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uchihasakurawrites · 3 years

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Until Next Time

Rating: T

Summary: When ghosts from the war come back to haunt Sakura, Sasuke's there to try his hand at warding them off. A story of comfort, growth, and realization. (Blank Period)

Word Count: 3,777

A/N: Long time, no see everyone! Thank you for your patience as I’ve worked through some writer’s block the past few months. I know many of you are waiting on the next chapter for A Lesson in Practicality, but I hope you’ll still enjoy this piece. Please let me know your thoughts if you have the time! Otherwise, thank you for taking some time to read my work. ^_^

Warning: This story contains depictions of panic attacks, PTSD flashbacks, and some alcohol abuse. Nothing too dark in here since it's mainly a comfort fic, but please be cautious if any of these topics are triggering for you.

Cross posted on Ao3 and Fanfiction.net

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Her day begins and ends the same way every other day the past year seemed to - with Sakura walking into the hospital with a confident spring to her step and a brightness in her eyes and dragging herself out (on the rare day she had the energy to pry herself from her desk) with antiseptic or blood or a mix of the two staining her hands and the lab coat she'd forgotten to peel off.

Tonight, Sakura consciously decides not to make the effort to drag herself out of the hospital. Leaving means she'll be roped into the birthday party Ino's been planning for Sai for months, and she doesn't quite have the energy to even shower, let alone paste a convincing smile on her lips.

She spares a glance at the old clock posted right above the chalkboard in her office as she shuffles in and locks the door behind her.

8:00PM.

Fourteen hours since Naruto shook her awake and thrust her straight into a day from hell.

It's still a little too early for anyone to come looking for her yet. Naruto will notice that she's not at the bar right when he arrives, but Hinata will patiently remind him of the shitshow that was today and reason that Sakura's still probably dealing with the aftermath. (In much less colorful terms, of course; Sakura's only heard her friend curse a handful of times, none of which were in front of Naruto.) That'll buy her about an hour before Ino starts making a fuss and sends Sai or Kiba out to Sakura's apartment.

If she's not there, they'll assume she's still at the hospital, and they won't come back until it's close to midnight. Not today. Not after seeing the hallways lined with burn victims pleading for someone to find their loved ones. Not after returning home and finding that the stench of charred skin and blood isn't so easy to wash out of their clothes.

Sakura didn't get to leave. Her role just changed from a kunoichi dispatched on a rescue mission to the de facto head of the hospital the moment she crossed the threshold.

She pulls the shades in hopes of convincing her friends that she isn't here if they do decide to come looking but stops short in front of the light switch. The migraine between her temples screams for her to turn the fluorescents off, but she doesn't trust her mind not to see death in the shadows of her office tonight.

She turns them off anyways.

It isn't until she's sitting criss-cross on her floor with her too-full bookshelf at her back and a bottle of sake in her hand that Sakura realizes her hands are trembling. A splash of sake makes its way onto her carpet instead of into her cup, and she curses because it's good sake - the expensive kind that Tsunade bought her a case of after the war and no no no.

She cuts that thought there because violent memories of the war, or rather the days immediately following the war, have been intruding into her mind all day and she just can't.

A case or so of sake should knock her and those thoughts right out (or so she hopes). Years of honing her skills as a medic nin have given her a certain resistance to toxins, including alcohol, and it's why she doesn't bother to drink most of the time; social drinking is more of a waste of money than anything else. She figures that's precisely why her mentor gave her an entire case as a gift.

It isn't until she's two bottles in and there's a buzzed lightness to her body that she realizes she's crying.

Her breath seems to come faster and faster, shallower and shallower, and she wonders if the buzz and creeping, cold numbness in her fingers is because of the alcohol or the lack of oxygen. She's shivering, muscles tensed to the point of pain, but she blames it on the chill of the hospital.

Another glass will knock the cold right out. At least, that's what Tsunade used to say when she drank away the ghosts that forced themselves a little too close to the front of her mind.

It's a few glasses later that Sakura starts seeing the eyes of the dead staring back at her from the shadows at the edges of her office. She's back on the battlefield, the same smell of burnt skin and the mournful cries of shinobi finally processing the deaths of their comrades hanging in the air. She's been healing for days, but she continues to push. The fighting may be over but there are still identities to confirm, survivors to heal, and families to be notified.

Sakura knew that death was part of her job description from her days in the Academy; protecting the interests of the village often required it. Tsunade had let her figure out that the same was true of her job as a medic on her own, when she lost her first patient at fifteen. She'd learned to put the deaths she dealt with in a neat little box which she deadbolted and tossed on a shelf in the deepest recess of her mind she could find.

But death was a uniquely stubborn bastard that didn't always like to stay in that box.

She'd been awake for the full three days the war had drawn on, but the medical corps was tasked with the brunt of combing through the miles upon miles of dead shinobi for another forty-eight hours or so. They'd had help, but medics were the ones needed throughout to organize, heal, or in the worst possible cases (which Sakura and Shizune handled) show mercy to the shinobi who were alive but long past the point of saving.

Sakura nearly vomits and washes the bile down with more sake. One glass. Another.

The quiet tears have turned into sobs that scratch at her throat and squeeze her lungs. Her nails cut thin crescent moons into her forearms, and her shoulders hunch as if she can ward off the prying eyes. Sakura barely has the presence of mind to activate the silencing seal in her office - the one she keeps on hand when discussing particularly sensitive cases - before her sobs grow into half screams. She can't get enough air to manage much more than a hoarse cry, but if she can just drink fast enough, it shouldn't matter.

And so she cracks open another bottle and brings it directly to her lips, trying to focus on the burn of the alcohol on her throat and Naruto's bright smile reassuring her that everything would be fine when he first found her clutching a bottle of sake in the corner of her disaster of a bedroom.

What she doesn't count on is the alcohol making it increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from the memories that have escaped from her mind and seared themselves into the darkness around her. They become more real, more tangible, until she swears she can hear the fresh widow of a shinobi from Cloud shouting about how Sakura hadn't done enough. Another voice joins until there's a chorus telling her exactly what she feared most:

There shouldn't have been so many casualties. She should have been able to do more.

She was weak.

Her tears stop for a moment when she looks up and sees Sasuke standing in the doorway. For a fraction of a second, she almost feels relieved and tries to move to go to him, but she's reminded none of this is real, and she can't be sure which Sasuke this is. Given her current state of mind, it's probably the one who haunted her nightmares for months after the bridge and still longer after his genjutsu in the war. She takes a swig from the bottle she clenches in her fist and curls back into herself.

Sasuke's repeated calls of her name fall on deaf ears.

For his part, Sasuke is at a loss. He's never seen Sakura like this (and he'd witnessed her tears firsthand on many occasions as genin). Sure, she's always worn her heart on her sleeve and been far too open with her emotions by standard shinobi rules, but she has never seemed so broken.

Looking at the scratch marks that trail down her forearms and the far too many empty bottles of sake for someone of her stature littered on the carpet, Sasuke realizes he doesn't know this woman - and in retrospect, he never should have assumed otherwise.

From her confessions both during the war and when he made the decision to leave her behind yet again, Sasuke knows she's still fiercely loyal and has a light bright enough to forgive and heal anything it touches without her needing to make the conscious choice to do so. Her skills as a shinobi have grown to the point that she could give him a challenge if they were to spar, and he's seen her heal an entire battlefield for days on end while still fighting on the front lines.

She's become more than worthy of the title of the "New Sannin," as the original Team 7 has now been christened, and she still loves him (unreasonably so in his opinion, but he's come to realize that maybe he doesn't want her to change her mind - even if he thinks it would be better for her in the long run). But that's all he knows, and he finds himself wanting to discover more of who Sakura is now.

He has years of absence and cruel actions to make up for, and far more growth beyond that to become someone who deserves the steadfast love she's always been ready to give him.

At the moment, however, he needs to get her to let go of the liquor bottle she clutches onto like a lifeline and refocus on the present. He's been trapped by his past more times than he'll ever admit, and though he hasn't had real comfort since his mother (and Sakura, he amends), he owes it to her to at least try.

Sasuke approaches her slowly, intentionally making his footsteps heavier so that she can hear him approach. Whatever nightmare she's trapped in - he confirmed it wasn't a genjutsu the moment he broke the lock on her door after an unnerving spike in her chakra - she hasn't seemed to notice he's actually here. He bites back the guilt that surfaces at the thought that he could be part of her nightmare, but that's something they can work through later.

He crouches down in front of her, taking a firm hold of the hand that clutches the bottle to try to coax it out of her grip. She jolts at the touch, peeking hesitantly up from her knees with red-rimmed eyes and a mix of tears and sweat coating her cheeks.

"Breathe, Sakura."

Her grip loosens as she meets his eyes. He sees uncertainty waver in her gaze as she hiccups in a short breath, but then the panic snaps back down and tightens her hold on the bottle yet again.

"I- I can't."

The words are stilted, as though forcing out those two words causes her physical pain. Sasuke, however, considers it a small win as it means Sakura's decided he's real. Her breathing is still far too fast, and he knows he needs to stabilize it before she's ready to explain what's happening.

It's awkward - both because Sasuke has never done this and the fact that he hasn't completely sorted through his feelings for his teammate - but he eventually pulls Sakura far enough away from the bookcase that he can shuffle in behind her. He secures his legs around her sides and arranges Sakura so that her back rests on his chest.

It's almost annoying just how snugly Sakura fits against him, her head tucked just below his chin. A part of his mind notes how her curves seem to melt into his frame only to be ruthlessly shoved down. There are priorities, and noting how the boyish (yet annoyingly charming) Sakura has clearly blossomed into a young woman is not one of them.

Where the Sakura from his memories smelled of strawberries and artificial sweetness, the woman in his arms tonight seems as though she's been doused in a pungent blend of antiseptic and ash.

"Breathe, Sakura."

Sasuke repeats Sakura's name to ground her as he starts regulating his own breath: six counts in through the nose, hold, eight counts out through the mouth. He's sure to exaggerate his breaths a bit so Sakura can feel the movement against her back. Hesitantly, his hand comes up to trail over the marks on her forearm. His hands have always been cold, so he figures the one he has left might be able to relieve some of the sting from her nails.

He makes a mental note to pick up some basic medical ninjutsu and doesn't bother to pretend it's just for field injuries.

It takes about ten minutes for Sakura's breathing to return mostly to normal. It still stutters every now and then, but she's matching Sasuke almost breath for breath. She doesn't move away from him, and Sasuke doesn't move to shift her.

As they sit in silence, save for their own breathing, Sasuke realizes he's put himself in a position where he needs to actually start the conversation. There's no bright chatter, no smile to coax him into talking. Again, he's at a loss.

It seems this new Sakura has retained a talent for doing this to him.

Annoying woman.

"Tell me about it."

Sakura immediately shakes her head, breath trembling yet again. Sasuke sighs and guesses he should have known she wasn't going to make this easy for him. He can't blame her. If someone asked him to do the same, he would have told them to fuck off.

"Sakura."

She turns to him with a dangerous look in her eyes, a cold jade that threatens to cut him if he pushes too far. Sasuke's always been the best at serving the very same look, but it's unnerving to see it etched into Sakura's soft features.

"Dammit, Sakura. Just talk to me."

Her gaze grows warmer, but not in the way he wants. She's angry, and Sasuke isn't really sure how he could have pissed her off in just six words. Sakura being Sakura, she of course makes the reason for her anger clear immediately.

"And why the hell do I need to do that, Sasuke?"

Sasuke nearly winces at the dropped suffix on his name and tries to remember how his mother handled it when he refused to confide in her.

"You haven't been here" - even Sakura knows this is unfair as she says it, but the confusion, grief, and alcohol clouding her mind make it difficult to acknowledge how much the man she loves has grown to be able to offer this to her- "and you never told me anything when I asked you to. So fuck off, Sasuke-kun. I'm sure Naruto's expecting you."

Naruto most definitely wasn't, but Sasuke doesn't see the value in pointing that particular fact out. By the time he got to the village and was promptly dragged into the bar he had made the mistake of walking past on his way to the Hokage Tower, the idiot was already drunk off his ass. Ino was as well, so Hinata asked Sasuke if he would mind going to check on Sakura at the hospital since she and Sai needed to stay to take care of their significant others.

Sakura finally moves to get up, tipping over a half-full bottle of sake in her efforts, but Sasuke can still see the tremors in her hands and the familiar strain of a jaw clenched against tears. Her eyes still dart towards the corners of the room.

Sasuke's well aware of the ghosts that can haunt those shadows and resolves to help Sakura put hers to rest, even if it's just for the night. His legs tighten around Sakura before she can fully pull away from him, and she falls back against his chest with a huff and a glare that's more tired than venomous.

Sasuke sighs and lowers his head. His bangs cover his eyes as he decides to voice at least part of the feelings he's managed to process regarding Sakura. He's not sure exactly how to categorize how he feels about her yet (mostly because his mind still can't comprehend why someone so bright has loved him through so much darkness), but he wants to help and that's about all he can offer her at the moment.

She deserves more, so much more, but he hopes it's enough for now.

"I'm here, Sakura."

He wants to add that he's not going anywhere because someone who will stay is only a fraction of what Sakura deserves, but that's not a promise he can make.

He feels Sakura's surprise as she stiffens against him, and her breath stops altogether for a few worrying moments. Sasuke wills himself to stay relaxed at her back, still maintaining a steady breathing pace should she need the rhythm again.

Sakura's thoughts are a whirlwind that she tries to grab ahold of but slips right through her fingers. She's torn, half of her mind shattered glass that urges her to open up and share even a part of her pain so that she can just stop breaking. Sasuke's here, showing his own vulnerability (however slight) in hopes that she'll trust him enough to do the same, and she's not sure when she'll experience this side of him again.

The other half, near-solid stone with only spiderweb cracks, whispers that voicing the memories that haunt her will only confirm her weakness in Sasuke's eyes. Instead of seeing the warrior who destroyed the ground and healed thousands in the war, he'll see the wisp of a girl who had trailed behind him as a genin.

It's the gentle, unconscious stroke of Sasuke's thumb across her forearm that makes her decision. Sasuke can sense the shift in Sakura as her head drops back onto his shoulder and her eyes squeeze shut. She's tired, so tired.

"I killed them."

Her voice breaks in the middle, and Sakura hisses out a quiet dammit at her traitorous voice. Sasuke's hand tightens where it rests on her arm.

He's quiet for a moment. Outside of discussing strategy or the details of a mission, talking isn't something Sasuke has much practice in. That, and his plan may have ended at getting Sakura to calm down enough to breathe properly.

He spends another minute in silence, growing increasingly frustrated with his inability to find the words he needs to comfort the woman who has always known exactly what he needed to hear. Sakura, however, doesn't seem to mind the silence as she relaxes against him. Green eyes crack open, and though they're still muddled with pain, he sees a steady glimmer of trust and contentment behind them that immediately quells his frustration.

The open trust in Sakura's gaze reminds Sasuke that she's never expected him to be anyone other than himself. She's always been patient, meeting him more than halfway as he seemed to take one step towards her and two or three back.

He suspects it's the same now, as there's no expectation in her eyes, no tension in her body that suggests she's irritated by his silence. So instead of pushing himself to think of the correct words to fill the empty space, Sasuke pulls her more firmly against his chest and shifts her so his chin rests lightly atop her head.

It's more affection than he's ever shown, and it's far from comfortable for him, but Sasuke knows that Sakura's worth a bit of discomfort.

Just as Sakura has spent so many years steadfastly waiting for him to come to her, he settles in to wait for her to tell him - whether that time comes tonight or later down the line.

That time doesn't come tonight. Though she trusts Sasuke with her life, Sakura can't quite break through the insecurity that he'll find her weak the moment she says anything more. Maybe it's not a fair assumption to make, but most of her memories of them together on the battlefield ended in Sakura being treated as fragile - something to be left behind and protected.

Even if they made progress during the war, Sakura's not quite ready to test the durability of the picture of strength she painted as she threw herself at Madara or took on a goddess at her team's side.

Instead, she's happy to just let his presence ward off the shadows in her mind. The voices are silent at his touch, so she decides to just enjoy the rest and wrestle with them when they inevitably come back after Sasuke's gone again.

Sasuke feels Sakura's breathing even out and watches her eyes flutter closed as she falls asleep against him. It's an interesting thing, having someone trust you so fully that they're willing to be at their most unguarded.

And he's done nothing to deserve it. He knows this, and it merely strengthens his resolve to continue his journey of atonement so that he can become someone who's at least a fraction deserving of Sakura and all that she's willing to offer him.

As he maneuvers himself out from behind Sakura and shifts her onto his back, Sasuke realizes with a tinge of bitterness that this is something he could have every day - Sakura's presence and everything bright and loving that entails. But as much as he wants to be there when she wakes up and finally say yes to taking her with him, he's not quite ready for that step.

There's more growth to be had, more relationships to mend, more emotions for him to reconcile within himself. While he knows having Sakura by his side would expedite the process of mending bridges and healing his own wounds, she needs to keep some of her light for herself.

When he leaves this time, it's out of consideration not just for himself, but for both of them. He can just make out the time when he asks Sakura to join him on his journey in the near future, but it's not now. They both have steps they need to take before they're ready.

He leaves Sakura tucked under the nest of far too many blankets she's always stubbornly kept haphazardly strewn across her bed, with a simple note on her nightstand:

Next time, Sakura.

#sasusaku #sasusaku fanfic #sasusaku blank period #blank period #naruto fanfiction #hurt/comfort #sasusaku fanfiction #sasuke uchiha #sakura haruno #romance

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mavda · 3 years

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Beast Tamers

Ch.1 | Ch.2 | Ch.3 | Ch.4(1) | Ch.4(2) | Ch.5(1) | Ch.5(2) | Ch.5(3) | Ch.5(4) | Ch.6(1) | Ch.6(2) | Ch.6(3) | Ch.7(1) | Ch.7(2) | Ch.7(3) | Ch.7(4) | Ch.7(5) | Ch.8(1) | Ch.8(2) | Ch.8(3) | Ch.9(1) | Ch.9(2) | Ch.9(3) | Ch.9(4) | Ch.10(1) | Ch.10(2) | Ch.10(3) |

Ch.10: The Two-Tails (4)

Shino's bugs buzz around him and he stares into the dark. He can’t see, but he senses, feels, and his bugs tell him about the meeting happening a couple hundred meters away from him.

“I can’t see shit,” Kiba shares, right beside him in a whisper. He’s on his stomach, with Akamaru right beside him. “We can’t go closer though, they’ll notice us.”

“Correct.”

Shino remains still and Kiba remains restless next to him.

“Fuck this.”

Shino agrees but says nothing. Away from them, deep into the forest, Lord Graff meets someone whose scent they can’t sense, whose voice they can’t hear, whose presence they can’t follow.

When the meeting finishes and the mystery figure leaves the place, Kiba and Shino try to follow, but they end their chase shortly after, with Akamaru sniffing around furiously and with Shino’s bugs buzzing louder than usual.

“They’re good,” Kiba says, frustration lacing his words.

Shino usually lets Kiba’s words hang in the air between them, especially if what he’s saying is already understood between them. But this time Shino can feel his own exasperation rising, so he scoffs once, turns around and says, “I agree.”

•····························•····························•

Shikamaru and Naruto sigh at the same time, and Naruto locks eyes with him a second before huffing out and shaking his head.

“I talked with him again, he knows nothing.”

Shikamaru lets one of his hands press on his head. Tsume looks at Naruto with squinted eyes, completely concentrated.

“Or he’s extremely good at hiding things? I don’t know.” Naruto opens his hand in irritation. They know Lord Graff has something going on. Out of everyone they have checked on, he’s the only one that meets a stranger. And yet…

“What if he doesn’t know?” Starts Shikamaru.

“How so?” Naruto interrupts, “a third party, you think?”

“Maybe.”

Tsume stares at the two youngsters in front of her and raises her nose in dissatisfaction. “What does it matter?” She growls.

Shikamaru lets his head fall to the side with a tight smile. Because yes, but also no.

“We knew from day one that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. I knew from day one this was a trap, and you two seemed happy to go into it anyways-”

“Well, happy is a strong word.” Naruto chimes in, but Tsume stares him down and he looks down in embarrassment.

“So I say we focus on what we can do and prepare. Lord Graff is probably giving the enemy information, so what? We prepare. And what we need right now is not to prepare our defenses, but our attack.”

Naruto looks at Tsume, her short hair framing her face, her eyes burning with passion. The fang markings on her cheeks crinkling as she smiles, showing her own teeth, “I am good with that.”

•····························•····························•

Naruto finds Neji in his room. Deep into the night. Neji is reading a book under the candlelight and opens the sliding door before Naruto has a chance to even announce himself.

“My lord,” Neji greets, and Naruto closes the mouth with which he was about to call for Neji before tilting his head and huffing out.

“Hey, sorry for making you wait too long.”

“Not at all, my lord, please,” Neji points to the two cushions laid on the floor before walking to them. He waits for Naruto to sit down before following through.

Naruto sits in silence and then breathes in and out loud enough. Neji looks at him with a blank stare and Naruto has to look away for a second.

“Shall I offer you a drink, my lord?”

Naruto raises his hand immediately, “No, no, sorry, it’s just…”

“Are you nervous?”

Naruto scoffs, “Is it that obvious?”

“No. Not really,” Neji bites down the remarks of how Naruto seems to only show this side of himself to Neji and Shikamaru. He bites down on his questions because he fears Naruto will change his demeanor, as if the only reason for this is because he somehow hasn’t noticed.

Naruto lets his head fall back and moves it side to side. His muscles are sore. “Well, basically, you know we’re leaving in a week, right?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Naruto straightens, blinks hard. He needs sleep. “I’m only taking Shino, Sai and Ino with me. Nothing ought to happen in here while I’m gone. There will be guards and shifts and everything will be under control, you’ll have Sakura right beside you if anything happens. Hell, my dad and my godfather are pretty good assets too, I would say, this place will be more guarded than any other place I know of.” He takes a moment and Neji says nothing, and the anxiousness that eats at him tries to resurface, “I want you to stick close to Hinata, Neji. Fuck, not close, I want you to be her shadow.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“There will be guards and I have already talked with everyone about her being priority number one if… if anything were to happen. Which will not, you know,” he adds, with a soft brisk in his voice. “But…” he hates having to put himself through these scenarios. “I haven’t told her, you know? Haven’t said a peep about things going wrong.”

Naruto looks at Neji, at his white eyes, that seem impassive and full of knowledge. “You have her same look. She knows… I know she-"

There is not much he can say, and there is not much he can do. They have prepared and prepared further. And now Naruto needs to know that someone will have only Hinata's well-being on their minds. So he asks.

"Please just take care of her."

"Yes, my lord."

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They are inside their room, and Naruto leaves a trail of kisses on her body. He engulfs her, her body against his, his hands roaming wherever they can. Hinata can only sigh and moan to the wall in front of her.

He has a meeting soon after.

“Y-your mee-” Naruto brings her mouth to his. He’s eager, his hands caress her belly and he stops when his hands meet under her, he loves feeling the weight in his hands, the little sigh Hinata gives as her body feels some relief from her added weight.

“Do you think we can-?” he whispers. His breath hot behind her ear, his body ready.

It takes Hinata less than two seconds to nod. Her own body has undergone changes, her mind has become filled with worries, and Naruto’s touch has become the only thing capable of overruling her mind, to keep her from spiralling down places she knows she can’t go.

It is hurried and messy and full of hot breathed moans against her back. Naruto keeps his hands under her stomach and he takes care of not pressing her too hard against the wall. Just enough. Just enough to make Hinata tremble under his touch and grab onto his arms to keep herself from losing her footing.

Her kimono is all disheveled and Naruto presses her to him, keeps one hand on her stomach and the other squeezes her breast. He bites the nape of her neck and Hinata feels herself coming from a mile away.

“I’m c-comin-”

Naruto slows his pace and rides her high with her, he doesn’t come. He turns her around with utmost care, keeping his hands on her at all times. “You all right?”

Hinata nods, but her legs feel weak and her hands don’t leave his arms in fear of stumbling over. He looks tousled, and his erection stands in between his robes.

He starts undressing Hinata in order to help her get ready again, her obi falls and Naruto puts it over his shoulder. Hinata’s hand ghosts over his glans and Naruto freezes.

The corner of his mouth rises, “Are you gonna help me take care of it, love?”

Hinata wants to whisper a yes, wants to be seductive and smirk back. But their desperation to be together has only grown bigger over these past weeks and she can’t hide the sun with her thumb.

She’s scared.

She moves closer to him and starts stroking his erection, her mouth leaving kisses on his chest. He doubles over, covers her hand with his and helps her make him come.

When he does, his mouth opens over hers and he spills himself over her stomach. Hinata brings his hand over her pregnant belly and rests it there for a second, before she steals a kiss from his lips and then uses a cloth to clean herself and Naruto.

They say nothing, and Naruto leaves her with her clothes as if nothing ever happened and with a kiss on her lips that lasts longer than usual.

•····························•····························•

It is morning and Naruto has been staring out their window for a while. He thinks she’s sleeping, but she awoke the moment he stirred beside her and she has not been able to fall asleep again.

Naruto looks over at her out of habit and catches her eyes. He crawls to her, “Have you been awake long?”

“No,” she lies and Naruto lies with her again, but outside the bedclothes.

“I’ll be back before you notice.”

He whispers and she whispers back. There is no one nearby, and what they are talking about is hardly important, but they mutter back and forth, with their hands interlocked.

Hinata rubs her thumb over his cheek, drags her fingers over his whiskers. “I’ll be r-right here, w-waiting for you.”

Naruto’s blue eyes wrinkle and then Hinata’s hand flies to her stomach, “We,” she corrects herself, “we will be w-waiting.”

Naruto smiles, lets out a snort before he rolls over and lets his elbows rest at her sides. He kisses her face, her neck, he sits and lets his hand come up in front of him, right over Hinata’s tummy.

“Daddy’s going,” he whispers against her clothes and then comes up again for one last kiss. “Go back to sleep.”

Hinata nods but sits and follows with her eyes as he grabs his bag.

Naruto checks his things before sighing and getting a shawl he then wraps around her body. “See if you can and get some more sleep, okay?”

Hinata nods again and her hands grip the shawl around her with too much force. Naruto notices and moves his hands over hers, “Hey,” he calls, his voice low, full of sleep and wishes, “I love you.”

A last kiss on her lips and then he looks at her eyes. “I’ll be back before you even get to miss me.”

He leaves and Hinata feels his absence immediately after. What a lie.

She misses him already.

•····························•····························•

His group waits outside the inner compound. With their bags ready and a look in their eyes that leaves nothing to chance.

They ride a carriage and Shino’s bugs let out a soft hum that helps Naruto drift off into a series of naps before the sun hits his face.

They stop, eat, talk about their plans making sure no one listens, then ride again and keep on going.

Shino’s surveillance never wanes and Ino has taken Sai as a chatting companion -with Naruto as a close second best option and Shino up to whenever he feels like sharing something-. Their travel is lengthy and without disturbances and Naruto somehow wishes something came out so he could take out his frustration on something.

Nothing happens.

And they reach the territory of the Two-Tails. Unlike what Naruto expected, no one is overly aggressive and they reach their dwellings without trouble. And all of this should make him sigh in relief, but somehow it only makes him more agitated.

“This sucks,” he says under his breath.

Ino snorts and looks around with her high ponytail following behind, “Indeed it does, my lord.”

“Just one of you is allowed inside, so Sai will be coming with me.”

Shino and Ino nod and start checking their room with professional care. Shino’s bugs fly around and Naruto can feel the buzzing outside the room already. One of his bugs crawling inside Naruto’s clothes.

“We’ll be on the lookout.”

Ino opens the window and looks around for a bird. “Yes, my lord, we’ll gather information while we wait.”

Sai remains silent and the moment they leave he shadows Naruto with a confidence that makes Naruto smile.

The One-Tail, the Two-Tails, the Four-Tails, the Six-Tails, the Nine-Tails. All in one room. It sounds like the start of a bad joke.

His territory and the Four-Tails’ are the farthest apart from here, so he knows the others will be more rested. He half expects for the Four-Tails not to appear.

A guard looks at him with a bored look Naruto returns before opening the door to the meeting.

The One-Tail, the Two-Tails and the Four-Tails stare at him and Naruto doesn’t even get to give ten full steps into the room before the Two-Tails shakes a paper in front of her.

“My lord, a pleasure to meet you, the Six-Tails is dead.”

Naruto snorts at her tone, walks the rest of the way to a seat away from all of them and lets his hand come to his chin. The Two-Tails locks eyes with him and Naruto tilts his head.

“Oh.” He says.

#naruto #naruhina #Naruto Uzumaki #Hinata Hyuga #uzumaki naruto #hyuga hinata #fanfiction #fanfic #beast tamers #ch.10 #part 4 #Changed the text divider! I like this one better because it gives off a nicer look (?)#Also off we go to meet the Beast Tamers!!#Take care and see you next week!

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excitedlysuffering · 4 years

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Can you write Kiba with a really shy s/o (just like hinata), because we know baby is a playboy and a fuckboy and he wouldn’t go with girls like his s/o but they turn to be perfect for each other, plus if his s/o is a badass kunoichi, love your writing and all the fandoms you write for💖

Distraction- Kiba X Reader

It’s been so long I’m so sorry😩 but ty for the sweet words Nonnie🥺💕

“K-Kiba!” You hid your face in your hands, appalled at his crude jokes. No matter how many times you had heard him tell a dirty ‘joke’ you would never be ready for them. You scowled as he laughed at your awkwardness, even though it really wasn’t funny.

“Oh, c’mon, (Y/N), lighten up a little!” Akamaru barked in agreement, much to your further irritation. You looked away from him, deciding to focus on the mission at hand.

“W-we’re on a mission, Kiba,” You pouted. You saw him roll his eyes, but you were too busy to care. The sound of light footsteps reached your ears, putting you on high alert. From the way both Kiba and Akamaru tensed you could tell they had heard it too, not that you were surprised.

You jerked your chin to the source of the sound, your senbon in hand. He nodded once sharply and they silently followed you as you charged over to the spy. “It’s an ambush,” Kiba warned, sniffing the air.

You quickly formed the hand signs and placed your hands around your mouth, as if trying to project your voice. “Lightning Style: Magnetic Wave!” A sphere of electricity shot towards the group of who you assumed was enemy nin.

Screams almost reached your ears, but the sound of the explosion overshadowed them. Kiba blinked in surprise at the damage you had caused but swiftly snapped out of his stupor as the remaining rogues rushed the two of you.

Kiba had never been on a mission like this with you, meaning he hadn’t had the chance to see you really fight. In his mind, you were jumpy and shy, but here he was seeing you on the offensive and kicking ass.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t swooning the whole fight. In fact, he was seeing you in a whole new light. You were sweet and kind, but fierce and strong as well. He gawked as you took out two shinobi in one move, utterly impressed.

You looked over, just in time to see a kunai go straight through his torso. A scream ripped through both of your lips simultaneously, your voices accompanied by Akamaru’s pained howl.

“KIBA!” You and Akamaru stood over your fallen comrade and managed to ward off the shinobi long enough to make an escape. “(Y-Y/N)...” You panicked as you watched blood spurt from between his lips.

“Don’t try to talk! We have to get you back to Konoha…” With a bit of effort, you managed to place the brunette on Akamaru’s back and you sat behind him, holding him up. “Please, Akamaru, we have to get him back to Tsunade-sama,” You pleaded.

He didn’t need to be told twice and with a bark, he was leaving the fallen ninja in the dust. “Open your eyes, Kiba! As your mission captain, I demand you to stay awake!” You felt your heart jolt as his bloodstained lips spread in a small smile.

“Sorry… ma’am.” You breathed a small sigh of relief as his eyes blinked open, even if only slightly. “You’re going to be fine, alright?” He frowned, his clouded eyes meeting yours. “I better be… since this is… your fault anyways…”

You winced as more blood left his mouth as he coughed. Your eyebrows furrowed as you processed his statement. “What? My fault? You’re the one that got distracted!” You were struggling to slow the blood flow with nothing but a rag, and he was fading fast. Luckily, the mission had only taken place on the outskirts of the village.

“Yeah, distracted by you!” You gave him a look full of disbelief. “I did?” You were more than a little confused as to where your confidence was coming from, you usually tended to struggle to talk to Kiba, thanks to your oversized crush on him. Maybe it had something to do with him having a fatal wound.

“Yeah… you were fierce and hot…” You squeaked at his words, preparing to give him a piece of your mind when you realized that his eyes had closed.

“Kiba? Hey! You can’t sleep yet, remember?!” Your heart clenched painfully as nothing happened. His breathing was ragged and shallow and you could tell he didn’t have much time left.

“Hurry, Akamaru, he’s getting worse!” The dog let out a pitiful whine and sped up. “Kiba, I swear to Kami, if you don’t wake up, I’ll show you just how fierce I can be!” He still didn’t stir, and you could feel tears pricking at the corners of your eyes.

“(Y/N)?!” Your head snapped up at the familiar voices. “Kotetsu! Izumo! Please, let us in, he’s hurt!” With worried glances, they immediately permitted the three of you in, and Akamaru raced through the gate.

“To the hospital, boy, hopefully, Tsunade-sama is there.” He made a sharp turn towards your destination and within no time the building came into view.

“Hold on, Inuzuka, help is on the way,” You murmured, brushing the blood away from his mouth. “(Y/N)!” You looked up, relieved to see Sakura. “Sakura! Kiba’s been stabbed, can you help him?” Sakura gasped, looking over him.

“Follow me, Akamaru! HEY! WE NEED MEDICAL ASSISTANCE IMMEDIATELY!” In seconds, medics were rushing to her aid, stretchers in tow. The next few minutes were a blur of loud commands, pushing, shoving, and just general chaos.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O

About a half an hour later, Sakura rushed out into the waiting room, announcing that Kiba was stable. “Can I see him?” The pinkette looked around. “Is his family not here yet?” You shook your head sadly. “Tsume and Hana are on missions, but I don’t think they’ve been notified yet.”

She frowned at that. “Go on in, I’m going to contact the Inuzuka’s.” I bowed gratefully. “Thank you, Sakura.” She grinned, waving as she left. You silently slipped in, shutting the door behind you.

“(Y/N)...?” You smiled ruefully, and now a bit shyly as well. “Hey… how are you feeling?” He smiled sheepishly. “I’m alright. Thank you for saving me.” You shrugged awkwardly, sitting down across next to his bed.

“Ah, it was mostly Akamaru and the med nins.” Akamaru nuzzled your leg, and you grinned, petting him.

“Give yourself some credit, (Y/N), you were a badass out there!” You smirked slightly. “Enough to distract you, right?”

You stifled your laugh behind your hand as his cheeks reddened. He nervously scratched behind his head and looked away.

“Look… I’ve never seen this side of you before and I- I really like it. I want to see more of it…” Now it was your turn to become flustered, but he continued on anyways.

“Maybe when I get out of here, we can go get lunch or something.” A huge smile took over your face and you nodded eagerly. “I’d love to! So get healed up quickly, you dunce.”

He laughed, his blush still matching yours. “Don’t distract me then next time!”

#naruto x reader #kiba x reader #requested #fluff

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redcameleon · 4 years

Text

Superstar Series

Chapter 13: Reunion

Summary: The group finally kicks off their tour, and Sakura and Sasuke’s interactions have never been this awkward.

Rating: K.

It is only a few weeks before they kick off their first tour date. Stress levels are building up higher than before. Despite his intention, Sasuke can’t stop thinking back to his little encounter with Sakura the other day. He can still vividly remember her face, the words she said to him.

Shikamaru has just finished a meeting with the creative board and the head stylists as they all exit the conference room. Sasuke just happens to pass by when he notices Ino, Hinata, and Karin murmuring among themselves as they exit.

“Do you think Sakura will agree?” Sasuke’s eyes perk up at the mention of her name.

“I don’t know but she has to.. At this point we could use all the help we can get!” What is this? What is Sakura supposed to agree to? Shikamaru notices how Sasuke stops in his footsteps and moves to greet him.

“Sasuke.” Shikamaru motions him to enter the room. Sasuke gives him a nod before entering and closing the door behind him.

“I want to let you know first. You know how swamped we are right now, right?” He nods. Sasuke notices the bags underneath his eyes that mirror his own. He can’t possibly miss the mess that has been going on around the office. Understaffed is just one word to describe it. To be fair, they never expected their company to skyrocket in the past year alone. Being from a small company, there is only so many you can hire. But now that their scale is getting bigger, that means their performance venues are getting bigger, and they will eventually need to hire more help.

“We’ve decided to rehire Sakura for this tour.” Sasuke’s eyes widen in surprise. Not because of how outrageous the idea sounds, but because of all people, he never would have thought Shikamaru to be the one to propose the idea. After all, based on their last interaction at the office, Shikamaru’s words had pretty much influenced Sakura’s decision to quit. But now here he is, trying to get her back to the company. Honestly, Sasuke is delighted at the news. If Sasuke alone could not convince her to come back, maybe a more formal invitation will.

Sakura sits on the chair across from Shikamaru. The background jazz music fills the space, tuning out the indistinct conversations around them. Sakura fiddles with her straw as she shifts her gaze between the beverage in front of her and the folder lying on the table.

“Please give it another thought. We really need the help. You’re one of the most senior staff members, and we simply don’t have enough time to recruit a lot of new people.” Sakura takes a sip of her drink.

“When do I have to decide?” Shikamaru leans back in his chair.

“I’ll give you two days. Should be more than enough.” Sakura gives it one last glance before sighing and grabbing the folder.

“I’ll contact you with my decision.”

Sakura tucks the folder in her tote bag, bows to Shikamaru and exits the café. She walks back to her apartment, mind heavy with thoughts. To some this might be a straightforward answer, but to her, this concerns too many things that she can’t carelessly decide on the spot. Heck this will only make her resignation look like a joke. The reason she resigned in the first place was to draw the line between her and Sasuke’s relationship. Coming back to work for them, to work for him, would mean that all of that effort to stay away from Sasuke will be in vain. It is a different story if they both no longer have feelings for each other. But just from their little encounter at the park the other day, they both know that is far from the reality that they both still care about each other. Perhaps too much to maintain a professional relationship. If she were to come back, there is no guarantee that they can keep their relationship under wraps. The risk of being exposed and ruining each other’s lives are still up on the table.

Sakura comes to a stop at the red light.

But then, she can’t be so selfish as to turn her back on them. Like what Shikamaru said, they need the help. And being one of the senior staff members for their group, it’ll take years for someone to be able to replace her, and they both know time is not a luxury they have right now. She cannot stop thinking about her coworkers, Ino, Hinata, and Karin, how they were the ones who must have stepped in her place to fill her void. She cannot imagine the amount of stress that must have given them. She secretly feels guilty for her decision that a tiny part of her is starting to regret it.

Meeting Sasuke the other day was not just a coincidence. It was destiny. She had to see him one last time to be sure. One thing she is sure of is that her feelings for Sasuke will not go away. Not then, not now. No matter how hard she tries to not think about him, her heart cannot lie. She will always love him. Now she has been given the perfect opportunity, or excuse?, to come back. They need her. How can she turn her back on them?

She takes out her phone and dials Shikamaru.

“Hello?”

“Shikamaru-san.”

“Hn. That was faster than I thought.” Sakura smiles.

“Yes. I’ve given it some thought, and-“

Ino sits in her cubicle, chin in her hand as she browses through some pictures and concept ideas. She scribbles down some notes, making a relatively long to do list for her and her make up team. Letting out a tired sigh, she runs her hand over her face, deciding to get up to the vending machine and fetch a nice cold brew. Nothing like a good ol’ cup of coffee to wake her up.

Just as she gets up from her chair, she notices a figure standing a few feet away. She focuses her gaze and immediate recognizes her old coworker, and friend.

“Sakura!”

“Hi there.” Sakura giggles, spreading her arms.

“You-“ Ino runs up towards her, embracing her in a tight hug. “I can’t believe you’re here forehead! It’s been so long!”

“Sorry it took me so long.” Ino pulls back to look at her.

“So, does that mean you’re working here again?” Sakura gives a reassuring nod, and Ino has a sudden urge to hug her again.

“Yes! Oh my god I have so many things to tell you!” Ino swings her arm around her friend’s shoulder.

“Me too. I guess I haven’t been entirely open about myself.” Ino is no idiot. Even though Sakura hasn’t told her about Sasuke, she was able to figure things out rather quickly. She just does not know all the details.

“How about you buy me some coffee and we can catch up?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Huffs and puffs of air fill the room as the music comes to an end. The four men immediate plop to the ground in exhaustion.

“Hey, we did great! Don’t you guys think so? We’ve never been more in sync.” Naruto comments, pride evident in his voice.

“Well yeah, we’ve been busting our butts for months, we better be good!” Kiba comments, making Naruto chuckle.

“Looks like I caught you all in the right time.” A female voice enters the room, prompting them all to sit and turn their heads to the source. Their eyes widen when they see a certain someone peeking through the door with a bag of snacks.

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto gets up, as if all his strength has been replenished and pulls her into an embrace. “You’re back!”

Kiba and Suigetsu join him, giving her side hugs.

“We’ve missed you lots!”

“You mean my snacks?” Sakura eyes Kiba.

“Nonsense! Of course we miss you.” Sasuke stands in the middle of the room, observing their interaction. His heart is beating at two hundred beats per minute, unsure if it is from their dance practice or from her.

Sakura hands the delicacies to the members, happy at how quick they dismantle the packaging and devour their contents. Sasuke slowly walks towards her, eyes never leaving her form as he takes in the sight in front of him. She is here. She is finally back. Is it for good? That is the only question that remains.

Sakura gives him a warm smile as he approaches her, keeping himself at an arm’s length.

“Hey.”

“You’re back.”

“Hm yeah.. Shikamaru did a pretty good job convincing me.” He needs to remember to repay him somehow.

“So you’re staying right?”

“For now.” That’s a good enough answer for him. For once, he can finally be around her again.

“Hey Sasuke, if you’re not having any we’re gonna finish all of this.” Suigetsu chimes in. Sasuke gives her one last smile before heading towards the members.

“Leave some for me, will ya.” He ruffles Suigetsu’s hair before he sticks his hand in the bag, ruffling around a bit and taking out an onigiri.

Compared to their other practices, nothing can top off today’s.

The following days seem more vivid for Sasuke compared to other days. He does not know why but his mood has been greatly lifted, although his members seem to know what caused it, or who. The way his face would light up, the way he walks into the room with his shoulders broad, and his confidence apparent, only a blind man cannot see the effect Sakura’s return has caused him.

Trying to get back into her groove again, Ino informs Sakura on the latest changes. Reading meeting notes after notes, and going over sketches after sketches, Sakura is determined to get back to her professional self again. She is not going to let herself fall behind just because she was absent for a few months.

Occasionally bumping into Sasuke in the office, they only manage to spare a brief hello, how’s it going, and see you later. Still seemingly flustered around each other, they try to avoid any unnecessary physical touch. Of course, it is nearly impossible when Sakura is in charge of dressing up Sasuke.

Both crave for more, yet a tiny voice keeps holding them back. The pent up frustration somehow lingers in the air. All he wants is to just grab her cheeks and pull her into a kiss. All she wants is to run her hands all over him, to finally let herself love him fully. All they want is to just be in each other’s arms, to fully let themselves love. Knowing better that that will not do them any good, especially in the media’s eyes, they bury their urges deep down.

Days quickly turn to weeks, and before they know it, they are leaving for their tour tomorrow. They have one last meeting before they end the day early, giving everyone a good night’s rest to prepare for their departure.

One by one, the rest of the staff leave the building. Sakura is cleaning up her desk when Naruto walks up to her cubicle, leaning over the partition.

“It’s nice to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back.”

“You know, Sasuke seems to be in a much better mood lately.”

“Oh yeah? That’s good to hear.” She does notice how much he’s been smiling lately. Just his overall aura seems more.. cheerful. And her eyes would linger at him for too long, admiring how much happiness suits on him.

“You know it’s probably because of you, right?”

“I’m sure he’s just excited because the tour is nearing.”

“You know that’s not all.”

“I know.” She pauses. “But I’m not here to get back together with him. At least.. Not now.” She can’t seem to stop speaking when it comes to Naruto. He has that effect on people; he just makes people so comfortable.

“But you do want to get back with him?” Naruto eyes her, looking for some sort of confirmation.

“Well.. someday I guess? I don’t know Naruto. You guys don’t get the luxury of dating like normal people once you become famous. And I don’t want to be a burden for Sasuke, or cause his fame to plummet.” All of Sakura’s words have truth in them. All except for one thing.

“Believe me, you’ve never been a burden to him.” Sakura looks up to him, and sees fire burning in his gaze. She seems to wonder how Naruto can be so sure about that.

“How do you know?”

“I just know.” Sakura cannot deny the butterflies that are beginning to fly in her stomach.

The beginning is always the hardest part. Being that this is their first tour, things are bound to go wrong, and they just have to roll past it.

Running frantically across the room, Sakura grabs some tissue to dab Sasuke’s sweat away. The members have just finished their first set and are off to change for the second set. With just a ten minute intervention in between, they are being chased by the clock. She quickly gets Sasuke off his navy blue shirt and into another shirt with beaded accents on the collar and cuffs. Sasuke buttons it up while she dabs some more powder on him, fixing his make up.

“Great, all set!” After muttering a quick “Thanks.”, Sasuke speed walks out of the room and into the stage elevator.

They are all running on autopilot as they let their bodies go through each song just like how they practiced. With a few bumping ins into people, and a few shoutings here in there backstage, they somehow manage to finish their first day cleanly.

The fans’ loud cheering can be heard from outside the venue, and nothing feels more refreshing than knowing how months of preparation, rehearsals, and meetings are starting to pay off.

Days go by as they move from one city to the other, and one country to the other, meeting fans from all over the world. Their energy never dwindles as they keep getting more strength from their fans.

But of course, just as they think the tour is going fine, a disaster happens. Suigetsu limps off the stage, arms swung around his bodyguard and leaning his body on him. During one of their final songs, he seems to have lost his footing and twisted his ankle. Withstanding through the pain and still managing to end the concert beautifully, all the adrenaline finally runs out as he feels a pulsating pain from his ankle.

They quickly summon the doctor to take a look at him. Suigetsu lies on the floor, panting as sweat streams down his face and neck. He winces when the doctor tries to lift his foot. The doctor wraps some ice packs around his ankle, and rests it on a pillow.

“I’m afraid you twisted your ankle. You need to take it easy for the remaining tour. And that means, no dancing. In fact, I don’t think you should perform at all.”

“What?!” Suigetsu abruptly props himself up by his elbows. There is no way he is going to miss out on a performance, not when they are at their final leg of the tour. “There’s no way I’m gonna miss out on a performance!”

“Suigetsu, don’t be ridiculous. You won’t be able to perform at all if you insist on dancing during the rest of the tour.” Shikamaru places his hand on his shoulder, trying to reason with him. Suigetsu looks over to the side, clearly frustrated with the whole situation.

Luckily, they are able to come up with a solution for him to still be on stage, as long as he does not dance. During their performance the following day, they let him sit on a stool in the middle of the stage while the rest of the members dance in front of him. His condition clearly bothers him. Nevertheless, he tries to put on a smile and sings through his parts. The members would sometimes dance around him, making him laugh. All the fans still give their all, cheering throughout the entire show, screaming his and their names.

The drive back to the hotel is quiet. The four members lean back on their car seat, looking over the window. Their minds keep replaying their performance, each taking mental notes of individual things for them to improve. They talk over some parts of their performance where Kiba’s tempo was slightly off beat, where Sasuke kept brushing over Suigetsu, where there was a part where Naruto sang off key.

Letting out a sigh, the members’ mood seems to be defeated as the car ride grows silent.

“But hey we did great too! I mean the fans loved us!” Naruto tries to cheer everyone up. Despite it being their first tour, they have to admit that they’ve been doing great so far, and Naruto is trying to make sure they all know that.

“Come on, we just have to practice harder and do a better job for the rest of the tour.”

“Easy for you to say, I can’t even dance with you guys!” Suigetsu flails his arms around in frustration. The members do not say a word as they all understand the pain of not being able to perform when it is their whole life! Suigetsu is just glad it is only temporary.

“Hey, you’ll still be with us on stage! You just have to focus on getting yourself healed. The faster you heal, the faster you can perform again.” Kiba gives him a reassuring smile, and slowly, Suigetsu’s mood is beginning to be lifted.

“Yeah you’re right. Thanks guys.” If it were not for each other, who knows how quick they would give up.

As they arrive at their hotel, the only thing on their mind is a nice hot shower and a good night’s sleep. Sasuke shuts the door to Suigetsu’s hotel room and begins to head over to his own room when he notices Sakura walking towards him. He can only assume she is walking over to her room, which he believes to be the one next to Suigetsu’s.

“Hi!” Sakura stops to greet him.

“Hey.”

“Have you eaten yet?”

“Aa. We ordered room service earlier.”

“Ah great!” Sakura fiddles with her thumb. She cannot believe how awkward she is with Sasuke. She just wishes she can start being herself around him again, whenever that will be.

“You were really great today!” Sakura glances over to him, a tint of blush painted over her cheeks.

“Thank you.” Sasuke looks at her, and he has to fight off a blush. He curses himself for not being able to say more, but he can only manage to say, “Thanks for helping us today.”

“Of course.” Sakura beams up. When did things go so awkward between them? He wants nothing more than to be around her comfortably. He thinks it must be from the stress. He supposes he can ask her to come over to his room. Some privacy might be better. That way, they can talk freely without being heard by anyone in the hallway. But is it the right thing to do? He still has not talked to her again about this, them. Would it confuse her even more? When he is lost in thought, Sakura speaks.

“I think I’m gonna hit the hay. Good night Sasuke-kun. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Aa. Good night.” Sakura walks pass him and enters her room.

Tch. His heart aches for her, for her presence, for her love. Oh, how much he misses her.

She closes the door behind her and leans on the door, letting out a heavy sigh. Her heart aches every time she sees him. Oh, how much she misses him.

to be continued.

<--Chapter 12 Chapter 14-->

#ssff #ssfanfiction #sasusaku fanfiction #sasusaku #sasuke #sakura #fanfic #otp #redcameleon!writes #superstar!series

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narutowtfareyoudoing · 4 years

Note

Hi! I'm the anon who sent the message abt Tenten and Sakura. I think it's injustice that Tenten barely has any fics so could I request a scenario where Neji and Lee are desperatly trying to help get reader and Tenten together because Tenten felt mopey after hearing a false rumor that reader had a boyfriend?

Hey sweet anon! 💖💖 This is an adorable idea and I love it. It feels like one of those filler episodes (that I love by the way, fight me, there’s nothing wrong with filler) Hope you enjoy this! ---

“Let’s go train somewhere else.” Tenten pitched. She just couldn’t stand to be within eye shot of watching you ‘train’ with Kiba. If what you two were doing even counted as training, actually it barely counted as training, it shouldn’t count as training! You shouldn’t be able to ‘train’ like that on the training grounds, you two were just taking up space at this point and it wasn’t fair and Kiba was an as-- “You could just go say something instead of staring kunai’s at them.” Neji said point blank. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She snapped back. She refused to be bothered by the news she heard from Ino, you could date whoever you wanted. It wasn’t her business and it shouldn’t bother her--no scratch that it didn’t bother her. “Great idea Tenten! Y/N and Kiba are training over there, lets join them! The more, the better!” Lee chimed in happily. “No!” Tenten gasped loudly. “No?” Lee asked visibly confused. She hated how volatile her own response was, how instantaneously her gut had twisted, she crossed her arms and looked away from Lee. “That’s what I said.” She said clearly. She wasn’t going to back down even if she hadn’t meant for it to come out the way it had she wasn’t willing to budge on her stance. Her completely logical stance. Nothing but unquestionable Kunoichi logic. “But you love training with Y/N and sparring with Kiba has been great for my own tra--” Lee started to rush out, his words getting faster as he got more excited at the prospect of training with others. “I don’t love Y/N! Where’d you even hear that?!” She snapped. Staring daggers right into him as she waited for an answer, her heart racing with panic at the idea that anyone knew her feelings. Lee shied away from Tenten’s intense gaze, shrinking into himself a little as he tried to process her question with a mind that had no malicious intent. “I just--you usually--Y/N is a great sparring partner.” He struggled. He wasn’t wrong, that was one of the things Tenten liked so much about you was that you were an incredible Kunoichi, you were smart and fierce on the battle field but when she looked over to you and Kiba laughing any praise she had twisted into anger. A Kunoichi shouldn’t be playing around, letting a boy turn your sharp mind to mush left a vile taste in her mouth. “He didn’t say you loved her, he said you love sparring with her.” Neji pointed out. It was like being dowsed in cold water as that overstep hit her. She looked over at him equal parts horrified and angry, horrified he’d caught onto her and angry that he was so calm about it. “Wait-...” Lee said. Lee might be the second to last person to realize Tenten liked Y/N, the very last person to have yet to recognize it being you. He gasped as it dawned on him, excitement replacing any fear he had. “Tenten! You love Y/N! How beautiful! Incredible! Two extraordinary Kunoichi in l--” He started loudly, nearly in tears at this beautiful declaration he was making. But Tenten hitting him stopped that. “Lee! Quit it!” She demanded. “But Tenten love is one of the most beautiful and youthfu--” He started again. And again she hit him. “I don’t! Why would I be stupid enough to have feelings for someone who’s already got a boyfriend?! What do you take me for? Some kind of drooling idiot?” She demanded. Tears of frustration threatened to spill from her eyes as she yelled, she was too smart for this! Too smart to think like an idiot and she refused to let anyone else treat her like she was one, not even her own teammates. “Boyfriend?” Neji asked bewildered. But she didn’t want to talk about this anymore, it all made her feel so sick, so frustrated with the seemingly unchangeable circumstances. “I’m going to go work on my scrolls for our next mission.” She decided nodding to herself. “Tenten wait pl--” Lee started. But she was already gone. “Neji we have to do something! We just can’t sit by and let love die like this!” Lee stressed. Neji may not have the same view as Lee but he gave a nod as he thought everything that

had happened over, the words ‘someone who’s already got a boyfriend’ playing over in his head until it clicked as he looked up at you and Kiba. But something about that just didn’t add up...you and Kiba? Sure you’re friends but anyone who’s got eyes knows your romantic interests aren’t there...right? “We should talk to Y/N.” Lee said and before Neji could object to trying to come up with a plan he was already shouting. “Y/N!” Waving his arms as he walked over to you. Neji sighed and followed him over. “Hey Lee, Neji.” You greeted smiling briefly looking at them before around, your eyes clearly searching for their missing member. “Didn’t I see Tenten with you?” You asked. “Yeah, I could’ve sworn I heard her yelling at you Lee.” Kiba snickered. “That’s why we came over Y/N, on behalf of Tenten I wanted to tell you th--” Lee started. “That she wanted to surprise you with dinner tomorrow.” Neji interrupted pointedly. It wasn’t their love to confess to you, it was Tenten’s and it didn’t feel right to speak her feelings for her. Plus his head ached with just the idea of how hard she’d deck him if he let Lee confess her feelings. “Why didn’t she just come over and ask me herself?” You asked confused. It wasn’t like Tenten at all have someone talk for her, just thinking that didn’t even feel right. “She had to go get ready.” Lee came up with. “For tomorrow?” “She wants to be really ready.” He tried. “Tenten is bursting with Youthful spirit and wants to get ready properly for your date.” “Date?! It’s a date?! Oh, Gods I gotta go get ready!” You ran off and both Kiba and Neji were both giving Lee a look of disapproval, at least Neji’s assumption was right you weren’t dating Kiba. “There’s no date is there?” Kiba asked. “No” Neji sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. “What’s the big idea then?! You know Y/N likes Tenten! If you’re trying to mess with her--I swear to the Gods!” Kiba said getting defensive. “We’re not!” Lee insisted. He would never do that to either of them, Kiba relaxed a little but his face stayed scrunched up as he tried to understand what these two numb skulls were up too. “So you’re setting them up?” He asked. “Looks like it.” Neji sighed. “Yes! Yes we are! We are going to be the two to unite youthful and beautiful love!” Lee said happily as it dawned on him that was something they could do. Kiba couldn’t help but to smile at Lee’s unbridled excitement. “Do you two need any help?” He offered. “Ye--” “No.” Neji interrupted Lee. If Tenten got sights of Kiba he knew she’d march off so having him help was out of the question. “You say so.” Kiba scoffed. “I do say so. Come on Lee.” Neji said walking away. Tenten tried everything she could to try and get you out of her head but nothing seemed to quiet her loud thoughts. Not sleep, not training, not writing scrolls, nothing seemed to quell the bitter ache in her chest, it all brought her to thoughts of you and the time you’d spent together. You’d spend hours helping Tenten write out her scrolls and you were the only person other than herself she trusted to do this, you’d just sit and talk and it just felt like you got her like no one else ever had. So that’s how Lee found her, laying on the ground outside, half finished scrolls surrounding her, clearly defeated by the task and her emotions. “Tenten?” He asked carefully. “What Lee?” She asked not opening her eyes to even look at him. “Come train with me!” He pitched. “Why don’t you go train with Kiba? Everyone else seems to love him so much.” She muttered rolling so her face was in the grass. “I’d rather train with you Tenten! You’re a great adversary!” He insisted just trying to follow the plan he and Neji had laid out but she didn’t say anything back. “I’ll even buy you dumplings from your favourite dumpling house! Please Tenten!” He said going off script. But it seemed to rouse her a little as she thought it over. “You never buy lunch...what gives?” She asked turning her head to look at him and it was obvious to see

something was up, he was trying something, his body language completely gave him away. “What are you doing Lee?” She asked. “Nothing! I just want to spar with my teammate!” He insisted. “Are you pitying me?” She asked as it seemed to click in her head. “I don’t need your pity! How dare you?!” She demanded getting up. “I am not some sad child! I don’t need you to try and treat me like one!” She yelled before storming off. How dare he treat her like that? Like a child that needed their parent to put a band-aid on to a scraped knee. As she walked through the city trying to rid her mind of angry thoughts Lee was racing to get to Neji who groaned at the news. “Maybe we should get Kiba if Tenten is avoiding him maybe we can get her to duck down into the dumpling shop.” Lee pitched. “We don’t have time to get Kiba but we can use the transformation Jutsu.” Neji said and Lee shrunk down into himself a little. “I can use it, she’ll likely be avoiding you too. We’ll work together to get her into the shop.” He corrected himself. “Right! Lets go!” Lee said excitedly. Tenten thought maybe buying some new weapons might cheer her up and help uncloud her mind but as she went to reach for the handle to the local weapons shop she heard your voice. “Thank you so much! Have a nice day!” You said cheerily. And without knowing why Tenten was overwhelmed with the need to hide so she ducked down by the trash cans in hopes you wouldn’t see her. You came out and she’d never seen you dressed like that, prettied up like-...she sighed, like you were going on a date. She was sure that’s what the small black box in your hand was...a gift for your date, maybe even an anniversary, how long had you been dating Kiba? How long had she not known about it? Maybe that’s why you were dating Kiba because she didn’t pay enough attention to you, I mean how blind did she have to be to not know your feelings towards him? “Tenten! There you are!” She nearly jumped out of her skin from Lee’s loud joyous voice. She quickly looked over to where you had been but you were long gone she sighed in distress about this whole situation. “I don’t want to train right now Lee!” She said heatedly as she got up. “Tenten--” He started going over to her but she got up and started walking the other way. “Alright, Neji your turn.” He said smiling to himself. She shuffled her feet as she walked barely looking up until a grey coat caught the corner of her eye: Kiba. Gods, she just couldn’t catch a break! He looked over at her and she quickly cut down the next ally not wanting to even give him the chance to talk to her. He’d probably ask her about what to get her best friend as an anniversary gift cause he wasn’t thoughtful enough to know. What’d you even see in him? What’d you see in him that you didn’t see in her? She was every bit as good as Kiba! She was---looking at Kiba again? Wait, what? There was Kiba with Akamaru walking down the street with Naruto. But--hadn’t he just been--what was going on? She turned back around and went down the same ally she’d come from and there was Kiba but without Akamaru. With frustrated determination she marched over to Kiba and there was clear surprise on his face. “Who are you and what do you think you’re doing?” She demanded. Grabbing the impostor by the scruff of the collar and quickly dragging him away from the crowded street. “What do you mean--Hey! Tenten let go!” He said. But she refused and grabbed a kunai from her shuriken holster and putting it to his neck. “You’re not Kiba, I just saw him. You are an impostor trying to infiltrate the Hidden Leaf and I--” “Tenten! Wait!” Lee said rushing over. “Lee this is an impostor it’s not Kiba this is a Shinobi trying to infiltrate the--” Her words died on her tongue as a puff of smoke went up in front of her and revealed the true culprit. “Neji?!” She demanded. “We can explain.” Lee insisted. She let go of Neji and stared them both down, blood boiling. What were these two even trying to do tricking her like that?! “Uh.” Neji started

uncharacteristically at a loss for words. What was he even supposed to say? The more he thought about it the more ridiculous he realized this whole plan was, how had he let himself get so caught up in this. “We just wanted to help Tenten!” Lee tried to explain, fire burning in his eyes for the passion he knew she had for you. “We set you up on a date and we were trying to get you to the dumpling house for it.” He completely confessed. “A date?! I can’t believe you’d think I’m so pathetic and sad that you two needed to set me up on a date! Do you think so little of me?!” She demanded. It cut deep. The idea that her two teammates, her friends thought so little of her integrity and ability to haul herself out of a bad mood that she needed them to get her a date. “We couldn’t just let that passion die! You two love each other! Tenten maybe we didn’t do this the right way but--” Lee started. “I don’t like anyone! I don’t love anyone! I don’t need someone to complete myself! There’s no buts there Lee!” She shouted. “It’s with Y/N.” Neji added. And suddenly the thudding in her head that felt like it was going to cause her head to split in two stopped. “What?” “The date is with Y/N. She’s at the dumpling house.” He said hoping that was enough to get her to go. And it seemed to be because her feet were moving before her mind was, racing down to the dumpling house. It felt like she nearly broke the door down as she flung it open to see if you were really there and sure enough there you were, sitting down in the booth you two usually get. Everyone inside stared at her loud intrusion “Fell as I opened the door.” She tried to pass off with an embarrassed laugh. She walked over to your booth and you were all smiles, eyes beaming and it made her stomach do back flips. “Hey, I ordered your usual.” You said. “Thanks.” She managed as she sat down with you. She was unsure of everything that was really happening, she didn’t really think as she ran over and now that she was here things just felt so jumbled in her head. “I got you a gift, sorry it’s not the best. This was all kind of sudden but I wanted to make our first date memorable.” You said trying to ease the tension you can see building in her shoulders. You get the black box from beside you and offer it to her and with shaky hands she takes it and looks it over but she can’t will herself to open it as she looks at you. “I thought you were---aren’t you dating Kiba?” She asked needing to hear the answer...no matter how much it would hurt. But the only thing she heard of you roaring into laughter. “What? Me?! Dating Kiba?!” You barely got out between your fit of giggles. “Aren’t you? You two have been spending so much time together lately and-and Ino said-...” Tenten drifted off unsurely. “I’ve been spending time with Kiba cause I was thinking of adopting a Ninkin, he’s been helping me with all the training I’m going to have to do.” You explained. Oh...oh that made a lot of sense. She felt so stupid, the more she thought about the situation the more it made sense, you had been talking about getting a Ninkin for years. Her self depreciating thoughts were interrupted by your pushing your gift closer to her and offering her one of your smiles. Your beautiful warm smile. She tore her eyes away from your face down to the gift and opened it and there was a new three-section staff with the inscription of today’s date on it and as she read it, it finally hit her that this was happening. She was on a date with you. A smile made it’s way onto her face and pushed away all the negative thoughts that had been plaguing her. “I love it.” She said. And those words ate away any self doubt you’d had about all of this, the uneasy tension leaving the both of you and being replaced with a warm bliss. She got up and shimmied into the booth beside you and with bravery it felt like she’d only had to show on the battlefield she took your hand in hers and as you laced your fingers with hers you swore you could hear a cry from somewhere outside,

something along the lines of. “So youthful!” --- ~Admin Coral. Buy Me A Coffee?

#naruto #tenten #tenten imagine #tenten scenario #tenten x reader #x reader #tenten x female!reader #f/f #f/f fanfic #Neji #Neji hyuga #Rock Lee #naruto shippuden #imagine #scenario #Admin Coral

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theanarik · 4 years

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Day 1: Welcome to Hyuga Antiquing

Happy SasuHina Month everyone! I’m gonna try to participate the whole month, that’s my personal challenge.

Day 1: Antique Shops.

Welcome to Hyuga Antiquing

You can also read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24489868

When Hinata started working at the Antique Shop her father owned, she thought that every single day would be dull and boring. Sure, there have been days where the only thing she wanted was for someone to come in and just take a look, someone she could talk to. Well, she talked to the dolls, sometimes, but one-sided conversations weren’t really that gratifying. There were days upon days that no one would come inside, and then there were other days where she had five to ten costumers. Those were her happiest days. She really enjoyed working at the Antique Shop, most of the time she could just, tune out the rest of the world until the door bell rang, daydream or do homework, or just forget the outside world existed for a bit.

When she was little, her mom would take her through the shelves, would let her play with the dolls, would let her pick vinyl after vinyl and they would enjoy the music, and dance, and sing, and laugh. Hinata always felt like the Antique Shop was a completely different world. It was hard going back, after her mother died, but her dad made it through and he brought Hanabi and her every single day, and he would let them play with the dolls, and would let them play music, and laugh, and have fun. But he never walked through the shelves with them. Always staying behind and letting them play however they wanted. Hinata remembers hearing sobbing, the sound echoing through the walls. She never said anything.

As she grew up, she found the Antique Shop to be quite boring, some other things taking up her time and she just… stopped enjoying it. She would come to visit her father to bring him lunch, or just to talk, but she wouldn’t go through the shelves, or play music, or check the dolls. After she started college, though, her father got sick and she decided, along with her cousin, Neji, that they would man the front desk while he got better. And one month became two, and two became three, and three became four. After working at the Shop for four and a half months, and her father not getting better, Hinata decided that maybe, just maybe, she would stay longer.

There were lots of things she enjoyed about working at the Antique Shop, one of them were when her friends came to visit. Kiba and Shino enjoyed checking the new stuff, organizing it with her, joke around and asking for payment, make her laugh when they used the dolls to reenact some shitty movie they saw. Another thing she enjoyed was making small talk with the regular customers. There were five of them: Kaho, Kurenai, Sarutobi, Tsunade and a boy around her age, that she still doesn’t know the name of.

He’s tall, dark and broody, doesn’t say much and always looks like he’s ready to murder someone. The first three times he came in, she didn’t say anything to him, mostly because he had this look on his face where he pretty much told her that if she came to talk to him, he would kill her. Hinata has had her fair share of difficult customers, she’s learned that if they need help, they’ll come to look for her. Also, he was way too attractive for her to turn into her work persona. So, when he does come to ask her for something, she is decidedly not surprised (and a lot more collected). After that, she starts to keep tabs on his interests. She does that with all her regulars, just so she knows where to put the new stuff when it comes.

Kaho loves doll houses, so when a new one comes in through the back door, she makes note to call her when everything is settled. It takes her two to three days to come, and most of the time she takes them with her. Kurenai loves custom jewelry and comic books. She comes regularly to check them out and maybe buy them, if she doesn’t, she just stays for longer chatting with Hinata. Sarutobi loves first edition books. They have three whole shelves full of them and he comes once a week to check them out, he probably knows all the tittles by now. Tsunade, on the other hand, she loves postcards. She says they remind her of a time when she would send them to her lover. Hinata wonders a lot how old she really is.

The brooding man, though? Yeah, no, he doesn’t stick to one thing.

He’s bought books, guitars, jewelry, porcelain, videogame consoles, comic books. He once bought a doll house. Though Hinata is pretty sure it was for his girlfriend or something like that. He came to return it after a few weeks though, which made Kaho very happy. Hinata thinks that maybe he’s just buying gifts for his loved ones, and she wonders how he manages to get that much money every single time he comes, which is pretty much once a month.

One day, she learns his name. He comes in with a blond boy. He has the loudest laugh she’s ever heard – and she’s friends with Kiba – and the bluest eyes she’s ever seen. He is, decidedly, the most attractive guy she’s ever seen. Well, aside from Tall, Dark and Broody, of course. Tall, Dark and Broody’s name is Sasuke. And he seems just so relaxed around the other boy that she just can’t help but stare for a few seconds.

“Welcome to Hyuga Antiquing,” she says, automatically. “Please tell me if you need any help.”

“Thank you!” Blond boy says.

“Actually-.” Sasuke says. “Naruto, can you go check the shelves?”

“Why?”

“Just go.”

Sasuke walks to her, and she gets out of the front desk to meet him, he seems… nervous, and that’s something she never quite thought she would say about TDB.

“Yes?”

“My mother’s birthday is coming up, and the last time I was here, I saw you had some lockets on display?”

“Oh, yeah!” Hinata says and motions him to follow her. “We moved them beside the dolls, it was uh… a last-minute decision.”

Kaho and Kurenai met, and that’s all Hinata’s going to say. She’s a romantic, sue her.

Sasuke follows her in silence and when they arrive to the jewelry section of the store, she grabs one of the displays and turns around.

“These are all the lockets that are in the shop, please tell me if you need any help?”

“Uh, sure.”

She goes back to the front desk and passes Blond Boy, Naruto, who’s looking at the guitars like they came from another world. Most people get that look when they check out the prices.

“Can I help you?” she asks him, offering a smile.

“Uh, no, I’m just… Sasuke gave me a guitar for my birthday this year, he’s a big gesture guy like that, I just… I didn’t know they were so expensive.”

“He must really appreciate you, then.”

“Sure, he does! I’m basically his brother from another mother.”

“Stop telling her nonsense.”

Hinata jumps at the voice behind her. She didn’t hear his footsteps and that’s something. Everything echoes inside the shop. It’s creepy sometimes.

“You’re a ghost, dude.” Naruto says, clutching his heart. “And what do you mean ‘nonsense’!? It’s true!” Naruto says fake hurt.

“Uh huh.” Sasuke rolls his eyes and denies with his head. Hinata wants to laugh at the theatrics Naruto is pulling.

“Did you find the one you wanted?” she asks, instead. This is her job, after all.

“Yeah.” He says, showing her a silver locket.

“Ooohhh, that’s pretty!” Naruto says, trying to grab it. Sasuke snatches it away. “Hey! I just want to see it!”

“See it, not touch it.” Sasuke shows it again and Hinata gets a proper look.

It’s the locket that was far, far back in the display. Silver, round, a flower of eight petals engraved and an overlapping branch of a cherry blossom tree. It’s, by far, one of the most beautiful lockets she’s ever seen, and she wonders if Kurenai ever saw it.

“Mikoto’s going to love it.”

“Stop calling my mom by her first name.”

“You call my mom by hers!”

“I use her tittle first.” Sasuke says, turning around, and she goes to follow him to the front desk

“I use her tittle first.”, Naruto repeats, mocking, and Hinata fakes a cough to cover up her laugh. The look Naruto gives her tells her that she failed at that.

Sasuke comes back alone, five days later, and he looks just as relaxed as he looked when he came in with Naruto. She wonders if good things are happening to him.

“Hey, how can I help you today?” Hinata says as he comes closer to the front desk, and he asks her about porcelain.

“My mom loved the locket, and she was saying that she wanted new porcelain this morning. Can you show me?”

“Sure!”

He buys a set of four teacups, their plates, a tea pot, and teaspoons.

It… kind of becomes a regular thing after that? Hinata doesn’t change most of the stuff in the store, but Sasuke keeps coming to ask for her help to find something, without even looking for it himself. She’s pretty sure he has the entire shop memorized and it’s not like the thing is too big. But he just… he just keeps asking for her help, and then he asks how her day is going, and then he just continues to talk to her; and soon enough, Hinata leaves behind her work persona once he enters the shop and she’s not just talking to the dolls but to Sasuke. And yes, sometimes it becomes a one-sided conversation, along with some stuttering and sometimes with too much emotion, but Sasuke keeps humming and nodding and saying just the right thing at the right time and it makes her feel… different.

They exchange numbers one afternoon after Sasuke hasn’t been able to come to visit for almost a week. He has dark circles around his eyes and seems stressed out. He tells her that his brother is sick and that he needs surgery, that he’s been staying with him at the hospital, and that when he came, there was another man at the front desk. Hinata explains that that’s her cousin Neji, as she offers him a cup of tea and he tells her about his childhood, when Itachi would come home tired and still go out with him to play. Hinata tells him about her mother, and how she would carry her on her shoulders, and they would walk around the shelves and check the highest books and speculate together about what they were about.

Sasuke kisses her after that, after she finishes telling him one of the things she invented about the books, after she tells him how embarrassed she was with herself when she finally read the book, after she laughs and blushes and stutters as she asks him to say something.

When Hinata started working at the Antique Shop her father owned, she thought that every single day would be dull and boring. As she takes Sasuke’s hand and laces their fingers together after closing the shop for the day, she thinks, I couldn’t be more wrong.

You can also read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24489868

#SasuHinaMonth2020 #shmonth2020 #anarik #i wrote this #hehe #been a while #should i post it on ff.net too?#pls check it out on ao3 as well

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justabrazilianwriter · 4 years

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The Party (SHIKATEMAWEEK 2020 - Day 4).

Another day, another chance to write shikatema fics, another oneshot to contribute to the week of the best Naruto couple! This is also published on Ao3. Hope you guys enjoy it!

DAY 4: Roomates. SUMMARY: It was common knowledge that Shikamaru Nara was not a party person. Because of that, it's obvious that he is in a bad mood when he is forced to attend one made by a new friend of Kiba. He doesn't want to be there. Everything sucks. But when the host's older sister shows up, maybe going to that party wasn't such a bad idea. CONTENT NOTICE: use of alcoholic drinks and drugs. They are all adults. (3987 WORDS).

English is not my first language, so I translated this story through the google translator. If you find any grammatical or concordance errors, please let me know!

It was well known that Shikamaru Nara was not a party person.

Not that he hated parties with all his might, but he just didn't understand why everyone adored it. Shikamaru liked to drink here and there, but getting completely drunk only gave him the worst hangovers the next day. Weed left him dying from sleep and he was not a person who needed help with that. When the clock passed midnight he was ready to leave and sleep, but none of his friends allowed it and he had to stay, listening to Ino's terrible musical taste exploding on the speaker for long three hours.

Not to mention that parties usually never had a measly place to sit and Shikamaru had to spend hours leaning against the walls. What did people have against chairs or sofas? Some people needed a moment to rest for God's sake!

So, when Kiba invited him to a small party at the home of a new friend of his (some foreign kid who recently moved in to town and ended up saving him from an assault), Shikamaru's first thought is to deny. He does not want to go. Making new friends is a lot of work and he doesn't understand why he would need it. He already has enough friends, thank you very much.

But Naruto knows the younger brother of Kiba’s friend and Naruto, much to Shikamaru's despair, never gives up. He wants everyone to know each other, which means he doesn't leave Shikamaru alone. He sends messages, addresses him whenever he can, knocks on his damn door until he answers and, in the end, Shikamaru give up only so Naruto can leave him in peace.

Which brings him to that moment, when he stumbles down the sidewalk with Chouji by his side, sighing and moaning sadly.

"Why do we need to go?" he asked sadly to the heavens. Chouji laughed beside him, enjoying his mood.

"Look on the bright side," he said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The sooner we arrive, the sooner you can leave."

Shikamaru laughed, wrapping his arm around Chouji's shoulders.

"That's why," he said, giving him a smile. "You are my best friend".

Chouji laughed with pleasure.

"Don't let Ino hear that," he joked. "She hasn't gotten over the last time she heard you say that and it's been years."

"Ino has no morals to say anything" replied Shikamaru as he put his arms behind his head. "Since she started dating Sai, she hardly spends time with us."

Chouji shrugged and smiled warmly.

“Who can blame her? She's in love". He looked at Shikamaru and raised an eyebrow. "Not that you know much about it."

An indignant exclamation came from his lips.

"What are you talking about?" He asked. "I dated Shiho for almost a year!".

"And look what happened".

Shikamaru didn't have an answer to that because he knew that Chouji was right. Shiho was a nice girl he met in an eccentric code-cracking class in college. She was cute, smart, kind and liked him, so Shikamaru asked her out. They dated for months and never fought, never fell out, never had any problems.

It was very boring.

There was no stimulus, there was no sparks, there were no emotions at all.

And when he realized he was absolutely bored in that relationship, he ended it all. And it should have hurt a lot more than it hurt, he should have suffered a lot more than he suffered. But in spite of everything, what hurt him most was seeing Shiho cry because she was a very nice girl and a good friend. Just it.

"You never fell in love either," he murmured to Chouji, seeing him roll his eyes. "You are not in the position of pointing fingers."

"I'm an incurable romantic, you know that" defended Chouji looking good-natured. “And I will find love someday. It's just that, unlike you, I don't go around denying the sadness of my love life and being all resentful about it”.

Shikamaru pouted and crossed his arms, listening to him laugh beside him. Feeling the words of his best friend entering his chest, he tried to change the subject.

"What's the name of this new Kiba friend, anyway?".

"Kankuro" said Chouji looking at his cell phone and checking the address. “And his younger brother, who knows Naruto, is called Gaara. I think they have an older sister, but nobody seems to know her ”.

The two finally arrived at the house, ringing the bell. From the inside, Shikamaru could already hear Lee's joyful screams and Ino's music bursting through the speakers. It would be a long night.

The door opened and a tall boy with brown hair and lots of makeup on his face appeared. He smiled at them, raising his eyebrows.

"Hello," he said. "And who are you guys?".

"I am Chouji" he said before pointing to Shikamaru. “And this is Shikamaru. We are friends with Kiba ”.

"Oh yeah! He commented that you would come. Friends of the blonde who speaks loudly and took over my sound, right? ” joked the boy. "I am Kankuro".

"It's a pleasure," muttered Shikamaru as he entered the house. "And I'm sorry for Ino."

Kankuro laughed and shrugged.

"Don’t be. I'm used to blonde women who like to yell at me. My sister got me used well ”.

The rest of the group, who were scattered around the room, looked at Chouji and Shikamaru and shouted in celebration. Naruto left where he was sitting and pulled Shikamaru into a bear hug.

"I knew you would come," he said with a huge smile on his lips. "You say you don't like it, but I know you can't resist a party."

"What I can't resist is how insistent you can be" replied Shikamaru while rolling his eyes. "You literally started showing up in my nightmares."

Naruto laughed heartily and Chouji rolled his eyes fondly. Kankuro appeared behind them, pointing around.

“Beers can be left in the kitchen, over there. There's a bathroom up the stairs and please, cigarettes just near the windows or outside. Gaara hates the smell ”. He then pointed to a red-haired boy with eye makeup who was listening to something Lee was saying. “That's him, my little brother. I don't think you need me to introduce anyone else ”.

"I didn't want to be the person to warn you about this, but calling this group of people into your home was probably the biggest mistake of your life," muttered Shikamaru. Kankuro laughed before taking a sip of his beer.

“Kiba's friend, that quiet guy with the sunglasses, said the same thing, but we moved out a little while ago and haven't met anyone yet. Kiba said that we would get along with his friends, so why not? As long as no one pukes on the carpet, I think we'll be fine. Temari would make me clean the dirt with my own tongue”.

The party continued for the next hour. Shikamaru found a comfortable place to lean against the wall and drank a beer while watching his friends around. Ino and Sakura talked to each other non-stop, while Sai and Sasuke listened to them in silence as usual. Naruto tried his best to convince Neji to compete with him on ‘who could drink the most’, but Shikamaru knew it was a lost cause. Hinata watched them with a resigned look and Tenten laughed so hard that she looked like she was about to cry. Lee was talking non-stop, his cheeks slightly red, sitting on the sofa very close to Gaara, who was listening to him with all his attention. Shino, Kiba and Kankuro talked and laughed about something. Shikamaru also noticed that Kiba and Kankuro seemed to be leaning a little to close to each other.

Chouji tried to start conversations with him, but while he was drinking, Shikamaru couldn't help repeating the conversation they had in his mind.

He wasn't that bad when it came to love. He had his share of relationships here and there since puberty and he considered himself a handsome and intelligent guy, thank you very much. Okay, Ino was his first kiss and it was so absurdly weird that they just looked at each other afterwards and burst out laughing, agreeing never to do that again. He and Sakura also tried to date when they were younger, but Shikamaru was not in the mood to be with someone who was clearly in love with other guy.

They grew up, he had his dates, he lost his virginity, he dated Shiho. So, yes, maybe he never fell in love so deeply that he lost his mind and became as stupid as Naruto with Hinata, but that didn't mean he didn't understand anything about love or was hopeless.

Right?

And it was with these thoughts in mind that he heard her voice for the first time.

Key noises could be heard, but no one seemed to pay attention. The front door opened, someone entered, at the same moment that the music faded and, before anyone could do anything, a voice came up saying:

"Why is there a bunch of strangers in my house?".

Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed and he turned his head, the beer can still on his lips, while he drank. His eyes sought the owner of that voice, going to his right, until he fell into...

Holy fucking shit.

The personification of his wet dreams was standing there, at the entrance to the room, looking at everyone with a raised eyebrow. Shikamaru almost let the beer can slip from his fingers, too impacted by the sight of her to be able to put strength in his own hand. His mouth was slightly open and he sure looked like an idiot, but at that moment, who cares?

His eyes followed beautiful tanned legs, covered with fishnet tights, to the smallest skirt in the universe. Then they head up, where he tried not to focus because he was educated to be a gentleman, but Shikamaru's brain melted. A stomach line, tight T-shirt, a long and elegant neck that led him to a beautiful and dangerous face. Sand-blond hair tied in two ponytails, expressive eyebrows, delicious lips contorted in a grimace. Her eyes swept the room and fell on him for just a second. The world caught on fire.

He has never seen a woman like her in his life. He had never felt such an overwhelming urge to be trampled by someone like in that moment. He would let her step on him like a rug and then he would say thank you.

The music was paused. Everyone looked in her direction. And Shikamaru realized that she was clearly older than them, because all her energy screamed maturity. She seemed to dominate the entire room with just a look and he was certainly included in it, like an insect hypnotized by a light trap.

"Temari!" exclaimed Kankuro, looking slightly paler. "Shit. What are you doing here?".

She looked at him for long seconds without an expression on her face.

"I live here" replied simply and Shikamaru controlled himself not to laugh. She seemed to be a smartass like him.

"I know" replied Kankuro, looking indignant. "But I thought you were going to spend the night at your boyfriend's house."

"Oh, yes, me and Daimaru broke up" Temari replied, not looking shaken by it. Something in Shikamaru's chest hummed, happy that she was single.

"Are you alright?" asked Gaara, looking slightly concerned and speaking for the first time since Shikamaru arrived. She shrugged.

"Yes. He cried, but meh, it's okay” she replied. Then she put her hands on her waist and Shikamaru had a flashback from his own mother when his father was in trouble. "Now, can you tell me why there are a bunch of strangers in my house?".

"Well, you always say that we should make more friends, so I met some people and thought about making a social with them".

"In our house?".

"Yes".

"In the middle of the week?".

"Yes?".

"Without telling anyone?".

"I told Gaara!" exclaimed Kankuro, trying to defend himself. Temari's eyebrow went up even more and she looked so dangerous and powerful that Shikamaru lost his breath.

"Gaara is not the one who pays the bills" she countered and the silence followed for a few seconds. Everyone's eyes passed between them, as if watching a game of ping-pong. Shikamaru's chin was still slightly dropped.

"Kankuro...?" Temari started saying.

"Yes?" he asked.

"You are the worst roomate I have ever had in my life."

"I'm the only roomate you've ever had," he countered. Temari crossed her arms, indicating the sofa with her head.

"This is not true. I have Gaara”.

"Gaara is so quiet that sometimes I spend days without seeing him".

"And he couldn't be more perfect" she returned and a little smile appeared on her beautiful lips, because she knew she was winning the argument. The sight of that smile sent a delicious shiver down Shikamaru's spine. Suddenly, he was no longer tired. On the other way, he was full of energy.

In a quick movement, Temari took the beer can out of Kankuro's hands and drank.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "That's mine!".

"Yours?" she asked.

"Yes, I paid with my money".

"Oh, so do you have money now?" Temari murmured, smiling in an almost feline way. Shikamaru's heart exploded in his chest at the thought of what it would be like to have that smile directed at him. "So how about you start helping with the rent then?".

She and Kankuro faced each other in a silent battle. He was the first to look away and she smiled victoriously.

"That's what I thought," she said, before taking a second sip. Then she pursed her lips, pretending to think and sighed. "Okay, I'm not going to ruin your party."

"Oh God, thank you" sighed Kankuro. "Tem, you are the best big sister in the world-".

"But I have some conditions."

Kankuro groaned. Gaara laughed, clearly enjoying the situation. He was not the only one. All the women present looked at Temari as if she were a powerful example to be followed. Shikamaru also couldn't take his eyes off her, but for other reasons.

“First, don’t break anything. Any mess or dirt has to be clean tomorrow morning”.

"Deal," said Kankuro automatically.

“Second,” continued Temari, looking amused by her brother's bad mood. She moved closer to him, with her long bare legs moving slowly and Shikamaru's hands were sweating so hard that he thought he would pass out from dehydration. “No weed in the back area. The neighbor will complain and I hate to deal with her”.

"There's no weed," lied Kankuro, making both Shikamaru and Temari roll their eyes. The smell was literally everywhere.

"Tell that to your friend who's eating mustard with pickles and peanuts," she argued, pointing at Chouji a few feet away, with his eyes a little red. Everyone turned to him and he flinched, his mouth still full of that culinary crime.

A loud laugh escaped Shikamaru's lips before he could stop himself. Temari turned, looking at him and her eyebrows rose slightly. Her eyes slowly studied him from top to bottom and the temperature in the room seemed to be so hot that everything would start to melt. Her lips lifted in a smile, still staring at Shikamaru and he can't stop himself from smiling back.

"You are not funny, Tem" groaned Kankuro.

"The cute one over there thinks I'm funny," she countered, indicating Shikamaru with her head and making him almost choke on his own saliva. “Well, rule number three: no loud music for the same reason as before. The neighbor is a bitch and she'll probably call the police. I am the eldest, everything will fall on my back and I swear to God, Kankuro, if I get arrested because of you, I will kill you”.

"Nobody's going to be arrested," he said in a groan. "Anything else?".

Temari took a long drink of beer, her eyes on her brother, just to torture him a little. Then she sighed and smiled.

"No” she said. “You can continue."

And the party continued.

Shikamaru's eyes seemed to be drawn to her figure like magnets. He tried not to look, but it seemed like a completely impossible task. He saw how Ino and Sakura approached Temari right after, monopolizing their attention for a long time. He saw her drink more, saw her smile, saw her laugh, saw her cross those damn legs together, thick thighs showing and making him shiver.

Worse, he saw her look at him. With her beautiful and mysterious eyes, Temari turned to him once in a while, sometimes without expression, sometimes evaluating him again, sometimes with that feline smile appearing on her lips and Shikamaru drank so much without realizing it, completely distracted by her, that his mind was completely blurred.

When she moved again, laughing at something Ino had said and her skirt went up a few more inches, Shikamaru stood up, desperate for a cigarette.

He went to the kitchen, opening a door to the back and stayed there, smoking, trying to distract his own head and ease his heartbeat.

Completely useless, because a few minutes later he heard footsteps and her voice haunted him again.

"Cigarettes are very bad for you, you know."

Shikamaru turned, seeing her leaning against the doorframe with her shoulder. His hands started to sweat again, but a mischievous smile appeared on his lips.

"Your brother is smoking weed less than ten meters away," he argued. Temari's eyebrow rose and she walked closer to him, looking amused.

"Kankuro is a hopeless case since I dropped his head on the ground when we were kids," she said. She leaned her elbows on the center counter of the kitchen, projecting her back slightly forward and making his mind go blank. "Are you a hopeless case?".

"I like to think not," he replied, taking a drag on his cigarette. "Some would say that I am very smart."

"Oh, so I heard" replied Temari with a raised eyebrow. “Your friends were telling me everything. A genius, huh? ”.

Shikamaru's cheeks burned.

"The title can be a bit over the top," he said, scratching the back of the neck. Temari laughed, raising her hand.

“Temari” introduced herself. He squeezed her hand and her skin was warm under his fingers.

"Shikamaru" replied.

"Well, it's a pleasure, Shikamaru," Temari said, letting go and leaning back against the counter. His name on her lips was music to his ears. "So, which one of my idiot little brothers brought you here today?".

Shikamaru laughed, finishing his cigarette.

"None" replied, throwing it in the trash and taking a few steps towards her. “I am friends with Kiba, the make-up boy who is not your brother. But I came because Naruto insisted”.

"The blond who doesn't know how to speak softly?" asked Temari and Shikamaru laughed.

"The one nd only" replied. Both she and he looked through the kitchen door, watching Naruto and Lee talking animatedly with Gaara, on the living room sofa.

"He and Gaara seem to get along," she murmured. Shikamaru smiled, finally standing next to her and realizing that he was taller by long centimeters. It was surprising, because her energy screamed that she would be able to put him on the floor in a few seconds.

"Naruto likes him," he said. "He convinced everyone to come so we could get to know him."

A loving smile broke out on her lips.

"I'm happy" she said and the tone of her voice was so gentle and soft that Shikamaru's heart beat again. He didn't know which Temari he liked best: the seductive and mysterious or the gentle and smooth. In the end, it didn't really matter. He would accept whatever she wanted to show. “Gaara is very shy. It is difficult for him to make friends. I'm glad that the blonde and the boy with the strange haircut adopted him “.

Shikamaru laughed again and she looked at him. The silence followed for a few seconds, before he tried to break it, not wanting their interaction to end there.

"So, difficult day?" He asked. Temari looked confused.

"No, why?". Shikamaru's cheeks burned and he was slightly lost.

"Well, you told about your breakup and these things are usually complicated ..."

"Oh, yes," said Temari before giving a dry chuckle and shrugging her shoulders. “I wouldn't say it was that difficult. My relationship was about to end for a long time, but it seems that only I saw it. I think I should be sadder than I really am, but I can't explain it”.

"Actually, I completely understand" Shikamaru said and she looked at him with surprised eyes. "I just broke up and was more sad to make her sad than the break up itself."

"Yes, exactly," muttered Temari and they continued to stare at each other with surprise. “It is difficult to explain, but it is as if Daimaru and I were just great friends. There was no...”.

“Spark” completed Shikamaru. Her eyes widened slightly.

"Yes! Chemistry, ” she said. "Everything was so normal, so monotonous, so ...".

"Boring".

And they looked at each other in even more surprise, with a strange and delicious energy pulsing between them. Temari's eyes assessed him again and a smile appeared on her lips. Suddenly, she looked like a predator ready to take a victim. And Shikamaru couldn't be happier to be her prey.

"... Yes" she murmured. "That's exactly it."

Shikamaru found himself completely lost in the deadly beauty of her face. He had, in five minutes of conversation, more chemistry with Temari than in his entire relationship with Shiho. She was beautiful and sharp, smart as hell, ready to give back in equal measure everything that anyone threw at her. Temari dominated the environment only with her presence, everyone around seemed to be under her command. She seemed to be someone who didn't bow her head at all. She looked like someone who would eat Shikamaru alive if he had the honor of being involved with her.

She looked like the most troublesome woman he had ever met.

And it was absolutely addictive.

The sound of an alarm broke their trance. Temari closed her eyes, cursing under her breath and took her cell phone out of her skirt pocket.

"I have to go" she said and Shikamaru's shoulders fell in disappointment.

"I thought you lived here," he said and she raised an eyebrow like he was an idiot.

"I meant to leave the party, genius" she countered with a smile in the corner of her mouth. "Some people work early in the morning."

She walked away from him, walking on her back, her eyes still on him. He saw her beautiful thighs move away, her beautiful silhouette move away, the idea that maybe he would never be able to see her again appear and Shikamaru tried to think of something to say, to prevent her from leaving, but his brilliant brain, for the first time time, didn't have a plan.

"Wait! Temari ”exclaimed on instinct. She stopped, looking expectantly at the doorframe.

Shikamaru swallowed, praying that he wouldn't ruin it.

"Why don't you give me your phone number?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "You know, so I can let you know if your brother wants to throw a party behind your back again."

She looked at him for what seemed like hours, probably loving to see him sweat like she did with Kankuro earlier. In the end, her eyes sparkled and her smile became excitingly feline. Shikamaru felt an impulse to run and thank Naruto for being a stubborn idiot.

"I thought you would never ask."

#shikamaru #shikatemaweek2020 #shikatemaweek #day 4 #shikamaru nara #temari #Temari of the Sand #temari nara #modern au #shikatema fic #shikatema au #kankuro of the sand #sand siblings #Gaara of the Sand #Gaara

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dianapana · 4 years

Text

SasuHina Month 2020- Day 3

Prompt I’d Choose You Again and Again

Mirror, Mirros -Part 3

The nightmares didn’t stop. She’d wake up in a cold sweat turn on the lights and look at the mirror, with dark rubies instead of red, that was broken, the only thing that differed was the image, once it would be of her lover from the dream; than of a little girl than a little boy and the cycle would start anew. The strangest things about the whole thing was that instead of waking up scared, her heart would indeed pound, but she woke up feeling a sadness so deep she could barely breath. The events of the dreams differ from time to time the only thing they have in common is that they all start out nice and end up with her in the closet with her the ghost of her lover.

Apart from the dreams nothing else was weird, Hinata’s life went on as normal. Go to work, go see her family or friends if she has the time and return home. Soon enough the holiday would end and Uni would start again and she’d have to reduce her hours at the diner; so Hinata was working as many hours as she could at that moment, especially having taken a week off to go see Neji.

The good thing about the diner was that the owner, Teuchi, the cook Ayane were very nice people. The other waitresses were also nice but Hinata didn’t interact as much with them. She loved the diner mainly because of its vintage style with the checked floor, the red stools and red booths. The uniform was anything they wanted to wear as long as it was a white top and black bottoms. Their nametag was brooch like and could be pinned to any top.

Teuchi had called her around noon the day before asking if she could cover a double shift, because one of the girls called in sick all of a sudden, to which Hinata agreed. She decided to wear a white T-shirt tucked in a skater skirt and a pair of black flats. She did own clothing items that were not vintage but she preferred to throw in something quite old into the mix; that day she chose to wear a red headband; the story behind that particular item was that it was an actual headband wore by a pinup model in the 50s. She took her jean jacket with her because despite being summer still, the nights were starting to get colder, autumn was making its presence known.

The day went on without any trouble, being summer, the diner was quite busy but that wasn’t all that bad; it kept Hinata occupied from thinking about the nightmares she’d been having. Around the middle of her second shift Hinata started feeling tired and her feet were killing her from walking back and forth the whole day. Thankfully dinner hour had just about ended and there were only a few more people around, most of them teens or young adults that only stopped by to eat something before going to a party. The other waitress had left about 40 minutes before.

All tables were set for the moment so Hinata could take a break herself and eat something. Ayane made her favorite veggie burger with sweet potato fries. The music was soft and mellow so people could talk, the lights weren’t blinding and everything about the diner just made Hinata feel at home. She had loved it from the moment she stepped inside it a few years ago looking for a job that she could handle while she was still in high school at the time. Hinata was just taking her plate back to the kitchen when the doorbell rang signaling new customers.

“I swear you’re going to love this place” Said a cheerful voice. Hinata recognized the voice and smiled to herself. Naruto was one of their most common customers. He’d pass by at least once a day and almost always ordered the very same thing. The diner served traditional Japanese fast food but also “normal” diner menu. Hinata took out her notepad to write down Naruto’s order despite knowing by heart exactly what he wanted.

Naruto noticed her walking their way and smiled at her and she smiled right back, he had that effect on people, his positivity was just contagious.

“Hey Naruto. We were getting worried since you haven’t been by in a few days” Hinata said, it was mostly a joke but she did notice his absence in the past 2-3 days.

“Yea sorry about that. I had to help Teme move in so there was no time to swing by” The blonde answered and nodded towards his friend. Hinata’s eyes moved to the guy standing on the other side of the booth.

The moment their eyes met she got goosebumps. She didn’t have time to analyze what was happening because Naruto started talking again.

“We’ll have two of my normal order” He said to her. “It’s the best thing here you have to try that first” he said to his friend.

As in a daze Hinata walked back to the kitchen and told Ayane the order. “Nobody new came I’m taking a 5-minute break ok?” Hinata said and hurried to the back door.

Her hands were trembling and her heart was beating much faster than it would normal. Naruto’s friend, he was the man from her dreams. The one holding her close and whispering her name. He was the man to hold out his hand and watch her kill herself in the dream. She had read somewhere that every face you see in your dreams is a person you’ve seen somewhere, on the street, on tv, in pictures. Your brain can not come up on its own with new faces. She must have seen him somewhere before today.

‘But Naruto had said he just moved here’

‘No, he said he moved. Maybe he moved from an apartment to the other, from living with his family or a roommate to living on his own. People move around in the same town all the time’

‘Right. I’m sure that’s what he meant. That means I saw him before. No biggie’

‘Yes, yes that makes sense’

There was no other explanation. Finishing up the dialogue with herself, having calmed down a little and approving of the reasoning she reached, Hinata went back inside.

The boys’ food wasn’t done yet but one of the tables wished to get the check and leave. After putting the money in the cashier Hinata went back to the kitchen and took the two-ramen bowls to the table. She was trying her best not to look at Naruto’s friend. Despite knowing that the dream was just a coincidence she still felt weird looking at him. Her brain picked his face to illustrate her lover and that was awkward.

“The diner is pretty dead at the time. Why don’t you sit down Hina?” Naruto said and slid to the side to make room for her. Naruto was right the diner was quite empty; besides them there were only 2 other tables occupied and they were both still eating. Hinata wanted to refuse but wasn’t sure how so she took the easier route and said ‘sure’.

“Hinata this is my friend Sasuke. He just transferred here from Kiri.” Naruto introduced the two and Hinata’s panic came back full mode. She had been mistaken. He moved from another town, she hadn’t seen him before, and to top it all his name was Sasuke.

“Nice to meet you. If you don’t mind me asking what’s your family name?” Her voice was oddly calm compared to the storm that was happening in her brain.

‘It’s just a name coincidence I’m sure’

‘He’s not the Sasuke from the mirror. That’s impossible’

“Uchiha” He said and looked at her in a funny way. In 5 seconds Sasuke did so much damage. He had the same name as the one written on the back of the mirror, her nightmares started after buying said mirror, this guy that shared the name from the mirror was a recurring character in her dream, and his voice matched as well, it sounded just as it did when he talked her; when he said she was beautiful in her dreams.

“Nice to meet you” Hinata said her voice was a bit breathless but neither of the guys seemed to notice. What the man said to her when she bought the mirror came back to her ‘The Uchiha curse shall not die miss, make sure you don’t either’ was it really a curse? Too many things were happening for it to be pure coincidence. She was scared.

The following 15 seconds were spent it silence, the boys were eating and Hinata was looking at her own hands. They were clasped tightly on her lap so they’d stop shaking. Thankfully one of the men from the other table signed her to go to their table. Hinata left the booth like it was on fire. Scenes from her nightmare were playing in front of her eyes. The diner was in flames and Sasuke was calling for her, asking for help.

“We’d like the check please” the man that signed for her said.

“Of course” she was working the register when Ayane came out from the kitchen.

“I’m going to turn the sign around so no more people come. Teuchi-san said we can close up earlier today since it’s this slow” Ayane said and she walked back to the register looking at the two tables that were both almost done. “You can go get your things and go home I’ll close up after everyone leaves.”

“Thank you, Ayane-san” Hinata went to the back where her jacket and bag were. She washed her hands in the bathroom before putting on her jacket and going back inside. Ayane was just ringing up the last table. Naruto and his friend had left thankfully. She wasn’t sure what she should do about the mirror, the nightmares, Sasuke. Hinata was still in deep thought when she stepped out of the diner.

“Oh, is your shift over Hina?” Naruto asked scaring her. The boys were just outside in the parking lot next to a beautiful black Impala. Sasuke was smoking not really looking at her. At least that’s what she thought, from the corner of his eye Sasuke had been following her around from the moment his eyes laid on her.

“Yes, I was just going home.” She answered it was a bit rude not to ask what they were up to but she wanted the conversation to end as soon as possible. Normally she’d stay and chit-chat with Naruto for a while, but for obvious reasons that option did not feel safe.

“Sasuke’s almost done with that cig and we can give you a drive home. It’s late and quite cold” The blonde offered.

“Oh, that’s not necessary…”

“We’re going to your neighborhood anyway, Kiba invited us over to his house to play some video games and chill.” Naruto smiled at her. “So, it’s no problem at all. I’d feel much worse if we left you here.”

Her mind was working twice as fast trying to come up with a reason why she should walk home alone. But the blonde didn’t wait for her reply and pretty much dragged her to the car and opened the door for her to get in. Which she did. She never minded Naruto’s pushiness before, but in that moment she felt irritated by it.

Sasuke slid in the driver’s seat and Naruto in the shotgun seat. The drive wouldn’t be more than 10-15 minutes but the silence was deafening.

“I heard you went to USA to see Neji a week ago, how was that?” Naruto was good like that, he always tried to keep the conversation going.

“Yea I did, it was great I missed him a lot.” Naruto talked for most of the drive.

“I don’t really know where you live Hina, I just know the neighborhood so you gotta give Teme some directions from here on”

“Actually, it’s fine if you drop me off here or at Kiba’s I can walk from there” She wasn’t very keen on Sasuke knowing where she lived.

“Oooooor you can come hang out with us if you want, at Kiba’s I mean. He’ll be so pumped to see you.” The Uzumaki stated.

She knew Kiba would like to see her, they’ve talked a few days ago about meeting up but nothing really worked for both of them. She did miss Kiba…

‘Are you nuts? You can’t go. Sasuke will be there…’

‘It’s either that or I tell him my address what if he kills me in my sleep?’

‘O, shoot we went from creepy coincidence to murderer this fast?’

‘I don’t know! But I doubt he’ll try anything with Naruto and Kiba around…right?’

“Yea ok, I’ll join you guys for a while…”

“Great! Don’t text Kiba though I wanna see his face when he sees you.” Naruto said laughing “It’s adorable Sasuke I swear, he turns into a puppy dog whenever Hina is around”

They reached Kiba’s house and all three walked towards the door, Naruto stopped abruptly which made Sasuke stop and Hinata walked into him. Three things happened then at the same time.

1. Hinata saw the Uchiha symbol on the back of Sasuke’s shirt.

2. Hinata touched his arm and took a step back to balance herself, so she wouldn’t fall over

3. Memories of her past life came back to her. All the nightmares made sense, she knew what the mirror meant, who Sasuke was. And the fear she felt just moments before; that fear turned to comfort.

Hinata took another step back, and another. She was overwhelmed by emotions. Utter sadness for the pain she experienced before, joy because she found the love of her life once again, she would find him in every lifetime time and time again. She also felt love, A feeling that Hinata had not experienced in that current life was now flowing inside her and it wanted to break free. Her eyes were watering up and all she wanted to do was hug Sasuke and make sure he is indeed real, but she couldn’t.

Part 1 (Day 1.2)

Part 2 (Day 2)

Part 4 (Day 8)

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scenariosofkonoha · 4 years

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Lol here’s an angsty Kiba scenario that focuses of Kiba and MC reconnecting after a divorce. Literally started in in 2017, so enjoy.

“Mom! C’mon, we’re going to be late!” your five year old called out as she tugged onto your hand and tried to race ahead of you to the home on the other side of the street, pressed for time even though the pair of you were far beyond just ‘late.’

You shrugged as you followed along, glancing down to the petite child, “Maybe if you would have sat still while I finished braiding your hair earlier, we wouldn’t be late.” you offered the suggestion, trying to teach her a lesson- a lesson that you felt like you had taught her a million times before.

She just pouted for a second, scrunching up her little nose at your response. “Why don’t we just stop braiding it everyday? That would save some time.” she whined with a slight roll of her eyes.

You scoffed for a moment at the response as the two of you made it to the front door. “Kira, baby girl, how many times have I told you this, your hair's a mess. It’s not your fault, but it’s a mess, and braiding keeps it tolerable. We gotta do it everyday.” you explained while patting her head.

She just stuck her nose up; “Ugh, I don’t know why I have it; your hair is nice and straight. Mine should be too” she continued her little sass.

Your smile continued, “I don’t know where you got it either,” you lied as you walked into the home.

Instantly, you two were greeted with a joyful welcome. “Hey, Y/N! Kira! You guys made it!” Choji called out as he stood up from the table. “I didn’t know if you were gonna come or not for a second there!” he continued as you made your way inside.

You shook your head at his comment with a small smile upon your lips. “I know, I’m sorry. Little one, here, was having some hair issues…” you offered up as you looked down to your mini me who had still had her nose up in the air because of your accusation.

Immediately being able to identify with this problem, because he himself couldn’t deal with his own daughter’s hair for more than a minute, Choji just laughed a little bit, “It’s fine; you do better with Kira than I do with Chocho.” he remarked. “Anyway, glad you made it; Kira, all the kids are over there in the back; you can get dinner and then do whatever you guys want.”

Smiling she nodded to him, “Thanks! I hope there’s still steak left; Boruto and Chocho always eat it, ya know? I’m little so I gotta fight for it.” your daughter explained her very serious five-year old problems to her host.

Glancing over to her, you shook your head, “You lost both your canines last week; you can’t even eat steak, Kira…” you reminded her.

She just looked as if you were insane, “That’s not gonna stop me.” she shook her head at you. “It’s your fault I’m tiny, I gotta eat meat or I’ll disappear.” she shrugged before walking to the back to be with all of the other kids.

Glancing over to you from the table, Shikamaru interjected the conversation before you could say even one word about your child’s behavior. “Whenever I see Kira, it’s like watching you back in the Academy days. There’s absolutely no difference between the two of you.” he remarked as you made your way over to the table and sat down next to him.

Sitting down, you rolled your eyes. “You’re telling me. I swear, her and that sass are going to be the end of me…” you murmured to Shikamaru and Choji.

And then as the conversation that had previously happened before your entered started up again, you heard a familiar voice make it’s way over to you. “Hey, you.” Ino chimed in with a smile as she came over and sat down next to you, acting like everything in the world was going correctly for a moment before letting it crumble to pieces. Linking an arm around you, she pulled you in closer so she could whisper to you, “I’m just going to straight out tell you this, because I love you and you’re my best friend and I don’t want you to flip out, but Kiba and Kazuki are here.” she offered with a fake smile on her face to hide from everyone else that she had just given you some very bad news.

And at that moment you weren’t sure if your heart skipped a beat because of dread or nervousness or what. You could feel your stomach starting to form knots with every second you remained in the same building. Tucking your hair behind your hair, you nodded to her. “Okay, I’m… I’m gonna leave. Can you bring Kira home-”

“No, you’re not leaving.” She shook her head as she tightened her grip on you. “You’re staying here and enjoying the party. We all don’t ever get to do this and you deserve to be here as much as anyone else.”

“Ino- I just- I can’t- not when he’s-” you tried, but were interrupted again.

“Hey-! No side gossiping at the table. If you’re going to talk shit about us, you gotta say it to our faces.” Naruto pointed to you and Ino.

Giving him a fake frown, you tried to let go of the fact that you still felt like throwing yourself out the window. “I don’t think me and Ino have ever talked shit about anyone, have we?” you joked looking over to Ino.

She laughed, “Oh course not, especially not during the Academy days.”

“That’s some bullshit if I ever heard any.” Shikamaru muttered, taking another sip.

With the table erupting in laughter, you felt some of the heaviness leave, but you were still fighting to hide the fact that you were uneasy. And this was something that Ino saw. Grabbing a hold of your hand, she gave a half smile and whispered one last thing before knowing that your little talks would go on noticed from now on, “You don’t have to talk to him if you’re not ready. Always know that.”

You mimicked the same half smile, one that showed that you understood, but you really didn’t want to think about it. Your history with Kiba was something that you already thought about too much. You over analyzed it time and time again, and there were some days you were at peace with what you had done, and there were days where you thought you had made the worst decision of your life. Your actions back then were made quicker than they should have been and they were decisions that not only affected you and Kiba, but your twins, and now it was just something that you had to live with. You had to live with the fact that you got a divorce when your twins were only 3 months old, and the pair of you were so at odds back then, that you made sure that you each had fully custody over only one of the siblings, preventing the pair from growing up with their other parent and their sibling. It was a nasty divorce; any one around you would have said that, and it was especially hard on everyone to see such a strong couple fall apart in what felt like a matter of seconds.

It was something you regretted, something that you regretted every waking moment of your life, and the fact that you were now here both with Kiba and your son who you had already lost 5 years with was now weighing down more than you would like.

Yet you were going to act like nothing was happening and that you felt perfectly at peace, and so raising your cup you nodded to Choji, “Well I think we all need to thank our host for doing the impossible and getting us all in the village at a single moment.” you announced with a smile.

....

“Hey, you.” Shikamaru called to you as you stood in the kitchen pouring a cup of tea.

Glacing to him, you raised your eyebrow, “Have you forgotten my name?”

Exhaling sharply, knowing that he should have expected this comment, he chose to ignore it. “Look, I came here to talk to you.”

“I can tell.”

“Y/N.”

“Shikamaru.”

Knowing that this could have gone on for days, he got to his point. “Before you add some snarky comment, I’m only the messenger.” he offered. “I know you and Ino have been talking and she’s been keeping tabs on Kiba and all, but he told me to tell you that if you wanted to talk to him, he wanted to talk to you.”

“Wow, are we in the Academy again, because that's what this sounds like,” you shot out, defensively- not necessarily trying to be harsh, but it just came out like that.

“Look, if you wanted to, Ino and I can watch Kira and Kazuki if you two wanted to go talk somewhere else. I already talked to her about it-”

“Because you’re afraid we’re going to get into a screaming match-”

Narrowing his eyes, he was short with you. “Stop it. Ino already told me you were going to be defensive, and I’ve already dealt with you long enough to handle it. I’m just saying, if you want to take the opportunity, we’ll watch your little hellraisers.” he offered before turning around and leaving.

Taking a deep breath, you brought the warm cup to your face. There was a part of you that wanted to flee, but there was also a part of you that wanted to see what he wanted. You didn’t know what you really wanted, you were so uncertain just as you had been years ago. Knowing that you wouldn’t decide on your own, you just walked back to Ino and Sakura who were over in one of the side rooms. Sitting down next to them, you frowned as you looked at them, both of them knowing that Shikamaru had just spoken with you. Setting your tea down you sighed, “I kind of want to talk to him, but I haven’t since the custody agreement…”

Sakura raised an eyebrow at you. “What are you going to do?”

Scrunching your nose at them, you asked “I should get closure, shouldn’t I? I’m sure he hates me, so I should get closure that it’s over, like really over.” you offered, knowing that they both knew that deep down you still cared about him.

“First off, he doesn’t hate you.” Ino stated. “And second, if it’s closure that you want, then go get it.” she offered.

Standing up again, you grabbed your tea, “Ugh, if I come back crying, please distract Kira.” you muttered as began walking toward the door. “Where is he?”

“Balcony.” Ino answered. “Good luck. We’re here if you need us.”

Making your way upstairs, you were quiet as you walked through the patio door and onto the balcony that overlooked the backyard. There he was, standing with a drink in his hand watching over the kids playing. You had to reaffirm to yourself that this is what you wanted, because you were dreading this, but you needed closure- whatever that looked like. You needed to know that this was over. And so you made your way over to his side. “Hi,” you nodded as you looked over the balcony at the kids who were running around in the backyard.

“Hey.”

Clutching onto your cup, you were now regretting that it was nothing more than tea. “How...How are you?” you asked, not sure how to even start all of this. You were looking at him, and he looked the same- older, but the same. It probably wasn’t the easiest to raise Kazuki by himself- you knew there were many times with Kira where you wanted to just break down, so you could relate to the stress lines that were now on his face.

Crossing his arms and leaning against the balcony railing, he shrugged. “Fine.” Truth be told, he didn’t know how to start this either.

You nodded and looked over to the game of capture the flag that was happening below. Maybe if you started off topic then it would be easier to get into whatever he wanted to talk about. “Kazuki’s tall now…” you murmured, a sadness underlying your tone.

He laughed for a second, something that you hadn’t heard in years, “He’s really not. You and Kira and both just tiny; remember?”

You shook your head, “You know, she reminds me that I’m the reason she’s short almost every day.” you gave out a small chuckle.

“I would too if I were her.”

A small smile found its way onto your face. “How is he? Kazuki?”

“Honestly?” Kiba asked, raising an eyebrow. “He’s a shitsturrer. Almost every day I get a call for the Academy, because he’s doing some stupid shit. It never causes any harm, but I swear when Iruka gets him, he’s going to be blacklisted.” he admitted.

You scrunched your face. It wasn’t surprising that your kid was a troublemaker. Both you and Kiba had always been, but it was different being the parent in the situation. “If it makes you feel any better, I get calls from the Academy saying that they’ve never had a 5 year old give them snarky comments as much as Kira does. Apparently she gave a list to their teacher of reasons why they would never find a husband last week in front of the whole class.”

“That was Kira? Kazuki mentioned it to me, but didn’t say it was her…”

You rolled your eyes and nodded. “Yep… It was her…”

Looking from you to the kids, he saw the twins wrestling over the flag, no mercy given by either parties. “Even without growing up together, they still act like siblings.” he commented, weight coming with his statement. Then looking over to you, he questioned you, “Do you miss Kazuki?”

And that question nearly made your heart break. “Of course I miss him, Kiba. That’s my baby.” you swallowed before breaking eye contact. “I don’t know why you would even ask that...”

“Because you never even made an attempt to connect with him.”

Snapping your gaze back to him, your words were sharp. “And you never tried to connect with Kira. It was in our custody agreement that you had Kazuki and I had Kira, and that was something that was set in stone.” you reminded him. “Do not make me into the villain here, Kiba. We were both at fault back then, and if I could go back and change it, I would.” you confessed, giving more than you wanted to.

“You’d change it?”

Swallowing your pride, you nodded. “Yes. I would.” you reaffirmed. “If I could go back, I would change a lot of things, because what was done was not fair to the kids. They have suffered because of our actions. If I could go back and give Kira a father, I would in a heartbeat…”

Kiba looked at you for a moment, a bit taken back by the fact that you admitted you were wrong. That was something that he would have never expected from you when you were together.

“I know I was no saint when it came to our divorce, and I’m sorry for what I did. To you and the kids, but in my defense I thought that I was picking what was the least hurtful to our family.”

Narrowing his eyes at you, Kiba didn’t believe it. “You thought that breaking it apart was the least harmful?” he questioned, no trust in your answers. “You got up in the middle of the night and took Kira, and I never saw her again until they were being enrolled in the Academy. That was the least harmful way you could have handled it? Y/N, you stole my daughter from me; I never even got to say goodbye.” he snapped at you.

Looking away from him, you couldn’t bear to actually look at him as you admitted the truth from nearly half a decade ago. “I’m sorry... I- I know I was wrong, but I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t leave that night with Kira, because I didn’t love you anymore. You can believe what you want, but it was never because I didn’t love you, or what we had, but it was just too much all at once for me, and I panicked…” You frowned, remembering the last few weeks of your marriage with him, “I couldn’t handle it, because we were constantly screaming at each other and we had 3 month old twins and it just wasn’t who we were? I don’t know honestly…I just ran away.”

Kiba shook his head and scoffed. “Then don’t say you tried to make it painless. You made it easy on yourself; you didn’t make it painless on our family…” he trailed off. “Everything was a shitshow back then, but that’s because we had two unplanned kids when we weren’t ready. Yeah, I was pissed and didn’t know how to really handle it, but you were the one who ripped everything apart before we even had the chance to process what was happening.”

Hearing him, you couldn’t say that he was wrong, but it hurt hearing it. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Kiba. I fucked up, because I was scared. Can’t go back and change it.”

“Yeah, but you could try and fix your fuck ups.” he said, annoyance in his voice.

Setting your cup down you threw one of your hands up in the air, “And how do you suppose I do that?” you snapped.

He fell silent for a moment, now reaching the reason why he wanted to talk to you. “We could try being a family again…” he offered, his voice softer now. “That’s the whole reason I wanted to talk with you. I want to be a part of Kira’s life, and I want you to be a part of Kazuki, and for us… I don’t know, I hadn’t thought that yet; I was focused on the twins…”

You frowned, “Kiba…” you trailed for a moment, the anger that was in your voice only moments before gone, “I don’t think that it’s the best idea with Kira and Kazuki.” you admitted to him, even though it was something that you wish you didn’t have to admit. “I don’t want them to get hurt anymore.”

“How would they get hurt? They’re actually going to have both parents for once and their sibling- it’s already obvious they get along just fine-”

“Kiba.” you stopped him.

“No. Just listen for once.” he tried. “Look, I don’t want to go over what happened in the past anymore. You’re right, we can’t change it. We both messed up, but I want you to at least think about what we could be now.”

“What can we be now?”

“I-I don’t know, Y/N. I still care about you and I miss you and you’re always going to be the one girl I wanted to stay with, but I get that it might not happen. I just want us to try to at least both be there for our kids. I miss you and I miss Kira, and I know you miss Kazuki.”

There was a pause, moments of silence that lasted too long.

Running a hand through his hair, Kiba muttered, “Fuck it, I shouldn’t have tried-” he started, but was interrupted.

“No- I. I miss you too.” you admitted.

“What?”

Shaking your head, you continued, “I miss you and Kazuki, and I love you both more than anything else. And maybe now that we’re older and aren’t as stupid, we could make this work… at least for the little ones…” you offered.

“So you want to try?”

“I-I want to try…” you nodded. “I want to try to be a family again…”

#lol this is long #kinda shitty #but its fine #admin em #kiba #kiba inuzuka #kiba scenario

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hypnotixstorm · 4 years

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* to do list *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Key

Normal Text = Have NOT started working on the request

Bold and Pink Text = I am CURRENTLY working on the request

Once I have completed a request it will be REMOVED from this list

Can I get an imagine of Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho? Maybe an AU hundreds of years ago where he ends up caring for a human woman and teaching her how to defend herself. If you don't like that one, anything you think of.

Character: Kanda from DGM NSFW Prompt: "Make me." Love youuuuuu 😘

How about a NSFW scenario of Kakashi coming home to his sweet little naughty civilian S/O? 😜 A bit of role play where they call him sensei while he's doing them on the kitchen table?

Thanks for the Soi Bean Post! This gonna be my last Soi Fon request. Sorry for being quite a Soi Queen freak. For my request can you Soi after shower decides to wear s/o clothes. S/O tries to take picture of her. Then she tells that she has falling in love with you. You have changed let me take care of you. You can be very very very sluff on this one. Thanks!

ok ok so i have a few requests 🥺🥺 so! first could you maybe do an “I missed you.” with Rukia? 🥺💗 just fluff for my baby girl aaaa

Ichigo kissing his s/o in the rain 😆😆😆 Headcanons or scenario is up to you! 💙

ANYTHING SHIKAMARU. Deadass anything

Hey! I was wondering if I could request some Rukia x fem!reader relationship headcannons? Only if you're able to! Tysm! 💖

I hope requests are open but I was wondering if you could do something with byakuya and his s/o being like a very intimidating couple but his s/o is actually very sweet to everyone?

Kakashi x reader and instead of team 7 its now y/n tryna see whats under the mask and eventually she just asks and he actually reveals it adfhsjjs

Can I please get rat dad Ging being seduced by a younger woman who refuses to take “no” for an answer until he finally gives her what she wants? NSFW please! 💖

ok so please don't feel pressured to write this birthday imagine 🥺 i know u have a lot of requests rn ah. but! if you're able to i really would love another toshiro one bc i'm a sucker for him 😭 maybe one where he's really overworking himself so the reader helps him relax and it just ends in cuddles 🥺💓 only if you're able to! ilysm 💓💖💓💖💓💘💓💘💓

ok i swear this is the last one i feel bad requesting sm 😭 but maybe a “Do you wanna, maybe, go out sometime?” with toshiro bc he really is best boy 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

OKAY SO ANOTHER ONE WITH SABURO WITH UHHHH GOING ON A FIRST DATE WITH HIS S/O ICIXHAJGSSHSSUSKSU he'll probs driving his van around with the music blasting out 👀👀

honestly i would kinda die if u wrote some renji smut 😳😳 literally in any situation, i'm just needy rn 😭

ok ok i'm here hehe. how about, the reader gets really injured during a battle and shiro's kinda blaming himself for it. kindaaa angst into a super fluffy ending if that's ok hhh 🥺

Hi 🥰 Can I get a headcanon for Kakashi with a really seductive s/o, like she likes to tease him in public and whispers dirty things in his ear and calls him daddy? Nsfw pls? 😊😁

“make me” and hisoka??? thank you

hehe this is for the 🦋🦋 event! congrats on 200 bb!! so, i saw attack on titan on your list and i'm experiencing a severe lack of my best boy marco 🥺🥺 if you don't write for him that's fine hehe, but if you do, could i please maybe get a lil scenario where marco helps the reader out with her training and then they accidentally confess their feelings and it's just rlly fluffy and cute? 🥺 i need marco being happy in my life rn sbdjdhdjr 💓💓

“If you keep biting your lip like that, I’m holding you accountable for my actions.” for Kakashi please! I love him 🤤

If your requests are still open, can i ask for some domestic kakashi fluff? Ty

Hi mommas❤️❤️ CAN I PWEASE request some Guren (seraph of the end) relationship headcanons ? Not nsfw but maybe a little steamy 🥺🥰 I LOVE UU -🍒

Hi Chloe 🥰 Can I have some spicy nsfw headcanons for Yami where his s/o is acting really bratty during sex and he puts her in her place? 😪😂😊

Kageyama wirh Oikawas sister reader? there just chillin Nd stuff and toru comes over and picks y/n up and they hug and kageyama is like “eXcuSe mE???” forgive my spelling im on mobile lmao

Hiii❤️❤️ Can I request an imagine where you live in a small town and work at a cafe and Bakugou is your cliche small town boyfriend? Or headcanons! The idea is so cute and I love your writing 😊

okay so uHHHHH you can just go for Mephisto sharing some food with his s/o owo;; take your time on it too because i know it's gonna be really great either way!

A reader insert saved by vampire! main YYH crew from a pack of werewolves

Since you said requests are open maybe.. suga subbing for you? Idk he's just always appeared like someone who would love to please you in anyway possible.

V A M P I R E LAVI!!! DO IT GIRL!! 👌👌♥️♥️♥️

Fake dating with Lavi!!!!! Need more of the DGM boyz!! 😂

can I get an itachi x reader fic where it's itachi's birthday and the reader decides to give him a special night (👀), wearing lingerie, lighting candles, etc. for him to come home to? I love your work (and you!!) sm btw 🥺💞 - nina!! (@kunoichihatake)

hello ✨💕 it’s me, ryn 😘 if it’s okay, can i request a nishinoya x female!reader? perhaps a first date at the boardwalk with like the rides and carnival stuff? then at the end of the date he kisses her and it turns out the karasuno squad was following them the whole night hehe?

Hi! Can I request a prompt of some soft Kakashi, maybe some cuddles, perhaps it gets a little heated... a lil' Nsfw never hurt nobody👀👅 Thank you so muuch!~😍❤️

If I had kakashi in front of me I would tell him “aren’t you tired of being the most handsome man here?”

Hi! I saw that requests were open for the Haikyuu!! boys so here I am! I was wondering if I could request a Tsukki x reader where Tsukki has a crush on the reader but doesn't know how to express his feelings other then throwing insults. it can be angsty or fluffy I just really love Tsukki as a tsundere lol. (also btw I LOVE your theme and blog aesthetic its very pretty!)

Hey wifey😚 so Ichigo has stolen my heartttt can I get the strawberry boy with an S/O who gets super shy with with physical contact? Tyy💗💗

Fake dating with Lavi!!!!! Need more of the DGM boyz!! 😂

NSFW Vampire Squall (FF8) for very obvious reasons because UUUUUUGH

Hello there miss, my name is kandaxxx. Nice to meet you since I have definitely never requested from you before and this is definitely my first time and i am definitely not taking advantage of your bomb writing skills to ask you to write a “Choke me, daddy.” for Seymour from FF (love you forever and always!!!!!!)

hey butterfly 🥺 can you please write a story where the reader and (any character) are fighting and it turns out it was just about something stupid? like chicken nuggets? thank you 🥺💗

Eek! DGM! I was wondering if you would do a request for a general Allen Walker relationship HC? I don’t see him on the character list, but I’m just curious *bows* Thankyou senpai!

Spin The Bottle with any of the DGM characters that you're comfortable writing????? (but like obviously when Kanda spins the bottle it has to land on the reader [me] because YOU KNOW WHY OK????????) ilysm!!! 😍

I’m thinking a smut scenario of some kind that uses the prompts “Perhaps I need to remind you of your place.” and “Let me show you what happens to little brats who don’t follow the rules.” I feel like those are very Nozel Silva things to say. 😈 -bakubabes-hatake

Omfg HI mommy, Can i request really fluffy and soft itachi after he comes back from a mission? Non-massacre AU and you’re on the same team as sasuke lolol thirsty for them age gaps ❤️ thank youuuu ily -🍒

Can I get a fake dating with Kand--Roy Mustang (hahahaha) 👉👈🥺

Is this okay to ask for? Egor taking care of s/o who has period cramps... Ty!

Hello! Can I please request some headcanons for Kiba with a S/O with a praise kink? And for Shikamaru with a S/O with a choking kink? Thank you so much.

Wow. Here is me putting in a request. Shocker, right?? 😂 I want some Greed, baby 😈 as for the prompt, it's not in your list, but could you maybe do something based off of "Oh my god. Did we just break the bed?" ???? 👉👈

It's a shame u only have one ling request, so could I request some Ling x Reader where they're both absolutely oblivious until Lan Fan or Ed or someone finally just tells them for them? Sorry if I didn't make any sense ❤️❤️

ok idk if you write threesomes but 😳😳 if you could write one with daichi and suga n maybe some dp, i'd probably die 🥺💓 only if you're comfortable with that tho ♡

Tyki flirting with his crush in his native language of Portuguese? I really love your work and please have some candy 🍬🍭🍫

hi butterfly! 🥰 i hope you're doing well! you already know what i'm going to ask you for — a request! i just feel really down in the dumps lately. can i request headcanons for an s/o that takes graduation pictures on their grandmother's 3 year death anniversary with kenma, nishinoya & kuroo? i hope you can do my request! you don't have to do it if you don't want to!

hehehe kuroo, tsukki and kageyama headcanons of their s/o sending them a nude while they at training and them making an excuse to get home and fUcK yOu SeNsELeSs - 🌊

Hello may I request itachi x reader. People learned the truth and he can finally return to his wife and children in the village 🥺 and they don’t have to be in secret anymore

holy shit,, i am starved for the squall content,,, if you don't mind, catching you wearing their clothes?

S/O walking in on kakashi masturbating? 👉👈 💕

#this is a lot longer than i thought it would be #holy hell #i have so many requests #a bit frightened now #but oh whale #i hope you guys are excited for all these requests #i know i am #although im intimidated #by their sheer numbers #IVE GOT THIS THO #FOR MY CUTE #LIL #BUTTERFLIES #I LOVE YALL

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strikearose · 4 years

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It’s all about connections (SasuNaru) (Part 1)

Finally, here’s the very first part of the !YoutubeSasuNaru story - the idea’s quite silly but I had fun writing it so hope you guys enjoy it! (English is not my first language so please don’t be too much of a grammar nazi Summary : Sasuke has had that massive crush on a youtuber for years when Rasengan randomly starts going to his class. You can also read it on ff.net and ao3. Part 1 (here), Part 2 (clic), Part 3 (clic), Part 4 (clic)

Poc.

The ball of paper missed its trajectory and crashed into the corner of the wall, barely half an inch away from the waste basket that originally intended. The student didn’t mind, though - he was far too busy trying to finish his economics presentation that was due for the next day.

Despite the fact that many of his classmates insisted on seeing him as a relentless hardworking student, Sasuke Uchiha was very much like any other normal twenty-one year old boy : a procrastinator at heart. So it was precisely on the night before the big day that he finally decided to finish it, even though he had had all of his vacation time to do so. Well - it would be a lie to say that it would take a superhuman effort to accomplish that task, but unfortunately the young man had another flaw: he was a perfectionist.

Even if he had to pull an all-nighter or give nothing back at all, Sasuke had always refused to be average - because before (and in addition of) setting high standards for others, he would always set himself very high standards.

The black-haired man frowned as he read what he had written on the previous line and, impulsively, he ended up tearing up the entire page of his notebook and threw it on the floor.

However, the paper pellet did not make a Poc - as he had, this time, managed to reach the bin, it made a Ting instead : he had just received a notification.

His mind being elsewhere, the student rummaged around on his desk, looking for his phone. It wasn’t a text message, but a Youtube alert. One of his Subscriptions had just uploaded a new video. Sasuke took a quick look at the time (1:03 am) and let a loud sight when he saw how long the video was: fifty-seven minutes.

Of course, it has to be Rasengan.

He was the only one there who could publish a barely edited gaming review at such odd hours. One hour of uncut video was too much, even if it was to discuss the New Zelda. ‘That moron clearly don’t understand how the logistics of youtube work,’ the young man thought while stretching his legs under the table in order to get into a more comfortable position.

Because even though Sasuke might found the Youtuber’s marketing choices quite stupid and questionable - he was still his favorite. The only one he was following so.. assiduously.

And if he was really going to pull an all-nighter in order to finish his presentation on time, he might as well relax a little on the go

The coffee machine finally agreed (even though it sure had taken its’ sweet time) to give him his change money, but it still wasn’t not enough to lift Sasuke’s spirit. He really had spent his entire night working on the presentation. Well - he even had to give up his usual fifteen minutes of hot morning shower for just three minutes of shampoo-rinse-toothbrush altogether to make sure that everything was perfect.

But at last - there he was ! His eyelids stung horribly and he could feel the dark circles hollowing out his eyes, but everything was finally ready to make sure he would receive his usual congratulations for the seriousness and thoroughness of his work.

An amused grin escaped his lips when he looked into the face of Kiba Inuzuka, one of his classmates - a gamer and procrastinator emeritus who unfortunately didn’t have enough wits to back it up. With some luck, they would be called in alphabetical order for once and it would save Inuzuka the embarrassment of going Sasuke’s presentation.

Or maybe not.

Sasuke left the cafeteria just as the legendary lack of luck of the dog-loving student seemed to catch up with him:

« FOR FUCK’S SAKE NARUTO DON’T PUT YOUR DR PEPPER ON TOP OF MY COMPUTER ! »

« Hey Sasuke, did you also get Ichiraku’s mail about the internship? »

Shikamaru Nara calmly called out the black-haired young man as he sat down.

« Yes, I got it. And my documents have been signed and validated by the office earlier today.

- Cool, mine too, Shikamaru sighed. ‘t'was about time. »

He nodded his head knowingly: all the steps of searching, finding and getting the official documents concerning the internship signed were an unspeakable mess. Luckily, though, his partner this time was not a nutcase of Zaku Abumi’s caliber.

The Nara was placidly calm (Sasuke wouldn’t dream of seeing him threatening the Dean of blowing up the uni if he were to fail the exams) and quite intelligent: in short, he was one of his peers. And their little discussions were not too unpleasant.

« Well, we’ll talk later about carpooling?

- Yeah. And also dividing the task.

- Yeah, no problems, Shikamaru sighed as he turned away - tired in advance of the amount of work ahead. Ah, good luck with your presentation by the way. »

Pfft.

He didn’t even bother to answer.

Wishing him luck ? Sasuke gladly left ‘good luck’ to losers such as Inuzuka or Sarutobi who were very likely to be sending prayers at that very moment to every heavenly spirit existing, Jashin included, to have the course delayed.

Good luck ?

Sasuke definitely didn’t need it.

He was brilliant, meticulous and confident: talking in front of sixty or more people didn’t bother him at all - unlike the younger Hyuuga who getting more and more on the verge of fainting as she practiced her speech. More than that, it was even something he enjoyed. Knowing every aspect of a subject - mastering it ; defending it tooth and nail, tearing apart every remark made by his opponents until they surrender..

Some malicious people would say that Sasuke liked to boast on stage, that he was too arrogant. That he was far too pleased to thwart the traps set by his teachers, to answer the questions of his classmates with a smirk. A smirk just visible enough to make them understand how foolish he thought their interventions were. Or worse, that he had precisely expected for a moron to make that remark, thus allowing him to assert his assistance with a dutifully prepared response.

Saying that Sasuke Uchiha sometimes behaved like a complete asshole would be quite slanderous - indeed.

Because, no he did not.

He was brilliant, meticulous, confident… and humble on top of that.

« Hurry up, Kiba, I think it’s already started!

- You should have eat your lunch quicker ! »

The two latecomers were forced to take the front row seats of the auditorium while Sasuke finished to prepare. The slide show was on, the cable was connected - he was simply waiting for Mr. Hatake’s approval to start.

« And to finish with and anticipate some questions you may have, I’d like to add that while the data I used regarding market flows may be from two thousand and four, other studies that I have provided in the appendix tend to show that all exchanges concerning telephony have been profitable thanks to the takeover of the company by its competitor three years ago. »

Click.

He couldn’t have done better.

The teacher scribbled an umpteenth inscription on his rating form with a discreet approving wink and Uchiha smiled smugly.

Perfect - everything had gone on smoothly.

His onyx eyes wandered around the room: not surprisingly, half the auditorium hadn’t listen a word to what he had said, too focused on themselves (and the realization of their own projects).

Pfft.

The other half, however, completed his little moment of glory: some of them shook the head in bitterness, disappointed in what they had done in comparison, others gave him an admiring look. In the distance, Shikamaru nodded his head slowly while the Egyptian fury sited beside him, more belligerent, pretended to stifle a yawn.

But Sasuke quickly looked away, his mouth pinched, as he saw the thumb up that Lee Rock had kindly addressed to his attention. Lee was overall quite a nice fellow - Sasuke himself had to recognize it, - but no.

Just no.

« Well, if no one has any question, because I don’t have one either, let’s move on to the next presentation, Kakashi Hatake thought for a moment as he watched over the assembly. Inuzuka, you, in the front row? Well, that’s great, now’s your turn. »

Sasuke, quite disdainfully elated, was about to come down from the stage when a voice stopped him dead in his tracks:

« Oops, you’re in deep shit, Kiba! »

That particular tone was familiar to him.

Strangely familiar.

« Heyyyyy everybody! I know, I know, sorry! I promised to upload more often… But sometimes I just completely forget to turn the cam on. Or to remove the lens cover ahah! Anyway, today…- »

…

Come to think of it, Sasuke knows that he should have, at least, tried to make it look like it wasn’t that big of a deal. He should have try to tighten his jaw, clench his teeth or even hold his breath until he could return to his seat but of course - he didn’t.

That damn brain of his really had to go on mental-break down as he looked over to the lips from which those sweet, sweet words had just escaped.

He literally froze on the spot.

HOLY FREAKING FUCKING FUCK.

Why the hell did Rasengan have to show up in his class on the very-day he looked like utter shit?!

Sasuke let himself fell on a chair of the uni library. The research room, fortunately, was still quite empty - this haven of peace was the only place where, he was ready to stake his life on it, this stupid Inuzuka had not and would never set foot in.

Yes - Sasuke Uchiha had simply run away : with clenched fists, he had spent the forty-two minutes separating him from the end of the class to scrutinize meticulously the auditorium clock’s second hand. He had tried everything: scrolling down his twitter feed, pretending to be interested in what was happening downstairs, humming softly a bit of that stupid Latin-sounding song that his brother Itachi kept playing in the car, but nothing helped. That same frightening moment was played again and again in his mind:

Meeting certain cerulean eyes had literally made him go speechless. If he had for a long time now suspected the blond guy of drowning his instagram pictures with saturated filters, he was now forced to admit that this guy had the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

And by blue, Sasuke wasn’t talking about that pale, bland cyan that Ino Yamanaka, a high school ‘friend’ he often saw in the cafeteria, boasted about - no, Rasengan’s pupils were of a deep, bright, intense blue. It wasn’t a grey that stretched to be too light or green; his eyes were neither grayish nor turquoise: they were blue. Irrevocably blue.

Wonderfully blue.

The more he thought about it, the less Uchiha was willing to accept it: there was no way a guy who spent at least twelve hours a day on screens could have such marvelous eyes. He probably wore contact lenses, yeah, there was no other explanation.

All Sasuke could remember was meeting that seing that blue and then - nothing. His foot had stayed up in the air, his breathing hastened and he had stood there like an idiot - staring at the video maker who hadn’t pay the slightest attention to him, his mouth wide open.

How long had he been frozen there, like a fucking fangirl oozing hormones and sebum?

…

Thank’s God - an unfortunate accident had come to his rescue : Kiba Inuzuka and his legendary clumsiness who, probably not expecting Sasuke to suddenly freeze on the spot, had stumbled over the stairs.

PAF.

He had cracked his forehead open and the fit of hilarity (well - they didn’t need much at eight o'clock in the morning) in the auditorium had instantly brought Sasuke out of his enamored trance. He had quickly taken his attention away from the blond young man hurried back to his place, his heart beating fast.

Shit - what the hell was Rasengan doing in his college?

And why did he have do pull an all-nighter on the day before?

Sasuke looked around him and hesitated for a moment before putting his phone in selfie mode in order to inspect the extent of the damages.

Ouch.

He had rarely looked so bad. His eyes were red because of the entire night spent on a computer screen, his skin was tugging at him and - what the hell was that old scale on the edge of his eyelid ? But despair truly overcame him as he looked at the state of his hair - thank God it was still pretty clean, but there was absolutely no volume left. Nasty, long (too long) strands of hair were stuck to his temples and fell back a little on his forehead.

Shit - it was as if he was unpleasantly reviving his teenage years when - even though he still adamantly claimed to that day he had never turned emo, he had tried numerous dubious kind of hairstyles.

The Uchiha turned pale when it really came down to him : this was indeed the very first impression he ever had make on Rasengan.

When Sasuke set foot on campus the next day, curious glances were exchanged. While his complexion was as fresh and glowing as ever (he had gulped down five liters of water the night before), his hair was…-

Well - he rather gave the impression that he had swallowed five litres of gel. That observation made the usually impassive Shikamaru raised an eyebrow - for a moment he thought that he too had returned to his high school years. The Nara genius finally shrugged it off, plunged back into his textbook - well everyone had bad hair day every now and then.

Fourth day of the week - Sasuke grumbled as he put his computer back on his bag.

Of course, Rasengan had to disappear completely off the face of the earth as soon as he had decided to rock his best outfits to go to class.

It was as if Rasengan’s divine appearance had to be provoked by Sasuke losing some of his splendor.

…

The next day, Sasuke had the impudence of wearing a T-shirt… with a hole on it (an old accident involving a hook and his brother-in-law, a fisherman), but still - nothing happened.

There was not the slightest sign of the handsome blond with eyes too blue to be true. In a bad mood, Uchiha decided after lunch to put the Ralph Lauren sweater, which he’d slipped into his bag in the morning just in case, in top of his crappy shirt.

The following Monday came quickly but - no, Sasuke wasn’t expecting anything.

His decision to resume his daily abdominal sessions hadn’t been motivated by any hope of meeting a certain blond again.

He was doing it for himself - and for himself alone.

Although it was true that he didn’t even need it.

The coffee machine forgot inadvertently to give him a stirrer - Sasuke sighed. Great, the day was starting out just fine : how the hell was he supposed to retrieve the sugar that had fallen to the bottom of the cup and drink his coffee now?

« Ahah, I can’t believe it, I didn’t even finish my presentation and Hatake gave me the passmark ! »

Sasuke’s ears tensed imperceptibly as he recognized the voice of the injured-Inuzuka who had just entered the cafeteria.

« He felt sorry you had a concussion Kiba, Shikamaru was there too.

- Whatever, man ! I’m definitely going to pass that semester ! We got to go celebrate. »

Celebrate?

Like in a bar or club where Rasengan might also go to ?

Sasuke suddenly found his cup too heavy to carry around and chose to sit down at the table next to the one the two friends had chosen, any worry of lost-stirrer long forgotten.

« Mhhh. Shikamaru sighed and rummaged through his wallet, seeking enough change to buy himself a hot drink. The delicious scent of Sasuke’s coffee was tempting him. You know what I think about your improvised parties.

- Pfff, anyway, you hardly go out anymore now than you got hitched.

- It's not like that, Shikamaru sighed again. Tem and I simply go to different places. »

Sasuke rolled his eyes out, bored. He wasn’t there to hear about other people’s marital relationships: why didn’t they discuss Rasengan’s appearance AND disappearance instead?

The black-haired man had spend the weekend trying to figure something out, but nothing helped. Not a new video on Youtube (well, there was nothing that strange about that, Rasengan’s upload schedule had always been rather dubious), not a single clue on twitter or insta.

Nothing.

« …- never thought you’d actually manage to hook up with her. By the way…-, Kiba’s sentence was left hanging in the air. Oh, here he is. It’s about time! »

Sasuke’s pulse suddenly accelerated. Damn it.

He hadn’t expected Rasengan to pop up out of the blue, though.

Wasn’t his presence so close to his group of friends too suspicious?

Was he going to get busted that easily ?

He needed a pretext - quickly.

« Hey Shino. You’re here just in time, let’s go! »

Eyes glued to the poster for dark-metal band, Uchiha struggled to conceal his disappointment.

Shino Aburame - of course.

Always where he wasn’t expected.

Jaw clenched, Sasuke pretended to take a closer look at the tour dates on the wall while the three companions got up to go to class. The disappointed student was about to do the same when a voice called out to him:

« I didn’t know you liked this kind of music, Sasuke.

- Uh… yeah.

- We’re performing next month at the bar around the corner, Shino let out a rare smile as he reached into his pocket to hand him something. Here, I’ve got plenty more.

- … Thanks ? »

Uchiha arched an eyebrow as he received a Radioactive Worms sticker.

…

Well.

It took all sorts to make a world.

Wednesday, nine o'clock - Sasuke sighed as he realized that his computer was already out of battery. He pulled the charger out of its’ case before giving a nasty glance to a student who was cackling a little too loudly a few rows away.

Inuzuka.

Again.

He was getting on his nerves more and more.

For how long has he been getting along like pigs in a blanket with Rasengan? And was he, as Sasuke strongly suspected, responsible of his mysterious disappearance?

It was all so damn confusing.

« Um, yeah? »

The microphone sizzled and Sasuke turned his attention back ont he lecturer who he had almost forgotten.

When he saw who standing next to him, he almost fainted.

Rasengan.

#sasunaru #narusasu #sasunaru fic #sasunaru fanfiction #narusasu fic #narusasu fanfiction #naruto #naruto fanfiction #youtube #sillyme #shino is a key character there #hope you guys enjoyed it #i really need to study but oh well #naruto x sasuke #narutoxsasuke #sasuke x naruto #sasukexnaruto #sasuke x naruto fanfiction #it's all about connections

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dayseternal-blog · 5 years

Link

A Hanahaki AU -

Summary: She knit a red scarf for him. She never gave it to him. Days turned into months, months turned into too late.

Naruto starts dating. Hinata decides to move on.

A sickness takes root in the heart.

Inspired by SasuSaku fanfic “Medicine” by @grimmjowkurosakidrake

Rating: Mature

Read Chapter 1: Smoke on her tongue

Read Chapter 2: He’s not a ghost

Read Chapter 3: Weeds

Chapter 4: Leave himself behind

Delicately crimson maples burn against the blue sky. Pale gold ginkgo leaves fan across the dry grounds. A fountain warbles up ahead, its bubbling growing clearer to her senses.

It’s quiet. The area of the park he took her to fairly secluded, far away from the hustle and bustle of Konoha central.

Despite all the muddled things that have happened, the afternoon is too peaceful, too beautiful.

“Please. Let me make it up to you.”

She hesitated. She turned her face down.

“...Hinata.”

He had only ever been sincere with her.

She looked up.

And was surprised.

Hope, a caring smile, gently lit his face.

How she has been wanting to hope, too...

Susumu slows, bringing them to a pause along the path.

She stops beside him, glances up at him, and recognizes the weight across his brow, realizes that...he wants to talk.

But she doesn’t.

She still doesn’t know what she wants, what would be best, what the right thing to do is. For him...for herself. She wishes she could freeze time, just let every day be a tranquil autumn mid-morning, the fountain ahead the greatest curiosity to consider.

Sakura was right that she wasn’t ready to date.

But now that she’s in the thick of it, should she just stop? No amount of crying, worrying, sleepless nights have helped her figure out her feelings, and she keeps thinking, “time heals,” but how does it do that? Has she no control or say over this? Can she not push it along?

“...For the other night, I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head, confused, an apology completely unnecessary from him. “N-no, I was the one..” She lets that thought trail out. The memory hurts more than she knows she has any right to feel. It’s embarrassing, it’s regretful. “I’m the one who’s sorry,” she finishes quietly.

He lets out a long breath. “I wanted it to be special for us.”

She wanted her first to be “special,” too. She had a lot of romantic notions--the most important facet, the man she wished to share it with, an impossibility. It’s too late now. And she’ll get nothing by thinking of it.

“I thought, well, away from others...when the mood was right. I wanted it to be something you would remember. In a good way.”

She keeps her eyes averted to the forest floor. An ache settles in her chest. “It was my own fault.”

He quiets, perhaps processing her words. “...Why did you...?” he asks softly.

Why did she kiss him last night? Why…well, out of anything, this she knows quite clearly now. “I...I don’t know if I can find anyone else.” She keeps her eyes firmly on the ground, feels her own words itch across her skin.

She realizes belatedly that she shouldn’t have told him that. Those words of self-doubt weren’t meant for him to know. They were meant to be bottled up inside, they were meant for being whispered in Sakura’s strict confidence.

More silence follows her admission, broken only as he tentatively laces his fingers into hers. “What do you want from me?”

The question sucks the air out of her, leaving only a sour sensation of her own inadequacy. She doesn’t even know what she wants from herself. Speechless, she quickly glances up at him to gauge his expression, his emotions.

He’s watching her. He gives no further guidance, no options for her to pick from…

She needs to decide.

She searches him, for any kind of clue or sign. Her mind feels like radio silence.

She waits. Waits for the right words to come, waits for a feeling to push her to do or say something. Anything.

Nothing.

An emptiness that stretches into more and more nothing until the silence itself is louder than the rustle of the wind in the trees, the confusion on his face, the unknowns of his thoughts, overwhelming, she feels too suddenly like the girl of ten years younger. Indecisive, hesitant, weak-willed, cowering in the face of something greater than herself.

Love never chooses cowards like her.

He sighs, an aggravated, hard breath, one that tells her she’s pushed his patience too far.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs, gathering any bit of strength she has to hold back tears--that shame would be excessively too much, but even she can hear the slight thickness in her voice.

He lets go of her hand, his fingers curling into a fist.

“I…” She takes a deep breath, effort upon effort to control herself. “I don’t want to be a waste of your time, but I just... I don’t know.” She can’t look at him. She’s staring at the ground, blinking away the burn behind her eyes, calming herself until she can face him.

He steps closer, she can feel his heat, his arms coming around her in a hug that doesn’t ask for her to return it. His cheek at the top of her head. His chest rising and falling slowly, in deep breaths, against her own cheek. “Hinata,” he starts.

She squeezes her eyes shut, the unexpected comfort making her shudder, freeze, stop breathing, until she’s sure she won’t cry. She releases her breath slowly, carefully.

His hand rubs her back, the other gently around her.

It’s comforting. But it also feels wrong. The juxtaposition of her feelings plaguing her fully, and she wishes, she wishes she could just enjoy his affection, wishes she could just force herself to return it, her thoughts considering for a second hugging him back, make herself just act it until she feels it in her heart, but, but,

Her heart breaks.

Pathetic. The sharpness of her disappointment in herself sickening, scarring longer against her self-confidence, a self-hatred she hasn’t felt in a long time.

“Is it my face?” he asks, a bit of humor in his tone that makes her take pause.

She shakes her head, still hiding her own, pinched face in his easy hug.

“Theeen, is it my personality?” he guesses.

She shakes her head, and decides she owes him a very certain, “No.”

“Did you miss me?” he asks lowly.

Her eyes pinch closed only tighter. She nods. But she knows it’s not for the right reasons. She missed him because she was and is pathetic. Pathetically lonely.

“...Do you think you can come to like me?”

“I like you…” she softly murmurs.

“But you don’t...not really...”

She stills, unconsciously holding her breath.

He exhales slowly, heavily. He carefully backs away, his hands coming to rest on her shoulders, before dropping to his sides. His tone quiet, careful, “Just to be transparent with you, I think it’s best if I start seeing other girls.”

She can feel his gaze searching hers, almost asking for her permission, or agreement. She finally nods, a knot stuck in her throat. Her chance with him is really over.

He nods, too, his face turning away. “Um, yeah.” His eyes shift to hers. “You’re beautiful, so you shouldn’t worry about finding someone else.”

She holds in her discomfort. No one has ever complimented her appearance so easily as much as he has, and she never got used to it.

“The man you love will be one lucky bastard.”

She scrunches her nose at the swear word, shaking her head slightly in disbelief.

He almost smiles.

She knows she was the lucky one. That he gave her a second chance was more than she deserved. And she really needs to tell him so. He only did his best to build her up. She never really did anything for him. Never told him exactly what she thought of him. “You’re kind..really patient..and...handsome…” She’s never said that to anyone before, but he also deserves to know it. As easily as he ever told her that she’s beautiful. “I was the lucky one, that you gave me a second chance…thank you. And the girl who receives you will be even luckier.”

He runs his hand through his hair, then sighs again. His brows furrow together. “Don’t kiss me again, okay? I might not let you off so easily next time.” Despite the reprimand, his tone sounds joking.

And she nods seriously, apologetically, sincerely. “I’m sorry.”

“And don’t apologize to me again,” he adds, softer. “It’s okay.”

It certainly wasn’t okay. She knows that much. She sent him mixed signals until the end, making him suffer from her own mixed-up head, and it just wasn’t okay. But his forgiveness is a miracle. It’s a miracle that he doesn’t seem to hate her.

“Can I walk you home?”

She doesn’t know how he can seem so at peace in this moment. She’s sure that the disappointment tugging at her own consciousness must be so much heavier in his, but she accepts his offer.

They walk silently back, no more words to say to each other that would seem right, and she fears that that’s just how it is. Perhaps that’s just how break-ups should be.

At her gate, he nods in lieu of a farewell.

Then she bows, an action to convey all of her indebtedness to him, then watches him turn around and head off, and as she enters her home, she realizes she feels a little more at peace, too.

She feels a lightness of air, a brighter atmosphere, a kind of clarity about her.

There’s no rush.

Rushing herself will only make her feel worse. Forcing herself will only put her under unnecessary pressure.

It’s okay.

If Susumu can be okay, then she can be okay, too.

It’s okay.

Even if it’s not okay, it can be. She can be okay.

She can do other things.

Maybe not see other guys.

And definitely not see Naruto.

But she can just keep busy.

Spend more time with Hanabi.

Train more. Improve herself.

Just let time happen.

It’s after a mission on their return to the village, and all that they have left to worry about is their report, that she informs Kiba and Shino that they broke up.

They stare at her, their simple dinner temporarily forgotten.

Kiba finally blinks at her, coming out of his stupor. “Who broke up with who?”

“I guess…” She considers saying that they simply broke up with each other, but that wasn’t really the case. “He broke up with me.”

Shino sits a little taller, but his silent reaction is eclipsed by Kiba’s, “What?”

She opens her mouth to repeat herself, but Kiba shakes his head, catching himself.

“I mean, sorry. Are you okay?”

She nods. There were probably a lot more reasons, like, if looked at as negatively as possible, she was “playing” with him. Using him to figure herself out, and that’s about the lowest she’s ever gone, the worst she’s ever been, the worst anyone can ever be. And now, only now can she see how miserable she was, how awful she was. She’s not okay okay now, but she’s..okay. Getting there, maybe. Probably a whole world better than before.

“You two seemed fine...can I ask why?” Kiba asks, his considerate hesitation an effort he rarely exerts.

She smiles in appreciation and shakes her head. “He broke up with me..because I didn’t have the confidence to do it myself,” she admits.

“He broke up with you because he could tell that you wanted to break up with him,” Shino rephrases.

Hinata considers Shino’s words, deciding that it’s not quite right. “Actually, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to break up with him. I think he just thought it would be best if we broke up.”

“And has it been for the better?” Shino asks evenly.

“Yes.” It really has been, so she repeats it to solidify it. “Yes, it’s been better.” The sureness of her own tone is comforting. Rather than holding everything in, she’s found that talking about this, with Sakura, with Kurenai, Shino, Kiba, even Hanabi, has been helping her feel less heavy. Less lonely.

“That’s good, then.” And Kiba smiles at her nod.

Shino leans forward, makes sure that she can feel his attention even through his dark glasses. “We’re always here if you need us, Hinata.”

There are so many, many supportive people around her. Teammates, friends, family.

She doesn’t need him.

She knows she’s never needed him.

She supposes it was never about need, though.

There was a time in her life when he was everything to her, if not a need, it was that-

I loved him.

...Loved?

It’s an endless ache to realize she’s grasping at that swollen sore in her heart, doing her best to pull him out, as if leaving him somewhere behind in her present will help the space in her heart (that was molded just for him, by him) close up in her future, or maybe maybe maybe, maybe one day, hold another.

(After all, not possible.)

(If he’s not there, then what’s supposed to be?)

(Nothing?)

It’s okay if she still cries.

Cries to mourn a one-sided joy.

Only ever infinite to her, never to him.

The feelings she’s harbored, collected drops of memories, hopes, visions of him in a bag fit to burst with all the affection she ever had only dreamed to reveal to him, splashes of it leaking out in her words and actions to and for him, momentous to her, colossal in effort and courage to rein in or show in measured, limitless beats of her heart.

But landing ultimately, colorlessly flat.

Whether at his feet, in his eyes, ears, mind, if not reaching his heart, she never landed anywhere.

(It’s okay.)

For avoiding anything to do with him, she’s been hearing a lot about him.

That he and his girlfriend are fighting, he’s been angry.

That he’s been taken off missions until further notice.

That he’s been really sick, he has a chakra illness.

That he hasn’t been leaving his apartment at all.

Despite her best, her very best efforts to not think about him, the rumors worry her. Well, they worry everyone in the village.

How sick is he? Why is he sick? Will he get better? Why is he angry? From being sick?

What’s true and what’s not?

The rumors must have started with some bits of truth from the girlfriend.

Misplaced, ugly temper spikes at Rumi.

How can she be fighting with him if he’s so sick? Isn’t she taking care of him?

...She must be.

If Rumi loves him, she must be.

If it were her...she would…

It doesn’t matter.

It’s not her place to worry about him.

It’s okay.

And Naruto will be okay, too. He always pulls himself up.

She actively does her best to not think about him, worry about him, wonder about his health as the rumors are...rumored...to run with truth. But time gives her no reprieve.

October 10.

The anniversary of the end of the war.

It’s been their tradition over the last two years to arrive at the cemetery early on occasions like this, around 6:00 in the morning. To place white lilies at her cousin’s grave. To stay together in quiet conversation or silent prayer until the sun kisses the war monument and other early-goers begin breaking the morning chill.

She’s not sure if she should go.

She knows she should go.

But she’s not sure if...she should go. Because maybe she shouldn’t go.

The anticipation that used to fill her for this early morning moment, the fondness that warmed her despite the dry autumn cool, are gone, lost, replaced with racing anxiety.

He might not even come. With how sick he’s been, if the rumor is true, he shouldn’t overexert himself.

She’ll go with her family later in the day, as she always does.

But, she’s awake now. She has flowers in a vase in the washing sink, ready to go.

And what if he goes?

It’s his birthday.

And that would be really, really awful of her if she didn’t show up, and he did. Even if she couldn’t bring herself to get him anything this time...not after her failed confession last winter, or her almost-actually-not-really-at-all-a-confession on his birthday last year…

She wasn’t sure what possessed her to bake chocolate for him. She could’ve chosen anything, anything, and she chose a mini chocolate cake. As if to announce her love to him. Maybe that’s just what she wanted to do. Tell him the truth of her feelings.

No, no. She couldn’t do that. Not when they were finally getting along so easily. Not when it seemed like maybe, just maybe, he was starting to notice her. She wanted to be sure before she did anything.

She was so nervous, her heart fluttering like the tiny, red maple leaves twirling from the trees, crinkling through her arms and legs, when she saw him leaning against one of the posts of the large gates to the cemetery. He was effortlessly beautiful.

He smiled, waved with his free hand, his grin banishing the crisp cold and the early morning dusty blue dark, her pulse resetting to an exuberant race.

He never knew how happy he made her. And it pleased her, warmed her all over, to know she could communicate a little of that today.

She quickly went to him, uncaring if she appeared too eager, because...well, because. He made her forget herself.

He didn’t seem to notice the bag she carefully toted along with the bouquet of lilies, he seemed to think nothing of it, and the handles burned in her tightened grip. She’d give it to him when they were leaving. A part of her wanted to relieve herself of the stress right now, but she reasoned that she didn’t want to inconvenience him.

They walked straight to Neji’s grave. By now, this being his...fourth time?...Naruto seemed to know exactly where it was, and he confidently led the way. For all she knew, maybe he had visited on his own, too. For herself, it was far, far over her hundredth time. She had long ago lost count of her visits.

He greeted the headstone as if Neji stood there, instead. “‘Morning, Neji!”

She scrunched a small smile, dazzled by his wide, self-satisfied grin, and she followed suit, copying his cheery attitude. “Good morning, Neji-niisan.”

“We’re back!” He nodded, leaving an opening for her to add on, and she just smiled, enjoying it. But he toned down, his voice lower when he said, “We brought these for you.” He lifted his lilies in gesture, bent down and placed them near the grave, and flipped the cup over. He reached into his utility pocket, pulling out shears for her. “I’ll go get the water.”

“Thank you,” she managed to murmur to him before he left. She settled in front of the grave and began to unwrap the bouquets.

By the time he returned, she was almost through clipping the stems.

He began taking the shortened ones, arranging them neatly into the cup. “This cup is too small. We should start bringing our own cups. Are we allowed to bring our own cups? What would they do with it? Would they just throw it away?” he chatted quietly.

“Mm, I think they throw everything away after about a week.”

“Ahh that’s such a waste.”

She hummed her agreement. “But that’s a good idea, Naruto-kun. Maybe next time I’ll bring a taller container. Then we wouldn’t have to clip the stems and leaves so much.”

“It would look nicer than just laying the flowers all over him.” He suddenly started to snicker.

She glanced at him, his shoulders shaking with quiet, gleeful laughter. An image of Neji lying on the ground, steadily getting surrounded and covered in bouquets of flowers, a deepening grimace of annoyance marring his usually serious features, rose to her mind’s eye. She couldn’t help but laugh with him, the thought too ridiculous to not react to.

He bumped shoulders with her playfully, the careless action sending heat up her neck, making her bite her lips, making her remember herself.

“Naruto-kun,” she quietly scolded. He always made her laugh when they came here. Laughing in a cemetery was not at all appropriate. Especially for today.

He side-eyed her, his chin pulling down in a comically judgmental expression. “What, you laughed, too!”

“Shhh...No, I didn’t.” A blatant lie. But he always made her feel silly.

“Psh, yeah, sure, right…”

“Mhm.” She finished clipping all of the flowers and pushed a few into the cup. She gathered the leftover ones and tied them back together, laying them beside his grave.

He was watching her, squinting at her, she could feel it, and it took everything in her to not violently blush.

When he didn’t look away, she turned to him, a smile of embarrassment edging up on her. “What is it?”

He blinked, his brows lifted, he looked away as if he hadn’t been staring at her. “Nothing.” But he was grinning.

She glanced away, a little confused, only to feel him obviously watching her again. Quickly turning to him, she asked, “What?”

He turned back. “Nothing,” he insisted.

She studied him, his silent, smug laughter bunching in his cheeks. It was too late, she was blushing, and she was already at new levels of silliness. “What nothing?”

“Nothing means nothing, y’know? I was just watching ya!” His admission was too easy, too shameless.

Her nerves were no match for that. Her embarrassed confusion and badly hidden happiness must have been all over her face because he laughed harder. Unable to take it, she buried her face in her hands, patted her cheeks multiple times as if to beat back the warmth of her blush, wondered if it was possible to go insane with happiness.

His laughter calmed to quiet chuckles, and she eventually lifted her face.

She hugged her knees together protectively to hide the frenetic beating of her heart. She laid her head on her knees, pouted at him beside her. Found his gaze.

Blue, blue eyes shined with something warm.

She blinked, surprised.

He grinned, the previous expression lost in his teasing smile, and he turned to look at the headstone.

They stayed quiet like that for longer, the lifting haze over the grounds calling the approach of dawn.

She gave her prayers, the ones she had repeated a million times to his grave in the stillness of early mornings and late afternoons. Never with any less sincerity. They held her deeper feelings she didn’t often have time to sift through, of regret, of appreciation, of love. She thanked him, a number never to be counted, for his sacrifice, for the change he brought to their clan, for the numerous lives he saved besides her own and the precious one beside her.

She hoped Neji knew. She hoped he knew without a doubt what a hero he was. How he would always be her hero, would always be her inspiration, her older brother. No amount of visits and flowers would ever equate to everything she owes him, but she hoped it would make up at least a fraction of her feelings.

Naruto sat silently beside her. His own expression was solemn.

When the shadows began to lift, gold glinting off the monument, and more voices filled the spaces between, he shifted and looked at her in a question.

But she wasn’t quite ready to go, she still had one thing to do. Her fingers twisted into the bag. Her chest tightened, heat filled her palms. “Um…”

“Hm?”

“...Um…”

“What is it?”

She looked away, suddenly unsure of what she was about to do. What if he didn’t even like cake?

Naruto drew closer, his tone suddenly concerned. “What’s wrong?”

Surprised, she replied, “Oh, nothing’s wrong!” Only to realize she now needed to come up with something to explain her behavior. And the truth came out. “I brought something for you...for your birthday.”

“Oh.” His worried expression morphed, she could see realization lighting his features. It was beautiful, like joy blooming in slow motion. “Really?” It sounded almost like he didn’t dare to believe it.

It gave her confidence. She brought the box out of the bag to show it to him.

He took it, looked at it, looked at her, as if incredulous to even be holding a box. “I’m gonna open it now.”

She nodded.

He peeled off the sticker sealing the lid, lifted it, his smile widened. “Cake!”

“Mhm.”

“You...didn’t make it yourself, did you?”

“Mhm.”

“You did?”

“Mhm.”

“..Wow!...” He admired it longer.

It wasn’t much. She tried hard to not go overboard. She made it small enough for one person to eat. The most effort was in the birthday wish and his name, piped as neatly as she could on a flat, white chocolate piece placed on the top of the cake. She decorated it with little swirls to symbolize his Uzumaki name. She wasn’t worried about the taste because she made a second cake, just so that she could taste-test one...maybe she went overboard. Hopefully he couldn’t tell.

“Wow, Hinata!” he exclaimed again. “Wow!” He looked at her, looked at it again. Smile unfading. “Wow…” He stared at it for so long, she wondered what he was looking at. “...wow…”

He liked it, and that obvious fact made her heart soar. “..You can have this bag, too, to carry it in.”

He nodded, looked up, eyes cerulean soft. “Gee, Hinata. Thank you.”

She smiled, feeling shy with how sincere his reaction was. “Happy birthday, Naruto-kun.”

His smile grew, he seemed shy, too. He looked at it a little longer before closing it, then put it back in the bag. “Thanks, Hinata.”

“It was no problem. I..hope you like it.”

“I will,” he said, his voice as sure as always.

They left the cemetery, she was tingling, her smile an un-receding blush on her cheeks.

He sighed, a happy sound.

She glanced at him, he was smiling, eyes bright.

It was after that she decided to try to confess to him. A doomed, misguided decision she couldn’t get herself to commit to in the end. Perhaps for the best. His affection already belonged to another. His first girlfriend probably knit him that scarf, the green stripes an effort her own, solid red scarf didn’t show. He probably wouldn’t have even remembered his old red scarf. The meaning would have been lost on him anyway.

She has nothing to give to him this time. He might not show up after all.

So she steps out of her house.

Heads to the cemetery.

Steels her resolve with each step, readies herself to face him, wonders if she’s managed to move on at all.

Has it been long enough?

No..., she considers bitterly.

She pauses, unwilling to subject herself to any more pain.

But he might not even be there.

He has a girlfriend, after all.

He shouldn’t spend time alone with another girl anyway.

Maybe he and Rumi will come together later on.

She takes a step back, unsure. She doesn’t need to go.

But what if he’s there?

And just as suddenly, a memory: “What if Naruto and Rumi-chan break up. What would you do?”

She stands there, two blocks from the cemetery, doubt confusing her.

Minutes pass as she calms herself into blankness.

This isn’t about romantic love.

This isn’t about her relationship with Naruto.

Today is about Neji.

No, every day is about her cousin, her only older brother. She owes him her very life, every second, every breath. He was one of the few people in her life who really believed in her and showed it, who took the time to improve her, who was always there for her.

By acting like this, isn’t she stepping on his memory? Neji would never let her be so pathetic. Even when he hated her, once upon a time, it was because she wasn’t stronger, wasn’t living up to her name and place.

He gave her so much of his time and knowledge to help her, develop her. Amazingly, he was more patient with her than her father ever was. He pushed her past her limits, reminded her of her goals when she thought she was too tired to keep going, never once called her a failure or a disappointment during their trainings.

“Again.” Neji stood ready, poised in his battle stance. Hours of practice seemed to do nothing to him. He was an immovable wall, straight and proud.

How often she wondered if she could ever be like him.

“Hinata-sama, up.” His demand was calm, never frustrated.

She stood, her legs shaking, her joints aching, her very skin burning at the chakra points. But she was up. And that’s what mattered.

Neji proved to her that as long as she could stand, she could keep going. He trained her into a tenacious spirit.

Or so she thought.

Just last year, she felt she was everything he wished her to be. She felt like she had grown into a kunoichi he would be proud of.

What about now?

Letting her indecision and hesitation ruin herself, ruin others. Letting herself wither in self-pity. Letting herself rely on others for comfort, when he always told her to dig deeper within herself.

If she can’t face her weaknesses, her fears, then she really is useless.

And Neji didn’t save her so that she could waver uselessly about like this.

She needs to go.

For Neji.

For herself.

She steps toward the gates of the cemetery. Empty. And it’s okay. She passes rows and rows of headstones, finds Neji’s, empty, no visitors. It’s her alone at his grave.

And that’s okay.

That’s better than okay.

This is what she needs right now. If he comes later, then he comes.

And that’s okay, too.

Today is for Neji.

And she’s okay.

She’s okay.

She’s glad she came.

****

He isn’t prepared for something like this.

He’s never been like this with anyone.

Why is everything like this now?

Naruto stays in bed, there’s no reason to get up. No place to go. No one to see.

His girlfriend hasn’t come to check on him.

And he’s not going to do a single thing about that.

He shouldn’t be the one to apologize first. Not this time.

So…

She has to apologize first.

And he’s just going to wait.

It feels stupid.

Those books about dating didn’t say anything about this. Stupid girlfriends and stupid fights and stupid feelings…Something’s wrong with him.

This heavy, gut-deep feeling twisting his insides, filling him with a restlessness, something close to, similar to, when Sasuke left the village. But he could do something about that. He could chase after him, find him, punch the stupid out of him, and that was that.

He’s disgusted to think that this time, the stupid is in himself. Sakura always told him he was stupid, but he never let himself take her words to heart.

Kanae couldn’t deal with him. She dumped him within two months.

He thought he was doing well with Rumi, but now…

He’s the common factor, after all, Even Hinata doesn’t-

The weight in his chest hardens in his throat.

He doesn’t fight it this time. The empty plastic bag is ready by his bed, he just turns over and lets it go.

It burns, sharper than before, in his throat, behind his eyes, in his nose.

The flower plops out, wet petals splaying out.

But relief eludes him, his chest tightening painfully, he’s choking, hacking out labored coughs.

Slender green leaves, stiffer than the flower petals, slide out in his spit.

He grimaces at the sight, catching his breath, hating it, hating himself.

Obviously it’s worse, he realizes pretty soon he’ll be coughing out entire stalks. Yet somehow, he can’t find it in himself to care enough to do something about it.

When he realizes he’s hungry, he returns to instant ramen, his version of comfort food. Rumi tried to convince him to make okayu, that bland rice goop that takes a forever and a half on the stove to soften. As if that would heal his chakra illness. It’s not like he has a fever or a cold. If it’s a sickness of his chakra, shouldn’t he just eat what he wants?

Well, what he really wants isn’t instant ramen.

He heads to Ichiraku when everyone else is in bed. Ever since they turned 24 hours a few months ago, he had been making it a habit to go when no one else is out and about. It lets him eat peacefully after or before missions, something he didn’t realize he’d ever want. His younger self would never believe him if he said he was actively avoiding people’s attention.

But tonight he just wants to enjoy ramen! Ramen is his greatest companion!

When he arrives, only one older man is sitting at the bar. They nod to each other in a silent hello.

Teuchi and Ayame aren’t manning the restaurant. It’s their new-ish hire, Jun, who he’s gotten to know over the last few months.

“Naruto!” Jun greets. “I haven’t seen you in awhile!”

“Yeah, it’s been...awhile.” He can’t reason that he’s been busy. Because he hasn’t been. He can’t say that he’s been sick. He doesn’t want to talk about that.

The cook gestures to a flyer on the wall near the menu. His name, NARUTO, is printed in bubble lettering over a picture of a steaming bowl of ramen covered in sliced narutomaki and pork. “Do you want to try your special item?”

It’s already that time… The end of the war. His birthday, too, in just a few days. He had it once last year when Ichiraku first started commemorating the anniversary in his honor. It is miso ramen, his favorite. He shrugs. “Sure.”

“One Naruto Special coming right up!” Jun begins portioning out the noodles for him. “What brings you out so late tonight? You have a mission?”

Nothing goes his way these days, like Jun running straight to the heart of everything that’s annoying him right now. His utter uselessness. “Uh yeah, no…”

Jun raises a brow.

He can go a few ways with this, like lying, giving vague answers, or going all in with the truth. Jun is someone with little stake in his personal life. And he’s barely talked to anyone in the past week. It’s only the rich scent of ramen keeping him from going berserk at this point. “I’m sick, so I’ve been relieved from duty for awhile.” The truth comes out.

“You have a cold or something?”

“No,” he sighs. “A chakra illness.”

“...That sounds bad,” Jun states uncertainly.

“A chakra illness?” The stranger nearby jumps into their conversation. A fellow shinobi, by the looks of it.

Naruto shrugs to show he doesn’t know much more about it.

“That’s serious!” the stranger continues.

“Ahh, no…” Lies and vague answers. “It’s not that serious.”

The man settles back. “Hope you get better soon.”

“Me, too.” Naruto knows he should go talk to Sakura. He knows he should, but…

“So you haven’t been coming around because of your illness?” Jun continues. “Last I heard, your girlfriend didn’t like it that you came here so often,” he laughs teasingly.

Every single topic he wants to avoid. “Yeah…” he huffs out. “It’s both.” He doesn’t realize how aggravated he sounded until he sees Jun’s skeptical expression.

The shinobi a few stools down sounds out a knowing “Hmm!”

“Things aren’t going well with her?” Jun asks cautiously.

The question makes him stop. And think. Because it seems obvious that...things aren’t going well. It’s too obvious. But verbalizing that would make it too real. More real than it already is. So he answers with silence.

Jun nods sympathetically. “It’s normal for people who are close to get into arguments sometimes.”

“Huh.” He supposes that’s true. He’s really close to Sasuke and Sakura. So it makes sense that he’s constantly arguing with them. But things were sorta always that way with them. And the fights never seemed to last. Minus when Sasuke defected. With Rumi, it’s just...different. Worse. “I just feel like I can’t say what I want to say to her, like I’m always holding back.”

“Hmm!” the stranger sounds out again.

Naruto stares at the man, but he just nods and eats his ramen, now keeping his thoughts to himself.

Naruto doesn’t know what to make of it.

Jun’s mouth pinches together thoughtfully. “I guess I do hold back on some things with my girlfriend. I don’t talk to her the same way I talk to my friends.” Jun sets the completed bowl of ramen down in front of him, steam wafting over his face, the salty scent waking him up.

Naruto starts eating immediately, the creamy broth a taste of heaven. He wishes Rumi could just enjoy ramen with him, even better if she would order multiple servings, like how Hi--------.

“If you think it’s a real problem, though, you should talk about it with your girlfriend.”

He swallows a mouthful of noodles, viciously veering all of his thoughts and senses on his food. “...I did...she just got mad at me.”

A contemplative silence follows.

The memory of Rumi storming out of his apartment makes him frown. He stuffs his mouth with more hot ramen, his loud slurping meant to drown out all else.

“...You want to make up with her, right?” Jun asks.

Does he want to make up with her? Of course. Right? That’s just what he does. What he always does. He treasures the people around him. He’s put so much effort into making this relationship work. He can’t just give up on it...right?

“It’ll work out as long as both of you want it to.”

Does Rumi want it to? He can’t imagine apologizing first this time. And if she apologizes first, then that would show she wants things to work out, too.

The older shinobi stands and sets his payment down on the counter. “My wife and I divorced. Just as it takes two to repair a relationship, it takes two for it to fall apart in the first place. One person can be more at fault, but-” He looks pointedly at Naruto. “Just remember it takes two.” The man leaves.

Naruto frowns at his retreating back, disappearing into the night. I know that. He didn’t need those parting words. He knows that not everything is Rumi’s fault, he knows that something is wrong with him, he knows that-

I’m more at fault than anyone…

His chest feels like stones are steadily piling within, hard knots that make it hard to breathe. But he forces the rest of his ramen down, gulping it as if it’s his first meal in ages. He came here to enjoy his ramen, the simplest task in the world. He can at least finish it.

He’s been throwing up, hardly able to keep food down with it.

He can’t stop thinking about last year’s annual memorial. He doesn’t want to think about her, he doesn’t mean to think about her, he knows he shouldn’t think about her, he knows, knows, knows…

And he can’t deny it any longer.

Just the thought of last year makes his gut turn, his chest tighten painfully, his neck seize hot with strain. Before he can stop it, he’s throwing up the flowers he usually purchases, the burning, soppy, bulky mess conflicting awfully against a faint memory of sweet chocolate cream. He doesn’t even need to go to the florist. He has an entire field in his body.

But between worrying about whether he’s going to go tomorrow to the cemetery and whether he should go and get this stupid fight with his girlfriend done and over with after long over a week of not speaking, he can’t get himself to do anything.

He knows what he should do. He knows what he’s supposed to do. A good boyfriend would-

He doesn’t want to.

He doesn’t want to do anything.

He can hardly think, can’t get his priorities straight. Can barely consider the idea of confronting Rumi without thinking of tomorrow morning, honoring Neji, can barely wonder if Hinata will even--

He finds himself hovering over his trashcan or the toilet every few minutes, sour saliva filling his mouth, gasping for air, trying to keep himself from vomiting again. Only after several minutes of careful breathing, when he’s calmed enough, he moves away to the couch.

Rumi was right about him.

Rumi was right.

It’s obvious that Rumi was right.

Rumi, that night, when all of this started…

“You don’t...you don’t get it…you have me, Naruto-kun...you shouldn’t...why would you…”

She was right.

What he’s feeling, what he’s thought, it was, it is, strange. Weird. No, fucking worse than that. And he didn’t want to admit it, didn’t catch it until every wrong, stray thought betrayed his duplicity with hard, painful evidence.

He needs to do something or say something to fix everything. He needs to make it up to Rumi somehow. Somehow make things right again. With her. With himself.

He lays on his couch, listlessly staring at the ceiling.

It’s easier to just not think at all.

Naruto.

Yeah?

You’re losing chakra. Your body’s not properly replenishing its natural supply.

Yeah, okay.

Kurama’s more awake these days, restless at the back of his conscience. When he notices something, he verbally observes it. Then goes back into silence.

I can’t help you with that.

I know.

I’ve been healing your throat.

That explains...a lot. ...Thanks.

Ungrateful brat! Go see your medic-nin friend.

He groans, trying to shut off their mental connection.

A hard, authoritative rap against his door, ten consecutive knocks too long, echoes through his apartment.

Sakura.

Damn it.

Heh.

As much as he doesn’t want to, he drags himself to his door. He knows what would happen if he doesn’t.

She has her hands on her hips, head tilted with eyes that take in every wrinkle on his shirt and skin. She gives the most exasperated sigh. “I told you to tell me if your condition worsened!” she scolds. “You want to die?”

A rhetorical question, but he still feels compelled to self-righteously say, “No!”

She rolls her eyes. “Then come on!” she snaps impatiently. “Get your shoes on!”

He does as he is told, coming to the annoying conclusion that he’s very likely going to have to stay in the hospital until he gets better. “Are you going to order me to hospital bed rest?”

“And if I do, what? You’re going to run away? Don’t you dare try, or else.”

He frowns, sulking. But for the first time in a long time, he doesn’t feel like he’s about to be sick. He really should have gone to see her sooner. Sakura’s one of his closest comrades, he trusts her more than almost anyone.

As they’re heading to the hospital, he wonders if he really looks that bad. Sakura could tell as soon as he opened the door. Maybe he smells of vomit?... “You could tell just by looking at me, huh…”

She glances at him and shakes her head. “No. Rumi came to see me today. She asked about you.” She says this all matter-of-factly.

It makes him blink hard, guilt slamming into him ten-fold. The disgust in himself, steadily building over the past few days, now sluggishly oozing all over himself.

Rumi hasn’t come to apologize, but she’s still thinking about him. She’s still worried about him. And Sakura probably knows that their relationship is rocky…

But Sakura doesn’t say anything more, and Naruto doesn’t know what to say.

“So?” Sakura is in her professional medic-mode, green eyes boring into him.

He feels vaguely like he’s in an interrogation.

“Rumi told me that you were coughing out entire flowers. I want to hear it directly from you. How bad has it gotten?”

He should have told her a long time ago. He should tell her now. But once again, he feels the need to evade this entire topic. He shifts in his chair, almost daring to act like he didn’t hear her.

“Naruto. This is serious. I need you to tell me.”

He works his jaw, feels the weight of her serious stare, and finally lets out a breath. “...It’s whole flowers.” The words fall out heavily, a burden he had kept for too long. “And leaves.”

Her brows furrow. She notes it down.

“Sakura-chan...what should I do? Tell me you found something.”

“I looked through our archives. I researched similar chakra illnesses, but that’s the thing. They can be similar, but the root causes can be drastically different from person to person. Naruto..” She takes a deep breath. “We haven’t found anything specific to your condition, but! Shishou and I discussed a theory yesterday.”

He can’t help frowning, showing how absolutely unnerving it is to hear that he has an unrecorded sickness, never experienced by anyone else. He waits for her to continue.

“The lilies are obviously a chakra transformation. The question we needed to answer is, why? Why would your body be suddenly evicting your own chakra? In the form of flowers? Well…” A familiar glint of determination sparks in her eyes. Her penchant for academics was always beyond his understanding. “We think it’s not your own chakra. After all, you don’t have the Floral Release kekkei genkai. This transformation is not congenital.”

He looks away, trying to understand. Failing to understand. He frowns. “Kurama’s chakra is doing this?”

“No. At least we don’t have reason to believe so. We’ve seen Kurama’s chakra manifest before.”

That’s true. Kurama’s chakra is the opposite of elegant white lilies, more of a threatening, boiling red or a poisonously thick, crackling black.

He stares at her. Just waits for her to tell him.

When she sees that he’s not coming to the answer on his own, she finally continues. “We posit that it’s nature energy residue. Very few shinobi undergo Sage training. Even fewer shinobi successfully complete such difficult training. Based on mostly Jiraiya-sama’s accounts, we believe your body contains a very small--minuscule really--amount of nature energy at all times, a kind of left-over residue from repeated collections. You build up a resistance or defense over time to nature energy’s power in this way, which allows you to activate Sage Mode more and more easily.”

He nods. That makes more sense to him than he thought it would.

“However, that theory doesn’t really tell us why this is happening.”

Stress tingles at his limbs. He swallows inaudibly. He doesn’t want to discuss this at all.

“Why now?” Her eyes narrow at him skeptically. “Something must be so disturbed, that it’s disrupting your body’s regular functions.” Her voice has quieted some, her words seeming more like thoughts for herself than for him. A conversation she’s probably been having with herself or with Tsunade for awhile now. “Your body is seeking an equilibrium, trying to rebalance itself, and the nature energy residue that’s riding along your own chakra system is the first thing kicked out...As lilies.”

He stares at her, unwilling to interrupt. Sakura’s so smart, he’s afraid to know if she’s already figured him out, but he can’t just stop her from talking. It’s like reading a terribly predictable story all the way through, only to find out if it ends the way he thinks it will.

“These lilies are the key. The body tries to heal itself on its own. It’s our body’s natural instinct. And for some reason, your chakra is manifesting as lilies to help you to restore your equilibrium. Your body is trying to provide you with what you need. It’s telling you what you need.”

His chest is heavy with the weight of a shame he doesn’t want to address.

“It could’ve been anything else,” Sakura reasons in his silence. “Any kind of plant or other nature release. Or your body could have just leaked your chakra out gradually. It would end the same way. Chakra exhaustion.” She stares at him, willing him to look her in the eyes, but he can’t. “Naruto, if this keeps up, you will either die of chakra exhaustion or from strain on your respiratory system.”

It sounds surreal to him. He’s faced death on multiple occasions, but never like this. His body’s never failed him before.

“Naruto?” Sakura’s tone is gentler now. “You already know why this is happening, don’t you? I need to know so that I can create an antidote or a plan for a solution… Can you tell me?”

He shrugs again, but it’s getting harder to breathe, and he’s desperately trying not to think, to keep his mind as blank as absolutely possible, because the last thing he wants to do is think of..think of…

He gets out of his chair, dropping his face into the nearest trashcan.

“It’s telling you what you need.”

Hinata.

His chest clenches, tightening, tightening. An ache shooting up his neck. A painful burn at the bottom of his throat.

I’m sick because I-

A flower blooms out of him, tearing along his esophagus.

Two.

Three.

Vaguely he knows that Sakura’s right behind him, her chakra seeping through his back, into his chest, attempting to soothe him.

He coughs out stiff leaves, slick with saliva.

He spits out extra congestion. Blood.

His eyes widen at the sight. Kurama!

Tell her now or your throat is going to start hurting a lot more from now on.

He squeezes his eyes shut, tears pricking beneath his eyelids. Hell no!

“Naruto,” Sakura calls, tone concerned. “You need to tell me what’s going on now.”

He pulls himself up. His head feels heavy. His chest feels heavier. He wants to lie down and curl up into the fetal position just to relieve the pressure. “I’m just stupid, Sakura-chan. I’m a complete asshole.”

“...What do you mean?” She leads him back to his chair and helps him to sit down again.

“I mean what I said. Even I know it’s wrong.” He sighs. Groans. Covers his face in his hands. “I don’t know what to do.”

Sakura waits several seconds for him to continue.

He doesn’t want to explain, the last thing he wants to do is voice it aloud.

She leans forward in her chair, gaze intent on him. “Naruto, you really need to tell me. This illness you have can kill you if we don’t resolve it.”

He drops his hands, stares at Sakura. Wishes for a forgiveness before he’s even confessed to anything. How will she react? With anger? Because he’s so stupid? “I know I’m with Rumi,” he tries. Is it any justification?

Sakura just gives him a look of confusion.

“But I…” His voice dies in his throat. He feels like he’s going to retch.

“...Naruto, if you can’t tell me, our only other option is a memory evaluation.”

He swallows it back. “Sakura-chan, I’m a bastard.”

“What are you saying? Why are you saying that? What did you do?” Her patience is obviously wearing thin. “Did you...cheat on her?”

“No...yes...I don’t know. I don’t know, Sakura-chan.” He buries his head in his hands again. Fuck, am I cheating on her?

“Try to tell me what you do know.”

“I don’t deserve anyone.”

“...Why would you say that?”

“Because I’m shit.”

“Stop talking down on yourself and talk to me.”

He finally looks up. He knows he’s the absolute worst. If he confesses everything, all the ugly and disgusting parts, Sakura will beat him up, like he deserves. “It wasn’t intentional. I didn’t mean to. I don’t even know why…” Has he been cheating on Rumi? His feelings are so foul, his own body couldn’t reconcile them?

Sakura silently waits for him to continue, her brows furrowed in her concentration.

He takes in another breath, labored with the pressure on his breathing. “I just...I...just...hate it so much. That she’s-” His face scrunches up--a flashing memory of her purposely leading that guy away from him--bile burns his esophagus, and he swallows it back. He hopes Sakura knocks him out. “I think about her too much. I have Rumi, but I was thinking about her. I am thinking about her.” He thought about her in all kinds of ways. Fantasized about her. Even he knows, after nearly two weeks to himself, after finally facing reality, that it’s wrong. An awful thing to do. “Fuck, I haven’t spoken to Rumi in over a week, but all I can think about is...” He looks at Sakura desperately.

She looks speechless.

“I can’t stand it, I can’t stand that I’m being like this!” He’s not doing right by Rumi, but he can’t even bring himself to apologize to her. He still doesn’t want to accept it, that he’s a jerk, a real piece of shit. He feels itchy and gross beneath his own skin. He wants to crawl out of his body and leave himself behind. He’s always been loyal. He’s always been trustworthy and reliable. Despite all his faults, he always faced people honestly, so why is it that all of a sudden, he’s acting like this? He tried blaming it on her for so long, rationalized that it was her fault for choosing that guy. He never had any patience for two-faced assholes, and he refused to recognize it in himself for so long, but it’s been so obvious, so so obvious.

“Naruto,” Sakura intones quietly, slowly. “...Who are you talking about?”

“The lilies,” he breathes out. He can feel the pressure tangling, collecting, expanding heavily in his chest, right there at the bottom of his throat, spit collecting on his tongue. “What am I supposed to do?” He could probably walk right up to her, and she would just push right on through- “I can’t do anything, there’s nothing I can do about this, what am I supposed to do?! I just, I just want to stop!” He shouldn’t desire her, it’s wrong of him. But all he wants, all he really wants, “I just want her to look at me, nothing else”--a labored breath--“I don’t need anything else from her if she would just-” look only at me “-it’s wrong, I know believe me I’ve been trying to stop-”

The twisted knot in his chest lodges up into his throat, choking him. The bulk shoots up, unending, his mess spilling on the floor. Through the burning blur in his sight, vague flowers plop into his puddle, traces of blood streaked on white and green.

“Naruto!” A sound of a chair clattering on the floor, and Sakura’s familiar, warm chakra seeps into his back, into the spaces of his chest, disrupting the spastic surge of his own, until he’s coughing for air that’s not making it past the blockage in his chest.

He blacks out.

The first thing he registers is the dark window. Night.

“Naruto-kun!” Rumi leans forward from her seat, catching his attention.

He’s lying in a hospital bed, the clean sheets stiff over his body. “...Rumi…” His throat feels dry. He swallows, then grimaces at the sour taste of his own breath.

Her hazel eyes are low with concern.

The last time he saw her, she slammed his apartment door. What is she doing here now? Is she not mad anymore?

She watches him silently, maybe waiting for him to say something, but he doesn’t know what to say. He should apologize or ask her how she’s been...Do something or say something, but nothing feels right. The hollowness in his gut contrasts with the latent weight of his chest. He can’t grasp at the excitement he used to feel when he saw her. All he recognizes is his own guilt. He’s a disgusting guy.

“Sakura-san told me to inform her if you woke up.” She hesitates for a moment, shifting in her seat. But he just watches her slowly stand, walk around his bed, slide the door to his room open, and disappear as she shuts it.

The beeping pulse of the monitor beside him is one of the worst sounds in the world, he’s certain of it. But for once, he hopes it stretches time for as long as possible. He’ll only have a few minutes before he has to confront everything.

When the door slides open again, Sakura enters, alone. “You gave me a scare there, Naruto,” she scolds. “Not to mention the mess in my office.”

He tries to crack an apologetic smile, but his lips can’t curl properly with his cheeks. “...Sorry.” He pushes himself up to sitting.

She shakes her head. “You’ve been stable for the past few hours. As soon as you fainted, your chakra began to relax. All I did was stop any internal bleeding, but Kurama helped that process along.” She takes a seat where Rumi was before.

“Thanks.”

Sakura faces him, holds his gaze, then flips open a blank page in a notebook. “Your condition is much more serious than I thought. Any slight thought seems to trigger an episode, and you obviously can’t bring yourself to say it. I want you to write it for me.”

“Write what,” he asks warily.

“Who the lilies are.”

Tell-tale spit gathers beneath his tongue. He hastily grabs the notebook and pen from her, scrawls her name across the page, and pushes it back to her, looking away, unable to settle his sight on those characters.

Sakura sighs. A long, tired one.

When he glances back at her, he’s never seen her look so sad for him. Sympathetic maybe.

He waits for her to say something, anything, to beat him or curse at him. When nothing comes, he baits her. “So? What?!”

“Did you know that they broke up?” she asks quietly.

He blinks several times, processing.

“Hinata and Susumu-san broke up recently,” she repeats.

He looks away, trying to comprehend the slightest ease of tension in his chest. “Really?” he asks, unwilling to believe it just yet.

“Yes, she told me a few days ago, that they’re officially off.”

He feels like he can breathe better, like things are re-righting themselves in the very structure of his body.

“Naruto?”

“..Yeah?”

“Do you understand how you feel about her?”

He looks at Sakura, frowns. How he feels about her? He shrugs, gazing at her cautiously.

“Don’t you…” Sakura bites her lip. “Don’t you love Hinata?”

Her words feel bitter, they tie up a pit in his chest, a knot sitting at his heart, plugging whatever relief he had just regained. “...I have Rumi,” he negates. He said that word to his girlfriend, and he has the gut-churning feeling that he shouldn’t use those words for anyone else.

“You-” Sakura lowers her voice to a whisper. “-You don’t have to, Naruto.”

He digs through her meaning, arriving at the conclusion that Sakura’s telling him...to break up with her. “I, I can’t do that.” His eyes widen. “I need to make up with her. I’ve been such an ass to her, I need to make it up to her somehow.”

She buries her face in her hands. Then suddenly lets out a muted, frustrated scream. “You’re such a fool! Do you really think that’s the right thing to do?!” She looks up at him, her viridian eyes flaming with impatience. She doesn’t wait for him to respond. “You know what. Normally, normally, I would try to mind my own business. But this has to do with your health. And I need to make sure you understand what’s going on here.” She takes in a big breath, as if she’s about to pick up a boulder. “You have a disease that’s transforming your chakra into lilies, which are being violently expelled from your body. The probable root cause is an exceptionally intense emotion toward Hinata that you, or your body, needs to communicate or express, but you have no outlet to do so. Therefore, from what I can tell, unless you convey your feelings to Hinata, you will continue to lose chakra.” Sakura stares at him, eyes wide but with the piercingness of a glare. “Do you get it?! You need to prioritize your feelings!”

Naruto turns away, looks toward the door where Rumi last was. It would be wrong of him. “I can’t just do that to Rumi. She never did anything wrong. That would hurt her, right? There isn’t anything else I can do?”

Sakura tsks, sighs, her head falling back to stare at the ceiling in her obvious frustration.

“There’s no other way?” he presses.

She groans, her eyes closing for a second. “Surgery. But I don’t want to do it. No. I refuse to do it.”

“Wait, what, why?! You just take out whatever’s fucked up inside of me, right? You can do it, that’s easy for you!” There was such a solution this entire time? Why didn’t she say so earlier?

She scoffs. “Of course I can do it. But like I said, I don’t want to!”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not that simple!” she snaps.

He shakes his head at her in confusion. “What do you mean?!”

“You’ll change. Chakra surgeries are sensitive, it’s a very delicate process, but no matter how careful the medic is, the patient always comes out...different.”

“...What do you mean?” he repeats.

“I told you before that chakra is tied to your very identity. Operating on it can screw up all sorts of psychological aspects that we can’t begin to predict. Yes, I can remove the physical problem. But you would never be the same.”

He waits for her to elaborate.

“You could not only lose abilities, you could lose memories, even entire emotions. One patient Tsunade told me about lost memories of his brother. The patient had a stress-related chakra illness that was making his chakra too thick for his system. Shishou operated to remove the strain, but after, the patient forgot how to connect with his own brother! He could tell that he was missing something that he used to have, but he couldn’t remember his own feelings.”

He squints at her.

“Considering that this is about Hinata...” She averts her gaze. “I predict that there’s a chance you could lose your memories of her...if I operated on your chakra.”

Lose my memories…? Hinata jumping down between him and Pain, protecting him? Her blood dripping down her face, her fearlessness then, her assuredness while confronting what he was certain would be her death? Just forget everything she’s ever done for him? The weight in his chest spreads, an ache developing all up his sternum, a strain along his collarbones. “I can’t lose my…” he murmurs.

“...I know.”

He holds his head in his hands. Tries to imagine what he needs to do.

Find Hinata.

Tell Hinata...tell her what, exactly? That he needs her? Wouldn’t she just look at him speechless and confused?

And then what? He’ll feel better?

Maybe? And then? What about Rumi? Isn’t that actually cheating? Talking to Hinata about his...feelings...when he has a girlfriend? He can’t do that!

But he needs to if he wants to get better. Forgetting Hinata is out of the question. Doing nothing means he’ll be that much closer to dying.

So he needs to tell Hinata.

And then…?

“Naruto.”

“...Yeah?”

“You need to talk things through with Rumi first. If I was dating a guy who loved someone else...I wouldn’t want to be with him.”

He looks up then. “But I--!”

Sakura tilts her head in confusion at his rebuttal. “But what? You know..I’ve thought about this for myself, and, I would hate it, I would really hate it, it might take me some time...a lot of time...but, I would leave him alone if he..if he told me he loved someone else…” She sighs. “Logically, I know that no girl deserves to be with a guy who doesn’t truly love her. And...a guy deserves to have someone he can honestly love.” Sakura’s eyes cast down to the floor.

He was about to say that he does love Rumi. That’s what he said to her before.

But he couldn’t say it.

He can’t.

Because he doesn’t. Not the way Sakura loves Sasuke.

Selflessly.

Untiring and devotedly.

He blinks, realization cold and clawing across his nerves.

He can’t believe he forgot...forgot what it was like to try to vie for Sakura’s attention. To see that he would never get her to look his way with that impossible affection. To come to terms with that for his best friend’s sake because he cared so much more for their happiness than his own.

If he could have ever admitted it to himself back then, he would know that he was lonely. Frustrated.

But it was just another tally for his losses against the world, and he didn’t need to cut himself any deeper.

And yet here he is, dating Rumi because…

He just wanted a girlfriend. Maybe to feel better about himself. Or to feel more like a winner, less like a loser. More like an adult, less like a lost child. To feel deserving of affection, to have that for himself, from anyone who was willing to give it.

And...he thinks she could tell.

A spiraling, sinking pit forms in his stomach. How has he been making her feel?

If it’s anything similar to the loneliness that fueled his games for Sakura’s heart, he’s hardly grown from the child that played pranks for attention. Hurting others for his own gain.

If it’s any worse than that…

Someone like him…

Selfish, immature, cheating?,

He deserves this chakra illness. If it’s any atonement, he should be suffering.

He squeezes his eyes shut hard, as if the black dark can make everything else disappear.

He didn’t mean to.

It didn’t seem like a big deal. Dating seemed fun. Rumi seemed like a fun, nice girl. She is exactly that.

Someone good like her can’t possibly care for him the way Sakura cares for Sasuke, right? That’s just not possible, right? When she said she loved him, she didn’t mean it that way, right? How could she? How could anyone?

Did she mean it?

And he just…

He just? Said it back? Because she said it? Because she wanted to hear it? Because he thought he owed it to her? Or no, because it was just-

Three words. For kisses and boobs.

The nausea this time is different, his disgust at his own obliviousness, his willful incompetence, it’s a shame he can’t bear.

He lies down, his mind jumping between the possibility that she didn’t mean it that way, or that she really, really did mean it.

She didn’t mean it like Sakura says it, right? She hardly actually knows him!

...And he hardly actually knows her.

“Naruto?”

He almost forgot Sakura was here.

“Naruto?” she calls again.

He rolls over, opens his eyes, meets Sakura’s viridian.

“I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to, but Rumi is still here. She’s waiting in my office.”

He closes his eyes again.

“Naruto?”

He keeps his eyes closed. He doesn’t want to think.

“Naruto?” She huffs. “...I’m going to go get her. After that, it’s up to you, but, for your own life, and for hers, too, talk to her. I think you need to tell her,” she finishes quietly.

Tell her? Tell her he never actually Sakura-level-loved her? Tell her what exactly? The details of his illness? He opens his eyes in his trepidation.

“...Things can only get better from here, Naruto.” She stands, giving him another sympathetic look, before leaving.

Better how, exactly? Better for who? For himself, only? He can just continue on, doing things for himself?

“You...” Rumi breaks the awful silence between them first. “You’ve gotten worse than before.”

“Yeah…” He watches her, notes her sad expression. Notes that they haven’t smiled at each other in a long time. Wonders what she’ll look like when he tells her--

“What’s wrong? Can Sakura-san help you?”

He shakes his head. “She can’t.”

“What?” Her eyes are wide in alarm. “What, what does that mean?”

“It’s a problem with me,” he tries, but her shock only turns to confusion. “I…” he starts. He loses his train of thought. He takes in her small face.

She’s a small girl, but she’s small, too, in other ways. Just that much younger than him, slightly too young to have participated in the war, just at that age below him to be naive to his experiences. She’s pretty. A cute girl. Bright, light eyes. Even features.

How the hell did he get involved with a nice girl like her? How had he rationalized they would be a good match? She deserves someone so much better than him. Someone she can actually connect and relate with, someone who deserves her affection.

“You’re...not going to die, right?” she asks.

He hopes not. The idea of death still doesn’t seem real. “Rumi…”

She freezes, brows furrowing with concern, eyes wide again.

“I’m sorry.”

“...Wha-”

“We…” He steels himself, everything hardening along feelings of inadequacy, and pushes through. “...shouldn’t be together anymore.”

She blinks, alarm morphing back to confusion. “What, Naruto-kun, wha-, what?”

“Because you deserve someone better than me.”

“What? No, what? I’m happy with you, I don’t need anyone better, you’re perfect to me!” Her words rush out.

Perfect? She’s always described him in a way that he can’t really identify with.

“Are you going to die?, is that why you’re saying this?”

He’s hurt her without even actually telling her anything. “No, it’s not that…”

Her eyes dart away, her gaze frantic before him. “Is it because of our fight?”

“No-”

“If it is, you know that I’m sorry! I didn’t mean any of it, we don’t have to do this-”

“Rumi.”

He watches her features scrunch up, crumpling inward, like she’s holding back from crying, and he knows, in comparison to any time before, he’s never made her look like this. Never made anyone look this sad before.

“Rumi, I’m sorry, it’s just…” The tears glossing her eyes are a punch to his face. His fault. All his fault. “I can’t give you what you deserve.” Every word that he says, does it only make it worse?

“I-I don’t need anything, Naruto-kun. I really don’t need anything…” Her voice is thick, heavy, trembling Her eyes are wide, unblinking, tears balancing at her lashes.

He doesn’t want her to cry. He doesn’t want to hurt her. He never wanted to hurt her, so...why? “You do, Rumi. You’re a great girl, and I’m just this...this guy. I’m not who you think I am, and I can’t give you what you...what you deserve.”

“No!, noo!” A sob shakes her voice. “I can change, if I was too needy, I don’t have to be, I can be better, too, I’m not, not anything, I don’t need anything…”

Rumi… He watches in horrid self-loathing as a large tear spills down her cheek, followed by another one, and she blinks, her hands coming up to furiously wipe her eyes. He turns away, unable to handle it, comprehension failing him. How...how did he hurt her so much?

“N-Naruto-kun, I don’t want to, I don’t want us to b-break up!”

His own throat feels thick. A heavy pinching in his gut makes it hard to breathe, and the guilt weighing in his conscience is too heavy for him to lift. He can’t look up. He can’t look at her. “I’m really..sorry, Rumi…” He is. But saying it doesn’t feel like enough. And there’s no way for him to show it. If he really, really means it, shouldn’t he be able to prove it somehow? When did he become such a useless bastard?

Her breath hitches, a choked sob that pierces the air awfully.

He bites his lip, the tension in her breaths impossible to listen to, and he knows that one look at her crying this hard would be too devastating, a memory that would damn every waking moment from now. He shuts his eyes, his hands clench at the sheets in frustration with himself. Every part of him is useless.

Worse than that.

Harmful.

His inability to comfort her, to make things right with her, only hurting her more. At this moment, his very existence is an ugly wound on her life that should never have been. All previous moments together now just shattered, brittle shards that will remind him of his foolish, foolish, stupid, stupid, self-absorbed dishonesty.

He can never ask for her forgiveness. He can’t explain himself. He can’t try to give excuses.

That would all just be for his own sake, and he doesn’t deserve any of it.

What’s wrong with him?

Why did any of this happen?

When she left, face in her hands, the sound of him breaking her apart still ringing in his ears, he stays where he is, unmoving emptiness throughout, and wonders.

If it’s okay for him to live like this.

If it’s okay for him to just go on.

He hurt Rumi, took her lightly, acted out of self-interest, and the worst part? He wasn’t even aware of it.

Was he always this selfish?

Will he always be this selfish?

The tugging on his mind tells him he hasn’t learned anything. He hasn’t grown, not even from tonight.

Because above everything, in the background of his conscience and at the forefront of the ache in his chest, is the itching thought of meeting her in the morning.

He sickens himself.

He doesn’t deserve anyone or anything, affection or otherwise, so how dare he hope to see her, how dare he want her to think of him.

He really is the worst kind of guy.

Just an absolute bastard.

When he wakes, he startles, the cold hospital air sore within his dry throat. He blinks against the bright morning sunlight streaming into his room.

Adrenaline spikes.

He’s late.

No, he already missed it.

He couldn’t sleep after Sakura checked in on him before going off-duty, parting with “It was the right thing to do.” Right? Nothing was right about it, he’s only ever made stupid decisions, he’s only ever been entirely stupid. For his own abilities to finally back-fire on him, well, it was a long-time coming, wasn’t it. His regrets, every embarrassing, shameful moment building up to this, all the work he ever put in only to fail spectacularly, this is really the final blow. He thought he left his past failures behind him at the Academy.

When he finally dozed off, he wasn’t even aware of it.

And now it’s too late.

Who’s to say she even went, right?

She probably didn’t. Because why would she. He’s not worth anyone’s time, and Hinata finally realized that.

That well-familiar sickness unfurls in his throat. He barely makes it, turning over and vomiting in the trashcan beside his bed. Somehow, it’s not quite as bad as yesterday. A couple lilies less or something.

How sick is it that he’s relieved that Hinata and that guy broke up? If it’s anything like what he just went through with Rumi, he wouldn’t wish that on anyone, but...

Who broke up with who? And why? It’s an awful, shameful relief to indulge in his thoughts, now free to wander to her without betraying Rumi. He absolutely disgusts himself.

He can’t stop himself.

He doubts that guy broke up with her. Why would anyone, right?

He’d never-

He coughs out leaves, the pain pinching and stinging in his chest, lasting longer than he’s used to.

Kurama can’t heal him as quickly as before. He’s really getting worse.

He huffs out a sigh.

Death.

What even is it? He doesn’t want to die. He still has so much he wanted to do.

Become Hokage.

He almost wants to laugh at himself, but he’s too disgusted to truthfully find humor in it. Anyone so inherently emotionally stupid as him shouldn’t be allowed to lead the village.

Not too long ago, he thought he grew up. He thought he was responsible. Saved the world, punched Sasuke really good, completed successful missions like nothing. He could see people relying on him. He maintained good relationships.

Who knew dating would reveal what a fool he actually is?

The sound of wood and metal grating jars him from his depression. He blinks at Sakura, who’s standing in the doorway.

“Oh, you’re actually still here!” She sounds genuinely surprised. “Then, I’ll be the first to say ‘Happy Birthday’ to you.” She smiles warmly, but it’s marred by a tinge of pity.

He glances away. “Thanks.”

“And I’m not about to let this be the last time you hear me say it.” She suddenly appears at his bedside. “Are you ready?”

He stares at her. Her determination registers as only a terrible blankness within.

“I sent summons for Hinata. She’ll be here any minute.”

He sits up, blinking hard at his ex-teammate, but he only sees her, creamy skin, peaceful smile. He’s not fucking ready to see her. He pulls at the cords monitoring his chest, and Sakura grips his wrists with such bone-bruising strength, he can’t help whining.

She gives him her infamous fake smile that speaks volumes of threats. “I’m staying here until she arrives.”

She rushed over as soon as she was called. The messenger caught her when she was nearly at home, and she changed directions immediately.

But now she stalls, taking slow steps down the hallway.

She can’t tell if it’s intentional, or if it’s the nervous apprehension numbing her extremities to a careful pace. She thought she couldn’t be any more emotionally exhausted, not after all the stress she put herself through earlier that morning, but it’s as if her mind and heart just have a thing for endurance. They won’t give her a break. She’s alert, everything racing like the adrenaline rush in a battle.

Just beyond this door. He’s there.

Really sick. So sick, Sakura must have called her for her Byakugan. Why her Byakugan, out of all the Hyuuga in the village, she can’t begin to comprehend. Maybe it’s Sakura’s way of forcing her to get over Naruto, a self-evaluation of some sort.

She swallows her nerves.

She’s still in love with him.

And for whatever she’s worth, she’ll help him if he needs her. Even if just looking at him makes a new piece of her wither.

She knocks.

“Come in!” Sakura’s voice sounds out.

And so she does, sliding the door open, her sight immediately aligning with blue.

Her heart plummets straight down to her feet, the vacancy in her chest a sharp pain.

She slides the door closed behind her.

By now she should have said something. A greeting for Naruto. For Sakura.

She can’t say a word, but her feet somehow carry her closer to them, her knees locking with each step.

“Thanks for coming, Hinata.” Sakura looks at her, then at Naruto.

Naruto is staring, eyes too wide, too frozen, and she notices the dark circles beneath, then the slightly pale pallor of his usually tan skin.

He’s really sick.

“I’m going to leave the two of you alone for a moment. Naruto needs to talk to you.”

She registers that Sakura steps behind her, leaves the room, but she can’t break from Naruto’s stare.

Something’s really wrong with him, deeper than just an illness, and she’s suddenly scared. Not for herself. For him.

Her lips part. “Naruto-kun?” Her quiet voice, a nostalgic waver of trepidation.

It’s what he’s been wanting, needing, what he’s been dying to hear.

#naruhina #fanfic #angst #hanahaki #canon divergence #no the last #romance #naruhina fanfiction

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