals that can be used as a sealing technique, originating from my grandmother’s clan, the uzumaki clan, using this fuinjutsu.”

“That’s very interesting Tsunade-Sama, I’ll hold onto this.”

“Come to my office tomorrow at 8 am sharp to discuss this with Naruto.”

“Hai, Tsunade-Sama. Also- Wait!”

“Hm?”

“I heard from Ino that you’re accepting people to take a leave so maybe I thought I’ll get one, i also want to take a small break from the hospital please? Like only 1 week?”

“Hm, I’ll consider it and will discuss with you this tomorrow, I also think it will be a good time before you leaving to go get Sasuke. More like a preparation, very well Sakura, I’ll see you tomorrow.

“H-Hai!”

She hoped Naruto will be in his house or she’ll have to call on Tsunade again telling that he wasn’t seen that day. And had gone to atoms.

[uchihanarutos]

what is kky's dynamic because ive seen people say its sketchy in general? like somewhat inappropriate. whats ur opinion on this since u ship it

Personally, I don’t view it as “sketchy” whatsoever, especially not in an overall sense. Maybe in ultra specific cases - like gross people portraying it in a specific and purposefully bad way (will address this at different points) - but that’s due to the individual being gross, not the ship on its own.

I get people wanting to be cautious, and I commend that! But my take on KKY is: it’s absolutely fine, and not anything we don’t already see in other ships like SNS or KKG or KKOB. Here’s why.

For one, they first meet when they’re both kids; a very short time after the nine-tails attack. It’d be a different story if they met when Yamato was still a kid and Kakashi was already an adult, but that very much isn’t the case here. This - in addition to the fact that they are both already adults in their 20′s with a small 3 year age gap - makes this a fairly safe ship as far as their ages alone go.

(Note: I say “in addition to” because both of these factors must be present for the ship to be sound. They need to have met while in the same age group and currently be adults. KK*ta are both adults in canon, but they met when Itachi was a child and Kakashi was already an adult, which has very bad implications about the foundation of that ship. One of the factors is missing, which is why it’s gross ship with bad implications. This does not happen with KKY.)

The only way to make this aspect weird would be if an individual intentionally chose to specifically go and portray them in a shippy way during the very brief time period where Kakashi had turned into an adult and Yamato was still a kid. It’d be the same case for, say, GaaLee, and intentionally portraying the time period where Lee would be 18 and Gaara would still be 16/17 in a shippy way. Which, again, would be the fault of the individual, and not something inherently bad about the ship. Aside from these portrayals done by individuals, the ships themselves are sound.

One other thing I can definitely get people being cautious about is that Kakashi was Yamato’s direct superior for a time. However, Kakashi is also Gai’s superior when he is Hokage (this also applies to SNS), and he was Obito’s superior for a time as well. So, while I get being cautious about power dynamics (as one should be), unless you also denounce SNS, KKG, and KKOB for the same reason (which, if you do, that’s an okay line to draw for yourself imo), the excuse falls flat and comes off as hypocritical. Plus, there’s plenty of time periods where Kakashi is simply a respected colleague and no longer a direct superior to Yamato in any way.

I would also like to note that this sort of dynamic is much more of a case-by-case scenario than people tend to realize or want to acknowledge. It’s something where you need to think critically and ask yourself if there are lines being crossed. Is this power imbalance used outside of professional settings, and/or to harmful ends? Is someone portraying these dynamics as very unbalanced and harmful? Is the imbalance contributing to a lack of mutual respect? If the answer is “No.” it’s fine. That’s why people still ship SNS and KKG, even though one of them being the Hokage creates a power imbalance. Because people have thought critically and can see the dynamic isn’t being used to harm the other character in the context of these ships. The same thing applies to KKY.

The last thing people would need to be cautious about is - all else removed - how they treat each other. This one gets a SOLID pass; their interactions are probably some of the funniest and most natural and healthy in the entire series, honestly. There’s virtually nothing to criticize here. They’re colleagues that have known each other for about half their lives and have extreme trust in/respect for each other, and aren’t afraid to speak their minds to each other. You can’t really find much of a fault here, especially if you also ship much more complicated (and at times straight up unhealthy) ships like SNS (yes kings, messily unpack your traumas, have codependency issues).

Anyways! TL;DR: I’m not going to blame anyone for being super extra cautious about any ship. It’s always ALWAYS important to think critically about media you consume and create, which of course includes any ships you have. I encourage you to do your own thinking about everything I’ve said and anything others have to say, and reach your own conclusion.

MY conclusion after critically thinking about it is: KKY cute. I think they should kiss.

#ask #anon #mine #ky speaks #text #kky #edit: had gaara's and lee's names mixed in one sentence so i fixed that and the point still stands

[myaekingheart]

116. The Protegee

read the scarecrow and the bell on ao3 index | from the beginning | < previous | next >

Get me out of here so I can breathe It's all become so clear What lies beneath your skin, it's thin You're never going to keep me down Get me out, just get me out of here - Get Me Out, No Resolve

               Rei chewed her lower lip as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her gaze was focused, sharp, scared. She fixed her gauntlets to her forearms without breaking her gaze. She narrowed her eyes as if her own face was becoming foreign to her, as if there were parts of herself that she no longer recognized. A voice called from behind. “Big day today, huh?”

               Kakashi leaned against the doorway, arms crossed with a tender smile on his unmasked face. Rei’s tense expression faltered as she dropped her head. An airy, tired chuckle broke past her lips. “Unfortunately” she replied.

               “Are you nervous?” Kakashi asked. He strolled closer to take a seat on the edge of the tub. Rei shot him a questioning glare over her shoulder—the kind that said are you dumb? Of course I’m nervous. Chuckling, Kakashi replied, “You’ll do great. Everything is going to be fine.”

               “You say that” Rei said, slumping beside him, “as if I’m not a magnet for disaster.”

               “That’s okay” Kakashi assured her. “You’ll have Yugao there to negate the charge. One to attract”—here, he pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her rapid heartbeat beneath his palm—“and one to repel.” A satisfied grin touched his face, as if he was wildly proud of his little analogy.

               That was, perhaps, the one saving grace of this whole situation: Yugao. They had said nothing more to each other of their new roles but the change was strongly felt. It was present in the way they looked at each other, in the way Yugao would wave goodbye to her in the locker room at the end of the day and help her fix her vest when a strap came undone. They were a team now, there to support and unlift one another. One to attract, the other to repel. If anything was to go awry and Rei felt herself beginning to lose her nerve, Yugao would be there to catch her, to reassure her that there was always a way out. Or at least Rei hoped.

               Yugao did not strike her as the type to be cynical or coldhearted. Faced with this brand new challenge, however, she hoped her lieutenant would at the very least retain the confidence that Rei so sorely lacked. And within that confidence, hopefully Rei would feel far less doomed. As of right now, she didn’t have a ton of faith in all of this. She pressed a hand to her stomach and sucked in a deep breath, trying to swallow back the thoughts of what could have been.

               When Rei arrived at the administration building, Toshio by her side, Yugao was waiting in the hallway. Rei idled for a moment, cursing her own anxiety, before clearing her throat to attract her attention. Yugao met her gaze and even from behind her mask, Rei could tell that she was smiling. “It didn’t feel right to go in there without you, Captain” Yugao replied. Rei gave a single nod, suppressing nervous laughter. If she was going to make this work, she needed to wear a persona. She needed to appear cool, confident, collected. She needed to be tough and intimidating. She needed to be a captain.

               Without another word, the two women burst into the hokage office side by side. One to attract, one to repel. The new recruits were already lined up awaiting their arrival. There was no turning back now.

               “Sorry we’re a little late” Yugao apologized softly as she and Rei stood attention beside Tsunade’s desk. Toshio sat dutifully between them, sniffing the edge of Tsunade’s desk in hopes of finding a crumb of breakfast or a drop of tea.

               Tsunade shook her head. “No, you’re actually just in time.” Her eyes surveyed the batch of rookies standing before her and a sly smile twitched on her lips. “I was just giving your new recruits a rundown of the way things work around here.”

               Rei clenched her fists at her sides, digging her nails into her palms, as she secretly surveyed these young shinobi. Without their masks on, she could clearly see the hope in their eyes. It was the same brand of blind, naïve optimism she had when she first joined, as well. She swallowed back the lump in her throat, willing herself not to be sick. They had no idea what they were getting into. They were so unprepared. Ishoku seemingly had not broken them down enough and for a moment, Rei cursed the entire training division. At the same time, however, a sickening realization was taking root in the pit of her stomach. They were unprepared, but she could use that to her advantage. Destiny had ripped her away from her hopes, had shoved her down the wrong path and the same could be said of these four, as well. They weren’t meant to be here. Destiny had fucked up. If Rei was to have any hope of righting the future, then she would just have to take fate by the scrote and redirect it herself. These rookies would merely be a casualty in her pursuit of utopia. Quite frankly, she was perfectly fine with that.

               Yugao clasped her hands behind her back and chuckled under her breath. “Have you scared them off yet?” she asked Lady Tsunade.

               “Not quite” Tsunade replied. “I was saving that responsibility for their captain.”

               “Good” Rei said, voice low and hoarse. A snarky little laugh bubbled up from deep within her chest. “I’d hate to disappoint them.” She hadn’t expected to sound so sharp, insinuating that perhaps she did her killing before breakfast, but the effect was clear in the way the new recruits looked upon her now. Joke’s on them, Rei thought to herself, I didn’t even eat breakfast this morning.

               An inkling of pride bloomed in the back of Tsunade’s mind at Rei’s sudden haughtiness. As talented as she knew Rei was, that meant nothing in the stead of confidence and for leadership positions such as this, confidence was a hefty requirement. A captain needed to garner respect not just for one’s protegees but for the sake of the mission, as well. An anxious captain made for a much larger margin of error and in increasingly tense times such as these, there was no room for second-guessing. Tsunade was well aware of Rei’s issues in the past, of Naru’s death and the way Rei blamed herself. She knew placing Rei in situations with similar risk was dangerous but Rei was also a different person now. Stronger, smarter, and more outspoken. If nothing else, Tsunade had faith.

               Rising to her feet, the hokage looked to the new recruits with confidence, pride. “These will be your new team leaders” she announced. “Rei Natsuki, codename Aisuru, will be your new captain and Yugao Uzuki, codename Kasha, will be your lieutenant. Together, the six of you will make up Team Ku.”

               Team Ku. There was something so final about the sound of it. To think that they had a name, this ragtag group of strangers. They were a collective, a unit. Team Ku.

               Before Rei could make her harsh introduction, however, a tall girl with choppy blonde hair in pigtails cleared her throat. “Don’t you mean seven?” she asked. Tsunade blinked despondently, following the girl’s pointed finger to Toshio standing guard beside Rei. Toshio barked and wagged his tail in attendance.

               “Oh…right” Tsundde muttered. It was so rare that Toshio accompanied Rei on missions but she understood the logic. Toshio was a guard and a companion, not to mention a shinobi in his own right. His presence was likely on Kakashi’s suggestion. Of course Kakashi had faith in his fiancée’s abilities but that was not going to stop him from worrying. At least with Toshio by Rei’s side, Kakashi knew she would always be dutifully protected even in Kakashi’s absence. Especially in Kakashi’s absence. After all, that was the purpose that the copy ninja had thrust upon himself so many years before: to keep Rei safe at all costs. If that meant extending the responsibilities to Toshio, as well, then so be it. The dog had already avowed to do the same, anyway.

               “What’s with the mutt?” another new recruit, a towering bald man, asked. Meanwhile, a scrawny brunette boy with glasses sneezed into the crook of his elbow, eyes watering.

               “His name is Toshio, and he’s my ninken” Rei snapped. “He’s just as much of a ninja as you all are, if not more, so I expect you to show him respect.”

               “Great!” the blonde exclaimed in frustrated disbelief. “Now we’re being compared to a fucking dog.” Taking great offense, Toshio’s upper lip curled and a monstrous growl vibrated from deep within his chest.

               Rei rested a tender hand on his shoulder to soothe him, muttering with a slight smile, “Calm down, Toshio. You can sic them after they show us what they’re made of.”

               Rolling her eyes, the blonde mumbled a frustrated “Absolutely ridiculous” before Tsunade called order with a sharp glare and slam of her fist upon the desk.

               “Do we have a problem?” Tsunade asked through gritted teeth. The wood began to crack beneath her fist. Legend of Tsunade Senju’s strength was not lost on these new recruits and, sensing imminent danger, they quickly backed off. “That’s what I thought” Tsunade hummed, settling back into her chair.

               “Well!” Yugao exclaimed cheerily, attempting to break the tension. “Seeing as we’re all going to be spending a lot of time together, why don’t we all introduce ourselves?” The new recruits looked to one another suspiciously, unanimous flashbacks of the first day of school running surely running through their minds. Memories of cold sweats and fun facts and underhanded sneers. “You already know Rei and myself” Yugao continued. Toshio barked in interruption, if not wanting to be forgotten. Yugao cleared her throat, adding under her breath, “And Toshio….” Pleased with the recognition, Toshio craned his head around so as to lap at Yugao’s fingers happily. She swatted him away, not unkindly, in an effort to maintain composure. “But we don’t know anything about you and I think we ought to so by all means, please!” She motioned for them to commence with all the encouragement of a kindergarten teacher. Rei stifled laughter—she never expected Yugao to be so upbeat and accommodating. Kakashi’s words from that morning echoed in her ears: You’ll have Yugao to negate the charge. God, was he right. He must have known from conducting missions alongside her during his own time in the ANBU.

               The first to step forward was none other than the outspoken blonde girl. Rei studied her features intently, already getting a rather clear image of the type of person she must be before she even opened her mouth. “Arai Kawakubo” she introduced, “But for codename, let’s go with Dokyou.” There was a certain arrogance to her, an unrefined quality that truly fit her name. She was tall, nearly as tall as her bald comrade, with a build suggesting her discipline in training: broad shoulders, flat bust, muscular arms and legs. Her skin was tan and toned, eyes calm but sharp like aw amethyst. Her face reflected her coarse nature by way of pronounced cheekbones, a squared jaw, and an aquiline nose. Rei could already tell that out of all of them, Arai was going to be the catalyst for the most problems.

               Beside her stood the skittish brunette, sniffling as he wiped his nose wih the back of his hand. Rei wondered whether he was a member of that clan with the snot jutsu, the one she always saw the Third Hokage’s grandson hanging around with. “I-I’m Hitsuji Akado” he announced. “For my codename, I’ll go b-by…by….” He gasped for breath as his watery eyes squinted, preparing for another sneeze. His achoo mixed with his preferred name, however, causing Rei to cock her brow in confusion.

               “Sorry, what was that?” she asked.

               Smiling sheepishly, Hitsuji replied, “Sorry about that. It’s Chishiki.”

               “That should be easy enough to remember” Yugao jested, elbowing Rei comically in the arm.

               Deep down, Rei wondered how old this boy must be. He loked like he could be no older than fifteen or sixteen with big eyes and a baby face. There was no way someone like him would ever last in the ANBU. “By the way, are you sick or something?” Rei asked as HItsuji’s nose began to drip with snot. He panicked a moment, searching the room for a box of tissues, before Arai unenthusiastically whipped an embroidered hanky from her back pouch and shoved it in his face. Hitsuji took it gratefully, blowing into it like a foghorn. When he went to hand it back to Arai, she winced and raised a hand, shaking her head as it to tell him to keep it.

               “No” Hitsuji sniffled in response to Rei’s inquiry. “I just have a dog allergy.”

               Toshio narrowed his eyes, offended. So far, these new recruits werne’t winning his approval. They could all do so much better. If only they knew they were being judged so harshly by a dog.

               The next recruit to step up to the plate was a rather jaunty blonde boy. “Hello, beautiful!” he exclaimed, taking Rei’s hand in his for a princely kiss. “I am Sukui Yukio, your knight in shining armor! But please, call me Kishi!”

               Disgust crossed Rei’s masked face as she gingerly took her hand back and wiped it on her pants. “The pleasure is all mine” she muttered sarcastically. This boy had to be roughly seven years younger than her and, truthfully, seemed far too optimistic and charming to ever have been accepted into the black ops in the first place. Rei glanced to Lady Tsunade and wondered how desperate she had become. Or if she had set them up to fail from the beginning.

               “You know” Sukui said, striking a flirtatious pose, “Some people say I bear a striking resemblance to the sexy actor Keihaku Goman from the Icha Icha films! I’m always so flattered but really, how could I ever compare?”

               “You don’t” Arai interrupted. Sukui glared back at her, offended, before the bald man pushed him aside.

               “Alright, let’s get this over with” he rasped. Sukui stumbled, narrowing his eyes in displeasure. “The name’s Kikkake, I’ll go by Janome, great to meet you. Okay, let’s leave.” His voice was so monotonous, so dull, with a demeanor to match. Out of everyone, he was likely the most prepared for a position such as this. He was clearly older than the others with an age far closer to Rei’s or even Sekkachi’s. The optimistic youths had clearly left him weary and jaded. You and me both, Rei thought to herself. At least there was one person she was beginning to like.

               Arai snickered from behind and Kikkake whipped around to glare at her. There was a fire in his eyes but Arai seemed completely unphased. “Are you sure a more appropriate codename wouldn’t be Cueball?” she asked, stifling laughter. Kikkake’s hand immediately flew to his bald head, a flicker of self-consciousness quickly making way for fury.

               “No, I don’t” he snapped.

               Clearly Arai, however, was not prepared or willing to quit. Shrugging, she replied casually, “Well, sorry, I just thought codenames were supposed to be easily identifiable an Cueball just seems to fit.”

               Kikkake clenched his fists at his side, his temper flaring. “Keep it up and I’ll cue you” he growled through gritted teeth.

               Before they could start an all-out brawl in the hokage’s office, a kunai flew straight between them, sticking in the wall and leaving a monstrous crack. Rei strode forward and shoved the two of them away from each other. “If you both don’t shut the fuck up right now, your necks will be the next thing that kunai hits” Rei sneered, voice low and dangerous. After a moment of silence, Arai burst out laughing. Rei wasn’t a threat in the slightest to her. How could she be? Displeased with her disobedience, Rei whipped another kunai out of her holster and within five seconds, had pinned Arai against the wall with the blade to her neck. “Don’t test me.”

               Arai calmly rose her hands in surrender and smirked. “You’ve got it, boss.” Rei certainly did not appreciate the sarcasm, but she knew her limitations, at least right in front of Tsunade. She slowly released her grip on the girl, who readjusted her pigtails as she sauntered over to the others.

               Turning around, Rei glared at the new recruits and added darkly, “That goes for all of you. Step out of line even once and you’re Toshio’s next meal, guaranteed.” The dog barked in agreement and in that moment, Rei had never been more grateful for her ninken’s support.

               Yugao blinked as she surveyed their new protegees’ faces, unsure what to make of Rei’s leadership skills. Tsunade glanced toward her and it was clear that even behind her mask, all the color had drained from her face. “It seems like you both have your work cut out for you” the hokage murmured.

               Sighing despondenly, Yugao ran a hand through her dark hair and replied, “Unfortunately.” She was beginning to question how capable she truly was in a position such as this. Rei was so crude, so harsh, so different from the way Yugao conducted herself. She had never expected Rei to hold quite so much darkness in her heart but then again, that was likely how she had made captain in the first place.

               Rei tried to remain composed as she returned to her spot beside Yugao, but deep down she was spiraling. She should’ve known that sinking feeling in her gut that morning meant something. If only she had just gotten her period.

               Truly, what had she gotten herself into? This was undoubtedly a recipe for disaster. She watched the four of them bicker and complain as they departed the hokage office together. The day was still so young and yet the introductions alone had already depleted her social meter to near empty. She squinted up at the sun and braced herself for the mind-numbing orientation they would all have to sit through for the rest of the day. Five hours wasn’t that bad, anyway…right?

               As much as she wished she could just sleep through the whole thing, Rei knew this orientation concerned her, too. She pulled a small notepad from her back pouch and idly jotted down some notes—it was the least she could do to remain conscious. Every so often, she’d look up to survey her new protegees sitting at the table in front of her. Kikkake listened intently, arms crossed and eyes focused. It warmed Rei’s heart to know he was taking this seriously. Hitsuji was dutifully taking notes, as well, complaining softly under his breath with every sneeze that Toshio’s presence triggered. Every so often, Toshio would crawl forward to begin licking at the boy’s elbow just to spite him. Hitsuji would gasp and shoo him away every time, his eyes tearing up as he suppressed yet another sneeze. Beside him, Sukui twirled a lock of short blonde hair around his finger as he stared off into space. He was likely dreaming of some romantic escapade a la Icha Icha Paradise. Rei’s stomach flipped at the thought. He really did resemble Keihaku Goman and that was likely where at least half of her hatred for this boy stemmed. As for Arai, she leaned back in her chair with feet propped up on the table, the personification of apathy. If everything was such a chore for her, then why was she even here to begin with? Rei couldn’t comprehend it. Huffing her long bangs out of her face, Rei hoped that these recruits would at least retain something from his longwinded lecture. Or at the very least realize that none of them are fit for this after all and back out altogether. Either would suffice.

               By sundown, Rei was completely drained. She undressed in the locker room silently, her mind wandering elsewhere. It felt so weird to be here now, as a captain. She glanced to her comrades, to Mikazuki and the others whose name she had forgotten who she had worked alongside before. She di’n't feel like one of them anymore. She was above them now, an outsider. Rei raked her bangs back out of her face, caught her reflection in the small mirror affixed to the inside of her locker door. For a moment, she idled there surveying the roundness of her face and the curves of her body. Her hand skated to her stomach and her breath hitched in her throat. I need to get out of this. Get me out of here…please. A tinge of despair struck her chest. She swallowed it down hard. There was no time to sulk or second-guess.

               “So what do you think so far?” a voice asked from behind. Snapped from her daze, Rei stumbled as she turned to face Yugao. There was a sly smile on her face as she tugged her undershirt up over her head, revealing her toned abs and delicate breasts.

               “They’re alright” Rei said bluntly. She shoved her vest into her locker, scrunching it up to make it fit. “I give them two weeks, tops.”

               “Your skepticism is very refreshing” Yugao commented and for a moment, Rei was unsure whether she was being sarcastic or genuine. “You have to admit, though, they have some potential.”

               “Yeah…” Rei muttered. That was a dangerous word: potential. No, they were not allowed to have potential. They were not allowed to have any positive attributes whatsoever. Any promise in them was a threat to Rei’s true purpose, her villainous plan. She slammed her locker door shut, sucked in a sharp breath. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

               “Well, tomorrow will give them the perfect opportunity” Yugao nodded. A shiver ran down Rei’s spine, horror and hope intertwined. Come morning, they would all traverse to the 44th Training Ground for a final exam of sorts. Their last chance to prove now to their captain and lieutenant that they were truly meant to be here. The moment that could make or break their career. Rei toyed with the drawstring on her uniform pants and tried to steady her breathing. She would not let herself think about the repercussions this would all have on their lives if she chose to fail them. She would not let herself humanize these brats in her mind. She needed to keep herself cold and distant, to practice restraint. This was all or nothing. Ready or not, the fork in the road was rapidly approaching. She had to make her choice.

               Forty-five minutes. Since Rei returned home, she had gone a total of forty-five whole minutes without speaking. Kakashi watched her quizzically from behind his book: watched as she shifted restlessly in her seat, brushed her bangs back out of her face, read a few paragraphs of her own book, sighed and then shifted again. “Rough day?” Kakashi finally asked.

               Rei glanced up at him for only a moment. She didn’t want to tal about it. She didn’t even want to think about it. It took every ounce of her mental energy to focus instead on the words on the page, the images they evoked, the syllables of which they consisted. She tightened her grip on the book. “Just tired” she muttered.

               It was clear to Kakashi, however, that there was far more to this than just exhaustion. Setting Icha Icha Violence down, he scooted nearer to give her his undivided attention. “Did something happen today?” he asked. “How were the new recruits?”

               Rei kept her eyes locked hard on her book, attempting to ignore his inquiries, but she couldn’t bring herself to keep up the charade. She knew he deserved an explanation, even if she didn’t want to trudge through all of the complicated thoughts swirling around her head. It was too much. There was no way she could ever possibly organize it all into something even remotely coherent. “Problematic” she finally said bluntly. “They are very problematic.”

               “Oh?” Kakashi asked, cocking a brow. “How so?”

               Rei released a sharp exhale through her nose. She narrowed her mossy eyes, concentrating very hard on a single word in the text as if that was the key to ending this conversation altogether. Kakashi was unfortunately not going to let her slide that easily. Something was troubling her and he needed to know what. With index finger extended, he reached out and tilted her book downward so as to better view her face. She was utterly defeated. She couldn’t ignore him anymore. She slowly lifted her gaze to look at him and in her eyes, he saw exhaustion, uncertainty, fear.

               “Now why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

               There was no avoiding it further. With a pathetic groan, Rei buried her face in her hands. “Oh god, Kakashi, it’s so bad” she complained. “I can’t do this. I never should’ve agreed to do this. These kids are…absolutely terrible.”

               “How so?” he asked. “What did they do? Stick a frog in your locker? Ice down your back?”

               Rei stared at him blankly, unamused. “You think you’re really funny, don’t you, Kakashi?” she asked.

               Kakashi shrugged. “I try” he jested.

               Rei shook her head and sighed, resting her chin on her drawn-up knees. “I just don’t think I have what it takes for this” she explained. “There’s only one who I think has some real potential, and I’d hate to ruin it for him, but everyone else…my god, I don’t think I can go through with this. They’re not cut out for this.” And I’m not, either, she thought to herself.

               “Well, they had to have shown some potential to get to this point in the first place” Kakashi mused.

               There was that word again: potential. Why did there always have to be potential? Groaning, Rei threw her head back against the arm of the couch. Her legs extended out across Kakashi’s lap. Toshio sauntered forward to lick at her feet but Rei barely even noticed. “I hate that word so much” she whispered. “There’s not an ounce of potential in any of this.”

               Kakashi sighed. She reminded him so much of when he was first assigned Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. He had so little faith in them. Besides, what made them any different than any other team of spoiled brats he had been assigned? He fully intended to fail them right from the getgo but then…something changed. There was something strange and new about these kids. He had, for the first time, faith. Kakashi reached out and rested a tender hand on Rei’s stomach. Her entire body electrified, sending blaring signal flares throughout her brain. Reminders of what she was hoping to accomplish here. She couldn’t take it. “Maybe you’re just not giving them enough credit” he offered.

               “I’m giving them plenty credit, Kakashi” Rei snapped, flicking his hand away. Dejected, he drew his victim hand up to his chest, his gaze softening. “But I’m only going to give credit where credit is due” Rei continued. “I’m not going to sugarcoat things for them and make them feel like they can do this if they can’t. They have no fucking clue what they’re up against.”

               “Neither did you when you first started” Kakashi sharply reminded her. A kunai to the chest, sharp and stinging. The last straw. Rising from her seat, Rei tossed her book on the table and approached the kitchen. She stood over the sink and let the water run until it was scaldng hot. Steam rose up to warm her cheeks. Kakashi watched her intently from the couch, unsure of what she was planning. “You can’t get mad at me for the truth, you know” he called after her. She said nothing. For a long moment, aside from the sound of rushing water, they stood in utter silence. Then, heaving a sigh, Kakashi rose to his feet to follow her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. She felt his embrace warm and certain around her lower stomach and it took all of her strength not to cry out. “Give them a chance, Rei” he pleaded. “You might be surprised with what they’re capable of.”

               Rei dropped her head, rested a hand atop Kakashi’s against her stomach. “Do you really think so, though?” she asked. “I don’t want to waste my time. I don’t want to put these kids at risk of…of something bad happening just because they’re not prepared for this. Or because…I’m not prepared.”

               “Do you think taking this on was a mistake?” Kakashi asked. She wasn’t sure she knew how to answer. Her heart beat faster and faster in her chest as she tried to think of a proper response.

               “This just…wasn’t the way things were supposed to go” she finally whispered, voice strained.

               Kakashi rubbed her lower stomach, tightening his embrace. “I know” he whispered. “But it’s the way things are. This is the path we’ve taken now. We can’t go back.”

               “How do you know?” Rei asked. A sick sense of hope was bubbling up her throat now. “Maybe we can try again and…and this time we’ll be successful. I can get out of this, and we can make things right. Do things the way it was supposed to be. Have our little family.”

               “Rei…” Kakashi sighed. She could hear the disappointment, the regret, dripping in his voice. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, hot breath against her skin. ���You’ve made a commitment to these kids now. You’re responsible for their futures. You can’t give up on them.”

               “There will be other captains…” Rei whispered, though deep down even she knew that was wrong. “I just don’t know how to do this, Kakashi. I’m not prepared. And they’re so…needy. And dumb. They’re not cut out for this. They can’t do this.”

               Kakashi nuzzled her cheek, kissed her jaw tenderly. “I said the same thing about you, and look at you now” he reminded her. She hated when he did this. Mainly because he was always right. “If change is what you want to see, Rei, then you have to initiate it. You’re the captain, remember? You’re the one guiding them. Their success in this relies completely on you. Rei…you’re not powerless.”

               As reassuring as his words were, his reminder was not entirely comforting. With great power there was always great responsibility. She was in charge. Everything relied on her. She held these kids’ futures in the palm of her hand and, much like a flower, she could either nurture them or destroy them. She knew what the right decision, the moral decision, was but…why did it have to be her responsibility? Why was she required to decide their fates when she wasn’t even given the chance to decide her own? Rei swallowed hard and tightened her grip on Kakashi’s hand. At the end of the day, the only one who could change the course of fate was her. She was responsibility for guiding the destinies of herself and now everyone else who was involved in this twisted little clusterfuck. All of this rested solely on her shoulders. If only the weight of that responsibility was easier to swallow.

#rei natsuki #kakashi hatake #the scarecrow and the bell #naruto #naruto oc #fanfiction

[purgatorypress]

The Answer to the Anti-Prompt

Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. 

Prompts belong in Purgatory, as should everything that belongs to this blog. To qualify for Purgatorial status, the nature of the matter - in this case being a prompt - must be contradictory and grey. Its’ form must exist in the middle space where right answers do not exist and truth can be called into question, hence the Purgatorial status. 

To begin, prompts smother creativity and restrict the full flow of ideas and thoughts. Though they may seem open ended, like the one written above, they invariably try to guide the writer into giving a specific kind of story or narrative. A prompt is the invisible hand that guides into the belly of the prompt-creator, giving a constricted sense of freedom. The prompt is pulling the story from you, rather than allowing the story to run free from the naval, as would be natural and unrestricted. Therefore, in natural, rebellious behavior, it is only right to combat prompts by writing an anti-prompt. This, of course is ironic as well, because writing an anti-prompt still acknowledges the original prompt and is a prompt in of itself. However, such is the way of antagonism - it cannot stand independent of its’ antagonizer. 

Onto the answer to the anti-prompt. 

Here is a problem that will never be solved: Who is stronger - Kakashi Hatake or Gojou Satoru? 

Both are devilishly strong ninjas and sorcerers in their own respective universes, and though it is wildly unlikely that a cross-over fight between the two would ever happen, the question still stands: who is stronger? 

Never before have there been such characters who are equally charming, childlike, sassy and strong. Of all the white-haired, good-looking senseis, these two take the cake. Between fighting dark-eyed shinobis and demonic curses, both Kakashi and Gojou lead their respective fields in mastery and specialization of skill and strength. They are tremendously feared by their enemies yet dearly cherished by their students. Having achieved god-tier status, Kakashi and Gojou exist in a realm of their own, and their fight scene would be in everyone’s Top 10 for the next millenia - hypothetically, if it were to happen. 

Kakashi Hatake is a masterful shinobi who achieved renown at a young age due to his tenacity, cool temperment and overwhelming ninja-abilities. He has fought some of the toughest shinobis such as Zabuzu and Obito and still lived to tell the tale. Best known for his devilish sharingan, Kakashi has earned the name, “Copy-cat Ninja” for his ability to perfectly imitate any ninjutsu style, making it difficult for opponents to overwhelm him. This particular style causes serious strategic issues for his opponents, who must quickly decide what jutsus to perform so as not to have their own arsenal used against them. Should they risk using a high-skill, deadly jutsu, only for it to be copied and retaliated? Or, should they play it safe and stick to the basics and hope to win based on physical strength and raw skill? Those unfamiliar with Kakashi’s style will quickly find themselves in a game where your own strength will be used against you. 

Gojou Satoru is a newer player to the game, but should be considered lightly. In contrast to Kakashi’s aloof airs, Gojou is like the cool senior with a devil-may-care attitude. As one of the leading jujutsu sorcerers, Gojou has been entrusted with the training of exceptional young, budding students who adore their starlike sensei. When he’s not engaged in experimental training sessions, Gojou is out exorcising special-grade curses - those that even the most seasoned sorcerers struggle to expel. In his iconic fight against Jogo the Volcanic curse, we see the full extent of Gojou’s power with his mind numbing Domain Expansion technique, Infinite Void. In the Void, he exposes his opponent to infinity in which they are forced to feel everything and nothing simultaneously which results in the absolute wreckage of their consciousness. Though curses are not technically humans, the mind is only capable of processing so much information at once. To overwhelm the mind by forcing it to acknowledge the vastness and emptiness of the void in its’ infinity, the mind is unable to cope and compartmentalize, therefore, lobotomizing his opponent. 

Therefore, in battle, the main question that must be addressed is this: Can Kakashi use his sharingan to copy Gojou’s Infinite Void? Is Kakashi’s jutsu capable of immitating Domain Expansion? If yes, then the two would be forced to fight it out within the doman, which boils the battle down to strength, fighting style and jutsu-jujutsu ability. If no, then Kakashi would certainly lose, as it is highly unlikely that his mind could handle the infinite void. Though he has had experience with mind-altering techniques in fights, these battles left him in defeat (see, Kakashi vs. Obito). However, should Kakashi be able to recreate the Infinite Void technique, then the question remains to be answered - who is stronger? 

Let me know what you think!

My money is on....

[crackshipper13]

Prompt 1- Time Travel

Rating: T 

Pairings: NejiHina, Past/Future Past Nar*Hina 

Based off of the Boruto Time Travel Arc, more specifically the ending episode.

----------- 

Isn’t there something you want to do? 

The Time-Traveling tool Karasuki had been asked this question by Boruto Uzumaki while taking him back to his own time, and he really didn’t have an answer. 

He was merely a tool after all, what could he possibly want to do? 

The Turtle bounced around time and space until eventually deciding he would just land where he landed, and be used as he was used. 

It was his nature after all.

Coincidentally, he landed on top of the counter top of the Uzumaki Household, it being the next day after he had returned the boy and his mentor. 

He rested there among the containers, regathering his chakra until he was picked up.

Slender hands cradled his shell as his fins flailed out with a mechanical whirring sound and soon his head poked out to the meet the surprised face of Hinata Uzumaki. 

“ Ohayo. I am Karasuki, the Noble Device. Allow me to advise you on the procedure of my operation.”

She turned him over before righting him, as if wondering which one of her children he belonged to and who gave him to them. He did have a bow on his shell after all. 

“ Confirming Procedure. My operation will be hindered if any steps are made out of order.” 

It was a very polite Turtle as the Uzumaki Housewife took out a wash cloth and walked him to the table, setting him down on it. 

“ And what is it you are meant to do?” The soft-spoken woman asked, tilting her head to it. 

“ Uzumaki Hinata-Sama.” She almost flinched at that name, “ I am a transportation device. I bring you to the time of your choosing. I must first be charged with Chakra in order to Operate. 

Once Charged, Please Configure my transfer settings.” 

“ Transfer? To wherever?” 

“ Hai.” 

“ Past or Future?”  “ Of course.” 

-----------

Hinata had considered herself a selfish person for a while now. 

Ever since Naruto turned his attention onto her, she had felt as if she had done something wrong in terms of him, especially when his attention gradually drifted away again.

Like she had captured him instead of freeing him, trapping him with her as his smile bled away to a shadow of it’s former self, even to the point he stayed in his office instead of being with her and/or their children

And she considered herself selfish for hating it and wanting it to return without letting him go. 

So, she decided to be selfless for once.

The turtle’s eyes glowed and the bow unwrapped, the shell splitting as he glowed, the orb of light expanding as she remembered her son asking about his Uncle Neji as she stepped into it. 

Neji...

There was a vortex of color, an aurora borealis as boxes of dark lined in glowing color moved upwards to wherever they ever they may go. 

She was a woman on a mission, rusty though she may be from years of peace and eventually just being a wife and mother, though you may be surprised how many times Byakugan and other techniques helped out in raising children. 

Eventually the world turned white and she fell from the sky into a camp on the edge of the battlefield. 

----------

The Fourth Ninja War was no joke, it being worse than she recollected as she glanced over the dead and the injured begging for medics as she moved through the groups of the dead and dying, eventually finding a uniform of black with a green vest and the headband that symbolized you were a part of the war, tying it around her neck as it was a familiar weight that made her heart heavy. 

It was real. 

This was real.

Karasuki had been in her hand since the fall, though she had paid no mind to him, only vaguely hearing he needed to rest as she tucked him into her weapon’s pouch when she acquired it. 

This was a one-time thing. 

If she died… It didn’t much matter as she was changing the future anyways. 

And she knew deep down it was for the better. 

“ Byakugan.” She murmured as her veins bulged, allowing her to see all around her for a vast distance, much more improved than her younger self as she quickly found where Neji and her were, Naruto just collapsing at that time as she was caught by the enormity of the Ten tails. 

Her Nightmares had the Ten Tails and Obito many a time, mocking her and Naruto about Neji’s death in the hell of sleep. 

She grit her teeth but bowed her head as she merely ran forward, stopping and using Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm to deflect attacks she knew were coming, even if it impaled and immediately killed others. 

If she was more of a hero, or maybe stronger like Naruto or Sakura she could have protected them all from that. 

She watched as her father bashed away the Ten Tail’s hand with the technique she was going to use to save Neji, Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm, or for short, Hakke Kuhekisho.

She watched as the wooden hand of the Ten Tails arched up and splintered in an attack solely made for Naruto. 

She watched as her younger self jumped in front of it, and then Neji. 

But she was a step faster than all of them, knowing everything that was going to happen, the hell that had haunted her Nightmares for years as she jumped in the way of Neji. 

“ Hakke Kuhekisho!” Her battle cry was much more of a roar now that she was older, all her rage pushing at the stakes and stopping them, flinging them away as she landed on the ground with Neji, whom turned back to stare at her. 

She had made no attempt to hide her face, and she berated herself for it as she turned away from him. 

“ Who are you?” His biting tongue lashed at her back, his glare died down as the last of his chakra to hold the Byakugan was gone- the reason why he sacrificed himself rather than deflect it as he had no chakra left to do so. 

“ No one of consequence.” She murmured, her voice lower than her younger self’s but it was clear who was still speaking as she was grabbed on the shoulder and turned around, Neji never one to dance around an issue as his eyes widened. 

“ Hinata-Sama?” His tone was shocked and, confused as they looked back to the younger version of her, whom looked to them confusedly as she helped up Naruto, whom was trying to power back up.

“ Don’t. I’m doing what I need to do to protect you. No questions. 

No Sacrificing yourself for me. Do not die for the Main Branch.” 

He seemed to be taking this so well for what it was, but so many things were happening with the dead being brought back to life and Tailed Beasts being brought back, nothing was impossible in the middle of their war as he watched her,“ I wasn’t dying for the Main Branch Hinata-Sama. I was dying for you.” 

“ Well never do that again!” Older Hinata snapped to him as tears streaked down her face, “ Promise me you will not kill yourself for me!”

“ Hinata...” He dropped the Suffix as he watched her, “ No matter how long I’ve been dead in your time, or your world, wherever you came from- You should remember I would never make such a promise.” 

--------

He looked back to her younger self as she supported Naruto, Older Hinata looking back as well. 

“ Aren't you happy with him?” He asked almost softly.

“ Why does that matter when he is not happy himself?” The Hokage’s wife answered solemnly before she looked back to the Ten Tails whom was crushed between Yamato’s Mountain Jutsu, “ It’s time to face Obito. Neji, I will not let you die as long as I have a say in it.” 

“ And neither will you.” He answered as she looked once more to Naruto, walking over to him before clasping his shoulder as him and her past self looked to her in shock. 

“ I know I am not nearly as motivating as Neji-Nii-San dying, but Naruto-kun you cannot lose this fight.” She then started moving her Chakra to her hand, feeling her nearly full cup pour into his. 

“ We must defeat Madara and Obito.” 

----------- 

“ Shall we head back to your time?” Karasuki asked once fully recharged, having snagged leaking chakra to recharge faster. 

“ Yes.” Answered the scarred Uzumaki-Hyuuga, whom looked to the ends of the war, seeing Team 7 as Sasuke and Naruto had lost their arms as Sakura scolded them and Kakashi chuckled, looking to see everyone coming to them from a distance as Hinata supported a wounded but alive Neji as she cried in happiness, “ We did what we could.” 

“ Affirmative.” The world turned white and soon she was traversing back to her time which was no longer to be her own. 

When she landed, she was in the Hyuuga Compound. 

She wondered what had happened before walking for her old room. 

Wounds that she had gained in the war knit and faded, leaving very little scarring from some wounds she had received as her past self. 

Her memory kept the past, but bled with knowledge of the future before she stopped in front of her room, hesitating before she opened the door, looking to the more open room with the bigger bed as sleeping there was Neji. 

She moved over to him and reached over, tenderly touching the unmarred flesh of his forehead as he peeked open an eye sleepily to her before grabbing her hand and giving it a kiss of affection.  

“ Good Morning Koi.”

#NejiHinaWeek2019 #NejiHina #I hope you guys enjoy this contribution #I hope to be here all week #Anti Nar*Hina