#because sai is right there almost level with yamato saying this—which makes you want to go right to sai instead of directly down

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: Vapors 101

"H-Yah! Ha! Ha! Hya!" Gai's fists were a blur as he danced around his opponent. His lips were pulled tightly across his gums, exposing both his teeth and full-hearted joy. Lee was nearly as loud, and nearly as fast. He was actually scoring more hits than his sensei, in no small part because Kisame was clearly able to see that one was more dangerous than the other and prioritized avoiding Gai's limbs when he was stuck between the two.

It was a little intimidating. Karin cringed a little, inadvertently curling close to Itachi's side. He scared her on a visceral level she couldn't explain, but at least at the moment he didn't look like he was mad with bloodlust. And he was supposed to be helping her, right? She didn't like being away from comrades. Had Kakashi separated her from her team because he was mad at her? No, he wasn't that petty. This was the best solution, she had to believe it.

'This is why I don't do field work,' she fretted, heartbeat racing. 'It's too messy.'

The rain that had been fogging her chakra sense was gone, which was a mixed relief. After so many weeks of essentially being crippled, it was disorienting to suddenly be in the midst of a new place with so many signatures moving. She could tell that the Kiri troops were intending to engage Kakuzu—and that was going to be soon, she would message them in a few minutes to let them know he was almost on top of them so he couldn't slip by. Naruto and Yamato and Sasuke were barreling towards possible hostiles. Everyone else was either fighting or slinking around inside the base—which had led to the disconcerting realization that Kakashi and Neji had found some sort of facility within the building with chakra suppressors. They'd disappeared from her view a few minutes back. So there could possibly be more people waiting in ambush.

'And I've been left with Sasuke's creepy brother.' And boy, was he ever creepy. Karin didn't have any right to complain about red eyes being unnerving on principle, but his were so distant and impassive. It was like he wasn't looking at people. He was looking at facts and figures and weighing outcomes. She shivered uncontrollably and wrapped icy cold fingers around her arms in a pitiful attempt to warm up. Once she had stopped moving, the chill had set in. Ame was awful and dreary even without the artificial and constant rain. Her long sleeves weren't much help, soaked as they were.

'There's nothing for it. I have to trust him. I have to trust Sasuke's assessment. Being suspicious of Itachi won't do me any good. I can't hope to fight him, and I need his help to make sure I can do my job. Keeping everyone aligned is too important for me to cower.'

"I-Itachi-san?" Her voice almost sounded normal. "Do you think they can beat Hoshigaki?" She immediately worried at her lower lip once the words had come out. Itachi would know, of course, he should know the Akatsuki's weaknesses better than anyone. He didn't seem like a man who would lie to reassure her. She almost didn't want to hear his assessment—if he said Lee and Gai were about to die, what would she do? Should she try to help?

"They will defeat him."

The timbre of his voice was pleasing, and the cultured enunciations he used made him sound intelligent. It was only the detached way he spoke that made it seem like something was very wrong in the older Uchiha's head.

Still, she felt a flicker of relief. "Good." Karin swallowed, allowing herself to look back at the closest fight. It was… Well, she could barely see what was happening. It was far faster than she could fight. Far faster than anything she'd seen from Sasuke or Naruto, even. She didn't want to have to interfere. It seemed more likely that she would get in the way.

"The other team will not be able to stand against Konan."

Startled, she wheeled around. "Say what? They have her surrounded five to one," Karin protested nervously. "If Gai-sensei and Lee-kun can defeat Kisame, then why…"

Itachi seemed almost pitying. "Konan is a formidable opponent." He looked away into the distance, as if he could possibly still see that fight. There was no way he could, of course. They had passed out of her field of vision six minutes prior and they were still moving, though unsteadily.

'Is Konan intentionally herding them?' She suddenly wondered, sickly with nerves. Her abilities were so stupid and useless when she didn't know the terrain!

"Kakashi-sensei… Is he going to find anything in the base?"

Itachi seemed strangely tolerant of her questions and presence—patient, even. She might as well push her luck. What was he going to do, snap and kill her? Karin suppressed hysterical laughter. She was trusting her life with a mass murderer because Sasuke said he was alright. God, if he was wrong, she was going to come back as a ghost and choke him to death with one of his pretty collared shirts.

Belatedly, she realized that she was growling. Karin stopped that.

Her companion and apparent bodyguard might have even looked a little amused at her sudden emotional shift from nervousness to vowing vengeance. "Very little. He may be interested in the holding facilities. I suspect that Suna will be interested in re-acquiring some of the individuals within."

Karin blinked, remembering Aiko's description of her time in captivity. It had sounded rather more casual than a stay in an actual holding facility. "Cells? Are those new?" she asked sardonically. Instantly, she flushed.

'Idiot! Don't try to joke with him. You don't know how he'll take it.'

The worst part was that he was so damn still that he was all but impossible to read. "No." At least he didn't seem angry, but he looked directly at her. "But they are seldom occupied. Pein-sama prefers not to keep prisoners, but he made a concession for practicality's sake. Kisame has been feeding Samehada there."

"..and Samehada is what, a dog?" she asked, feeling lost.

If that sound had come from anyone else, she might have labeled it an aborted laugh. Instead, Karin convinced herself it was a tiny cough. "His sword," Itachi stressed gravely.

'Oh, right. Kakashi said that earlier.' Feeling stressed and like her focus was slipping, Karin ran her tongue along the inside of her teeth. 'Time to alert Kumo, I think.'

By now, the motions to call the twin to the serpent she had planted in Kumo's main camp were executed without so much as a thought. Gently, she caught the animal that appeared and let her twine around Karin's arms in a pitiful attempt at warmth.

"I apologize," she murmured, turning politely away from Itachi to talk to her summons. Rakki squeezed around her wrist with enough force to hurt, clearly not much appeased. "Tell Scale-sister that the digger will be with the humans from Kumo within two minutes."

"Yes," Rakki agreed unhappily, and let go. Karin let her fall, ending the connection keeping her in the human world before the serpent could hit the ground.

'They are going to be angry with me,' Karin mused guiltily for the hundredth time. It was far too cold here for her summons, and the time commitment was as long as the task was dull. She was going to have to get them so many lizards to make up for this… Mice weren't going to cut it this time.

A pained cry rent the air. Karin jumped half a foot, hand flickering with a chakra scalpel before she had decided whether her impulse was to heal or cut.

"Oh my god," she whispered, eyes wide and fixed on the smallest figure visible. Whatever had happened had clearly taken him out of commission. He wasn't even standing. "Lee!" She'd never seen him hurt like that before—he got scrapes and broken bones like anyone else, but he'd never- he was just too strong and too stubborn to be unable to fight.

It became unpleasantly clear that Gai-sensei was no longer enjoying his fight. She couldn't hear what he said, but the red chakra that coated his body couldn't possibly be a good sign.

Frantic, she surveyed the situation- Kakuzu had been engaged. The team fighting Konan was going strong. Captain Yamato's team was fine and had taken out one of their opponents. Kakashi and Neji were still hidden from her senses in some dark hole in Akatsuki's base.

She should hold her post and pay attention to the grand scheme of the theatre in case something went wrong. Instead, she tore across the mud, slipping at one point but not caring. Karin crossed the distance separating her from her downed colleague in a matter of seconds, completely forgetting that she had an intimidating shadow. Itachi didn't say anything one way or the other.

"What happened, Lee?" Karin breathed, dropping to her knees in the sod and marsh. He grinned up at her tiredly, but the cracks in his cheer showed it for the lie it was.

"I was defeated, Karin-san! But fear not. Next time, he shall not get the better of me."

Involuntarily, she cast a dubious glance over her shoulder at the carnage happening far too quickly for her to see. Suddenly, the 'Beast' nickname didn't seem like a boast at all. "I don't think Gai-sensei is going to leave anything for you to fight," she mumbled, pulling her jacket off and balling it under his head. "Hold still, Lee-kun."

Had he been any other shinobi, she probably would have pulled his shirt up before examining him. As it was, she didn't think he would thank her if she ripped his jumpsuit and left him in his tighty whities. So she gently placed just her fingertips over his gut and tried to ignore the way he winced and clenched his jaw. Karin closed her eyes, cataloguing what her senses were telling her as she moved her hands.

'Four broken ribs. One pierced the left lung and it's filling with fluid. Severe bruising, but that's almost negligible at this point…'

She summed the situation up with a blunt and professional, "Shit."

Lee gave a choked laugh. "Karin-san! Here I thought that Sasuke-san was jesting when he claimed that he was going to recommend you further study bedside manners."

"That sassy bastard? Like he's one to talk," she replied, managing to give the Chuunin a smile and totally miss the way Itachi nearly choked. Lee was incredible to be able to make jokes at a time like this. In his position, she might just be crying. How could someone be so good-natured all the time? He had to be in horrendous pain.

Speaking of which… Karin reached into the pouch at her left hip and dug out a yellow capsule. "Bite this, please," she ordered crisply, tucking it inside Lee's lips and ignoring his surprise. That would do for the pain, but pain was just a symptom. If she didn't do something about the blood in his lung, he would drown. That couldn't be first, though. She had to move the broken rib into place and at least get it patched up before she could do anything about the liquid.

The blood wouldn't be a problem for her. She'd mastered Tsunade's poison extraction technique as well as Shizune could teach her. Moving liquid was well within her capabilities.

'I wish I'd been better as an actual field medic,' Karin thought a little morosely. She was a poison specialist, not a trauma surgeon. Sasuke would be much, much better at the bone work.

But he wasn't here now, and she was.

She had no idea how long it took her to coax the rib piercing his lung back into place, but she was trembling and sweat was dripping down her forehead.

'It's quiet,' Karin noted vaguely. 'Does that mean Gai's fight is over?'

Maybe. She didn't bother to look or see what was happening elsewhere. A medic had to focus on the patient alone. Or they would end up with a dead patient.

Lee had lapsed into what she thought was unconsciousness for a second—until he blinked his eyes open to look up at her dazedly.

His breathing sounded terrible—waterlogged and raspy. A little panicked, Karin bent low over his chest to assess how much he'd bled while she'd been working. 'More than I'd like,' she grimly judged.

Still, this was the easy part.

"Keep your mouth open, and stay calm," Karin ordered, trying to sound confident and no-nonsense instead of like she was in the middle of her first surgery in the field.

It had to be incredibly unpleasant to feel a rush of hot blood being pulled up his lung and up and out of his throat, but Lee bore it stoically. Karin balanced the glob between trembling hands- and then tossed it to the side, bringing her fingers back down to the bottom of his lung to repeat the procedure again and again until there was no liquid left where it shouldn't be. Pale-faced and exhausted, she re-checked Lee's vitals—and slumped over in relief. He was doing well. Now she just needed to try to heal the other two ribs, see if she could perfect the patch over the one she had already done, and make sure he couldn't re-injure himself by-

"Karin-sensei," mumbled-

Karin blinked and looked up, downright shocked to hear the term of respect coming from Uchiha Itachi. Sensei was the traditional marker of respect for a doctor but she wasn't really deserving of that.

"Yes?" she asked faintly, and tried not to blush at the strange softness in his gaze or the way he slightly bowed his head to her.

'Maybe he just really respects medics,' Karin realized vaguely. That was unusual. Pleasant, but not the ordinary case among shinobi.

"May I suggest that you examine Maito-san?" He gestured towards a slumped figure she hadn't noticed. The movement was so subtle that she could tell it was a conscious effort for him to utilize body language at all. She instantly pegged him as even more socially awkward and repressed than Sai. Shame.

'Wait. Gai is hurt?'

But she already knew Lee was hurt-

Lee grabbed her hand. "Please examine Gai-sensei first, Karin-san!" He was all but begging.

Karin nodded slowly, detangling her hand. "Of course," she allowed, and pushed her glasses up slightly before she jogged across the slight distance. She tried very hard not to notice the blood splatters and obviously shattered bones in the over-large body that lay not far away.

"Kisame is dead," Itachi assured her, seeming to catch on to her hidden fear. She felt ashamed, but didn't allow herself to wallow in it.

Gai… was not in good shape. "What did you do," she breathed incredulously. He was slightly too unconscious to offer a reply. Every muscle she examined was torn, ligaments pushed far beyond their limits, bones cracked in odd patterns she'd never seen before… and his chakra core was depleted.

'Mito-sensei would be irritated with me,' Karin realized, even as she wiped her right forearm with a sanitary wipe from her med-kit and carefully placed it inside Gai-sensei's mouth. Sensei hadn't liked the use of her unusual abilities as anything except a literal last resort. Healing other people by gifting away her life energy took a harsh toll on Karin's body. It was unhygienic, unconventional, and her best option at the moment. Itachi moved, possibly startled or revolted, but didn't interfere when she placed her splayed fingers on the bottom of the unconscious man's jaw and used the force to 'encourage' his teeth to break the surface of her epidermis.

"I can share my vitality this way," she explained, feeling oddly ashamed of the crude methodology. Karin didn't have long to wallow in her inadequacies—Gai unconsciously sapped a horrifying portion of the chakra she hadn't spent running or fighting or healing. She gritted her teeth and pulled away, breathing heavily. It took two tries to find the proper proportions of neutral physical and spiritual energy to call up diagnostic chakra to check his condition, which she instantly recognized as proof that she was nearing her limits. That was all but instinctive at this point in her career.

And her glowing palm technique cut out before she could get a real reading. Frustrated, Karin shook her fingers out and tried again. A warm hand curled around her wrist before she could force the jutsu.

"Do not push yourself beyond what you are capable," Itachi said quietly. Almost self-consciously, he released her hand quickly and nodded at her patient. "A visual check is enough to confirm that Gai-san's state is much improved. Trust that your teammates will return, or that you may finish treating your patients once you have recuperated."

She stared for a second, light-headed and a little grumpy at being interrupted. "Are you always so… logical?" Karin scrunched up her nose in a moue of distaste. "That seems so dull."

Still, she took the advice and leaned back in a recovery position, getting as much oxygen as possible and re-gaining her bearings. "Speaking of which," Karin mumbled, barely aware that she was talking aloud. She squeezed her eyes shut. That wasn't strictly necessary, but when she was having a hard time focusing, it was helpful to separate her senses so that she could concentrate on whatever was most crucial.

Kakashi and Neji were back and making their way towards her position. So was Yamato's thankfully intact team. The other fight had moved quite a distance away—and Konan had disappeared off her vision. That meant that something had gone wrong. She was supposed to have been captured. Had she been killed or had she escaped, Karin wondered idly. It was impossible to know without further information. At least the five shinobi who'd been fighting Konan seemed fine.

Kakuzu was gone as well… As were two of the signatures she'd become familiar with from Kumo. Dead, or had they chased him out of her range?

"Karin, Itachi. Report. Any problems?" She blinked gummily, a little surprised that Kakashi had appeared so suddenly.

"Lee-kun and Gai-sensei are going to need another healing session before either one of them is moved," she offered. "Yamato's team won and is on their way back here. Ah… The fighting ended with Konan and her signature is gone, but I don't know what happened. No fatalities on our side, but I don't know about medical condition yet."

Self-consciously, she rubbed at her face and gave consideration to falling over unconscious instead of finishing her report.

Karin tabled the thought for later, because unconsciousness sounded blissful. May as well bite the kunai and fess up to dereliction of duty, because her commanding officer was going to figure it out even if Itachi didn't tattle on her. "I became preoccupied with healing, and I'm not certain if Kakuzu escaped or was killed. But two Kumo nin are either dead or out of my range as well."

Kakashi didn't seem pleased by her assessment. "Contact them, if you can," he ordered briskly before seeming to note that Neji was all but staring at his teammates. "Feel free to visit them," Kakashi advised a little more softly. "Hurry. You're going to go check on Tenten's team after that." Then he turned to Itachi last. "Any problems?"

"I suspect that Konan and Kakuzu have both escaped," he calmly put forth. "It should also be brought to your attention that Karin-sensei is not in fit condition to perform another jutsu at the moment."

A sharp eye pinned the redhead just as she made the first seal to summon a serpent. She blinked guiltily, not sure why she felt that way. "I see," the Jounin sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Forgive me, Karin-chan, I should have noticed. Forget what I said." Kakashi ran through his own sequence of handseals—and a moment later smoke was clearing to reveal two hounds.

Well. One of them was a proper hound. The other was a stubby little pug with big sad eyes.

"Pakkun, I need you to deliver a message to the closest units," Kakashi ordered briskly. "Tell them to contact the adjacent squad and move into Ame. We're taking temporary control of the village."

"We?" the pug asked curiously, tilting his head.

"The alliance," Kakashi clarified lazily. "Not Konoha in particular, of course. It seems that Akatsuki is definitely associated with Ame. They shouldn't pose much threat on their own, but it would be foolish to leave known enemies unsupervised when we have taken control of their base. Bisuke, stay with Pakkun, just in case something goes wrong."

The actual hound gave a pleasant yap and beat his tail against the ground one time. Karin forced down a smile. She didn't think Kakashi-sensei would appreciate being told that his ninken were adorable and cuddly looking.

The serious expression on his face leant to that impression. She was glad she hadn't moved to pet the dogs.

Some people were just so touchy. Karin gave a huge yawn that cracked her jaw. Appalled, she slapped a palm over her open mouth and tried to force her eyes to stay open.

'I should find out what Gai-sensei did that took so much of his life energy,' she decided, even as it became clear that she wasn't going to find out anytime soon. Neji bounded off in the direction Itachi indicated, clearly on course to ensure that his last remaining teammate was not also in need of medical attention.

She would have plenty of time to find out, if they were going to be stuck in Ame for the foreseeable future. Blegh. No one was going to be pleased about putting Ame under new management.

When Neji returned, it was with Tenten, Genma, and the disgruntled Suna team. Karin knew their target had gotten away before anyone so much as spoke from their downtrodden attitudes. It didn't help matters when Naruto blandly reported that they'd won their fights before turning to Temari and asking how she'd finished Konan.

'His faith is inspiring,' Karin thought dryly. 'His situational assessment is less so.'

Still, by that point she was feeling well enough to grab Sasuke and get a secondary opinion on the men in green. Karin barely noted that the large team was talking about the fight with Konan-something about her leading them to another building and making a break for the border, leading them through a delaying ambush of Ame nin. She was more preoccupied with the situation that she could alter. Injuries for the other team were less severe than even the improved condition of Karin's two patients, so she hardly felt guilty about privileging the care of people she knew. This time, she was aware enough to recognize that Itachi was watching with undisguised interest as she and Sasuke ran diagnostics and compared notes.

Gai was recuperating shockingly well, given an infusion from her regenerative chakra. The spiderweb cracks in his bones were the only problem that would be a lasting issue—but assuming he was treated gently, only minor treatments and nutritional supplements would have him on the path to recovery.

Lee was another story. A second pass of his lungs revealed a small clot she had missed on her initial diagnosis—something that seemed to have been a preexisting condition. She frowned, mildly amazed that such a thing had slipped notice, but excised it nonetheless. His broken ribs were going to be a problem, however.

"I don't think we can let them heal naturally," Karin posited unwillingly, curling her toes inside her sandals. Normally, that was optimal. A medic nin generally encouraged the body to heal better and more expediently than usual. Forcing the healing process was disruptive and often had long-term repercussions for the patient's immunity and ability to heal naturally.

But the situation they were in was too dangerous to play it safe. Lee would hardly be able to stand without risking incurring further damage, much less keep pain at manageable levels without eating drugs like they were breath mints.

Sasuke sighed, fluffing up the back of his hair. "How is your chakra level?" he asked, not sounding like he expected much.

When she admitted that she was nearly drained, he just nodded.

"I'm hardly surprised. You've been maintaining all those summons for days now. Your available pool was much smaller than usual." Sasuke flicked his black eyes into red effortlessly, in the space between thoughts. "Can you hold the topmost rib in place while I work?"

Kakashi watched the interchange impassively, realizing in the sickly light that they had fought almost through the night. He turned his gaze on each of the shinobi in his care one by one, cataloguing their states. Most needed rest and care. Naruto and Sasuke had the best summons for getting a report back to Konoha—and this situation did need to be reported—but they should rest. Silently, he ran his hands through the seals to summon two more members of his pack. Urushi and Guruko looked up at him inquisitively. He knelt to speak with them in an undertone.

"Can I get you to take a message to Konoha?"

The ninken didn't bother to respond verbally. Guruko grinned good-naturedly. Kakashi reached out to scratch behind an ear for both hounds, silently expressing his thanks. When he drew his hands back, it was to pull a bit of paper and a pen out of his hip pouch. "Just a minute, then."

Poor Tsunade didn't speak dog, after all.

Obito jerked into awareness and simply raised one hand. Zetsu obediently halted. The unconscious man on his back swayed sickly with the motion, but didn't stir.

That was normal. He wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, if at all before the end.

"Tobi-san?" White Zetsu asked inquisitively. The dark side of his face pulled into a sneer, but said nothing.

"Do you sense anyone familiar?" Obito asked quietly, slipping out of Tobi's skin and thoughts like they were a manky old sweater. The boy obediently slunk into silence.

Zetsu quirked his head slightly. It was Black Zetsu who answered. "The greedy old man," he muttered distastefully. "Kakuzu-san is alright," White Zetsu disagreed mildly.

Obito concentrated on the important information and ignored the byplay. "Give me the jinchuuriki," he ordered, and hurriedly hustled the man onto his back. Kakuzu thought he was Zetsu's hanger-on, and would expect him to be doing the heavy lifting and grunt work. "Find out what has happened in our absence."

It wasn't long before the familiar chakra signature veered on course to meet them, clearly recognizing their party. They met several miles out of Ame's northern border.

Kakuzu was in his pajamas, clearly dirtied, and limping slightly. It didn't bode well.

"Oh no, Kakuzu-senpai!" Tobi gasped, jerking control away from Obito and flailing in concern, nearly letting his burden slip to the ground. He flitted about the older man, apparently unaware of his growing rage, and examined him from various angles. Even Tobi wasn't stupid enough to try to hug Kakuzu to make him feel better or even touch him. No other Akatsuki had fits of mindless rage like the miser did, and there was no way to get in a fight with him without losing his cover as an idiot.

"Tobi, calm yourself," Black Zetsu spat condescendingly. His calmer half tried to soothe things over by turning the conversation over to the interloper. "What has happened, Kakuzu-san? We have returned with our target."

Kakuzu snorted, ill-tempered. The fact that he hadn't lashed out betrayed that he was weaker than he was letting on, however. "For all the good it will do," he sneered. "Leader-sama left the bimbo in charge and wandered off somewhere. The Konoha and Suna morons moved into Ame. Hidan is dead. The last I saw, Kisame and Konan were fighting against poor odds." His voice dropped into simmering rage and bitterness. "Itachi has betrayed us."

'Well, that's not surprising at all,' Obito snorted. Idiots, the lot of them, never thinking to look beyond what they had been told was truth. Itachi had made a tactically sound, at least for the short-term. The only unexpected turn there had been that Pein had dared leave Ame… Was that why he had been sent out of the country? Pein had probably hoped to return before Obito knew he was gone.

'But where did he go?" Madara whispered, curling like grey smoke to strangle other thoughts. 'What does he wish to hide from us? Is he afraid of what we would do unchecked in Ame, or wary of what we would do to stop whatever course of action he has set upon?'

"Itachi-senpai would never betray Akatsuki," Tobi said loyally.

Technically, he was correct. Akatsuki had never truly had Itachi's allegiance. It was logically impossible for him to betray the organization.

That didn't mean that the wayward boy wouldn't have to be punished for his choice, of course.

Madara's conversation was more interesting than the outside topic. What would Pein want to hide from Obito?

'Or what would Pein want to do in general,' Obito thought instead, turning the nuances away from a topic he could hardly predict without more information. Pein saw the alliance as the greatest impediment to Akatsuki's goals, quite rightly so, and what would he do about that?

The answer came easily. What else could be expected from someone who thought to impose his will upon the world by creating a monster so terrible that no one would dare disobey him? Pein was crude. He would attempt to solve the matter ham-handedly.

"That's not good," Zetsu muttered, ignoring Tobi altogether. Kakuzu did as well. "Itachi is stronger than Kisame. He's probably lost to us."

"But not Konan?" Kakuzu asked, actually sounding mildly interested. None of them had worked with Pein's partner.

"I cannot estimate," Black Zetsu balefully lied in a way that implied he wished Konan would perish. Obito rolled his eyes, content in the knowledge that no one was paying any attention to him anyways. Pitiful and petty. Zetsu should know better. He was Madara's creature through and through in a way Obito had never been. For the moment, he was a valuable ally in the Eye of the Moon plan, since Obito didn't see a way to accomplish his goals without using Pein's Rinnegan to resurrect the older man.

But Obito hardly felt limited to Madara's vision. He was going to be the one to cast the ultimate Tsukyomi, not that fossil.

'Bide your time,' the deepest voice urged, amused for a reason Obito couldn't put his finger on. 'Now is not the time to show our hand.'

"Is Ame lost to us, then?" Zetsu asked curiously.

"Probably. It's overrun with Konoha and Kumo nin. We will need to contact Pein," Kakuzu grunted, giving a dismissive glance at the form slumped over Obito's back. "It is hardly wise to haul that sack of lard around longer than necessary."

"Without Kisame and Hidan, will it even be possible to extract the bijuu?" White Zetsu asked doubtfully. Black Zetsu made a rude sound, but offered no helpful opinion.

The oldest man present pressed his lips down into a resentful frown. "We will need to augment our numbers," he admitted bitterly. "Even if Konan has survived and meets with us, we will be extracting this bijuu with less than half our original numbers."

Strictly speaking, it wasn't true that they needed more people to extract bijuu. Obito suspected that he could accomplish such a thing with only Pein or Konan for a partner, but each participant cut down the necessary time for the procedure exponentially. They were most vulnerable while performing an extraction. It would be foolish not to shorten that weakness as much as possible.

Itachi was gone. Kisame was probably lost. Hidan had joined Sasori and Deidara in death—unless, of course, he came crawling back a week later as he usually did.

Obito let Tobi proffer an innocent idea. "Why don't we make more friends?" He clapped his gloved hands, as if the concept was novel. "Wasn't there a bad thing in Mist? I bet we can find some more shinobi who can't stay in the village anymore!"

A laugh nearly bubbled up in his throat at that guilelessly innocent description of missing nin, but Obito managed to choke it down in time. Tobi really cracked him up sometimes. More lately than in past, actually.

Any surviving Mist traitors would be highly suspect, of course, but it was a start.

"Good idea," White Zetsu agreed easily. "You can take care of it," Black Zetsu grunted, amused by his own cleverness. "We will hide the jinchuuriki and contact you when we have found Pein-sama."

He pretended to be ecstatic at the suggestion and hurried off the Water Country post-haste. With his abilities, that was far faster than Kakuzu could possibly have predicted. Obito didn't mind the informal mission. He had recruited most of the Akatsuki in some capacity or another. He had a knack for it.

That knack bore fruit only two days later on one of the outlier islands where any fleeing failures would have had to pass, when he went to pull an oversized sword out of the tides and found that it was connected to what initially appeared to be a stubborn current. Obito gave one curious tug, already suspecting the truth.

The boy came sputtering and baring teeth as he solidified out of the water, rather badly attempting to intimidate the Akatsuki.

'One of the water clan,' Madara thought, idly amused. 'And not a particularly impressive specimen, either. I might throw it back and look for a better fish.'

Obito ignored that advice and the obviously battered condition of his find in favor of something more interesting.

"This is one of the swords belonging to the Mist's seven swordsmen," he mused quietly, running a gloved finger over the distinctive handle and eying the half-moon cutout on the enormous blade.

"Yes, and it's mine!" The white-haired teen barked, attempting to pull the blade out of Obito's grip. He didn't relent.

"Did you steal this, boy?"

His catch bristled. "Fuck no, dumbshit. I'm the only real swordsman left."

"You might be," Obito agreed idly. If Kisame really was dead. More relevant to current issue was that Kiri didn't give these swords out to weaklings. The boy was young, clearly possessed more bravado than brains, and was not up to Akatsuki's usual standards. However… he had to have talent; and a quick check of his vitals reinforced the suspicion that the boy would be an A-class fighter given time to recuperate. His chakra was acceptable. "Let's make a deal. Join me, and I will make sure you can retrieve the remaining swords. If you do not wish to travel with me, I will kill you now."

The boy agreed, after a … demonstration of Obito's ability to harm him.

One addition wouldn't be enough, but that was satisfactory progress. Even better, this one feared only him and not Pein. The older man's use was quickly expiring, as evidenced by his failure to use his resources to accomplish a relatively simple goal. Pein had forgone expediency for subtlety and failed in both regards. If he didn't need those damned Rinnegan and an idiot attached to them for the Eye of the Moon plan, that incompetent, idealistic buffoon would have been discarded long ago.

He picked up two more missing nin in a similar fashion before he headed back in search of Akatsuki—one more displaced Kiri nin, and one piece of scum he had found attempting to cash in on a bounty in Tea country. It was time that he started edging out behind the Ame ninja's shadow in some respects. Kisame had been his only loyal follower. If he was truly dead, Obito needed a replacement.

Of course, he also needed to store his hangers on with Zetsu and find out what idiocy Pein had managed to get elbows-deep in.

Konoha felt like a city of the dead. Comparatively speaking, they had an impressive shinobi population for a hidden village. It didn't seem that way when about half of that population was out in the field somewhere. A significant portion of the remainder was either under fourteen or assigned to protecting the cloistered civilians, and therefore unavailable for the moment.

With so many either stationed with their most vulnerable or deployed elsewhere, Konoha's Jounin and Chuunin were stretched thin maintaining tightened perimeters around the village. Even when they weren't officially on guard duty, most of them seemed to walk the streets warily. And why not? It wasn't like there was much else to do.

It had been days since Tsunade had put the village on full lockdown. Doubtless, the civilians were getting restless, but they would be fine for quite a while. The village was prepared for many eventualities, including siege. No one would be happy, but no one would starve in the protected shelters for at least a few months, either.

'It's downright creepy.' Aiko shuddered, walking past yet another store that hadn't had time to lock their doors or put away the wares on display when the alarm had gone off. That poor deli owner was going to have a terrible mess to clean up when they returned. The smell was less than scintillating.

There were a surprising amount of genin aged fifteen and older. Aiko tried not to be biased or judgmental- not everyone became a Chuunin and that was fine—but it just seemed so strange that Naruto's team could have been recommended for promotion after only a few months of duty but that so many other genin apparently hadn't tried the exams yet at that age.

Whatever the reason, she was still grateful for the oddly large numbers. Genin were serving as temporary infrastructure—running messages, and performing the day to day work that kept everyone else fed and in decent health.

The ink on her arm burnt. Aiko didn't bother to look at her ANBU tattoo, though she had the first few times that she'd been summoned to a shift that way. That had made her look like a complete rookie, sadly. It heated when she was required to report in an emergency, but it didn't change in any way. So staring at it as if the tattoo would somehow have the answers was just begging for onlookers to laugh at her expense.

When she'd gotten the tattoo, the artist had told her that the chakra-infused ink could be used to contact her in case of emergencies. But she'd never been on a squad that did anything particularly risky or time-sensitive. Running patrols and taking guard shifts was formulaic and well scheduled, so there was no need to actually contact her as an operative outside of normal channels.

Burning on her arm had become the new normal for the past few days, however.

It didn't seem to indicate an actual emergency now as much as it meant that it was the fastest way to contact an operative. The genin corps had been largely conscripted to replace the existing infrastructure and secretarial positions, but that was still laughably inefficient in comparison to the well-polished system that was normally in place. Being able to run quickly and throw kunai didn't really put genin ahead of the civilian staff when it came to actually getting lines of communication running smoothly and the village operating.

At least temporarily, the burning now meant that she was to report to the Jounin lounge instead of the out of the way ANBU facility. As was the new norm, the room was already occupied.

"Hello." Aoba nodded when she walked in.

Aiko managed a tired smile and a half-hearted wave. She sat sideways on the couch that curled around the outside of the room and stretched out her legs, glancing down at the pale expanse of her bare knees and the tan shorts that covered the top half of her thighs. She hadn't been doing much laundry lately, so she was all out of cheery colored clothing. Her top was red, which she bleakly rationalized might be useful for hiding stains if anything ever did happen. "Yo, Aoba-san. How are you?"

The man gave a rather disapproving look at her boots on the couch cushion. A little sheepishly, Aiko moved them to the floor and straightened with exaggerated care. Only then did he give her a faint smile. "I am doing well, Aiko-san. Are-"

"Uzumaki, you're joining the group on the main gate," a Chuunin read off a clipboard disinterestedly. She flipped her dark ponytail over her shoulder and traced a finger down the paper, and glanced up to check the other occupants. "Yuuhi, Aoba, you're required in the Hokage's office. Kenta…"

Aiko silently got up and gave Aoba a little wave over her shoulder, not wanting to say anything over the woman who was still reading off new orders.

She paced the top of the wall in a circuit that overlapped with the ones being walked by a Chuunin she didn't know and a girl she recognized as one of Lee and Neji's classmates. Aiko couldn't help occasionally glancing down at the guard desk. For once, it wasn't manned. There was no point when the doors were closed and there were exponentially more guards around in more defensible positions.

It was hard to know if she should be more regretful that her tendency to glance down at the unoccupied desk meant that she saw nothing coming or guiltily thankful that she'd just turned around at the end of her circuit. Being hundreds of feet north of the large doors that marked the main gate saved her life. One second, she was glancing away from the treeline to see the empty streets below, and the next a beam of white hot light had blown through the gate and a section of the wall on either side.

Aiko nearly lost her balance, jerking to the side with the percussive force as cracks shot through the stone wall. Enormous chunks of gray stone crumbled and tumbled into the village proper, flattening the guard house and breaking a flowering tree in half like a toothpick.

Shock did what the force hadn't. Aiko stumbled backwards and landed on her ass, hands by her hips and knees partially bent. And she just stared.

There was no one there. In a literal sense. The girl who had been behind her was just gone. Vaporized. There wasn't even blood spatter.

"Oh my god," Aiko whispered, momentarily stunned. Her eyes stung painfully from the dust and debris. It took a moment for her mind to catch on to the change in the situation. She scrambled back to her feet and bounded through the clearing smoke to get a better look, and tried her best to ignore that her heart was pounding all the way up in her throat.

When she felt foreign chakra flicker across her senses, it was hard to believe that she had ever failed to feel it coming. A single man stood there, just for an instant, implacable and impassive on the ground just outside the tree-line with one arm extended- and detached. And then the world seemed to explode with movement.

Aiko shrieked and dropped low, rolling away from the thousands of pounds of gray scales that rocketed over the wall and into the city. She caught a glimpse of an orange stripe on its side, but it was a literal blur.

'What the fuck is that thing?' The view was poor from below, but it was enormous. She might have called it a lizard, if lizards could grow to the size of buildings.

It wasn't alone. Down in the south, the wall was being breached in multiple positions by other oversized animals. A bird of some sort flew over and fucking snatched up a man in its mouth like he was a potato chip, swallowing him down as it beat its wings and soared upwards, out of reach. Most horribly, a crab with a glistening pale underbelly scuttled along the wall with claws held high and picked off anyone unwary or slow enough.

The bulky man standing outside the gate took slow, horrible steps in, unchallenged. Aiko put a shaky hand to her thigh pouch, reaching for her orange-handled kunai, and tried not to wonder how she had been missed when those animals had cut through the rest of her co-workers like they were made of tissue paper. She felt very small and insignificant.

And that feeling was exponentially worse an instant later, when five more men in Akatsuki cloaks stepped out of the tree-line to flank the nin who had taken down the gate. Had one of them summoned those animals, or had that been the bald man as well? Aiko stared for a moment, completely lost and out of her depth.

She thought she'd known a fair bit about Akatsuki. But there were six people she didn't recognize walking into Konoha like they owned the place.

'Oh no wait, I recognize that one,' Aiko realized dazedly. On the side opposite her, flanking the tallest man, walked the man she knew as Pein. The cold-fingered freak who'd dangled her by her neck in Akatsuki's headquarters.

Bizarrely, despite their physical dissimilarities, all the men below shared a few odd traits beyond the Akatsuki wardrobe. They were all heavily pierced, though in different patterns, and despite being worn in various styles (excluding the one bald man), their visible hair was all… It was all..

Pein's gaze lifted- and for a second, she thought that he saw her. Aiko's heart jumped into her throat, and she straightened. If he was going to kill her, she wasn't going to die cowering behind rubble. Despite her suspicions that she was about to die, he didn't make a move towards her. Both of his hands lifted slightly, and his mouth moved. The five figures at his side swayed bizarrely and flopped to the ground like puppets. Which was weird. She couldn't hear what Pein said through the distance, smoke, and sound of screams and shinobi fighting those oversized freaks of nature.

She didn't have to. The world shifted far beyond what any human should be able to accomplish, and Aiko knew he'd done it. She didn't know how, but it was him. The next thing she knew was that the ground was shaking, and that she had been thrown several hundred feet, away from Konoha, away from the epicenter of whatever the fuck had just been done to her hometown.

The grand wall that had already been breached was still largely intact, miraculously. The outskirts of Konoha were covered in debris. Everything inside of that was gone. Worse than gone, it was an enormous crater where hundreds of buildings used to be. Motion-sick and disturbed on a level she couldn't articulate, Aiko shakingly leaned over and vomited, holding onto the grass with her fingers as if she thought the world was about to change directions again leaving her falling into the sky.

The force of that…something… had thrown her outside of Konoha's boundaries, behind the six men who were outside the ruined gate.

From behind, the oddity of their shared coloring was even more obvious, now that she couldn't see that they looked nothing alike as the five that had fallen over crawled to their feet. Self consciously, Aiko brought a hand up to her head, as if considering pulling a lock of hair into view to color check. Within a few shades, her hair color matched that on the set of men striding up. Did it mean something that all those men had the same coloring? If they'd all been brunet, she wouldn't have had a second thought about it.

An instant later, she dismissed it as coincidence summoned up by her irrational frame of mind. It was just hair. That little bit of logical thinking didn't mean she knew what to do.

She wanted to sink down into the ground and die. Hope that they didn't notice her. It didn't seem… there was no way that she could fight those people. Clinically, she knew that she was panicking and needed to calm down. That didn't mean she could.

'I guess… I'm a coward after all,' Aiko thought a little hysterically, shaking severely and not even trying to calm her breathing. 'I don't see how anyone can fight that kind of reckless destruction. If we hadn't evacuated, that man would have…' Her thoughts trailed off, as she realized with a dim sort of horror that many genin and Chuunin would have been held back to hold the inner city as a last line of defense if the Jounin failed.

'Oh god. They're all dead. Hundreds of people are just dead.'

From one moment to another, almost an entire generation of Konoha's rising shinobi was just gone.

Slowly, inexorably, the six men in front of her fanned out and walked through the enormous break in the gate, not sparing a look for the devastation or the animals that were still wreaking havoc in Konoha's outskirts.

What could she do? What should she do? Desperately, Aiko struggled to relate anything in her training to this situation. She was outclassed. Running at the six Akatsuki would earn her a hilariously quick and pointless death. It was still an option. But Konoha was famous for teamwork. That meant she should find reinforcements, right? And report to Tsunade to share what little information she had?

The sensor squad got Tsunade a message several minutes before the wall exploded inwards. Tsunade leapt to her feet and was already en route to meet the invaders personally, with Shizune at her right and Jiraiya at her left. She'd been half-expecting this for days, so on edge that her heart leapt into her throat every time that someone moved towards her office too quickly.

A full ANBU squad intercepted her on the way, led by the last person she expected. Tsunade felt the blood drain out of her face. Her mind raced and her eyes darted between the slightly bent figure of her childhood hero and the masked men who stood proudly at his side.

"Sensei?" she asked, heart twisting.

Hiruzen seemed to guess her thoughts. "There is no time, Tsunade-chan," he told her softly, wrinkled fingers struggling to properly fasten the buckles on the equipment pouch on his thin hips.

Her throat felt thick. 'What do I do? He can't fight. He's too old, he's not in good condition. Sensei will die if he participates. Does he even know what's going on?'

Jiraiya put a warm, oversized hand on her shoulder, and for once she didn't begrudge the invasion of her personal space. The man who had made her into the kunoichi she was today looked back with a largely steady gaze that told her he understood enough. He knew that Konoha was in danger. Sarutobi Hiruzen had sworn to protect Konoha and its people when he took office as Hokage.

She couldn't tell him to cower while the people he thought of as his children fought and died. Tsunade swallowed and nodded, blinking to force down tears.

"Be careful, sensei," she said uselessly, knowing that he wouldn't. Her teacher gave her a reassuring smile that really shouldn't have made her feel any better. Tsunade was a medic. She knew perfectly well that no matter how lucid he was at the moment, a man who was nearly eighty years old shouldn't be engaging in S-class fights.

Jiraiya didn't say anything touchy-feely as he was no doubt aching to, but he gave his teacher a slow nod. "Don't worry about a thing, Tsunade-hime. I don't see how we could lose with two Hokage and so many good shinobi here to protect the village." He pulled one of his cocky grins, and Tsunade had to marvel at his ability to feign happiness.

Instead of complimenting him, she elbowed his ribs gently in what he would recognize as wordless thanks. "Let's go. Sandaime-sama, you're taking control of ANBU, then?"

"I gathered the off-duty ANBU I could find," he said mildly. "I believe that we will be seeing support from the more experienced clan shinobi soon."

And that was that, because an oversized ray of light burst through the village and took a section of wall tumbling with it. Tsunade's heart dropped in her chest, and she ran through the smoke and rubble that hung in the air and obscured her vision. A massive influx of chakra welled out of nowhere and made her quite sure that the sensor team had been mistaken in saying that there was one intruder. It seemed like hours in the dim madness—her retinue ran into a horrifically oversized beast with gray scales and far too many legs. She didn't have to see it knocking over buildings by lashing its tail in order to know that it needed to die.

Tsunade didn't waste time, leaping at the thing herself. Another shinobi would have had to find a way to figure out the beast's weakest point, or work with peers to scrounge together enough destructive force to put a dent in its hide. She leapt up the side of one of the brick structures that still stood, and crossed the distance in the air to land on the thing's back. And then she shattered its spine with a stomp of her foot. The beast collapsed like a puppet without strings.

"At least it didn't get very far in," Shizune offered, sounding angry when Tsunade jumped back down to join the group making their way towards the breach in security.

There was no time for a response. There was only the sense of intense pressure hanging in the air, enormous sound not completely unlike an explosion, and then the realization that she was looking up at the dimmed sky. Dazed, Tsunade took a moment to climb to her feet. When she did, she almost wished she hadn't.

"It's gone," Hiruzen whispered, being helped to his feet by an ANBU in a crow mask. "It's.."

Tsunade swallowed tears—anger and loss—and steeled herself. What was gone was Konoha. The Academy, the tower, her childhood home… it was all gone. A goddamn hole in the ground replaced it.

Someone had to pay for this.

Sarutobi-sensei padded lightly just behind Tsunade when she halted to stare, trying to get her bearings in the confusion. "Orders, Hokage-sama?" her teacher asked, tone forced into calm.

"Pick a target," Tsunade mumbled, feeling a bit disoriented. This hadn't been a situation she had planned for. No one could plan for this. "Shizune, stay with Sandaime-sama and his team in case they need medical assistance." No one said anything about that. It did seem redundant to have the village's two best medics in one place. "Jiraiya and I will head for the-" She jerked and flung a hand out, nearly knocking the girl who'd just appeared back ten feet. Aiko side-stepped just in time, frightfully pale and turquoise eyes wide in her face, pupils dilated in obvious fear.

All three of the kage-level shinobi who had moved relaxed.

"Aiko-chan?" Jiraiya reached out and put a hand on the girl's head. Tsunade pressed her lips together. That wasn't particularly professional, but there would be no point in scolding him.

But the girl would probably react better to structure at the moment, judging by her nearly fearful body language. When a shinobi was on the verge of panicking, it was better to snap them back into a duty mindset than try to comfort them. Especially since there was work to be done.

"Uzumaki, report." Tsunade ignored the disappointed look her old teammate gave her for her unsympathetic tone. It worked—Aiko straightened under Jiraiya's oversized paw and blinked up at her lucidly.

"Six intruders breached the East gate," Aiko began, intense in her sudden focus and looking much more pulled together. Tsunade quietly approved of the compartmentalization. "All of the intruders but one are red-headed males. The individual who breached the wall was a large man with no hair. He used some sort of explosive pulse from a detached arm. I didn't see if the individual who summoned the animals was that man or one of the others. I only recognized one of them as Akatsuki, but they all wear the cloak. The man I recognize was the one the other Akatsuki referred to as their leader, Pein." She paused for a moment, before adding, "I think he was the one who did… this." Aiko's eyes flickered to the destruction and then away just as rapidly.

Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged looks. They didn't have to be sensors at this point to know that the intruders were separating. The oversized animals were all but rioting in the remaining streets, engaging any shinobi that sought them out, but the human intruders were staying to the very outskirts of town, attempting to encircle them.

It wasn't hard to suppose that they didn't want to allow that to happen.

"I will seek out the bald man who took down our gates," Sarutobi-sensei suggested, before bowing his head slightly. "If that is acceptable with you, Hokage-sama."

'That's so bizarre.'

Ignoring the discomfort that hearing her teacher defer to her inspired, Tsunade inclined her head in a nod. "More than acceptable. The rest of us will head to the bulk of the intruders." Three of the intruders were hanging strangely close together. They needed to be separated. Jiraiya and Tsunade as a team were nearly undefeatable—with backup from a few other high level shinobi, they should be able to overwhelm the other force.

Hiruzen and his backup splintered westward without another word. It took forty seconds for Tsunade's group to come into view of the devastation at ground zero for the attack.

Yamanaka Inoichi's ponytail whipped behind him as he swiveled to see the new arrivals. He managed a look of relief before his opponent came too close. Then he grunted in mild surprise, barely evading the whirling blows from one of the orange-haired Akatsuki.

It was positively eerie, Tsunade thought as she leapt into the fray, and would have been even if the intruders didn't maintain a strict silence. The attackers all had the same pale skin and orange hair, but they couldn't be related. Their facial features were too varied.

Their taijutsu style seemed to be all the same, however, which was downright unlikely. It was best described as powerful and fast. Tsunade bared her teeth aggressively into the face of the long-haired man who had leapt to engage her, holding the hand that would have broken her bones into dozens of pieces had she been anyone else trying to catch the blow.

Jiraiya moved in a blur, throwing off the Akatsuki who had come directly behind Tsunade in an attempt to pin her between the two. She cast up a quick thanks that her teammate had her back, grappling with her opponent and tossing him directly into the air with barely a thought.

She shouldn't have looked away from her opponent, no matter what she heard. But the sound that came ripping out of Akimichi Choza's mouth was downright inhuman.

The tableau was grim. Shikaku Naru's face was frozen in a rictus of shock even as a streak of black across the ground froze one of the red-headed Akatsuki into the same wide stance the dark-haired man was holding. Yamanaka Inoichi hit the ground face up with a soft thud, mouth open in surprise and blood trailing out his eyes and ears.

'He tried to possess one of them,' she realized numbly, barely focusing on her own fight enough to leap up to bat the man she'd flung like a cat toy horizontally across the battlefield.

There was no mistaking that, though she had no idea how it had been done. The blonde man was dead. Akimichi Choza was gaining red color and mass rapidly, clearly ready to crush the Akatsuki like a bug.

And then a flicker of orange crossed the field, and the Akatsuki was gone.

So was Aiko.

The moment she realized that one of the three men who she had found her way back to was Pein, Aiko felt physically ill. He had to die. He was the leader. She was sure he'd been the one to flatten the village. Maybe the others would give up without him to give them orders. But he was already fighting the three clan heads. Jiraiya and Tsunade were tag-teaming the Akatsuki with the longest hair. That left the other for her. She had to do her job.

Aiko sped through hand-seals in less than a heartbeat, moving towards the man who was closing on Tsunade. Running straight towards her real target in a predictable trajectory would be stupid. As soon as she'd gotten the last seal out, she forced a glob of chakra down her right wrist in the instant that she re-oriented to the last Akatsuki. Her hand lit up with the faint light refracting off the mock icicles that coated her fingers in a constantly moving mass. She brought it directly into the center of the Akatsuki's back- and then hiraishin'd away before the attack had bored more than two inches into his flesh.

The retreat had been a good move. Her opponent had whirled around with a fist that would have snapped her arm like a twig had she still been there.

With her actual, un-augmented speed, she couldn't hope to compete with this man, Aiko judged grimly. With Hiraishin… well, she'd have to kill him before he could figure out any attack patterns and predict her, because he was fast enough to still pose a significant threat. And were all the intruders like this?

'What is with Akatsuki being unnecessarily scary?' she thought, just mildly hysterical. Her opponent lunged toward her, hardly seeming inconvenienced by the gouge she'd taken out of his flesh. That was insane. She'd torn into his spine and the muscles that protected it.

'I wonder if telling him that he can't fight through that kind of injury would convince him to stand down?' Aiko forced down the laugh that bubbled up and tried to regulate her shaking breath, and fluttered out of her opponent's reach, several hundred feet away. He immediately re-oriented to her and wheeled around—and her attention was torn away to the source of a horrible shriek.

It didn't sound like something that should come out of Choza's mouth. He was… That just didn't make sense.

She cut across the field behind her opponent, getting a better view. Aiko only stayed in that position for the space of a thought, just long enough to see Yamanaka-san sprawling in the dirt.

'I was right,' Aiko realized numbly, not feeling the horror she knew she should. 'Pein is the most dangerous.'

That made him top priority. She had to get rid of him. That didn't mean she could really fight him. He would swat her down like a fly. She couldn't hope to compete with him. It was insane that she had ever thought she could compete with people like this. She'd just watched a better ninja than herself try and fail. (And oh god, Ino, who was going to tell Ino).

But she didn't have to win a fight with him. She just had to get him out of the way. He was probably the one coordinating the attack.

Aiko didn't think. She lunged forward with Hiraishin, twisted her fingers into the back of the frozen man's cloak, and pulled him as far away from Konoha as she could manage. With the large concentration of Hiraishin seals on her allies in a circle that must be the surroundings of Ame's borders, that probably meant she was standing somewhere north of Ame.

She didn't have time to feel triumphant before something collided with her back, knocking the back of her skull painfully. Her teeth ground together even as something was cracking in her ribs and shoulders. Her vision was white. There was no air. There was nothing but pain against her back and heat against her front where she'd been inadvertently pushed into Pein's back.

How did he do that? He couldn't possibly have predicted she would move them here.

The ringing in her ears made it hard to tell if anything else was happening or how long the pause in movement lasted—it felt like a hundred years, but if it had been more than a second Pein would have turned around and killed her.

'Oh god. He's going to kill me,' was quickly followed by, 'fuck no.' She lurched away with a rather pathetic Hiraishin—and hit her knees even before she'd been able to note she'd gotten away, falling over to curl on her side. Aiko nearly rolled onto her back, but the creaking feeling in her chest and biting pain wouldn't allow that. Something wet trickled around the shell of her ear.

'My keen intuition tells me that now is an excellent time to stop for a moment. Not just because I can't breathe. Air, who needs air?'

She tried her best to breathe shallowly so as not to disturb her ribs while still trying to breathe deeply to get oxygen to combat the emptiness in her lungs and white at the edges of her vision.

It took time for that struggle to fade away, though there was no way to measure that time. Aiko struggled to her feet, and turned her face in the direction that must be Konoha.

'If it wasn't almost dry here, I would say I was in Ame,' she thought, licking her lips. Strange. She was south of the tags that told her where Naruto and Kakashi and their teams were, who should have been stationed on the south edge of Ame's borders. That should mean she was in Grass country, shouldn't it?

'I'm so terrible with directions,' Aiko thought. 'I even know that doesn't make sense and I can't see how I'm wrong. I really need to get as many seals up as possible.'

She choked back a laugh, and instantly regretted the brief amusement.

"Right," she wheezed to herself at a tone that was barely audible, taking as big of a breath as possible to stabilize. "Gotta go home and help." Experimentally, she gave a couple of stretches, making sure she still had her full range of motion.

But god, what could she hope to do? Better her than Naruto, better that a hundred buildings fell than that Pein got his claws into her little brother; but the fearful part of her mind was asking how was her going back to die against Akatsuki in Konoha going to help?

It had to be in her head, but the ink on her chest felt almost warm. Aiko splayed her fingers over the tattoo, struck dumb by the thought. It was a possibility. Not a good one, no. But were there any good options?

The Akatsuki weren't going to stop until they had what they wanted. Destroying Konoha would be a major blow for them and probably tear the alliance apart. Naruto would instantly become the most vulnerable jinchuuriki. Unacceptable.

'On the bright side, maybe they'll give up without their leader,' Aiko thought optimistically in the instant before she flicked back to Konoha. Pein wasn't going to be able to run to Konoha in time to finish that battle. He wasn't terribly close to the Konoha teams around Ame, either. The distance would have to be measured in hours—he wouldn't be surprising any team with Karin on it, and they'd been prepared to fight Akatsuki anyway. This was just restoring equilibrium.

The only seals that had survived in Konoha were the ones in the forests outside the village and the one on Hoseki's collar. Her options were therefore decidedly limited. She erred on the side of landing outside of the gates instead of too close to the shelter where her ninken was waiting. Kami only knew that she didn't need to make them a target by indicating there was anything interesting there.

When she blinked in air that stank of soot instead of hanging heavy with damp, she was glad for the precaution. There was fire in Konoha. Better to have to run than materialize in the middle of an attack.

Pein stood on the strangely dry sod in the country of his birth and frowned. Almost absentmindedly, he allowed the boulder he'd summoned to his person with his repulsion abilities to drop to the ground. It thudded a half inch into the dry ground with nary a squelch.

"That was most unpleasant," he mused quietly, regaining his bearings. "I should not have allowed the girl to touch me."

Had she been as quick to think and attack as she was to move, he may have been injured. There were more pressing issues than her ultimately pointless actions, however. The Animal path could summon him back to Konoha at any moment if he desired. Right now it was more critical to find out what had happened in Ame. Specifically…

'Why has Kisame allowed the rain to stop?' Pein bled his chakra into the air, and allowed water to percolate. He took a deep breath and let it rise, rise, rise, to spread and coat his country. Then he allowed it to rain down, infused with his inquisitive chakra.

What he found shook him. Akatsuki was gone from the country. Pein barely maintained his hold on the rain, the lurch in his control a feat in and of itself, when it was remembered that he had been ensuring the land of Ame rained for years.

Konan, gone. Kisame, gone. Kakuzu, and Hidan, gone. But… Itachi had not left. Pein made an aborted step in his direction with the half-thought of seeking information before stilling uncertainly. Itachi was surrounded by other powerful chakra signatures. They were not familiar signatures, but he could guess as to whom they belonged. The cowards from Konoha, Suna, Kiri, and Kumo who had been blocking his doorstep for weeks had dared enter his home while he was away. And they had succeeded. Pein took a wavering step forward, mind twisted by grief and shock and self-recrimination. What kind of god failed to notice such a thing? What kind of god allowed his people to suffer? He had sworn to protect the people of Ame country, but they were clearly now under the control of foreign military personnel.

'Itachi… have you been captured, or have you betrayed me?'

Oddly, that sent a lump of something like sorrow into his chest. With spectacularly poor timing, the realization that one of his paths had been destroyed rocketed across his consciousness. The Asura path had been facing the old Hokage, and was now lost.

Shock warred with doubt. Where-is-Konan-Have-I-left-her-to-die-alone-I-need-to-find-Konan. No, she had to be alive. Konan was sentimental. If she had known their base was lost, she would have retrieved what she could and fled. He had to believe she was alive. He knew her like he knew his hands: she would have gone to one of their secret bunkers to wait for him to return.

For the first time in many years, Nagato didn't know what to do. For the moment at least, the Animal and Human paths were holding their own against the Sannin. The Preta path was roaming nearly unchallenged in Konoha, keeping the Naraka path safe in case its healing abilities were needed.

He thought they wouldn't be much good now. The images that the Asura path had transmitted in its final moments had indicated that the canny old man was doing some kinjutsu that called upon the shinigami himself. That aspect was gone.

"All my plans," Nagato noted dazedly, looking up to the sky and catching water on his face. The Human path was taking a beating from the Sannin. If they grew wise, they might defeat it. Did he even care anymore? What had he done, by abandoning Ame? He hated Konoha for what they had done to Yahiko and his dreams, but was their destruction worth this failure?

He had to see. He had to see what had become of the village he had protected in Yahiko's place. The villagers… there were far fewer than there should have been. Pein knew every man, woman, and child like they were a member of his own familiar, had intimately caressed their budding chakra signatures with rain for years. Fourteen civilians were missing- dead or out of the country. He had to see.

Karin gave a startled curse and dropped her water bottle, face involuntarily turning to the northeast. A moment later, she redirected her gaze to the south. Most of the people nearby weren't paying her much attention. But most of them weren't Kakashi.

Kakashi had frozen, almost painfully alert, waiting for her news. But he wasn't patient. "Karin, what's wrong?" he bit out, casting a wary glance in the direction she was still staring.

The girl was faintly green. "We have two visitors," Karin said in a very small voice. "I-I think Aiko brought the Akatsuki leader back to Ame. She was by the scary signature the moment that it appeared, but now she's down there, and he's still up there." She jerked her hand in two directions, the ones that she had been looking in. "The- neither of them is moving."

"They're… just standing there?" Kakashi repeated dubiously. That didn't make any sense. A single drop of rain hit his head, digging through his hair to slip down his scalp. He'd barely noticed the anomaly by the time that the sudden drop had turned into a downpour. Ice slipped down his spine, even though the air wasn't particularly cold by his standards.

"Yes, I-" Karin blinked, and shook her head. "The Akatsuki is coming here," she reported quietly.

"And Aiko?" Kakashi asked tiredly, expecting to hear that she was gone or to see her appear in their midst to tell them that she was sorry, but that she hadn't known they'd moved into Ame and she hadn't meant to dump an A-class criminal on them.

The redhead shook her head, looking unnerved. "She's perfectly still." Karin frowned. "In the middle of nowhere," she added dubiously. "Which makes no sense, of course. There's no reason for her to stand around in Ame. And her signature… well, it isn't optimal, but she's hardly dying." Karin shrugged helplessly. "At a guess, I would say she's taking a breather?"

Kakashi pressed his lips together tightly to keep in the colorful situational assessment that wanted to be spoken.

Either Aiko had been out and about and ran into the Akatsuki and decided to take him back to Ame, like a conscientious shopper returning a lost wallet, or Akatsuki had gone to Konoha. He knew which option he preferred and which option seemed more likely.

'Now would be an excellent time for some communication,' he thought irritably.

"Karin, get Sasuke."

She left without a word, running after the three who were currently serving as a patrol team for their new and not entirely friendly territory. He paced like a trapped lion, rousing Yamato and Genma (they had been running night shifts) and sending them out to get everyone ready for a possible altercation.

Why wasn't Aiko coming to tell them what had happened? Konoha should have had word from his ninken, or would very soon. It was possible that Konoha didn't know the borders had changed yet, of course, but unlikely.

It just didn't make sense. Having an intruder in the village would have made it difficult or impossible to conduct regular business and efficiently managed orders and communication, but almost all of the Akatsuki were accounted for, and the actual shinobi of Ame had surrendered after only skirmishing. If the most powerful Akatsuki had been returned to Ame, then there would be nothing more time-sensitive for Aiko than finding his team and telling them that the Akatsuki leader had been returned to Ame. Of course, she could have assumed that they would know via Karin…

"Sasuke, summon Katsuya and find out what's going on from Tsunade," he ordered snappishly as soon as the boy returned with Karin, Naruto and Yamato. Sasuke made a face, but obligingly moved to run through the handseals to summon his familiar. "Karin, update. Has anything changed?"

The redhead tilted her head slightly and let her eyes get a bit distant. "Um, the scar- the Akatsuki," she corrected, clearly embarrassed. "Anyway, he's still on course to intercept us. We won't be seeing him for a while, but he isn't slowing down. Aiko only spent a couple of minutes here. She's gone."

'Well, at least that means she isn't laying somewhere in the middle of the country bleeding out,' he thought facetiously.

"Kakashi, Katsuya isn't responding." Sasuke looked downright bewildered. "She's never not answered."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I guess the old lady is working with her?" he half-asked, moving to summon one of his contracted toads without being asked. The animal that showed up was disconcertingly large. Kakashi barely stepped back in time. "Yo, Gamakichi," Naruto greeted casually, clearly unfazed by the horrifying size of his summons. "Could you find the pervert and find out what's going on in Konoha?"

The toad released a put-upon sigh, but nodded. "Okay, boss," he rumbled long-sufferingly. "One message coming up." In an offensively-scented puff of smoke, he disappeared.

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets to hide the tenseness and strain in his muscles while they waited. And waited. And waited.

Looking irritated, Naruto called his summons back after ten minutes of awkward silence. "What the hell?" he snapped, putting his hands on his hips.

The toad looked sheepish. "I… yah." He fidgeted. "Jiraiya told me not to talk to you." He brightened up a bit, turning around to look at the others standing around. "I can talk to the Hatake brat, though," Gamakichi added cheerily. "That's what he said! So, which one of you is the brat? You all kinda look alike."

Genma choked a little, but said nothing. Kakashi aimed a scalding glare at him anyway. "Everyone, clear out," he decided. "That means you, Naruto." The blond gave him a mutinous look, but let Sasuke tug him out of sight. He turned back to the toad once they were alone. "What's going on?"

The toad glanced guiltily in the direction his summoner had left, and then flexed his webbed toes. "Five or six Akatsuki are in Konoha," he confided solemnly. "I'm not sure on the details, it was a little confusing and busy. Dad's there. Anyway." Gamakichi shook himself. "It's bad. Really bad. They evacuated days ago, so the civilian casualties are minimalized, but the buildings are all gone."

It took a moment to be sure he had heard correctly.

"Pardon?" Kakashi asked weakly, raising one hand to his neck. "The buildings are-"

"All gone, yes," the toad confirmed irritably, digging its fingers into the ground. "It's a crater."

"Unfathomable," Kakashi muttered quietly, trying to wrap his head around the idea.

Damage to the village he could understand. The Kyuubi had done terrible harm to the village's infrastructure. But the village was a crater? Konoha had stood for generations. In terms of space, it was one of the largest hidden villages. And how had they misplaced so many Akatsuki?

Gamakichi snorted. "I don't think that word means what you think it means. You wouldn't be so pale if you couldn't fathom it."

He gave the toad a dirty look. At times like this, the amphibian inability to register the seriousness of a situation grated on his nerves. Still, the information was useful.

"I assume Jiraiya didn't want Naruto running back to Konoha and basically handing himself over to Akatsuki with a nice pink bow?" Kakashi drawled, trying to figure out what should be done. He couldn't send any support to Konoha when they were on the verge of having to engage in their own fight. But it was more important to do what they could to keep the villagers and surviving comrades safe than it was to hold a newly gained territory.

"Sounds about right," Gamakichi admitted sheepishly.

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

[breezeinmonochromenight]

Per the precious anon's ask abt dmc- don't they also run the risk of letting more demons into the human world were they to open a portal back with Yamato after DMC5 which is why they wanna avoid it? or did I just completely imagine that tidbit lmfao. Either way, I don't think Nero was right to say they couldn't come back. But it rly does make sense for Dante and Vergil to stay for a prolonged period of time in hell- whether they can come back at will or not- just to get all their fighting (read: bonding) out of their systems so they don't level a city in the process lol.

I think they just mention their intent to go to the underworld and cut the Qliphoth down at the end of the game because it would “just get in the way of their business”, but it’s been a minute lol. There could totally be something like that I’m forgetting, though — it’s been a minute.

I do remember Before the Nightmare mentioning that portals do open randomly on their own from the underworld to the human one, most often in small port cities (Vie de Marli, Fortuna, etc.). It also only takes Balrog using a single shard of the Yamato to make portals, so given how fast Vergil’s portals are (~13 seconds from open to close when Nero loses his arm, ~17 seconds when Vergil is resurrected including him speaking to Nero) with the full Yamato, I can’t see the portals being a problem in terms of them staying open too long.

That said, BtN also mentions something about demons only being able to project their consciousness onto another physical entity unless the hole they pass through is big enough — it has to be massive if they want to pass through with their physical body intact or something to that effect.

I assume that maybe the hole has to be massive because of demonic aura or something versus their actual physical size (and/or something got lost in translation) because I can’t make that statement make sense otherwise lol. D&V are probably the strongest demonic beings in the underworld, but even their SDT’s aren’t physically huge. That’s just me speculating, though. But I can see why opening a portal would be risky in that case.

RE Nero: I also just… legitimately wouldn’t put it past either of the twins to lie by omission to Nero so that they can have their fun and spar without having him act as some sort of four-armed (handed? winged?) helicopter parent, and I don’t think that’s like… unreasonable or cruel or anything. They last saw each other as their normal selves almost a quarter of a century ago; pretending everything’s fine and good just for Nero’s sake is probably gonna cause way more problems in the long run.

D&V also never specifically say they can’t come back at the end of DMC5, either. They just… don’t really correct Nero lol. But I can’t fault Nero for just automatically assuming the worst in that situation, either — guy’s probably got some breathtaking abandonment issues, and that’s not the kind of thing that just goes away once you hit a certain age or enter a stable relationship or whatever. If anything, it can just fester.

(Sorry this got so long btw lol. I hope it makes sense.)

#flopity-flips #replies #dmc #devil may cry #dmc meta

[mokutone]

i’ll probably never polish this up so here’s the barebones:

[ID: Yamato and Sai approach a campfire, around which Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto are all huddled under blankets, looking uncomfortable and exhausted, perhaps slightly ill. Naruto sneezes loudly. “Like teacher, like students, I suppose,” Yamato says, failing to keep a hint of smugness out of his expression while Sai beams amiably at his comrades. “You should learn to pace yourself.”

“Don’t you lecture me.” Kakashi says. “When’s the last time YOU took a vacation?” Yamato looks taken aback by this for a second, and sai glances up at him, surprised. Yamato’s expression flattens into a blank mask before he responds. “I take plenty of vacations, all the time.” Sai is looking at him curiously now.

“Coward, quit hiding behind that face. You’re just as bad at self care as I am,” Kakashi says.

“I am not.” Yamato says.

Unmoved, Kakashi continues, “I bet the last time you took a break was my final anbu hospitalization.”

“Can you even hear yourself?” Yamato asks.

In the background, Sai is holding a hand to his chin. “Nobody has said that I’m bad at “self” “care,”“ He thinks. “Perhaps..I am the best at “self” “care.”“

/end ID]

#my art #naruto #yamato #kakashi #sai #sai...honey...you just got a sense of self lets not get overconfident here #this is SUCH a sloppy comic but I don't think im gonna end up refining it so its getting posted like this #besides showing off some sloppy art is good every once and a while #looking at things which are poorly made allows us to see what parts are necessary for legibility #i am gonna criticize myself here but like—this is a neutral tone...this isnt a critique of self hatred its a critique of optimism #in that i feel like i will grow and be better in the future and am happy enough with my mistakes here to share them #for example the transition from yamato saying blankly ''i take LOTS of vacations'' to the rest of his argument with kakashi is super bad #because sai is right there almost level with yamato saying this—which makes you want to go right to sai instead of directly down #a good comic will have the flow from panel to panel and bubble to bubble be so smooth that you dont need to think about it and #will lead your eye directly to the right place—it's hard for me to think in terms of that so my sketch comics look a lot like this #very messy very disorganized #the image description there is necessary for sighted people as well because the content of the post itself is so unintuitive #but the good thing about art is that you get better at it and internalize these rules as you repeat them #my scribbly comics arent nearly as bad as they were when i was younger and i understand much better how to read and produce them

[captnjacksparrow]

I honestly agree with a lot of your opinions, and even when I don't, I think that your arguments are always well structure and respectful to other people.

But I have some questions (and I'm sorry if you have already answer them), (also sorry for some of my English, it's not my first language)

How do you feel about narusaku?

How do you feel about people changing certain aspects about Sakura to try to improve her character?

How would you improve Sakura?

How much do you think Sakura being a good character could affect the story?

What was the moment you really started to ship SNS? And what are you favorite moments?

(Sorry if there's ro many questions)

I honestly agree with a lot of your opinions, and even when I don't, I think that your arguments are always well structure and respectful to other people.

Aww!!!! Thank you, Anon. This made my day. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

I will start from my favourite question (The one in the last)

What was the moment you really started to ship SNS?

I never wore any shipping lens, Anon.

Literally, I started to ship SNS only after Episode 478 or Chapter 698. Before that, I always had these doubts in the back of my mind.

'Something seems to be very weird between these guys',

'Why are they behaving differently compared to other friends?',

'Why Sasuke is behaving totally different towards Naruto?',

'Why Sasuke agreed to honour Naruto's promise under the bridge, despite having no shred of affection towards his other former Team Members?',

'Why Naruto is so obsessed with Sasuke?',

'Why Sasuke felt Naruto's chakra in Konoha and bothered by it?',

'Why Sasuke is protecting Naruto like a precious treasure only to end up wanting to kill him?',

'Why Sasuke has this weird obsession that ONLY I CAN KILL NARUTO but not someone else?',

So, I had all these questions piling up one by one inside my mind as the series progressed and I can't simply jump into a conclusion because I don't know what Sasuke was thinking. I hate one-sided ship and I want reciprocation. So, I usually put all these questions on the back burner and started to focus on the story. Damn!!!, The story was equally captivating and emotionally daunting. When Sasuke finally confessed his feelings towards Naruto in Episode 478, I simply couldn't believe myself but ship them. Because, in no world, Friends would behave this way towards each other.

So, to answer your question, it's after Episode 478, I started to ship them. But if you want me to say when exactly I started to doubt their level of friendship??

It's this moment,

Now you may think, 'Yeah, you saw two boys in a close proximity and decided to ship together. It's nothing strange'.

I have to say, Close proximity was the last thing, I felt from this scene. My reason was those heart breaking scenes that happened before which led to this specific moment.

I will make it as short as possible. I'll start with this

God!! I wanted to punch Sasuke so badly when he said this with a deadpan expression. It looks like he was lying just to get power. I thought, 'Sasuke!!! What a lying piece of crap you are!! If you want to kill Naruto, Just do it. Why doing a fake confession? '.

It doesn't help as the fight progressed because Sasuke was really playing football with Naruto and when this happened,

I was shell-shocked because, the Sasuke we saw so far is no more. It even confirmed my thoughts about the fake confession. Which sane person will ram Chidori through his Close Friend's body?.

After many blows were exchanged, I simply wished for one thing. Naruto should win and Sasuke should be stopped no matter what. When the final Rasengan vs Chidori happened, I couldn't understand what was going on inside that power ball. Naruto and Sasuke look at each other with pained expression and we see the younger version of them smiling at each other.

And then finally we see a knocked out Naruto with Sasuke standing and looking at him without any expression and was about to say, 'Naruto.... I' which was interrupted by rain and when Sasuke felt a stinging pain in his arms and falls down on his knees. He coughs up blood and then this iconic scene happens.

That scene conveyed many things

Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto but couldn't.

Sasuke meant what he said. Naruto is his closest friend, it’s not a lie.

Sasuke couldn't severe his ties completely with Naruto.

Sasuke's pain of saying 'Goodbye' is greater than the stinging pain in his arms.

Sasuke deliberately, I repeat deliberately and not accidentally, came close to look at Naruto's face and experiencing something that, we, audience don't know. 

So, you see, Anon. The emotional train wreck that led to this scene made me really doubt about their depth of feelings they had towards each other for the first time. That's when I thought, 'Something seems to be very weird between these guys, what is it?'

And what are you favorite (SNS) moments?

There are two moments which shows how Sasuke is playing an emotional battle within himself. 

1. Sasuke, Susanoo, Naruto, Minato

This happens right after Sasuke said to Obito, “Not you.... The one who is going to sever the past is....me”.

In this moment, Sasuke can pretty much let Naruto to die, because nobody is trying to kill Naruto. Still, he saved him with a 3 layered protection. The best part is Sasuke acted quicker than Minato, the fastest shinobi, to protect Naruto. Surely Minato wouldn’t want to blow up near his Son, for whom he gave his life once. It’s just that Sasuke is extremely quicker at this moment. 

2. For some reason, My Sharingan deactivated on it’s own

If only, Sasuke maintained his Sharingan, he could’ve traced Naruto’s movements and deflected his upper cut and would’ve successfully landed his Chidori through him. But he just couldn’t. 

Both these scenes happens in a span of a day but Sasuke’s emotions fluctuates a lot when it comes to killing Naruto, protecting Naruto, can’t kill Naruto. 

How much do you think Sakura being a good character could affect the story?

To be Honest Anon, Storywise ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Yes, I agree with her amazing performance in Gaara retrieval Arc where she tagged along with Granny Chiyo and almost killed Sasori.

After that ????

She did nothing in the Sasuke Reunion Arc. It was all about Naruto vs Orochimaru, Yamato’s Wood style jutsu, Sai’s betrayal towards Orochimaru. Geez!!! I liked her attitude in this arc but totally spoiled when she was standing simply like a wooden doll when Sasuke was about to stab Naruto. It was Sai who blocked Sasuke.... I was like, ‘Girl!!!! You said you will save Sasuke for Naruto when he went into 4 tails mode. What happened now??? Why are you not stopping him???’

She was just making Food Pills in the Rasen Shuriken Arc.

She was basically climbing from one tree to another in the Sasuke killing Orochimaru to Sasuke joining Akatsuki Arc. Even Naruto’s role was very minimal in that arc except he met Kabuto, Dead soul of Jiraiya, Itachi, a split second meeting with Sasuke where he got Chidori’ed and fought with Tobi. 

She was just a spectator praying for Naruto in the Pain Arc. Yeah, she did healed few people and punched some monsters. But it just doesn’t matter. Even Konohamaru killed a Pain in that arc. 

She turned into an Asshole by making a fake confession towards Naruto and decided to kill Sasuke in the Kage Summit Arc. I think, this is where Kishi decided to shit on her mercilessly by making her into someone who was going to hurt both of her team mates mentally and physically. Basically Kishi transformed a clever medical Ninja who can find an antidote in a matter of hours to an asshole who believed Naruto did everything for her and even more of an idiot by planning to kill Sasuke with just a poisoned Kunai. Isn’t she the one who told Kakashi that Sasuke was given forbidden drugs to improve his strength after their Reunion??? Can’t she put 2+2 together to know Sasuke would be immune to poisons because of his days spent with Orochimaru??? Yeah, she did impacted the story. But it was not for her development. Sakura’s foolishness made Naruto and Sasuke to meet each other again and made a promise. So, you see, she was just a tool that pushes the narrative development of other characters, not her own. Her development took a big blow in this arc.

She was non-existent in the Naruto-Killer Bee Training Arc.

She was just healing people and punched some zetsu during Powerful Edo-Tensei Shinobis vs Allied Shinobi forces Arc. I expected her to have a special fight. But Nope. Even Ino, Shikamaru and Choji fought Asuma, Kakuzu and Kinkaku, Ginkaku brothers. 

She was non-existent in the Uchiha Madara vs 5 Kages mini arc

She was non-existent in Obito vs Naruto, Kakashi, Might Guy and Killer Bee mini arc.

She was non-existent in the Sasuke & Itachi vs Kabuto mini arc.

She was non-existent in the Edo Tensei’ed Hokages and Team Sasuke arc.

She was punching some Juubi Clones in the Official War Arc which will never make a difference to the story. At the same time, her character was transformed from an Asshole who hurted her teammates to an horny biasshhhh who wants only Sasuke’s D. She summoned Katsuyu and was healing soldiers. But there were an army of Medical Ninjas too. So her absence will not affect the story in a big way. She did Lip to Lip CPR for Naruto though. Again, that would never help Naruto in a major way unless he was helped by Obito by placing Bijuu inside him. Again, Kishi didn’t make her the sole saviour here. Instead, she was used as a medium to facilitate Obito’s transformation from a bad guy to good guy. Kishi made Obito as the Saviour here. 

She was useless and was not able to destroy Obito’s rinnegan in the Reincarnation of Indra and Ashura vs Rikkudou Sennin Madara arc.

She was useless in the Kaguya arc. [Sorry, that punch won’t make any difference because Kaguya must be stupid to not use her 360 degree vision to see Sakura from behind. With Naruto and Sasuke has already become a demi god at this point, her clown show is incomparable].

She was useless in the final Naruto vs Sasuke arc.

So, you tell me Anon. Did she make any impact to the story that served as a major twist?? 

The story revolved around Naruto and Sasuke. 

Itachi, Obito, Jiraiya, Madara, Hashirama and other Hokages were the game changers of this story. Meaning, their presence or death will change the story by a huuuuggge margin.

Tsunade, Orochimaru, Team Nagato, Kabuto helped our protagonists in a BIGGGG WAAYYYY.

Akatsuki were just amazing who gave us the sense of thrill as well as fun. 

Even Sakura being good will never impact the story because she had no dedicated arc written for her.

But, if she were written as a good character, my viewing experience would have improved in a relaxing way so much so that I don’t have to press my fast forward button whenever she appears and I wouldn’t be writing this post explaining why I hate her.

How would you improve Sakura?

Simple, By writing her similar to Rin Nohara.

No obsession but a simple love towards Sasuke.

No toxicity but caring friendship towards Naruto. 

That’s all.

How do you feel about people changing certain aspects about Sakura to try to improve her character?

Well, that means they would qualify as a fanfiction writers, aren’t they??.

Also, this inherently proves that she is a piss poor character and people wants to change certain aspects of her which they find annoying. But it will 100% end up being OOC. And I’m not into reading those OOC stuffs, Anon.

I always believe in accepting what the author has given rather than trying to fix their work. Because the author writes a character deliberately to make the readers feel what he intended in the first place. Kishi could write a redemption for even someone like Orochimaru towards the very end. Like, he literally made him to help Sasuke, not as a human predator, but as a former Master and an admirer. He wrote him to help Tsunade and other Kages. So in the end, Orochimaru was not hated like he was hated in part 1. If he can write something for Orochimaru, why not for Sakura??? 

You know how I can redeem Sakura in just 3 or 4 panels?

Let me tell you.

After that fake confession, Sakura could talk to Naruto,

“I am very Sorry, Naruto. I know you will never take things in your heart. But still I shouldn’t have used Love as a tool to make you not to do something. I was an Idiot to not realize how badly you want to save Sasuke. It wasn’t just for me. But it was for Sasuke and also for you, as his friend and also for us as Team 7. So, how about we go to Ichiraku, for a nice lunch??” 

While confessing Sasuke for the second time,

“It seems you still want to go on to that dark path, isn’t it?. I am not the most powerful ninja in this world and I know I can’t trade blows with you. But still.... if you try to hurt my friend, Naruto and my master, Tsunade. I will fight with all my strength to kill you..... Even though I love you”

I am pretty sure, if Sakura confessed something along these lines, everyone would have admired her and it shows her emotional maturity as a Kunoichi who wants to do something to this world as well as a person who is ready to kill someone she loved in order to protect the people she holds dear.

In chapter 699. Before saying Goodbye to Sasuke,

“I am very Sorry, Sasuke. I never really understood what was going on inside your heart. And, I always forced myself on you because of my selfishness. I really feel bad for those things. I never really became your friend in the first place. How about we say farewell as ‘a good friends’, before your redemption journey??” (Shakes hands.... End of Scene)

How is this???

Is it pleasant to read?? Of course, Yes.

I am pretty sure it wouldn’t take more than 4 or 5 panels. Kishi could’ve easily did something like this. Am pretty sure readers would’ve been satisfied. Her fans too. Even I would’ve forgiven her mistakes.

But Kishi didn’t and I am very sure it’s deliberate. Because, this very same Kishimoto could able to write Konan, Tsunade who acts with so much maturity without whining like a little girl.

Which shows Kishi clearly hates this character and never wanted to redeem her. 

So no matter how many people improve this character, it will never be believable.

How do you feel about narusaku?

Naruto always placed Sasuke as his priority, Anon. That’s always the case. So, apart from SNS, if you want me to say whether NaruSaku had any potential?

I would say, yes, NaruSaku had potential. I will not deny it. Naruto had some liking towards Sakura compared to the absolute indifference towards Hinata.

There are some moments Sakura genuinely cried for Naruto without anyone’s influence. I liked it. Say, the scene where she cried on hearing ‘A Jinchuriki without Bijuu will die” and with Yamato she told, “I can only do little things for Naruto”.

These are all coming from her own heart. No one instilled inside her.

[[[ That’s why I will not accept her realization of ‘Annoying, huh? So, this is how Naruto must have felt too. Maybe I should be a little nicer to him next time’ as genuine in Episode 3. Because she realized only after Sasuke roasted her. I want feelings to emerge subconsciously rather than instilled by someone. ]]]

Unlike the asshole Sakura she was in part 1, Sakura started out good in Shippuden. I was surprised with her development in Gaara Retrieval Arc and was not at all annoyed by her presence. (Except when she said she will save Naruto and Sasuke from Itachi.... Grrrrr.... Biashhhhh.... Do you know Itachi’s abilities first of all??? He can crush you like a meatball with his Susanoo)

I started to feel, ‘Wooow!!! She has improved a lot. Great!!!!’.

Even though, she was useless in Rasen Shuriken Arc, She still made an effort to make food pills for Naruto. She even hugged Naruto much to his surprise, before all the villagers and especially before, ahemmm Hinata after defeating Pain.

Despite all of these moments that had happened between them, I could only see them as a pair formed of mutual tragedies rather than mutual attraction, Anon. In their case, Losing Sasuke. I wasn’t 100% sure whether Sakura moved on from Sasuke or not. Because When Sakura was looking for Sasuke with Kakashi’s Tracking dogs, she was still in love with him. So Sakura fluctuates between her obsession with Sasuke and some genuine feelings towards Naruto. 

Kage summit Arc is where everything changed and finalized. Sakura was crying like an annoying shit when she heard that Sasuke joined Akatsuki and was wanted by Raikage. This clearly shows her obsession has flared up again and ‘Poof’ all the development she had with Naruto was thrown into drain. 

On top of it, the fake confession. Grrrrrr.......

Plus, Naruto officially closed the possibilities of this ship by saying, “Sasuke, I know the Truth of Itachi from a guy named Tobi. I don’t know whether it’s true or not. But whatever you’ve been doing so far (hunting Killer Bee, ruckus in Kage summit conference, trying to kill Sakura, Kakashi).... It’s all understandable”.

If Naruto truly, wholeheartedly, deeply loved Sakura, he wouldn’t have said something like, ‘It’s understandable why you tried to kill Sakura”. He should have beaten Sasuke into a pulp. Or atleast shown some intense anger. Instead, Naruto was talking to Sasuke and making promise by saying ‘We will die together’. It’s like Sakura playing cupid for Sasuke and Naruto.

Naruto was okay with someone trying to kill Sakura whereas he was not okay with someone trying to kill Sasuke and even went to the extent of hyperventilating. This is why I feel any other ships are incomparable with SNS. 

After that Sakura started to behave rabidly towards Sasuke in the War arc which I can’t help but feel disgusting. So, anything she did for Naruto in the War Arc was overshadowed by her crazy obsession towards Sasuke. That’s why her CPR doesn’t matter, Sakura healing Naruto doesn’t matter. [Naruto has his own regenerative abilities, so whatever she does will not matter much for him]

So, NaruSaku was closed officially by Naruto and Sakura. It couldn’t sail because of the presence of Sasuke. 

At the end, I felt like Sakura used Naruto for getting her man back ready for romance rather than a killer mode Sasuke. I couldn’t feel the friendship they once had or any familiarity. 

I just hate people who don’t value friendships, anon. Sakura was not even a good friend, first of all. Yeah she had her friendly moments here and there. But, at the end of the series, she was not. A war has just ended, many people lost their lives, her supposed ‘best friend’ Ino lost her father. Why can’t she help her out emotionally? Why can’t she do some fucking good stuffs for this Shinobi world like her other teammates?? Instead, what she did was ‘let’s go and persuade Sasuke-kun to lend me some D by going along with his journey. Because I am so horny’. 

It not how you were in the beginning, It’s how you ended up being. She started this series as a worst friend and she ended up as a worst human being for me. How can I ship such a person with Naruto????

#ask #naruto analysis #anti narusaku #anti sakura #sasunaru #sasunarusasu #sns #naruto #sasuke

[shihalyfie]

The different aspects of Miyako’s personality and character arc

Miyako is a character where there’s just a lot going on with her in general, and asking different people to summarize Miyako in one phrase could feasibly get you some very different answers -- “the computer nerd girl”, or “the one who keeps talking about boys”, or “the one who panics all of the time”, or whatnot. Given that there’s so much to unpack at once even from her base profile, ironing out the full extent of her character arc can get a bit tricky, and there’s a lot going on with it. So, given that: Who is Miyako, anyway?

Miyako’s background and personality

Miyako is a character that I think is best understood by understanding what kind of person she is, and the personality and mentality she goes into the story of 02 with.

An interesting background story behind Miyako’s creation is that she’s based off a real person -- more accurately, a certain assistant producer on the series (whose identity has remained undisclosed, presumably for privacy reasons) was used as a reference for her behavior and actions. Although Adventure and 02 have a philosophy of portraying realistic human behavior in general, this level of specificity is a unique designation to have, and series director Kakudou Hiroyuki has referred to this a few times over the years -- it seems she’s the only of the Tokyo Chosen Children to have such a concrete single-person reference, and it’s also the reason her blood type of AB and star sign Gemini were given in 02 episode 25 (the other kids don’t have mentioned birthdays or blood types to prevent personality restrictions via horoscoping, but a real person having Miyako’s personality, star sign, and blood type wouldn’t make that as much of an issue). Even Volcano Ota himself confirmed Miyako’s resemblance to her upon hearing it after the fact! Indeed, a lot of 02 fans (especially adults) have admitted that Miyako’s probably one of the most relatable people in the cast, namely because her gushing about things she likes and panicking at things that overwhelm her is...well, a bit too uncomfortably on-point at times.

(And especially since so much about Miyako’s character has to do with how happy she makes everyone around her, it’s not too hard to imagine that the staff was so fond of her real-life inspiration that they wanted to pay tribute to her in such a way...)

Still, Miyako is a fictional character, one with her own backstory and interactions in 02′s story, and said backstory is such: she comes from a family that runs a convenience store in Odaiba, and is the youngest of a family of four siblings. Running a convenience store on a small island means that Miyako has probably seen a lot of the island’s residents, and her family also has various levels of connections to the other kids’ families (her older sisters Momoe and Chizuru are friends of Daisuke’s sister Jun, and Chizuru is Yamato’s classmate). Moreover, she’s befriended her nine-year-old neighbor (one who otherwise has trouble socializing with his peers) to the point of regularly going over to do computer repairs for his family. She’s also worked in the computer club under Koushirou, and even before the series has started, she looks up to him and adores him in a way not entirely unlike how Daisuke looks up to Taichi -- and although it’s unclear whether or not she started after the beginning of 02, 02 episode 29 reveals that she helps Yamato with his band.

The pattern here is that Miyako is extremely sociable, and one who actively pokes her nose into nearly everything so she can help out. This makes her a very different sort of Mom Friend from Sora -- both of them are Crest of Love holders for good reason, but in Sora’s case, she was compulsively going out of her way to help other people to the point of exhaustion, and her character arc was about trying to find a way to detach herself from obligations and do something for herself. Miyako is the complete opposite -- she’s the kind of extrovert who actively enjoys poking her head into other people’s business, picking up a bunch of peripheral hobbies so she can do something useful for everyone and go I’M HELPING!! If you actually look closely at those hobbies of “computer programming and hacking”, “hardware tinkering”, and “sound engineering”, other than vaguely being related to computers, they are completely different skillsets, and every single one of them is one Miyako’s depicted employing in order to help someone else out. (Koushirou is never really depicted as having super amazingly high technical skill and most of his unique talent comes from being a thorough analyst, but in contrast, while Miyako is established as being good at even hacking in Diablomon Strikes Back, she doesn’t really seem to have a huge propensity for deep analytical thought.) It’s hard to tell if she has any personal preference for any of them as much as she basically turned herself into a jack-of-all-trades so she could do whatever job was necessary for someone else.

If we’re to believe the official 02 site, Miyako’s been a bit pampered by her family -- as the youngest of four siblings, she’s the “baby of the family”, who hasn’t had to live with a ton of responsibility for others. This means that, much like Mimi, she seems to have been raised surrounded by a ton of affection, which is why she herself is such an openly affectionate person who’s open-minded towards trying all sorts of things, and why she’s used to wanting to help others by actively throwing herself into situations -- but it also means that, being the youngest of a family who is now in the situation of being the oldest in a new group, she ends up in Jou’s situation of suddenly being faced with the pressure of the concept of proper responsibility for others.

As far as Miyako’s general personality goes, she is constantly overflowing with affection and cheer and a desire to dote on everyone -- but the flip side is that she’s also aggressive. She has zero sense of restraint. (If you ever get around to listening to the Japanese version of 02, Natsuki Rio’s performance is energetic and over-the-top in almost every way imaginable to the point that you get the impression of Miyako as someone who doesn’t easily run out of batteries -- at least, until things start getting really serious.) When she loves something, she’ll gush about it as if there were hearts floating around her (and, depending on the level of closeness, even jump in and physically hug them), and she has no qualms against physically manhandling if she feels she needs to, and if she dislikes something, she will make it very clear (including yelling very loudly about it). You could argue that she’s actually closer to the archetype of the brash shounen protagonist than Daisuke himself is!

In fact, Miyako and Daisuke have very similar temperaments -- pure-hearted, but also rough around the edges -- but can be distinguished by the fact that while Daisuke is actually deferential and somewhat lacking in assertion, Miyako is actually aggressive, and while Daisuke’s “honesty about his feelings” is mainly because he’s too simple-minded to be any good at hiding anything, Miyako’s honesty is because she has no brain-to-mouth filter, and everything she’s thinking comes out of her mouth before she can control it -- in other words, Miyako has a huge case of foot-in-mouth syndrome. She doesn’t want to be insensitive, but it keeps coming out of her mouth before she can control it -- and even worse, her emotions are prone to taking control of her, and she is very prone to getting overwhelmed and collapsing into a massive panic.

If you think about the two archetypes of “girl who takes care of everyone” and “aggressive action girl”, Miyako has a tendency towards both at once, and moreover there’s an extra nail in it -- most “action girls” in the latter category would be portrayed as badass, put-together characters with a cool personality, but Miyako is a mess. She’s prone to panicking, all over the place, and her tendency to get in-your-face is not exactly in the most dignified manner. And as a result, a huge part of her character arc (as we will be going more into detail about below) is that she’s aware of this and doesn’t like this about herself -- because she doesn’t want to be insensitive or rude, and in fact she wants to be someone who can better help and take care of others, but, in her mind, her own personality keeps getting in the way.

Miyako in 02

After fully becoming a Chosen Child in 02 episode 2, it only takes one more episode for Miyako to bring food for everyone, as if to say “Right! I’m going to be working with everyone now! All of you are now my new best friends!” (”Bringing food for people” is one of Miyako’s many ways of showing love, given that she returns from Kyoto in 02 episode 34 and immediately hands off souvenir yatsuhashi to Koushirou.) And with that, Miyako settles into the archetype of the group’s “mood maker” -- someone whose role is to keep everyone in emotionally high spirits by influencing everyone with cheer and energy. 02 episode 5 features the debut of her famous “Digital Gate, open! Chosen Children, let’s roll!” catchphrase -- this and her other famous “Bingo!” catchphrase establish her as the only of the Tokyo Chosen Children to have a catchphrase (at least, in the Japanese version). Because catchphrases are fun.

As much as everyone (especially Daisuke) is a bit blindsided by her behavior at first, they eventually come to embrace the positive effect she has on all of them -- Daisuke very genuinely asks her for “the usual cheer” in 02 episode 10, and, all the way in 02 episode 22, this is such an agreed-on and established role that they’ll still wait on her to do the honors even when they’re in a hurry. So in other words, it didn’t take long for Miyako to go out of her way to shower everyone with cheer, and it didn’t take long for everyone to answer to that cheer and appreciate her for it.

The flip side of this, however, is that Miyako doesn’t start off being very emotionally equipped to handle this -- right off the bat in 02 episode 2, she says that she’s not inclined for fighting, and in 02 episode 4, she refers to it as being “like an adventure game”. That is to say, she’s not at the point where she’s able to handle the full gravity of what she’s just involved herself with (Daisuke reminds her that she’d panicked earlier, but she just blows it off). She’s handling it so cheerfully now because the series is still in its early stages, when she can enter and exit the Digital World at will, and she’s capable of treating it like this.

So when the stakes do get higher, she’s the first one to take the stress hard. As mentioned before, she’s the youngest in her family, now recast as the oldest in this group -- but unlike Jou, who consciously knew this fact and took stress onto himself because of the responsibility this entailed, Miyako seems to repeatedly forget that she’s the oldest in this group, and the events of 02 episodes 9-10 (when Agumon is kidnapped) cause her to break down from stress and have to take a time-out. (Which everyone allows her to do, because this is not a series where people are pressured to fight if they’re not emotionally ready for it.) Miyako comes to terms with the fact that the stakes are going to keep escalating, and she can’t just gloss over everything with cheer -- and she does manage to pull herself enough to bring Yamato into the fray at the end of the episode, but this continues to be a recurring theme for the rest of her character arc.

While we’re discussing these early parts of the series, one thing I want to briefly address is the part where Miyako infamously calls a lot of people hot. (Although, not as many as the fanbase would love to make you think; it’s only four people in total.) This tends to get her pinned as some kind of flirt whose head is only filled with being hot for people, but while she’s certainly a bit on the shallow end at this point of the series -- dealing with that being what this character arc is about, after all -- this trait of hers tends to get exaggerated by a lot of people in the audience as if she’s completely lacking in common sense. Miyako’s ridiculous (and we love her for it), but she does have some degree of grip on herself! Context is important here -- she might show a crush on someone, but at no point in the series itself does Miyako show any indication of seriously thinking of full-on dating.

For Miyako, who’s accustomed to just blurting out the first thing that comes to mind, commenting on someone being hot is like commenting on the weather -- she means it as a compliment, but there’s no evidence she thinks she has a chance with any of them, let alone wanting to try dating. This is especially when you take into account her self-esteem issues that we learn about later in the series, and also...well, the fact she’s only twelve. (Remember: even Daisuke’s thing for Hikari comes out as a lot of unfocused affection, and it’s unlikely he’s seriously considered the concept of following that up with a serious relationship -- any serious prospects of romance or dating are not going to be on the table for these kids for a while.) Miyako has also been accused by some of being abysmally shallow for still complimenting Ken’s looks in 02 episode 9 (after it’s already apparent he’s the Kaiser), but although she certainly is a bit shallow at this point of the series, she’s not that lacking in common sense; Iori got in on it too in this scene, and both of them were doing it to tease Daisuke more than they seriously wanted to compliment the Kaiser all that much. So in essence, it’s just “Miyako has eyes” -- she still completely agrees he’s their enemy and she’s not going to judge him any better for his looks, but she also doesn’t see this as a reason to lie about the fact she thinks he’s visually good-looking, especially if it’s to tease Daisuke about it.

In any case, 02 episode 14 digs a lot more into Miyako’s stance on herself regarding others -- in 02 episode 6, Miyako met Mimi for the first time, and latched onto her for their similar dispositions and her looking up to Mimi for being beautiful, amazing, and cool (and she should, because she’s right). 02 episode 14 adds another layer to this, however, when Miyako spends the duration negatively comparing herself to Mimi. At first it starts off as simply just shallow jealousy for Michael giving Mimi more attention, but as the situation with Digitamamon escalates, Miyako spends a prolonged period of time trying to figure out Mimi’s behavior of pure-heartedly choosing to trust Digitamamon despite everything, against Miyako’s insistence that Digitamamon’s behavior proves that he was untrustworthy the whole time.

Mimi and Miyako’s stances are both on extremes here -- Mimi’s pacifistic tendencies are causing her to let her get beaten up by Digitamamon despite the fact that “appealing to people’s hearts” has never really been demonstrated as a good way to get Evil Rings off (to be fair, this is probably the first time they’ve made an attempt at this with a Digimon that can still talk coherently with it on), but Miyako’s acting as if this retroactively proves him to be untrustworthy even though she knows that the Evil Rings are tantamount to brainwashing. Nevertheless, Miyako acknowledges that her own stance was borne out of her being shallow and judgmental, especially since the discussion between Mimi and Digitamamon brings out a question about the meaning of the “true self”.

Miyako, at this point, is confronting everything that’s bad about herself -- that she’s shallow and not as much of a “good person” as Mimi is. But the Crest of Purity -- once meaning “lack of malice” back when it applied to Mimi in Adventure -- now has a secondary meaning of “not lying to oneself” (the dub translation of “Sincerity” is not actually that off in this sense), and it also means that Miyako is not going to get anywhere pretending or forcing herself to be someone she’s not. The secondary Digimental arc has a recurring theme of understanding that there are still things you need to learn and improve on in order to do better, and this is Miyako’s version of it -- she will have to acknowledge all of the bad parts of herself before she can get anywhere and become a kind person like Mimi is -- and, indeed, becoming less shallow and judgmental and not jumping to conclusions, and learning to reach out to more substantial cores of the problem, ends up becoming a major part of her character arc in the latter half of the series.

This episode also implies one more thing, even if she doesn’t realize it yet at this moment: the path to her becoming a less shallow and more considerate person is not going to involve trying to force herself to be like Mimi, but rather in a way that’s closer to her “true self”.

Miyako’s first major turning point is in 02 episode 18, an episode that’s said to have such a profound impact on her that even Natsuki Rio testified to having to alter her Miyako performance thereafter.

Back in 02 episode 10, Miyako first started to realize that this whole experience of fighting as a Chosen Child was a lot more stressful than it seemed at first, and reacted badly to it. Here, the ante gets upped even more -- the kids decide to make use of their summer break and organize a Digital World stakeout, and, eventually, Hikari accidentally becomes indirectly responsible for tipping Miyako over the deep end by making an implication that they need more “determination” to the point of refusing to leave until they’ve beaten the Kaiser. (Remember that Hikari can be terrifyingly assertive as long as it’s not something to do with herself.) For Miyako, who’s never had the same experience of being in the Digital World for a prolonged period of time the same way the Adventure group has, this is terrifying, and she tries to “get herself together” over the night -- only to completely overshoot it and go into the complete other extreme. As much as this ends up being one of Miyako’s peak hilarity moments, it’s most certainly representative of her being under a huge amount of pressure and stress, and it’s effectively her “peak worst” moment -- which results in Hawkmon ending up having to cover for her, and getting injured in the process, and Miyako immediately realizing how badly she’d messed up.

Miyako is thus forced to face a major consequence of her behavior: if she doesn’t manage to figure out a way to get herself under control, other people will be hurt, and as someone who wants to do her best for other people, that’s one of the worst possible outcomes for her. 

In addition, it’s also important to point out Hikari’s role in this. The Jogress arcs have yet to set in, but the series still gives you a little preview of what’s to come eventually, such as the insight we get about Daisuke and Ken’s initial attitudes towards each other in 02 episode 8, and Iori later personally witnessing (and being very disturbed by) Takeru losing his composure in 02 episode 19. In this case, we see a bit of what Miyako and Hikari’s opposing personalities can offer for each other (especially since the later 02 episode 31 more heavily involves Miyako returning the favor in the other direction) -- Hikari correctly identifies exactly what it was that set Miyako off, takes responsibility for it, and even decides to make sure Miyako and Hawkmon get proper alone time so that they can figure things out. In general, everyone in the 02 team is understanding of Miyako’s antics and doesn’t hold any of it against her because she’s doing her best, but right now, Hikari may be the only person in this group who can actually proactively do something about it, because Daisuke’s not assertive enough to step in, Takeru has a tendency to dodge things whenever they get awkward, and Iori’s holding himself back too much for the sake of manners (especially in the presence of Miyako, who’s the oldest one in this group). But while Hikari does have an emotional repression problem, she’s perfectly capable of holding herself together and putting her foot down when it comes to other people, and because of this, she’s the one who’s able to understand what exactly is going on with Miyako, and how to adjust the situation around her to make things easier for her.

Miyako and Hawkmon have a proper heart-to-heart, and we see more of Miyako’s self-hating tendencies going on here -- she refers exactly to her problems with impulse control, and even labels herself a “bad partner” as a result. But Hawkmon reassures her that she’s fine the way she is, and it ties into how a larger theme of her character arc will involve her learning to find better ways to channel the qualities she already has, rather than trying to force herself to be someone she’s not.

Once the Kaiser is defeated, the second half of the series is where we start to see Miyako’s growth start to really kick in. In 02 episode 24, there’s a short blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene where Miyako suddenly takes Daisuke and puts him in charge of taking care of the Punimon. Why is this important? Because two episodes prior, Daisuke had been running around in circles like an idiot due to having been third wheeled by Takeru and Hikari, and the moment Daisuke started exhibiting similar signs this time, Miyako personally stepped in and gave him a job to do -- and her actions of keeping an eye on them and her conversation with Takeru and Hikari indicate that she did it exactly because she figured that he would like it. Or, in other words, Miyako correctly identified Daisuke’s need for validation and purpose, and became the first person to proactively do something to address it -- Hikari and Takeru had generally been dodging it awkwardly for the duration of the series, which had only really been making it worse, and, in the absence of another crisis to take care of or someone like Ken to fill the void in Daisuke’s life, Miyako was able to properly figure out exactly what he needed at the moment as a stopgap, and thus is starting to settle into her proper role of understanding what others need in terms of emotional support and actively working to address it.

Since the second half of 02 is dedicated to Ken slowly establishing his place in the group, 02 episode 25 is dedicated to Miyako tussling with her conflicted feelings on the situation -- she’s just as open-minded and pure-hearted as Daisuke is, but the one thing that’s bothering her is that she’s a little more doubtful than he is in regards to whether Ken’s heart is really in the right place with all of this. She says, outright, that she believes he’s learned his lesson -- in a way far more firm than Takeru, Hikari, and Iori are about it -- but that one thing about him having potentially killed Thunderballmon in cold blood doesn’t fit the optimistic image she’d like to have of him.

Daisuke is more practical-minded than she is and is more willing to accept that there might have been a good reason -- especially since he himself starts to consider in this very episode that killing an enemy may be necessary if it’s the only way to prevent more victims -- but Miyako is more emotionally oriented and just can’t accept the idea of doing this at all. Both the internal debate over accepting Ken and the internal debate over having to potentially do a kill tear her apart over the course of this episode, and Miyako finds herself constantly waffling back and forth between the two positions. It’s not just her expressing minor doubt; she actually agonizes over this for the duration of the night and the next day, to the point she even considers asking him about it (and eventually can’t bring herself to).

It’s also made a prominent point that Miyako’s prior attraction to Ken in 02 episode 8 was not the reason she wanted to be optimistic about him -- remember, back in 02 episode 14, she completely admitted that she judges people by appearances, but at this point she’s well past that! Miyako takes this entire issue of whether Ken should be considered a friend very seriously, and that’s why it torments her so much over the course of the episode.

Eventually, all is resolved (at least, for the time being) when it turns out that Ken has been dealing with non-sentient Dark Tower Digimon, and Miyako takes this as sufficient evidence that Ken has changed -- the morality debate about killing comes back in full force in 02 episode 43, and Ken himself ends up just as shaken about it, so the important part is that she understands that he’s trustworthy and wants to put faith in him. Attention is also given to Miyako deciding she’ll now call him by given name (”Ken-kun”) from now on -- even Daisuke himself won’t start calling him “Ken” regularly until 02 episode 39, but Miyako starts slowly inserting given-name basis for Ken into her vocabulary from this point on until she finally commits to it fully in 02 episode 30. This is a proactive and conscious act on Miyako’s part that she actively wants to get to know him better and consider him a close friend, and it’s because of this that she ends up one of the only people who never gets habituated into surname basis with him by the time everyone’s come to properly befriend him.

So, at this point: Within only one episode (and, in-universe, one day), Daisuke and Miyako landed on the same page with their ideological stance towards Ken. They’re both open-minded and forward-thinking, and have an interest in becoming his friend (the next person to show active and open goodwill towards him, Hikari, won’t do so for another 9 episodes). However, despite their surface temperaments being somewhat similar, they have some differences in their priorities and way of approaching things, and it means that each of them ends up reaching out to Ken in ways that the other isn’t as good at. Daisuke, being the very practical and simple-minded sort who doesn’t overthink things or get caught in arbitrary philosophy, is the one who most proactively reaches out to Ken and most famously connects with him the most due to Ken very badly needing guidance in how to move on forward and stop getting fixated on his past. Miyako, on the other hand, being very much the type to consciously think about things (to the point of sometimes thinking about too many things at once) and focus on “how do I most show my support for someone right now?”, puts her priorities on checking on Ken’s current emotional state and actively attempting to glean his feelings and position. 02 being a series about relationships and what people can provide for each other, this ends up reflecting on their roles in the group as a whole -- Daisuke becomes the person who can pull everyone forward in determining the best thing to do, whereas Miyako fills in the parts his rough-around-the-edges demeanor doesn’t quite cover in terms of supporting everyone emotionally and keeping them together.

And thus, Miyako resolves to “wait” until the day Ken will join them -- that is to say, she takes the stance that Ken deserves proper space and to come on his own terms. It’s an interesting inversion of the usual roles you’d expect from Daisuke and Miyako at this point -- and, again, since 02 is about relationships, “each character’s approach towards the new kid and how it impacts them” reflects a lot about their own characters. For Daisuke and Miyako, who were open-minded towards Ken early in the game, you can already see the impact on them -- the necessity of reaching out to Ken causes the normally deferential Daisuke to become more proactive and put his foot down, whereas the normally uncontrollably in-your-face Miyako comes to understand when something needs to be handled delicately and starts getting a better grasp on the concept of restraint.

Which means that Miyako’s actions regarding Ken in the following episodes are significantly more passive than Daisuke’s are, but it’s clear that she’s still supportive. Moreover, it’s also important to establish that she and Daisuke aren’t fighting about this or anything -- Miyako does want Ken to come around eventually, so she doesn’t stop the more proactive Daisuke from reaching out to Ken in an important way, but she instead exerts her position in ways such as joining in with the others reminding him that Ken might have gotten a bit emotionally overwhelmed by the Jogress (and thus that it’s understandable that he might need some time to parse this before pushing the issue further). The way Miyako words this statement so casually can easily be a distraction from the fact that she is completely correct -- as we see later, Ken did emotionally freak out the moment the incident was resolved and had to go home to think about this. Scatterbrained as Miyako may seem, as the series proceeds, it turns out that she has a natural propensity for empathy that means she’s capable of making perfectly correct readings of the situation, even without her thinking that hard about it.

Not that she’s correct all of the time, though. 02 episode 30 has her attempt to get Ken and Iori to hopefully be a little less tense around each other end in complete disaster (although to be fair to her, it’s not like she and Daisuke were particularly forceful about it, it’s just that their plan was so poorly set up that it was too easy to read the motive behind, and it’s ultimately thrown off because -- as Daisuke correctly points out -- the two are being really childish about it.) But in response, Miyako takes direct action and responsibility to fix the situation when Ken continues to refuse to help despite how badly the situation is escalating, and when she finally reaches him, she gets frustrated at the fact he’s being so stubborn, smacks him, and personally drags him back over. Miyako cared a lot about this, she had wanted Ken and Iori to get along for no reason of personal benefit to herself but more because she cared that much about the group’s dynamic and friendship, and she’d held herself back so much because she was worried about him, but here he’s taking all of that and still giving them all the cold shoulder when everyone is in grave danger, and all of that frustration causes her to break down at once.

And note Ken’s reaction -- he’d been holding off on the grounds that he was being a burden on everyone’s friendship, but he sees Miyako distraught and upset and calling him an idiot (i.e. his whole pretense of not hurting others has clearly not worked here), and his “idiot...?” comes out flustered and off-guard, and he shows no resentment towards her thereafter and comes quietly with no protest, even holding a hand to the place she’d smacked him as if mulling in agreement that he deserved that. So, again: Even when Miyako is coming to all of these conclusions in a haphazard manner, it doesn’t change the fact that her readings of these situations are often completely correct.

02 episode 31 is another landmark episode in which we get a lot of insight into Miyako’s current feelings regarding herself in comparison to others, and what she’s trying to achieve at this point in the series. Daisuke makes an offhand remark at the beginning of the episode about Hikari being more “kind” than Miyako (”kind” having a double meaning of “gentle” in Japanese, so Daisuke’s mainly referring to Miyako being such a rough and belligerent person). The way Miyako takes this statement indicates that Daisuke had accidentally just hit a very deep-seated complex within her -- Miyako had never liked the fact she was aggressive and belligerent and in-your-face (remember, back in 02 episode 14, she was constantly negatively comparing herself to Mimi for not being as good of a person as her, and now this has extended to Hikari, who “keeps so much inside”.). As the crisis in the episode escalates, Miyako continues to fall victim to her foot-in-mouth syndrome, saying things and instantly regretting it, because she sees herself as making the situation worse -- and especially when it comes to a situation also involving Ken, whom she’s actively trying to reach out to right now. Her frustration at the fact she can’t see what Ken and Hikari see is because, unable to understand what they’re talking about or what their feelings are, she’s basically a sitting duck who can’t do anything while things are getting worse for them.

Which ultimately results in Miyako completely losing her marbles and Hikari having to smack her out of it -- again, recall that in 02 episode 18, it was shown that Hikari is one of the few people who has enough assertiveness to be able to rein in Miyako’s behavior, and even outright admits that Miyako is a bit of a handful. Miyako, as it seems, had been carrying a complex that Hikari had been thinking of her badly for all of this -- but Hikari then proceeds to reveal the flip side of all of this: she’s also conversely jealous of Miyako for being able to express herself so clearly and easily, because she herself is the type who compulsively represses her own feelings about herself, which is why nobody had been able to properly reach out to her for the duration of Adventure and 02.

For someone who had spent so much time considering herself a “bad person” and a “worse person” in comparison to people like Mimi and Hikari, that someone considers her qualities outright enviable is a huge deal -- it’s not that Miyako’s an objectively worse person than all of the other people who aren’t as rough or in-your-face, but rather, that those qualities can bring out positive things in their own way. And, immediately after that, we see one of those things -- she makes Hikari laugh, thanks to her antics. Of course, it involves Miyako being a bit all over the place and making a lot of mistakes, but even she admits “I guess it is funny.”

And there’s another thing to this, too: Miyako continues to end up with foot-in-mouth as she casually refers to things like the Evil Ring and Ken being the Kaiser with zero fanfare, before realizing seconds after that she probably shouldn’t be doing that in front of him, but, once again, even without her realizing, her evaluation is not incorrect -- although the fact he’s extremely out of it doesn’t make that clear quite yet in this episode, Ken is not the kind of person who’s touchy about acknowledging that he was the Kaiser, and, by his own statement in 02 episode 23, his stance is that he wants to “accept everything about it”, take responsibility, and move on. So here we are with Miyako, who just casually tossed that statement out like it was no big deal, has accepted his past with no lingering grudge against him, and even made a casual evaluation about him presumably having the same resilience he had as the Kaiser, which, again, is completely accurate. All of this is exactly the kind of attitude that Ken needs to be surrounded by right now, and Miyako had just touched on this without even thinking that hard about it, and also is still making it clear she doesn’t want him to feel bad about it...

And so, the episode’s climax has Miyako finally attaining the solution to the question of reaching out to Hikari, the one that nobody had been able to successfully accomplish throughout Hikari’s childhood of never expressing herself properly and the majority of Adventure and 02: to get Hikari to stop being so passive and accepting her inevitable fate because she doesn’t want to burden others, someone as aggressive as her will need to reach her and yank her out, and hit all of the exact points about understanding that someone will be there for her and that she should not accept this defeatist mentality. Hikari is unusually, unhealthily passive, and Miyako, being outwardly aggressive and someone who never hesitates to be blunt about things, is the best person to yank her out of this; it was never a sign of her being a “bad person”, just something she needed to channel in the right direction.

At the end of the episode, we’re also reminded once again that this is a series about relationships, so this kind of growth is important to everyone’s relationships with others as well -- thanks to Miyako’s efforts, Hikari is finally able to speak honestly with Takeru in contrast to her way of leaving off in silence with him at the end of 02 episode 13, and Miyako herself is happy that she’s finally gotten to have a better understanding of both Hikari, whom she herself had been unsure about the position of earlier, and Ken, whom she’d been worried she hadn’t been reaching out to in the right way.

While Ken was out of it during said episode and unable to coherently respond, we do get confirmation that he himself has hopped on the train of respecting Miyako’s intent well enough that he doesn’t hold anything over her -- during 02 episode 33, a mere three episodes after she’d personally slapped him in the face and two episodes after he’d practically seen her at her emotional worst, he still takes it upon himself to personally deliver Poromon to Kyoto and trust her to handle the rest. This isn’t that particularly interesting by itself, but moreso in terms of the context this is in -- this is a point where Ken’s still at awkward arm’s length with a lot of the team (including even Daisuke, in some ways), and he’s seen Miyako do all of the above messy things only not too long ago, but he still is comfortable enough around her and trusting enough in her abilities that he’s okay with casually approaching her and saying “you got this.” So it’s working, all things considered!

We also learn that Miyako had trusted Koushirou with Poromon during her trip to Kyoto, which says a lot about the fact she trusts her senior that much -- and, on a meta level, seems there specifically to facilitate the existence of the above scene (it would have been very easy to save time by just having Poromon accompany Miyako from the get-go and ending Ken’s involvement in the episode at his conversation with Koushirou...).

The following episodes also meanwhile establish that Miyako’s relationship with Hikari has been improving a lot -- with Miyako now actually understanding what Hikari needs, she’s much more proactive in reaching out to Hikari, and it’s even said directly by Iori in 02 episode 36 that their relationship seems to have gotten much better now. And, once again, Miyako’s antics are depicted as making people laugh -- note her and Hawkmon’s over-the-top advertisement performance doing so for everyone in the vicinity.

Which is also reinforced, again, in 02 episode 38, when this even spreads to Ken himself, in a moment that’s said to be particularly unusual and portrayed as one of the first times Ken has been able to be truly carefree in a long time. Again, the point here is: Miyako’s “all-over-the-place” nature brings joy to other people, and that “she makes people laugh” is continually reinforced as a symbol of this over the course of the second half of the series.

Beyond that, the visit to Ken’s house kicks off with Miyako noticing the picture of Osamu and asking about it, to the point she’s shown leaning over and staring at it for quite a while -- Koushirou had allegedly informed her about it earlier, and a whole point is made that she’s the one very prominently wanting to understand more about Ken and his background.

Also, Miyako reminds us all that she still does think Ken is attractive, but it’s a huge contrast to her behavior from back in 02 episode 8, when she knew nothing about him except that he was some celebrity genius boy -- she got completely worked up about it, moped about it for a whole day, and even dragged the fixation into the next day when she started aggressively confronting Daisuke about it, but we’re here 30 episodes later with Miyako actually considering him an important friend that she respects the feelings of, and she simply casually tosses out the statement of him being cute in her usual “like it’s commenting on the weather” manner, with no extra weirdness about it.

We close up some of the threads of Miyako's character arcs when Miyako herself is forced to confront the possibility of fighting an enemy to the kill in 02 episode 44, and Silphymon is eventually forced to kill LadyDevimon to save Miyako's life. Miyako’s emotional reaction is given the most attention here, since she herself had fixated so much on the horror of potentially killing Golemon back in 02 episode 25 -- in fact, everything Miyako does in this episode is about her emotional empathy and empathy for others, in that she rails on LadyDevimon for being a “coward” who hurts other people. Eventually, it’s once again the assertive Hikari who’s able to get her back on her feet by putting it in a way she can understand -- they were not doing it out of a callous and cruel intent to kill, but to save the exact victims that Miyako herself wanted to prevent.

And, even to the very end of the series, Miyako continues to channel her proactivity into emotional awareness first and foremost -- 02 episode 46 has her take the lead in the Dark Seed roundtable, and it’s implied that she’s doing this mainly because she knows this is a very personal issue for Ken to have to witness. In contrast to the way she frantically started spitting out potentially insensitive things in front of Ken in 02 episode 31, here, she outright says that she doesn’t want to make him feel bad about this (and, fortunately, he understands perfectly well that she’s trying). Even all the way to the very end in 02 episode 50, she’s the one who first brings up the question of the issue, because of how emotionally invested she got into this and her high level of awareness as to how deeply this impacted Ken.

In 02 episode 49, BelialVamdemon presents everyone in the team with a potential deep-seated desire that none of them want to admit, and in the case of Miyako’s, it ends up being a rather tame thing in comparison to Iori and Takeru’s more severe family issues, Hikari’s desire for WORLD PEACE!!, and Ken’s complicated feelings about punishment and forgiveness. In Miyako’s dream world, she’s just eating cake, and it says a lot about the fact that were it not for the fact that she overthinks things and often gets easily stressed, she’s fundamentally fairly free of deep-seated issues in a way not entirely dissimilar to Daisuke’s simple and pure-hearted way of life.

The thing that causes Miyako’s issue is often misinterpreted to be about her selfishly wanting everything to herself, or the idea she’s fighting for attention with her siblings, but Hawkmon actually says what the real problem is in direct words: her crowded family is “noisy”. Or in other words -- Miyako, being the overly empathetic type and someone who easily succumbs to stress, is just really overwhelmed and stressed because of everything around her.

An interesting thing about Miyako’s “illusion” is that it’s the only one that in itself starts making its victim feel lonely and sad even before it’s taken away or dispelled -- Takeru and Iori had to have their happy images pulled away from them, Hikari had to have Tailmon clarify that everything is fake, and Ken had to have Wormmon personally chase the image of his brother away. But in the case of Miyako, all Hawkmon has to do is ask if she’s happy right now, and she’s quick to admit that she’s not. It’s just that everything was stressful and overwhelming and there was so much to deal with all of the time, and for once she wanted to be able to enjoy a little peace, but she loves her family and she loves everyone around her and she doesn’t want to be alone, and she’d rather have them back even if it’s stressful. Miyako’s love for others is so strong that even an illusion supposedly made to cater to her won’t make her happy if everyone’s gone.

Miyako also takes the moment to realize that for all Hawkmon’s been going out of his way to be steadfast and loyal to her, she hasn’t been doing enough to understand her own partner in turn, and there’s still a lot more she can do in terms of thinking of others.

Miyako after 02

As per Spring 2003, once Miyako graduates elementary school and moves to middle school, she continues trying to be helpful to her juniors -- she joins the computer club and once again ends up under Koushirou, and now outright makes music for Yamato’s band (some creative differences aside). It’s also interesting to note her attitude towards her other friends when she tries to recruit them into her music unit -- she snarks at everyone right up until she gets to Ken, who declines politely, and in exchange, she just can't bring herself to be mean to him and simply apologizes for asking too much. It’s ambiguous whether this is because she’s still trying to have a heightened level of consideration around him (this is still only four months after 02′s finish, after all), but it seems she’s still concerned about the idea of handling him overly roughly, and is able to exercise a proper level of restraint about him.

Which brings us all the way to Kizuna, a whole eight years later where we have to fill in a lot of blanks about what’s been happening in the meantime, but the official website establishes that she’s now pursuing a degree in computer programming at an engineering university, and is now on study abroad in Spain (implied to be Barcelona, given details in both the movie itself and the drama CD). Pretty ambitious stuff!...or at least that’s the first impression one would get, until it turns out that she’s getting her flighty personality enabled by the local culture. As we learn in the drama CD, she’s absolutely taking the time to milk this entire situation so she can play around -- and, in accordance with how she was established to be an important factor in bringing Hikari out of her shell, it’s rubbing off on Hikari, too.

In addition, Miyako is still working under Koushirou despite their educational careers having completely diverged, this time as his assistant in terms of managing the Chosen Child community. Interestingly, her specific job seems to be consultation, and people come to her for “advice and stuff” -- meaning that it’s very likely that a lot of new Chosen Children who are having a hard time adjusting to life with a partner are coming to her for practical and emotional advice, and she’s still continuing to channel her ability to be emotionally aware and supportive of others.

That is to say, until she gets a mysterious request from a certain Menoa Bellucci. We learn later that Menoa’s motive was to obtain the list of international Chosen Children, meaning that she most definitely was not approaching Miyako for emotional help, and with that, Miyako decides that she doesn’t want to do this and dumps it on her seniors...

...but then picks it back up with zero hesitation the moment her friends present her that exact same job, and not only is it just “zero hesitation”, Ken even comments on how “fast” she arrived to do so! (This was also before Iori came up with the plan to infiltrate Menoa’s office; there wasn’t any indication Miyako’s computer abilities would be particularly necessary at the time.) On top of that, the drama CD gives us full context as to why she was so willing to dump this on her seniors in the first place -- she had wanted to see her friends so badly that she practically invented D-3 gate exploitation so she could hang out with her friends despite technically being in another country, and even wanted to invite them to come visit her, and eventually they’d all made an organized plan to meet up in New York. In other words, her loyalty to her friends is still stronger than anything else -- remember, she’s the kind of person who was picking up tons of jobs specifically so she could help her friends in the first place.

On that note, Ken’s ability to be casual with everyone besides Daisuke has noticeably improved, and that’s especially prominent with Miyako, whom he proactively converses with in a way that wouldn’t have happened back in 02, and, likewise, in contrast to the sense of distance she’d still been maintaining with him back during the final arc of 02 and Spring 2003, she has no qualms about handling him as casually as she would anyone else.

Which eventually leads us to...

This is a recurring theme on this blog, but every so often I have to draw the distinction between creative concepts “in meta” (i.e. the way the audience will read it, in relation to franchise standards and other real-life factors) and said concepts “in-universe” (i.e. with audience factors completely removed, whether there’s a presumable logical reason for these events happening in-universe, and whether this is reasonable behavior to expect out of the characters). This blog is largely dedicated to the latter, but the reason why I have to keep drawing this distinction in the first place is that I get the impression that the staff behind Adventure and 02 really did not pay much mind to the former part as part of their dedication to the latter. And, I mean, part of the reason I respect the writing of Adventure and 02 so much is how uncompromising they were in terms of not really pandering to what a fanbase might expect, which allowed the story to retain a lot of creative integrity that it wouldn’t have otherwise.

But every so often you get something like this that makes me want to just bang my head on the table and scream, I swear, I get what you guys were going for, but I am begging you, please think a little harder about how people are going to read this!! In general, I do think there’s something that’s not very good about disregarding your audience completely, because if you’re trying to say important things and those things are going directly over your audience’s heads (this is a kids’ show, for goodness’s sake), you can’t call that good communication, and it’s not like you can blame the audience for getting blindsided or being upset, and this is before we get into what they just dropped on the global audience that was presumably full of young girls interested in STEM fields who were hoping to see them go all the way with that, or the feelings of those who are bothered that one character has to be singled out to be defined solely by her relationship to others, and I mean -- to be fair, with a character like Miyako and the tons of things going on with her, there was probably no outcome they could come up with that wouldn’t be reinforcing some negative stereotype (believe it or not, there are people who have conversely mentioned identifying deeply with Miyako’s personal story and the meaning of this ending to them, and have also expressed discomfort about some of the comments the fanbase has made over the years), but at the same time, holy hell, they really went for the one that immediately looks the worst on its face...

...That aside, I will reiterate that this is a blog and analysis meant for that latter category of “analyzing things in-universe”, and making good-faith assumptions that there was a reason for everything (and, I’ll be quite honest, reading everything the staff has said about the characters, including Miyako, there is no indication that they didn’t treat every single one of them with love and zero intention to curse any of them into a horrible fate). We can debate whether this was a good or bad choice in the context of real life, or how much they really should have thought this through more or considered alternative ways to do this, in another place and time (it’s been done by many other people, myself included, in the last 20 years, and it will most certainly continue after this, and probably should continue). It’s not like I’m necessarily giving my blessing to every single creative decision in Adventure or 02 in running this blog, it’s more of the attitude of “now that this decision was in the series, can we figure out what that was intended to mean?”, and that’s going to apply to this one too. And so, we’ll proceed with the analysis.

In any case, here’s the first thing to start with, which may surprise some people to learn: at no point in the epilogue is the word “housewife” ever used to refer to Miyako. The only words that Takeru uses to describe her are: that she is married to Ken and is a mother of three. Not only that, post-02 materials that have referred to the epilogue and Miyako’s part in it have also avoided using that word -- the Character Complete File and the Animation Chronicle only reiterate the same points of “married to Ken” and “mother of three children”, and practically go out of their way to avoid insinuating that being a stay-at-home housewife is the main focus of her life right now. It would have been so easy to say it outright if they’d wanted to, but they didn’t, and they consistently don’t, to the point the omission is almost suspicious. And, indeed, if you want to believe the Character Complete File, Miyako is not a full-time housewife and is simply not working at the time of the epilogue due to maternity leave because the third child had recently been born. So it’s completely within the realm of possibility that she’s still working! In that case, why is something that could easily be a big deal left ambiguous like this?

If you look at the way the epilogue presents its information, there’s a certain pattern: what information is emphasized and what information is given little attention or omitted has very little to do with “how curious the audience would be about it”, but rather “how relevant it is”; just because a certain piece of information is omitted doesn’t mean it necessarily isn’t true. For example, Sora; she’s married to Yamato, but despite how much the audience would probably consider that as vital information, it’s left for you to infer from the visuals and an oblique comment that Sora’s daughter is a “dependable older sister”, and even the question of whether Sora did succeed her mother in flower arrangement is left up in the air despite that also probably being a question the audience is curious about (and in fact, a few flower branches are clearly visible in the front, implying very heavily that, whatever happened, she’s at least still maintaining her roots with her family instead of violently cutting it all off). But we do learn about the fact that she went into fashion design, which is something that’s not an expectation that was placed by her family but rather something she presumably decided on herself. Hence, presumably why that’s the part emphasized, and moreso than her marriage to Yamato -- said marriage is of course an important part of her life, but it’s not as prominent as the fact that she has her own independent career, especially since her entire character arc was about doing things that she wanted for herself instead of doing things for others. That is to say, compared to their own individual ambitions, Sora and Yamato’s love life is “an important part, but not the important part.” This is especially when you add the context that Takeru is delivering abridged single-sentence “catch-up” descriptions of his friends on their behalf (possibly to the world, if this is part of his novel), and so, it begs the question: what would each of these characters want to be most remembered for accomplishing?

(And if you think I’m being tinfoil hat about this, remember that a constant theme with this blog I’m running is that “being annoyingly subtle and relying on ridiculously oblique messaging” like this permeates the entirety of 02 in general, and it’s definitely not the only time they’ve used this kind of technique to communicate details that are too consistent and on-the-nose to be passed off as coincidence. As far as assuming that this series follows rational storytelling logic goes, we are far past that point, and in ways that extend far beyond this epilogue.)

So we look back at Miyako, and the hobbies she’d indulged in and what purpose they were for, and her personality, and the fact that the main point of her character arc was about her complex that she would never be a good enough person who could properly emotionally reach out and take care of others -- in some ways, her arc was the opposite of Sora’s, in that while Sora’s was about not being as beholden to others, Miyako’s was about how to become someone who can better support others -- and once we apply the above question, there lies the answer to why the priority and emphasis given to her future in the epilogue is “Miyako is the kind of person who prioritizes taking care of and supporting her loved ones more than anything else.”

This is especially because (in an epilogue with not very many lines, so every bit of information becomes vital) the lines we see Miyako and her family exchange are representative of a lot of what that character arc was about. According to her son, Miyako is still her panicky and emotionally messy self, even when in the role of the matriarch of a large family who’s responsible for taking care of all of them. She did not ever become the ideal “gentle” and “mature” kind of person that she considered Mimi and Hikari to be and negatively compared herself to. However, her family responds by cheerfully laughing, which is -- most likely not coincidentally -- the same thing that was shown to be the positive flip side of Miyako’s over-the-top personality back in 02 episodes 31, 36, and 38, in that it brings joy and cheer to others.

If you do want to take the Character Complete File’s statement at face value, the fact that she’s on self-imposed maternity leave means that it’s very likely she wasn’t on a salaried job and was instead freelancing, or at least was involved with something that didn’t require constant commitment. Considering the fact she’s consistently portrayed as an impatient sort who gets bored easily, she probably would prefer something more flexible like freelancing or at least not being tied to a single thing; even looking back at her completely disparate hobbies back when she was a kid, when she was basically jack-of-all-trades-ing to fit whatever people needed her for, she never really came off as someone who could commit very easily to a single form of work, but what she did have commitment to was other people, especially her friends and family. If you (or, perhaps, Takeru) were to ask her during the time of the epilogue “what are you up to right now?”, it’s not really that hard to believe that gushing about her lovely family would come before everything else; not to say that everyone else here (especially her own husband) isn’t presumably devoted to their own families, but Miyako’s the type to have that much higher sense of pride in what she does for those she cares about than she would have particular attachment to any kind of work. Look at her behavior during Kizuna; she’s pursuing a degree in computer programming and thus is still aiming to be a busybody with a high level of skill, but when given a job by a stranger, she immediately dumps it off on her seniors so she can be with her friends, then happily accepts that same job again when the same friends present it back to her.

So, in other words, the conclusion is: the biggest priority and most important thing to Miyako in regards to her future is that she finally became someone who could properly support others around her, even in spite of her personality that would suggest otherwise.

In addition, the fact that she has three children might initially come off as a little in-your-face or overkill, but remember that Miyako came from a family with four siblings, and 02 episode 49 had her say outright that she does treasure that – or, in other words, being part of a big family surrounded by affection and love is something she considers to be a valuable part of her life (especially since the age gaps between the three children imply a reasonable likelihood of actual family planning, moreso than even Miyako’s own).

Incidentally, this is just a bit of a personal note, but one might notice that I’ve also never actually used the word “housewife” to refer to the epilogue’s depiction of Miyako in the course of writing for this blog, because of how little evidence we have that she is one – being on temporary maternity leave still being a very viable and, given the post-02 materials we now have, arguably heavily likely interpretation, it’s not like you’d necessarily call someone a housewife if their break from work is only temporary, even if they’re a freelancer. Given the above circumstances, perhaps something like “family matriarch” would be more accurate…

#digimon #digimon adventure 02 #digimon adventure last evolution kizuna #inoue miyako #miyako inoue #kizuna spoilers #shihameta

[ahiddenpath]

Post Major Arcana Thoughts

I had a few “aha” moments about the Chosen while selecting and writing up the Major Arcana cards.  Of course, tarot cards are amazing for helping Seekers notice patterns and new ways of connecting ideas- that’s why we use them!  So I shouldn’t be surprised, but I still kind of am!  And I wanna share those thoughts beneath the cut.

When I say stuff like “outer strength” vs “inner strength,” I’m speaking in terms of my understanding of the tarot.  I’m sure there are many definitions for these ideas, in general.

Outer Strength (strength expressed as action) vs Inner Strength (strength expressed as resilience/maturity)

I assigned The Chariot to Yamato and Strength to Hikari.  The Chariot is about taking action, reaching goals through effort, and persevering in the face of obstacles.  The other half of the coin is Strength, a card about keeping calm and composed in difficult times, persevering through strength of character.  

You may think that The Chariot is ruled by fire (suit of passion) and Strength is ruled by water (suit of emotions), but in fact- it’s the opposite!  Isn’t that an interesting reversal!  

But I think The Chariot is ultimately about control: the Seeker must control their emotions, efforts, and energy on the task to see it through.  Self-control, self-mastery, self-assertion, which all point back to regulating emotions (water).  And, of course, emotional control is something Yamato struggles with- which is why this card is both who he is, and a goal he reaches towards (and something I personally really want to see him achieve- I’d love to read a fic dedicated to this journey). 

In contrast, the battle of compassion over force is ruled by fire- meaning that it’s very much active and passionate, even though the card itself is about gentleness!  Being kind and mastering the Self requires courage and conscious effort.  Even at 8 years of age, Hikari is almost eerily mature.  But while she’s a natural at compassion and composure, we see her struggle to assert herself and allocate some of that compassion towards herself and her needs.  So again, Strength is both who she is and a goal- and, of course, that’s ideal fic material.

But assigning them as opposite sides of the same coin makes me wonder- how do Yamato and Hikari get on, interpersonally?  They’re both intense characters, in their way- Yamato is loudly intense, Hikari quietly so.  And The Chariot is yin energy, while Strength is yang energy!  Oh, I need to know more about these two as... foils isn’t quite the right word, but it’s not exactly wrong?  

Taichi and Koushiro as Action Takers

Taichi and Koushiro are the do-ers of the Chosen, I like to think.  Which isn’t to argue that the others don’t do stuff- of course they do (for example, I gave Yamato The Chariot, so he’s no slacker)!  But Taichi and Koushiro are on their own level, here.

During the Dark Masters arc, Taichi is the one who pushes the team forward, even though everyone is exhausted and emotionally beaten- because he assesses that they will be caught and defeated if they stay in one place.  At the end of Tri, it’s Taichi who says- well guys, we have to do this, we have to stop Meicoomon.  Even though it’s understood that the Chosen are working together, Taichi is the one who takes on the burden of the decisions by making them, speaking them, and accepting responsibility for them.  This is, of course, a key part of why Taichi is a great leader- he takes the necessary steps to allow his team to continue functioning, even if they come at a high personal price.  And if there are moments where the team, er, isn’t functioning so well, he puts himself at risk to hold the line.

I don’t have to explain Koushiro as a proactive do-er, that’s pretty much his whole life, doing stuff/manifesting/creating/discovering.  And I think that, out of the Chosen, he best understands and accepts the difficult choices Taichi makes.  Obviously, Taichi makes mistakes and isn’t always logical (and definitely not always tactful, lol!), but in the clutch, he does what has to be done.  And Koushiro- he’s always trying to do what has to be done.

Something about assigning them as The Emperor and The Magician really drove that home, although it’s not a new thought for me.  Geez, no wonder these two get on so swimmingly!  They’re very different, but they’re both so driven to move forward and figure things out however they can.  Yamato, too- he’s sort a step behind them (he has the ability, and will step up if needed, but it’s not his natural urge).  Emperor, Magician, Chariot.  LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Miyako is a really cool character you guys

Okay, so tarot works by tapping into ancient archetypes, concepts/characterizations that have been around ever since humans have told stories.  I’m sure you’ve read a zillion metas about how the Adventure cast turns archetypes on their heads, and I’m not arguing- but to do that, you do need to evoke the archetype enough to subvert.  I personally think that I was able to find a fitting Major Arcana card for everyone...

Except Miyako.  

I was originally planning to give her Strength, but the card emphasizes calm, composure, quiet strength.  Every other card seemed to have a better fit for someone or something else.  In the end, I made her The Wheel of Fortune, owing to how dynamic she is, how optimistic, how ready to handle things- and, of course, by how she can overextend herself trying to be all those things.

But it got me thinking about how unique Miyako really is.  She’s smart and capable, she’s loud and confident, she’s direct and maybe a little too blunt, she’s mischievous and snarky and sweet and kind, but is allowed to make mistakes and have days where she isn’t running at 100%.  She’s allowed to have crushes (on boys and girls, at that!) and do kid stuff and also be mature!  She can make friends easily with anyone, boy, girl, her age, younger, older!  

Miyako really breaks the mold.  I respect the hell out of that.

Iori supports justice by defending the wrongfully accused

We all know Iori grows into a defense attorney after watching people change after making mistakes, after seeing the various ways people struggle.  We talk a lot about how 02 is basically the Ken show, and Ken has the single most loving character arc in Adventure- but give some props to Iori, my dudes!  The kid shifted some intense black-and-white thinking into compassion.  That’s amazing.

So yeah!  Using tarot to notice stuff = cool and fun and a good time!  Makes me wish I had a digimon deck D:

#chosen tarot #digimon tarot

[subarublue]

Sparda Family Bonding Time Series - Part 1

Series Description: It’s family bonding time! Sparda family style! A series of short stories revolving around platonic familial relationships between the members of the DMC crew. Warning: Lots of fluff and bonding ahead.

One Shot

Title: Kindred Spirits

Fandom: Devil May Cry

Timeline: Post DMC5

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 4153

Read on Ao3

Summary: Losing a brother is hard, even if you don’t always get along. Which is why Dante is ever grateful for this second chance with his...because he knows someone who’ll never get another chance with hers.

Notes: Mostly just some platonic comfort and family fluff between Dante and Kyrie with a splash of Vergil, Nero, and Nico.

It was inevitable, really.

They’d been back from the underworld for almost a month now, but they were still adjusting back to normal life. They’d been down there for so long, after all; constantly fighting for their lives and sparring each other in between. It wasn’t easy getting back into the normal swing of things. Well, normal for Dante, anyway. Vergil’s definition of normal was a whole other story.

So it really wasn’t surprising that a fight (a real one and not a sparring match) had finally broken out between them. Honestly, Dante was surprised it had taken this long to happen. Then again, he had been trying not to start one, not that he could say much for Vergil’s effort, if there had even been any. He didn’t quite know for sure. Talking wasn’t exactly Vergil’s strong suit; of course Dante wasn’t much better in that regard, either.

He wasn’t even sure what had started it. It probably didn’t matter; whatever it was had likely been trivial. This had been brewing ever since they got back (probably before so, even) and one wrong thing was bound to set them off, eventually.

Because things always ended up like this between him and Vergil. Yeah, sure they were capable of getting along for long periods of time, but somehow, no matter how good things were going, it always ended up in a fight eventually. That was just how it had always been, ever since they were kids. It was just unfortunate that this time it happened at Nero’s place.

Luckily, it was late so the boys were all in bed, sound asleep. At least, Dante hoped they were. They were making quite a ruckus outside and this was not something kids needed to see. Nico and Nero were watching on the sidelines and the latter was trying his best to not resort to yelling at his father and uncle, which would make even more noise. Dante was certain it wouldn’t be long before his nephew dove into put a stop to their brawl.

Except that Nero never got the chance.

Vergil had just given Dante his usual spiel of “Die!” which Dante was sure was only said in anger and he didn’t actually mean it (probably) when a distinctly feminine voice pierced the air with a ferocity he had never before heard from the young woman.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

It was like time had stopped for everyone, including Vergil and Dante who both froze in mid-strike. Everyone turned to look at the petite woman standing on the steps of the porch. Dante wasn’t sure when they had gained another audience, but he now knew that in addition to Nero and Nico, Kyrie was bearing witness to the traditional Sparda way of ‘discussing your problems.’

Apparently though, she was far less than content with the way their family handled their issues. Her hands were fisted in her skirt with a white-knuckled grip and the look on her face was one of absolute fury; an expression Dante had never thought the innocent girl was capable of. When he saw her angry tears beginning to fall, he felt panic well up inside him, though he tamped it down as best he could. He was never good at dealing with crying women. Not that he would have to worry about that. Nero would take care of her.

“If you two want to kill each other, then go do it somewhere else! I’m not going to stand around here and watch you two make the biggest mistake you’ll ever regret. This is our home and I WON’T STAND FOR THIS!”

No one dared to say a word. By now Dante and even Vergil had lowered their swords and while the latter appeared mostly stoic as always, there was the barest hint of shame in his expression. Dante’s expression was more akin to a scolded child. Even Nero and Nico were taken aback, though Nico recovered more quickly. She snickered a bit, but seemed to realize that was a big mistake and tried to stifle it, though the glare Kyrie shot her told everyone she hadn’t been successful.

“Um, Kyrie?” Nero addressed her tentatively in an effort to distract her. This was new territory even for him. They’d had disagreements before of course, but nothing that had ever brought out this kind of anger in her.

She leveled her heated look at Nero, and he stiffened in response until she looked back at the battered duo on their lawn. He didn’t get another word in.

“I won’t repeat myself. Either put those away and get cleaned up or leave! I’ll not have two grown men who are supposed to be brothers trying to kill each other at my house.” Her voice had calmed now, but only because it was devoid of emotion; as if she didn’t have the energy to feel any more. Without another word, she turned on her heel and strode back into the house, slamming the porch door behind her causing everyone except Vergil to flinch at the sudden noise.

The silence that followed in her departure was tense. Nero slowly turned to glare at his father and uncle with a look that rivaled his girlfriend’s from just moments ago.

“You two finished, then?” he said through gritted teeth. Dante could tell Nero was trying to rein in his temper.

“Yes.” Everyone was surprised when Vergil spoke first, but Dante was more so by his answer. He’d been certain Vergil was going to drag him off to finish their fight elsewhere. Instead, his brother sheathed Yamato without any complaint. That was definitely a change.

Huh. Guess he really is trying… But his thought didn’t get far before being interrupted.

“Dante?” Nero’s voice still held that angry tone, obviously waiting for a confirmation from his uncle, as well. Dante almost felt like a little kid again, being reprimanded for not paying attention.

“Yeah. No complaints from me.” He dismissed his sword as well to hopefully further appease his nephew.

“Soooo, uh, that was new. Didn’t know she had in it her, ya know?” Nico spoke up then, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Nero turned his glare on her, but it only lasted a second before worry settled on his face and he turned to looked at the door his girlfriend had left through.

“No, it’s not like her at all. I mean, she always gets a little emotional around this time of year, but she’s never gone off on anyone like that before...” Nero trailed off, obviously confused as to exactly what had Kyrie so upset all of a sudden.

“What significance does this time of year hold for her?” Surprisingly, it was Vergil who spoke up out of curiosity this time.

Nero looked stunned at first that his father had even bothered asking, but the look on his face quickly turned into a sorrowful grimace. Whatever the significance was, it affected Nero too, Dante noted.

That’s when he remembered.

Of course. This was the same time of year that the Savior incident occurred. They’d both been kidnapped by that old codger and used for his own, personal world-domination plan. Kyrie had been the bait and Nero had fallen right into his trap. It had been a horrible situation for the both of them. He was lucky he’d been able to rescue them...or well, Nero anyway; his nephew did all the damsel in distress saving. Either way, it stood to reason that the whole event left lasting scars.

“Her brother, Credo...he died around this time.” Nero looked pained as he spoke; Credo had been a brother to him, too. “I had to watch him die, but Kyrie? She never even got to see him one last time or say goodbye.”

At the mention of Credo, Dante’s eyes widened in realization and he suddenly felt very stupid for not putting two and two together immediately. Of course she was upset with them. Kyrie would have probably given anything to have her own brother back and here he and Vergil were, trying to make pincushions out of each other with their second chance.

He remembered Credo’s death clearly in his mind: questioning the dying man for information. Information that he gave freely in hopes that it would put an end to Sanctus’s plans. The man using his last bit of strength to stand, to ask Dante for one final request: to save Nero and his little sister.

God, I never even told either of them about his last moments. Nero probably didn’t even know he was still alive after the Savior took him. I should have...

Movement from Nero drew his attention away from his own thoughts. It was clear, despite what he’d just told Vergil, that Nero was still in the dark about exactly why their fight had upset Kyrie so much, but he was already moving to go after her. Dante panicked before he could stop himself.

“Wait, kid!”

He almost cringed as Nero turned to regard him with an angry look. What had possessed him to stop his nephew? Nero knew his girlfriend better than anyone so the kid was the logical choice to go and comfort her. Hell, he could probably do it better than Dante and Vergil combined, though relatively speaking, the two of them combined was almost never a good thing. Not to mention they both were complete shit at comforting others.

“What? You got a problem? You’re half the reason she’s upset so unless you’re gonna go fix this, just shut your damn mouth.” It was clear Nero was still angry with them, and Dante didn’t blame him. He didn’t like his father and uncle fighting if his stopping their fight right before their little underworld vacation was anything to go by.

But now, Nero was turning back to go after Kyrie, not even bothering to wait for an answer.

I should just let him go. They’ve been together long enough, surely she’ll tell him what’s bothering her and he can comfort her way better than-

Nero was opening the back door now and Dante couldn’t stop the words that left his mouth.

“Let me talk to her.” He regretted them the second he said it.

Stupid. This was a stupid idea. He was no good with crying women. Why was he doing this? Why was he putting himself in a situation where he was probably just going to make matters worse?

Oh, who was he kidding? He knew very well why he was doing this:

Guilt.

Not only did he feel somewhat responsible for what happened to the both of them and Credo, he’d never even told them about the man’s dying wish for Dante to save them. And here he was, fighting with his own brother right in their backyard.

Nero couldn’t cover his shocked expression, not that Dante expected any different of a reaction. In fact, even Nico and Vergil had surprised looks on their faces. When no one made a move to say anything, too stunned into silence, Dante figured he’d have to explain.

“Look, I think I understand what’s really bothering her, so...just let me talk to her. If I make it worse, you can step in and fix it.”

“If you make it worse, I’ll do more than just bitch-slap you this time.” Nero crossed his arms and leveled Dante with a glare to show he meant business.

“Deal.” He nodded to Nero as he passed him to head through the door. He really hoped he didn’t screw this up; for Kyrie’s sake...and his own.

It didn’t take him long to find her; she hadn’t gone far. She was sitting on a swinging bench on the front porch as he stepped out the door. When he heard her quiet weeping, he felt the panic rise up in him again.

Why? Why’d he volunteer for this again? He wasn’t any good at this whole comfort thing. Where was he even supposed to start?

Sorry’s usually a good place. He sighed. Yeah, right. What the hell was he supposed to say sorry for?

Sorry my brother and I not-quite killed each other and bled all over your lawn? Sorry your brother’s dead and mine’s not? Sorry it looks like we’re wasting the second chance we have when you deserve it a hell of a lot more?

God, he was terrible at this…and he hadn’t even said anything, yet.

He heard her try to stifle a sob, apparently now aware that she had company. He swallowed hard. He was not prepared for this at all.

Guess it’s time to do what I do best: wing it.

He took a seat at the opposite end from her. He watched her stiffen when his weight shifted the swing of the bench, slightly. Still unsure on how to start, he looked straight ahead, only glancing over at her every now and then as she tried to quiet her tears. He was half-hoping she’d say something first, though it soon became evident that would not be the case. He was just stalling because he was afraid; more so of upsetting her further than of Nero’s wrath.

He caught her out of the corner of his eye, chancing a glance in his direction to see who was currently sitting with her. He heard her choke back another sob, though whether it was from realizing it was him or some other reason, he didn’t know. It still solidified his thoughts that this was bad idea, but he was already here and Nero was expecting him to fix this. Besides, she deserved to know about her brother’s last moments. It was the least he could do. If he made things worse, he’d just have to let Nero beat the crap out of him. Maybe that would make her feel better, though he doubted it. This was Kyrie, after all. She’d never wish harm on anyone.

He cleared his throat finally, trying to gather up some courage. He knew he couldn’t stall forever.

“I’m no good at shit like this, so you’ll have to bear with me a bit.” Probably not the best start, so he paused to give her a chance to tell him to leave in case she didn’t want to talk to him. When she finally spoke, she didn’t tell him to leave, but she didn’t bother to turn and face him, either.

“It’s very rude to have fights at other people’s houses, you know?” There was a tinge of anger to her voice still. “Especially when you should be happy to have each other back.”

There it was. There was no mistaking the disdain in her voice. She really did think they were taking advantage of this second chance they had. So he’d been right, after all. Now, what to do about it?

Well, set her straight, of course....hopefully.

“I know it doesn’t look like we’re thankful to have each other back, but that’s not the case. Well, for me anyway. I can’t really speak for Vergil, but...he seems to be trying, I guess.”

“Is that how you show it? By trying to kill each other?” He could still hear her sniffle now and then, but her anger was overriding her crying for the moment. He sighed again.

“I ain’t gonna get into why we do things the way we do. We’d be here all night. What I can tell you is no matter how serious it looked, we weren’t gonna kill each other. Maybe a long time ago that might’ve been the case, but not anymore. Things are different now.”

“Because of Nero.” The anger was gone from her voice now, but it was replaced with an emotion he didn’t really think he could deal with well: sorrow.

“Yeah.” The silence following his admission was terribly uncomfortable. She was back to crying quietly again and he decided he should go with what his first instinct had been: apologize. Though he had far more to apologize for than just the brawl in her backyard.

“I’m sorry for what happened back then.”

“Just don’t fight here. I know Nero hates it.”

So do you. He didn’t say it out loud, though. Instead, he opted to correct her assumption. “I wasn’t apologizing for that, though I am sorry for that, too.”

He saw her in his peripheral vision; she slowly turned to face him. He was really glad he wasn’t looking directly at her. He could tell her face was tear-stained and it would have probably shot down any confidence he had to say what he needed to next.

“What are you apologizing for, then?” Her voice was strained from all the crying, but the confusion was still evident.

“For what happened to your brother.”

Her gasp was so quiet he would have missed it if he didn’t have exceptional hearing and he glanced at her briefly. Her eyes were wide and her hands covered her mouth in shock, obviously not having expected his answer. He swallowed thickly.

No backing out now, he thought. “I guess you could say I know what it feels like to lose a brother, too. I thought Vergil was dead for a long time. Even before that, I lost him to his own desire for power. We never really got along very well, but…it still hurt.”

“What happened that made you think he was dead”? Her shock had died down as she’d listened to him, now voicing an obvious question he should have anticipated.

A pained look crossed his face at the memory. She just didn’t know what can of worms she was trying to open. That was something he might tell them someday (or maybe Vergil would, if he really remembered it), but for now it was better left unsaid. They were getting off topic, anyway. Fortunately, she’d seen the look on his face at her question and understood it was a subject he didn’t want to get into.

“Sorry. I should have known better than to ask that thoughtlessly. It still hurts to talk about how Credo died, too.”

They were getting back to the reason he originally came out here in the first place and he was never one to pass up an opportunity, so he took it.

“You probably didn’t know it, but I was there…when he died, you know?”

“Yes, I know. Nero told me. He said you were there to catch him when he fell,” she said it like it should have been obvious and he knew she didn’t understand what he meant.

“No. Nero only told you what he knew.” She looked at him as he spoke and he turned slightly to face her more directly. Surely if he could face demons on a daily basis, he could face this. “He was still alive after Nero was taken by the Savior.” There was a long stretch of silence as she realized what this meant.

“But…Nero said he was probably dead when he fell from the Savior. He said that Sanctus…with Yamato…” She faltered, unable to talk about how her brother had died at the hands of someone he had respected and served. She was crying again now, and it took all his resolve not to look away again.

“Well, he wasn’t.” He met her eyes. He could barely catch the small glimmer of hope in them through her tears. She hadn’t had a body to bury and he suddenly realized that all she’d ever really wanted was a bit of closure, since she’d been practically comatose through the whole thing.

“I talked to him, before…you know.” He refrained from mentioning the man’s death again to try and avoid more of her tears. He turned away again, finding he couldn’t handle the look on her face. “He told me what the old man’s plans were. I guess that was his way of trying to right any wrongs he’d done in his last moments.”

“He was always very noble and selfless. He really thought what they were doing was for the better of the world.” She seemed to have gotten her crying under control somewhat as she reminisced about her brother, but her tone was still heavy with sadness. “And he was never one to be afraid of accepting responsibility for his own actions. I’m glad in his last moments that he wasn’t alone…and he was thinking of redemption.”

“Those weren’t his last thoughts, though.” He braved another glance at her before looking away again to stare at nothing in particular.

“W-what do you mean?” She seemed confused, as if she couldn’t think of anything else that might have mattered to Credo in his last moments.

“What do you think it means? He was pretty stubborn. Even as he sat there bleeding out, he forced himself to his feet so he could meet me face to face and ask me to honor his one last request-” Dante turned back to look at her fully this time “-to save you and Nero.”

Her eyes widened ever so slightly before the waterworks started up again and he felt more panic welling up in him. Great. He made her cry more. God, this is exactly what he was afraid of.

“At the end…h-he was thinking of us?”

She was staring at her hands in her lap as more silent tears fell from her eyes. She wasn’t really talking to anyone in particular; just thinking out loud, but he countered her question, anyway.

“Did you really expect any different?” Her tearful gaze met his and he willed himself not to look away. “You said it yourself: he was pretty noble and selfless. Seems very much like him to be worried about the two people he cared about most rather than his own fate.”

He’d hoped that would be of some comfort to her and stop her crying, but he jerked when she suddenly let out a rather loud sob and lunged forward, gripping the lapels of his coat as she practically fell into his chest and started weeping. He swallowed nervously, half-expecting Nero to come out the front door ready to knock him around a bit, but no one disturbed them and he settled for awkwardly patting her on the back as she cried her heart out.

They sat like that for a while; long enough that awkwardness dissipated for him somewhat. He eventually opted to rest one arm around her back in a gentle half-embrace, which seemed to do far more at comforting her than anything else. Eventually, she stopped crying and he hoped that was good enough.

“Dante?”

He looked down at her as she pulled away from him and the panic came back full force when he noticed there were still tears running down her cheeks. There was something different about it this time, though. This wasn’t the sorrowful weeping from moments ago. Instead, the silent tears were a stark contrast to the gentle smile on her face.

“Uh, yeah?”

“Thank you.” She said before attempting to dry her eyes with the sleeve of her dress.

He let out a short huff of relief. It seemed he wouldn’t get the crap beat out of him for the second time tonight. At least he could say that Vergil hadn’t faired too well, either. More so, he was just happy he could give her that little bit of closure that was long overdue.

“I’m sorry I never said anything before. Nero told me once he was the only family you had left and I guess I just didn’t know how to bring it up. I’m not real great at dealing with cryin’ women,” he admitted. That prompted a quiet laugh from her as he stood up from the bench and offered her a hand up, which she accepted graciously.

“I can understand that.” She gave him a knowing smile. “He was wrong, though.”

“Huh?” Now it was his turn to be confused.

“Nero. He was wrong. Credo wasn’t my only family left.” The smile on her face held a bit of a teasing look to it. His confusion bled into his expression as she took one of his hands in both of hers. “I have a new one now, in all of you.”

Tears started forming in her eyes again at the admission, while his widened in surprise this time. Her expression was anything but sad though, and Dante now recognized these tears for what they were: tears of happiness. He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips as he pulled her into a gentle hug.

“It’s a bit late and maybe Nero hasn’t made it official quite yet, but...welcome to the family, Kyrie.”

“Thank you, Dante.”

When he pulled away, her smile was brighter than ever, despite the tears, and he thought that…maybe not all crying was so bad.

Part 1 of this series • Part 2 →

#devil may cry fanfiction #dmc #dmc dante #dmc kyrie #my writing #devil may cry #suby scrawls

[fizzingwizard]

Episode 34 arrives and it’s a MUCH NEEDED breath of first air. I mean, this episode could have actually BEEN a 99 Adventure episode. I guess at least one person on the production team has actually seen the old show at least once!

In my opinion, it doesn’t quite equal the cuteness, silliness, and personality of similar 99 episodes, but it comes very close, and it’s certainly the best we’ve had in a long long while.

And it’s all because of these two.

More below!

The episode bizarrely begins with Tailmon barking to communicate with Komondomon. Which raises the question, if no one could talk with Komondomon before because he can only bark, how were they communicating? Did Lopmon just tell Komondomon everything he needed to know and tell the kids “just follow his lead” or something??

Also Tailmon’s opening line being her barking is pretty surreal. And yet, fitting for a cat Digimon who is a dog at Child level.

The kids are shown taking a break - the first sign that this episode is gonna be A Bit Different.

Taichi: Something feels weird. Why aren’t we fighting?

Sora: Taichi, don’t you think you should rest once in a while?

Taichi: I mean, I do, I just got the impression the rest of the world didn’t agree...

Sora: By the way, why do we like this world that constantly tries to kill us and never gives us any pleasant memories so much? Why don’t we just take our partners to the human world and leave this place to its fate?

Taichi: How else am I gonna get an outlet for my pent up aggression and adrenaline junkie issues?

Sora: That’s your backstory?

Taichi: I’m a complicated man.

Komondomon then randomly jumps... into the sea. “Oh no, they’ll drown!” No, they won’t, because Komondomon has the ability to build a dome over his back trapping oxygen inside. Submarimon I get, but Komondomon?

As they dive, Tailmon explains what we learned last week about Millenniumon trying to resurrect himself with a new body. Apparently a very large fragment of him is located undersea in a place called Farga (transliteration TBA). She thinks resentfully about how she was almost absorbed into Millenniumon’s most recent resurrection effort.

Hikari tackles her with a comforting hug, which Tailmon seems a bit discomfited by. But does not object.

Tailmon considers defeating Millenniumon for good to be her personal mission as a Holy Digimon. Patamon sees her determination and does his best to put on his game face too. It’s like being glared at by a sock puppet.

Tailmon: I can’t allow Hikari to be put in danger. It’s my job as the Holy Digimon -

Tailmon: - gosh darnit and she’s just so cute too!

They wind up getting hit by a rip current or something?? and thrown into another weird submarine sort of thing. They discourteously break a hole in it and wind up inside a self-sustaining underwater kingdom, apparently, which instantly goes on Red Alert as Manbomon come to attack them.

This is Daipenmon, or Big Penguin Monster. I love him. He is glorious. Gaze upon his expression of perpetually stoned haze.

Daipenmon: You try steering this thing every day in and out nonstop without turning to hard drugs.

She attac!

While fighting, some Mantaraymon break in through the hole they made and the Manbomon go to drive them off as apparently they are not welcome. Then MarineAngemon appears in all her creepy glory and they sort everything out.

MarineAngemon: Oh, Tailmon, I see you’re a Holy Digimon! I can tell by your Holy Ring. I have one too.

Takeru: Patamon, why don’t you have a Holy Ring?

Patamon: .... -.-’

Look! See! So cute! They are floating on bubbles! All the kids get their own and each has an individual design that shows their personality. Here Tailmon tries desperately to keep Hikari from falling off. I missed this kind of thing! Flashbacks to Monzaemon’s Toytown...

Turns out MarineAngemon is extremely small and the scene before was all “don’t pay attention to that man behind the curtain” type scare tactics. Not very effective since no matter how big MarineAngemon gets, she’s still extremely adorable. She invites them to stay the night. I really expected it to be a trap, but it wasn’t.

OH MY GOD IS THAT FOOD ARE THEY EATING ACTUAL FOOD OMG OMG

quick someone alert the producers! Someone’s having FUN with this show! I was starting to think that was illegal or something!

It’s not AS fun as when they went to Devimon’s illusory castle in 99 Adventure and stuffed their faces after starving and living on potentially poisonous eggs for a week... but I’ll take it.

Meanwhile an undersea band plays music and Taichi ACTS LIKE THE FIFTH GRADE CHILD THAT HE IS. For about 0.5 seconds but HEY he did something child-like! holy cheez wiz batman!

Hikari is mysteriously absent so Tailmon goes to find her. Turns out she’s asked MarineAngemon to heal Komondomon who is tired and wounded from their journey. Tailmon’s like, “Aw, what a nice person she is.” I’m all for exceptionally kind-hearted Hikari, but taking care of Komondomon should have been priority 1 for EVERYONE. At least Sora should have thought of it. I can see Taichi being too forward-focused, and Takeru a dumb eight year old, but Sora would definitely have thought about Komondomon.

Clearly the show wanted to establish how nice Hikari is, but I hate when shows inadvertently make all the other characters look like asses just to trump up the current star...

Taichi’s digivice glows and...

... MINI KOUSHIROU RETURNS!!! Hurray!

Um, what’s that Sora’s drinking? A mimosa? o.O

Well anyway, Koushirou just shows up to remind everyone of the situation with the satellites and that things are getting worse.

Taichi: Do you have any idea what we can do about it?

Koushirou: No, but I’ll keep you posted.

Taichi: Thanks for nothing braindead

Koushirou: That’s it! You’re not the man I knew in episode 3 anymore! I want a divorce!

Taichi: Fine with me it’s not like you’re ever home anyway!

Koushirou: Well at least I’m not cheating with YAMATO!

Taichi: I HAVE NEEDS!

*cough*

Uh, I know Taichi is shorter than Sora, but he looks... pretty tiny here... lol. Or maybe Sora’s just had a growth spurt again.

They spend the night sleeping in bubbles. Aw.

By the way, question: the kids seem able to walk and breath normally in MarineAngemon’s kingdom... but the fish-type Digimon can also swim around normally. And it seems the kids wouldn’t be able to survive in the ocean itself, but they and the fish can both survive here? And yet bubbles? What... what kind of scientific anomaly is this place??

So... MarineAngemon’s kingdom appears to be a Whamon’s corpse! X’D Wow that’s dark.

They are attacked by Anomalocarimon! For reasons. Actually, they did explain earlier that the ocean Digimon have been more aggressive lately and it seems to be the influence of Millenniumon’s stone in Farga or whatever.

Daipenmon: This sucks I don’t have health insurance

Tailmon frantically tries to fight off the intruders while also keeping Hikari out of danger. This entire episode is about Tailmon wanting to protect Hikari and keep her at arm’s length so she doesn’t end up in danger, while Hikari just keeps trying to stay close to Tailmon and support her.

Tailmon: I can’t take you with me, Hikari. It’s too dangerous.

Hikari: Fine. Big brother, will you bring me into the heat of the action with you?

Taichi: Sure thing.

Tailmon: ...

In his defense, Taichi does seem a bit freaked when Hikari TAKES A FLYING LEAP off MetalGreymon toward Tailmon.

(no I really love that Taichi immediately understands why Hikari wants to fight and takes her right to her partner without even a token “nuu but you’re still a baby.” I mean, if Yamato’s cool with Takeru being in danger all the time, Taichi shouldn’t be much worried about it...

Hikari has a flashback! Turns out she’s heard Tailmon calling for her since she as a little kid!

She caught one of Angewomon’s feathers back then too.

Hikari promises Tailmon that she’ll be by her side. Awww.

Hands again.

Crest of Light! I kind of expect that we’ll find out about the Crests and what they mean really fast at the end of the season... although I’m still kind of hoping Mimi is mining Crest crystals atm.

Hikari is able to magically produce a Digivice... I’d completely forgot she didn’t have one till now.

Here I expected Tailmon would evolve, but instead, the power of Light appears to give everyone a power boost like it’s done in the past. They all glow with their Crest colors, kids and partners alike (except for some reason Tailmon glows yellow???) and launch a joint attack on Anomalocarimon and defeat him. Yay.

Then they say goodbye to MarineAngemon and go on their way, I guess to Farga.

So... yeah! it was a nice episode. It had a theme. There was fighting, but it didn’t overwhelm everything else. There was character development. I really can’t complain about it. And it was SHOCKING that Taichi had so few lines (compared to what’s become the norm - a GOOD shock but still I was like “omg what’s going on!!”)

I am just confused because why is this sort of episode happening when we haven’t seen it in ages? What happened in that interim between when they all met up after the first team split up and just now that prevented the show writers from having fun with the show and just writing nonstop fighting all the time? I’m so confused. It makes no sense. Still suspecting that they couldn’t get anyone to come in and voice characters for long enough so they just focused on Sanpei Yuuko/Taichi, but without the others they couldn’t figure out how to push the show forward and make it fun too... Idk. It’s so weird. But oh well. We got a good episode, and maybe it’s a sign of changes to come. I hope so.

Next week...

We get attacked by a scary looking Digimon and Hikari... Idk, thinks she can block the attack somehow? haha. Aw but look how awesome she is protecting her brother and Greymon!

Hikari gets touched by the dark powers! Oh noes!

And more cuteness.

The episode title name-drops Angewomon, which surprises me because I figured they’d hold off on her and give Tailmon Nefertimon for an evolution first. But *shrug* whatever! Looking forward to it.

#digimon adventure reboot #digimon adventure: #digimon adventure 2020 #fizz watches digimon 2020 #digimon #digi spoilers

[acapelladitty]

Ties That Bind

Summary: A quick fix-it fic because I was ridiculously sad with the ending that Griffon and Shadow received and I want Vergil to be able to keep his favourite familiars.

A lifetime spent either on the offensive or in hiding from powers even more dangerous than himself had left Vergil with one invaluable rule; his instincts were always to be trusted. A rule which was currently placing him on high alert as a sense of danger pressed against his consciousness and forced him to place his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.

“You okay there, Verge?” Noticing the change in atmosphere, Dante eyed his twin with an easy gaze as he pulled his feet from the table and sat up to pay attention.

They were alone in the building as Lady and Trish were off working a job on their own and Nero was spending the weekend with Kyrie and the kids. The peace was nice, but both were itching for a fresh job to appear; that or there was a high chance that they would travel downwards and blow some steam off in one of the more populated areas of hell.

“Something is wrong.” Vergil answered, his trained eyes sweeping the room for any source of danger. “Can you feel that?”

“Nope.” Dante ran a hand through his hair, disturbing the mop of white as he strained both his human and demonic senses, “I’m not feeling anything, demon or otherwise. What do you think it is?”

Taking a deep breath as he focused his concentration, Vergil closed his eyes to pinpoint the feeling.

“It’s pain and panic,” his brow furrowed slightly as something odd came to light, “but it’s not here.”

“Not here? What do you me-“

“It’s in hell. Something is connected to me, calling to me.”

“What the hell could be wanti-“

“I don’t know,” Vergil cut him off again, rising from his seated position, “but I am going to find out.”

Drawing the yamato from its sheathe, two quick swipes were enough to open a portal, his instincts telling him that it would lead him straight to the source of the unwelcome feelings. Ready to leave, the pulsating energy within the portal enticed him forward, but his steps were halted by a sudden voice.

“I’ll join you.”

Turning to survey the eager grin on Dante’s expression, Vergil quirked a brow at him.

“I can handle this myself.”

“Whatever you say,” Dante answered with an obvious eyeroll as he strapped his devil sword to his back, ebony and ivory clearly holstered at his hips, “but I’m not coming to help your sorry ass, I’m coming because i’m bored.”

Vergil couldn’t argue with that.

“Fair.”

Stepping through the familiar energy of the portal, the first thing to grab Vergil’s attention was the heat- a natural product of the hellscape which manifested as an intense humidity- and the second was the utter chaos of the scene before him.

Around twenty lesser demons, their expressions twisted with fury and malice, were working in conjunction to attack something but through the mass of bodies and flurry of movement, neither Dante nor Vergil were able to make out exactly what.

“Let��s go!” Dante grinned, exclaiming loudly enough to grab the attention of the two demons closest to their position. Turning, they immediately went on the offensive as they swung the thin scythes which were gripped within their hands and Vergil took a stance as he allowed Dante to begin the slaughter.

It was hardly a battle; between his own precisely deadly style and the chaos of Dante’s attack the demons stood no chance, falling like dominoes before their combined wrath. Small bursts of electricity decorated the area as whatever had summoned Vergil continued its own battle on the other side of the demon hoard.

Demon after demon fell to his blade as he barely broke a sweat and it wasn’t until he felled a chainsaw-wielding beast that he caught his first glimpse of the source of his internal panic and the sight was enough to make him still for a moment.

There, against the flat of the ground, lay Shadow and the broken hilt of a scythe was visibly pierced through the side of the big cat. His demonic body harmed, he swiped and hissed at any demon who approached as he attempted to heal against the damage. The bolts of electricity they could see were from Griffon, his last line of defence, and were helping to keep the lesser demons at bay as the power singed and burned their skin.

Shaking himself back to action, he continued to pick off the demons in the area as he coordinated his attack with Dante, settling into their familiar pattern of assault until a summoned sword pierced the heart of the final demon; banishing it to the void.

“Hey!” Dante called out, finally spotting the two familiars. “It’s those guys!”

Pacing towards the pair of demons, Dante had barely a moment to dodge as Shadow swiped at his ankles; a weak hiss emitting from the panther’s chest as he registered the demonic presence.

“Woah, kitty,” Dante muttered, “these boots are new. Relax.”

“If it isn’t the Sparda twins,” Griffon spat over his shoulder, landing on the ground before Shadow and using his claws to pull free the hilt of the scythe, “ho-”

His words were cut off by a surprisingly loud growl as the open wound on Shadow’s chest sealed itself up and his body reverted to a rotating ball as his demonic core exposed itself to allow him to heal.

Eyeing the ball with a stoic expression, Vergil allowed Dante to ask the questions he knew they both had.

“What’s the deal, little chicken?” Dante asked, having not had the opportunity to use the amusing nickname for so long. “Why are these demons attacking their own? Don’t you have a union for this kind of thing?”

“Because of him!” Griffon flared his wings in irritation as his beady eyes fell on Vergil. “They know that we worked with V to help destroy the Quiphoth and they don’t care that we were his summons.” Extending his claws, Griffon flexed the razor-sharp edges and looked ready to make a move against Vergil. However- before he could make a move- Shadow reverted to his regular appearance, having fully healed, and the sight seemed to relax the demonic bird. “It’s open season on Shadow and me and we’ve been on the run since you,” his eyes darted back to Dante, “banished us back down here.”

A small tendril of guilt stroked at Vergil’s conscious as Griffon made his admission. His memories from his time split between V and Urizen were fractured at best but there was a warmth there for his familiars. Many nights had seen Shadow using his chest as a pillow as he rested while Griffon perched close by, both demons prepared to defend their master to the death as he fought to restore himself.

In the moments of silence, when reflection was at its peak, Vergil found that he did miss them.

“Sucks to be you, buddy.” Dante shrugged, leaning on his hilt of his sword as Shadow padded gently around the twins, his step limping slightly as he continued to recover. “Demons can’t live topside without help, you know that.”

“Yeah, we know, we already tried that, dipshit.”

“Hey, no need for insults.”

“You try being hunted down for weeks and see how you feel.”

As Griffon and Dante continued to bicker, Vergil instead focused his attention on Shadow. The big cat was watching him with a passive gaze, his wide dark eyes blinking slowly as he held Vergil’s gaze with an almost fond familiarity.

It was not until he realised that he was rubbing the tips of his fingers together gently that Vergil realised he was resisting the urge to reach out and stroke the panther. Dropping the pretence, he extended his had slightly, enough that if Shadow wished to reject him that the decision would go unnoticed by Dante and Griffon.

Shadow took a steady step forward and willingly dipped his head against Vergil’s hand, the actions sparking a slideshow of recollections within Vergil’s mind of the ease with which V showed affection to the large familiar. Following the curve of Shadow’s head, Vergil settled his hand across the back of his neck, rubbing the fur there almost absent-mindedly as he felt the demonic energy crackle against his fingertips.

“-and we are FUCKED!”

The loud voice of Griffon cut across his musings and Vergil once again focussed on the discussion between his twin and the demon bird.

“Can’t you go find another person to leech on to?” Dante asked, leaning on his hilt of his sword as he offered the solution.

“We were reborn and moulded from Vergil’s nightm- I mean V’s memories,” Griffon caught himself quickly but the near mention of his experiences was enough to make Vergil twitch slightly, “and we can’t be bound to anyone else.”

“Is that why you were able to call me here?” It was a question, but Vergil already knew the answer.

“Yeah. V bonded with us and that bond was never truly severed by him before he reformed. It’s why we’re still kicking even after Dante banished us here.”

Dante shrugged off the accusation.

“I play hard, little chicken.” He turned to face Vergil, “Hey, Verge, you want to bring these pets home? They did try to kill me but that just puts them on the same level as everyone else at work.”

Put on the backfoot by the sudden choice, Vergil peered hard at the pair of familiars. Griffon held his head high, ready for the rejection which he suspected was coming, while Shadow stood passively, his large and intelligent eyes flicking between both Dante and Vergil as he also awaited an answer.

As a human, he had formed a bond with these creatures, a companionship which he had rarely experienced across his life. As a demon, he had fought aside them, all agents of Mundus and forced to do his bidding.

They were powerful familiars; able to kill their own with ease and skilled enough to keep himself alive when he was little more than a decaying form. Loyal to him alone, they had been formed of his nightmares but soon worked to keep those nightmares at bay as they protected him.

At the very least, they had earned the right to live.

“If I recognise the bond then you are bound to me forever,” Vergil spoke quietly, “you know the process is irreversible. You should not have even survived the first separation.” His eyes landed on Shadow and he awaited a response.

Shadow gave another slow blink, showing his understanding of the statement and what it meant.

“And you?”

Griffon extended his wings.

“Better alive and bonded, than dead and hunted.”

“Can we get this show on the road?” Cutting into the discussion, Dante checked an imaginary watch as he glanced at and tapped his wrist. “These soppy reconciliations are too much for me.”

Despite the teasing tone, Vergil understood that Dante was trying to help. Emotional displays were not something either twin particularly enjoyed.

Placing a hand on Shadow’s head and the familiar weight of Griffon settled on his extended forearm, Vergil tugged on the residual feelings which had brought him to this area in the first place. Now understanding what it was, it was easy to find the thin tendrils of the bond which only loosely tied the two demons to his energy.

Summoning energy from within his demonic core, Vergil passed some of the energy into the tendrils strengthening them as he focused on the sensation of his connection to both familiars. The hair on his arms raised and a tingle danced along his skin for a moment as the magical contract formed around their forms and was sealed.

The two demons were now bound to him as familiars until his death; at which point their demonic energy would extinguish and they would perish at his side. As long as he drew breath, his familiars would exist across both the underworld and above.

“Well,” Dante muttered, “that wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be. I was expecting fireworks.” Groaning as he extended his arms into a lazy stretch, his deceptively smart gaze landed on Vergil, “How’s it feel?”

Tilting his head as he smoothed out his coat, Vergil took stock of his mental state. It had been a while since he had to use his demonic energy for anything other than his devil trigger so it was interesting to have the sensation of electricity dancing through his nerves without the accompanying transformation. His senses were balanced and he could feel both Shadow and Griffon, almost like shades within his mind, and he was able to feel that not only were both in his immediate area but that they were also in good health.

It was strange, but it was not a negative feeling and he lowered his arm to allow Griffon to fly off.

“Acceptable.”

“Well, that was fun!” Griffon called out, swooping overhead, “Gotta say, I though Shadown and I were screwed there, V.”

V.

He was not V anymore.

Nor was he the demon king Urizen.

But as he stroked a hand along the ridges of Shadow’s spine and admired the surprisingly soft fur of the demon familiar, Vergil found that he did not have the energy to correct Griffon.

Not that the bird would ever listen to him.

AO3 Link

#devil may cry #devil may cry 5 #dmc #vergil sparda #Dante Sparda

[amisbro]

If UtaPri had/gets a 5th season...

What would it look like? So this is a question I have thought about for a while because of the fact that I think a lot of people (Myself included) believe there is more of a story to tell in the world of UtaPri.  I think with enough time we could get a very interesting idea for a season and honestly I think WHATEVER this project we got coming up actually IS could be an interesting testing ground for something. Let me explain

So if we think about how Season 4 ended it seemed rather definitive.  Like the way that message was wrote made you believe ,to a degree, that the series had ended as far as an Anime project.  Then we got the end card AFTER that and that kind of made things turn on its head cos no one knew what that was supposed to be until 6th stage happened right? One thing that always stands out to me is the fact that Season 4 was a bit of a mess and I say that in the most objective and neutral way possible because...when you have an Anime that is based on a Manga we typically get a story based around that in some fashion.  It might not be panel for panel and word for word but we get one and that is always fun to see how certain scenes get animated for sure.  When you do an Anime based on an Otome game you almost always do whomever is considered the “true route” or just leave it open ended so people will want to play the games (which is what I think DiaLovers did when it had its run). UtaPri has a very interesting situation because the series DOES have an idol component (and the Anime made sure to really focus on that mostly) but it is also an Otome game so the studio (A-1 Pictures) had that to work off of for the most part.  The problem is that when they were done with the material they DID USE it created a problem because Season 4 was a mess if I am being as objective as possible about it. So here was the problem You had 3 groups in play here STARISH QUARTET NIGHT HEAVENS Forget whom your group was for a second...this was going to be a problem because 2 of the 3 groups had content that was used in the first 3 seasons but Season 4 was going to be a problem.  How this would have been remedied I have no fucking idea!  Like if Broccoli knew they were going to do this season they needed to get something out BEFORE IT so people would have had something to go off of for HEAVENS so we could have had 7 episodes that made sense instead of episodes where it felt like they didn’t know how to have the HEAVENS member that was being featured in it not look like a complete ass!  If we are honest this is what happened and its frustrating to remember One of the biggest issues with the season was that you had a group that HAD been Antags during Season 2.  I said HAD because I genuinely believe that the marching orders for A-1 was to write a season where STARISH was still THE focus but HEAVENS could be rehabbed into a group that was more “likable/marketable” so when the time came to sell CDs and merch that they would fly off the shelves and could be a contender to at least QN if not both them and STARISH.  As we saw during the Oricon charts it was a puzzling time because the duet CDs sold like garbage in the sense that only TWO our the 7 actually charted in the top 10 Ren/Van - Lovely Eyes Syo/Yamato - Justice Impulse This was the most puzzling thing I ever dealt with because I tried to figure out WHY and to this day the best thing I could come up with is the fact that the CD releases were slated to come 10 days after the episode aired which seemed like the dumbest thing to do (IMHO) because when I looked at Season 3 all of the releases charted in the top 10 and a big reason for that was the gap between CD/Episode was only 4 days...well we got to QN and HEAVENS’ CDs they did VERY WELL in Season 4 and its because of how close they released them (I think) to the episodes...funny how that works! What was really weird also was during the “Duet Project” episodes the writers didn’t know WHO to make the focus of the episodes and that was weird BUT ,looking back on it, this whole season was gonna be weird because of how quickly the season was coming in the turnaround vs. its normal time for a season.  Typically a UtaPri season gets a 2 year window and this time they were going under that...about a year and 4 months so this was going to cause a crunch and also a mess of a message as to what the writers wanted to do!  I personally believe that the writers wanted to make HEAVENS all the more sympathetic and they were able to get SOME of the backstories in that they could for certain characters but a few others (Nagi and Eiichi for example) “kind of” tried to show you the “why they were acting the way they were” but it felt (at least Internationally) that the episodes didn’t register or if they did not as well as they hoped.  I do wonder if a big reason that the content is as out of sorts in terms of balance for HEAVENS vs. the other two groups is because of how jacked up that season got.  I genuinely wish I could sit down and discuss that season with someone that was in the room when they were given the orders on how that season was supposed to go vs. what actually happened after the fact! So this brings me back to the “What would a 5th Season look like if we got/get one in the future?” The weird thing is I think A-1 already knows but they have to get the reference materials FIRST before they start writing it.  I genuinely think they saw/heard about what happened Internationally when it came to the “NEXT DOOR” saga and they didn’t want to see that happen again so NOW they want to work on these projects to get the idea other there right now that all the groups are separated as first we have STARISH and then no doubt QN but the big question of course is HEAVENS...can they do a concert with them at some point with hopefully more songs under their belt OR will Broccoli start to really consider them a lost cause and that the fandom just doesn’t want them.  You can only go with the “Round peg/Square Hole” philosophy so much before people get mad and don’t want to deal with the series (or at the very least HEAVENS) anymore. The other big issue is HEAVENS’ role in Dolce Vita because, As of this writing, we still don’t know ANYTHING about that game...like we don’t know if its a straight up VN or is there going to be something similar to the original La Corda back in the day which ,fun fact time, had Kishou and Mamo in it.  Like if anyone would know how a game like that worked it would be them (And they ARE in the new game “Starlight Orchestra” btw) so they HAVE to have had given some input about how the mechanics worked and all that...right?! (Oh and unrelated but Kishou’s original character in Len Tsukimori is a special character in that game.  He was unlocked through a campaign we had in that fandom a bit ago) So again...what would Season 5 look like? Well my guess is that it would have to be a STARISH/HEAVENS season again but with new duets unlike last time.  The other possibility (And I think they were teasing this at the end of Season 4) is that it would somehow be a HEAVENS/QN season which could be interesting especially if they did something like how Season 2 was probably supposed to go...and in a way didn’t because of how the story worked. The thing is its been almost 5 years since we had a proper season...FIVE! Let’s assume that the “Anime Project” as we know it is over alright?  STARISH and QN’s brand is already established so what do you use to help HEAVENS’ get on the same level?  That’s a big reason why I don’t think they could/should end the “Anime Proper” because to do that you literally would be cutting off a way to properly market a group that actually needs it vs. the groups that clearly don’t.  I won’t go so far as to say that the STARISH/QN Animated concerts are going to be “Vanity Projects” because they aren’t.  They are clearly something that Broccoli believed in as far as a project to do for the series BUT I will say that having 7th Stage so close to this project is a bit...weird?! Like okay to be fair this probably was planned well in advance and the Pandemic fucked everything up because it was supposed to be announced at 7th stage in 2020...okay cool fine but let’s say it was right?  What stopped them from revealing it at 10th Anniversary when it would have been a bigger “Holy Shit” moment?  What was really so important that they had to do EVERYTHING ELSE and not that?  Just seemed weird to me. But anyways HOLY SHIT did we go around the block here...I need to stop If you were going to script out a proper 5th season when would you do it and how?  The thing to remember is we have a 3 group scenario and now HEAVENS is trying to become an even better group to finally beat STARISH and QN so do you have QN and HEAVENS do a thing together or do you do a 3 cour season where each is dedicated to a particular group? Love to hear your answers on this and take care

#Amisbro #UtaPri #Anime #5th Season scenario #7th Stage #2022 Movies

[pinkcatharsis]

THE PRINCE - OMAKE

I wanted to write more of the Tenzou/Yamato-big-dong-universe but eh, ended up with this thing that is as good as an omake but not enough context for me to post it on Ao3.

The Prince can be read here.  CW: Smut. Language. Stupidity.  Tenzou knows that they shouldn’t.

They really, really shouldn’t.

They have just finished setting up their apartment in preparation for their dinner get-together with team seven, a sort of a house warming thing in their new home. He and Iruka had spent all morning in the market and cooking a splendid spread including pudding that is now sitting cozily in their fridge, chilling.

They had enough time to just shower, clean up and air the apartment out, what with everything more or less already set up in their dining room. Iruka is brushing his hair, their clothes already laid out in the bed when Tenzou steps into the bedroom, clad in only a towel and damp from his shower. Tenzou sits on the bed, taking his towel off, setting it aside, his beef whistle hanging limply between his legs.

He’s about to slip his legs into his boxers when Iruka comes up to him, a bit of a smile tugging at his lips, a salient gleam in his eye that burns as bright at the sun in the dim lighting of their bedroom. It makes the breath catch in Tenzou’s throat because he knows what that look means, knows what is going on in Iruka’s head when it really shouldn’t be going on in Iruka’s head because they had about fifteen minutes before team seven arrives.

Then again, Tenzou thinks, as he watches Iruka kneel on the ground, his denim clad knees parting for balance, when did time ever stop Iruka’s appetite and need?

When he and Iruka had decided to take their relationship to the next level after a few more dates together, the most logical thing to do had been to move in together. Some may frown and say it’s too soon, too quick, they’ve only been seeing each other for less than year. But Tenzou, if anything, is a practical man. Iruka more so because he had economics coming into play. It didn’t seem to make any sense to spend most of their time in each other’s apartments and still pay double the rent. Not when most of Tenzou belongings were in Iruka’s apartment and a lot of Iruka’s belongings were in Tenzou’s apartment.

So Tenzou had proposed the idea of having a unified front. A joint unit. A cohabiting arrangement.

He still reels on some days at the memory of how Iruka had looked at him in a way no one ever has. Soft, benevolent, happy. Tenzou still remembers how Iruka had taken both his hands, held it oh so tight and leaned up to press a lingering kiss on Tenzou’s chin, whispering, I am in your care, Tenzou.

Caring for Iruka has become Tenzou’s north.

And vice versa.

Living with Iruka is… an ego booster.

Tenzou didn’t think his ego can swell the way it did, but Iruka seems to know just what to say, what to do and how to touch him, how to whisper the most lurid of lines in his ears to ignite a passion that roars in Tenzou’s veins, raging as wild as a forest fire. Iruka seems to treat his custard launcher like a deity, almost always wanting to kneel before it, take it in his mouth, play with the fleshy wand.

His thrusting pole gets all the love it deserves. Iruka has stopped passing out each time Tenzou has fucked his ass, only ever getting so tired but never losing hunger. And really, Tenzou can say he gets a lot of blowjobs now. It’s a man’s paradise!

Tenzou can go as far as saying that his life is the epitome of perfect.

Like right now, Tenzou is parting his legs, giving Iruka a bit of a look, watching Iruka rub his cheek against the slowly swelling cock, Tenzou’s breath coming out long and slow.

“You know they’re gonna be here any minute,” Tenzou mutters, while also knowing that he is powerless to stop Iruka once Iruka gets into one of his moods.

“And?” Iruka asks, his tongue slowly swirling over the head of Tenzou’s cock, suckling at the ruddy, pre-cum dribbling tip.

“And I know you,” Tenzou sighs, reclining a little bit more, hissing through his teeth when Iruka drags the tip of his tongue from root to tip.

“So you better move fast and fuck my mouth properly, don’t you think, taichou?” Iruka asks.

Tenzou grabs hold of his now fully hardened cock, tracing the head of his cock right over Iruka’s parted lips, glossing it with precum. Tenzou knows Iruka likes being humiliated, it’s a bit of a kink Tenzou has discovered; it is something he is more than happy to indulge in. Iruka also seems to like it when he slaps his hardened love muscle all over his face. Tenzou will never forget than one night when Iruka came in his pants just by having his face slapped by Tenzou’s cock. It had boggled the living shit out of Tenzou’s brain, his thoughts unable to quite process what had just happened, because Iruka simply looked up at him, dazed and then proceeded to take Tenzou’s fudge sickle into his mouth, enjoying the last few drops of his very generous milk bottle.

Tenzou slaps Iruka across the face now and watches as Iruka gasps, his head turning to one side, upper teeth coming down to chew on his lower lip before he turns to face Tenzou again, offering his face, lips parted in an obscene wanton moan, eyes heavy lidded.

Tenzou slaps him again, patting the head of his cock over Iruka’s cheek, smearing precum all over his scar and cheekbone, watching Iruka shudder under his cock’s ministrations, happily getting pre-cum all over his face as if it were a aloe vera face mask one gets from the pharmacy. Tenzou slaps him again, tapping the head of his cock on the apex of Iruka’s chin, watching Iruka tilt his chin up, long hair spilling down the length of his back as cum

Gods, being with Iruka has turned him into some sort of uncontrollable pervert. Never in his life did he think that slapping his ham bone on someone’s face would turn him on ridiculously. Iruka is also a massive fan of getting teased when Tenzou would drum the length of his cock over the curve of his ass, almost always keening when slick, lubed hard flesh would slap rather loudly on his smooth skin.

Again, again, oh gods, slap me with your hard, big cock, Iruka would say, like Tenzou's fucking personal porn star and Tenzou almost always had no clue what to do but to oblige. Enjoying every minute of it.

Gods, he is a pervert.

Iruka hums, his slack jawed tugging up on a grin. “You like slapping me with your cock, don’t you?”

“What if I do?”

“Filthy pervert,” Iruka says, his warm, smooth fingers pressing on the insides of Tenzou’s thigh. “Is it because you like it when I beg for your long, big, thick cock?”

“When are you not begging for my cock, Iruka?” Tenzou asks, tilting his head to one side, slapping Iruka on the chick with his hard piston.

“I always want your cock. Maybe you should fuck me now. I’m still warm from this morning,” Iruka offers, tongue lapping up the towering flesh head, swirling over the top, saliva and precum making gossamer strands as he pulls back with a grin. “Make me have a hard time sitting infront of your team, your senpai. Because you’re going to know just how hard you pounded this monster into my body. You’re going to hear me through out dinner. I bet you won’t be able to take your eyes off me.”

It’s not fair.

Iruka isn’t fair.

It is cruel of him to put these images into Tenzou’s mind when they had about ten more minutes before they have to entertain everyone with dinner and be civil. He didn’t want to sit across from Iruka and watch him lean against one side of his body, just because he’s so stretched and worn by the pounding of Tenzou’s warrior king. Iruka would have a blush then, maybe a bit of a dazed look in his eye from the ferocity of his orgasm because apparently, whenever Tenzou fucks him in the ass, hitting his prostate is a no brainer. Iruka always, always ends up being over simulated, and the challenge of hitting his prostate to make him cum isn’t the question but rather, Tenzou is simply applying steady pressure and rubbing it. Tenzou has watched Iruka shudder hours later, like he’s still riding out the rest of his orgasm. Iruka would be curled in bed, or the sofa, or on Tenzou’s lap, soft cock still buried in his ass and he’d just shudder in Tenzou’s arms, cheek pillowed on his shoulder, a high as a kite grin on his face.

There wouldn’t be time to clean up either.

So that means Iruka is going to have to make do with a wipe down. And hold in whatever cum of Tenzou’s in his ass.

It’d drip out of him for sure.

Make a mess on his boxers.

Ah, fuck.

Tenzou purposely slaps Iruka a little harder with his cock, making Iruka gasp, head snapping to one side, his hair splaying on his shoulder.

“You deserve an award for cockslut of the year,” Tenzou murmurs, letting the words wrap around Iruka’s neck like a collar.

Iruka who inhales slowly, sharply, the sound of it audible, the flush on his cheeks burning down the column of his neck, spreading all over his chest. “My prince deserves my servitude, and you know that?”

“What of your king?” Tenzou slaps Iruka again on the cheek, smearing more cum down his cheekbone and watching Iruka shudder under the assault.

“My king is—“

Tenzou is pulling back his cock, ready to slap Iruka again when the doorbell rings.

Tenzou releases his cock like he’s been burned, just as Iruka turns to look up at him wide eyed, and gets the full hit of Tenzou’s weighty, meat constrictor slapping on the face, uncontrolled, harsh and almost like a whiplash. It jolts Iruka, making him bob up which unfortunately makes the head of Tenzou’s cock go right into his wide open eye.

Precum and all.

Iruka howls, scampering away, torn between laughing and hissing in pain, one hand on his cheek, his eye scrunched shut and Tenzou watches, with every bit of horror killing his raging boner, as Iruka gets torn between laughing at being poked in the eye by a giant dick while getting unintentionally swaffled that will no doubt, most likely bruise.

Iruka bruises easily too.

Well, fuck, fuck fuck!

“Oh gods that burns,” Iruka mutters, huffing a laugh that tapers off to a groan, the heel of his palm pressing against his eye that he tries to blink away the precum but ends up wincing and hissing, shakily getting up from the floor and rushing to the connecting bathroom, running the tap.

Tenzou sits there, on the bed, torn between putting his clothes on, answering the door or checking up on his lover and decides fuck all, team seven can wait and follows Iruka to the bathroom.

“Why aren’t you dressed yet? Open the door!” Iruka says, laughing and bent over the sink as he rinses his eye with cold water.

“I’m sorry but you just got poked in the eye with my dick and – oh god it’s red. It’s really, really red, you like you have pink eye!”

“No I don’t!” Iruka says, blinking rapidly, turning to look at the mirror. “Oh dear…”

Then he bursts out a laughing.

“It’s not funny!” Tenzou says, a bit of hysteria in his tone. “Why are you laughing?”

That seems to make Iruka laugh even more because he begins to wheeze while grasping the sink, bent over and clutching his stomach, shaking his head and pathetically waving Tenzou away or beckoning him over. It’s really hard to tell. Garbled words fall from Iruka’s mouth, making Tenzou frown as the doorbell rings again.

And again.

And then proceeds to be pressed violently in rapid succession until the doorbell starts to sound hoarse.

It’s like having a war siren and Tenzou is still standing there naked, his long ass ramburger twitching and not at all dying, for fucks sake. Does his dick just not have any ounce of self-preservation?

Tenzou wants to throw himself off something, embarrassment painting down his body by a hot brush.

“You two better not be doing funny business because I did not skip lunch for this!” Naruto yells.

There is a bit of a commotion which Tenzou can only assume is Sakura possibly hitting Naruto, or stepping on his foot. Or something. It’s hard to tell. But the doorbell ringing ensues and Tenzou can do nothing but hobble out of the bathroom, put his clothes on in a flash, internally yell at his cock and resolutely, with his most serious face on, answer the door.

--

“Iruka-sensei, do you have pink eye?” Naruto asks, scorfing down his rice bowl.

Tenzou stares and wonders if Naruto is even chewing anymore because he doesn’t think they made that much rice if Naruto is going to insist in snorfling food at this current pace. Iruka, bless his heart, simply smiles and shakes his head.

“I had a little accident earlier,”

“Oh, that explains the weird bruise on your face. Were you moving furniture again?” Naruto asks.

That apparently makes Kakashi toss his head back and laugh. Ugly laughing, even. Jaw shamelessly open, wheeze inducing, staggered by pinched inhales that sounds like a dilapidated whistle being blown, because oh fuck, Kakashi knows. Kakashi knows and Tenzou wants to die, sink on the ground and melt like a candle burning out of shame.

Iruka blushes, which serves him right, the fucking little shit. Until he says, “Well Naruto, we do have a lot of wooden furniture. I had to make room."

Tenzou wants to strangle Iruka, shake him like he’s a rag doll. Except Iruka is grinning and taking it all in stride, the fucking perverse jerk, who simply tucks back into his meal, taking a bit of roasted chicken.

Kakashi’s chopsticks ends up on the ground. He ends up on the ground too.

“I don’t get what’s so funny,” Naruto says, staring at the Rokudaime who is curled on the floor, well on his way to cardiac arrest.

“Naruto! Stop asking about the furniture and the pink-eye!” Sakura snaps.

“But it’s pink eye! And those things are gross! One time, Kiba had pink eye and it started to develop puss and shit and I ended up getting it too, and it was just so—“

“Naruto, if you look closely, what Sakura isn’t telling you is that Iruka-san has a bruise the shape of a penis—“

Sakura’s fist flies before she can stop it, sending Sai tumbling off his chair and into the hallway, skidding across the polished wooden floors and coming to a full stop at the bottom of the stair landing.

“Stop saying perverted things about Iruka-sensei, asshole!” Naruto yells, slamming his fists on the table.

From the floor, Kakashi manages to lift up a finger, garbling unintelligibly, pointing at Tenzou. He wheezes out a breathless, “Swaffle—“ before he promptly loses it all over again.

“Waffles?” Naruto asks. “We’re having waffles for dessert?”

“Sure,” Iruka says, continuing with his meal despite the chaos at their dining table. “We can have waffles.”

Tenzou buries his face in his palms and sighs.

Gods, he wants to die.

--

Iruka ends up making waffles for dessert all right. He goes as far as cutting star shaped strawberries and making flower-shapes with orange. Kakashi hasn’t stopped chuckling, absolutely hopeless in getting his facilities in order, even after Tenzou had kicked him very pointedly on the foot.

All Kakashi had to say is, “My, my, kouhai~ Your little soldier sure is mighty.”

Tenzou can safely say that pulling Kakashi’s poof of silver hair down and over his head, as painfully as he can manage had to be the most satisfying thing he had done all night, considering the entire house warming dinner is turning out to be a horrible, embarrassing nightmare.

When they leave after tea and opening gifts, Tenzou locks the door and windows, puts up the wards and grabs Iruka by the neck, whose eye is now swollen like he had, indeed, a bad case of pink eye.

“You little—“ Tenzou shakes Iruka, who ends up laughing and hanging limply like a noodle in Tenzou’s grip. “Stop laughing!”

“Gods, I love you so much, you are so adorable!” Iruka says, grinning dopily.

Which makes Tenzou just stare at him like he’s lost his mind because how? How can he even fight this man whose eye is starting to look like a fucking grape, who is looking at him like a smitten pirate in love? How can he fight him for making it known to Sai and Sakura just how big his dick is now, because right there, on Iruka’s face, is the shape of his fucking yoghurt gun.

“You’re not getting away with this!” Tenzou huffs, letting of Iruka’s arm and neck, slumping tiredly.

“With being happy that I, solely, have the access to Konoha’s royal dick?” Iruka asks, dimples dotting his cheeks.

“Don’t say that!” Tenzou wheezes.

“Because I do~” Iruka sing songs taking Tenzou’s hand in his and tugging him closer, looping his arms around Tenzou’s shoulder. “Ahh, is Tenzou-taichou upset? Look at your frowny, frowny face. Like a prickly cactus~”

They start swaying in each other’s orbit, Tenzou’s hands coming to rest on Iruka’s hips, their foreheads touching.

“I won’t forget this,” Tenzou warns, perfectly serious.

“Of course not,” Iruka agrees.

“I’m serious, Iruka!” Tenzou stresses.

“I know you are.” Iruka nods.

“Now, you see, I know you’re making fun of me?” Tenzou frowns.

“Am I?” Iruka tilts his head to one side, teeth bared to a devilish grin. His hand comes down and snakes past Tenzou’s waistband, cupping Tenzou’s jewels in his palm and giving a languid caress and roll. “Am I?”

Tenzou growls, spins Iruka around and wraps an arm around his neck pushing his pants down where he proceeds to teach Iruka a goddamn lesson.

FIN

#yamairu #iruyama #anbu tenzo #yamato tenzo #yamato tenzou #Umino Iruka #team7 #hatake kakashi #humor #smut #Fic

[whatplanetdididial]

Yamato and Hikari / it doesn't have to be shippy at all, please have fun with Murphy's Law however you want / and 8.

Prompt List Challenge

Did I awake from the dead to try and finish all the prompt challenges I’ve been ignoring in my inbox during my extreme writer’s block? Why yes, yes I did.

#8: “There’s only one bed.”

Type: One-shot

Characters: Ishida Yamato, Yagami Hikari

Rating: K

Word Count: ~1,000

Imagine this is somewhere in the the Tri universe during Saikai.

His mind was utter chaos. Every time he grasped at a coherent thought, it sifted away like sand between his fingertips, lost to a sea of emotions. With his frustration threatening to reach new levels, he ignored the war raging inside of him and rang the doorbell. It was now or never.

“Yamato?”

The melodic voice jarred him.

“Hikari?”

The ever-so-slight tilt of her head reminded him he shouldn’t have been so surprised.

“Sorry, I just…” he trailed.

“You were looking for my brother.”

Had Yamato been less preoccupied, he might’ve raised an eyebrow that her words were more of a statement than a question.

“Yeah.”

Hikari stepped out of the way and motioned for Yamato to come inside. He respectfully stepped out of his shoes and followed her past the entryway, glancing around the apartment for telltale bushy hair. Once he was assured that Taichi was nowhere in plain sight, Yamato edged towards one of the bedroom doors before turning back to Hikari.

“I’m guessing he’s in your guys’ room?”

He didn’t wait for a response before pounding on the door in front of him.

“I’m coming in, so make yourself appropri–“

Startled silent, Yamato did a double-take once inside the room. While taking in his new surroundings, he felt Hikari’s lithe body slink past him.

“There’s only one bed,” he commented once she was inside and facing him.

Yamato watched as Hikari sat on the aforementioned bed, patting the seat of a desk chair next to her.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been here, huh? Although technically I think a bunk bed would still count as one bed,” she added with an almost imperceptible giggle.

Flushed, Yamato accepted her offer and sat down next to her.

“I guess at some point siblings should have their own rooms. When did this happen?”

“A little earlier this year, actually, so you haven’t missed much. I’m still not really used it.”

She waved around at her belongings which were all suspiciously sequestered into one corner of the room. Yamato’s eyes settled back onto Hikari and noted a wan smile that set off alarm bells in his head.

“Is Taichi even here?”

She shifted so that she was sitting up a little straighter.

“His indecision isn’t because he doubts our abilities, you know that, right?”

The whirlwind inside of him ended its brief respite and began roaring again.

“It doesn’t matter what his gripe is, we don’t have the luxury of time to wait around. He needs to get it through his thick skull that we’re the only ones that can do anything and we need to do it now!”

Yamato didn’t mean to raise his voice at her, but Hikari took it in stride. If he wasn’t already aware of her particular skill of staying composed when most would crumble, he would have been impressed at the easy tone she continued with.

“The likelihood of having people’s blood on our hands heavily weighs on Taichi.”

“If we don’t do anything, multiple lives will be at stake, Hikari. You must see that!” Yamato snarled, shooting up in defiance. He didn’t understand why this fact was so hard to impress on apparently both Yagami siblings.

“You misunderstand,” she replied, shaking her head slowly. “Before, we weren’t in the human world and we were just oblivious, ignorant children; there is a difference between blindly doing what’s right and finally realizing that you will have a direct hand in destruction. This is the first time Taichi has needed to thoughtfully weigh the consequences of sacrificing people for the greater good.”

Yamato recoiled slightly and found his seat again.

“Sacrifice seems like a harsh word,” he trailed with only a hint of spite.

“But perhaps an accurate one, nonetheless.”

His mental storm dwindled down to a slow churn.

Yamato’s mindset hadn’t changed, but it suddenly became a lot harder to verbally convey why they still needed to take action as quickly as possible. It wasn’t that he wanted people to be caught in the crossfire, but their inaction could have just as direct of an impact on the world. The more they waited around, the more dire the consequences could become.

“I’m not taking a position here,” she interjected through his thoughts. “Please don’t think that I’m trying to say that either of you are right or wrong. I just want help you to better understand where he’s coming from. He’s as stubborn as a mule, but it might soften him up a little to feel like you’re hearing his concerns. We’re all allowed our moments of weakness and deserve the support of our friends.”

She stared at him pointedly, and Yamato couldn’t help but wonder if that was a subtle jab at his crest. He dropped his head, not quite knowing how to respond.

“Yamato.”

She placed a delicate hand over the fist he was making in his lap and he prickled at her warmth. Choosing to ignore the involuntary response, he looked up and egged her on with pleading eyes.

“You’re the only one that can reach him, I know you’ll do your best. I have faith in you.”

Her hand lingered on his for only a second more before she stood up and made her way to the bedroom door.

“He’s over at the park if you still want to catch him,” she disclosed to him. The air of finality in her voice told him it was time to take his leave.

“That’s a good idea, thank you.”

As they made their way to the front door, Yamato spun around catching Hikari off guard.

“Taichi’s lucky to have you as a sister.”

Rose patches dusted her cheeks and Yamato gave her a genuine smile.

“It’s a wonder you guys are related,” he added cheekily before ducking down to retrieve his shoes.

She chuckled and waited for him to cross the doorway threshold before bidding him goodbye.

“Good luck, Yamato. Tell Taichi I said hello.”

Yamato offered a small wave before taking his leave.

“I’ll do my best.”

#asks #digimon #digimon adventure tri #fanfiction #yamato ishida #hikari yagami #yamakari #if you squint #interpret it however you want #THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS CAME SO FAST #i literally stopped working to write it lol

[ramenandchill]

Character criticism

Today’s criticism: The entirety of the show Boruto

Hood day/night my children. How are you all? I hope you all are eating your veggies and drinking your water. I hope you all are taking care of yourselves to the best of your abilities and that your all doing well back home, wherever home may be.

Today, we’re going to be tackling the mess that is essentially the anime,Boruto. Basically why it’s not as good as it could be, and why it has potential. I even have an alternative plot for Boruto, and I thought I would share that with you all, my loves.

So first, let’s summarize what Boruto is;

Boruto:next generations is a spin-off show to the Naruto series. A series that once followed the life of Naruto Uzumaki and his fellow friends as growing shinobi, now follows his son Boruto Uzumaki and his friends, who are the next generation of ninja growing up in the shinobi world.

In depth: the setting takes place in a now peaceful shinobi world, where the 5 great nations are no longer at war or no longer have bad blood anymore. Naruto Uzumaki is now the 7th Hokage of Konoha, and Sasuke Uchiha serves as the shadow Hokage, protecting Konoha from the outside. Most of the Konoha 11 have children. These children are learning to be ninja, and are growing up to become extremely powerful each day.

Though this plot sounds very entertaining, it is far from that and the lazy writing shows through many parts of the Anime. Here are some problems I’ve encountered with the plot and characters itself.

1. The children are extremely overpowered- for one, the children in Boruto are too overpowered. One thing that was interesting about Naruto was that we got to grow with the kids and see them develop their powers. Though some were prodigies at a very young age, we got to see them develop even more and we realized that they weren’t too ultra powerful and that they could be beaten. Once we as the audience realized that our beloved Naruto characters were only kids who weren’t all prodigies, the suspense was amped up quite a lot. The chunin exams is a great example. In the forest of death, many of the genin weren’t too powerful, and we saw a lot of genin groups die in the forest of death. We even saw a Sannin, Orochimaru, sneak into the exams and bite Sasuke, which caused the main plot to kick off. A lot of the times, we weren’t sure that our faves would make it out of their life or death situations. But In Boruto, the suspense is not there. We know that most of the kids, especially the 3 main characters, Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki are all powerful. There’s no “if” they are gonna make it out. We also don’t get to see much hit or misses from the children. We don’t get to see their trial and error with learning their parents jutsus and developing their own so it’s hard to grow with them. Their powers ensure that they get out of most situations, and it takes away from the hard work their parents did to reach the level they are at. Their powers look rather more genetic (which I’m sure they mostly are), than actual hard work.

2. The next generation-another problem is that the kids are essentially carbon copies of their parents personalities. They aren’t their own selves, which very much annoys me. I rather see the kids be their own person, rather than adapt ALL parts of their parents personalities. I don’t mind the children having small parts of their parents incorporated into them, but Boruto really takes it to new heights. The personalities are more copy paste. Most of them act exactly how their parents do or once did. One of the few characters this probably doesn’t go for is Mitsuki, as he’s rather pleasant compared to his father, orochimaru.

3. The lack of screen time- this is a minor issue to me, but I don’t appreciate how a lot of the interesting characters like Sarada are glazed over. The other teams besides Team Konohamaru are usually not shown progressing as much, and are given the much shorter end of the stick than the main characters, which is rather annoying.

4. The Konoha 11- the Konoha 11 have been greased so badly. Their powers seem heavily downgraded, and their character designs look awful. A lot of them look like pedophiles and Shino looks like a can of bug spray. Their powers seem very light, compared to in the Naruto series. For example, Shino not being able to control his bugs and messing up, is a regular for the shows gag unfortunately. That’s so unnatural because we know Shino is very serious and calculated and careful, so that gag is not funny at all. Even Naruto, who’s a master at shadow clone jutsu, has reverted back to his childhood. His clones are ineffective but they do it as a gag, which is dumb. They have made some of the Konoha 11 a shell of there former selves, which frustrates me. They were so cool in shippuden and such, but now their once cool and mysterious powers are downgraded for laughs, which aren’t funny.

5. Naruto and sasuke- Naruto and Sasuke are horrible fathers. For people who should want to make the most of family because they never had any, they don’t even spend time with their kids, which is so dumb. Naruto does Hokage work, but nothing is stopping him from making shadow clones to do the work for him, so that he could spend time with his family. Sasuke is even worse to the point where seeing Sasuke triggers Saradas sharingan because of the overwhelming emotion she felt from seeing him for the first time in years(I also hate how Sarada just bonds with him after an episode. Their relationship would need mending and building considering how long sasukes been gone. He doesn’t know much about her, so he should learn steady over a period of time like how it is in real life). That’s awful. They could be there for their families but their not, which is so weird for characters of their backgrounds.

6. The plot itself- the plot itself drags on for very long and in my opinion isn’t interesting. The plot is constantly jumping. The Arcs aren’t that intruiging and follow benign story plots that could only possibly serve as filler. It takes so long to get to the main plot of Borutos story. Here’s a list of the 17(Yes,17) arcs that have occurred in Boruto so far;

I can tell you that a lot of these are pretty much anticlimactic and waste time. Some are cool to sit through, like the time travel arc or Kara Actuation, but some are like the War arc of shippuden. If something’s like the war arc of shippuden, I rather smell someone’s booty than watch that again. So please, you can even read the plots yourself, and find that they aren’t that captivating.

7.The Villains- last but not least, we have the very copy paste villains. Just recently we’ve gotten some newer villains with a new agenda but it won’t be a breath of fresh air for long. For example, we know that so many of the villains such as Momoshiki, have been just copy-pastes of Kaguya. Their a Naruto and Sasuke level threat which we know that both Naruto and Sasuke could beat them any time. I’m bored of seeing Naruto and Sasuke fight villains that we know they will beat anytime. And with the villains point- I bring to you why Boruto has potential. You see, the Kawaki arc(Kara arc) showed that Boruto could turn into a show about a rivalry, and we saw the clip of Kawaki and Boruto fighting at the very beginning of the series. This is cool that a character like Kawaki who is shown in the end to have a strong resentment towards the ninja world for making him what he is, eventually will try to go the mile to end the age of shinobi. We will have to wait for this, sadly and I wished they introduced this sooner.

Alt plot: my alt plot goes a bit like this. Let’s say that the peaceful world is not exactly completely peaceful. The 5 nations aren’t at war anymore but the smaller countries within them aren’t exactly that peaceful. There aren’t a lot of casualties at all, but some people are still a tad bit resentful.

Let’s say that some of the great nations have become docile. The New generation of kids no longer learn how to be ninjas. Instead they go to regular school and for those who would like to be ninjas, there is a fake kitty-program for them to take. It’s not serious enough for them, though. Jonin still go on message delivering missions. The Hokage is still there, all of that.

Now let’s say a character like Kawaki and an organization behind them, a small one, has been wronged by the shinobi world. They aren’t exactly like the Akatsuki, open with their deeds. However, they are internal threats like Danzo almost, who live within the village. Nobody suspects them because they pose as regular citizens in the lands that no longer practice the way of shinobi life as they once did.

Now let’s say this organization start taking out unsuspecting Jonin. One by one, 2 by 2, Jonin are turning up dead left and right. Nobody can really explain their deaths yet, but their deaths are really disturbing. Next, Anbus investigate, but some of them are even taken out too.

The Hokage and village are becoming restless once again. Then citizens start going missing and dying. This doesn’t just happen in Konoha though, this also happens in other nations. This can make a rift between the nations who think that the other nation is sabotaging them, which can influence bad blood again. These villains are tearing up the almost perfect world from the inside out. They bring back people like Kakashi, Yamato, Tsunade, Kurenai, Gai, basically everyone from the old days, and the Konoha 11 for their lines of defense.

People propose that the children should learn to be true shinobi. Some argue that they shouldn’t, but it is decided that the children should learn to protect themselves and their lands. So now, medical ninjitsu classes are taught, ninjitsu, chakra types, genjutsu. The ninja school is rehashed.

Sasuke comes back to the village and is asked if he’s seen anyone enter the village but the answer is no, which gives a clue.

Soon, the children graduate and learn important lessons about friendship and teamwork. We watch them work hard to learn and perfect their parents Jutsus. we watch the trial and error, but we watch them turn out great in the end. They can even have Boruto face off against this villain when he gets older.

They learn from the oldest Shinobis and earn their powers, instead of just having them materialize them and genetically master them.

(p.s honestly Temari and Shikamaru should’ve had twins, one boy and one girl, have them both be smart but have one learn shadow possession and one learn wind style. The boy is obvi Shikadai who learns shadow possenion cuz that’s already cannon, and the girl Tomoe, could learn wind style from Temari. She doesn’t have to be a carbon copy, but she could still learn her mother’s craft.)

Thank you for coming to my ted talk my loves, and I’ll see you on the next episode of Character Critisims.

#anime #naruto #boruto #analysis #ted talks

[holyhikari]

FEB. 14 Favorite ship/OTP

In which I out myself as a chaotic multi-shipper and annoy half of this fandom by tagging them because everyone makes such great posts. If I mentioned your @ and you want me to remove it, please tell me so I can do it right away!

I’m insufferable when it comes to exploring all kinds of characters' interactions, and I don’t take ‘being a shipper’ very seriously. (But I do have my favorites). At this point, I’m past apologizing for not picking only one.

Under the cut, because this is a LONG post. 

♥️ I shipped Hikari and Takeru before I knew what shipping was, and that’s just how life be sometimes. The reason I started learning English outside of regular classes in school was so I could read fanfic of them as a tween. As of now, I’m more interested in them as 'strongly connected to each other and let’s have a good time figuring out the nature of that connection.’ I think they have a lot of potential as a couple. When they were kids, I think their bond was more inclined to sibling-like, especially when they were glued to Taichi and Yamato. Then, around 02 era, it changed a little, and I think Takeru fell for her (firstly in an ANNOYING, ‘protector’ kinda way, like he’s still protecting her because Taichi asked him to, zzzzzz, and then in a more genuine way), but she still saw him as her childhood best friend like-a-brother-to-me-he’s-kinda-cute-though-but-we-don’t-have-time-to-unpack-all-that-there’s-a-lot-of-shit-going-down.  AND THEN, there’s Tri., and I love their dynamic. They’re flirty buddies, they’re intimate, they tease each other and love each other, and I think Hikari is finally realizing that her feelings aren’t just friendly anymore — they haven’t been for a while now. I headcanon that the more she becomes emotionally independent of Taichi, the more she realizes that what she has with Takeru is different. They would start off as BEST-friends-with-benefits when they’re in college, like 19-21yo, for a little while because they’re hesitating to change their dynamic, and then they just say fuck it, we’re in love, let’s see where this take us. Yey! They’re THE power couple. I’ll die as Takari trash, I suppose. I’m good with that.

♥️ I REALLY LIKE MIYAKARI, THEY’RE FJFFJfucking great together. I think they balance each other very well, much better than Takeru and Hikari, and, like Takari, it’s both a romantic ship and a brotp for me. Miyako brought out a side of Hikari we had never really seen before, and it’s the first time she has a horizontal relationship with another girl. (I don’t think she’s particularly close to Mimi, and she’s definitely Sora’s little sister at heart.) It might sound weird, but I’m glad the writers allowed someone to be annoyed at Hikari. It makes the whole thing a lot more human, more believable. Most people care for her in a mostly protector sort of way and then Miyako STRAIGHT-UP SLAPS HER (don’t do this in your irl relationships kiddos) and tells her she’s always gonna be there for her, not because Hikari is weak or fragile or whatever, but because they’re equals, they help each other not to get lost in themselves, they make each other stronger and wiser. Miyako is a very anxious character and Hikari grounds her. Hikari is ALSO a very anxious character and Miyako helps her let it out. Fuck yes. 

♥️ S!O!R!A!T!O! 

Do yourself a favor and go to https://jippy-kandi.tumblr.com/sorato. While you’re at it, visit @fuckyeahsorato​, read @gossipchii​‘s kizunacountdown post about Sorato, which has a link to ANOTHER sorato post by @adventure-hearts​ and have the time of your life. Have fun! I don’t make the rules. You just have fun.

(source: @jippy-kandi​)

♥️ TAITO, YAMACHI, TAIMATT, call it whatever you want, I call it my heart and soul. Digimon Adventure was a Taito soap opera disguised as a toy-selling anime. And Tri. And Bokura no War Game. And Kizuna, for the trailer alone. They’re amazing but Omegamon can rest. Please. 

♥️ I also ship Taiora, tough a bit less. To be honest, Taiorato solves 99% of my life’s problems, and I LOVE it. The potential is unlimited.  

(source)

♥️ Jyomatora, also known as “Takeru’s parents” is another powerful OT3. Don’t boo me, I’m right. 

♥️ DAIKEN!!!!!!! I could go on a rant about them, but @ladyanatui​ already did, better than I ever could. Look at this post that’s basically a Daiken reference guide and Bible.

♥️ Jyoumi makes me so, so happy. The bit in Adventure when they stay together, parted from the others...........dude..........good shit. They respect each other very much by then, and they’re very, very caring, in their own ways. Mimi’s speech in Adventure of how she refuses to engage in the war she was destined to and wants to find her own way to fight and Jyou immediately volunteering to stay behind with her is one of my favorite moments. The kid wants to be a doctor, he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Mimi inspires him to actively choose a more peaceful option instead of just being in the middle of Yamato and Taichi’s drama, Jyou inspires her to be more level-headed without losing her spark, and together they’re one of the sweetest yet kind-of-unexpected duos I’ve ever seen. They’re good friends in Tri., which is a bit sad but also works for me just fine.  

♥️ This gif says it all:

♥️ So does this blessed, revolutionary pic:

♥️ Taishiro is mostly a brotp for me, but also yay. Supportive boyfriends. They stole medicine from an abandoned fake Hospital together in one of the most emotional episodes of the series. Good content.

♥️ Kenkari is mostly a brotp for me, but also yay part 2. They obliterate the Dark Ocean’s ruler together while having the same haircut (I’m ignoring Kizuna!Ken’s hair length). Name a cuter date, I dare you.

♥️ I like Daikeru and Kenkeru basically the same amount. I love the idea of Takeru and Daisuke getting to know each other better, the idea of Daisuke losing his shit because he’s falling for his ‘rival’ and Takeru and Ken being that infuriatingly attractive couple who actually has a very deep relationship that started off as bonding over similar traumas. 

♥️ Meikari, anyone? I always hoped that, if we got something like Tri., a character that represented ‘Darkness’ would get introduced and they’d have an interesting dynamic with Hikari, because Darkness is just as important to the Universe as Light, and it would be interesting to see these two disagreeing, agreeing, being repulsed by the other and then drawn together, a ‘twilight’ sort of situation. That...didn’t happen in Tri., but the heart wants what it wants. I totally recognize it’s a fanon thing and ooc Meiko, though. I wish they had had more meaningful/complementary interactions. Their partners almost killed everyone, where’s their closure?! 

♥️ Koumi is adorable. So is Kenyako, and I can’t wait for them to interact in Kizuna!

I hope this post entertained you and that reminded you of Digimon’s amazing range of interesting pairings! 

#kizunacountdown #digimon #digimon adventure #bea with the tea #i was gonna make a joke about hikari's bro con BUT I DIDN'T #this posts includes takari sorato jyoumi taito miyakari daiken kenkeru koumi sorami #jyourato or jyoumatora i don't even know how to call it #taiorato meikari kenkari taishiro daikeru miyami taiora #i'm so tired

[shihalyfie]

Neverland, the role of “nostalgia” in Kiuzna’s narrative, and the 02 quartet’s unusual immunity to it

In general, the 02 quartet (my shorthand for the four human characters introduced in 02 who weren’t in Adventure, namely Daisuke, Ken, Miyako, and Iori) have a position in Kizuna that you can call “shockingly favorable” in that they’re kept safely out of the most dangerous parts of the plot in ways the others aren’t. This especially sticks out when we get to the Eosmon incident reaching its climax, when Takeru and Hikari are placed in the same situation as their Adventure seniors, despite the movie and its surrounding media generally portraying them closer in line with the others in the 02 group than the Adventure group.

To be a bit blunt about it, the obvious main reason the story is set up this way is meta -- a lot of the climax’s effectiveness depends on the audience getting sensory impact via recognizing things from the original series (including 02 as well; how convenient it is that all of the international Chosen are in the positions 02 fans would recognize!), and so it’s obvious that said climax would evoke imagery related to the series that was Digimon Adventure, while the 02 quartet would be treated extra-kindly by the narrative due to the need to give them compensatory action screentime given certain real-life events. But just because the originating reason is meta doesn’t mean there isn’t also a story reason for it, especially considering the relevance of 02′s themes in Kizuna’s narrative, and the surrounding circumstances regarding both series.

Before we get into anything else, the first thing that needs to be established is that Menoa and Eosmon’s lure is pretty obviously depicted as working on a subconscious level. This is why everyone else in the narrative agrees that what they did is “kidnapping”, despite her insistence that she’s just doing what they wanted. While they can’t not admit to having moments of weakness, nevertheless, it’s likely that most if not all of the people Menoa kidnapped consciously knew better and had learned better lessons than this a long time ago; if Menoa had consciously offered Neverland to her victims, most of them would have probably said no! But as Daisuke said back in 02 episode 49 -- when he witnessed his own friends being subjected to something similar at the hands of BelialVamdemon -- there’s no sin in having feelings of worries or troubles (and, by extension, irrational feelings in general), and Eosmon’s abilities and Neverland happen to be able to directly target them. In fact, we ourselves got to witness this internal conflict when Menoa made her direct offer to Taichi and Yamato to join Neverland; they briefly considered it because of the circumstances, but were snapped out of it quickly with Agumon and Gabumon’s intervention, and were really, really mad at themselves for considering it shortly after.

We saw the process of how Ayaka became one of the kidnapping victims at the beginning of the movie -- it happened right after she complained that she wasn’t fond of the idea of becoming an adult at this point. So it does lend some truth to the idea that Menoa’s working off something with these cases, and that Eosmon did specifically target people who had those wishes to some degree. Moreover, note carefully how this kidnapping (and some others in the movie) is portrayed; Eosmon doesn’t actually emerge from the device in question (it’s obvious that nobody notices the giant butterfly monster), and the victim’s consciousness and partner are whisked away thanks to being caught by the device camera. In Ayaka’s case, because her phone was sitting on the table, pointed at her. The fact that this is not how the kidnappings are portrayed all the way to the end of the movie is a very significant point.

So let’s talk about Neverland and its construction. The whole thing is based on Menoa’s own very, very warped view of what “happiness” is. This means that Neverland is only an “ideal world” or “utopia” in a way that makes sense to her -- and once you learn the full extent of her backstory, it becomes apparent how she came to the mentality she did, and, more pertinently, how she ended up projecting that on everyone else. Hence, how she came to decide that she knew better and should decide for everyone, because she thinks she gets the right to decide on everyone’s happiness based on her own experiences. (She doesn’t.)

The way Neverland is constructed is that everyone has “their own places” -- their own individual islands that recreate “memories” of everyone being able to be together with their partner, forever. So in other words, it’s not just that everyone’s being turned into children; it’s that they’re being kept in an eternal loop of their best memory and unable to “move forward”.

Here are three very significant parts about this, which will be important to keep in mind as we go deeper into this analysis:

Menoa’s view of this utopia requires people to be separated -- for all she claims this is a utopia where people can play together, she discourages fraternizing and encourages everyone to stay only with their own partners. This is, presumably, to lessen complications with said memories, because what might be one person’s best memory might not be for another, and also because she thinks one person being alone with their partner is happiness enough in itself. As we’ll be seeing later, this is very much not the case for everyone.

A lot of these memories in Neverland -- and Menoa’s own mentality, as we eventually find out -- are heavily dependent on the concept of rose-colored nostalgia, or, that is to say, conveniently omitting or forgetting about all of the bad things about one’s past in order to portray it as such a wonderful thing that nobody should ever move on from. And in the end, that probably applies to real-life childhood in general, too; as much as it’s so often put on a pedestal for being a time when “everything was simpler”, you can also easily argue that it wasn’t actually all sunshine and roses, it’s just that the process of forgetting things or the grass-is-greener phenomenon makes you conveniently forget all of the bad things and frustration that came with it too.

Because the concept of needing to stay in the past forever is based on the idea that it’s preferable to growing up, these memories thus have a strong premise of “things you cannot do anymore” -- something that, bar going back to the past and never moving from it, you will never get back or be able to sufficiently recreate. It’s unlikely the islands themselves are one-to-one recreating their specific memories in the way they happened, but rather seemingly presenting them the opportunity to “constantly do over” things they want to recreate or do again, as long as those things are associated with a happy thing that isn’t as easily accessible anymore.

In the case of the five Adventure group members who were brought into Neverland, these “memories” that they’re seen trapped in are, of course, from Digimon Adventure.

It is of course foolhardy to pretend that the main reason for this wasn’t meta, since, of course, there’s a huge point to be made here about the relationship between Adventure and nostalgia, plus the simple fact that this is what we’re most likely to recognize and be nostalgic for, but it also makes sense within the context of the narrative; Menoa has an extreme bias towards the happiness of her childhood revolving almost entirely around her partner, and, of course, Adventure was when these kids first had their most formative meetings with said partners. (This is also probably the in-story explanation for why the other international Chosen from 02 appear at or close to their 02 selves; beyond the meta reason of it being a way to make them recognizable when we only knew them for such a short time, it also approximates when they met their own partners.)

On top of that, Adventure was not all sunshine and roses for its cast! After all, there was a ton of drama and emotional trauma and stress from running away from enemies trying to kill them, or trying to save the universe, and glossing over that is also foolhardy -- but this is also where our concept of “rose-colored” comes in. Menoa’s not offering the kids the entire adventure; she’s offering them a small slice of the moments when they were able to be happy, the moments that made them want to stay in the Digital World for a whole 110 years’ worth of time at the end of Adventure -- she’s basically offering them that very thing they wanted and had ripped away from them at the end of Adventure when the time dilation phenomenon stopped. Take out all of the bad stuff, and suddenly, the events of Adventure seem outright romantic -- it’s the whole school of thought that fueled Adventure’s inspirations of Two Years’ Vacation and Stand By Me, in which a lot of stressful stuff happened and yet you still can’t help but think there was something magical and romantic about it. (I cannot emphasize enough how much of a cultural impact Stand By Me in particular had in Japan, to the point where it’s considered the epitome example of a “coming of age story” and “summer adventure”.)

Let’s take a closer look at what’s on each of the Adventure kids’ personal islands:

Hikari is probably the one in the most unusual position among this group, since she didn’t join until over the halfway point, and the first arc she got involved in revolved around everyone wanting her and Tailmon dead. Thus, the memory we get to see her involved in is the Numemon factory in Adventure episode 49. Although this was in the middle of the Dark Masters arc (and, uniquely, very close to the end of the series where a lot of stress was involved), due to the limited amount of time she got to be in the Digital World, this was the one time she got to do something really cool and awesome and impressive for herself that had nothing to do with the others (again: see how the requirements for these islands require not fraternizing with friends and being isolated).

One thing that the Adventure kids got to do that wasn’t in play in 02 was that there were a lot of “romantic experiences”, involving strange adventures and things like phone boxes on the beach, and, very significantly, “Digimon friends” -- ones that the kids made a huge note of bonding with over the course of the series. This contributes to a certain sense of whimsy that was involved in this adventure that the 02 quartet ultimately never ended up getting to foster, because the lack of the time dilation phenomenon meant that they spent much less time in the Digital World overall (more on this in a bit), and once the time dilation stopped, it meant that these kinds of “whimsical” experiences were ones the Adventure group was permanently torn away from once that adventure ended. That dropping of the time dilation phenomenon not only cut that initial adventure short, it also prevented any future ones like it from ever happening again.

And, of course, this is an extremely rose-colored memory, because shortly afterwards, the Numemon ended up all sacrificing themselves for Hikari. But hey, when you’re in a space that can eternally loop good memories forever, everything’s fine as long as we conveniently never get to that part, right?

From this point on, you’ll notice that all of the memories that show up on these islands are from before the halfway point of the series, because after that, things started getting increasingly pear-shaped and much more difficult to disentangle the stress, mental breakdowns, and witnessing of deaths from. (Hikari’s probably wouldn’t have come from such a late incident if she hadn’t joined the party so late.) Although there still were looming threats around the horizon in the beginning of Adventure, they weren’t always immediately apparent to the kids at every turn, and in fact, the beginning of the series involved more of a “well, we’re in this situation and probably need to get home somehow” aura than it did a “the world is in danger and all of us might die” aura. (It’s also in direct contrast to the 02 group, who were given the details of the crisis and what they needed to do roughly from the get-go.) So in other words, if you want to have some rose-colored nostalgia about the romanticism of this adventure, these are some of the best episodes to pull from.

Takeru’s is obviously from the Village of Beginnings, corresponding to Adventure episode 12, when he and Patamon got to have a fun romp through the village, play together, meet Elecmon, and learn about how Digimon are born. It’s also very much something he did without the others, only with Patamon, and had a lot of “fun and happiness” associated with (later solo episodes with Takeru had a lot more upsetting events more intrinsically tied with it), and, again, it’s extremely rose-colored -- it wasn’t even a day later when Angemon died in front of Takeru’s eyes. But hey, that’s even more reason to pick a moment from before then to stay in forever! Can’t have trauma if that trauma never happens, right?

Also, note that Takeru is one of the few here who’s confirmed to be aware of the partnership dissolution issue at this point, and, unlike Koushirou, isn’t confirmed to have accepted a forward-thinking mentality about it yet -- this is a very, very prime time for his fears of being separated from Patamon again to have a nasty relapse.

Mimi’s is the closest to the midpoint of the series, from the affair with the Geckomon and Otamamon castle (from Adventure episode 25; the metal railings here resemble the stage railings from that episode). It’s from the period of time that was a “lull” -- when nobody actually knew about the encroaching threat of Vamdemon quite yet, and for all it was worth, there was no longer any danger. So Mimi got to live happily in the comfort of the castle and play around with the Geckomon and Otamamon...which, of course, also conveniently excludes the affair where she went on a power trip, made everyone miserable due to her selfishness, and immediately felt guilt over it.

Mimi’s associations with this incident are not entirely negative; she was clearly still having fun singing for them in the end (note how her clothing during that scene involved her regular outfit, which she has on here), and she still had a positive impression of her relationship with the Geckomon and Otamamon as per Adventure episode 47 and 02 episode 6 (and as per 02 episode 15, even though everyone’s initial encounter with TonosamaGeckomon ended badly, nobody actually has any lingering grudge against him). So if you filter out that whole affair with the power trip and the resulting embarrassment, it was a meeting with a bunch of fun Digimon friends, a romantic little castle, and a fun stage session where Mimi got to sing.

Jou’s refers to the Infinity Mountain incident in Adventure episode 7, and even from the get-go you can already see the level of rose-coloredness in Jou’s gesture -- in the actual incident depicted, Jou went to the mountain out of a sense of obligation and stress, and the initial climbing involved him having a bit of a bickering moment with Gomamon. But once they did get up there, it was actually their first time the two of them got to really “bond” -- and not only that, their encounter with Unimon had Jou even look on it with fascination, before the Dark Gear had ever come into play.

So in the end, Jou really would have found the incident enjoyable and worthwhile if not for that, and from there you can understand why it would be appealing for him to revisit that setting and finally get to have a bit of calm fun with Gomamon there -- especially since, again, the Neverland islands have a very strong preference for isolating the kids from others, and this was one of the few times Jou got to have a major moment of calm like this alone with Gomamon, with a slight reprieve from the constant feeling of stress and duty.

Koushirou’s most prominently resembles the “sealed room” in the factory in Adventure episode 5, and while Koushirou certainly continued to make a large number of exciting discoveries after that, this was the situation where Koushirou, with no one else but Tentomon to worry about in the immediate vicinity, got to have the largest sensation of “novelty” -- where he first came upon the fascinating discovery of data manipulating reality around him, and he actually got to see the world change around him by wiping things off a wall.

And, of course, there were other things going on like Tentomon confronting him with his first existential crisis, and how things quickly went south with Andromon...but we don’t have to remember that part for now, right?

An interesting thing about Koushirou: the circumstances of how he was “kidnapped” in the first place are actually somewhat obscured compared to the other four in this scene, since Menoa presumably needed him conscious in order to get his list out of him, resulting in his kidnapping scene also involving an emerging Eosmon and not having him be instantly taken the way we see Takeru and Hikari (more on this in the section below). It’s thus unclear whether he’d be in their boat had his position in Menoa’s plan not been unusual -- said memories in Neverland involved “gathering information and learning more”, something he still actively involved himself with even after the events of Adventure, and he’s also the first one to reach a forward-thinking mentality about the partnership dissolution phenomenon. Either way, once he was already dragged into Neverland, it’s natural that the place could find a good memory for him in the same way it did for the other kids who were “manually” dragged in, but the actual method of entry and whether Koushirou's post-Adventure life put him in a mindset similar to that of the 02 quartet (again, see below) is a bit ambiguous.

So here’s an interesting part about how the 02 quartet gets involved in this story: their own encounters with Eosmon happen during a part where the method of kidnapping has abruptly changed. As many have pointed out, this is also when the degree of the targets Menoa wanted had also suddenly escalated, because while her previous claims had involved the idea of kidnapping like-minded adults (who, indeed, were entertaining thoughts of nostalgia to even some degree), she was now kidnapping actual children, ones who weren’t even nearly at the point of the supposed drudgery of adulthood that Menoa claimed they would eventually have, and with her arrogantly deciding she knew better for all of them. The part that becomes particularly intriguing about this is that the exact same thing happens with Miyako -- she is explicitly stated to have connected her laptop to the Internet, resulting in an Eosmon physically emerging and chasing her instead of instantaneously snatching away her consciousness through a camera like her own fellow 02 group members Takeru and Hikari.

So in other words, the 02 quartet’s favorable position in this incident doesn’t just have to do with being lucky enough to have gotten Koushirou’s warning about the Eosmon early; they (or at least Miyako) also seem to have a certain degree of outright immunity to it, much like the young children who aren’t old enough to have nostalgia yet. (Also, keep in mind that Takeru was caught thanks to a security camera; “excess caution with electronic devices” alone wouldn’t necessarily have guaranteed their safety.)

Recalling that, for the most part, Takeru and Hikari are usually treated more like 02 group members in the context of this narrative yet are, in this one case, treated as being potentially nostalgia-prone, it stands to reason that the main difference between the two of them and their fellow members in the 02 group is the fact that Takeru and Hikari went on the adventure in 1999, and the quartet did not. So in other words, the reason the 02 quartet isn’t as prone to this is not so much that they’re fundamentally different-minded people, as much as they have a distinct lack of an experience they can be attached to the way the Adventure group is to their own 1999 adventure. (Remember that Menoa’s kidnappings work heavily on subconscious feelings; you can’t blame anyone for having these kinds of feelings no matter how much they’ve consciously learned.)

As I said earlier, it’s foolhardy to pretend that Adventure was all sunshine and roses, and, likewise, it’s also foolhardy to pretend that 02 was nothing but suffering for everyone involved. Both series involved a lot of balancing of funny, silly moments to be treasured as much as they involved stress (which is why people are so attached to both, after all). So the question is not so much how happy they were in their childhoods as much as the nature of what that happiness came from, and what relation it has to their current lives. And when you look at what experiences the 02 quartet had back in 02, you might notice a thread of the fact that it is significantly harder to romanticize the events of 02 than it is Adventure.

Let’s put it this way: Let’s say that the 02 quartet was kidnapped into Neverland and placed onto islands that fit Menoa’s view of happiness. What, exactly, would you pick from 02 itself that would work? What kind of “happiness” did they have back then that’s so romantic, so impossible to replicate now, that they’d want to go back to because it’s better than their lives now once you disentangle all of the bad stuff?

...Not much. Not much at all, actually. Hanging out in the computer room together? Doesn’t seem like they cared that much about the computer room part as much as the fact the others were there bantering with them (which would put a huge nail in Menoa’s islands mandating isolationism). Going out on a picnic together? No reason they can’t just go on another picnic again (and if the BD box is to be believed, that’s exactly what they did, and they even added Ken to it while they were at it). Hanging out with their Digimon in real life and doing silly hijinks? They’re...probably still doing that now, actually. Getting to find true happiness at a Christmas party? That’s a party from the real world (again, something they most certainly continued to do thereafter), one where the happiness came not from the romanticism of anything that happened to do with some adventure, but just the happiness of being surrounded by true friends, which, again, Ken is still clearly getting to do by the time of Kizuna.

Once you look at the circumstances of what the “adventure” of 02 was to the 02 group, you may realize that it doesn’t really resemble the traditional romantic image of an “adventure” much at all. Sure, they were blessed with being able to regularly go back and forth between the Digital World from the get-go, but it meant that -- especially without the time dilation in play -- the Digital World became much less of a picturesque area associated with a one-time memorable adventure as much as something they had to squeeze in their after-hours while juggling it with their school. The circumstances they encountered their Digimon and the Digital World in were at a point where it had a certain level of “mundane” to them, compared to their seniors; it wasn’t a “fantasy adventure in the Digital World” when so much of the story also revolved around real-world events as well, and you can’t really find many “mysterious fantasy” events in 02 that resemble much of those in Adventure. The closest might be...Daisuke seeing Numemon pile out of a vending machine in 02 episode 1? (Not very romantic.) Daisuke getting chased around by a Tortomon in 02 episode 22? (Really not very romantic.) Iori getting to tour the ocean with Submarimon? (Implied to more about relief from how much he was holding himself back than the uniqueness of the experience in itself.) Ken’s long-time-ago flashback from 02 episode 23 about meeting Wormmon for the first time? (Defeating a Gazimon is hardly that impressive; the important part was him bonding with Wormmon, which he’s...uh...still doing now?)

There weren’t any lasting relationships with Digimon friends like the ones in Adventure, maybe encountering some civilians once and not seeing them much again after that, especially since the lack of time dilation meant not getting to spend as much time visiting them much at all (think about all of the really fun experiences that the Adventure group probably had that weren’t shown in the actual Adventure TV series, just because it probably didn’t have enough drama that would make a good TV episode plot). This means that there’s very little, if at all, of 02 that represents something this group would want so badly to recreate that they can’t already do now; everything from back then was either something comparatively mundane, or something they actually would not want back. Unlike with Adventure, where a lot of the kids had irreplaceable moments that only happened to be spoiled a bit later, a lot of the “really awesome accomplishments” from the first half of 02 were explicitly against Ken, someone whom they’d probably rather not dwell on fighting again because of how much they love him now; many of those good memories are “retroactively poisoned” because of that, and it’s much, much more difficult to make a rose-colored version of those memories disentangled from the bad, because of how fundamentally intrinsic that retroactive poisoning becomes.

And, when you think about it, the mandate of “you have to be alone on your own island” would pretty much break these four in particular, especially since the 02 group is portrayed as the type to need mutual support more than anything else, and so many of the events that represent “happiness” specifically involved the happiness of each other being present. It’s not to say that the 02 quartet had no moments of happiness when alone with their partners, but, rather, being with each other provided so much more fulfillment to them that Menoa’s offer of a memory of their past that requires them to be alone probably pales in comparison to anything they could do now in each other’s presence. Maybe, like with the other kids depicted in these scenes, they could be buttered up with something nice if you successfully got them into Neverland, but it’s not like they have any real wistfulness about anything from back then to the point that they’d be subconsciously drawn towards it instead of having to be dragged in kicking and screaming -- and especially in the case of Miyako, the same one who managed to evade an Eosmon here, who was offered a similar “chance to be alone” back in 02 episode 49 and didn’t take very long to decide she hated it because of how much of her happiness comes from getting to be with others.

By the time of the end of Adventure, the Adventure kids’ ideal situation was to have a romantic and fun 110-year adventure with the sights and fun of the Digital World, with all of the weird fantasy surrealism and less of the world-saving, and that’s something they never got to have (and that Menoa was inherently offering them). By the time of the end of 02, the 02 quartet’s ideal situation was...to find a way to get back to normal life and hope their friend feels a little better, and that “ideal situation” is still persisting even into the time of Kizuna, so it’s hard to imagine they really want more than that.

And, again, when you extrapolate this into what Kizuna’s trying to say about real life, adulthood, and nostalgia: it is true that Menoa’s projecting a belief that absolutely does not apply to everyone. While it’s true that many people feel that childhood had a certain kind of magic that you can’t get back in adulthood, there are possibly just as many people who aren’t really all that nostalgic to begin with, either due to trauma or something about their childhoods being miserable, or, even in the lack of such miserable events, simply enjoying the added freedom and expanded range of ability that comes with adulthood to the point they consider it to be more than worth the tradeoff. The 02 group basically represents this crowd -- Ken’s life right now beats out his past in pretty much nearly every respect, and while there are certain concerns about not being able to meet up as often, they’re finding the same ways to do the same kinds of over-the-top hijinks they did back in 02, with arguably even more range now that they get to exploit Digital Gates to do world travel and act without worrying about their parents. They’re basically like the adults who see Menoa’s creed of “childhood is better because adulthood sucks” and go “sorry, can’t relate.”

That said, remember: this isn’t because the 02 quartet is somehow mentally stronger or anything, but rather just a byproduct of what experiences they've had and haven’t had. Takeru and Hikari’s position is unique here -- for all intents and purposes their mentalities are portrayed as closer to the 02 group’s, but they did still have the experience their seniors had and are thus still capable of being close to their position in this one regard. In the end, everyone is different, it’s no sin to have feelings based on those differences, and “being able to relate” to one’s position is also an important key here; because the 02 group’s position is so alien to Menoa’s, it’s unlikely they could have tackled her problems nearly as intimately as their seniors could.

What we learn about Menoa’s backstory establishes that she forced her vision of nostalgic happiness on everyone based on her own perception of her past in such a warped, rose-colored manner. She conveniently omitted or forgot about details such as the fact that her life as a “child” involved feeling ostracized from everyone and that she herself was guilty of neglecting Morphomon. Not only that, she herself claims that she’s the only one who knows what this feels like -- that nobody relates to her -- and thus, you can see that she came to her conclusion that her experiences are universal by the power of sheer extrapolation, hence why she thinks everyone inevitably loses their partner upon reaching adulthood despite pretty significant amounts of evidence to the contrary. (For all it’s worth, the fact that she still considers herself as having “become an adult” at 14 just because she got into university at that time is pretty conceited.)

Menoa’s existence as being so starkly in contrast to the 02 quartet’s is very likely because her entire character was built up from the ground that way -- her entire backstory of skipping grades into university is heavily based on 02′s initial development premise and Ken’s own backstory, meaning she explicitly represents the path that Ken and the other 02 kids chose not to take, and the timing of certain events in her backstory seems almost deliberately engineered to prevent her from witnessing some of 02′s important answers to Kizuna’s conflict, most notably her inability to witness the final battle and the important lessons everyone present learned about following one’s dreams without restraint, and how that relates to one’s partner. Menoa’s mindset is basically that level of incompatible with 02′s themes of “moving on from the past” and “not caving to arbitrary societal expectations”, to the point her character could only get to this point by going out of the way to exclude her from 02′s story and events, because she’s fundamentally built as a character who started off on a very similar path as them (getting to integrate her Digimon partner into normal life, having a similar backstory to Ken) before veering off on a very different one.

Moreover, about that backstory, and the reason why 02 was conceived as such a criticism of the concept of “skipping grades into university”: the concern that someone in this position will be kept from making any friends their age. Menoa puts the moment of “being with one’s partner” on such a pedestal and considers herself to be “the only one who knows what this feels like” partially because she has a fundamentally warped view of friendship itself. Even the Adventure group, which may not have had quite the absurdly tight level of bonding the 02 group had, still broke out of the illusion via Taichi and Yamato reaching out to them, and Taichi and Yamato giving each other mutual support helped them make the decisions they did in the movie. The movie is titled “bonds”, and “bonds” doesn’t just refer to those between human and Digimon partner, but also bonds between each other; Taichi, Yamato, and Sora slowly drifting away from the others at the start of the movie has very strong relevance to their respective existential crises, and the role that Taichi and Yamato play in supporting each other, and Mimi’s in supporting Sora in To Sora and even beyond that, say a lot as to how they’re already expected to be much better off than Menoa was.

It’s not that adulthood is inherent drudgery; it’s that Menoa’s own circumstances really are that warped to the point where she sees her very unusual experiences as fundamentally synonymous with how life is supposed to work in general. She was so obsessed with “being independent”, “being useful to the world”, and “being on her own” that she had no mentality of making friends or connecting to others besides her own partner, and once her partner disappeared, she seemed to make no attempt to rectify that. So of course her life in university following that ended up being not nearly as fulfilling as she’d hoped, since she was getting no real emotional support from anywhere, and, as 02 itself also drove home, apparent “approval from society” only ever makes you as “happy” as a Dark Seed-implanted child if you’re not also being supported by your loved ones in the process. Her adulthood sucked, and she decided that everything about her rose-colored childhood meant that childhood is fundamentally superior in every way, and thus decided that keeping everyone else in it would be “saving” them from the terror it involves -- even though (even if they’re not aware of the specifics of everything) the 02 quartet is not the kind to be able to relate to this at all, and, eventually, Taichi and Yamato, who do understand her position a bit better due to their own experiences, are able to get her to reconsider a little.

#digimon #digimon adventure #digimon adventure 02 #digimon adventure last evolution kizuna #kizuna spoilers #shihameta

[godtierwallflower]

Sleepy ramble, need these thoughts out in the world so I can sleep please: Kakashi dies specifically for Choji and generally for the village, Gai (almost) dies specifically for Lee and Kakashi and generally for the world. They have both probably thought alot about when and who for they would die. Also they both have issues really connecting with people (maybe connected, sorta, sleep please, Kakagai) Overall thoughts?

Well, sweet dreams then!

tldr; Yes, Kakashi and Gai both grew up with the intention of eventually dying for someone. They’ve both probably thought a lot about when they were going to die. In Kakashi’s case, he thought most about the people on the other side, while in Gai’s case, he thought most about the people who would stay alive by his sacrifice, although they each respectively thought about the other issue too.

As you wish, some Kakashi and Gai and kakagai meta under the cut! With pictures!

Kakashi adopted the mindset after he repeatedly lost his loved ones and became disillusioned with himself and the job. 

As Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma pointed out, when Kakashi was in ANBU, he acted like he was in a hurry to die. When he did die for Choji, you could tell there was definitely a great relief to getting to die and imagining his loved ones. When he sees Minato, Obito, and Rin smiling and greeting him on the other side, we know that was all in his imagination (because Obito isn’t dead), but when he sees his father in purgatory, he’s mostly ready to accept that this is his time. Kakashi, maybe subconsciously, seems to find people easy to love/admit to himself that he loves when he’s already lost them. 

When Sasuke specifically threatens to kill Kakashi’s loved one(s), for example…

He wasn’t entirely open about this, of course. He was trying, in good faith, to convince Sasuke that giving up the ghost and focus on what he had instead of what he lost. And admittedly, it does make Sasuke remember that Sakura and Naruto are both precious to him, and Kakashi is doing this as the only adult in this series to genuinely try to connect with and help Sasuke without the intention of using him. If Sasuke didn’t have people specifically trying to force him to relapse on his unhealthier mindsets, this might have actually worked. With that in mind, it would have been useless for Kakashi to give a more honest answer of “Okay, their names are Gai and Yamato, but at your level right now they’ll probably kick your butt.”

But the point remains that this is one of Kakashi’s most well-known quotes.

There are a lot of ways to read it, but taken at face value, this is Kakashi saying the people he loves most are the people who have died, and that his new companions are a consolation to that pain. And there is some truth in that. Kakashi deifies the late Obito and visits his grave so much that it makes him late for prior engagements he has with the living, and he carries the weight of his father’s death for quite a while. Chronologically, he’s known Gai about as long as he’s known Obito and Rin, but Gai and Yamato still go in the same category of new companions who he hasn’t lost [yet]. You could even say that he loves Obito and Rin more in death than he did in life (although Minato and Sakumo he already loved quite a bit).

It takes him a long while to admit that he loves the kids on his team. He doesn’t say it until after he’s reconciled with Obito.

But he is still willing to give his all and his life for the village and especially its kids, which is why it means so much that he died for Choji specifically and the village broadly, who he hadn’t been shown interacting with a lot up to that point. Kakashi is bad at forming mutual connections, and is even adverse to it, but he is surprisingly quick to care about people enough to put his life on the line. It doesn’t interfere with his professionalism, but he certainly does have a lot of close calls and hospital visits throughout the series. 

This? Doesn’t happen. We know it’s all in Kakashi’s head, because Obito is… not there. This is a visual representation of Kakashi being sad because he couldn’t have that sweet release of death, to put it bluntly.

It comes down to the fact that, until he meets Obito again, he feels like the people he’s most able to love and miss are the people who are already dead. After he’s faced his demons, reconciled with Obito and the idea of letting him down via Rin, and even worked under Minato again, Kakashi is able to stop living his life feeling like he owed his lost ones a meaningful death. He lives and becomes Hokages because he wants to be there for the people he loves, and in Kakashi Hiden, he mentally lists off those living people he loves and it fuels him as motivation to finally accept the position of Hokage. He still carries the lessons he learned, as we can see when he warns Houki of the dangers of not trying to use teamwork and connect with his team while he still had time, but Kakashi’s words can finally ring true in the New Era. “No time like the present.” 

Gai has lived his life with the ideal that a life given for someone you love is a noble thing, and on some level, he’s also missed his dad as well. 

He sees his dad as a man worth emulating, and that final act of love and sacrifice is something he always planned to follow up on. But this likely isn’t driven by a desire to simply see his father again on the other side. Rather, it’s another way for Gai to keep his father’s teaching alive and honor a long-standing self-rule. 

Gai is actually a very private person. His purposely positive and silly front is largely that, a front, and that’s pretty clear throughout the series, but especially in comparison to his younger, more pessimistic self. 

He’s very caring and protective, but it’s not clear who he’s actually opened up to. He hides his weaknesses and doubts from Lee and his team for sure, because he wants to be their inspiration and not put any of his own hangups on the kids he’s raising.

And he’s not in a hurry to die. He’s been noted throughout the series to have a incredible level of endurance and stamina, to the point where he’s got the highest pain tolerance out of anyone in the series, and he’s able to brush off or heal from relatively major injuries. He takes good care of himself. Gai is actually very conservative about using the eight gates.

In all his fights with Kisame, for example, he started out in his base form, assessed the level of his opponent, and then, once he figured it out, opened enough gates to quickly and one-sidedly end the fight.

Gai wants to live. He’s open about the fact that he loves his team from the very first day they’re assigned to him, he’s open about the fact that he loves and cares about Kakashi for a long, long time, he’s open about caring about the kids and the village in general.

But he’s not open about his thoughts and worries, and part of the reason he acts so goofy and openly doesn’t care what others say about him behind his back or to his face is because it’s partially a way to keep others at arm’s length, too. Gai knows for a long time that he’s planning on going out in a blaze of glory, after all.

Gai ultimately opens the gates for two of the people he loves most in the world, Kakashi and Lee, as well as for the future of all of Konoha. And he doesn’t hesitate. As soon as it’s clear that that’s his only viable option, he announces his intent to the others and then ignores their arguments for why he shouldn’t.

In regards to kakagai, this is something they both know about each other and have frequently argued about, and they’re both well aware that they’re hypocrites for criticizing it in each other.

Kakashi and Gai are outright passive-aggressive at each other about this, in front of their students. It’s well-established that they’ve had this sort of back-and-forth of “I don’t want you to die.” “I’ll die if I want to, screw you.” for a long time now, and Kakashi is openly disdainful of Gai using the gates at all. Not enough to actually interfere with each other’s tasks or fights, of course. Just enough to be passive-aggressive about it from time to time.

As of the New Era, or even just post-war in general, they’ve mellowed out in regards to this. Gai, because he’s already opened the 8th gate in what he thought was his final sacrifice and probably can’t do it again, and Kakashi, because he knows his loved ones beyond the grave don’t hate him and don’t want him to hurry up and die.

It’s part of why post-war, Kakashi and Gai are closer and happier together than ever before.

#Kakashi #Kakashi Hatake #Maito Gai #Might Guy #kakagai #Naruto #ivydragon #flower brambles #I hope this is understandable #meta