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sup-hoes-its-me · 3 years

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Adore You II (Yamato x Reader)

A/N: secret admirer Yamato fic. said that this one would be short, but i once again have gotten carried away. Here is the ending. It should be cute. thanks for reading.

Word count: 3200

It had been a long day at the bakery, full of kneading breads and selling cupcakes and just generally doing some busy work around the store. Life was uneventful, except for the moments she arrived at her apartment in the evenings just as the sun was setting, and she’d find a new gift lying on the ground or a note taped to her door.

It was nice, having these little surprises either at the beginning or ending of her day. In fact, she was growing all too used to the confidence boost the sweet love letters gave her.

Apparently, she was beautiful. She was strong and kind and generous and funny, and so many other things all stated and elaborated on in these notes. She was high off those letters. They made her feel just a bit better about herself. Even after long days of work where her hair was falling out its tie and her skin dusted with flour and chocolate frosting smeared across her dirty apron, she still felt on top of the world.

Every day she grew more and more curious as to who was leaving those notes lying around. It really could be anyone, even someone she barely knew. In that case, she had no idea what she would do. Yes, the person in question seemed nice, but she didn’t exactly feel comfortable dating someone she didn’t know or like.

And if it was someone she knew, what would she do then? Could they stay friends after all this mess? She would try, but would it be too awkward for them to be around her after spilling their feelings over and over again?

Just thinking about the outcomes of this secret admirer situation was overwhelming and she avoided the thought. She would just enjoy the acts of admiration from the comfort of her own home.

It had actually been three days since the last gift was left outside her door and she was beginning to grow excited. If he was gone for another few days, surely she could go around and figure out who was on a mission for the entire week. The turning point was almost here, she thought. Only a few more days until she could find out. It was both scary and exhilarating to think about.

As she rounded the corner to her apartment, walking up the metal stairs, she expected nothing at her door once again. That only made sense. Definitely not a person standing there, no way.

She certainly did not expect to see Kakashi standing at her doorstep, holding a bouquet of flowers. Just as quick as she had seen, she ducked back behind the wall, hand pressed to her mouth to shush her gasp.

What the fuck…

That was definitely him, she confirmed in her mind. The same white hair, mask, jounin vest, everything. Her heart raced and she felt panic creeping up her neck. How could this be? Kakashi was her friend, and only her friend. She thought that had been established a long time ago. There was nothing intimate going on between them, and she never anticipated there would be.

She waited until he was gone before she walked to her apartment and picked up the flowers and note. She swore that this wasn’t Kakashi’s handwriting, but now she wasn’t so sure. Maybe it was and she was just remembering wrong. Why was she even questioning herself though? Right in front of her eyes, she saw Kakashi leaving flowers at her doorstep. The answer was clear as day.

Kakashi was her secret admirer.

The more she thought about it, it made a little sense. He always accepted her free baked goods, but she always just assumed he didn’t feel like buying his own bread. And he walked her home from the store on more than one occasion. He was nice to her every time they hung out. All of those things she always just assumed were normal friendly things to Kakashi, but she found herself questioning his every move now.

Oh man. Oh shit. How would she even go about confronting him? He was such a cool and collected guy, she would feel awkward rejecting him. Would he be angry? Another thought crossed her mind for a moment. Maybe she shouldn’t reject him. He was a very smart and kind man, and he always knew what to say even in the worst of moments. He was reliable and strong and forgiving.

Maybe she should just go for it.

Yeah, she cared for Yamato a lot, but why keep trying for someone completely unattainable when another guy she got along with was ready to give her the entire world? From the way he spoke in his letters, he liked her for a long time and intended to make her his long term girlfriend. It broke her heart that the man she spent years longing after didn’t feel the same way, so much time wasted. It really sucked.

She had been lonely for so long that the thought was more than tempting.

It was all way too much to think about.

She entered her apartment that night with a lot to ponder before she fell asleep, tossing and turning with the knowledge that Kakashi was in love with her. How could she sleep knowing that? She would have to talk to someone else first before deciding what to do about everything. She would wait for Yamato to come back and help her out. He’d know what to do.

_______

It had been days since she found out about Kakashi and this entire mess. Yamato was due to be back today, and she was counting the minutes. She already asked off work for the rest of the day so she could get all her business sorted out. There was just too much to do and she couldn’t wait until night time to get it all done.

Awkwardly enough, on her way to see Yamato, she ran right into Kakashi outside the grocery store. He was carrying quite a big bag of food items, and she nearly knocked them all right out of his arms. She yelped, jumping back about two feet to keep her distance. Being so close to him felt nerve-wracking.

“Y/N, what’s up?” he asked, his eyes scanning her up and down. “You look nervous."

“Me, nervous? Psssshh, of course not. Why would I be nervous?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I asked.”

She stood there for a silent moment, her eyes drawn right on his face. He didn’t look different. He looked like his normal, cool self, definitely not like a man in love with her. He was damn good at hiding how he felt. She rubbed the back of her neck, her eyes averted now to the wall beside her. “So, uh, what’s up with you?”

“Nothing much, Just got back from a mission and I’m going to be home for a few days so decided to get some groceries.”

“Oh, really? How long were you on that mission?”

“It was only 2 days.”

“I see…”

Why was she asking? She saw him. There was no way he was on a mission that night. He was right there. Maybe all this questioning was a sign that she wished this was all some sort of mistake, that it wasn’t Kakashi at her doorstep, or maybe they were pranking her. A cruel and unlikely prank, but still, it was a possibility.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he questioned and he leaned in just a bit closer to get a look at her face. The woman found herself getting flustered. Quickly, she pressed her hands to his chest and pushed him away.

“I’m fine. Just stay over there.”

“Yeah, you’re definitely not fine but whatever you say.”

She bit her lip, not knowing how to diffuse the situation. He was right, as usual. Things were definitely not okay, she just wasn’t ready to face the reality that he loved her, not here in front of the grocery store in the broad daylight. That was meant to be private. She couldn’t reject him like that, it would be humiliating.

“It’s nothing, Kakashi. I’m just...getting sick is all, so you shouldn’t get so close.”

But he persisted. “Sick with what?”

“I don’t know, the flu?”

“Hmm,” he nodded, but his eyes were all knowing and she found herself wanting to slither away on the ground and hide in an alley for a while. “You’re on your way to see Tenzo, right?” How? How could he have known that? She swore, this man was getting on her last nerve with his smartass attitude.

“Yes. How could you tell?”

He smirked through his mask, shifting the weight of his grocery bag to his left side. “Well, he just got home today, and the only reason you’d be walking that fast is so you could see him,” he replied, and she nodded grumpily, her arms moving to cross over her chest. “I’ll let you go. He should be leaving the Hokage Tower soon, I just saw him heading in that direction.”

She thanked him before continuing on her path to go find Yamato. She was actually glad to be done talking to Kakashi. It felt way too weird talking to him knowing all the things he was secretly thinking about her. Plus, he was getting annoying with all the questions. She just wanted to find her friend and talk through her options.

It saddened her, but Yamato was never going to like her back and maybe Kakashi was the best choice for her. In this town, if you got to 25 without getting married you were pretty weird, especially if you weren’t a shinobi. Villagers get married off so quickly, it’s just part of the small town nature of it all. Parents want grandchildren, and it’s easier to live off a two person income. People got married young.

Societal pressure would definitely be taken off her back, that’s for sure. It just wasn’t exactly as she had planned. One sided love.

Yamato was indeed walking home from the Hokage Tower when she spotted him after having wallowed in her own thoughts for the entire walk over.

“Yamato!” she called, running up to him. He stopped in his tracks, feeling himself growing warm again. She was just as beautiful as the last time he saw her, granted that was only a week ago. He wanted to give her a hug, having missed her for the last 7 days and all, but he refrained. He had no idea how she would react. Knowing her kind nature, she would hug him back, but then what would she think? He liked her? It was too embarrassing.

He looked down at the young woman and smiled. “Y/N, did you need something?”

“Yes, it’s really important. Do you think we can sit down somewhere more private?”

Oh God. Whatever she wanted to talk about, it couldn’;t be anything good. She wasn’t smiling, and normally she would have work right now. She wasn’t going to take off work for nothing. He nodded, and she silently dragged him over to the tea shop, her eyes flickering around to make sure Kakashi hadn’t trailed behind her. She took a seat at one of the tables and motioned for him to sit across from her.

He did as she asked, sitting cross legged on the floor, his hands secretly being wrung over and over again under the table. “So what did you need to talk about?”

“I know who my secret admirer is.”

Here it goes…

“Kakashi!”

“Wait, what?” His eyes shot open, and he froze. He was not expecting that, not at all. How could he? Yamato was Y/N’s secret admirer, it didn’t make sense. He made sure Kakashi knew to leave the flowers on her doorstep in secret, there was no way he would mess up something so simple. He was an S-rank ninja for a reason.

She nodded, her eyes almost as wide as his. “Yeah, I know. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him.”

“What did you see?”

“When I was coming home from work, I saw him outside my door with a bunch of roses and a note. It was in the same handwriting as all the other love notes, so I know it’s the same guy. I-I just can’t believe it’s Kakashi.”

Yamato knew he should have confessed right then instead of asking, but he couldn’t keep himself from knowing the truth. “Well, how do you feel about him? Are you going to accept?”

She sighed, her eyes trailing down to the side. “That’s the hard part. His words, in those letters, they made me feel so special and loved. If Kakashi feels that way about me, surely he can make me happy for a long time,” she told him softly, and he could feel his heart tearing in half with every second that passed. He put in all this effort, and for what? For his friend to steal the girl right from him. He felt a terrible pain in his stomach, and he had to keep the discomfort from reaching his face.

“So, you’re attracted to him?” His worst fear. He knew the ladies liked Kakashi. He was suave and handsome. It would make sense if Y/N liked him. Who didn’t like Kakashi?

His own self-esteem was diminishing. Out of all the outcomes he had thought up in his head on how this confession would go, he never expected it to end up this way.

She shook her head. Carefully, she explained, “It’s just that I’ve loved someone else for a long time, and I’m not ready to give up on them. I know I should, but I just can’t.”

It was time to tell her. His hopes were low, but her confession left him feeling like there was a chance. He wasn’t planning on telling her any time soon, not until he was positive she liked him back, or even wait for her to figure it out herself so she could come to him. He really wasn’t one for expressing his feelings like this. He was Anbu, that wasn’t their way of life.

He was scared. Scared of the rejection and then what would follow. The fallout and the avoidance. The dissolving of their entire friendship. Yamato was afraid of what this one little woman thought of him, and it took everything in him to muster up his next words.

“Y/N, your secret admirer is not Kakashi, it’s me. It's been me the whole time.”

Her lips quickly fell into a frown, and he knew that wasn’t a good sign. She tilted her head to the side and asked, her brows furrowed deeply, “How could that be? I saw Kakashi with my own eyes.”

“It’s because I asked him to fake it for me until I got back from my mission,” he groaned, “You said you were going to wait until the next time there was a big break in the gifts coming and then figure out what shinobi it was; well, I was just on a week long mission and I didn’t want you figuring it out so soon. I gave Kakashi some flowers and a note and asked him to leave it there sometime in the middle of my mission, to throw you off my scent.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I guess I should have anticipated Kakashi being late and you finding out, but I hadn’t.”

“Yamato-” Y/N felt relief bubble up in her chest. If Yamato was really her secret admirer, then she had nothing to worry about. It seemed things had worked out too perfectly in her favor. She loved him, wanted nothing more than for him to reciprocate her feelings. And he had. He had spent countless hours planning little surprises for her in the hopes that it would make her happy.

Her heart felt over the moon with happiness. No one had ever went out of their way for her, not like this. But Yamato was different.

“Y/N, I care about you. I care about you a lot, as you can tell from all the letters I wrote for you.” He paused, his eyes rolling to stare up at the ceiling, too nervous to meet her own which were filled with shock. “I know we live completely different lives, and I know you’d rather be with that other guy, but that night you got drunk and you told me you wanted a man to sweep you off your feet and that you were lonely, I thought I’d try.”

“I got drunk and told you I was desperate for a man? When...When did this happen?!” Admittedly, she felt a shot to the gut at that one. How embarrassing. Perhaps, that wasn’t the first thing she could have got from his confession, but she needed to know.

“I don’t know. A month ago?”

“Damn, I’m so embarrassed.”

He groaned once again, covering his eyes with his hand and mumbling, “Yeah, me too, Y/N.”

“Why are you embarrassed?” she asked, noticing his red face and neck. “Yamato, I want to be with you. You are the other guy.”

“You really don’t have to lie to save my feelings.”

“I’m not lying. Admittedly, when the first gift you left was a bonsai, I immediately thought it could be you because 'tree', but I couldn’t be sure so I waited. I wanted it to be you the entire time, but I just couldn’t see someone as strong as you falling for a simple baker. I thought you’d be into other shinobi. I mean, they are more interesting than little old me.”

He reached over the table to grab her hands, and immediately he cringed. All this drama was making his hands sweat, and he didn’t want her to think of him as the sweaty hands guy. He scolded himself immediately after having the thought. She’s not gonna care, don’t be so nervous. Tell her how you feel.

“Stop. Y/N, all I care about is you. You are the most beautiful, smart, kind, and interesting woman I’ve ever met. You’re amazing. You work so hard at the bakery. You aren’t simple at all.”

“Yama...”

“Please, just be with me. It took me a lot of courage to tell you how I feel, just say yes and accept that I love you for you.”

“O-okay. I’m so happy. I just can’t believe this is happening.”

A smile grew on his lips, and she let a goofy one take over her own expression. He never looked this happy, and she realized it was all because of her. Her heart jumped in her chest, and she squeezed his hands, feeling herself growing warm with happiness. His sweet words filled her ears and she laughed. “I promise I will treat you like a princess. I will not let you down.”

“Okay. I promise to treat you like my knight in shining armor.” His heart fluttered again. She was the one for him. He was sure of it. His cold exterior had grown soft and warm because of her, and he loved it. He loved her.

“Deal.”

They ordered their tea and sat their just relishing in the fact that for once, everything worked out for the awkward, terribly lightweight baker and her anxious, ungracefully stupid shinobi that she was hoping for all along.

#yamato x reader #yamato tenzo #naruto x reader #naruto imagine #naruto one shot #naruto #yamato one shot #yamato imagine #naruto shippuden

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degrassi-fanatic · 3 years

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Four Times Kakashi and Naruto Spy on Sakura, and the One Time She Returns the Favour

The tree branch that Naruto is currently perched on bobs up and down precariously; struggling with the combined weight of him and Kakashi-sensei, who was situated behind him, closer to where the branch connected to the trunk of the tree. The two of them attempt to stay as still as they possibly can, praying that Sakura and Sasuke cannot hear the leaves rustling from where they’re training on the ground.

Now, Naruto isn’t one to spy on the private affairs of his close friends—

Wait, no, that’s exactly like him. It isn’t like Kakashi-sensei to be spying on the private affairs of his former students, and he wouldn’t be, if it weren’t for the fact that Naruto had pulled him out of the Hokage’s Residence, screaming that Sakura-chan had a not-so secret lover.

See, late yesterday evening, at Yakiniku Q, Sakura had announced to all of Konoha 11 that she was seeing someone but that she wouldn’t disclose who exactly it was.

Naturally, that meant Naruto had to get to the bottom of this and figure out the identity of Sakura’s mysterious, new lover.

He had his suspicions on who he thought her lover was but he wouldn’t know for sure until he had some irrefutable evidence.

Which is why, he is currently sitting on a tree branch that’s overlooking Senju Park, where Sakura and Sasuke were sparring, with Kakashi-sensei sitting behind him.

In his defense, after Shizune had ordered both him and Kakashi-sensei bed rest, the two of them had gotten a little stir crazy.

While he was escorting Kakashi to Suna, the two of them had been ambushed by a group of rogue-nin. Luckily for Konoha, they didn’t seem to be a part of any bigger conspiracy threatening the village, so the attack had been deemed insignificant. The two of them had gotten rid of the rogue-nin easily but not without sustaining some injuries; a broken leg for Naruto and a broken arm for Kakashi-sensei. When they came home a week earlier than planned, Shizune had forced the both of them to take the next month off, pulling Naruto off of active jonin duty and temporarily taking over Kakashi’s responsibilities as Hokage.

“You really think it’s Sasuke that she’s seeing?” Kakashi whispers as he tries to get a view of what’s happening on the ground.

“It has to be.” Naruto says as he watches Sakura easily block Sasuke’s fist, “She’s been in love with him since before the Academy.”

Naruto feels the weight of the branch dip as Kakashi-sensei shifts closer. Straining his neck, he tries to look over Naruto’s shoulder to catch a glimpse of his former students.

“What are they doing now?” he asks.

“I think it’s only taijutsu right now.” Naruto answers, “Oh, and she just choke-slammed him into the ground. How romantic.”

“I don’t think she’s dating Sasuke.” he argues, “I mean, you have to admit he was so rude to her when they were kids, surely her feelings for him would have worn—”

Sakura holds out a hand to Sasuke, who’s currently sprawled on the ground. As she pulls him up, Naruto can just barely see the way Sakura’s mouth is moving; clearly talking about something.

“Shh!” he says to Kakashi-sensei, “They’ve stopped training. I think they’re talking about something. I’m gonna try and get closer.”

Wrapping his hands around the wood in front of him, Naruto inches his butt off bit by bit before hauling himself further down the branch.

“Naruto, no, the branch is gonna—”

CRACK!

From beneath him, Naruto feels the flimsy end of the branch give away and snap.

“Ahh!”

He tries to get his hands on anything to keep him from dropping but to no avail. Scrunching his eyes shut, Naruto braces himself for impact, desperately praying that he’ll be too injured for Shizune and Sakura to lecture him about doing stupid stuff.

Then, he feels long fingers wrap around his good ankle.

Suspended in mid-air, Naruto swings his upper half up to find Kakashi-sensei sitting on the sturdy end of the branch, barely being able to hold on to Naruto’s leg when he can only use one of his arms.

“Kakashi-sensei? Naruto?”

Looking down towards the ground, he spots Sakura and Sasuke staring up at the two of them hanging off of a tree branch. They tilt their heads to the side in unison as they study the scene in front of them.

“What are you two doing in a tree?” Sakura asks, beyond confused.

“Um, y’know, we were, uh,” Naruto sputters, “Kakashi-sensei was teaching me how to— Tell them what you were teaching me.”

“Maa, you see, Naruto and I were just— shunshin no jutsu!”

All Sakura and Sasuke are left with is a puff of smoke where Kakashi and Naruto were.

“What was that all about?” Sakura asks.

The next time Naruto assumes he’s figured out the identity of Sakura’s secret boyfriend, him and Kakashi-sensei are eating at Ichiraku’s for lunch.

Sitting in the outdoor seating area of the newly expanded Ramen Ichiraku, Naruto breaks apart both his and Kakashi’s set of chopsticks. He sets his own aside before he uses Kakashi-sensei’s to collect some noodles from his respective bowl.

“I got it.” he declares as he brings the steaming noodles up to Kakashi’s still masked face.

At Naruto’s actions, Kakashi wrinkles his nose.

“I still have one good arm.” he reminds as he eyes the chopsticks warily, “And what do you get?”

“Stop with the dramatics, I already know what your face looks like,” Naruto says as he rolls his eyes, “And it’s Kiba.”

He huffs in annoyance but relents by looking around to see if anyone is paying attention to them. Once he’s made sure that no one is, he hooks his finger at the top of his mask and tugs it down to reveal his face.

Heat spreads across the bridge of Naruto’s nose as he averts his gaze to the noodles at the end of the chopsticks he’s still holding. Without warning, he shoves them into Kakashi’s mouth, pointedly ignoring the indignant spluttering coming from the older man.

Naruto would like to be able to say that he isn’t affected by the sight of his former sensei’s face but that would make him a liar, and he tries to keep his lying to a minimum.

The truth is that Kakashi-sensei makes Naruto’s heart pound, even when he’s got his mask on.

“What’s Kiba?” Kakashi asks, after swallowing down the food.

Dipping the chopsticks back into the bowl, Naruto retrieves some more noodles before bringing it up to Kakashi’s face. Before he can push it into his mouth, Kakashi-sensei wraps his free fingers around Naruto’s wrist to steady him and stop him from stabbing the roof of his mouth. He uses his grip to bring the noodles to his face far more gently than Naruto would have.

The unexpected touch makes him falter.

“Sakura’s new boyfriend.” he says, once he’s gotten over the shock.

“Why would it be Kiba?”

Speak of the devil.

From over Kakashi’s shoulder, Naruto spots the aforementioned man walking out of Yamanaka Flowers holding a bouquet of pure white lilies in one hand and what seems to be a picnic basket in the other, Akamaru trailing behind him like always.

Naruto watches as he waves at someone two shops down and follows his line of sight to find none other than Haruno Sakura at the end of it.

Nudging Kakashi-sensei with his elbow, he nods his head towards Kiba and Sakura.

“What is he doing?” he mumbles as he lets go of Naruto’s wrist.

Silently, they watch Sakura and Kiba exchange a couple of words before they begin to walk away together, rubbing shoulders as they make their way over to Senju Park.

“Let’s go follow them.” Kakashi-sensei says while tugging his mask back up.

“But, the ramen!”

Shaking his head, Kakashi quickly pulls out his wallet and lays down a couple of bills before shoving Naruto’s crutch into his hands.

“Later!” he exclaims as he stands up, motioning for Naruto to hurry and get up as well.

Naruto lets out a defeated sigh. He places the crutch pad beneath his armpit and hauls himself off of his seat, resigning himself to listen to Kakashi.

With only three functioning legs between the two of them, Kakashi and Naruto manage to hobble over to the park at a relatively quick pace. Once they arrive, they huddle behind a tree, only peaking their heads over the side of it.

Chancing a glance upwards, Naruto realizes it's the tree he was hanging off of just the other day.

“Look.” Kakashi-sensei whispers from above him, bringing Naruto’s attention back to the couple in front of them.

Scratching the back of his head nervously, Kiba hands Sakura the bouquet of white lilies. She takes a whiff of them and says something that makes the tension in Kiba’s body melt away.

“I told you!” Naruto whisper-screams, “He’s handing her flowers, that has to mean something.”

As Kiba hands over the picnic basket to Sakura, Akamaru nudges his snout into the back of his knee. The action must be indicative of something because soon Kiba is dashing away from Sakura, who only looks amused.

“Why is he leaving?” Kakashi questions.

“Maybe he forgot the drinks or something.” he suggests.

Setting aside the bouquet, Sakura pulls a blanket out of the picnic basket before placing it on top of the grass. Soon, she begins to pull out various items including dishes, cutlery, meals, and much to Naruto’s dismay, drinks.

“It’s a tad bit rude to leave your date to set up everything.” Kakashi comments.

As a final touch, Sakura yanks out a single flower from the bouquet and pulls off the petals to spread around the picnic. From beside her, Akamaru barks in approval, earning him a pat on the head.

“Well, Kiba is kinda dumb about these things.”

“Coming from you.” Kakashi snorts.

“Hey!”

“Shh!” he whispers, “I think he’s coming back.”

In the distance, Naruto can hear the faint, familiar voice of Kiba’s as the man makes his way back to the picnic.

Sakura seemingly comes to the same realization but for some reason, she begins to dart away from her date.

“Wait, why is she running away?” Naruto asks.

Then, he feels Kakashi’s gloved hand smack him upside the head.

“Ow!” he exclaims, only to be promptly shushed by Kakashi-sensei, “What’d you do that for?”

“Because Kiba isn’t going out with Sakura, he’s going out with Hinata.” Kakashi explains as he looks down at him, “He probably needed Sakura’s help, that’s it.”

Looking back out towards the picnic, Naruto realizes Kakashi-sensei’s right because instead of Sakura, Hinata is now the one holding the bouquet of lilies as she hugs Kiba tightly.

“Naruto, Kakashi-sama.” he hears someone whisper.

Jumping out of his skin, Naruto opens his mouth to scream only to be silenced by Kakashi’s hand. They slowly shuffle around to find all of Konoha 11, sans Kiba and Hinata and including Sakura, standing in front of them.

At the front of the group is Shino, looking as creepy as usual.

“Shino.” Kakashi-sensei greets politely as he releases Naruto’s mouth, “And please drop the honourifics.”

“Are you here to watch Kiba and Hinata’s youthful date as well?” Lee pipes up.

“Oh, yes, that is why we are here,” Naruto lies, very obviously, “No other reason, whatsoever.”

“But we have to go now, we’re very busy,” Kakashi-sensei adds, “Y’know how it is for the Rokudaime and the future Nanadaime. Busy, busy, busy.”

Before the two of them can push past the group to leave, Shikamaru stops them in their path with a question.

“But, Shizune-san ordered you bed rest and gave you the month off?”

Naruto and Kakashi freeze up for a moment.

“Oh, did she?” Naruto questions as he stares up at Kakashi with panic in his eyes.

Swiftly, Kakashi loops Naruto’s free arm over his shoulder to support his weaker side as he silently urges the man to move quicker.

“Well, we’ll just go and double check with her.” he says as the two of them make their exit, ignoring the suspicious looks they’re getting.

The third time Naruto thinks he’s finally discovered who is Sakura’s new lover, he isn’t even actively trying to.

Him and Kakashi-sensei are walking the ninken together through the forest. Well, actually, it’s more like the dogs are walking themselves. And also, Naruto isn’t really walking, he’s forcing Kakashi to give him a piggyback ride, using his uninjured arm to hold onto the back of Naruto’s knee, while Naruto tightens his other leg around Kakashi’s hip.

His excuse is that he’s tired but really, he just likes the closeness.

Settling his chin on top of Kakashi’s shoulder on his uninjured side, Naruto lets out a pleased sigh as he soaks up the sun shining down on them. He closes his eyes and ignores the undeniable sounds of Bull and Akino playing catch with his crutch.

“Why did you come out with me if you knew you were going to get tired?” Kakashi-sensei complains.

“So you can carry me.” he answers lazily, “Dattebayo.”

“Might I remind you that I also have a broken appendage.” Kakashi says, jostling his arm cast for emphasis before letting it hang limp by his side again, “It probably doesn’t do me well to carry you.”

“Don’t act like it hurts, old man.” he retorts as he lifts his head up to peer at Kakashi’s face, “I’m doing half the work here. And I’ve seen you toss an enemy with multiple kunai sticking out of you.”

“It was one kunai.”

Naruto lets out a hum in response, closing his eyes once more. His ears honing in on the sounds of the ninken yipping around them and Kakashi-sensei’s rhythmic steps.

Then, the dogs begin to quiet down and Kakashi comes to a halt. Without the noises of the ninken, Naruto can hear some voices not too far away.

He opens his eyes to find Lee and Sakura in a clearing together. Lee does a handstand as he reads questions aloud from a medical textbook. In front of him, Sakura paces around as she spits out answer after answer, in a rapid fire sequence.

“Oh my God.” Naruto whispers as he excitedly smacks Kakashi's shoulder, “Lee’s always had a thing for, he’s probably the guy she’s seeing. It makes so much sense now.”

“Is he… quizzing her on medicine?” Kakashi questions as he tilts his head to the side.

“Romance looks different now than it did in your time.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Kakashi mumbles as he stares ahead at the young couple, “I’ve never really dated anyone.”

At the admission, Naruto’s jaw drops open. He grabs a hold of Kakashi-sensei’s chin and forces the man to look him in the eyes.

“Seriously?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Kakashi answers, shrugging, “I just, never had the time, I guess.”

That should be a crime against humanity!

How is it possible that Kakashi-sensei has never dated anyone in his life? There’s a long line up of girls (+Naruto) that would kill to have a chance with him. He’s probably the most attractive person in all of the village, and that’s with his mask on. If he took it off, he would easily be the most attractive person on Earth.

He’s so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice Lee, still walking on his hands, and Sakura approaching them.

“Kakashi-sama! Naruto-kun!” Lee greets with the same amount of energy as always, “Has the springtime of your youth brought you here?”

Slipping his chin out of Naruto’s fingers, Kakashi turns to look at them, wincing at the -sama added to his name.

“Something like that,” he says, “Um, Lee, why are you helping Sakura study?”

Lee hops off of his hands and does a round off onto his feet before answering his question.

“Sakura-chan is in her prime and would like to open up a mental health clinic for children impacted by the war with Ino.” Lee explains, “In order to do so, she must educate herself to the fullest extent.”

“Kakashi-sensei, you approved my proposal,” Sakura reminds him, “You know about this.”

“Oh, right.”

Naruto lightly flicks him on the side of his forehead.

“Idiot.” he mutters.

“Sakura-chan has been ever so generous to help me with my chakra control, so I decided I would help her study.” Lee adds on.

“What are you two doing?” Sakura questions.

“Walking the pack.” Kakashi answers.

Right on cue, the ninken begin to race around their legs; yipping and yapping in excitement as Lee begins to pet as many of them as he possibly can.

“You two have been awfully close lately.” Sakura says to him and Kakashi, even though she’s looking at Lee.

Wiggling their eyebrows around, Lee and Sakura seem to have a silent conversation. Then, the two of them reach some sort of a conclusion and turn their heads to stare at Naruto and Kakashi-sensei.

“What?” Naruto questions.

Sakura just sighs.

It isn’t even Naruto who tries to figure out who could be Sakura’s boyfriend the fourth time around.

With his injured leg resting in Kakashi’s lap, he and the older man sit on the wooden benches near the gates of Konoha. Naruto passes the time by doodling on Kakashi-sensei’s cast, occasionally humming a little melody to himself and opening his mouth for Kakashi to pop a grape into.

“It’s Shikamaru.” Kakashi announces all of a sudden.

It takes Naruto’s brain a minute before he realizes what he’s referring to.

“It can’t be.” he shoots down, “He’s with Temari.”

“Think about it,” he says, “Sakura can’t tell us because Shikamaru still needs to tell people he broke up with Temari.”

The theory sounds outlandish, even to Naruto.

“He hasn’t broken up with Temari, though.” he points out as he continues to scribble away on plaster.

“To our knowledge.” Kakashi says as he brings a grape up to Naruto’s face, “Ahh.”

Even though his face burns in embarrassment, Naruto opens up his mouth to accept the grape. With all the Icha Icha books he’s read, he’s not sure how Kakashi doesn’t realize the romantic connotation behind feeding someone.

Then, again, Kakashi hasn’t ever experienced a real relationship.

The thought of that makes him sad; the idea of Kakashi spending his whole life alone, lonely.

Naruto thinks he’s done enough of that for a lifetime.

“You never had feelings for anyone?” Naruto asks as he stops drawing.

Kakashi looks startled at his question but quickly regains his composure.

“There was this one person,” he says before promptly shaking his head, “But, it would’ve never happened.”

He ignores the ache in his chest at the news of Kakashi loving someone else.

“Do I know them?” Naruto asks.

“Naruto…” he warns, fixing him with a look.

Kakashi opens up his mouth to say something else but something must steal away his attention because nothing audible comes out. Finding Kakashi’s line of sight, he follows it back to find him staring over his shoulder and towards the gates, where Temari is standing with a couple of Suna shinobi.

“I bet you Shikamaru asked her to come here so he can break up with her.” Kakashi mumbles.

“That’s so mean, making a woman come all the way out here just to tell her you don’t love her anymore.”

Soon, the informal delegation is greeted by the appearance of Shikamaru and Sakura. In the most inconspicuous way possible, Kakashi and Naruto stare as Temari laughs at something Sakura says before pulling her into a hug.

“You know Shikamaru,” Kakashi says, “He can’t be bothered.”

As Sakura pulls out of the hug, Temari quickly draws Shikamaru in for a kiss.

“I don’t think that’s how you greet your ex-girlfriend in front of your current girlfriend.” Naruto says, smirking.

Rolling his eyes, Kakashi shoves a handful of grapes into his mouth.

As Naruto attempts to not choke on the fruit, Temari, Sakura, and Shikamaru approach them with knowing looks on their face for God-knows-what reason.

“Naruto. Kakashi-sama.” Temari greets warmly.

“Temari, and please, drop the honourifics.”

Beside her, Shikamaru darts his eyes back and forth between him and Kakashi, before nodding at Sakura.

“What is, Shikamaru?” Naruto asks once he’s finished swallowing down the grapes.

“Nothing.” he says, “Just making an observation.”

+1.

The scent of alcohol is heavy in the air as Naruto sits on the floor in front of his coffee table. Beside him, Kakashi-sensei listens intently to his ramblings as Naruto draws around wildly on a piece of paper in order to visualize what he’s saying.

“See, both Lee and I liked Sakura, who liked Sasuke, who only ever had eyes for vengeance.” Naruto says as he draws long lines extending between the poorly drawn portraits of his friends, “Meanwhile, both Ino and Temari also had a thing for him before Temari started crushing on Shikamaru. I also had a thing for Sasuke but that’s neither here nor there.”

“Wait, what—”

“I think Hinata was the only girl that didn’t like Sasuke but that’s because she had eyes for me. I sorta liked her back at one point but then I realized how much she liked Kiba so I decided it was a no-go,” Naruto continues, ignoring the lost look on Kakashi-sensei’s face, “Then, there’s Tenten and Neji who used to have this weird tension but I never really knew if Neji actually liked her because he died. Right now, I think Tenten and Lee are slowly becoming something because she’s recently stopped insulting him.

“Also, fun fact, really embarrassing fact,” he tacks on, “I’ve had a thing for both Gaara and Kankuro. Oh, and also Ayame-san.”

Finally finished with his long-winded explanation on the romantic entanglements of his friends, Naruto lets out a loud exhale. He sets aside his pen and pushes the piece of paper forward before resting back on the heels of his palms.

“Okay…” Kakashi says as he places the second, half-full bottle of sake away from Naruto’s reach, “I think you’ve had enough to drink.”

Kakashi hooks Naruto’s arm over his shoulders and helps him walk over to the couch.

As Naruto gets himself into a comfortable position laying down, he watches as Kakashi plucks a pillow off of the floor before placing it behind Naruto’s head. Then, the older man grabs a blanket from somewhere to spread across Naruto’s body.

“Did that help clear everything up?”

“Sure.” Kakashi answers distractedly as he tucks in the edges of the blanket.

“Which means, the only possible people that could be Sakura’s boyfriend are Shino and Choji,” Naruto babbles on, his brain going a mile a minute, “But, that’s obviously not true; so that leads us back to square one.”

The couch dips as Kakashi seats himself beside Naruto’s legs.

The heat radiating off of his body burns through the blanket and Naruto desperately wishes he could throw the damn thing off to feel the warmth from the person itself.

“Maa, I think you should go to sleep now.”

“Will you be here in the morning?” he mumbles.

“Of course.”

“Good,” Naruto says, “Because I miss you when you’re not around.”

He can hear Kakashi’s breath hitch. Soon, a gloved hand pushes the fringe off of Naruto’s forehead. Closing his eyes, Naruto leans into the touch.

“Y’know, I really enjoyed these last couple of weeks. Between your responsibilities and my missions, we don’t get to see each other much.” Naruto continues, “I think I might just break my other leg to spend more time with you.”

Kakashi chuckles as he traces his finger against Naruto’s scarred cheeks.

“Or you can just ask.”

Naruto’s breath is slowly starting to even out and he’s mere moments away from sleep when he hears the loud and unexpected crash coming from outside of his window. Suddenly fully awake and less drunk, Naruto shoots up from the couch, flinging the blanket off of him.

Meanwhile, Kakashi-sensei has already whipped out a kunai from out of nowhere and is steadily approaching the window.

“Damn it, Lee!”

At the sound of Tenten’s irate voice, both him and Kakashi-sensei drop their guards. Kakashi stows away his kunai before throwing open the window.

Hobbling on his good foot, Naruto makes his way over. He peers down the window to find Tenten and Lee sprawled across the ground outside of his home. Right next to them, is Shino sitting atop of Choji’s shoulders and Temari atop of Shikamaru’s.

“What the hell are you doing?” he exclaims at the guilty party.

“It was Sakura-chan’s idea!” Lee shouts, pointing over Naruto’s shoulder.

Using Kakashi as his crutch, he walks over to the window on the opposite side of the room. He opens it up to find Sakura sitting on Sasuke’s shoulders, Ino on Sai’s, and Hinata on Kiba’s. All six of them wear apologetic looks on their faces. Or, well, five of them do, Sasuke couldn’t care less about boundaries.

“Hey…” Sakura greets in an attempt to be casual.

“Are you guys spying on us?” Kakashi questions.

“Okay, don’t act like you weren’t doing the same thing to me!”

Busted.

“Okay, well, we, just,” Naruto flounders around for an adequate defense, “We were just trying to figure out who your boyfriend was!”

For a reason beyond his understanding, the rest of his friends burst out into a fit of laughter, almost knocking one another over.

“Boyfriend? Oh my God,” Sakura says exasperatedly as she tries to steady herself on Sasuke’s shoulders, “You idiots!”

As Naruto opens his mouth to ask her what the hell she means, Sakura turns to her right and laces her hand into Ino’s hair before tugging her in for a kiss.

Both he and Kakashi-sensei sport shocked expressions as they turn to look at each other. Then, Naruto twists around to garner the reactions of his friends to find that none of them seem to share the same shock.

“Ino and Sakura!” Naruto shouts, “Why is no one else surprised?”

“It was kinda hard to miss, man.” Kiba chimes in.

From the other window, Shino adds, “Yeah, it was the only thing more obvious than Kiba’s crush on Hinata.”

“Hey!” Kiba exclaims as his face burns red like his markings, “At least it wasn’t as obvious as Naruto’s crush on Kakashi-sama!”

Suddenly, the room descends into a deafening silent.

The arm that's swung around his shoulder tenses up before pulling away completely.

“Sorry,” Kiba says quietly, hunching in on himself, “Was that supposed to be a secret?”

Naruto forces himself to stare ahead; he doesn’t want to remember what Kakashi’s face is going to look like when he inevitably rejects him.

“Oh, would look at the time,” Sakura pipes up, laughing nervously, “We all need to…”

“Babysit Mirai-chan for Kurenai-sensei!” Ino finishes, “Yep, all twelve of us! Let’s go!”

All of them hop off of each other in a frenzy before scrambling off into the streets of Konoha.

“Oh my God…” Naruto mutters to himself, as the humiliation settles in.

“Naruto,” he hears Kakashi say, “Can we—What are you doing!”

Not wanting to deal with the repercussions of what just happened, Naruto grips the window ledge before hauling himself onto the sill; wincing as he knocks his cast around.

“I’m trying to leave!”

“You have a broken leg!”

“Can’t break what’s already broken!”

A strong arm wraps around his torso before he can escape through the window. Far more easily than he should’ve been able to, Kakashi drags him back inside. Kicking and thrashing around, Naruto struggles in his grip.

“Naruto, just, can you listen to me!”

Ripping out of Kakashi-sensei’s grasp, Naruto shoves his fingers into his ears and shuts his eyes, as he begins waddling around the room.

“Lalalala! I can’t hear you!” Naruto screams at the top of his lungs, no doubt waking any sleeping neighbours of his, “Lalalala! You should leave now! Lalalala! I’m going to kill Kiba and then I’m going to—”

His threat goes unfinished as he feels a warm pressure against his mouth and a hand angling his face upwards. His eyes fly open to find the distorted sight of Kakashi in front of him before he settles on shutting them again and leaning into the feeling.

Sooner than he’d like, though, the kiss comes to an end.

“Hmm?” Naruto mumbles, still coming down from the high.

He’s slow to open his eyes but when he does, he’s greeted by Kakashi’s bare face smiling down at him.

“You idiot,” Kakashi says affectionately as he moves his hand to rest on Naruto’s shoulder, “I was trying to tell you I feel the same.”

“Oh,” he says dumbly, “That’s nice.”

Shaking his head fondly, Kakashi leads him back to the couch. Once he’s made sure Naruto is comfortable, he leans down to press a kiss to his forehead.

“Go to sleep, Naruto,” he whispers, “We can talk in the morning.”

Naruto falls asleep with a smile on his face that night.

#naruto #uzumaki naruto #hatake kakashi #haruno sakura #kakanaru #~fic~

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tenzoyamato · 4 years

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☾ ◻♦️♒☯️

Sleep HC: Tenzō doesn't sleep well at all by himself, he has night terrors and PTSD from Root and the beatings he received from Danzo. Though no one would know it besides Kakashi and maybe Itachi since he's worked with them on missions, he hides it very well otherwise. It's something he's ashamed of and he doesn't really like to talk about it, though it would be healthier for him if he did. Remarkably, he manages to get the best sleep curled up beside Itachi or Kakashi.

Living Quarters HC: Depending on what age/AU or segment of life Tenzō is in a role play, he either lives in the barracks of Anbu, an apartment, house, or treehouse. To which he has furnished himself with typical items using his Mokuton. He doesn't have much in the ways of decorations or chachkies, what little he does have are things that were given to him by his teammates or by the very few friends that he makes when he's older. Drawings of Sharingan landscapes that Tenzō received from Itachi for his birthday, pictures of Team Ro [and Team 7 after he starts training them], and maybe one or two tapestries of the forest and jungle [mostly for his Ninneko to enjoy]. He has various cat toys around his place at all times, as well as indoor plants, small trees, and flowers. No matter where he is living his place is always clean, always organized, and maintained. When he moves into a house he paints his walls a dark forest green because he loves that color, it's wick, it reminds him of the place he feels the most at peace, the woods.

Quirks/Hobbies: This can be found in the last post I made for these ask HCs. 😅

Cooking HC: Tenzō never learned how to cook until Kakashi pulled him from Root, where every meal was provided to him and tasted bland. He had always been taught that food was just an essential part of maintaining and sustaining bodily functions. He never knew that you could enjoy the taste of food before, so when he tries something new he gets excited. It's become a habit for him to always try new things, and he's found that he doesn't particularly like oily or overly salty foods, but on a rare occasion he'll indulge in them. He enjoys sweets to a degree, mostly chocolate based though and he loves walnuts. After Kakashi teaches him how to cook, he's been an unstoppable force of collecting new recipes to make and try out new foods. Though in Anbu, it's hard to find the time to cook but he still tries his damndest.

Likes/Dislikes HC: Tenzō loves the smell of pretrichor, especially on hot summer days. He likes being out in the forest/jungle/woods, anywhere there are plants, trees, and flowers, he spends a lot of his free time out in nature with his Ninneko. He also enjoys pleasant surprises, it's not often he can be caught off guard. Another thing he likes is being huddled up around the fire close to someone on a cold day. In fact he loves to be touched in general, hugs, holding hands, being leaned against; his only issue is he doesn't ask for any of those things or initiate very often because he's afraid of rejection and the beating he got trying to hold Danzo's hand once as a child. His dislikes are when someone speaks ill about his friends and teammates, and he'll gladly put up a argument or fight about it. He doesn't enjoy messes, so he often cleans any mess he sees because it bothers him. Another thing he doesn't like is when he's in the spotlight or receiving too many compliments. He doesn't know how to react, but that is mostly because he has a low self-esteem or thinks that he's undeserving; unless the compliments and praise are coming from someone he trusts and admires.

#There are a lot more I have yet to discover for Tenz. Character development never ends.#Tenz HC #HC #Headcanon

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entamewitchlulu · 4 years

Photo

so i did a reading challenge this year and i wanna talk about what i read

transcription under the cut

i did Popsugar 2019 and wanna talk about what i read: Book Reccs and Anti-Reccs

1.) Becoming a Movie in 2019: Umbrella Academy (vol 1) by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

4/5. A fascinating take on superpowers, dysfunctional families, and the apocalypse. Can get pretty gory, confusing here and there and you have to pay close attention to panels for lore, but overall an entertaining romp.

2.) Makes you Feel Nostalgic: Circles in the Stream by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Middle grade novel about the magic of music, belief, and of course, friendship. Definitely written for kids, and has some unfortunately clumsy Native rep, but overall an absolute joy to dive into once again.

3.) Written by a Musician: Umbrella Academy (vol 2) by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba

4/5. Ramps up the confusion to ridiculous degrees with some absolutely bonkers, unexplained arcs, but still fun to watch this dysfunctional family do its dysfunctional thing.

4.) You Think Should be Turned into a movie: All That Glitters by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Continuation of Circles in the Stream, but with more unicorns, more rainbows, and more fae, which makes it automatically even better than the first.

5.) With At Least 1 Mil. Ratings on Goodreads: 1984 by George Orwell

1/5. I understand why it's important and all but wasn't prepared for some of the more graphic scenes and the overall hopelessness of the message. Would not recommend or read again.

6.) W/ a Plant in the title or cover: The secret of Dreadwillow carse by Brian farrey

5/5. A fantasy world where everyone is always happy, save for one girl and the princess, who set out to solve the mystery of their kingdom. Poignant and great for kids and adults.

7.) Reread of a favorite: Cry of the Wolf by Rachel Roberts

4/5. Yet another installment in the Avalon: Web of Magic series, which clearly I am obsessed with. Please just read them.

8.) About a Hobby: Welcome to the Writer's Life by Paulette Perhach

5/5. A welcome kick in the pants, chock full of great advice told without condescension, and full of hope and inspiration for writers both new and old.

9.) Meant to read in 2018: The Poet x by Elizabeth Acevedo

4/5. Absolutely beautiful coming of age novel told in verse. Do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobook version.

10.) w/ "pop," "sugar," or "challenge" in the title: Black Sugar by Miguel Bonnefoy

2/5. I think maybe I just don't understand this genre. Or maybe the translation was weird. I was confused.

11.) w/ An Item of Clothing or Accessory on the cover: Our dreams at Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani

4/5. It had a lot more slurs/homophobia than I was prepared for, but otherwise is a very touching, relatable collection of queer characters living in a heteronormative world.

12.) Inspired by Mythology or Folklore: Ravenous by MarcyKate Connolly

3/5. A girl goes on an impossible quest to save her brother from a child-eating witch. Really wanted to like it more because I loved the first one, Monstrous, but it dragged a little.

13.) Published Posthumously: The Islands of Chaldea by Diana Wynne Jones

3/5. I adore Diana Wynne Jones, but this one was missing some of the magic of her other books. Not sure if it was because it had to be finished by someone else, or if I just grew out of her stories.

14.) Set in Space: Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

4/5. Powerfully written story of a girl straddling tradition and innovation, who wields power through mathematical magic, surviving on a spaceship alone with a dangerous alien occupation after everyone else has been killed.

15.) By 2 Female Authors: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

2/5. Ostensibly a story about a revenge pact in a small island town, but leaves far too many dangling threads to attempt alluring you to the sequel.

16.) W/ A Title containing "salty," "bitter," "Sweet," or "Spicy": The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

3/5. It's okay but I literally just never know what anyone means at any time. Are they being reticent on purpose or do i just not understand communication

17.) Set in scandinavia: Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura

2/5. Technically and historically accurate and well made, but the story itself is not my cup of tea. Very gory.

18.) Takes Place in a Single Day: Long WAy Down by Jason Reynolds

4/5. A boy goes to avenge his murdered brother, but ghostly passengers join him on the elevator ride down. Stunning and powerful character-driven analysis.

19.) Debut Novel: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

4/5. Charming and then surprisingly heart-breaking comic about Nimona, a shapeshifter who wants to become a villain's minion. Really love the villain/hero dynamic going on in the background, along with the dysfunctional found family.

20.) Published in 2019: The Book of Pride by Mason Funk

4/5. A collection of interviews with the movers, shakers, and pioneers of the queer and LGBTQ+ community. An absolutely essential work for community members and allies alike.

21.) Featuring an extinct/imaginary creature: Phoebe and her Unicorn by Dana Simpson

4/5. Incredibly charming, Calvin and Hobbes-esque collection of comics featuring the adventures of Phoebe and her unicorn best friend.

22.) Recced by a celebrity you admire: The Emerald Circus by Jane Yolen

2/5. Recced by my fave author Brandon Sanderson. An unfortunately disappointing anthology proving that any story can be made uninteresting by telling the wrong section of it.

23.) With "Love" in the Title: Book Love by Debbie Tung

4/5. One of those relatable webcomics, only this one I felt super hard almost the entire time. Books are awesome and libraries rule.

24.) Featuring an amateur detective: Nancy Drew: Palace of Wisdom by Kelly Thompson

4/5. REALLY love this modern take on Nancy Drew, coming back home to her roots to solve a brand new mystery. Diverse cast and lovely artwork, though definitely more adult.

25.) About a family: Amulet by Kabu Kibuishi

4/5. Excellent, top tier graphic novel about a sister and brother who have to go rescue their mother with a mysterious magic stone. LOVE that the mom gets to be involved in the adventure for once.

26.) by an author from asia, Africa, or s. America: Girls' Last tour by Tsukumizu

4/5. Somehow both light-hearted and melancholy. Two girls travel about an empty, post-apocalyptic world, and muse about life and their next meal.

27.) w/ a Zodiac or astrology term in title: Drawing down the moon by margot adler

3/5. A good starting place for anyone interested in the Neo Pagan movement, but didn't really give me what I was personally looking for.

28.) you see someone reading in a tv show or movie: The Promised NEverland by Kaiu Shirai

4/5. I don't watch TV or movies where people read books so i think reading an adaptation of a TV series after watching the series counts. Anyway it was good but beware racist caricatures

29.) A retelling of a classic: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Rey Terciero

5/5. We can stop the Little Women reboots and retellings now, this is the only one we need. In fact, we can toss out the original too, this is the only one necessary.

30.) w/ a question in the title: So I'm a spider, so what? by Asahiro Kakashi

4/5. Cute art despite the subject matter, and a surprisingly enthralling take on the isekai genre. Love the doubling down on the video game skills.

31.) Set in a college or university campus: Moonstruck (vol 2) by Grace Ellis

2/5. An incredibly cute, beautiful, and fascinating world of modern magic and creatures, but unfortunately falls apart at the plot and pacing.

32.) About someone with a superpower: Moonstruck (vol 1) by Grace Ellis

4/5. Though nearly as messy plot-wise as its sequel, the first volume is overwhelmingly charming in a way that overpowers the more confusing plot elements.

33.) told from multiple povs: The Long way to a Small, Angry Planet by becky Chambers

4/5. Told almost in a serial format, like watching a miniseries, a group of found-family spaceship crew members make the long journey to their biggest job ever.

34.) Includes a wedding: We Set the dark on fire by Tehlor kay mejia

4/5. Timely and poignant, a girl tumbles into both love and resistance after becoming one of two wives to one of the most powerful men in the country.

35.) by an author w/ alliterative name: The only harmless great Thing by brooke bolander

3/5. Much deeper than I can currently comprehend. Beautifully written, but difficult to parse.

36.) A ghost story: Her body and other parties by Carmen Maria Machado

4/5. It counts because one of the stories in it has ghosts. A sometimes difficult collection of surrealist, feminist, queer short stories.

37.) W/ a 2 word title: Good omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

4/5. Charming, touching, and comical, probably the best take on the apocalypse to date. Also excellent ruminations on religion and purpose.

38.) based on a true story: The faithful Spy by John Hendrix

4/5. Brilliantly crafted graphic biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and his assistance in fighting back against Nazi Germany.

39.) Revolving around a puzzle or game: the Crossover by Kwame alexander

4/5. The verse didn't always hit right with me, but the story is a sweet, melancholy one about family, loss, and moving on.

40.) previous popsugar prompt (animal in title): The last unicorn by peter s. Beagle

5/5. Absolutely one of my all-time favorite books, it manages to perfectly combine anachronism and comedy with lyricism, melancholy, and ethereal beauty.

41.) Cli-fi: Tokyo Mew Mew by Mia ikumi and Reiko Yoshida

4/5. Shut up it counts

42.) Choose-your-own-adventure: My Lady's choosing by Kitty curran

3/5. Cute in concept, a bit underwhelming in execution. Honestly, just play an otome.

43.) "Own Voices": Home by Nnedi Okorafor

3/5. The storytelling style was definitely not my style; while the first book was slow, too, it felt more purposeful. I found my attention wandering during this installment.

44.) During the season it's set in: Pumpkinheads by rainbow rowell

3/5. Cute art, but precious little substance. The concept simply wasn't for me in the first place.

45.) LITRPG: My next life as a villainess: All routes lead to doom! by Hidaka nami

5/5. An absolute insta-fave! Charming art, endearing characters, an incredible premise, and so much sweet wholesome fluff it'll give you cavities.

46.) No chapters: The field guide to dumb birds of north america by matt kracht

3/5. It started out super strong, but the joke started to wear thin at a little past the halfway point.

47.) 2 books with the same title: Unfollow by Megan Phelps-Roger

4/5. A brave and enduring personal story of growing up in and eventually leaving the Westboro Baptist Church. Really called to me to act with grace and kindness even more in the future.

48.) 2 books with the same title: unfollow by rob williams and michael dowling

1/5. How many times do you think we can make Battle Royale again before someone notices

49.) That has inspired a common phrase or idiom: THe Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

4/5. Definitely good and deserves it's praise as something that pretty much revolutionized and created an entire demographic of literature.

50.) Set in an abbey, cloister, Monastery, convent, or vicarage: Murder at the vicarage by agatha christie

3/5. I just cannot. physically keep up with all of these characters or find the energy to read between the lines.

ok that's all i got, what did y'all read and like this year? (oh god it’s gonna be 2020)

#book reccs #lulu booktalks

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caveadministration · 5 years

Text

Gladius

Chapter 8: Solitude

Sakura stared down at the boy in wonder. Although, calling him a boy was a bit out of place as he must have been her age, if not older. She turned her gaze towards the smith; if she had to guess, she’d say they were all of a similar age.

“My name is Tenten,” said the smith, a smile on her lips as she raised a hand in greeting.

“And mine is Sakura. It’s a pleasure.” She looked around the forge. It was large and cluttered, but well used and well loved, clearly somewhere people cared for their work. Half-forged weapons and armour lay on every surface, but none looked abandoned, and of what Sakura could see of the work, it was masterfully done. It was no wonder that Tenten, and her master (for a smith no matter how talented could not own a forge so young) had a job at such a prestigious place. Creating the equipment for the gladiators of Rome, some of their most prolific fighters, would have quite a reputation. But, Tenten was the only smith in the building and that blade on the bench had the marks of one freshly tempered and the forge still hot. That spoke volumes.

“You do impressive work.” Sakura looked back towards Tenten. “Where did you learn your skill?”

Tenten let a chuckle. “Well, it’s a pleasant surprise for someone to think it’s my work and not my father’s, but I can’t say I don’t appreciate the compliment. Yes. some of these are mine and as my father is currently boozing it up in the country for the week, I hope you don’t mind that yours will just have to be part of the collection.” She turned and gestured for Sakura and Genma to follow her further inside. “I have to take your measurements and an idea of your combat style before I begin.”

Sakura began to follow, but a glance at the strange man still passed out on the wall made her pause. “Should we not…”

“Ah, don’t worry about Lee. He’ll come ‘round soon enough.” Tenten cleared off a bench in the back of the room and whipped out a measuring tape. “Stand tall and spread your arms out.”

Sakura stood as told while Genma headed over to recline on a chair. It was a wonder he was so relaxed all the time.

“Well, Sakura. About five and a half pes, you’re surprisingly tall for a woman.”

“Good thing,” said Genma as he crunched into an apple that had miraculously appeared from nowhere. “I like my women tall.”

“Don't we all Genma,” muttered Tenten. “Don't we all.”

Sakura, personally, was taking this conversation very... well... personally.

Tenten continued. “Wingspan is about the same. I’ve gotta say, nice proportions. And good measurements on the waist. You’re fit, but not too fit.” Tenten moved onto the smaller measurements. “I can’t tell you how many men I have to measure armour for, and their body muscle is way out of line. Too much of it and it’s gonna hinder more than help.” She scribbled down the last of her notes on a piece of paper and rolled up the measuring tape. “I’m glad to see that you’ve got the brains to match your brawn.”

“I could’ve have told you that,” said Genma around a mouth full of apple. “You should have seen the way she wiped the floor with Hidan, and those Demon Brothers this morning certainly didn’t hold a candle.”

“Well nobody claimed those guys were too bright, not that I’ve seen many sparks in the gladiator school.” Tenten moved over to a rack of weapons on the wall. “Any of these your preference in fighting?”

“A graecus, and an axe is a close second. If possible, I dual-wield them.”

“Dual-wielding, and an axe for half of it? I have to say I didn’t believe everything I’d heard from your fight, but the axe was certainly not the part I would have thought to be true.” She searched through her collection before grabbing a variety of graecus and axes and loading them onto the table. “Any of those fit your style? I’m sorry to say but I don’t think there’s any chance of retrieving the ones you’re familiar with, so it’s either one of these or I forge a new one.”

Sakura shifted through the pile, choosing and discarding. “No matter; they may have been familiar, well worn, comfortable, but they were nothing special and of low quality. It will be nice to have one that fits my grip and balance better.”

Finally, only a few weapons lay remaining on the table, the rest back on the rack. Tenten perused them carefully. “I see for the sword you favour a thinner blade, with a more than average length for your height. Better for your reach but only when you’re trained to accommodate it. It’s a good way to even out the balance but it’s still heavier than on average. As for the axe… you clearly prefer them double-bladed, but oddly enough, you like them shorter. I’m guessing to pair better with your sword in combat.”

Sakura blinked in surprise. “I never thought about it that way, but I suppose you’re right. I had often just used weapons that felt right but I had never considered why they did.”

“So,” Tenten said. “You like to use both sword and axe, but the reach has to even out more and the blades themselves thinner for manoeuvrability. Now, pick up those on the table and tell me which ones are most comfortable and balanced to you.”

Sakura reached hesitantly for one of the graecus and settled into a stance. After a few forms she could tell that the balance was not far off, but the grip was all wrong. Her sword now discarded in Suna was no masterpiece but even its hilt was better than this. She placed it down and picked up another. A better grip but much too heavy. The next was too light. Sakura ran through all the swords and axes on the table, but the result was much the same. They had promise but none could make her feel comfortable without learning how to fight around their faults. She turned back to face Tenten and conveyed her findings as Genma, now finished with his apple, dug the seeds out of the core and threw them into a pot. He was studiously ignored by both women.

“Ah.” Tenten did not look surprised. “I have to say, the chance of one of these suiting you was very low. They all have been forged for men, their hilts too large and the blades themselves too unwieldy and, even then, none for the same fighting style as you either. Where did you learn something for which the weapons were so specific?”

“It was just what came naturally. The sword was my first weapon, and the axe was one that I had to be comfortable with. When there's no swords around you have to make do.”

“I can see that you're ambidextrous. Was that a habit of necessity too?”

Sakura looked at the sword and the axe currently in her grip and with a quick flick of her wrists swapped them over. She flexed her fingers. “I've always practiced with either hand. If I wasn't ambidextrous when I first started, then I certainly am now, but not of necessity, it was just what was done.”

Genma whistled. “Anything else we should know about your skill set?”

“I am practiced enough in most other forms, but nowhere near as proficient. Make no mistake, I can use any of these swords and axes but if it’s comfort that you are after, they don’t suit me at all.” Sakura lowered the weapons and placed them back on the table. “Was there anything else you wished to know, Tenten?”

“Just your armour.” Tenten removed the weapons until the table was clear once more. “I assume you will need a cuirass as we have none for your… measurements, but if there are other parts that fit you well enough, I would recommend using them for now. The more we have to make, the longer it will take.”

“I have no comparison for such knowledge, so I will have to take you for your word,” said Sakura.

Genma stood up abruptly. “As nice as it was to see you again, Tenten, dear Sakura here has a couple of places she needs to be, and it seems like you have a fair few tasks on your hands.”

“My pleasure,” Tenten said dryly. “I’ll have the items sent to you when completed. It should take about a week. And who knows, maybe if Sakura performs well in the colosseum, I’ll see her again; most of the more famous gladiators get to look a little flashier when they perform.”

Sakura inclined her head and followed Genma out of the forge, and as they turned the corner, they heard the unmistakable sound of what must have been Lee stirring from his position on the floor and lamenting to Tenten of “missing the beautiful blossom.”

All Sakura could think was that Romans were strange. But then again, maybe Lee was an oddity.

Sakura was wrong. In front of her stood a man who resembled Lee in clothes, eyebrows, and haircut. And given the tears currently streaming down his face, their personalities were worryingly similar.

“Sakura, this is Might Gai, one of our doctores, trainers.” Genma smiled. “You have already met his charge, Rock Lee.”

Gai knelt in front of her, her hands clasped in front of him and sparkles shining from his eyes. “The power of youth is flowing from your eyes!”

Sakura erred on the side of caution. “It is… nice to make your acquaintance”

He gasped, the volume of glittering tears increased. “Such a soothing voice and such wonderful diction. To be in your presence is an honour.”

“Hey, hey, Gai. You don’t want to scare the girl.” The man with a shock of silver hair yanked Gai up with the back of his shirt.

“Youthful rival! There is no need to worry! I was being nothing but a perfect gentleman!”

“Glad to see you’re on time today, Kakashi. I wouldn’t want to have to track you down.”

“Sure, Genma. Lucky for you I didn’t have anywhere else to be except to see the novelty.” Kakashi turned his gaze to Sakura. “I take it this is our most recently enslaved gladiator.”

His eyes were piercing. Suddenly, the past few hours of joviality washed away and memories of the last few weeks crashed down on her. Why she was here, the carnage in Suna, her kids. It was difficult to breathe. Kakashi’s eyes creased and his mask curved into a smile. The feeling passed.

Shakely, Sakura composed herself and took a few calming breaths. This was serious, this was Rome.

“Yes,” she said with gentle apathy. “It is my understanding that I am here for an evaluation.”

Genma side-eyed her but didn’t mention anything, while Kakashi simply let the smile drop.

“Yes,” Genma said, the confusion apparent in his voice. “This is Kakashi Hatake, another of our doctores. We should be meeting the last one, Yamato, soon. They are some of the most senior of the doctores and will oversee your training.”

Kakashi turned on his heel and walked into the yard. “Come on. We don’t want to keep Yamato waiting now, do we?”

Gai hurried after him and Sakura followed. She could feel Genma’s curious stare, but she kept her back straight and her stride controlled. These were Romans. They were not companions, or friends, or safe; for all she knew she had already told them too much of her past, things they could use against her. She was a slave and she needed to be much, much more careful.

Sakura joined the men in the middle of the small training yard, it was empty except for her guard and the three trainers. A private audience then.

Kakashi walked over to the rack of weapons on the wall, he took down a sword and a shield and tossed them to Sakura. Lucky for her she caught them without fumbling, this was no time to look the fool.

“Good reflexes,” said the other man, Yamato she presumed. “But we don’t generally try to injure our gladiators before they’re trained.”

“Hey, she caught them, didn’t she?” Kakashi flapped his hand. “No harm, no foul.”

Gai cut in with overwhelming enthusiasm. “But that is no way to treat a lady, especially one as beautiful as Sakura here! Where is your pride as a man?!”

Kakashi took down another sword and shield. “My pride is on hold. Right now I need to test our newest gladiator.” He rushed towards her.

As Genma, Gai, and Yamato stepped to the sides, all Sakura could focus on was the speed at which Kakashi swung down his sword. She felt years of training kick in and threw her shield up to block the strike before rolling to the side to avoid his next attack. The shield itself was too large, too Roman, and at this point more hindrance than help. She threw it to the side.

Kakashi tutted. “Are you sure you wanted to do that? Throw away your only form of protection?”

“My sword is protection enough.” Sakura crouched down and watched as Kakashi’s eyes narrowed.

“Fine,” he said. “But don’t be offended if I keep mine.”

He rushed her again and this time Sakura parried the blow and skittered backwards to create more space. This man trained gladiators and she had no knowledge of his skills while he had likely heard, maybe even seen her fights since she’d been here. For all she knew, he had given her the shield knowing she would throw it aside. This wasn’t about proving herself by winning a fight, this was about playing it safe.

He came at her again and Sakura blocked. Again, and again Kakashi tried to land a blow and every time she studied his movements and either dodged or stopped the sword itself. But to her amazement, he did not tire nor become aggravated. This was certainly not another Hidan.

Suddenly, he stopped. Sakura watched him carefully.

“You have good technique,” Kakashi said. “But you’re too cautious and didn’t take advantage of any of the opportunities I gave you. You fight too clean and that’s not going to help you in the colosseum.”

Quickly, he threw his shield at her and as she scrambled out the way, he was in her face, tossing dirt in her eyes and body checking her into the ground. As she blinked the grime out of her vision, Kakashi stood over her, sword at her throat.

“The people like excitement, and if you spend too long avoiding your opponent, you won’t die by their hand, but the crowd might just get you killed.”

Sakura stared at him and jolted into action. She used her sword to knock his aside, the blade just nicking her skin, and swept her legs under his. As Kakashi fell, Sakura rose and pinned his body against the ground, her sword now resting on his throat. He blinked, eyes wide.

“You wanted flare. For me to play dirty. Does this measure up?”

Behind her she could hear Gai waxing on about passion and youthfulness as beneath her, her blood dripped from her heaving throat onto Kakashi’s face. To her surprise, he smiled.

“Yes,” he said. “This is exactly what I want.”

Kimimaro watched the morning’s events with detached interest. The woman was certainly more trouble than she was worth but not an idiot. The fight was concise, well thought out and while the idiots around him cheered as blood splattered the floor, Kimimaro ran over what he knew of her. She had come in with the newest African slaves, a failed assimilation of a small town called Suna, no doubt due to the idiocy of those military dogs.

She had helped during an ambush and instead of killing her, the Emperor had found it fit to parade her in front of the masses. If he was of interest to him, she could be used; the question was how malleable she was. His meeting with the messenger would decide what should be done. Kimimaro looked to Sasori seated at the same table as the girl. She had no idea she was in the presence of another Suna gladiator yet clearly, based on the way he looked at her, he did. Perhaps something here could be exploited.

When the commotion calmed down and gladiators began to leave the hall, Kimimaro and his barracks went to their training ground. He sat in the shadows talking to a man before joining the rest in training. His master would give him orders, all he had to do now was wait.

As Sakura lay on that prickly straw mattress in that tiny cell, she couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down her face. Her life was, effectively, no longer her own and the most she could do was hold back her sobs and sleep to fight another day.

Hey. So. The pes is a unit of measurement from Ancient Rome. It’s similar to the Imperial measure of a foot, averaging at about 29.6cm per pes. Sakura is about 5.6 pes which is about 165cm, or 5’5”. Now, the average height of woman around Roman times was about 155cm (they measured corpses for this) a good 4” shorter than Sakura. If you’re curious, the average on men was 168cm so yeah, Sakura’s fairly tall.

Other than that, saying her new weapons will take about a week is about right as the Roman Empire while growing needed a frequent intake of weapons and armour for the new soldiers they gained in conquered countries, especially for uniform requirements, not just general weaponry. A Roman blacksmith was capable of forging a few rough blades a day which would then be grinded and finished in the next few. Dress swords and fancy-pants armour would take a little longer for officers and other “important” officials. In other countries around the world, i.e. Japan, the swords would likely take a fair bit longer as they actually cared about the craftsmanship and quality rather than just churning them out.

The staff at a gladiator school included trainers. Usually when a new recruit, or novicius, was introduced they would be assessed by a doctor, called a medici, for health, and their fighting style and capability would be overseen by the trainers, called doctores. They were often former gladiators themselves and specialised in certain types of combat. Together these two groups were called a lanista. They would also accept the gladiator based on physical appeal as they only wanted attractive fighters. I’ve sort of smushed Tenten into the medici role as Sakura is a slave and therefore already required to fight and her injuries were already checked out by Moegi.

So that’s about everything. See you in the next few months because I procrastinate even the things I enjoy!

#gladius #sakura haruno #naruto #genma shiranui #tenten #rock lee #might gai #Kakashi Hatake #yamato #kimimaro #chapter 8 #solitude #my writing #fanfiction

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raendown · 6 years

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Pairing: SakumoTobirama Word count: 1464 Soulmate au: The one where soulmates wear identical accessories of some sort and usually swap them when they meet

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

KO-FI

Chapter 155: Sakumo/Tobirama

Being dead was a strange experience. Sakumo thought he was rather more qualified than most to say that since he had spent just over two decades hovering in limbo, unable to die yet entirely cut off from his living body. Only after he’d had a chance to speak with his son had he been able to move on and reach the long-awaited afterlife.

And it was weird.

Sakumo wasn’t certain what he had been expecting out of being dead but a full reflection of earth with houses and streets and meals wasn’t it. Not that he was in any way disappointed, only confused. He didn’t need to eat, had tested it and gone three full weeks without so much as a hunger pain, but the act of eating three times a day brought a sense of normalcy that made his rest so much easier. Nor did he need to sleep yet still most people enjoyed laying their head down when the ever-golden sun in the sky chose to set for a few hours.

What he found the most odd, however, was the mingling of generations. As soon as he had arrived in the afterlife he’d been greeted by both his mother and a woman who looked younger than himself but was apparently his great-great-great aunt. Two weeks after he had arrived he was surprised to stumble across the now very old third Hokage and then the day after that he was sitting with the sister he had lost as a child, trailing his feet in a pond while she chattered on to him with the speech patterns of an innocent but the vocabulary of an ancient.

He had been dead several months when he was honored to come face to face with the first Hokage himself, Senju Hashirama.

“Shodaime-sama,” he gasped. Then he immediately stood aside and bowed, expecting the god of shinobi to pay no mind to someone like him and carry on with whatever he had chosen to do with his honorable afterlife. He certainly did not expect a booming friendly laugh or a hand to clap down on the fur he wore around his shoulders.

“Haven’t been called that in a while,” the first Hokage said. “And to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”

“Oh! Ah…Hatake Sakumo, your honor.”

“No need for that, no need for that. We’re all equal in death are we not?”

Sakumo tilted his head to one side and gave no answer. His own death had been far from a good one. Kakashi’s forgiveness may have given him the peace he needed to move on but he still had a long way to go before he would ever grant himself anything close to that same forgiveness. Taking his own life had seemed like the only proper option left at the time. It hadn’t taken long afterwards for him to realize that it had been nothing but the coward’s way out.

“You know, this fur of yours looks awfully familiar.” Hashirama leaned closer to inspect the pelt he wore around his neck and Sakumo froze, hardly daring to breathe.

“O-oh? I had it all my life but I am sorry to say that we likely never met. You passed while I was still just a pup. Perhaps you knew someone who wore something similar?”

“Right! Yes!”

The next thing he knew he was being pulled down the bustling street like a child on the arm of the man he respected second most in the entire world. After turning several corners he was brought face to face with the man he respected the absolute most.

Senju Tobirama was even more impressive in person than he had been in the grainy photographs taken for the history books, more impressive than even the officially commissioned paintings that always tended to exaggerate their subjects for the generations to come. It was hard to tell whether or not he minded having his eternal afternoon interrupted just to have some unworthy stranger shoved in his face.

“Brother look, he’s wearing your fur!” Hashirama clapped like an excitable child. Sakumo wasn’t sure if he wanted to stare at that unexpected reaction or at the chiseled face staring down at him. Being tall himself, it was always vaguely startling to meet someone who stood taller. Both of the famed Senju siblings towered over him like trees – and they were both built like trees too.

“So he is,” Tobirama rumbled, sharp red eyes dragging up and down Sakumo’s form.

“Ah, my apologies for disturbing you,” he said in as respectful a tone as he could muster. “I did not mean for–”

“Exactly the same fur, in fact.”

Sakumo blinked when the other man cut him off. Then he dropped his eyes to look at the collar wrapped around the Nidaime’s shoulders. It was indeed an exact replica of the pelt he himself had always worn, though his was the item which had been meant to match him to his soulmate.

His eyes widened, face going slack with shock. Tobirama stepped closer to raise one hand and graze his palm along the soft strands with a faint, barely there smile. It was a startling expression from such a stern face, one that transformed him entirely from handsome to drop dead gorgeous. Sakumo would have been ashamed of how weak his knees were if not for the fact that his thoughts were utterly empty. With the man he had always secretly idolized standing so close he was rendered speechless, even more so because of the discovery they had just made.

Who would have thought that one could find one’s soulmate even after death?

“You wouldn’t mind, would you?” Tobirama asked him, gesturing to the silver clasp that held his collar in place. Sakumo hurried to undo it.

“No, no of course not. By all means!” It was off his shoulders a moment later and held out with a bashful smile.

For a man who had married and conceived a child when he was still alive, he was acting oddly shy now that he had finally found the one he was truly meant to be with. Hopefully he would come to his senses soon so that he could have a chance to convince Tobirama that he wasn’t entirely a bumbling buffoon. Or, at least, not all the time.

His breath stuttered in his chest as he watched Tobirama replace his own fur collar with the one that Sakumo had been wearing, offering the other in return.

“May I?”

“S-sure.” He cleared his throat and nodded once decisively. “I mean, yes. Please.”

“Clearly you already know who I am,” Tobirama said as he settled his own fur around Sakumo’s shoulders and clasped it in to place. “I should like to know your name as well.”

When Hashirama piped up beside them Sakumo very nearly leapt out of his own skin. He had entirely forgotten the first Hokage was even there, too wrapped up in the moment between him and his newly discovered soulmate.

“Oh, I know that one! His name is Hatake Sakumo!”

“Yes. Thank you brother. That was clearly a question I meant for you to answer.” Tobirama’s voice was dripping with sarcasm but it was the single eyebrow lifted in judgement that had Hashirama cowering away and raising both hands defensively, his smile fading away in to nervous laughter.

“Ah, I’ll just…let you two have a moment, shall I?”

“Do.”

He was gone a moment later, hurrying off with his eternally regal wife on his arm.

Left alone, Sakumo had little to do but watch Tobirama preen over his new fur, visually identical to the one he had always worn and yet so different at the same time. The sight made him smile and he was still wearing an embarrassingly soft expression when Tobirama looked up and met his eyes.

“Strange that we should be born in different generations and still be matched to each other,” the man noted.

“And lucky that we found each other here in the afterlife.”

“Fascinating, I would say.” There was an unusual gleam in his eye, eerily similar to the look Kakashi used to have when he was little and first learning to mold his chakra “Would you, perhaps, care to join me for the afternoon so that we might discuss it?”

Sakumo wasn’t sure if Tobirama wanted to spend time with him or if he was only interested in experimenting somehow with the bond between them, famous even in the history books for his love of science, but it sounded like a good time either way. He finally had a soulmate; who was he to deny them if they wished him to spend an afternoon at their side?

Kakashi simply wasn’t going to believe this when they met again.

#rae writes #soulmate collection #sakutobi #sakumo #tobirama #hashirama #fanfiction

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recentanimenews · 3 years

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Crunchyroll All-Stars: John Collins on Getting Training Inspiration from Rock Lee

Anime fans come from all walks of life and in all shapes and sizes. Some are students, some are scientists, some are doctors, some are artists, and some are even well-known musicians! Crunchyroll All-Stars is a series of interviews highlighting elite professionals who harbor a passion both for their art and for anime.

Today’s profile is on John Collins, a power forward who currently plays for the Atlanta Hawks. Collins has been into anime since elementary school and continues to use anime as a way to bond with his fellow teammates. We spoke with Collins about getting inspiration from Rock Lee’s training, the “secret” anime fans that he meets every day, and more!

(click through for full image)

When did you become an anime fan? Was there a specific moment that affected you or changed the way you felt about something?

I was first introduced to this world at the lunch tables in elementary school. My friends talked about the show Naruto a ton, and we discussed it constantly at school, so the show quickly became my favorite. I have so many fond memories of playing on the jungle gym and pretending I was a ninja while I was living in Washington. Even now, when I watch old reruns of the show, I’m reminded of those memories that made me fall in love with anime.

Are there any ways you engage with your favorite anime series or characters aside from watching them?

Over the years, I’ve built a collection of Naruto clothing and figurines. I love this stuff! It includes some Dragon Ball Z items too.

Have you ever bonded with someone else over anime?

I’ve definitely bonded with my teammates over our love for anime. We always have something to discuss about the storylines and character development.

What’s your favorite anime series of all time?

Naruto — I’ve always loved that each episode has a deeper message behind it. The messages are nuanced adult themes broken down into kid narratives. I’m also really drawn to the variety of characters.

Who’s your favorite anime character of all time, and why?

My favorite character is Kakashi because he’s like a sensei. He’s the coolest character and he wears a mask, which I feel is so relevant right now.

Who would you rank as the top anime hero ever, and why?

Naruto or Goku.

Who would you rank as the top anime villain ever?

Frieza — His character has transcended into hip hop culture despite his villainous ways

Have you ever taken any elements or learnings from anime and implemented them into your daily life?

Rock Lee has no special abilities, yet he’s still just so powerful because he works so much harder than them. It gives me inspiration to keep working at my craft.

It feels like more and more athletes are showcasing their love for anime — what’s anime fandom like in NBA culture? And what do you think it is about anime that attracts athletes?

I believe the fandom is a bit underground, but there are still a bunch of secret fans. It’s not as mainstream as guys’ other interests. Athletes are attracted to it because we’re always traveling and it promotes us watching things together. Plus, the combination of animation and a foreign culture is really cool to learn about.

What would your message be to someone who recently discovered anime and was thinking about getting into it?

I would tell them to give it a fair chance. It can be a little weird to get into at first. Once you find the right first show that fits your interests, you’ll be hooked!

By: Guest Author

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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sosaidthedragon · 6 years

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Oshogastu

(In honor of it being the new year, have a sappy, somewhat New Year’s themed one shot. Oshogatsu, by the way, is the Japanese New Year holiday/festival.)

Guy X OC

Rated E

For three days, Konoha was home to one of the world’s largest New Year’s festivals. Tourists flocked to the village from all over not only the Land of Fire, but other neighboring countries, in order to enjoy the specialty foods and festivities the village had become famous for over the years. Genin decorated homes with beautiful ornaments and strung warm, decorative lights throughout the main thoroughfares, where merchants rented storefronts or opened stalls to ply their wares.

Mitsume hadn’t been able to attend the festival since her days in the Academy. It seemed fate always conspired to see to it she was away on a mission of one sort or another whenever the holiday came around, returning home in time to see the vendors packing up and genin cleaning trash off the streets. For once, however, she had managed to avoid being saddled with any such mission – largely because Tsunade hadn’t cleared her to return to active duty, but she was free, nonetheless.

Unexpectedly, Guy was as well. He had actually been given a week long mission to the Land of Waves, however, Kakashi had kindly volunteered to take the escort mission instead, claiming he was going stir crazy after two weeks in the hospital himself. Even Tsunade had realized what he was doing, and once he and Guy – who was sobbing and thanking his rival for his sacrifice – had finally left her office, she had handed Mitsume a few ryo to buy Kakashi some sweets for his return, since he would have to leave before the festival actually started.

The hardest part about getting ready was prying Guy away from his rival, which took not only Mitsume but Lee, Neji, and Naruto - after Lee stopped crying about how beautiful it was for Kakashi to give Guy the opportunity to spend New Years with his loved ones, anyway. She still had the kimono her mother gave her a couple of years ago, the one made of dark purple silk, that she hadn’t yet had an occasion to wear, hanging in a clothing bag in her closet, beside the montsuki hakama Guy tended to forget he owned. She briefly thought about trying to get him to wear it, but it was a bit too formal for a festival, and it was generally not a good idea for Guy to not wear pants in public.

They had both learned that one the hard way – four years later and they still weren’t allowed back to that restaurant. Or that bath house.

It was really just better for everyone if he wore his jumpsuit.

After a fair bit of struggling to get everything to lay properly, she stepped out into the living room, where Guy was waiting. His hands were tucked behind his back, and his cheeks had a suspicious red tint to them – combined with the fact he was staring at his feet told her he was up to something. She would have thought that, after four years together and nearly ten more of him chasing her, he would have gotten over being shy about something as simple as giving her a gift, but he still acted exactly as he had that first time he asked her out in the school yard when they were kids.

He lifted his eyes briefly, looking her over from toe to head, his tan face growing even darker before his gaze traveled swiftly back to the floor, and his hands suddenly shot forward. Held tightly in one fist was a boquet of flowers, their stems half-crushed by the pressure – anemone, lavender, and forge-me-not blossoms were among the ones she recognized immediately, though there were several more she couldn’t immediately identify. In the other he held a piece of paper, folded into a lover’s knot, or what one looked like after a nervous Might Guy held onto it for too long.

“Arara,” She drawled in surprise, carefully tugging the items free. “What’s this now?”

Laying the flowers down on the table, she carefully unfolded the note, revealing the poem on the inside. It didn’t quite look like Guy’s handwriting, mostly because it was actually legible, and there was a wiggling in the lines that almost made it look like he’d been trembling when he wrote it.

Passionate heart

Soft touch of a flower

In its fullest bloom

For a moment, she wracked her brain to try and remember if she had ever heard that particular haiku before, but no author sprang to mind. Curious if he had put the author at the bottom, she unfolded the bottom seam, only for something to tumble out. She caught it without thinking, not quite recognizing the small, round item in her hand by sensation alone, but before she could figure it out, Guy stole all of her attention.

“I wrote that.”

Guy still had his head bowed down, fists clenched and trembling at his sides. He was clearly uncomfortable, eyes screwed up tightly so he wouldn’t accidentally look at her, something he only ever did when he was about to do or say something he was seriously worried someone wouldn’t approve of.

“Back in the academy,” He continued. “When Joben-sensei asked me to deliver some forms to Keitaro-sensei, I saw a girl, sitting in the front row of his class, and she was so beautiful I forgot what I was supposed to be doing. I didn’t know her name, but I knew the moment I saw her, she was the only one I would ever want to be with. So I promised myself, if I didn’t confess to her the next day, I would do three hundred laps around the school yard, and I wrote that poem intending to give it to her. But I lost my nerve, so while I was running those laps, I promised myself if I didn’t confess the next day, I would do three hundred and ten laps around the school yard.”

She could remember that day clearly, although she never much thought about it. Keitaro-sensei had been droning on, as he so often did, and she had begun to drift off, listing off everything she could be doing that was more worthwhile than listening to Keitaro-sensei’s endless monologue. She hadn’t even noticed an upperclassman had entered the room, until Keitaro-sensei started telling him off for getting distracted, and she only managed to briefly glimpse a boy in a bright green jumpsuit fleeing the room as fast as he could manage.

“Although I did find the strength to confess, I was never strong enough to give her that poem, not even after she returned my affection. I’ve carried that note in my pocket every day since then, for almost twenty years, trying to work up the nerve. This morning, I made myself a promise that today would be the day I would finally give her that poem.”

As he finished speaking, she turned her hand upward and looked at the item she had caught. It was a ring, with a band made of silver and gold that swirled together like the marks in a wooden board, with a single, almost flower shaped diamond. Just as she began to comprehend what she was seeing, Guy’s massive hands took hold of hers, and pulled them towards his chest as he dropped onto one knee. He had apparently lost his battle with his tears, because they streamed heavily down his face, though he had finally managed to open his eyes, staring at her with obvious determination.

“Kedamonoshu Mitsume, please, do me the great honor of saying you’ll marry me.”

After a little more than a week on the road, Kakashi was relieved to see the familiar skyline of Konoha appear at before him. Hands in his pockets, he slowly made his way towards his apartment, taking every back road he knew of to avoid his students so he could get some much needed rest. This route just so happened to take him past the training grounds his “eternal rival’s” girlfriend often used with her genin squad, and he stopped to watch for a few moments as she put the kids through their paces, much to their displeasure.

Judging by the sweat, scratches, and general wear and tear, they’d been running drills since early that morning. The fact none of them had collapsed into an exhausted heap begging for a merciful death, however, told him she was probably in a good mood, though her scowl would have made most people think otherwise. She spotted him across the field, and motioned him to come over, something he did with great reluctance and a heavy sigh – he could just keep going, but then she would probably just sick her genin on him, and he’d spend the next week dealing with the little demons annoying him in unfathomable ways.

Some of his underwear were still pink, and he had yet to find a certain novel from his collection – he suspected it wasn’t so much hidden as one of the boys on her team had taken it and wasn’t about to give it back, but he had yet to figure out which one.

“How was your mission?” She asked conversationally, never taking her eyes off her students.

“Ah, pretty quiet, actually. We saw a few bandits on the road, but that’s about it. Did you enjoy the festival?”

“Yeah, it was pretty nice. Guy won a goldfish – we let Lee pick the name.”

“What did he decide?”

“Hire, The Great Hot-Blooded Golden Fish of Konoha.”

He resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment, and instead just rolled his lips between his teeth and gave a short series of affirmative grunts. She seemed to know exactly what was going through his mind, the corner of her lip twitching as she fought a smile, before she changed the subject, reaching into one of her inner vest pockets. She produced a large but thin boxes, which was wrapped in a bright blue piece of fabric, which was littered with an obnoxious number of cartoon cats. It was tied off with a bright yellow ribbon, and festooned with what he suspected was actually a hair tie, with a plastic white cat face attached to it.

“Here. Guy made sure we got all your favorites. We even got some specialty dog treats for Pakkun and the other ninken.”

Absolutely not to his surprise, the jubako itself was also primarily decorated with cats – even less surprising was the fact that nearly every cake and candy had been painstakingly carved or shaped into cat faces or paw prints. Silently contemplating his revenge, he snapped the lid back on the box, tied it back together, and stuck it into his pocket before accepting the three other smaller, plain packages.

As he did so, he caught a glimmer out of the corner of his eye. Although her focus was on her students, there was no question she had noticed his stare, as the smile she had been resisting finally broke through, tilting the corners of her mouth. Not unexpectedly, this mild display of emotion in front of her students immediately made her uncomfortable, and she slugged him in the arm as she walked towards the trio, who had apparently decided it was time to stand up to their sensei by sitting down.

“By the way, you might want to swing by the bookstore on your way home.”

“What did you do now?”

“I didn’t do anything. Guy, on the other hand, may have gotten wind that the ninja who so kindly gave up the opportunity to enjoy the New Year’s festival for his benefit has a little crush on a certain red-headed employee. He’s gotten it into his head that the best way to thank this kindly ninja for his help is to set the two of them up on a date.”

“You monster.”

“The new year is a time for change, Hatake. Besides – Guy and Lee worked really hard on that banner.”

#maito gai #maito guy #might guy #might gai #might guy x oc #your friendly neighborhood dragon #happy new year you beautiful bastards #Beasts of the leaf collection #Naruto one shot collection #Sensei collection #Leaf village collection

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starkdemigodninja · 7 years

Text

The Lone Wolf and His Pup

Prologue

As he raced through the trees one question dominated his thoughts; why? Why didn’t she say anything? Why did she keep it from him? Why did it take so long to realize she was wrong to hide this from him? Why, why, why? It was like a one sided interrogation. His mind slowed as he settled in a tree with a perfect view of the house, it was quiet and dark, that made his task easier. He made his move using body flicker to reach the first story roof. He swiftly disabled the lock on the second story window and slipped inside without a sound. Crouching on the floor he surveyed the room thankfully it was empty save for two occupied futons. He crept across the tatami mats to the larger of the two sleeping forms and shook her. The young woman jerked awake her eyes widened taking in the shadow looming at her side.

“Midori, it’s me.” he whispered.

“You–what are you doing here? Are you insane?” Midori whispered ferociously. He doesn’t have time to waste his team might notice his absence so he decides to cut straight to the point.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

“Would it have made any difference? We barely know each other, you are nowhere near ready to settle down, your occupation doesn’t even allow you to, not really.” She huffed a sigh running her hands through her messy black locks. “And besides it’s not like you bothered to visit anyway.” The two glared at each other for a while.

“What did you expect me to do,walk through the front door?”

“Of course not my father would’ve had a fit.”

“I still would’ve liked to know before she was a year old.” the words grate from between his teeth like a growl. He just would’ve liked to know that he had a child, a daughter. All he wanted was a little communication was that really so much to ask? He didn’t think so and his demeanor said as much. The couple were glaring at each other again the man a little harder than before. As though sensing the tension in the air, the child in the room began to stir. Her tiny whimpers turned into a full blown cry. Midori sighed and untangled herself from her bedding to retrieve the infant. The man stood from his kneeling position and waited. Midori lifted the girl from her cot bouncing and shushing her as she turned to him.

“If you don’t show your face you’ll scare her and she’ll never stop crying.” Midori warned.

The man rushed to comply lifting his forehead protector to its proper place and pulling down his mask. The now quiet girl looked up at him curiously, blue eyes wide in wonder.

“Would you like to hold her?”

He nodded swiftly holding his arms out. Midori smiles and hands the girl over, that smile grows as he cradled the infant with practiced grace and soundlessly stepped into the moonlight. He stared at the child, her round, pink cheeks and downy hair the color of snow. He notes how similar the curve of her chin is to her mother’s. But her eyes they fill him with a strange sort of longing. Those frost colored eyes reminded him of days long past where his father would describe to him the other woman who had possessed such eyes. This isn’t the first time he wished to have his mother be a part of his life and he was sure it wouldn’t be the last.

“What’s her name?” he asked.

“Her name is Takara.”

He smiled, the name was fitting, of course any child of his was a treasure. It was then as he held her to his chest that he realized how terrifyingly true that statement was. He was Kakashi Hatake, the Copy-nin, anyone who wanted him dead or wanted to hurt him now had the perfect tool for their twisted retribution. This tiny, helpless little human was his one weakness, if any harm befell her it would kill him. Midori would be marrying within the year so hiding them in the village was not an option. He couldn’t and wouldn’t abandon Konoha being a missing-nin would only worsen the problem. He sighed into the now sleeping babe’s cotton soft hair and held her tight. He never wanted to let go but for her safety he had no choice. His eyes swam and his throat tightened.

“I can’t stay.” he choked out.

“I know.” Midori replied.

“And you can’t come with me.” he phrased it like a question.

“We both know that won’t work.” she whispered.

“Then I have to stay away, no one can know we’re connected.”

“We could write. Send letters back and forth. You’re a ninja you have to have some way to send messages in secret.” His mind went straight to the dogs, his hounds would never betray him.

He nodded his assent, tears spilling over and dripping into tufts of snow white hair. He squeezed one last time and carefully handed the girl to her mother. He brushed his hand across the girl’s hair and planted a kiss on her plump cheek.

“I love you, little one. I’ll be back soon.” he whispered into her ear.

He knelt and rummaged through his pack pulling out a storage scroll and unrolling it on the floor. He placed his fingertips on the ink sending a burst of chakra into the seal. Two items poofed into existence on the paper a necklace and a stuffed dog. Kakashi stood after returning the scroll to his pack and presented the gifts to Midori.

“These pendants are seals, summoning seals.” he disclosed. “After some disheartening encounters I set out to develop something I could track my teammates with, these are the first fully functioning prototypes. They detect physical signs of distress such as heart and breath rate as well as signs of injury.”

“Like blood?” Midori questioned.

“Or tears they are especially sensitive to chakra but you being a civilian complicates that aspect.” Kakashi clarified. “Once any of those things are detected the seal alerts me wherever I am.”

“Alerts you how?” she asked confused.

“Through this.” he pulled up his sleeves and rolled down the cuff of each glove revealing a smattering of ink on his wrists. He turned one wrist so she could read the kanji written there: Midori and then the other Baby. “It gets warm when a signal goes out, the more prolonged the distress the hotter this gets. Then to respond all I have to do is pour chakra into it and I’ll be transported to your location.”

“Kakashi,” she started warily. “Is this really necessary?”

“My village reveres me but our enemies won’t hesitate to take any leverage they can get.” he responded. “At least you have a way to let me know when something is happening.” Midori nodded turning and carefully resting the girl on her bedding, pulling the blanket over her and stroking her hair. She examined the gifts, the necklace was simple, a steel pendant flanked by a few jade and wooden beads. The pendant had her family name carved into the center and had writing along the edge. The toy was a white dog and its collar was actually a necklace near identical to her own as the jade beads had been replaced with lapis and obsidian. Midori found herself chuckling as the dog had one black eye and one red.

“Is this supposed to be you?” she giggled. The man before her shrugged nonchalant.

“More or less.” he sighed. “I drenched it in my after shave too.”

Midori laughed at that, “I can tell.” She closed the distance wrapping her arms around Kakashi’s neck and whispering, “You’re such a good dad already, I wish we could go with you instead.”

Kakashi froze before returning the embrace saying nothing. He pulled away first adjusting his forehead protector and mask and making his way to the window.

“Be safe.” Midori called out softly.

“And you.” he replied stepping back out into the night air. Midori watched until his back disappeared from view before crawling back into her futon and eventually dozing off.

Kakashi waited until he was some distance from the property before allowing himself to break down. He paused in a tree some yards away from his team, body shuddering as he bit back sobs. After a few minutes he collected himself, washed the tears from his face with water from his canteen and returned to the campsite his dog mask back in place. His comrade on watch met his eyes behind his animal mask as he strolled into his sight.

“I was wondering when you’d be back.” Cat remarked. “Enjoy your walk, Captain?”

Kakashi froze, “It was uneventful” he intoned.

“If you don’t mind my asking–” Cat began.

“I do mind.” Kakashi interrupted.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Cat pushed forward.

Kakashi thought for a moment then he turned and walked closer to his comrade crouching near the small firepit with him.

“I will explain everything, but I need to report to the Hokage first. I will tell you but it’s still sensitive I need time.” he whispered.

Cat nodded imperceptibly, “You know I’ll always hear you out. You should get some sleep it’ll be your shift in a few hours.”

~{}~

The trip back to the village was uneventful,the three man squad entered the Hokage’s office without so much as a whisper of noise. The men knelt before the Hokage’s desk and waited to be acknowledged.

“Dog you stay and give your report, the rest of you are dismissed.” the Hokage ordered not even sparing a glance from his position in front of the window. The two other ANBU body flickered out of the tower leaving their captain at the mercy of Hokage.

“Have they gone?” the Hokage asked puffing on his pipe.

“Yes, Lord Third.” Dog replied.

“Then let’s skip the formalities, shall we?” the Hokage shot back sinking into his chair setting the Hokage hat in front of him on the desk. Kakashi still knelt.

“Oh by the gods–you may rise, Hatake.” the old man ordered. “And remove your mask while you’re at it I want to see your face.”

Kakashi did as he was told and met the older man’s gaze.

“So, I assume you found what you were looking for?”

“I did.”

“So?” the Hokage asked releasing a puff of smoke. Kakashi produced a folder and handed it over clasping his hands behind his back to keep from fidgeting. The older man thumbed through the contents no emotion visible on his face.

“Hm, Takara a pretty name for a pretty girl.” the old man grunted. “How does she fair?”

“The girl –”

“Your daughter.” the Hokage corrects gently.

“M-my daughter is well. She’s a year old and gorgeous, like her mother.”

“Will they be joining you soon?” Kakashi swallowed and shook his head. “I see.” The old man stood and made his way to Kakashi’s side placing a hand on his shoulder. The Hokage turned Kakashi to face him and pulled him into a strong hug, Kakashi slowly relaxed and returned the embrace.

“Whatever you need son, you need only ask. Now go home and get some rest.”

“Thank you Lord Hiruzen.” Kakashi choked as they parted. Hiruzen patted his head as he went leaving Kakashi feeling like he was small again. Small and alone, faced with such an unimaginable loss. Kakashi sucked in a shaky breath, replaced his mask and headed home.

~{}~

Yamato was waiting for him when he stepped into his apartment. Kakashi was none too surprised the man had always been the impatient one.

“This couldn’t wait until morning?” Kakashi asked voice gruff. He was thankful he’d taken the time to shower at the headquarters as Yamato was seated in his living room with spread of takeout arranged in front of him.

“Please, you know me better than that, Hatake.” Yamato scoffed. “So spill what has you more stoic and broody than usual?”

Kakashi grumbled shuffling into the room and slumping onto the sofa next to his nosy friend. Kakashi spilled it all, slowly at first but as his emotions swelled and he got more animated he revealed more and more. When he was finished they sat in silence for a while Yamato simply at a loss for words and Kakashi not having nearly enough to explain how he was feeling.

“So what are you going to do?” Yamato asked having finally found his voice.

“What do you mean? I just said exactly what I’m going to.” Kakashi answered. It was so obvious he didn’t see how his friend had missed the point entirely.

“Kakashi, that is your kid, your flesh and blood how can you just walk away? How can you abandon her?”

“I’m not abandoning her,” Kakashi said firmly. “I’m keeping my distance for her own safety it’s too dangerous.”

“You think she’ll understand that growing up? Do you honestly think she won’t have doubts when she’s older, that she won’t think that you’re full of shit?”

“Stop.”

“You think she won’t look around at all her friends making memories with their fathers and think you just couldn’t take it? That you copped out? And what about this other guy? You really want some guy you’ve never met raising your daughter?”

“Enough, Yamato.” Kakashi’s voice gritted out as hard as steel. Yamato sighed raking a hand through his hair.

“I’m only saying it because I think you need to hear it and I think you’ll eventually figure out I’m right. You should reconsider. I know you’ve basically lost everyone that ever meant anything to you but you don’t get shut people out, you don’t get to stop caring about people. That’s how you end up sad and alone Kakashi, and that’s what you’ll be teaching her.”

“This is what we’re doing now Yamato, it’s not safe for her to be with me right now.” Kakashi said exasperatedly.

“So you keep saying. We live in one of the greatest Hidden Villages in the ninja world, our defenses may not be foolproof but it’s been safe enough for people to raise families here for centuries.” Yamato continued. “Look it doesn’t have to be right now, but at least think about it. Give someone a chance to be a permanent fixture in your life.” And with that Kakashi was left alone with his thoughts. With nothing left to do he drafted his first letter, it was awkward at first but once he found his flow there was seemingly no end in sight. By the time he had finished the sun was rising over Konoha and everyone was beginning their day. New dawn, new day same old problems. Kakashi shuffled off to bed his new problems weighing heavy on his chest.

#naruto #kakashi hatake #kakashi #naruto uzumaki #kakashi's daughter #takara hatake #Lone Wolf

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ninjaimagines · 7 years

Note

Hi! Could you please write more Shikamaru x reader drama?? I just have to know what his dumb ass is gonna do next! Thanks a million, and keep up the good work!

get ready for the light DRAMA™

this will also be the last continuation of this, as i feel this is the best way to end this. thank you all for loving Shikamaru being messy. I also changed S/O to Y/N in this because its better for the angst™

also i wrote this like three different ways and this was the way I liked it best, so I hope you all enjoy! Really, thank you all for reading and loving my writing.

read part 1 here and part 2 here

It had been 5 years since Y/N left the Leaf Village. And in those 4 years, Shikamaru has changed as a person, but the one thing that never changed was the constant thoughts of Y/N. There wasn’t ever a time when he didn’t think of them. Sex with Temari became troublesome after the times he called her Y/N, and proposing to her was even harder. Shikamaru never thought he’d marry anyone else than Y/N, but he had to get over them and Temari was an attractive girl, but she was no Y/N.

Shikamaru asked around for any information on Y/N he could some days, asking if anyone heard from them, where they were, and if they were okay. It had been a few years since anyone had heard from Y/N, and that was what made Shikamaru realize he needed to move on, Y/N probably forgot all about him.

“Shikamaru, hurry up and finish showering so I can shower too!” Temari yelled from outside the bathroom, startling him from his thoughts.

He sighed and hurriedly washed his hair, getting out of the shower and wrapping a towel around his waist before getting one for his hair, promptly walking out of the bathroom right after.

“Shower is all yours, ‘mari. I’m going to head to work once I’m dressed so I’ll see you tonight.” He said, pausing to kiss her cheek before going to get dressed. Temari nodded and disappeared behind the bathroom door, the sound of the shower running starting shortly after. Shikamaru quickly dressed and fixed his hair before heading for the Hokage’s office to advise Kakashi for the day.

He took the same way to work every day but he had to stop and pick something up for Kakashi on his way, so he made a detour to the marketplace. Shikamaru hated shopping, that was something he left to Temari unless she begged him to come with; and even then he was so disinterested in the whole process that he was useless.

‘I hate Kakashi, why does he need this tea and fruit today?’ He thought while looking for the specific stall that sold the items he needed.

Shikamaru was so busy looking for the stall that he bumped into someone, causing the other person to quietly curse.

“I’m sorry, that was my fau- Y/N?” He asked, staring at the person in front of him. Y/N sheepishly smiled and nodded.

“It is me, in the flesh.” They joked, examining Shikamaru’s face. He had grown a bead and his entire face looked that much more mature and wiser. He was still incredibly young but he had creases beginning to form on his forehead, but other than that he was still the same old pineapple head.

Y/N on the other head looked completely different. They had cut their hair into a completely different style, their face had aged slightly but nevertheless they were still beautiful, and Shikamaru felt his throat go dry.

“How was the traveling the world adventure?” He asked stupidly, still staring at their face.

“It was beautiful. I went to so many exotic and new places, I met so many new people including my husband Kisuke!” They said, smiling happily at the mention of his name.

“You’re married?” Shikamaru asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

“Mmh! We got married almost two years ago and we wanted to finally settle down since we have a baby. You can’t raise a child and travel and explore the entire world, you know?” They said, smiling happily. “What about you?”

“I’m engaged to Te-someone.” Shikamaru said, his head a mess.

“Oh! Congrats! I hope your marriage goes smoothly! Really, I do. And Shikamaru, thank you for that all those years ago, you gave me the push I needed to do something I’ve always dreamed off and it resulted in me finding the love of my life. Really, thank you. I’m sure Kisuke would thank you as well. God could you imagine if we were still together? I can’t at all...” They laughed at that, like they told the best joke ever, but Shikamaru didn’t find it funny at all, in fact he found his heart breaking a little.

“I need to get going, gotta go help the husband and baby with shopping, nice to see you Shikamaru. We should get all our friends together like old times sometime!” They said, waving before walking away towards their husband and child.

Shikamaru walked away, completely forgetting Kakashi’s items.

“Married with a child?” He questioned to himself angrily.

Shikamaru was sure his life would of been fine being with Temari if he never had to see Y/N again, but he did and it hurt him worse than before. Y/N was happy and moved on, and yet Shikamaru couldn’t get them out his head. He was the loser, the one left behind this time.

He couldn’t bring himself to go to work, so instead he went and visited Asuma’s grave, he really needed to talk to his sensei face to face, but a headstone would have to do.

“Asuma.” Shikamaru said, sitting down after lighting two cigarettes, leaving one to burn on the grave and smoking the other himself.

“I messed up big time. You know how you knew Kurenai was the one for you? Y/N was the one for me and I let her go.” He said, looking up at the sky as he took a drag.

“I’m not entirely happy with Temari, but it’s too troublesome to go back now. And Y/N married Asuma, married and has a child! I always thought she’d come home and fall back in love with me and we would be happy together again. God I’m fucking stupid.” He was exasperated and he could tell. Shikamaru sat there in silence for some time, trying to calm down and collect his thoughts.

“Please tell me what to do Asuma.” Shikamaru quietly said, closing his eyes.

“Move on, be happy with what you have and be happy that Y/N is happy.”

Shikamaru sighed as he imagined Asuma actually saying that. He made sure both cigarettes were put out before saying goodbye and heading home.

‘Be happy with what I have huh?’ He thought as he walked, hands shoved in his pockets. ‘Temari is cute, and she tries to understand, she nags a little too much but all women do it can’t be helped. My mom and Kurenai approve of her, and I’m sure she wants to have children too.... I could be happy if I would just let Y/N go’

Shikamaru quickly reached his and Temari’s shared home and unlocked the door, going inside to nap on the couch until Temari got home, wanting to take her out tonight.

#Shikamaru #ShikamaruxTemari basically #Shikamaru Nara #Shikamaru imagine #Naruto imagines #Naruto blog #mod talks #angst #slight spice #this took me so long to write #its over 1000 words im hurt #Anonymous

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maekara · 7 years

Text

too hard, too scarred ch.01

link on ffnet link on ao3

summary: (but you know, i still wake up with you every morning like we're still dead) Told from Naruto's perspective, we see his life with his first love and to what extent his love for her will keep her from hurting herself. Mental illness heavy. [NaruSaku] [AU]

rating: m

a/n: i posted this fic a month or so ago, maybe more, on ffnet and then decided ao3 was a good idea, even though there’s not much traffic there for ns. i wanted to challenge myself so i made each chapter pretty long.. and so far it’s worked out quite well for me and for the ones who have already read this! feedback either here or ffnet/ao3 would be so heavily appreciated x

chapter two chapter three

ch.01

The summer before his senior year of high school, Naruto was advised by the school counsellor to participate in more extracurricular activities. Being an actor was hard when you had no experience in the theatre, or any experience managing an event. Some people had natural talent, but who could ever tell, apart from those who actually had experience in these areas? He knew he was somewhat lazy, and he knew there were probably better career options out there, just like his mom always told him, but he couldn’t bring himself to try being a lawyer, or a doctor, or a CEO of a company that he would later hand down to a successor. It just wasn’t him, but with acting — and God, did he love it — he got to make people laugh, cry, and to go on a journey. Cheesy as it may be, Naruto knew that that was one of the things he wouldn’t let go of. Once he set his mind to something, it was all he ever saw, and it was all he ever had passion for. He knew that the journey to be successful was not easy, but he also knew he had the drive to work hard. It’s what his teachers loved most about him.

Even so, he was told that universities looked at potential, it didn’t matter what you actually wanted to be. All they cared about was that you did a program that they offered, and they would support you with whatever means they could. Especially in this day and age where the demand for jobs was high, Naruto couldn’t risk just doing one thing. He spent countless nights staying awake as he wrote personal statements, personal essays, and submitting them to as little as ten universities before he stretched, yawned, and continued to write. That was how the first half of his summer was spent, writing and bullshitting his way through his essays, and even though he wanted to skip ahead to where he was successful and happy, he knew that that wasn’t how life worked. He knew you had to work hard, he knew he had to work hard.

So there he was, a week before senior year started, helping the Social Committee plan a bonfire to kick off the year before everyone was subjected to misery and impending doom on whether or not they would be accepted to the university of their dreams. Naruto held his phone and scrolled through the list of items they needed, just hours before the damn thing was supposed to start, and he furrowed his brows in frustration, despite the fact that he was standing on soft sand, about to overlook a gorgeous sunset.

“We were supposed to have this shit two days ago, Shikamaru, what the hell are we gonna do?” Naruto hollered to his classmate who always dubbed everything as ‘too troublesome’.

“They didn’t have it at the shop, and Ino and I looked all over town,” he responded, his voice calm and collected, “but it’s okay, Sai is looking around right now. I told him to text Ino once he found more firewood and matches. Plus the drinks.”

“What about the rest of the barbecue food?”

“Chouji’s got it covered,” a blonde, blue-eyed girl chimed in.

“How are you so calm? And anyway, why is Sai texting you and not me when he’s found everything?”

“Because you actually get kind of scary when you start yelling like you do,” Ino, the blonde girl who also happened to be the Chair of the Social Committee, chuckled and clapped a hand on his shoulder, “but that’s how you are. Chill. We got this.”

Naruto flashed her a bright smile and he was already starting to feel better. It was funny what growing up did to a person, because never in a million years would he thought that he wanted to care about a school carnival — what’s more if he actually participates in setting it up? Ino took his phone from him and began scrolling through the list herself, directing orders to those responsible in an assertive but kind manner. Naruto admired her tenacity, he always had, and before he knew it, Sai, along with a few others of his classmates, had come back to the beach with just enough time to spare. Their graduating class was always thought to be interesting. Well, by the PTA, that is. It was their class that was debuting this bonfire, because the class that graduated before them really could not come to care about how they spent their final year of high school. Throughout his whole life, Naruto’s parents always told him that high school was important and difficult, because it would be the first time someone would ever have to face so much pressure, and at such a young age, too. Although Naruto was not particularly wealthy, he wasn’t living in poverty, either. Both his parents had decided to take a career route that no one else’s parents did: they were ex-spies who retired when Naruto came along. Naturally, gadgets and government secrets were kept hidden around the house, but Naruto knew all their tricks. He had the charisma of his father, and the temper of his mother. Being able to talk his way through to what he wanted was definitely something his father taught him, and his hardworking nature? That, of course, came from his beautiful mother, who was admired by everyone in the area they lived in. Growing up the way he did, it’s no wonder Naruto wants to get away from a stressful life that could potentially cause harm to him, or his family.

Surprisingly, people started showing up on the beach right on time, which made Ino cock an eyebrow, but then laugh, because she was always ‘fashionably late’ to these things throughout high school. She was beautiful, popular, the kind of person all the girls wanted to be friends with, and the kind of person all the guys wanted to date. Even Naruto had a crush on her, at some point. Then again, he had known Ino from before puberty hit her. They were next-door neighbors, and Ino’s father was a detective who specialised in interrogation. It was a very different job than Naruto’s parents, because he worked for the government before he decided to have his own private firm, but that never stopped Ino and Naruto from being friends. In fact, both sides encouraged it. Naruto was rambunctious as a child, and Ino was sassy (as she was now), but somehow, the two made a good match for being best friends. Over the years, Naruto became less demanding about things that had to go his way, and Ino became more compassionate towards other people. It was a good balance, and it made every other person in their big school jealous.

“Naruto!” a deep voice called out, and when Naruto turned around to see who it was, he was surprised, to say the least. A man in his thirties approached him, smiling proudly as he eyed the middle of the beach, where the bonfire was beginning.

“Kakashi?” Naruto squeaked, nervous but curious about what his counsellor had to say about the event that he helped plan. “What are you doing here?”

“I was told to check out the venue when the bonfire started,” Kakashi ran his hand through his hair briefly as he spoke, “and it’s looking like things are going pretty well.”

“Yeah. Well, Ino’s pretty amazing.”

“I was talking about your part. You know, actually taking my advice and wanting to get involved.”

“Oh. Ha. Thanks, man,” Naruto chuckled, causing Kakashi to crack a smile himself.

The two watched as laughter became louder, and music boomed from the speakers. Familiar faces began filling throughout the crowd, and Naruto took a step forward to begin mingling, but Kakashi cleared his throat in an attempt to start a conversation. Naruto looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

“You met any of the new students yet?” Naruto asked when Kakashi didn’t say a word.

“A few. It’s no surprise that there’s not that many for your year,” he answered, “since it’s senior year and everyone’s freaking out about their futures.”

“Why would people move to a different school if they know that, then?”

Kakashi shrugged, his expression hard to read. “Parents’ jobs. Family situations. Better education. Maybe they want to move because their old schools were shitty in terms of people.”

“Is that common?” Naruto enquired curiously.

“Definitely.” Kakashi’s eyes scanned the crowd of students who were just coming in, and they widened just a fraction at the faces of one of the students. “In fact, I think you should be friends with one of them.”

“What?” Naruto laughed, “No way. It’s senior year, everyone has their group of friends. Too bad for the new kids.”

“You were a new kid once, too.”

“Yeah,” Naruto agreed, “when I was in, like, kindergarten.”

“They could end up changing your life.”

“Then they will when they will,” Naruto replied, “but it doesn’t have to be now.”

With that, Kakashi gave him a look and patted him on the back before he left the venue, smirking. Naruto wanted to call him back to ask what he was thinking, but there was only a week before school started, which meant he should be spending it having fun and making more memories — not thinking about the things that were going to drive him up the wall in the next ten months. He walked towards Ino, who was laughing gleefully at the jokes the captain of the water polo team was telling her. The poor guy had been chasing after Ino since freshman year, which made Naruto want to chuckle, because it seemed apparent that he hadn’t figured out Ino’s game. Naruto tapped her on the shoulder when he stood next to her and he could visibly see the guy’s face drop at how close Ino and himself were.

“Naruto! Where were you?” Ino chimed, giving him a hug.

“Kakashi was talking to me,” Naruto answered and looked at the guy standing behind Ino, “how’s it goin’?”

“Was good until you came along,” he mumbled in reply, and Ino shot him a look.

“Anyway,” Ino bubbled, “there’s a bunch of new kids here for you to make friends with.”

Naruto shot her a look, though admittedly, he was a little amused. “Are you and Kakashi in cahoots for making me talk to the new kids?”

“No,” she laughed, a sound that rang through the air around them, “it’s just always good to have new friends.”

“I have you, and Shikamaru, and everyone else,” Naruto replied, exasperated.

“Trust me, Fishcakes,” Naruto cringed at her old nickname for him, “this’ll do you good.” Ino leaned in so that only he could hear, “Plus, I think this guy’s about to snap your neck if you don’t get away from me.”

Naruto chortled and playfully punched her shoulder before waving at her and taking his leave. He pushed his way through the crowd and greeted familiar faces, telling them to enjoy the party. Looking around, he tried to see if there was anyone who seemed uncomfortable — he figured that the new kids would be scared to make new friends, too — and surely enough, he saw three new faces. Two of them were guys and seated right next to each other. Watching from a distance, Naruto could eventually see one of them put his hand on the other’s knee, which surprised Naruto. Not that he had anything against people being gay, but he didn’t know he was somehow intruding on a couple’s spat, and had to witness them making up. The two guys left and immersed themselves within the crowd, which means there was one person left: a pink-haired girl who was scrolling through her phone, looking up at her surroundings every now and then. She touched her hair whenever anyone got close to her, and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, but would absentmindedly push all her hair to one side when they walked right past her. Feeling somewhat sorry for her, Naruto sauntered on over to her, and surely enough, she could sense him, and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before she looked up at him, with eyes so green, that Naruto was sure a small chill ran up his spine. He offered her a warm smile, and she returned it with a shy one.

“Hey,” she said, “who are you?”

Looking at her face for just a few seconds, Naruto decided she was someone who actually wasn’t shy, but she just didn’t know how to make friends. Figures. “Whoever you want me to be.”

“What?” she laughed, a sound that rang through his ears even more than Ino’s laugh did.

“I saw it on a TV show once,” he chuckled, “I thought the guy who said that was so cool.” He watched her face again and she visibly relaxed at his presence. Of course, Naruto knew he had that effect on people; that’s why he was mostly friends with everyone in his year. “So you’ve been sitting here this whole time, and no one’s said hi to you?”

“Well, a few people did,” she answered pensively, “but they seemed a little creepy.”

Naruto chuckled. “Man, those guys don’t know how to talk to people.”

“You know them?”

“I’ve been going to school with these people since I was like, five,” he replied humorously, “I don’t even have to know what they look like to know who you’re talking about.”

The girl smiled and put her phone away. Success, Naruto thought. He turned his body slightly and they both watched the party around them. He noticed her eyes seemed to hold a spark to them when she watched people dancing, bumping against each other and grinding on each other. Naruto always thought it was funny (and maybe a little bit hot) when he saw how people seemed so comfortable dancing the way they did. Maybe he was more self-conscious than he thought, because the girl before him was subconsciously tapping her foot to the beat. A lock of her pink hair fell from behind her shoulder, and Naruto thought it was quite possibly one of the most beautiful things about her.

“So why’d you move here?” he asked, genuinely taking an interest in her now.

“My parents wanted a change of scenery.”

“Did you?”

Pausing before she answered, she smiled and looked at him again, her expression unreadable. “No,” she enunciated, “but I was told that it’s never good to stay in one place your entire life.”

Naruto watched as her face fell from the bright smile into a more subdued pondering. He was never the guy that anyone relied on for support, unless it was Ino, because he never knew what to say. All he could do was stand there and listen to them rant about their problems, but when she didn’t elaborate further and didn’t even look at him, Naruto started to feel restless, like somehow, he might be doing something wrong.

“I’m Naruto,” he offered, “what’s your name?”

Peering at his face, the girl ran her hand through her hair and pushed back her much-too-long bangs. She flashed him a kind smile, one that was kinder that Ino’s, and Naruto swore his heart was pulling him down a road he didn’t think he would ever go down.

“Sakura.”

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

After subjecting himself to nights filled with coffee runs and memorising murder cases, divorce cases, and federal cases, Naruto graduated from his law school as one of the top one hundred students. Granted, he was the hundredth one, but his parents were elated when they were notified. “I knew you could do it!”, they exclaimed before throwing him a large party filled with all his favorite foods. Even with his law degree, Naruto still didn’t feel motivated to practice the law, to want to find justice, just like he wrote in his personal essays and personal statements that got him accepted into these schools in the first place. After the celebrations and congratulations were in order, Naruto sat with his parents and firmly asserted his freedom by informing them that he still wanted to be an actor. Although it took a little bit of convincing and maybe a fair bit of yelling on his mother’s part, the Uzumaki family finally calmed down and Naruto relished in the words his parents uttered: “We will support you no matter what.”

Traveling to his girlfriend’s place was always his favorite part of the day, after auditioning or after shooting for films or TV shows that would air within the next year. He may have an understudy, and he may get god-like treatment from his agent and the people he worked with, but Naruto was always sure to not let it get to his head. With each year that passed, he became more and more renowned amongst audience members, and it was starting to look like he couldn’t walk into town without some form of a disguise. Which is why he was walking in the city with a cap and a pair of sunglasses on. It was a warm day, which meant he could wear his cotton t-shirts, which his girlfriend hated. She wanted him to dress more sophisticatedly, but ultimately, she knew Naruto was too stubborn to do anything about his fashion sense. “You dress like you’re white,” she had told him once, to which he replied, “I am white-skinned”. She had scowled then, because his cleverness always brought about jokes that she tried so hard not to find funny. He chuckled and continued to tease her, to which she ignored him and sulked for the remainder of the day.

Veering up to a junction near the main part of the city, Naruto quickly walked to the apartment building behind the city’s most famous bakery, which of course, was one of the most expensive residences in the entire area. Nodding his head at the guard who monitored guests, Naruto pulled his wallet from his pocket and swiped his key card against the scanner, and when it flashed green, Naruto felt like he was coming home.

“Tell Ms. Haruno I said hello to her today,” the guard chimed in as Naruto walked away from the lobby.

“Will do, Miyagi!” Naruto responded and smiled to himself. Everyone loved Sakura.

As he rode the elevator to the tenth floor, his view overlooked the city and the people walking underneath him, and he never understood why people hated the city. For people who grew up on the beach like he did, it was refreshing to always have something to do, to always have somewhere to go. There were days when he felt restless, and maybe that just meant he was morphing more and more into a person that belonged in the city, because as far as he knew, Sakura was so accustomed to the city that it puzzled her when people were excited to move there. She once told him that perhaps, it was the “magic” of the city, that whoever spent their lives not knowing what it was like, would come to it, and fall in love with it. He figured she was probably right, since that’s exactly how he fell in love with it, and how he fell in love with her.

In his hand, he held a leather bag filled with clothes that she had left at his place. She was mostly organized, but when she was stressed, she tended to leave things with him and they laid around his house until he finally figured out that these pastel clothes were not his. Along with her clothes was his laptop, which was filled with movies and TV shows that they watched together. Naturally, he kept a charger at her apartment, because he was too lazy to bring his to and fro. She was also much better with electronics than he was, and she knew which wires went where. They seemed to fit pretty perfectly, or so everyone thought. When they met in high school, they didn’t start dating immediately. They were friends, and even though Naruto always had a soft spot for her, she wasn’t sure she returned those feelings until the final year of university, when he contacted her to ask her how she had been doing. They were on opposite sides of where they went to school together, and even though so many of his friends told him it was just about impossible to date freaking Sakura Haruno because she was so smart and so beautiful, Naruto still held out hope. That was more his thing, he supposed: holding out hope for something that people thought was impossible. Now, at twenty-eight years old, she and him had nourished a friendship that was natural, and cultivated a romantic relationship that both of them felt was the only logical explanation for how drawn they had always felt towards one another.

As the elevator arrived on the tenth floor, Naruto’s phone started to ring. Glancing at the screen to see who it was, he smirked and answered, his voice teasing.

“You couldn’t even wait for me to knock on the door?” he chuckled.

“You’re ten minutes late!” Sakura scolded on the phone, her voice loud, as usual.

“It’s only ten minutes, Princess.”

“I told you to stop calling me that,” she groaned, though playfully.

“I only do it because I love pestering you,” Naruto chuckled as he walked towards the end of the hall to her door.

“I know,” she said quietly, but he knew she was smiling. “Okay, I’ll wait at the door.”

“I’m already here,” he replied, but she had already hung up.

Ringing the doorbell, Naruto wasn’t even fazed when Sakura immediately opened the door, a mock-pout on her face. Making himself at home, he leaned down to kiss her forehead and walked past her, setting the leather bag on the table Sakura kept next to the door. He pulled his laptop from the bag and took off his cap and sunglasses. She closed the door behind her and walked towards the kitchen, humming a tune Naruto knew was the theme song of the most recent sitcom he had been appearing on. Reaching towards a cabinet above her head, Sakura pulled out two wine glasses and set them on the counter. Meandering about the kitchen was her business, and she never let Naruto help, because the last time she did, he accidentally broke two plates and a mug, and even though he apologised profusely and even cleaned up the mess, Sakura still won’t allow him back in the kitchen if it’s to do anything other than wash his hands after dinner. While she poured red wine into their glasses, Naruto sat on her leather couch in front of the TV, and sighed.

Shit, he thought, I forgot which wire connected my laptop to her TV.

“Are you connecting your laptop to the TV?” Sakura called from the kitchen.

“Uh,” Naruto panicked, “yeah! But, I forget which wire —“

“Jeez,” she sighed, exasperated, “you always forget which wire it is. Want me to do it?”

“Nah, just tell me which wire it is.”

“It’s the only black one on the floor.”

With how many times they’ve watched movies on his laptop in the entire time they’ve been together, Naruto would think that he was an expert on how things in her apartment worked. Yet, he always seemed to muck up anything he touched. In the beginning, when they first started getting serious and spending a lot of time at her apartment, Sakura would grit her teeth and try not to get too angry, but now that they were together a long time, she seemed to have accepted it as being part of his personality. They were both impatient, but of the two, Naruto was definitely the patient one.

“So what’re we watching today?” she asked as she sat beside him, setting the wine glasses in front of them on the coffee table.

“Something you need to see!” Naruto grinned as he turned on the TV.

“Is it Full House? Because if it is, I’m already on season five.” At her own words, Sakura’s eyes widened. “Ah, I’m so sorry, Naruto! I was gonna tell you that I watched without you but I didn’t wanna —“

“It’s okay, and no, that’s not what we’re watching.”

“Then?”

Naruto watched as Sakura turned her eyes to the TV and read the words In a galaxy, far, far away, and couldn’t help but smile. For years, Naruto vowed to make sure that Sakura watched all the Star Wars movies with him, because it was one of the most important things to him. It was a large franchise, so Naruto had always wondered how she’d never seen it, especially because she lived in the city for most of her life. He settled into the couch and put his arm around her, her head resting snugly into him.

“Dim lights.” Sakura said suddenly, and as Naruto began to move, she laid a hand on his stomach. “No, silly,” she laughed, and suddenly, the lights were dimming by themselves.

“Voice command?” Naruto asked excitedly.

“Yeah,” she replied with her eyes fixated on the screen, “Sasuke helped me set it up.”

“Sasuke helped you? That guy?”

“What’s wrong with Sasuke?” Sakura said, her voice surprised.

“He dated Ino.”

“And?”

“And he had a huge crush on you.”

“In high school.”

“Still,” Naruto sulked, sighing as he settled back into the couch.

The first few minutes of the movie, Sakura was quiet. He knew he was being a little petty, but he was incredibly protective of her, because he knew exactly what guys thought of her, back in high school, and even now. The reason he didn’t bring her to any of his premiers was because he wanted to shield her from the paparazzi. It’s not like he didn’t think she couldn’t handle it, but his overprotective nature always kicked in when it came to her. It’s not like he didn’t trust her either, because Sakura was, and is still, the most loyal girlfriend Naruto had ever had. She was a strong believer of monogamy, which was rare in this day and age, especially for celebrities like Naruto.

“Does it really bother you that he helped me?” Sakura whispered.

In the five years that they had been dating, there were boundaries that Naruto had set with Sakura, but there weren’t a lot. One of their boundaries was Sasuke, unfortunately, because he and Naruto were friends throughout high school. That was, of course, until Sasuke hit puberty early, and became popular. Naruto had classified it as growing apart, though it still kind of hurt when he thought about how close they used to be. He sighed and smiled at her, reassuring her that it was all okay. Keeping secrets from each other was an obvious taboo, but he figured this wasn’t really a secret.

“Oh,” Naruto recalled, “Miyagi said hi.”

Sakura snorted, amused. “And you’re okay with him coming near me?”

“Yes,” Naruto laughed, “because he’s doing his job and protecting the building and its residents. Which means protecting you.”

Eventually, their conversation died out as they focused on the TV before them. Naruto watched for Sakura’s reactions, and they started out as tame, and maybe even a little uninterested. About an hour into the movie, Sakura stopped snuggling into Naruto, and he felt a sense of satisfaction and as though he had executed a mission successfully. They got through only two of the movies before he heard her stomach growl. He kissed her cheek and chuckled, turning off the TV.

“Wanna go grab a bite?”

“What’d you have in mind?”

“Pizza?”

“Too cheesy,” Sakura yawned.

“Pasta?”

“What did I just say?” she laughed and pressed his hand to her face.

In dimmed lighting, people always say that things are more romantic, and more intimate. When Naruto leaned forward, she didn’t move. Her eyes watched his every move, and Naruto felt as though he could never get tired of her, of this relationship with her. He rubbed her cheekbone with his thumb and leaned forward, forcing them to be close enough that their noses touched. She let out a breath of air and began to giggle, and he smiled. When he first began dating her, he always pressed his mouth to hers, but would wait for her to kiss him. Admittedly, he merely wanted to be cute with her, and she fell for it each time, even now, five years later. Whenever he looked at her, he felt as though he was steady, like the mere sight of her could make his heart still.

“Why are you always this nice to me?” she whispered, touching his cheek.

“Because,” he murmured, “I don’t want you to be afraid anymore.”

With his kind words, Sakura’s eyes brimmed with tears, but she smiled and gave in to his touches, to his mouth, to the soft words he whispered to her. Seeing her smile always made his heart feel full, and even though he has made mistakes in the past, he knows that with her, he can always be better. He can always improve himself, and maybe that was the secret to happy relationships — to always be with someone that can make you want to improve yourself. She sniffled every now and then, and as a response, Naruto kissed her harder, longer, and he felt his heart swell up when her hands pawed at his shoulders, at his back, at his thighs.

Maybe she was his home.

A few hours later, they were in her bedroom, half asleep. Of all the things they did in bed, this was definitely Naruto’s second favorite thing — Sakura wearing his shirts that were too big for her, but seemed to suit her all the same. Her soft hair messy from laying around with him, her eyes half-lidded and her demeanour absent-minded as she stroked his face. Naruto found that she never took her eyes off his face during these moments, and even though they were so close, he wanted to be closer to her. Naruto was never good at explaining things like fate, but ever since he met Sakura, he felt as though he knew her, like she was someone he might have fallen in love with in a past life.

“It’s getting late,” she whispered and Naruto hummed in affirmation, “do you want to stay the night?”

“You know I’d never say no to that,” he chuckled, “but I have work in the morning.”

“Okay,” she replied, moving to get out of bed. Naruto watched her take off his shirt and lay it on the bed. She was absolutely naked, her soft skin visible even in the dark. He let out a sigh of yearning. What if I could wake up to this every morning? he asked himself. He felt as though maybe, that wasn’t such a crazy thought — maybe it made sense to want that.

“Come to think of it,” he began, “I hate coming here all the time, and then having to go back home.”

“Yeah,” Sakura hummed, “but you don’t really have a choice. You live twenty minutes away from here, after all.” Brushing her fingers through her hair, Sakura reached for the bed lamp and turned it to low light, so they wouldn’t hurt their eyes. “You could always find an apartment that’s closer, so you don’t have to worry about traveling late at night.”

“I could do that,” Naruto said slowly, “or… maybe there’s other options?”

Sakura put on a sweater he gave her and looked at him, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. “Well, what’re the other options?”

“I could get an apartment close by,” Naruto enunciated, “or, I could, you know.”

“No,” Sakura replied, “I don’t know. What is it?”

Taking a deep breath, Naruto made sure to make his tone playful. He didn’t know if Sakura loved him as much as he loved her, though he knew that that was a stupid thing to insinuate, and could potentially start a pointless fight. God knows how many of those they’ve already had. Smiling at her, Naruto chose his words carefully, watching her reaction.

“What if I lived here?”

It was silent. Perhaps the most silent that Naruto has ever witnessed coming from her. She didn’t move an inch, and she merely stared at him. If this was a movie, Naruto thought, you’d think that the movie froze because no one is freaking moving. When Sakura opened her mouth, she would close it again, and this continued several times as Naruto waited patiently for her to just say something. He held his breath for what felt like minutes, and realistically, it probably was a few minutes before Sakura let out a sharp breath, her eyes wide.

“Are you asking me to move in with you?”

He nodded.

“In here? This apartment?”

“What better place than where we spend most of our nights?”

“We never go to your apartment,” she said quietly.

“That’s because of the paparazzi.”

“Still,” she said slowly, “you really want to move in with me?”

“Sakura,” he said, moving closer to her, “everyday when I wake up, the first thing I think of is you and what you’re doing, and every night when I go to sleep, I think about you getting ready for bed, and I think about whether you’re comfortable in bed without me beside you.”

“I mean…” she began, “…it’s not like I’m comfortable, I just.” she watched his face and he knew she was searching for signs of hesitance, of uncertainty, but he knew she would find none. He was never more sure of anything in his life, other than the fact that he was sure that it was fate that brought her to him. “This’ll change everything, you know?”

“What secrets do you think you’re hiding from me?” Naruto asked teasingly.

“Not that I’m hiding anything, but Naruto, if you move in with me, you see the ugly side of me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When I lose it, I really lose it, I can’t control myself and maybe I’ll start blaming you for —“

“You’ve never done that,” Naruto replied calmly, knowing that she was referring to her ‘mood swings’, as she referred to them.

“That’s because I’ve been very careful,” she said as-matter-of-factly, “but what if I hurt you —“

“If you don’t want to move in with me, you can just say so.”

His heart felt hollow when Sakura stayed silent, her expression anxious. Perhaps it had been too soon, perhaps he loved her much more than she loved him, but whatever it was, Naruto knew that maybe, he had made another mistake that he didn’t think he could make. Bracing himself for the worst, Naruto was surprised when Sakura’s sigh sounded less anxious than he thought it would.

“Yes.”

“What?” Naruto asked, blinking rapidly.

“Yes,” Sakura said again, smiling, “I’ll move in with you.”

That night, they spent hours kissing, touching, and laughing. Naruto never went home to get a fresh change of clothes, and he didn’t care that he had work in the morning, since it was closer to go there from Sakura’s — their — apartment anyway. All he cared about was that he could feel her heart in his hand, and he vowed to never clench his hand too tight around the very thing she found most difficult to give away.

Of course, Naruto was more than ecstatic that she gave it to him.

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

Within the next month, Naruto had moved out all of his belongings — which, admittedly, wasn’t a lot — to Sakura’s apartment. She even made more space for him to put his things, whole cabinets and drawers and even two of his own closets! Never once stopping to doubt him, Sakura helped organise his possessions, and they quarrelled for that for a little while before one of them gave in and let the other do whatever they wanted to do. A lot of the time, Naruto just let Sakura organise their home the way she wanted, because he knew otherwise, she wouldn’t stop bickering with him about it.

During one of the weekends they were both free, Naruto was cleaning out one of her closets when he pulled out a pair of ballet shoes. He smiled as he held them, remembering how she always seemed to flow naturally along to music, like the first night he met her.

“Sakura-chan?” he called out to her from their bedroom. “I found your ballet shoes, do you want to keep them?”

When no response came, Naruto sighed and walked towards the kitchen to find that Sakura was holding two mugs, her expression confused. A little puzzled, Naruto tried to make light of the situation, because the last thing either of them needed was to be stressed during a new move.

“I think those go on the shelf, babe,” Naruto chuckled, but it didn’t seem like she heard him, despite the fact that he was standing right in front of her. “Sakura-chan? Did you hear me?”

It took a few seconds, but the pink-haired woman finally looked at her concerned boyfriend, and he had to admit that he felt quite uneasy because she was wearing an expression that he knew it meant she was freaking out. He started to open his mouth, to begin reassuring her, to comfort her, but she beat him to the punch and began speaking rapidly.

“Ican’tfigureoutwhereIputthoseotherglassesthat —“

“Babe,” Naruto said, raising his hands as an attempt to show comfort, “calm down. Breathe. Take deep breaths.” As though demonstrating to her, Naruto began inhaling through his mouth and exhaling through his nose. Sakura watched him, and mimicked him, eventually calming her down and making her set the mugs on the kitchen counter before her. Resting her hands against the counter, she sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Naruto asked slowly.

“I can’t remember where I put those glasses we use for tea.”

“For tea? You mean teacups?” Naruto asked, confused, “Shouldn’t they be in the china cabinet in the dining room?”

“No, no,” Sakura retorted, “I moved those, and now I can’t find them. The china cabinet is empty.”

Having been together for five years, Naruto knew when to look for signs of anxiety from her. He had been to therapy with her, and was informed in private that he should look out for her, in case something were to happen to her. Of course, protecting her from herself was only a small reason he stayed with her. He knew that he loved her, and that he would do anything to support her. When he began going to therapy with her, he was warned that there might be times where she eventually tries to shut him out, and that he needs to prepare for it. Naruto knew that when Sakura started misplacing things, it was because there were things going on at work. Then again, she was a social worker, which meant there was always something going on at work. Then, Naruto thought, it must be one of the more serious cases this time. Carefully, Naruto took a few steps towards the dining room to look at the china cabinet, to see that it was filled with teacups, intricate and simple designs painted onto them alike. Closing his eyes briefly, he figured he had to think of a plan to distract Sakura while he pretended he found those teacups in a box that would “magically” appear from their storage closet.

“That’s pretty weird that it’s empty,” Naruto said slowly, “but maybe I’ll look for them?”

“But, what if you can’t find them?”

“I’m pretty good at finding lost items. Don’t worry about it.”

“But —“

“Sakura-chan,” Naruto said sternly, “just relax, okay? How about you go get us some cinnamon buns?”

Sakura’s expression changed from anxious to curious. Her smile spread across her face and Naruto thought again, about how he would never tire of her antics.

“From the bakery?”

“The most famous one here,” Naruto chuckled. “But are you okay?”

Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, Sakura shrugged. She furrowed her brow and stared at Naruto, pursing her lips as her thoughts percolated, and Naruto thought that perhaps, she was trying to communicate something about going back to therapy, but it never came. Instead, she stared at him, as though she was reviewing for a chemistry exam and needed to memorise all the symbols for the elements. Finally, she sighed. “I’m sorry,” she confessed, “I’m just really annoyed that I can’t remember where I put those teacups.”

Tightening his jaw, Naruto remembered what her therapist had told him; that she will have times where her memory lapses and she can’t seem to remember the simplest of things, and that she will get frustrated. The most important thing to not do was insinuate in any way that her memory was off. That would make her even more anxious, and potentially cause her to disassociate, if she became accustomed to that level of anxiety. Instead, Naruto gave her a reassuring smile and walked towards their front door.

“It’s okay,” he told her, “I’ll go and find them, and if I can’t, I am sure you will remember later.” He pulled open the front door for her and she smiled, giving him a peck on the lips before she grabbed her wallet and walked towards the elevator. She waved at him and smiled her wide grin, and Naruto was scared to admit that on some days, he wasn’t sure who she was. Even so, he waved back and returned her smile with one of his own, closing the door behind him. Walking towards their storage closet, Naruto sighed. I know how to be a boyfriend, he told himself, and yet, he found that sometimes, Sakura seemed afraid to trust him with the most private of her thoughts. She would let him look at her the way he did, with such love and affection and happiness, but she sometimes wouldn’t let him completely in. If she thought he was lying to her, she would distance herself, and he was forced to ask himself if he had, whether he realised it or not, given her a reason to not trust him. He knew it wasn’t her fault for being so distrustful, but he also knew he was trying his best. Then again, he understood that Sakura was trying her best, too. He knew that he was, and still is, the closest person to her, apart from her closest friends. Even with them, Naruto knew she kept secrets.

In the ample time he had, Naruto came up with a story to tell her about the teacups and where he found them, as he packed them carefully into a box, making sure not to crack any of them. He was about halfway done with the cabinet when he heard the front door open. Shit, he thought, his mind going haywire at the thought that Sakura might find him lugging all the teacups into a box.

“Naruto?” she called out, and he could hear her setting a paper bag onto the kitchen counter.

“Yeah,” he replied, “give me a second. That was quick!” he said as he hid the box under the dining table.

“I know!” Sakura laughed. “It turns out, they hired more employees because they were getting a lotta customers, isn’t that great?”

“That’s fucking wonderful, babe!” Naruto exclaimed as he entered the kitchen, hugging her tight. “What else did you get? Did you get a lot?”

“I got some patisseries I know you love, and also some brownies.”

“You mind if I get a plate?”

Sakura laughed, and Naruto couldn’t help but hope that he could hear it more often, even with what was going on with her. “Yeah, just go for the normal ones we use on movie night.”

“Every night is movie night for us,” Naruto chuckled, to which Sakura playfully punched him in the shoulder.

Throughout the rest of the day, Sakura stayed in their bedroom, cleaning out her old things, while Naruto had to ‘mysteriously’ bring out the teacups, and making it seem like they showed up out of nowhere. He could hear the thuds of her feet against the wooden floor and Sakura sighing before she threw something into a trash bag. Hurriedly, he grabbed the box full of her teacups and brought it to their bedroom. When he stood in the doorway, he patiently waited for her to look up from clearing out the drawers.

“You know,” she said absent-mindedly, “I have so much shit. Why didn’t you ever tell me to throw any of it away?” She rummaged through the drawer for a good minute before she noticed Naruto hadn’t said a word. She looked up at him, curious, and he could see the spark return to her eyes when she acknowledged the box he was holding. “Oh my god,” she beamed, “is that what I think it is?”

“Yes, Princess,” he replied, his voice booming, “all your teacups for when the Queen arrives have been found.”

She seemed to ignore his teasing and instead, planted a wet kiss on his cheek. Humming as she took the box from him, she walked straight to the dining room to the china cabinet, Naruto following suit. Wordlessly, he offered to help her, and for once, she allowed him, and maybe it was the fact that he had cheered her up, though not in the way he would've liked to, but the image of them putting away china teacups together wasn’t something he would've wanted to do when he was just a few years younger. They smiled and laughed as they organised their new home, getting rid of old, worn out things, and replacing it with newer ones, calling it a possession that belonged to them both. Before long, they started to get hungry, and Naruto brought the plate full of desserts to their bedroom, his goofy grin plastered on his face. He sat at the foot of the bed and Sakura rolled her eyes at him and the fact that he was already taking advantage of the fact that they lived together; now he could bring food into bed, apparently.

“I never said okay to that,” Sakura sighed.

“But you’re not saying ‘no’ to it,” Naruto teased.

“That’s true, but what if crumbs get everywhere?”

“Then I’ll clean it.”

“You suck at cleaning.”

“Not as much as you think. My mom did teach me a few tricks after I graduated from law school, y’know.”

Giving in, Sakura reached for a brownie and they sat in silence as they ate, but Naruto’s mind was on her. He was constantly thinking about her, about her wellbeing. Even when she smiled and said that it was okay, he wondered if it really was okay. From his experience (and when he thinks of his experience, he thinks of all the things Ino has advised him about), if a girl generally said she was okay, it might mean the opposite. If things were okay, how did he know? Or if they weren’t, how would he know how to fix that? More than anything, he wanted to ask her what was wrong, what was bothering her, but he knew he might be overstepping a boundary, because there were times when Sakura refused to tell him anything. When they first started dating and this occurred, he’d write down what he wanted to ask on a piece of paper so that he remembered to ask her about it. That method always used to seem to work, but the more serious they got, the less it did. He had to wonder if things were changing for her.

“About today,” Sakura began, which startled Naruto. He never thought she would bring it up, because she was so used to bottling things up. Of course, it wasn't healthy, but it took Sakura quite a long time to realise that, and maybe this was the starting point of her acting upon it, “I’m sorry.”

“What’re you sorry for?”

She hummed. “Well,” she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Nervous, Naruto thought, “for starter’s, for lashing out the way I did.” Hearing the words come out of her mouth, Naruto wasn’t sure what his reaction should be. Watching the way she avoided his gaze, he felt like he was an outsider looking in on something he really needed. “Secondly,” she continued, “for not trusting you more.”

“You’re admitting you don’t trust me enough?” he asked, his voice hitching at the idea that Sakura was finally acknowledging her problem.

“I know that at times,” she enunciated carefully, “I blame myself for things and I also blame you for things. It’s not healthy, and I know that I could be better.” She paused and looked at him, and Naruto’s heart settled into his chest, the way it did every time he was reminded that this was where he was supposed to be. “I know that I could stand to trust you more, and it’s just that today… I was really frustrated when I couldn’t find those teacups.”

“Sakura-chan,” Naruto whispered, “about those teacups… I lied to you.” Naruto felt his pulse quicken at his own words, but he understood that it wasn’t easy for Sakura to tell him the truth when it came to trust. It was only fair that he tell her the truth, too. At least, he supposed so, anyway. He was her boyfriend, which meant he was the person who was supposed to be most honest with her.

“What do you mean?” she mumbled.

Gulping, Naruto almost felt as though he was going to regret the following words that were about to come out of his mouth. He looked at her face, searching for any sign of distance, for a lick of her shutting him out. When he found none, he took a deep breath, and made sure he didn’t waver. “When you said they weren’t in the china cabinet… they actually were.”

A long silence followed and Naruto could see her face go from content to absolutely thwarted. She licked her lips and didn’t take her eyes off him, and it looked almost as though she was at a true loss for words. Keeping his eyes on her, he wanted to communicate to her that he would not waver, even if she did. Sitting up straight, he watched her, and surely enough, she eventually let out a hearty sigh, one that was as rough and as angry as a mother who had scolded her child one too many times.

“I’m such an idiot,” she sputtered, “I can’t even do one thing right anymore!”

“No,” Naruto said gently, “that’s not true.” Moving closer, he reached for a lock of her hair and pushed it behind her ear. “You are strong, and you are smart. Forgetting one or two things every once in a while doesn’t make you an idiot. It just means you’re human.”

“But why couldn’t I have had another flaw? Like, I don’t know,” she pondered for a few seconds, “why couldn’t I have just been disorganized? And lose my notes and stuff during university?”

“Because it wouldn’t make you my Sakura-chan,” Naruto said encouragingly, “and you know that no matter what happens, no matter how many things you forget or how often you forget it, I am here to help you pick up the pieces.”

“But you won’t put them back together for me.”

“No,” he smiled, “I won’t. I’ll just hand you the pieces so you can put yourself back together. And I’ll be here the whole time.”

At his words of encouragement, Sakura leaned in for a kiss, and even though Naruto loved when she was affectionate, he could tell that she was still keeping something from him. He only hoped it was temporary, because the truth was that he couldn’t stand the thought of her keeping secrets from him. It wasn’t how they did things. It wasn’t how they worked as couple. Even when she looked at him, he could see that part of her spark was missing, the one that he loved so much. He wanted to ask her everything, wanted to know her heart like she knew his, but she never picked up on that, and merely went about her days as though she didn’t share them with him.

It definitely made him feel like an outsider.

During the following two weeks, Sakura’s eating habits had drastically changed, which Naruto only noticed when he was about to make dinner one night, and saw that the fridge was empty. There were no ingredients, much less any snacks. He was pretty busy throughout the day, especially since he was progressively becoming well-known in the media, so when he found that Sakura, the person who always made sure they were eating right, hadn’t placed some food in the fridge, it was definitely a warning of sorts. He sighed and dialled the number for their favorite Italian restaurant, because at this point, takeout was better than a home-cooked meal. She’s late today, he thought after he hung up and checked the time. The only reason she was ever late, according to him, was because she was working hard on a case. Even then, she would leave a text, or she would call.

Much to Naruto’s anxiety, she hadn’t been acting like herself at all, since the night he basically told her that her forgetfulness was beginning to take a toll on her.

Was it my fault? Is she avoiding me because of what I said? he thought, his mind racing at the possibilities he hoped wouldn't be true. When she was growing up, she moved around all over the place, and hardly had any time to make permanent friends, so in the end, she had only a few close friends she could rely on. Of course, she had Naruto, as well, but she was so good at pretending like she didn’t need help that everyone used to believe she was completely stable. Not only did she have few friends, but her parents were distant from her and as an only child whose parents’ expectations exceeded the norm, she became skilled at working until she cracked. Sakura was certainly different from her loving boyfriend, and everyone knew it.

When he heard the lock on the front door turn, he sat up straighter at the kitchen bar and made sure he had a smile on his face. If there was one thing that made Sakura’s day brighter, it was his wide grin. The door flew open and Sakura was carrying a box which might’ve made Naruto cock an eyebrow, if she didn’t look so ecstatic. Setting the box on the bar near him, she shut the door and walked over to him, crushing her lips hard against his. Naruto smiled and at the sensation, so did Sakura. She pulled back and her eyes were brighter than they had been in the last few years, and the storm in Naruto’s heart settled.

“You won’t believe what happened at work!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

“I’m going to guess you didn’t get promoted?” he chuckled, his arm around her waist.

“Naruto,” she laughed, “I did! The promotion I was waiting for!”

“The one you were working your ass off for, for like, two years?”

“Yes!”

She kissed him again and wrapped her arms around his neck, the little squeal from her lips making him want to tear up. I’m so fucking glad, he thought to himself as he kissed her back and swept his thumb across her cheek.

“To celebrate,” Sakura whispered against his mouth, “how about we have the good wine?”

“You mean the wine we have isn’t good?” he feigned shock.

“Idiot,” she giggled, “but, let’s get drunk tonight.”

“You want to drink? To celebrate?”

“Yeah? What’s wrong with that?”

Naruto hesitated but when she cocked her head, he shrugged off his worries and stood up, grabbing the wine as she grabbed the glasses. He listened to her talk about how nervous she had been when her boss called her into his office, and how she felt like crying when she first received the news. The first person she called was her mother, even though she wanted Naruto to be the first to know. “Telling you over the phone didn’t seem practical or fair,” she said, which was understandable enough. She went through four glasses of wine before her words started to slur, and when he tried to put her to bed, she pulled him on top of her and wouldn’t take her eyes off of him.

“Stay,” she mumbled against his neck.

“You need sleep,” he replied in earnest as he sighed against her hair.

“I need you with me.” Adamant on her decision, she began touching his shoulders, and ran her hands down his back softly, whispering I love yous as she kissed his jaw and rolled him over so that she could sit on him. She tasted like wine and Naruto feared he was getting even more addicted to her kisses and to her touches than he already was. He kissed her neck and her collarbone, and although he drank more wine than her, he swore he was getting drunk off her skin and her panting as she rocked against him. Pressing her forehead against his, she looked him straight in the eye and the words that came from her mouth made his throat choke up in swallowed sobs. God, she’s so beautiful.

I love her so much. I love her so fucking much.

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

END CHAPTER

#naruto #narusaku #sakunaru #uzumaki naruto #haruno sakura #*my fics #otp: but choice was ripped away #fic

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raendown · 6 years

Link

I wrote this at 5am on vacation because I’m insane and writing is life.

Pairing: MadaraKakashiTobirama Word count: 1031 Soulmate au: The one where you have a telepathic link you can use to share thoughts or feelings

Follow the link or read it under the cut!

Chapter 131: Madara/Kakashi/Tobirama

Kakashi winced as another hot flash of irritation rang through his mind, his mouth tugging wryly to one side and his steps quickening. Sometimes he seriously questioned the fates for gifting him with two such volatile men as his soul mates when they clearly had this much trouble getting along without some kind of buffer between them. When he stepped through the door of the home they all shared, however, it was to see something so rare that he was tempted to find a calendar just to mark the occasion.

Both of them were irritated but it wasn’t at each other.

Tobirama and Madara stood side by side again one wall of the den, arms crossed and shoulders pressed together in silent support while they stared down at the figure on the other side of the room with all the malice and confused irritation they usually saved for a particularly clever enemy. On the couch there sat a bassinet overflowing with lacey blankets and two tiny fists sticking out the sides. Kakashi watched for a moment until the fingers twitched just to make sure the baby was still alive before he returned his gaze to his pair of grumpy soul mates, very glad of the mask which hid his smile.

“We can feel you laughing at us,” Madara pointed out with a growl. Kakashi shrugged.

“At least I am polite enough not to do so out loud.”

“Hmph. As if that makes such a difference.”

Carefully assessing both if them, trying to be subtle about his mental probing, Kakashi determined Tobirama to be the less irritated between them – if only by the slightest margin. A few careful steps had him slipping up behind the man to drop a chin on his shoulder. One hand curled around the pale man’s hip while the other reached over to stroke soothingly at Madara's lower back, cautious of the usual backlash. Neither of his partners accepted comfort very easily.

“Maa, can I ask why we have a baby?” he said. “Nobody stole that thing, right?” They both huffed and ripples of slight offense hit him from both sides.

“Why on earth would either of us steal a baby?” Madara demanded.

“That is my brother's spawn,” Tobirama grumbled over top of him, his entire body tense and drawn away from the unmoving source of his ire. “He had something come up so he asked us to watch the thing for a couple of hours.”

“And you’re doing exactly that I see, just standing here and watching.”

Both of his partners turned their heads to give him withering looks and he could feel that his words had offended them even more, not helping their bad moods at all. He wondered just how long ago Hashirama had dumped a child in their household and whether or not he expected to get the babe back from these men in the same condition as when it arrived. Tobirama was rather well-known for his love of children but there was a marked difference between children and babies. Children could speak and be reasoned with, could communicate their desires, whereas all babies did was poop and cry while any adults close by were left to wonder what exactly was wrong.

With the bassinet so full of blankets he couldn’t see anything more from this angle than the small fists opening and closing but Kakashi was prepared to take them at their word about it being Hashirama’s child. He didn’t really want to get any closer himself to confirm.

“Did he say when he would be back?” At his question the other two gave matching snorts of disgust.

“Of course not, when does that oaf plan anything properly?” Madara snapped. Rather than defend his brother, Tobirama simply nodded with an old sort of suffering in his eyes.

“What are we supposed to…do with it?”

Silence fell, heavily tinged with reluctance from both of his partners until finally Tobirama turned his head to look away and mumbled under his breath, “He said to watch it. So, as you so inanely pointed out, we are watching it.”

Kakashi wanted to laugh, he truly did, but the urge was stifled by the knowledge that he would have done little better if presented with the same situation. What did people even do with babies? What was the point of them? Of the few occasions he had spent any amount of time with Hashirama’s child all he had ever seen it do was gurgle and flail its limbs about. And poop of course.

And wail. This baby was particularly good at wailing, he had noticed.

“Well, there goes my afternoon plans, I suppose.” He heaved a sigh while his partners both turned to give him curious looks.

“Plans?” Madara promoted him. Kakashi let his lips turn up in a wicked smirk and stood up on the tips of his toes to press a quick kiss to Tobirama's cheek, dropped back down to his heels so he could lean over and do the same for Madara, then stepped back and wandered away towards the kitchen.

“I knew you were both home today and I had thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to try that gift you both got me for my birthday.” He didn’t have to look over his shoulder to feel the twin surges of startled lust directed at him, thoughts of the wicked items hidden under the bed dancing through all three of their minds simultaneously.

He was quick enough make it out of the room before either of them could react to his statement but there was no out running the telepathic link which connected them all as soul mates.

“Later,” Madara and Tobirama silently promised him at the same time, that single word accompanied with all the hot excitement coursing through their thoughts at the moment. Kakashi smirked and sent them both a mental image of what he would look like when that ‘later’ came around just to torture them a bit. Judging by the emotions he could read from them in return he was going to feel the punishment for that later but oh what a wonderful punishment it promised to be.

#rae writes #soulmate collection #madakakatobi #madara #kakashi #tobirama #fanfiction #naruto shippuden

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raendown · 7 years

Text

Chapter 53

@booklovergirl01 You made a post ages ago about a soulmate au where they can taste each other’s food and I finally got around to writing something for it. Not sure if you follow the Naruto fandom or if you ship crack pairings but you asked to be tagged if anyone ever used it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anywho folks, whipped up the latest chapter for the Soulmate Collection. Read it under the cut or on AO3!

Pairing: KisameSakura Soulmate au: The one where when one person eats something their soulmate can taste it if they lick their lips

She wasn’t very old when she realized what was happening. When five-year-old Sakura pattered over to her parents and told them that her soulmate must be eating beef they were overjoyed. Many people didn’t have a soulmate and it was considered extremely lucky for those that did. Sakura just wished hers would eat more sugary things. She liked candy and apple sauce and juice. Her soulmate liked to eat beef and fish and pork. She wasn’t so sure that they would be able to agree on anything if they didn’t even like the same foods.

As the years went by Sakura developed a love for fish that she hadn’t had as a toddler. Having it on her lips so often had her craving it, always requesting it for dinner when her opinion was asked. She came to appreciate the days when she could lick the taste of garlic shrimp off her lips in the middle of an academy lecture. Sometimes while on the playground with her friends she would suck on her bottom lip obsessively, chasing the flavor of teriyaki.

There were downsides of course. It was horrible trying to eat her lunch and having her peanut butter sandwich try to mesh with the taste of hard boiled eggs. She tried not to lick her lips whenever her soulmate ate super spicy curry; she was only a fan of the milder spices herself and she knew if she gave in to habit and licked her licks she would spend the next thirty minutes trying to chew the heat off her tongue. She always gave in. It was always horrible.

Sakura was sixteen now and damn annoyed. She was on a diet, did her soulmate not get that? He’d been eating chocolate for the past three days and now she had been stuck with the taste of a sugary glaze on her lips as if she were eating dango. She did not need these cravings, damn it! She was hoping to lose a few more pounds and that simply wouldn’t happen if her soulmate kept eating sweet things and tempting her to fall off the wagon.

Thus was her frustration when Kakashi and Naruto wanted to stop in a dango shop just inside the town they would be staying in for the night. Well, Naruto wanted to and Kakashi wanted Naruto to shut up. Her sensei wasn’t a big fan of sweet but he did enjoy his peace and quiet, which right now would only be achieved by caving to Naruto’s demands for dango. Sakura was fuming with annoyance as the she and her teammate made their way inside, Kakashi slipping off to book them a couple rooms at a nearby inn. She wondered why none of her important people were supporting her personal endeavors. Was it too much to ask that they help her stay away from sugar and bad carbs for just a few more weeks? She didn’t think so.

It was with a sigh that she warily eyed the large plate of delicious, sticky treats that was set on the table before her. Always happy to share with his friends, Naruto had insisted that she order some as well. He’d even paid for them. Sakura felt despair as her fingers played with the sticks, each bearing three different colored dumplings. She was going to give in, she knew she was, but that didn’t mean she would need to feel good about it.

The first bite was almost heavenly, she admitted to herself. She had been sticking to vegetables and low-sugar fruit for nearly a month now and her taste buds virtually sang as that delicious thick glaze slid over her tongue. Was there any sweeter treat than dango?

“Finally!” A gruff voice burst out from the table next to theirs. Sakura looked over curiously – and froze. The two men at the next table were wearing Akatsuki robes! One of them wore a large hat with strips of white silk hanging from the brim, obscuring his identity. The one that she could see was a huge man, muscles rippling under his blue-gray skin and dark blue hair standing nearly straight up under the slashed headband of a Mist Village missing nin.

A quick glance to the side showed Sakura that Naruto hadn’t even noticed their neighbors. Before she could catch his attention the one who sat with his back to her spoke up in a smooth voice.

“What is it?” he asked. He sounded vaguely familiar, though she couldn’t place why.

“I’ve been shoving sweets in my face for days trying to get my soulmate to eat something good! I think the stupid girly’s been on a diet of all things. She’s been eating nothing but rabbit food for weeks!” The large man viciously tore in to the last dango on the stick he held. “I finally gave her a craving she couldn’t ignore! She just ate some dango!”

Sakura blinked, looking down at the stick dripping glaze on to her fingers.

“You always say ‘she’. How do you know it’s a woman?” the smooth-voiced one asked.

“Easy. I like girlies.” The big one shrugged. “Why would my soulmate be a man if I’m not attracted to them?”

“You think too simply.”

“And you complicate everything.”

Sakura swallowed and rested her sweets on her plate. Naruto remained oblivious, munching away without a care in the world. It had to be a coincidence, right? It couldn’t possibly be her. There was no way she was soulmates with a member of the Akatsuki!

Determined to prove herself right – and maybe gain a little peace of mind as well – Sakura dug through the pouch on her hip, fingers sorting through each item by touch until she found the one she wanted. The ration bar she extracted was probably at least ten years old. It was a running joke among the jōnin to never ask how old your ration bars were because they were probably still eating the original ones made when the village was founded. Sakura detested them as much as the next person but they were packed with just enough nutrients to keep you healthy with no extraneous additives. They were the perfect health food even if they tasted like wet cardboard rolled in ash with a drizzle of three day old gravy.

With her eyes trained on the large man at the next table, unconsciously memorizing his unique shark-like features, she unwrapped her bar and made sure Naruto was still distracted by his meal. Then she raised it to her lips and took a bite, deliberately smothering the disgusting taste all around her mouth.

“Ugh!” She froze at the same time that the large man did. “What the hell, Girly!?”

“Gone back to sensible foods, has she?”

“I went through all the trouble of convincing her to eat something good and just when I think she’s giving in – what the hell did she just eat?” His tongue hung out for a brief moment in an exaggerated face of disgust. Then he realized this wasn’t helping; he should keep his tongue away from his lips if he didn’t want to keep tasting it.

“Well?” his companion seemed slightly amused at his predicament, though it was hard to tell through the flat tone.

“I don’t know what that was but if she takes another bite of it I am eating nothing but sugar until she gets the point!”

Sakura lowered the ration bar, swallowing with some difficulty. Only one more step to test, one more step and she would have convinced herself of the opposite of what she had been trying to convince herself. Reluctantly, cringing, she reached for her dango. She plucked one of the dumplings off its sewer, took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then popped the whole thing in her mouth.

With her eyes closed she chewed as fast as she could, licking the sweet syrup from her fingers. When she heard a startled but pleased noise she winced, cracking one eyelid open to see her target grinning. His teeth were all pointy and sharp looking. In the very back of her mind she noted that it was kind of attractive.

“There you go! Back on track! I dunno what happened there but she’s gone back to the dango again.” He nodded to himself in satisfaction. “Good choice, Girly.”

“These updates on your soulmate’s eating habits are riveting, I assure you,” his companion drawled.

Her soulmate rolled his eyes and before he even opened his mouth she knew they were about to start bickering. It was obviously from the expression on his face that he was slightly offended by that comment. Sakura, however, wasn’t able to listen in on their little spat.

“Naruto, Sakura,” a quiet voice hailed both of their attentions. They both turned their heads to see that Kakashi-sensei had slipped in to the shop without either of them noticing. He was sitting on the opposite bench from her, beside Naruto, and his gaze was trained on the same spot hers had just been. “I want you to stay quiet Naruto but do you know who that is at the next table?”

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura whispered. He met her eyes, his eyebrow raising at the slightly worried look on her face. “I think that big one is my soulmate.”

His eyebrow lifted even higher and his hand shot out to cover Naruto’s mouth just in time to muffle the incredulous shout from the boy’s mouth. She and her teacher held each other’s gazes for a long time, speaking without words. She watched the calculating look fade away to be replaced with what she might almost call sympathy – strange from a man who so rarely showed his emotions.

“That changes things, doesn’t it?” he said to her softly. Sakura wanted to hug him for being so understanding. She didn’t. She respected her old teammate’s boundaries. So instead she simply nodded and looked back over to see her large blue-skinned soulmate jabbing one finger against the wooden tabletop as he made some point or other.

“Gah!” Naruto gasped in a breath as he finally managed to pull Kakashi’s hand away from his face. “But doesn’t Itachi travel with that guy? I’ve seen him before! I’d swear he’s the guy who’s partnered up with Itachi!”

“Two birds, one stone,” Kakashi murmured, the corners of his eye crinkling in a smile that Sakura didn’t need to see in order to know that it wasn’t friendly at all.

The fight, when they ambushed the pair in a dark alley, was short but brutal. Itachi didn’t put up nearly as much of a fight as he was capable of when he noticed that their main focus was on securing his partner’s capture instead. His Sharingan eyes took in the way Sakura was looking at the large man and, curious, allowed himself to be restrained. In the way that he always did, Naruto immediately busted out with his trusty Talk-no-Jutsu. He pleaded with Itachi for the reasons behind his actions and begged for his help to being Sasuke back home. Sakura would have been amazed that he actually seemed to be succeeding if she weren’t so distracted by the tall muscle-bound man beside him.

“You didn’t seem to like the taste of my ration bar,” she said with as much confidence as she could muster. “So if you give us any trouble you can be sure we’ll both be having them for dinner.” His eyes widened as her meaning settled over him. Then his mouth split in a sharp grin, teeth glinting in the low light.

“Hello Girly,” he said. “You’re a pretty one, though you could use a little more meat on your bones. The name’s Kisame; you?”

“Sakura,” she breathed, entirely unaware of the enraptured expression she wore, falling in love from the very first word.

Team 7 abandoned the rather inconsequential mission in favor of bringing their prisoners back to the village. No one thought it was strange that Kisame made no effort to free himself. Indeed, he seemed happy to follow where ever Sakura wished to lead him.

#soulmate collection #rae writes #kisasaku #kisame #sakura #naruto #kakashi #fanfiction #naruto shippuden

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