#‘he didn’t teach sakura anything’ yes the FUCK he did
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Kakashi: *shows countless times in canon he cares about his students and wants to train them, but a lot of that training is outright skipped for ‘more interesting storyline’
Weirdo’s: nah, Kakashi didn’t teach any of his student’s anything and didn’t care about them at all.
#like god DAMN#Y’all can’t handle an imperfect teach can you?#you can’t handle a character who makes mistakes but genuinly tried his hest#who was thrown into the job even though he did not ask for it#and STILL did his best#‘he doesn’t care about sakura’#WHY THE FUCK WOULD HE PROTECT HER AND CONTINUE TO SAVE HER IN ALMOST EVERY FIGHT IF HE DIDN’T CARE#‘he didn’t teach sakura anything’ yes the FUCK he did#he taught her chakra control which she obv excelled at#and a jonin level technique that allowed her to avoid being knocked out in the konoha crunch#and allowed her to wake Naruto up as well#‘he only ever tried to push his views on Sasuke’#no he didn’t#he only told Sasuke to stop seeking revenge when sasuke turned chidori#a move kakashi taught him to face a shinobi with an impenatable defence that WANTED TO KILL PEOPLE#there is a whole year before that where he knows Sasuke’s goal and never once tells him not to seek revenge#and him not being able to connect with Sasuke doesn’t mean his intentions were not genuine#sometimes people simply don’t understand each others trauamas and struggles#even when they desperatly want to#‘he was terrible to naruto’ fucking WHERE#He chose a specific sensei to teach Naruto chakra control#recogbizing it as Naruto’s weakness#and chose a dude who was a jonin specificlly because of his teaching capabilities#as for the fucking time skip#it’s made vary obviouse even before the team splits that Kakashi and all the other Jonin are on missions constantly#that’s the whole reason Shikamaru and a bunch of genin were sent after sasuke#instead of you know#FUCKING JONIN#None of the jonin were available#they were all on missions
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Anyways Sasuke parallels Tsunade in much more meaningful ways than the surface-level bullshit of why Orochimaru mentored him. Both of them are the last members of formerly great clans and feel the pressure to live up to that. Both were closely related to the leaders of those clans. Both were shattered by grief and responded to it by running away from their pain however they could, by closing themselves off and becoming aggressive and distant and putting on masks of arrogance.
Both of them are people who genuinely value human life - Tsunade in her desire to keep as many people from dying as possible while fighting in the Second Shinobi World War and her work as a medic, Sasuke in how he wants to shape the world (before he was brainwashed lmaoo) into a place people don’t fight each other and his general dislike of killing unless it’s necessary.
Both, ironically, were also treated as being wrong when they didn’t want to give their loyalty to the village despite arguably being right, and were then, against all logic, were brainwashed by Naruto to forget their morals and serve the military dictatorship.
Sasuke as a medic would have been so meaningful for his arc. He’s not a violent person by nature, or even an angry person - he’s stubborn, yes, but earnest and kind even when closed off like in Part 1. Him being a medic would still enable him to get stronger, more skilled, but would give him that path away from the violence Itachi, his abuser, said he had to follow. Sasuke through canon essentially just did what the people who killed his clan wanted him to - fell into violence to try and avenge his clan because it’s what he clung to after he’d lost everything else. But that’s so unhealthy for Sasuke especially! Him being a medic would still give him the power and agency he’s wanted, the power he wanted that he might have been able to save his family with, but also gives him his own skills, nonviolent, as opposed to self destructing the way Itachi, again, his abuser, set him up to.
And yes, this means Tsunade isn’t Hokage - thank fuck. She had no reason to actually listen to Naruto, because he didn’t actually say anything to her, just called her a coward. And yeah, while he’s right to a degree, she’s not a coward for refusing loyalty to the village that treated her as a pawn and killed her loved ones by doing the same, she’s a coward because she abandoned her desire for change in her grief. Sasuke, aka the only other character who wants change in this fucking series and who very much hasn’t abandoned it, would be able to show her those same errors without her abandoning her point of view entirely.
Plus, the whole Senju-Uchiha conflict was so emphasized for like, no reason. Okay, they hated each other, and... nothing within the series ever really comes of it. Tsunade teaching Sasuke, the last of a clan teaching the last of her enemy her techniques, again nonviolent ones, them connecting through a desire to save, heal, regain agency but help, would be a much better arc than whatever happened to both of them in canon.
Plus, it could be interesting if you pair it with Orochimaru’s Apprentice!Sakura and canon Naruto, who, despite his teaching for two years under Jiraiya, really doesn’t change at all between the end of Part 1 and Part 2. If Sasuke under Tsunade has become a kinder and better person, Naruto under Jiraiya continues his same flaws and doesn’t change, and Sakura under Orochimaru gets darker and crueller... it would be interesting.
#naruto#naruto meta#anti naruto ending#anti konoha#sasuke uchiha#tsunade senju#sakura haruno#naruto uzumaki#jiraiya#orochimaru#listen even within canon sasuke tsunade parallel still works more than him and orochimaru does#it would just make sense#much more sense#if he became the healer instead#medic sasuke would be so amazing for his arc and tsunades#plus him and tsunade snarking at each other??#shizune teaching him poisons??#medic sasuke lives in my head rent free and i love him#orochimaru and sakura both also parallel each other v well#and they fit together#in terms of personality and skills#way better also#like sakuras smart#shes an academic#shes good at poisons and the human body less#but shes also an observer#a scientist#who becomes obsessed with things fast#sound like anyone yk??#plus how shes also faking her emotions and reactions
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*°:⋆ₓₒCollab Masterlistₓₒ⋆:°*
Pairing: All Might x Gn!Dom!Reader (Theme for this month was sex work au!)
Word Count: 6.2k
Warnings: 18+ this is a dark fic, both dubcon/noncon, straight up, forced submission, bit of mind break, dom/sub dynamics, sub!All Might, dominant All Might later in, dark All Might, violence against reader, bodily harm, face fucking, spanking (for Toshi), thigh riding (for Toshi), blackmail, minor mentions of blood, bondage/rope play, reader is gender neutral, no pronouns used
Summary: You work as a popular dominant for pro heroes who need to give up control once in awhile and Yagi Toshinori is one of your best clients. But when word gets out to the media about your involvement with pros, you decide to take matters into your own hands. Though you quickly discover All Might does not take kindly to anyone who threatens his reputation.
It was all about the exchanging of power.
About the relinquishing of control—about letting go and the freedom that came with it.
And you?
You were just there to facilitate, to take over, to release all those bottled up years of stress that the camera’s weren’t supposed to see.
But you did.
You saw all of it.
It was about trust too. Trust in you to give them what they need and trust in them to do exactly as you instructed. And most of all, trust that everything stayed confidential. That the things said through tears and whimpers and sighs were kept quiet. Trust that they would show you the same respect and privacy you showed them.
You took these rules very seriously. They were the foundation your business was built on and it had earned you quite a lot of credibility. You prided yourself on it, as you should. Professionalism was key in your line of work. It made the clients feel a bit more comfortable—counteracted the sense of taboo that was usually associated with people like you.
People in “your line of work,” was the common way of referencing it. But you preferred to be clear and upfront, not skirt around the edges as though your job was something shameful.
Language was important too.
“Client,” “session,” etc...all added a buffering degree of separation for those you serviced. It was a crucial part of the balance which has allowed you to be so successful. They needed to be able to remove themselves from who they became once you were alone together. You’d learned that some amount of plausible deniability was key to achieving the complete relinquishing of authority. They had to be able to convince themselves after they’d walked away, that the crying, begging mess they’d become wasn’t who they really were—wasn’t actually a part of them, just something you’d done.
And by them, of course, you meant the heroes you served so dutifully.
And by serve, you meant completely and utterly dominate.
Contradictory to most common misconceptions, your job wasn’t always about sex—though it could be and was at time—but truly, it was about release.
And above all, it was about power and who got to hold it.
When that structure was broken—when the rules were strayed from—that’s when things got murky. But you were good at what you did, so luckily, that hadn’t been much of an issue.
What more could one expect from someone whose services are sought out by the Symbol of Peace himself?
Hm.
You really ought to get that put on your business cards.
***
It was late when he came to you, though that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Occasional hero work coupled with a teaching schedule and numerous media appearances left one very little free time. Fortunately, you conducted most of your business during the small hours of the morning, so Yagi Toshinori showing up at your door as the clock ticked its way past two wasn’t a shock.
You fell into the usual rhythm of things easily.
Toshi was one of your newest, but most favorite clients. You came highly recommended from many of his coworkers, and after an initial meeting over drinks to discuss his needs, you struck up a routine that worked for the both of you.
Of course he paid you handsomely for your time.
Constantly being in the public eye, acting as an unwavering representation of hope for the future was tiring. You were more than happy to take the weight off his very broad shoulders for once.
And bend him over your knee instead.
“Five,” he panted, whimpers of thanks and your name spilling out around his loose tongue as your hand connected sharply with the meat of his ass again.
You always asked to be called by name, no frilly titles to get in the way and complicate the dynamic. When they walked into your space, they set aside their hero personas and you afforded them the same intimacy.
Names meant something. Names were power and so they mattered, particularly in this game you played together. Equality had to be achieved before domination.
“Good boy Toshi, you’re doing so well,” you cooed and brought your palm down twice, watching the skin on the backs of his thighs bloom pink like sakura in the spring.
“S-six, seven,” there was a wet spot forming under his mouth on the sheets and on your lap where his cock was bare and leaking. “Ah, please—harder!”
You raised your brow as he turned his head to look at you with those teary, dark eyes and you could never resist a look like that.
“You want it harder, why’s that?” you wound back and smacked roughly over the raised welts that made him hiss and sob. “Is this what you deserve for being so weak?”
He may have been thin now, skeletal compared to the face he showed the public, but you didn’t mind. He trusted you enough to let his guard down, and his weight was still thick and full across your legs. It was invigorating to see a man like All Might, reduced to this. Whatever pent up guilt he carried inside, you were here to help let it all out in the best way you knew how.
“Yes!” Toshi cried and buried his face into the plush fabric of your comforter as you delivered the last three harsh blows of the punishment he paid you for. “Fuck yes, I’m weak and I’m a failure and I deserve this—!”
“That’s right, you’re a piss poor excuse for a hero and you haven’t earned your title,” you wrapped two thick locks of his hair around your hand and yanked hard till he craned his neck to face you. “What would the world say if they could see what a sobbing mess you are when no one’s looking?”
He opened his mouth to speak, hips twitching and grinding uselessly against your thigh. The second that plush pink tongue dipped past his lips, you were rearing back to spit straight between his teeth.
Toshi’s face was always priceless in these moments. You’d almost be willing to do it for free if you only got to see the way his brows shot up and those red rimmed eyes blew so wide as you steeled yourself and looked him dead on.
“Now, swallow like the little bitch I know you are.”
And he did, of course he does, because behind your bedroom door Yagi Toshinori was your good boy. So you got to watch his throat bob as your spit slid down and he moaned so pretty at the awful things you said to him.
Your palm kneaded against the red, raw flesh of his ass and you watched how he squirmed at the sting. The room was filled with the scent of sweat and expensive cologne. Your head was spinning from the smell alone and the high of the control you wielded over this man. His hands fisted hard in your bed sheets and you let him helplessly rut against you a few times before running your free hand up the graceful curve of his spine.
“Oh, you really are so disgusting Toshi,” you mused as your nails dig into the planes of muscles to drag angry red lines over the skin. “Did you really get that hard from me slapping this tight little ass of yours?”
He groaned pathetically and nodded, not bothering to hide how his dick had been oozing obscene amounts of precum every time you etched a new welt on his skin. The blush that crept up his chest and painted his cheeks had spread between his legs too. The unfairly massive cock that Toshi sported was flushed a dark angry red at the tip and you couldn’t help but have mercy on him.
Well, only a little bit.
You weren’t here to be nice tonight, even if a part of you might have liked to be.
“Do you want to cum, Toshi?” you asked, lacing your voice with the false sweetness you knew he loved. “Have you been aching for it all night?”
He keened, crying your name and rutting his hips harder against you. It sent a rush of warmth between your legs despite your better efforts to remain unaffected. This wasn’t about you, this was about ownership and his pleasure.
“Mhmm,” his voice was little more than a rasp, “wanna cum so bad, please!”
You laughed, but it was a cruel thing and you knew he could feel the rumble of it in his scarred chest.
“You did so perfectly taking your punishment,” you raked your nails over the raised handprints again just to hear him cry out. “I suppose I’ll let you cum, but you’ll have to work for it.”
Toshi’s breathing was ragged as you helped him up to straddle one of your legs. His swollen cock rested on the plushest part of your thigh, the tip nudging your hip and drawing choked gasps from the man towering above you.
He stared down at you, confused when you didn’t move to stroke him.
“Go on, then,” you smiled up at him, resting your weight on your palms so you could lean back and watch the show. “I said you’d have to work for it, didn’t I?”
You punctuated your question with a bounce of your knee that rocked his length against the fabric of your pants. It didn’t take long for him to catch on, eyes squeezing shut against the waves of shame and embarrassment that just made it so much hotter as he slowly began to ride your thigh.
He might be paying you to be ruthless, but Toshi was kind to a fault from what you’ve learned of him and he ke[t most of his massive weight held on the balls of his feet so you weren’t crushed below him. Under any other circumstances, you might have actually enjoyed that quite a bit, but his face—cherry red with spit-slicked lips held parted with the force of his pants—was enough for now.
His cock was so heavy you almost couldn’t believe it was real. You nearly didn’t the first time he’d stripped for you, but even just the drag of it through your clothes was delectable. It was so long and thick you needed both hands to wrap fully around it, and he gushed like a fucking gieser when you got him under your metaphorical boot.
With every rock of his bony hips, his length was forced up against the curve of your stomach and he whined at the glistening strands of slick that connected his tip to you.
“Come on, Toshi,” you clicked your tongue disappointedly at him, letting a hand fall to the puckered skin at his waist, squeezing harshly. “I know you can do better than that.”
He was beyond words now, you could tell by the way his jaw was loose and his teeth clacked with every thrust, but he did gasp out a long, high pitched moan that made up for it. The speed of his humping increased, becoming erratic as he hunched on the bed, hands beside yours. He loomed over you but anyone could tell just by the composed, serene smile playing at your lips—and the absolutely wrecked noises spilling from Toshi—just which one of you was really in control.
“You’re so close, aren’t you?”
You knew he liked it when you spewed filth to him right before he boiled over and you were more than willing to oblige.
“You’re gonna cum like a fucking teenager humping his pillow, isn’t that right?” you snarled the words up at him and he really did cry then, big fat tears dripping down onto your shirt. “All Might, the number one hero is gonna cum all over my lap like the slut he is.”
He nods frantically. You know his balls were tensing up as he sobbed and spluttered—completely ruined. Just the way he needed to be.
“Then cum.”
You finally wrapped your fist just around his aching tip and he exploded into your palm. Rope after rope of sticky, white release coated your arm and dripped onto the bed. He kept grinding his hips, working himself through the climax, cock still pulsing and leaking in your grip. You didn’t mind the mess.
He always tipped a bit extra if he left stains anyway.
Such a gentleman.
When the last wave of his orgasm had petered out, Toshi collapsed to the side with his face buried in your pillow and his long legs still strewn across your lap. He didn’t usually ask for much in the realm of aftercare, preferring that you cleaned him and let him rest for a bit before he suited up and rushed off into the night.
You gave him a minute before you got up to wet a warm cloth in the sink. He looked so destroyed, you couldn’t help but admire your handiwork. As you palm his ass once more, fingers spreading him so his pink hole was on display, you slipped your phone silently from your pocket, and snapped a few shots of the nasty red hand marks and smears of cum as he groaned deeply at the touch.
His voice was lower as he grunted and you could tell he’s coming out of the subspace you’d thrust him into hours before. Quickly you slid the device smoothly away before lifting his legs from you and settling them gently on the bed to work on tidying up your mess.
You didn’t feel particularly good about keeping this kind of collateral, but as much power as you hold in the four walls of your bedroom, you were frustratingly weak once you left them. These men you worked with, while generally professional, were also top heroes. Top heroes who really didn’t want their embarrassing private lives getting out. Top heroes who thrived off reputation and who would willingly throw you under the bus in a second to protect that.
You liked Yagi Toshinori.
But you didn’t know him.
Smacking someone’s ass or stroking their cock every few weeks didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.
So you kept your personal insurance that would be there should one of your clientele decide to forsake you in favor of their public image. And you would never use it unless you absolutely had too.
After all, this was about trust and power and the exchange of those two things. Or at least it was supposed to be. Trust was quite a subjective thing.
The general citizenry trusted All Might to protect them against the growing evil in Japan’s underground. But behind the scenes, you knew his failing health had caused him to seek you out as the intense guilt of his lie came crashing down on him.
Toshi trusted you to relieve his pain and indulge in his degrading fantasies, and you hadn’t failed him yet.
But your trust was not easily bought, and none of your customers ever paid much mind to whether your perceived belief in them was genuine.
After so many glimpses into the messes of pro-heroes personal lives, you knew you’d have to be your own protector. Hence, the photos remained in a locked folder hidden away as you sat yourself down next to the dozing hero and wiped away as much evidence of your meeting as you could.
“How are you feeling?” you asked quietly, lathing the warm cloth between his legs and softening length.
“Good, all things considered,” he responded, voice returned to it’s normal, deep baritone.
“I sincerely hope you won’t have to do much sitting tomorrow,” you quipped and it earned you a chuckle.
“I’ll manage.”
You rolled him gently and finished clearing the rest of his spend from the flat expanse of his stomach. Toshi mumbled his thanks and you gave his thigh a friendly squeeze before retreating from the room to shower and change yourself.
He’d be gone by the time you got out, notification of payment on your phone and a sizable tip left on your dresser as a parting gift.
And as long as Yagi Toshinori was just as good a boy on the outside as he was here, then the world would never need to know what their Symbol of Peace got up behind your closed doors.
***
“All Might! Mister All Might, sir!”
The grating voice of that shithead reporter echoed through the speakers of your headphones over and over again. Your hand shook as the train stuttered to a halt and a wave of passengers burst out onto the platform.
“All Might, are the rumors true!?”
Your stomach sank as the reporter shouted your name above the ruckus of microphones and camera flashes and roaring bodies. Their voice was like chalk on your tongue, dry and cracked and clamoring to know whether the Symbol of Peace was involved with the recently revealed ‘seedy’ and ‘scandalous’ sex ring between yourself and multiple top ranking heroes.
You’d been out having a relaxing lunch with friends in the city when everyone’s phones blew up. It wasn’t that you hid the general details of your job, but by the looks on their faces were enough to make your face burn. The judgement was clear—what you did was abhorrent, disgusting and by extension, so were you. Reporters had caught you on camera with a certain second ranking pro and very quickly deduced exactly who you were and what services you offered.
The tabloids took it and ran, dragging your reputation behind them.
Call after call and text, dms on your social media pages, all from news outlets requesting interviews or quotes or hero fans calling you a ‘shameless whore’ for going after pros—hell death threats had even begun to fill your inboxes.
Hero fans really were ride or die, you supposed, although the ‘die’ in that scenario seemed to refer more to you than themselves. They would never believe their precious big boy crush had ever associated with the likes of you, had ever willingly kneeled for you—had ever enjoyed it.
They couldn’t understand the things you did, all they saw was some false emasculation.
And if it came out that Toshinori had any contact with you, his career would be ruined.
You had hoped from the little you’d learned about him in your sessions, that he’d simply deny knowing you existed at all. That he’d have mercy on you, treat you like the thousand helpless civilians he pulled from burning buildings or whatever the hell heroes did these days.
But you’d been right before to say that you didn’t know Toshi.
And now you certainly didn’t like him either.
“Are you one of the pros involved?” the reporter hounded again as All Might’s massive form panned into frame.
“As your Symbol of Peace, I certainly do not partake in such degenerate behavior,” his words rang out, deep and resonating. “I would never associate with someone who’s actions border on criminal.”
The dark, soulless pits he called eyes stared mockingly from your tiny screen as his signature laugh reverberated through your ears along with the train’s clacking breaks. You ripped the headphones from your ears and closed out of the app, ducking your head and pushing towards the door. Everyone’s eyes were drilling into you, worming deep under your skin and making you squirm like so many of those heroes had done on your silk sheets.
Rationally, you were aware not many people would have seen the story yet. Tabloid trash took a day or two to disseminate into the general social media outlets and for people to take notice. Your friends only knew because your name stuck out to them, but you were hardly recognizable in your typical citizen attire. Even still.
Your life, your work, all of it was on display.
And he’d called you a degenerate.
The infallible All Might had taken your name and tossed it in the guttered, likened you to a villain and single handedly destroyed everything you’d built in the process.
Years of effort and crawling your way up the ranks of society all for nothing.
All so some washed up hero could keep his fantasy of success going for just a little longer. Toshi trusted you with his secrets, his weakness, his body, and you’d defended that at every turn. The only thing he had to do was pay a small fee for your time and discretion.
But no amount of money could fix your toppled character. Nothing could reverse your place as a disgusting slut in the eyes of literal millions of people.
Bold of Yagi Toshinori to underestimate you so thoroughly, to think that you’d sit back in the rubble as he rescued cats and little kids and lived his delusion of perfection.
This was about trust and power.
When those lines were crossed, that’s when things got messy.
And you’d make sure to leave so big a mess, Toshi would never dream of coming back from it.
***
Your apartment building was thankfully free of any press when you arrived home. It had been a few days since All Might instigated your public slander, but the mass media hadn’t managed to track you down after you went into a short period of hiding.
You needed time to let all your other clients involved in the scandal play their cards.
There would be no use in condemning one just to have them warn the rest of their equally impending doom. That way you could be assured they’d all come crashing down with you. Especially the blonde poster boy of hero society himself.
His would be the sweetest fall.
It had been long enough now that you could start compiling. You locked the door behind you, shrugging off your coat and settling on the couch. The plush cushions sank as you fell back, pulling out your phone and scrolling through your contacts. Toshi was there, two red and blue hearts on either side of his name. You pulled up his text thread.
You’d thought about going public of course.
Of course you had.
Your entire career had been trashed, you’d been shamed by the number one hero himself and your personal life was blasted over social media.
But you were human, so you were weak.
And you had liked Toshi.
Well, you hated him now—a deeply dark, burning resentment—but before that, he’d been so sweet to you in a way that most were not. Respectful and nice and you were unused to it. So, you couldn’t quite bring yourself to eradicate his credibility in the same outright manner.
No, you had decided you’d give him a chance.
Because you were better than him.
A chance to atone, come clean, apologize the way you’re sure he would if his public image wasn’t so goddamn important to him. So you didn’t reach out to any of the media outlets that had been hounding your socials for the past week, and didn't offer them the inside scoop quite yet. Instead, you stared at the handsome contact photo of your hero client and slowly typed him up a message he couldn’t ignore.
It was short and sweet, polite but firm. You acknowledged he most certainly did not want to speak with you—in fact, you weren’t very inclined to speak with him ever again either—but you happened to be in possession of some fairly compromising photographic evidence of your time together. And if that evidence were ever to, say, end up in the pocket of the exact scandal rag that sent voice clips of All Might all but denouncing you as a whore to the nation, well. Things would certainly not end well for him.
But, you were nothing if not professional.
He knew that.
You never wanted to use these, but he had forced your hand. Of course you were more than willing to work out a deal with him.
He was your favorite client after all.
In any case, he knew how to reach you, and he had a generous 48 hours to give you an answer to your proposition.
Oh and you were kind enough to provide a little snapshot of just exactly the type of evidence you meant.
Your thumb hovered over the little blue arrow to send. The phone clacked against your nails as it shook in your grip, slick from sweat and frayed nerves. You couldn’t quite tell if you were anxious or angry or some awful combination of the two, but your heart was in your throat as you shut your eyes and pressed send.
There was no going back, and if this all came tumbling to the ground, you promised yourself that you would shatter gracefully.
Letting the screen go dim, you stared in silence at the small check mark confirming the message had been delivered and your fate sealed. You pulled yourself to your feet and made your way to the bedroom.
He’d get back to you soon, or maybe he wouldn’t. You couldn’t know for sure whether or not Toshi would simply ignore your texts and be blindsided when the deadline passed and you destroyed him all over again in a far less enjoyable manner than you used to. But whatever the case, it was out of your hands for now.
With aching feet and tired eyes, you stripped slowly and stumbled towards the bathroom. Turning the water to just below scalding, you did your best to scrub away any pesky remaining guilt that clung to you in a thin, suffocating film.
You told yourself that there was no other choice. That you would have found another way if there was one. That this was how business often went. You had seen it before when you first entered in the field of sex work and you’d see it again. So you scrubbed yourself raw and let all your doubts trickle down the drain.
Tonight, you would sleep restlessly, but it was a fair enough burden to carry for your honor.
You were foolish to believe the cost of revenge wouldn’t bear a heftier price.
***
You woke slowly, trapped momentarily in the strange limbo between sleep and consciousness that fooled you into thinking the strange tightness at your wrists was nothing more than a leftover side effect of a dream.
The reality was so much worse.
It wasn’t until you felt the blunt, radiating sting of knuckles backhanded against your cheek that the haze of sleep fell away, and you could truly appreciate the scene before you.
Which was to say, you could take the opportunity to scream before Yagi Toshinori’s fingers were shoved down your throat to muffle the noise. He was large, shirt seams full to bursting, and sporting an expression you’d never seen before. His eyes, while always dark, were like holes now and they filled you with an unfamiliar sense of dread.
He’d called you a villain before, and now he was looking at you like one too.
“Oh no,” Toshi hissed. His voice was impossibly deep, reverberating against your ribs painfully, “I don’t want to hear anything out of you.”
One quick bout of struggling made it very apparent he didn’t want you moving either as your wrists had been bound behind your back and your ankles were similarly immobilized. The fingers in your mouth pressed hard on your tongue, his thumb pushing below your chin to make you choke and splutter.
“You really let all that power get to your head, didn’t you?” Toshi’s voice was buzzing in your ears and mingling with the pain in your jaw. He put one massive knee on the mattress and hooked his fingers behind your teeth, forcing you to sit up from the bed.
You could feel your face burn as he looked down at you, drool slipping passed your lips and coating his fingers. The straining bulge in his pants looked even bigger than you remembered now that he was no longer the slip of a man you’d come to know as Yagi Toshinori.
No this was All Might, the Symbol of Peace.
And you got the feeling that whatever was about to happen, it was not going to be peaceful for you.
He had you tied and trussed like a piece of meat, and he would treat you like one. You’d seen this before, you’d tied these knots—he’d been where you were now, but he’d asked for it. The loss of control was never something you’d delighted in on a good day, and now the rising pressure in your chest and the sensation of walls closing had panic coursing through you.
“Did you really think that I’d come back here willing to grovel at your feet?” he jeered, the trademark smile on his face more snarl than grin.
He shook your jaw violently in his grasp, listening to the joints pop as they tried to stretch around his thick fingers. Your name left his mouth in a mock coo, just as you had done to him so many nights before. “Remember, you might get to call me a bitch but it’s only because I let you.”
Your hands trembled violently against the bonds which tore the delicate skin and rubbed it raw. Toshi’s free hand traveled along his thigh to rub himself through his pants, his knuckles brushing your nose as he bucked into his palm.
“But now you’ve stepped out of line,” he mused and clicked his tongue as though you were a student who’d done poorly on his latest exam. “And I’m going to make sure that whore mouth of yours never utters my fucking name again.”
Eyes wide with horror, you watched as Toshi’s fingers fumbled with the button and zipper of his slacks until his cock had sprung free, monstrous in length and girth, dripping onto your forehead.
You’d seen it before, but it seemed bigger now. So big that you’d never been able to take it, and Toshi had been staunchly against you ever trying lest he quite literally split you in two. But any kindness he’d shown you before was clearly off the table. His fingers pumped in and out of your throat as if preparing you somehow to take the stretch. It wouldn’t help. You knew that. He knew that.
Toshinori smiled as he removed his fingers in favor of digging the spit slicked digits into the joints of your jaw, ensuring you wouldn’t bite down on him as he pressed the spongy tip to your lips. The panic that had set in—making your blood rush and your limbs shake—was constricting your chest and the pressure of Toshi’s dick pushing past your teeth made your breathing even more erratic.
You whimpered loudly, trying to wrench your head away as the strong salt and musk flavor of his pre cum spread across your tongue, but that only made him thrust forward harder. His length quickly hit resistance back of your throat as you gagged and tears burned at the corners of your eyes.
The ache in your jaw was already unbearable and your bottom lip was being rubbed raw by warm spit and the friction of Toshi roughly fighting to sink his dick fully into your mouth.
“Mm, that’s it,” he groaned as you inadvertently licked over his tip, trying to force him away. “You look so much better like this.”
He ran a falsely sweet hand across your cheek, collecting the stream of tears and using the moisture to slick the rest of his length. Your chest heaved in a mixture of gags and increasingly violent sobbing. You were stretched painfully wide as he rolled his hips again, pushing the thickest bit of his cock into your mouth and forcing your teeth to dig painfully into your upper lip. With the next thrust, he was able to sink another excruciating inch deep into your throat. Blood rushed from where you bit yourself and caused crimson streaks to form as Toshi fucked slowly into your mouth.
Your mind was slipping.
You’d had so little time to process the encounter, so instead your brain had secluded most of your consciousness into a precious little box, away from the intense burning in your throat as Toshi finally sank all of his innumerable inches completely into you. Your throat bulged and protested, tightening in an attempt to force him out.
It only made him moan loudly and dig his fingers into your hair.
“See?” he huffed, pulling out at an agonizing pace only to ram his length in roughly to the hilt. “I’d never lie to my public, you really are just as much of a slut as they say you are.”
You shrieked around his cock, though it was muffled so badly by the lack of air and the wet slap of his constant thrusting that no one but you could hear the screaming in your own head. The pain was unbearable, this awful friction burning sensation that had your stomach churning and your chest wracked with stifled cries. Your bound legs kicked and your fingers grasped useless at the sheets as Toshi fucked your mouth reckless abandon.
Time blurred along with your vision, whether from the lack of oxygen or the tears you weren’t sure.
And most horrifyingly of all, was the pleasure that grew as your mind drowned the pain in darkness. You felt as though you were floating, disgusted but euphoric and the slide of him against your lips became delicious. Heat rose in you and built between your legs accompanied by a distant and unfamiliar ache to please, to be touched, to taste him, to obey.
You wondered if this was how he felt when you forced his mouth on you. If he slid into this strange space where your mind was a separate entity and the only thing that mattered was the pain and the pleasure and the release.
Because somehow, in the midst of your struggle and revulsion, he’d made this strange, incorporeal part of you enjoy this.
All the fight had drained out of you, letting your jaw hang slack and your tongue flick up to catch his tip on every backstroke. Your eyes flitted up to look at him through the haze of tears and sweat, hoping strangely that he’d be pleased with you. And the groan you earned yourself was delectable.
You gave in, then. Let yourself be swept away by the rushing of blood in your ears and the rhythm of Toshi tearing you apart.
At some point, you could distantly feel his thrusts becoming more erratic, turning into a rough grinding in your mouth.
You couldn’t even taste it when he came, his cock was too obscenely deep in your neck, but the warmth of it burned your bleeding throat and filled your belly with a hot finality.
You weren’t even afforded the dignity of spitting his seed onto the floor where it belonged, ignoring the searing voice in your head that revealed in being rewarded with his essence.
When Toshi finally pulled out and tucked himself away, your head fell limply to your chest. A series of violent coughs erupted from you as a thick, viscous mixture of blood and spit and cum dripped from your tongue.
Those impossibly large hands gripped your chin once again, forcing you to look up into those piercing black eyes.
“Now, you’re never going to speak about me again,” he wasn’t asking but you glared up at him as his hand fumbled in his pocket, pulling out his phone.
The device was comically small in those hands of his as he aimed it at your ruined face and snapped a picture—the flash blinding you while he reached around and roughly undid the knotted rope keeping you in place.
“Because if you do, I’ll make sure those reporters know everything I said about you was nothing but the truth.”
The loudest part of you wanted to scream, to punch and bite and tell him it wasn’t. That you were a professional, with self-respect and dignity and you were good and your job, but—
But when you opened your sore and aching jaw to shout, nothing came out.
No sound, no yell, no words.
Just this awful rasp that made your throat feel like pins were sticking into the abused flesh.
“Well, looks like I might not need this after all,” Toshi dangled the phone in front of your face before pocketing it once again. “Looks like you won’t be saying much of anything for a good long while.”
And then Yagi Toshinori left.
He turned on his heel and walked out as you toppled off the bed behind him, trying so hard to scream despite the pain and the ripping in your chest—whether they were curses or cries for him to stay, you weren’t sure.
But there was nothing either way.
So you sat and screamed in silent agony at his retreating form until the sound of a door slamming rang out through your home.
It seemed that in all your years of playing this game, you’d finally been toppled off your tightrope.
Because you were good at your job, so you knew. It was all about the exchange of power, and yours had just been thoroughly stripped away.
#all might x reader#yagi toshinori x reader#toshinori x reader#tw dubcon#tw noncon#tw blackmail#dark all might#dark yagi toshinori#mha smut#all might smut#mha x reader#mha fanfic#bee.writes
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AU where Deidara becomes inexplicably fond of 'Tobi' to the point of just going 'fuck it' and following Obito into crazytown and, if Obito survives The Kaguya Nonsense, he now has a bitchy art school grad student following him around like "you fucked with my head for a year after making people pressgang me into a terrorist cell, now it's my turn to fuck with you." This is partly because this one post lives in my head rent-free.
(Brainstormed on discord with help from @britishassistant. Please note that while I do usually headcanon Dei as nonbinary, this brainstorm kept to he/him pronouns and referring to him as a boy.)
Confession that this arose because I keep imagining 'person travels back to the Founders Era and wreaks havoc via Confusions, using different characters capable of 'why the FUCK' reactions every time, pinged on T7+Obito but Obito had to bring Deidara and everyone Regrets, because... boom.
Nobody wants Deidara involved, except Deidara. People especially do not want Deidara and Sai in the same room, because between Deidara's hands and Sai's 'commentary,' someone's going to get murdered.
-- (Deidara is of the opinion that he should be involved in everything where there is the potential for blowing something or someone up. Deidara was sort of invited, in that Obito refuses to leave him unsupervised, but nobody really wants him, like, doing things.)
Team Seven is trying to help push a peace treaty through for the Senju and Uchiha. Keeping an eye out for Zetsu, Obito's talking Madara around as the person who actually knows him best, Naruto is Vibing with Hashirama on a level nobody hoped they'd reach, Sakura's smoothing ruffled feathers by healing the dying, Yamato is demonstrating Mokuton as evidence of something, and Kakashi has his hand over Sai's mouth so they don't cause an international incident. Sasuke isn't helping, just kind of in a stare-off with Izuna.
And then Obito says, "Wait, shit. We're missing a blonde."
"Where's your idiot, Obito?"
"He's not my idiot, Bakashi, he just--"
BOOM
"Ah, shit."
[cue maniacal laughter in the middle distance]
"This is why I told you to keep an eye on him while I talked to Madara!"
"I told Sasuke to do it!”
"Why do you expect Sasuke to do anything you tell him to do?"
Part of what I was going for was:
1. Deidara and Obito have a preexisting relationship that angles heavily towards mutual antagonism due to the whole Tobi thing.
2. Deidara is both completely unhinged and capable of mass destruction, which means he's perfectly set to Cause Problems.
And of course
3. This means a role reversal where Obito finds the shoe on the other foot because now he’s the one trying to rein in Deidara.
Obito is 100% done with Deidara, but this asshole is kind of his responsibility? Like? What's he gonna do, hand the kid over to Onoki? Nah, bruh, his douchebag teenage sidekick deserves better than Iwa.
-- (Deidara does not, in fact, deserve better than Iwa.)
-- It’s like Deidara is his kid or something, like he knows he’s hellspawn but he’s Obito’s hellspawn.
Madara: You came to convince us of peace, yet you bring--
Obito: No, shut up, it's better than leaving him to his own devices, at least this way I can stop him.
Hashirama: How do we convince the Daimyou this is a good idea?
Madara: We need to make him think there's a bigger threat, maybe? One that he can't fight without united shinobi clans to hire, rather than pitting us against one another to maintain his economic dominance.
Hashirama: But there aren't any bi--
Deidara: I VOLUNTEER
Obito: So what are we going to do?
Deidara: Blow up buildings belonging to the rich and powerful.
Obito: And what are we not going to do?
Deidara: ...blow up the innocent? Like kids? And poor people?
Obito: Okay, yes. That's pretty much it.
Deidara: Wait, can I blow up a monastery?
Obito: Do you want the Shinigami to come after our heads?! No!!!
Deidara: What if it's a Jashinist temple?
Obito: We have seen evidence that one exists, do you really want to risk it?
Hashirama, full of 😀 : I brought dango!
Deidara, to Obito: Are you going to eat it with your eye again.
Madara, Izuna, all the Uchiha: [turn to stare]
Obito: Literally why do I put up with you.
(Deidara is that one kid who Delights in telling everyone about the weird and dumb shit Obito pulled as Tobi.)
Deidara: Hey, dipshit, you wanna--
Obito:
Also, Kakashi has his four brats so Obito gets to keep Deidara. It’s only fair.
-- Kakashi at least has Tenzo to coparent, and some of his kids are well-behaved... ish. They try, at least. Obito's just got a Hell Child who actively delights in causing mischief and mayhem.
-- The most Naruto's going to do is dye your hair in your sleep. Sai makes dick jokes and Sakura punches things, but overall, they're not bad kids! Sasuke is. Sasuke. But that's okay, that's why there's a solid five people in that team to handle his bullshit.
Whereas Obito is stuck. With an art school grad student.
-- Deidara is contextually the epitome of "I think I will cause problems on purpose."
-- (Deidara... is what Tenzo would call “a bad influence.”)
Btw? Keep Sai and Deidara away from each other. Kakashi learns that the hard way.
-- "Captain, the art kids are fightingggggg!"
Kakashi: Obito get a handle on your disaster
Obito: DON’T YOU TALK ABOUT MY BOY THAT WAY
Jumping back a tiny bit though, Obito regularly asks Yamato to use his Mokuton to seal up Deidara's chakra for a bit. (Is this how it works in canon? Probably not, I think it's just bijuu chakra, but I also Do Not Care.)
But honestly, when it comes to Team Seven, Deidara is that one older cousin at family reunions that teaches you how to hotwire a car.
-- Deidara is okay with Naruto and Sakura, ish.
-- He antagonizes Sai in a way that ends in tears.
-- He. Has to be kept away from Sasuke. For a variety of reasons, most of which have to do with Eyes and Explosions and Itachi.
Sasuke barely remembers who Deidara is, he’s just grumpy he couldn’t bring anyone from Taka with him.
Meanwhile Taka is just. They’re assholes? Taka bitches enough to hunt him down. They excuse it with "Juugo needs you"
-- "I'm in a different dimension, eighty years in the past, how did you..."
-- "Science ninja. Best sensor on the continent."
-- "Also we asked Orochimaru for help."
-- "Yeah, we asked Orochimaru for help."
Taka being there signals a marked improvement in Sasuke’s demeanor and cooperation, and Kakashi just resigns himself to having four more kids.
-- Juugo is a godsend when he's not being set off into a homicidal rage. And he apologizes! Meanwhile, Karin and Suigetsu are The Worst.
T7+Obito and Deidara have been in the past and bullying the clans into a peace for like a week and then they just hear MASSIVE ROARING a mile away and Sasuke's like "Oh, hey, it's my idiots."
-- Sasuke’s grinning for the first time in weeks. (It’s tiny and barely perceptible but it’s there.)
-- I don't know that Taka could actually help at all, but they sure can cause more problems. Unlike Deidara, most of them are not intentional.
Suigetsu: Hey, Sasuke, so I know that Deidara guy tried to kill you...
Sasuke: He did?
Suigetsu: --but would you be mad if I tried to hook up with him?
Sasuke: I don't care, knock yourself out.
(Suigetsu is the kind of man that wears tearaway pants just to reveal rainbow leggings that say "I'M GAY" on them. If Suigetsu and Sasuke didn't have at least one 'no homo' make-out session... well, I wouldn't put money on it either way, but I do think it's a valid reading of the text.)
------------------
Deidara: What's it like when Obito actually decides to be serious?
Kakashi: Uhhhhhhhhhhhh
Obito, previously:
Kakashi: Trauma. It's trauma.
#Deidara#Uchiha Obito#Obito Uchiha#Obito#Hatake Kakashi#KakaObi#Yamato#Naruto#Team Seven#Uzumaki Naruto#Uchiha Sasuke#Haruno Sakura#Team Taka#Uzumaki Karin#Hozuki Suigetsu#Juugo#Naruto Oldies#Senju Hashirama#Uchiha Madara#time travel#Phoenix Posts#Deidara is here for One Reason and that reason is to be an inconvenience
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KakaIru Maze 2021: Decoding Ancient Lost Languages
Fandom: Naruto
Rating: T
WC: ~4540
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Additional Tags: Mysterious Injuries, Old Gods, Sacrifice, Poisoning, Curses, Hospitalization, Hopeful Ending, Medical Inaccuracies, Medical Procedures, Hair Loss
A/N: *~*Throws Confetti*~*
I. DON'T. KNOW. WHAT. I'M. DOING.
I did the barest amount of research for this fic.
*~*More Confetti*~*
Read on The Archive
~
Normally, Iruka would balk at the idea that he should be carried through the front gates after a mission, no matter how gruelling. He has an image to uphold, and what if one of his students were to see him broken and weak after one of his missions? He’d either never hear the end of their worry or, worse, lose their respect as a strong shinobi capable of teaching them.
So no, this situation is far from normal.
He holds on tight around Kotetsu’s shoulders and buries his face in his teammate’s hair. His back is on fire, carved wounds shifting and worsening with each step. Some kind of curse-seal, or a time-released jutsu; whatever happened, Izumo couldn’t use the mystical palm jutsu to heal it, not without causing further excruciating pain and making the wounds ooze and seem to cut themselves deeper into Iruka’s back.
They had cut their losses and abandoned the mission. Iruka’s fūinjutsu was vital to its success anyway, and he was—is—in constant agony.
Thankfully, they enter the village just after nightfall. Iruka can feel a bit relieved over that—most of his current students are home and inside at this time, so the chances of being seen by any of them are slim. He bites his lip to stifle a cry as Kotetsu pushes off a rooftop a bit harder than usual and it shifts him too much.
They’re halfway to the hospital when the ANBU team flank him and Kotetsu, escorting them the rest of the way. One of them, Cat, runs close enough to talk.
“Report.”
Iruka can’t. Kotetsu responds, “An injury that responds poorly to normal medical field ninjutsu.”
“Is he awake?”
Iruka nods, knowing Cat will see.
“Iruka-sensei, can you speak?”
He shakes his head.
Kotetsu says, “He’s been in too much pain to do much more than nod or shake his head.”
“Rokudaime-sama wants you and your other teammate to report directly to him once Iruka-sensei is admitted to the hospital.”
Kotetsu fumbles another step. Iruka grits his teeth and groans, holding back a scream. “Sorry, Ru,” he mumbles. To Cat he says, “Of course, ANBU-san. Izumo’s checking us in at the gate. I’ll collect him and report, once I drop Iruka off.”
Iruka doesn’t remember being admitted. He does remember Sakura’s startled cry as he’s placed face-down on a gurney and his wounds are finally able to be seen in harsh fluorescent lighting for the first time. Gods, he’s tired of being face-down in hospital beds.
Will something, anything, have the wherewithal to fucking strike him in the chest for once, please?
He passes out.
~
A hand is holding his own gently as he wakes, extremely disoriented and floaty on painkillers. He blinks his eyes open and turns his gaze to the man beside him. Iruka smiles faintly. “K’shi,” he slurs. Oh, they have him on the good drugs.
“You are never leaving the village again,” Kakashi whispers harshly. He bows his head and kisses Iruka’s hand in his own and continues, “Hokage’s orders.”
“I‘ll go rogue,” Iruka mutters, closing his eyes. “What’s in my IV?”
“From what Sakura tells me? Everything.”
“That explains.” Iruka stops, trying to think of the rest of his sentence, but a fresh flood of painkillers just flowed into his arm and he hums instead.
“I heard from Kotetsu and Izumo what happened,” Kakashi continues. “Are you able yet to talk about it as well?”
“Nope.” Iruka nuzzles into his pillow. He’s feeling really floaty and he’d like to go back to sleep.
Kakashi chuckles. Iruka receives a kiss to his hair and a tighter grip on his hand. “Sleep, then, my love. I’ll see if Sakura can get you on something less strong, enough that we can talk soon.”
“‘Kay. Love you.”
He falls back asleep.
~
When he wakes the second time, there’s a different kind of energy in the room—a different sort of love in the air, and Iruka knows it sounds crazy but he can just tell, even with his eyes still closed, when he’s around Kakashi or if he’s around Naruto.
Now, it’s Naruto.
Also, he can feel the carving in his back, so whatever they’d had him on before they’d lowered the dosage or put him on something else entirely.
“Hey, Naruto,” Iruka says, opening his eyes.
In the chair beside his head, the blond bundle sits, knee twitching. With his bandaged arm crossed over his other and his head bowed in thought, he almost looks like the adult he’s so close to being, instead of the teenager he still is. They argue good-naturedly about it all the time; Naruto insists that he’s an adult, but at eighteen, he’s still technically a teenager and Iruka reminds him of it as much as he can.
“Iru-nii! How are you feeling?”
“Like someone took a carving knife to my back,” Iruka scoffs. “Also, strangely drained.”
Naruto nods. “Sakura-chan said that the new pain medicine has the side-effect of making it feel like you’re chakra-exhausted. But,” he frowns, “she also said that the dose should be strong enough that you wouldn’t be in too much pain when you wake up.”
“It’s bearable, Naruto. You…” He sighs, “You didn’t see me when I came in, did you?”
He shakes his head. “I was out with Kiba and Shikamaru. Kakashi-sensei told me about you this morning, when we got back. You’ve been drifting in and out for, like, three days!”
Iruka buries his face in his pillow and groans. There goes his hope that the carvings won’t scar.
“He says he’ll be by later,” Naruto adds. He shivers comically. “I still don’t see why you’d pick him of all people, Iru-nii.”
Iruka smiles. “You have a different experience with him as his student.” The smile fades and he asks, “Has there been any progress made on fixing my back?”
Naruto sobers. “See, that’s the thing. Every time Sakura tries to get close with some kind of medical ninjutsu—or even with normal healing balms and stitches—the cuts react violently. Like there’s some bad chakra embedded inside them.”
“Has anyone had a Hyūga come and look at it?” Iruka muses. “If there’s chakra in the cuts, then a Hyūga would see it with the Byakugan.”
Naruto jumps up. “You’re a genius! I’ll go and check with Sakura-chan!”
Iruka watches him leave and sighs fondly. Kakashi did well with him, he thinks, and then closes his eyes and drifts.
~
At least he’s able to move around on his own now. Iruka washes his hands in the bathroom and then braces his palms on the sink. It’s been almost a week, and no one is any closer to figuring out how to fix his back.
Having a Hyūga look at the wounds didn’t help. It nearly blinded Hinata. Iruka still feels horribly guilty about it, but she can still see and activate her Byakugan, so he’s been told multiple times to let it go.
What she had seen made everyone uneasy though. A slimy discharge of chakra oozing from the wounds, bright and powerful enough that Hinata had to close her eyes against it.
Sakura has a small team of medi-nins on his case, researching at all hours. Two days, and they still haven’t found anything.
Iruka’s frustrated.
Kakashi visits every night and Naruto most mornings. It’s nice, but he’d rather be back in class with his kids.
He had to get a blood transfusion last night. His back hasn’t stopped bleeding, and the blood loss finally caught up to him.
Iruka turns his back to the mirror, takes off his shirt gingerly, and looks over his shoulder at the carvings. He frowns—it looks odd. This is the first time he’s gotten to see the wounds, and he can’t imagine no one's noticed…
He leaves the bathroom and hunts around in the stack of drawers by his bed. “Ha!” He finds a pad of paper and a pencil, and heads back into the bathroom.
It’s difficult, transcribing the still bleeding wounds onto paper through a mirror while looking over his shoulder. It’s even harder once the dose of painkillers he’s on fully metabolizes and he’s not yet done. Twisting his upper back, stretching and sitting on the edge of the sink so he can see his lower back—it aches.
A voice comes from the other side of the door, along with a soft knock. “Iruka-sensei? Is everything alright?”
Sakura.
He places the pad and pencil on the counter and slides the door open. “Sakura, has no one realized that the wounds are words?” he asks.
She looks startled. “Huh?”
“Could you please clean them for me again, and check that I’ve transcribed it correctly?” Iruka reaches back inside the bathroom and gives the pad of paper to Sakura. “I’m sure Rokudaime-sama will be interested in this.”
Sakura finally catches up. “Yes! Um, let me get you another dose of painkillers, and a flush kit. If you could sit back down, Sensei? I’ll be right back!”
Iruka just about collapses onto the mattress, leaning his elbows on his knees. Finally, some answers are on the horizon.
~
“It’s no language the cipher corps recognize, nor is it a code in our archives.” Kakashi has his arms crossed and a shoulder leaning against the window. “But they do agree with your assessment—it’s definitely a message of some kind.”
Iruka sighs, picking at the hospital food. “Validation is nice, but I was hoping for an end to this pain.”
“I know, love. Me too.”
“When can we expect word back from Sasuke?”
“If it is Otsutsuki, Sasuke should arrive as soon as possible, per my order. If not, he likely will only return a messenger hawk with the information.” Kakashi leaves the window and comes to sit on the mattress beside Iruka. “We’re going to figure this out.”
Iruka hums and leans against his partner, resting his head against Kakashi’s collarbone. It’s not comfortable, but it is comforting. “I miss sleeping with you,” he whispers.
Kakashi kisses the top of his head. “I miss you too, love. The house is too quiet without you.”
~
Iruka stares at the encoded characters transcribed from his back. He’s… discomfited. He’s been staring at the words for almost a half-hour, trying to make sense of it.
It doesn’t change.
Iruka knows this language.
Not… not well enough to read it outright, but enough that with the characters cleaned up and a fresh copy in his hands, one that was written down while the scribe (himself) wasn’t in immense pain, he recognizes it.
“Iru-nii!” Naruto steps in for his morning visit. “How’d you sleep?”
“As best as can be expected,” Iruka mutters. “Naruto, can you do me a favor?”
“Hmm? Sure!”
Thank the gods he still has his moments of dull-headedness. “In the office at home, I have a scroll with the Uzumaki clan seal on it. It’s the only one, middle shelf. I need you to get that scroll for me please.”
“Nii-chan, why do you have an Uzumaki scroll?”
Iruka sighs. “Go get the scroll, and I’ll explain when you get back, okay?”
Naruto leaves through the open window, his footing unsteady. But he leaves and that means that Iruka can breathe and take the time to think of a way to tell him, when he gets back, about how he found out that they are actually distantly related.
Actually, no—how is he supposed to—shit. Iruka drags a hand down his face.
Hey Naruto, oh this old scroll? Found it in the archives after Tsunade-sama left office! It was in a box marked with my parents’ names on it. Yeah, turns out that my father was a refugee from Uzushio, just like your mother! Oh, and funnily enough, Umino is also a branch family of the Uzumaki!
That’s… not going to go over well, is it.
~
Break a thing for fragments. Break the fragments for dust. Break the dust, and break what remains. Here is fire.
To forge a sword, to fight, to curse your enemies on the eve of battle. This is the story of blood and its exits.
A word that sanctifies the change that comes when the seared skin peels. Words spoken in ritual to inspire an unmerciful Change. To speak them aloud is to hear the sword hiss.
All these things share certain patterns.
“Mercy,” saith the Altar, “is found only in shadow.”
“Mercy,” saith the Altar, “is found only in shadow.”
“Mercy,” saith the Altar, “is found only in shadow.”
…
Iruka wakes gasping, not realizing that he’d fallen asleep. He pats his lap for the scroll Naruto had brought him, and startles as he realizes that it’s not there. It—It had been there just, just a little while ago, hadn’t it???
“Mercy is found only in shadow,” he mutters to himself, looking around his room. “Mercy is found… There!” The scroll, the one with the Uzumaki clan seal, is rolled up and tucked neatly away on a table on the far end of the room. Iruka gathers his strength and swings his legs over the side of the bed.
He tries to stand.
And fails.
He catches himself on hands and knees, and then feels his elbows weaken and give way. His cheek hits the tile and he hisses. He tries to push up again, but can’t…
Can’t…
…
The Altar holds a spark.
Freol is the mouth, the door, the flame, the altar, and the reward.
Knife and sword shed blood for Freol; what is spilled is hers. Fires burn for Freol; what is consumed is hers.
~
“Iruka! Iruka, please, wake up!”
“The breath of Freol brings change and endings,” Iruka slurs, barely awake and compelled. He can’t stop, can’t stop, can’t speak anything other than this ancient language. “‘Mercy,’ saith the Altar, ‘is found only in shadow.’ Let those who gather near Freol be blessed and cursed. Mercy is found only in shadow. Mercy—”
“Naruto, tell me Sasuke has gotten back to us.”
���He hasn’t! And-and Kurama has no idea what Iru-nii’s saying, either!”
Kakashi shakes him, taps his cheek. “Iruka, come back, please.”
Iruka tries to say I’m sorry Kakashi but what passes his lips is a murmured, “‘Mercy,’ saith the Altar, ‘is found only in shadow.’”
~
Sakura stands in front of him solemnly. “We gave him a high enough dose of tranquilizer that he shouldn’t even dream, Kakashi-sensei. My team—”
Kakashi holds up a hand to stop her from speaking. He knows he doesn’t look good, knows he hasn’t been home in over forty-eight hours, but he can’t… he can’t stop. Iruka… “What about the scroll that was in his room?”
“Naruto said Iruka-sensei had him collect it from his home office,” Sakura says. “But no one can read it. We have been able to determine that it’s in the same language as the carvings he transcribed from his back, though.”
Kakashi looks up. “The cavern he and his team had been in—where were they?”
Sakura turns to the map hanging up in his office, and points, “East of here, near a village on the coast. Naruto mentioned—”
“The scroll is from Uzushio,” Kakashi muses, “and it has an Uzumaki clan seal on it. I’ll bet we’ll find more information about all this in the ruins of Uzushio.”
Sakura nods. “But Kakashi-sensei, you can’t—”
“I know.” He sighs. “Take Naruto and go. Find out what’s causing this. Find out how to fix it.”
She nods again and turns to leave.
“Sakura,” he calls out, softer. She stops, but doesn’t turn back to face him. That’s good; he might not be able to say this to her face. “This part comes not from your Hokage, but from me, personally. Please. He’s… Iruka’s everything. Please, find something.”
She gives him a thumbs-up over her shoulder, and says, “We won’t let you down, sensei.”
~
Kakashi watches from the windows as the nurses check Iruka’s vitals and change out his fluids. She bows to him when she’s done and then turns to leave; Kakashi holds up a palm and says, “Wait.”
“Hokage-sama?”
“How… How is he?”
She smiles softly, gently. “We’re taking good care of him, sir.”
“That’s all Sakura told you to tell me, isn’t it?”
“Yes, Hokage-sama.”
He sighs. “Thank you. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Her smile turns just the tiniest bit mischievous. “A higher budget for the hospital in the next fiscal quarter wouldn’t be remiss, Hokage-sama.”
He waves her away, “I’ll see what I can do,” he says with as much humor as he can muster. She leaves, and he goes to sit in his chair by Iruka’s side.
They had to intubate him today. Kakashi couldn’t get away from the desk long enough to be here for him; not that it mattered, because they were keeping him sedated even before shoving a tube down his throat. But it matters to Kakashi because he can’t…
He can’t do anything.
He’s stuck here, managing the village, while his students are out looking for answers to whatever mysterious illness his partner has fallen to. And all he’s good for is holding Iruka’s hand, and maybe going and lobbying for an increase in the hospital budget.
His hair is limp and matted from long weeks in the hospital. Kakashi runs his fingers through the ends of brunet strands and hopes that, when Iruka wakes up, he’ll let Kakashi wash his hair.
“Please get better,” Kakashi murmurs into the clasp of their hands. “I need you. Please.”
~
“Sakura-chan.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m getting real sick of goddesses thinking they can ruin everything, y’know?”
“Yeah.”
Mercy is found only in shadow.
~
“He needs another blood transfusion.”
“Take mine,” Kakashi offers. “We have the same blood type.”
“Hokage-sama—”
“Just take the damn blood,” Kakashi snaps. “Whatever he needs, please, just. Just do it. Take it.”
The nurses bow. “Yes, sir.”
Footsteps in the hall, rapidly approaching, signal Kakashi to a messenger. He stands up and crosses to the door just as Shikamaru slides it open, panting from his run.
Shikamaru turns to the nurses and says, “He needs a bone marrow transplant.”
The nurse looks at him, startled, and says, “Whyever for?”
“Naruto sent ahead a messenger.” Shikamaru glances at Kakashi and finally catches his breath. “The one word Iruka-sensei had said, Freol? It’s the name of an ancient deity of the Land of Whirlpools, one whose purview is to change its followers. One of the ways it does this, as Sakura describes it, is through a kind of radiation poisoning.”
“But that doesn’t explain the,” Kakashi gestures vaguely, and then ends helplessly, “speaking in tongues.”
“The message said they’ll explain that part when they get home,” Shikamaru says. “Naruto and Sakura are on their way back, arrival is estimated at thirty-one hours.” He turns to the nurse. “Can we perform a transplant?”
She hums thoughtfully. “Normally, I’d say yes. But Iruka-sensei doesn’t have any close blood relatives, and if his own marrow is compromised as you say we can’t assume an autologous transplant will be effective.”
Kakashi’s heart stops. “But—”
“But,” the nurse continues, “we can start him on a treatment regimen which will increase his white blood cell count. We’ll start checking in with frequent blood tests. We can also start on a broad-spectrum heavy metals sequestration; we’ll cover Iodine, thallium, caesium, plutonium, and curium. They’re the most common.”
Kakashi motions to her, and says to Shikamaru, “She’s my favorite.”
“You shouldn’t have favorites, Kakashi-sama.”
He groans. The nurse smiles and says, “I’ll go order those tests and treatments,” and then ducks around Shikamaru and leaves.
~
Kakashi holds the scroll open on his desk, reading the translation Sakura and Naruto brought back. It’s a puzzle in its own right, but coupled with the Uzumaki scroll Iruka had kept in their office, Kakashi finds himself even more thoroughly confused.
“I understand how you came to the conclusion of radiation,” he says. “But I don’t understand how this is supposed to explain why Iruka began speaking the language. Because that is what happened, isn’t it?”
“That’s where a little bit of Iruka-sensei knowledge comes in handy,” Naruto says. He steps forward and points to a line near the bottom. “‘Many others can open the way. Few can place a seal where there was none before.’ And then I remembered this one, off-hand comment Iruka-sensei had made when we were kids. That the people from Uzushio were really good with fūinjutsu.”
“And that has to do with Iruka?”
“Kakashi-sensei,” Naruto groans, like he’s the genius and Kakashi is being deliberately stupid. “Umino is an Uzushio family! ‘Few can place a seal where there was none before’! I’ve seen him do that, just, poof, barrier seals.”
“Naruto, I know he’s from Uzushio. What does that have to do with his condition?”
“Freol,” Sakura says. “When he and the other chūnin got close to that cave. She recognized him as one of hers and marked him.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because the same thing happened to Naruto when we got close.”
Kakashi stands up, vaults over the desk and puts his hands on Naruto’s shoulders. “You’re alright?”
“Kurama beat her up and kept me safe,” Naruto nodded. “But I could hear her. She said something like, ‘the flames will consume, or change, or seal at my whim.’ She was angry.”
Kakashi sighs and drops his hands. “And even Kurama doesn’t recognize this goddess?”
“Actually, once they came into contact, he did recognize her,” Naruto says. “Freol was a protector of the Land of Whirlpools, he says, a creator of soldiers superior to ninja.”
“Superior?”
Sakura interjects, motioning back to the scrolls on his desk. “Right here, see. ‘Hers is the flame which hides in the flesh and the soul and twists both into something new.’ But also, this line, ‘What is left behind is Changed, and may Change others in turn.’”
“Kurama was able to tell us about Uzushio as it once was, back in the warring states,” Naruto continues. “That there would be those who would willingly sacrifice themselves to Freol, for the chance to Change into something more. Something different.”
“A superior soldier,” Kakashi muses. “And this Change. This is what’s happening to Iruka.”
Both of them nodded. “That’s what we think.”
“How do we stop it?”
“That’s the thing,” Sakura’s face falls. “I don’t think there’s a way to stop the process once it starts. Freol marks those she wishes to undergo the Change, and then… Well, all of the writings we managed to find say that the sacrifices either come out stronger, or their families seal their bodies into stasis, or—”
She stops, choking on tears she fights back with every bit of training she’d gone through.
“Or they die,” Kakashi finishes in a soft, defeated voice.
All three of them stand silent in the office for a long time.
~
Kakashi finds himself sleeping in Iruka’s hospital room most nights. The treatment is hell on his partner’s body—the windows are covered with heavy curtains now, to keep out the sunlight which could very easily burn his skin on the medication; hair which was once limp and matted is now starting to fall out every time Kakashi pulls a brush through it; his lips are chapped and broken around the tube, his skin dry and thin everywhere else. The nurses had to change his IV from his arm to the back of his hand today, because the veins in his arm are becoming too thin to support the needle.
He’s dying.
Iruka’s dying, and all Kakashi can do is hold his hand and watch.
And, gods, the last thing they said to each other… Iruka was speaking a different language and Kakashi was begging him to wake up.
Will he really have to watch Iruka die, knowing that he’ll never get to hear I love you from those lips again?
Kakashi buries his face in his arms, carefully arranged over Iruka’s thigh. He used to have such thick, muscular thighs; it’s barely skin and bone now.
Alone, with only his dying partner to hear—or not—Kakashi lets himself cry.
~
“I’m going to try something.”
“Naruto, please—”
“No. Kakashi-sensei, Iru-nii is strong. And Freol won’t pursue him if he goes through the Change, right?”
“There’s no guarantee of that.”
“He’ll be stronger, just like the other sacrifices who survived. Kakashi-sensei, all Iru-nii needs to do is survive.”
“The Change—”
“We’ll deal with it when we’re on the other side of this!”
Naruto places his hands on Iruka, and the Nine-Tail’s Cloak bubbles up around him.
The monitors, registering Iruka’s nervous system, don’t react. He’s in no further pain.
Kakashi feels the tiniest bit lighter. “I hope this works, Naruto.”
“It was Kurama’s idea,” the teen grins. “He remembered that normal healing jutsu wasn’t working before; but he was able to beat back Freol himself when she came after me. So letting Iru-nii use Kurama’s chakra as a kind of life support—it should keep Freol from making this worse at least, right? While he gets better?”
It doesn’t make sense. It shouldn’t work.
But it does.
~
Almost a week later, the nurses are removing the tubes from his throat, and Kakashi is pacing the room waiting for the tranquilizers to wear off. Iruka should wake up any minute now. Naruto’s plan worked. Iruka made it through, and his most recent blood test showed no abnormalities due to radiation. They stopped the heavy metal sequestration yesterday, but the white blood cell proteins will continue for a few days still, to help prevent further infection.
They still don’t know what kind of change Iruka’s undergone. At least, other than the physical.
His hair is gone. Sakura has assured Kakashi that it will grow back. It’s so odd, though, seeing his partner without hair. They’ve put a cap on his head to keep him warm—his body temperature has been fluctuating oddly the last day and a half, and in particular today he’s running cold.
Also, his scent has changed. He hasn’t told anyone about it yet, but Iruka smells different. Less like old parchment and a swift river, and more like… like a waterfall and the deep, loamy scent of rich, black earth. It’s not a bad change. But it’s significant. He’s already taken an overnight to summon the pack and have his ninken memorize Iruka’s new scent, just in case it’s permanent.
“K’shi?”
He’s across the room in a flash, holding Iruka’s limp hand and holding back tears.
“I thought—”
“My K’shi,” Iruka slurs, turning his head to face him and closing his eyes, a soft smile on his lips.
The tears fall anyway. “I thought I was going to lose you.”
Iruka hums. “L’ve you.”
He’s still on a considerable amount of pain medication, Kakashi realizes. He laughs wetly, leans forward and kisses Iruka’s forehead. “I love you, too. Rest, dear.”
“M’kay.”
And just like that, he is breathing slow and steady, his eyes close gently, and he is sleeping peacefully for the first time in months. Kakashi falls back into his chair with a huff and tips his head to the ceiling, still holding Iruka’s hand, and also, finally, finding an easy sleep.
#kakairu maze challenge 2021#decoding ancient lost languages#hatake kakashi#umino iruka#KakaIru#my writing
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what do you think of the claim that one is hypocrite if they only hate sakura but not naruto? I just feel more sorry for naruto bcuz he too is traumatised lol even if he doesn't realise konoha is bad (which I know sucks)
Naruto and Sakura are not on the same level on anything, never were, never will be. Not in goals, not in motivations, anything.
Naruto grew up ostracised by the village, he didn’t have any role models, anyone to teach him about anything. Disregarding his upbringing, trauma and consequences of his trauma is also disregarding a great part of his character. He was also seen as a human weapon since he was a baby, because of Kurama, he didn’t even have a choice. Sakura had parents, a home, friends, no traumas, everything a kid should have. Why did she become a ninja? To get together with the hot jock.
Naruto shows concerns about the system through the series, he had doubts, he wanted to change things, he, too, is a victim of the same system. Unfortunately, Kishimoto dropped all of this in the ending because of lazy writing and reasons this post explains better than I ever could and I think it’s very unfair with his character. Sakura never showed any concern to any of those things, she’s privileged.
Naruto had to almost die for everybody to not be treated the way he was before, like a person, not a monster y’know, other characters, like Sakura, didn’t. Also, if you consider the way people treated him before, it’s very possible that he doesn’t stand up for himself and point out how unfair that was because he fears being hated again.
I’m not gonna sugarcoat Naruto’s behaviour with Sasuke, but it also doesn’t compare to Sakura’s. He had both selfish and selfless reasons to want Sasuke back, yes he wanted Sasuke’s acknowledgement, which is selfish, but he was also worried about Sasuke’s safety (i.e. Orochimaru stealing his body). Sakura wanted Sasuke back because she wanted to get in his pants, she doesn’t show concerns for his safety, nor any attempt to understand him, her “love” confessions are always about her feelings. I’m also not saying Naruto understands Sasuke 100%, but he shows how much he wants to and he does understand him to a certain point. He says at chapter 698 that he can’t leave Sasuke alone and carrying all his burdens on his own because that hurts. Naruto’s feelings are genuine, Sakura’s aren’t. That’s why when she talks about her “love”, Sasuke either rejects her politely and leaves or he rejects her, says she’s delusional and puts her in a cruel genjutsu. When Naruto talks about his feelings, however, Sasuke laughs and cries and calls him the affectionate nickname “usuratonkachi”.
Also, Naruto’s attachment to Sasuke is very understandable when you consider his traumas: Sasuke sacrificed himself for Naruto in a time everybody except for Iruka treated him as someone worthless, that’s why he says he was saved thanks to Iruka and Sasuke. Sasuke puts his goals in line for Naruto’s sake, Naruto was willing to do the same thing for Sasuke. Sakura’s attachment to Sasuke is, again, because she wants to be with him. Also, why does she want to be with him? For his looks and “coolness”.
When Sasuke was declared an international criminal, Naruto never stopped believing Sasuke was a good person, he just understood that Sasuke was hurting, that he was also a victim, Naruto didn’t care about what he did. He let the Kumo’s nins beat him up because he couldn’t betray Sasuke, he got on his knees and begged to the Raikage to drop the charges against Sasuke because he didn’t want him to die and he had a panic attack when he thought that could happen. Sakura never stopped to consider any of that, she just decided to follow the orders and kill him, it really felt like “you either act the way I expect you to or you die”.
Yes anon, I agree, Naruto is also very fucked up and a victim, just because he acts happy and goofy doesn’t mean he’s okay and, as I said, it’s very unfair and even revolting to see him swallowing everything down because people are nice to him now.
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Okay so I GOTS to get a feel for Mondo and Nekomaru's dynamic once it moves to romantic. So can you let me know how their first date goes? Would LOVE to see if they're nervous or like chill or loveydovey...
Hi!! Ah yes, the first date… I can tell you that it’s anything but chill haha (for Mondo at least lmao)! I think I’ve got a little idea as to how it went in my mind, so I’m excited to write it in more detail! I hope that you enjoy what I have come up with! Bare with me, this might be a little long lol. Thank you so much for the ask! I hope you enjoy!
Mondo Owada is one lucky guy. That’s what everyone in his class tells him at least. Not only does he manage to score a date with an upperclassman, but he scores a date with the Ultimate Team Manager himself…
Nekomaru Nidai.
Both the boys had known each other ever since the start of Mondo’s freshman year at Hope’s Peak. Kiyotaka Ishimaru (Mondo’s first best friend in Towa City) was kind enough to introduce them to each other in order to help Mondo make more friends in the school.
At first, Mondo wasn’t sure if he would get along with Nekomaru or not. He thought he was a nice guy, just extremely loud. Dare he say, much more loud than Taka.
When he’s happy, he’s loud. When he’s frustrated, he’s loud. When he’s sick, he’s loud. When he needs to use the restroom, oh good lord, he’s EXTREMELY loud.
But overtime, Mondo started to find his loudness to be more adorable rather than annoying. Not to mention, he found out that he actually LIKED to receive hugs thanks to Nekomaru always greeting the biker every day with a big, encouraging, and friendly smile and a big ol’ hug, loudly wishing him a good morning and asking him about where he wanted to sit for lunch.
Both the boys started to have feelings for each other by the end of Mondo’s freshman year. The only people he has told about his crush was Taka, Leon Kuwata (Taka’s boyfriend since 8th grade/third year of middle school), Taka’s group of friends (Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, Peko Pekoyama, Sakura Ogami, Aoi Asahina, Kirumi Tojo, and Akane Owari), Yasuhiro Hagakure (Taka’s older stepbrother), his older brother Daiya Owada, and his childhood friend Takemichi Yukimaru. Taka, his friend group, and Hiro were all very supportive and offered him advice on how to confess to Nekomaru, while Leon, Daiya, and Michi (though also just as supportive) couldn’t help but tease him a little.
Though, both Daiya and Michi took him seriously on his summer break when he told them he was considering asking out Nekomaru. They both offered him some helpful tips and advice on how to go about it; be chill about it, ask him out in a more private place, don’t go too overboard, etc.
And on the day he planned to ask him out, (in the midst of the fall of his sophomore year) both his brother and his best friend gave him their words of encouragement as he was about to hop on his bike to get to school.
“Good luck, little man! Let me know how it goes!”
“Yeah! Go score some mad dick!”
“Michi, chill. He’s just askin the guy out…”
He thanked them and drove off with butterflies flying around in his stomach. He was nervous, but he was ready. Ready to finally swoon the man of his dreams over and ask him out.
Once he confessed to Nekomaru and asked him out, he was anything BUT chill. He was all sweaty and nervous and was a bit louder than he anticipated with his confession, despite being in a more private corner of the school’s garden. But Nekomaru was so happy and excited to know that Mondo felt the same way about him, he didn’t even notice the guy’s nervousness.
“NO WAY MAN! YOU LIKE ME?! HOLY SHIT, I TOTALLY FEEL THE SAME!! HELL YEAH I’LL GO OUT WITH YOU! THIS IS GONNA BE SO FRIGGIN AMAZING!!!”
If Mondo was a little more loud than usual in that moment, Nekomaru was 100 times louder. But Mondo didn’t care. He was just happy to know that his crush actually felt the same way about him. The date is on the weekend after he confessed, of course. And Mondo knew how much the guy liked physical activity, plus mentioning the place of their first date a few times last year certainly helped Mondo decide where to take him;
Sky Zone.
And holy crap, is Nekomaru ECSTATIC! While Mondo was a bit of a nervous wreck the whole time, he was able to forget about the pressure for a while as Nekomaru happily dragged him from trampoline to trampoline. It warmed Mondo’s heart seeing the guy bounce around all excited like a little kid. The staff was pretty annoyed with how loud the guy was being, but a few death glares from Mondo shut them up quickly after they started complaining to each other.
The rest of the date was a blast. Both the boys playfully rough housed in the Foam Zone for a bit, jumped around some more on the trampolines, and were stormed with questions from a few kids who wanted to do some cool tricks on the trampolines.
Thankfully, Nekomaru knew how to teach kids something new and impress them at the same time. Mondo watched in awe as he demonstrated all sorts of flips and tricks and taught the kids exactly how to perform these tricks. Soon, the kids were able to do the tricks just like THAT and thanked Nekomaru for his help.
‘Good with kids… that’s good ta know…’
After spending a bit more time at Sky Zone, both the boys stopped by a nearby mall and grabbed some smoothies at a juice bar in the food court. They both chatted the evening away as Mondo’s nervousness diminished greatly and was replaced with admiration as he dreamily locked eyes with his loud ass chatty boyfriend.
‘Holy FUCK. He’s my boyfriend now…’
After they finished their smoothies, Mondo drove Nekomaru back home via motorbike, where his parents and sister were excitedly waiting for him to come inside and tell them all about his date.
“So, uh… did ya have fun tonight?”
“Hell yeah! I had a BLAST!! We should totally do this again sometime, man!”
“Heheh, yeah. I’d like that.”
After sharing a big hug with Nekomaru that lasted a little bit longer than normal, Mondo drove himself back to his house where Daiya and Michi were sitting out on the front porch, smoking cigarettes and waiting for his return. Mondo gushed about every detail of his first date with a GUY and how much fun he had as his brother and best friend happily listened to how his date went, both very excited for Mondo, for he actually seemed genuinely happy about his first date with Nekomaru.
Once Monday came, both the boys were happy and blushing messes every time they saw each other in the hallways. And once lunch came, they both excitedly told Taka, Leon, and Akane (the people they normally sit with at lunch) all about their first date.
More and more dates were definitely going to come in this school year. And Mondo would be looking forward to it all.
The fun conversations they’ll have. What they might eat/drink on their dates.
And that big, bright, and dopey grin Nekomaru would wear. He looked forward to that the most.
‘God… why does he have to be so fuckin adorable?’
#danganronpa#mondo owada#nekomaru nidai#nekowada#kiyotaka ishimaru#leon kuwata#ishileon#fuyuhiko kuzuryuu#peko pekoyama#sakura ogami#aoi asahina#kirumi tojo#akane owari#daiya owada#takemichi yukimaru#ask#headcanon requests#emiefaunwrites
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If this inspires anything in you, and if you have the time to write it, I hope we can see how you respond to the following prompt:
Kakashi is the god Sakura has to eat and kill.
Lordt help us!
HAHAHAHA MITTENS!! this is literally one of the best prompts ever. thank you SO MUCH!!
i literally had to sit down and outline this so make sure i gave it justice LMAO also, did a little research on japanese kami! which is so interesting btw :))
side note! this is also on ao3 bc i really, really loved it
xiv.
It begins with a girl (doesn’t it always?). A girl made woman who is nothing but smiles and laughter, unfiltered sunshine and the smell of flowers on the warm breeze.
She is good, she is brave, she is kind.
And she grows, that girl made woman, she grows and her eyes open to the world around her. To the hatred of the mortal, to the disease of the gods.
She holds her mother close as she dies in her arms, her father off to war.
They never find his body.
She is the only survivor of her village, war and wreckage in her wake.
This woman made once of sweet sighs and feather light touches learns to survive, learns to harden herself against the world, to bare her teeth and not her throat, to love the scars and hard muscle of her once too soft body.
She meets a woman with too ancient eyes for a face so young and the woman smiles at her, it is a horrible, wretched look. It is a beautiful, timeless look. “Oh, you.” She murmurs, voice old and young, standing slowly. “You’ll do just fine.”
And the girl made woman bares her teeth in a smile, a warning, tilting her head to the side, “Oh? And what shall I do just fine?”
The woman assesses her, amber eyes shining with something cruel, “You will be my avenger, girl.”
And the girl made woman, well, she rather likes the sound of that.
xxiii.
She sees him for the first time at the market, it’s a cloudy day, the streets full of people and the carts slowly selling out of the limited goods available.
The very land has been dying for years now. The mortals do not know it, but Sakura does. Less and less crops, dying plants, brain soil.
The thought itself brings a slight smile of fondness to her face.
But Sakura sees him for the first time at the market, and she knows who he is, what he is. She was under Tsunade’s tutelage for years. Sakura knows a god, a kami, when she sees one, feels one.
So, she walks, shoulders back, spine straight, loose and fluidly until her boot purposely catches on a crack in the cobblestoned road and she’s airborne with a sharp gasp—
Until two strong hands wrap around her forearms, steadying her gently. Sakura looks up, face flushed and eyes wide as she makes eye contact with the Shinigami, who looks at her in concern.
The god takes the form of a tall, broadly shouldered man with a mess of gray hair. Onyx eyes stare at her and they are so black she can see her reflection. Sakura fights the full body shudder that threatens to overtake her.
She has stared into the eyes of a dying god before. Staring into a living one’s should be no different.
“Are you okay?” He asks and his voice rumbles through her, her heart pounding without her consent.
“Yes,” She breathes and offers a shy but sweet smile, slowly taking a step back. He lets his hands drop, fingers grazing her bare skin. She ignores the goosebumps that erupt in his wake. “Thank you very much…”
“Hatake Kakashi,” The liar says, eyes crinkling from over his mask. “And you are?”
“Haruno Sakura,” She replies easily, tucking her hair behind her ear. The Shinigami holds out her basket of goods and she takes it, brushing her fingers against his deliberately, calculatingly.
The wretched kami gives her another eye crinkle, taking a step back himself, “Aa, a pleasure then, Haruno-san.”
Forcing a blush, Sakura waves off the honorific, “Please, just Sakura.”
“Then I am simply Kakashi,” And with a duck of his head, the fraud turns and ambles away.
Sakura turns also, disappearing into the crowd of much too skinny humans, too poor, too stupid. She allows herself to grin, wide and unfiltered, and with teeth. And that scaled, clawed, fanged thing inside her peeks its eye open and purrs.
xvi.
Tsunade— or at least that is what she wants Sakura to call her — takes a long swig from her jug and cackles to herself. “I was right when I picked you, you know.”
Sakura glances up from her scroll of poisons, “You still have yet to tell me why it took only one look to think I can do whatever avenging you want done.”
Swirling the liquid in the jug once more, Tsunade chuckles, “Call it intuition, yeah?”
She huffs, snapping the scroll shut and stealing the jug from her master, taking a long drink herself. It is horribly bitter and disgustingly tart, and Tsunade laughs herself hoarse at the look on Sakura’s face.
“You’re going to do great, mighty, quiet things.” Tsunade says after a long silence. Sakura looks at her curiously. “You will bring war upon earth, disrupt the very heavens. Sweet child, you only know a taste of the power you could hold.”
And Sakura, well, she’s been alone since she was eight years old and surrounded by disease ridden corpses, she’s stolen and cheated and bartered her way through survival. She knows her way around a knife, a piece of glass, a sharp rock.
She has spilt blood just to eat for the night.
“You’ll teach me,” It is not a question.
That cruel, beautiful smile unfurls on her master’s face, “Of course, Avenger. Tell me what you want to know.”
“Everything.” Sakura breathes, demands, pleads.
A soft, aching laugh. “Very well, come here and listen closely.”
And Sakura is a clever girl made woman, she listens to everything Tsunade says, and everything she does not.
So, when Tsunade leaves her alone for the night, Sakura stares at the ceiling of the cheap Inn they are staying in and allows herself to smirk.
xxiii.
She sees him every time she goes to the market after that. He crinkles his eyes at her with a, “Good morning, Sakura-san.”
And in response Sakura blushes and murmurs a sweet, “Hello Kakashi-san.”
It goes like this for weeks until he changes their routine, leaning against one of the carts, tossing an apple into the air. There is only one farmer who can now produce apples, and even then the fruit is weak, no longer crispy and juicy.
The very land, the very life of this village is being drained away. Just as the other villages Sakura has traveled through. There will always be consequences to her actions, she supposes.
Kakashi tosses her the apple and Sakura makes sure to fumble with it before clutching it close to her chest, a teasing smile on her lips, “Kakashi-san, this is new.”
“Mah,” He hums, shrugging, “Just didn’t want you to miss out on your usual, is all.”
Sakura smiles, tucking the apple into her basket, the usual contents dwindled down to a simple jar of jam, a measly loaf of bread, and now the apple. She would need to make this quick and move towns soon.
“Say, would you like to come to lunch with me?” It’s a shot in the dark but she’s hoping that Tsunade was right when she said Sakura was infuriatingly charming. “I understand if you would not like—"
Kakashi cuts her off with a wave of his hand and a friendly look in his eye. Sakura wonders, idly, what he would taste like freshly baked and seasoned. “I am not one to turn down free food, of course.”
She laughs, a light and tittering thing and bares her throat the slightest bit before looping arms with him, “I shall lead the way then.”
Luckily, she has some dried meat and left over vegetables to make something decent and she smiles as him as she sits.
“You’re a healer.” Is what he says, eyeing the herbs and the bandages she had left out.
Sakura shrugs, “I try to lessen pain,” It is one of the many things Tsunade had left her.
He looks at her as if she is something new and so very interesting and she knows what he sees. A thing of life, a thing of preservation, has invited a creature of death, a creature of destruction into its domain, and allows that dark creature to live there.
It is what she wants him to see. Sakura smiles with teeth and she knows he does not see the wolf that sits in front of him.
xvi.
“Dodge!” Tsunade barks harshly and Sakura just barely avoids a direct hit, her skin still burning from the way the air sizzles from her master’s blow.
Sakura twists and flips backwards to gain some space between them, thighs quaking and sweat pouring as she pants, chest heaving. “I fucking am!” She bites back.
“Do it faster.” And then Tsunade is in her space, uppercutting and a blow to her stomach, sending Sakura flying into the corpse of trees behind them.
But Sakura is used being beaten down and she snarls loudly, landing on all fours, fingers digging deep into the ground before she lunges upwards, narrowing avoiding Tsunade’s next hit before spinning horizontally and lashing out with her foot.
And for the first time, Sakura lands a hit on Tsunade; sending her stumbling back, golden blood bleeding down her face.
She lands, gasping for breath, knees collapsing out from under her as she stares wide eyed as her master wipes blood and sweat from her face with the back of her hand. Her amber eyes sharpen to knife points as she grins, feral and oh so wild, “Very good, Sakura. Now we’re making progress.”
Despite her exhaustion, Sakura smirks, tasting blood and salt and victory. “Think you can handle more, old lady?”
“Don’t push your luck, brat.” Tsunade smirks, stalking towards Sakura to pull her up, “Now let me see that jaw of yours. And the stomach, the hell did I tell you about the sto-“
“I know,” She snaps, rolling her eyes as her body throbs something fierce. She allows herself the weakness of leaning into Tsunade’s as they trudge back to their small cottage. “I’ll do better.”
“Good.” They leave it at that. Then, “That was a good hit, my pupil.”
And Sakura, well, she’s feeling indulgent, so she smiles, a slight twitch of the lips as she murmurs, “Thank you, shishou.”
xxiv.
She finds him at the usual spot, draped over a branch like a limp curtain, book in hand. Sakura is still not quite over the fact that the death god reads awfully written porn, but at this point in her life, nothing can truly shock her.
Sakura is well past expectations.
Hiking up her pants, she climbs up the tree and to the branch he’s lounging on, straddling it so her back is to the trunk. Kakashi makes a curious noise when she pulls out her book from the waistline of her pants, “I never took you as an Icha Icha reader, Sakura-chan.”
Peering over the top of her book, Sakura quirks a brow, “If you can read porn, so can I.” A pause as she turns the page, “Plus you’re reading Paradise, I’m reading Violence. Two very different pieces of literature.”
What she will not tell him is that Tsunade taught her how to read with these books, she’s memorized every page, paragraph, and line written.
“You wound me so,” He sighs, going back to his book.
Comfortable silence descends upon them and the only sounds are of nature and the rustle of paper. Time passes and she cannot help the slight twitch of her lips whenever Kakashi giggles at a certain part. It is nice, this quiet.
But she knows it will not last. She will not allow it.
And like an omen, low rumbling of thunder rolls through their quiet, small droplets landing on her hand before the rain steadily picks up. Sakura snaps the book shut and shimmies down the tree, Kakashi landing soundly next to her.
“My place?” She asks, though she knows the answer.
Kakashi intertwines their hands, gently and slowly, his hand encompassing her own as he looks at her, dark eyes reflecting the sky as lightning strikes. Something hot pools deep in her belly when she makes eye contact with him.
And she knows. She knows that she has him.
They stand in her small cottage, dripping and studying each other before they move as one, ripping at each other’s clothes, all lips, teeth, and tongue.
She claws at his back when he thrusts into her, rough and unyielding. The rain pounds outside as her back arches and he groans deep and rasping.
He falls asleep, his face pressed into the crook of her neck and Sakura allows herself to smirk, the taste of glory on her tongue once more.
xiv.
Sakura glowers and bares her teeth at the woman, “You still haven’t fuckin’ told me what we’re supposed to be doing.”
Truly, the only reason why Sakura is even here is because of the free food and shelter. She is well aware that nothing is free in this world, Sakura has learned that the hard way.
The woman tilts her head, studying keenly and Sakura rears her head in a snarl. But the woman’s lips pick up at the corner, “What’s your name girl?”
“Sakura.” She bites out, fingers curling into fists. Glancing around the tavern, she notes the exits, the windows, the people who could be an issue. Then again, she’s sitting across the biggest threat in the room. “And yours?”
The woman hums, “Call me Tsunade.”
“And what am I supposed to be doing here?” She grounds out. Sakura nearly bites the woman when two strong hands clamp down on her shoulders, the woman’s face inches from her own.
“You are the catalyst, girl. The commination that will teach the world the very meaning of power.” Sakura’s eyes sharpen at the last word and Tsunade nods. “You like that, hm? I will teach you then, Sakura. And you will enact my vengeance on the heavens itself.”
Sakura stares, tension slowly melting from her body as she stares at this woman, at this savior. And she thinks, she remembers how cold her mother’s body was, the look of grief her father wore when he left.
She remembers tripping over the bodies of friends, of neighbors, half coherent and sickly.
Looking at Tsunade, Sakura licks her lips, “And what will you teach me?”
“How to turn that rage into a dagger and slit gods’ throats with it.” The woman purrs and Sakura smiles.
xxiv.
She wakes to a freezing cold chest to her back and puffs of air on her neck, just as she has since that night.
It is exactly as Tsunade said it would be; fishing. Lure, hook, and reel.
Sakura lets herself smile with teeth, a smug and sharp thing before she slowly extracts herself from the tangle of limbs they had become. The Shinigami slumbers in her bed, wrapped in her blankets.
Leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms, she looks at the god who she has fallen in love with. He loves her with just as much ferocity, she knows. And despite it all, she finds herself not quite hesitating when she goes to dig through her cabinets, finding the small nine pedaled flower. It once had ten and after this morning it will only have eight.
It is as if sinking into a familiar skin as she picks one of the petals, tucking the flower back where it was. Humming under her breath, Sakura grounds the petal in a small bowl before brewing some tea, sprinkling the powder into it.
The Shinigami’s arms snake around her waist, kissing her temple as he rumbles, “Good morning.”
Sakura turns her head to smile at him, offering the tea.
The scaled, clawed, fanged thing within her has its ugly maw open, head throw back as it cackles and howls.
xviii.
“Listen brat,” Tsunade says, snapping open a scroll.
“I’ve already read that,” Sakura interjects, her brows raising. “You know that.”
Tsunade slaps the back of her head, “When I say listen, I mean it.” She shoves the scroll into Sakura’s lap before striding towards a chest that had not been there before. “Come here.”
Slowly, Sakura makes her way towards the opened chest and peeks inside. She drops the scroll, “Is-is that-”
“Weapons to kill the divine,” Tsunade finishes for her, nodding. “Find one you like.”
Sakura swallows harshly as she kneels down and digs through the weapons, careful of every sharp point, as she palms a knife, a curved dagger with a golden blade. “This one.” She whispers, looking up to her master.
Tsunade nods in approval. “There are few ways to kill a kami.” She holds out one finger, “One, with an ichor dipped weapon.” A second finger. “Two, a very particular poison.”
Picking up the scroll, Sakura glances down the list before landing on one flower, “Kami koroshi.”
“That’s right.” Tsunade nods, “And do you know what to do with it?”
Sakura stands, flipping the dagger in her hand. It feels like coming home, having a blade at her side, bathing in the intimately dangerous knowledge of how to bring about the destruction of the heavens.
“Crush it for indigestion.”
xxiii.
Her stomach aches with laughter, clutching at her sides as she cramps and chokes on her tears. “An-and then wha-what happened?” She manages to get out as Kakashi laughs himself, leaning against the wall, a jug of liquor in hand.
He passes it to her and Sakura takes a long drink, reminiscing of a time similar to this.
“Then I told him, fuck off you little shit—" Kakashi wheezes and Sakura shouts with laughter, curling over as she gasps for breath. “And go blow som-someone else!”
They both dissolve into giggles and howls, Kakashi joining her on the floor. Sakura’s panting by the time she catches her breath, wiping tears from her face, and when she looks over Kakashi is not much better.
Brushing hair from his face, she points skyward, the stars winking down at him. “Hey Kakashi,” She asks, drunk off her ass and still giggly. “Where do you think we go when we die?”
Silence meets her question, and she sluggishly looks to the side to find him watching her, eyes soft and so full of— of—
“You’ll go somewhere safe,” He says softly. “Somewhere beautiful.”
“Yeah?” She mumbles, eyes dropping closed.
“I’ll make sure of it.” Is the last thing she hears before the dark overtakes her.
xix.
Tsunade sits across from her, laughing as she takes another long drink from her jug and sets it down heavily.
Sakura simply watches, leaning back in her chair, eyes cold and head tilted as her master coughs once, twice, three times.
Her arms begin to lose its color, being paler and paler and Tsunade watches with detached interest before laughing. She looks to Sakura, “Took you long enough, you fuckin’ brat.”
Snorting, Sakura stands, dagger in hand as Tsunade’s body begins to writhe, her breathes coming quick and uneven.
She yanks her master’s hair back, exposing her throat and slitting it in a single slide, so deep that she knicks bone, golden blood spraying.
The body drops forward, ichor pooling on the table and dripping onto the floor. Sakura sighs, rubbing the back of her neck as she kneels down to look into Tsunade’s lifeless eyes, “I will take it from here, Shishou.”
The promise rings out into the silence and Sakura revels in it.
xxiv.
Kakashi takes a sip of the tea as they both sit down, Sakura across from him. She takes a bite from the rest of their bread, watching him keenly.
He jerks suddenly, choking and hacking as he looks to her in horror and alarm. “You—"
“Me.” She confirms easily, getting up, dagger in hand.
The Shinigami roars and pushes the table away from himself and into the wall, Sakura ducks, the wood barely grazing her head before she lunges.
His already pale skin grays some more as he attempts to fight her off. She laughs at him, holding him down with one hand, knees on either side of his hips. And in the morning light, her dagger glints like a heaven sent prayer.
She plunges the blade into his head and drags it down his breast, carving him open as the kami screams and screams and screams.
Sakura feels his life bleed out from him under her hand. It is quiet once more.
And the girl made woman smiles, all bloodied teeth and gold stained hands. "And here we are." she whispers, caressing the corpse's cheek, reveling in her quiet victory. "Divinity dies at my wretched hands once again."
xvii.
“Shishou,” She begins, treading carefully. Her teacher looks at her in question, quirking up a brow. “Why were you outcasted from the other Kami?”
Tsunade— or more commonly known as Inari, Goddess of Everything Important, of the very Life— laughs and it is a hollow sound. “Oh, darling girl,” She says, a bland smile on her face. “Even gods hunger for power."
xiv.
Sakura sits, a feast laid out in front of her, a goblet of wine in her hand as she smiles, eyes flashing with something predatory.
Picking up her fork, Sakura spears into the first bit of meat, taking a bite and moaning at the way it melts in her mouth, the way the spices and flavors all blend.
She sips at her wine, running her tongue over her teeth before she laughs, throwing her head back and cackles at it all, with it all. Oh, she is a god killer, she is god taught and god fucked and she will be the one to rule them all.
Sakura sits, a feast laid in front of her, and eats the Shinigami’s flesh, one bite at a time until she can feel the power in her roar.
xix.
The corpse still sits at the table as Sakura rummages through the shit Tsunade had left behind, finding a thick envelope sealed in wax. Prying it open, Sakura laughs.
If you’ve found this, it means you’ve finally grown a pair and done what you were supposed to do. Well done, my pupil. You know your mission. I have trained you well. Do not disappoint me.
And behind the scrawled letter is a recipe.
She looks to the corpse and back down to the paper before she stands, going to gather the ingredients needed.
Sakura stands, flipping through the rest of the contents of the envelope until she pauses at another paper; a list of names and common dwellings.
The Shinigami’s is underlined three times in red.
xxv.
It ends with a girl (doesn't it always?), a girl made of nothing but destruction and anger, all slit throats and bleeding teeth.
She is horrid, she is wretched, she is powerful.
And she has grown, that girl made woman, she has grown and her eyes are wide open and she is intimately aware of the hated and evil of the world, of the weaknesses of the divine.
She finds them laying under a tree, peacefully existing and smiling at each other. The blonde one laughs, clutching his stomach while the raven simply watches on in adoration.
Sakura takes out the list, and under the Shinigami’s name crosses off two more, Raijin and Fujin.
Smiling, she makes her way towards them making sure to look a little lost and a bit scared.
And that thing inside her, the scaled, clawed, fanged thing, it smiles wide and hungry.
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next round of in-progress naruto thoughts under the cut
[i actually haven’t progressed that far from where i was last time, honestly, but i could feel myself getting to a stage where i had some things i needed to write up.]
fyi, this one is a little more gripe-y than usual - still enjoying myself, but there are some things in the current arc that are bugging me.
[spoiler policy disclaimer first, as always: I am watching naruto for the first time and have only gotten to the point where naruto and bee break out of the island barrier and leave to join the war. i am trying to avoid spoilers, so please don’t interact with this (tags included, because the notifications now show them to me automatically) with any spoilery commentary, including even general things like “oh i love this show but it gets less good after X point” or “X season is better than Y season” or any general assessments of quality/likability/etc re: future seasons. Thank you! <3 ]
anyway, to go ahead with my grousing -
there are a couple things about this current arc that have me feeling "ehhh.”
1) too many dead people
i’ve personally always been lukewarm on the “revive/reanimate dead characters for the Confrontation Value” trope, which is probably due to me having been a comics fan for so long (i was pretty deep into DC-land during Blackest Night, and that’s not even the first/last time this sort of thing has been done there, so). i’m not saying it CAN’T be done in an interesting way, but most of the time my experience with it has been that it’s kind of cheap/redundant storytelling. it usually doesn’t add much to an emotional arc, for me, and when it retreads an emotional arc that did have a strong conclusion, i feel like all it does is weaken the original story.
so like - places where i feel like shippuden does this well are with minato and kushina. i found both of those scenes with naruto to be powerful moments that added something new to the story/to naruto’s development. (but they’re not even part of the whole reanimation jutsu plotline, which is what i’m mostly feeling “eh” on, so it’s not even the greatest example.)
a place where i’m kind of in the middle is with asuma. on the one hand, i really don’t think that this needed to happen, because the original story arc with him was SO strong. however, they did kind of redeem themselves in a way by focusing the redux on choji instead of shikamaru, so at least they were still saying/exploring something something new.
places where i’m still pretty dubious are pretty much...everyone else. i’m just not sure...well, i don’t know. i can’t really say definitively how i feel about it until i get to the end of the arc and see how it ends, but at the current moment, i’m just not sure what we get out of seeing people like zabuza+haku, lady chio, itachi, nagato, etc....ALL of those stories had such powerful endings; it just makes me leery of these “resurrections” invalidating everything we saw previously/weakening the impact of what came before.
2) mixed messaging
this is my bigger gripe, and it’s something i’ve kind of had floating on the edges of my mind for a long time, but this season especially is highlighting it.
the one thing that is guaranteed to make me frustrated about this show (besides its obvious disinterest in female characters) is when it starts to lean super hard into the “Naruto Is The Only One Who Can Do It!” for every single task that needs to be completed. and i know this is a stupid thing to complain about when the show is literally titled “Naruto,” but the reason it gets frustrating is because the initial message of this show was never “one super special person must do everything on their own and save everyone else.” the original message of this show was teamwork.
the very first lesson kakashi teaches the kids (and the foundation upon which the rest of the story has been built) is “you are stronger together.” if you had all come at me together, you might have been able to take [the bells]! he specifically criticizes naruto for working alone: “naruto - you do EVERYTHING on your own. EVERYTHING.” and that’s understood to be the Wrong Thing; it’s the reason naruto ends up tied to the stump. but in the last few seasons especially (though there have definitely been previous moments where this has shown up before) the ONLY thing we keep hearing is how naruto has to accomplish everything by himself.
it didn’t bother me in the Pain arc; i actually thought that confrontation was appropriate and necessary for naruto’s development. but ever since then, it’s escalated to a point where now it’s like - “naruto is the only one who can fight sasuke! naruto is the only one who can defeat madara! naruto is the only one who can stop the war! naruto is the only one who can erase everybody’s hatred!”
and that’s the point at which i start to get frustrated, because my mind is like “okay, and the other characters are going to be doing...what, exactly?”
again, maybe it’s stupid to complain about that when the show is literally titled “Naruto.” but i don’t think so. title notwithstanding, this story at its heart was, in the beginning, an ensemble show with four main characters, whereas nowadays, the messaging is that only one of those characters can actually accomplish anything. so i get kind of resentful, when i’m told that the other members of the team can’t do anything but step back and hold naruto up, because the essential message of this story has ALWAYS been “teamwork is more important than anything. you are NEVER stronger by yourself. we ALL have something to contribute.”
right now, the other characters feel like they’ve just been shunted off to do busywork. none of them have grown or changed at all since the end of season 10 (and even the end of season 10 was starting to slide into the “only naruto can do anything about sasuke in the end blah blah” - yes it’s a huge pet peeve of mine but it is what it is; whatever; moving on). we haven’t even SEEN sasuke since the end of season 10. there’s been no consideration given to how kakashi is handling being drafted into a second war and being put in charge of 20,000 lives (and his clash with zabuza was just a vehicle for all the characters to reflect once again on how great naruto is). there’s been virtually ZERO attention given to how sakura is handling things, minus that one scene where she’s looking at gory pictures from the previous great ninja war. everybody is just marking time, punching a bunch of identical white zetsus until naruto can come solve the problem and wow everyone with his new abilities.
part of my annoyance might just be due to the fact that the timeline is so wonky due to filler arcs - it feels like ages have passed for me, but in-universe it really hasn’t been all that long. but i also think there are legitimate reasons for me to be frustrated, when the show introduces things and then just unceremoniously drops them without any indicator of when they might be picked up again. like - the uchiha genocide reveal was (i thought) a Huge Fucking Deal that should have Major Repercussions - but it’s just kind of.....disappeared as an issue??? and yamato - he’s been CAPTURED!!!!!! but the show has not shown a single character reacting to this, or even being informed that it happened, and i think that’s shitty, actually. yamato isn’t a minor character. he’s been naruto’s personal guardian since season 2. he has done SO MUCH for the kids, and he is kakashi’s friend, and i think it is shitty to have him get captured by the same people who experimented on him as a child and then not spend a second or two making it clear that other characters CARE about this.
anyway. this is just something that’s been creeping up on me as time goes on, and the last few episodes of “Naruto is the Savior of the Entire World” talk just made it feel more immediate, i guess. plus the new intro (which i know may not be reliable; sometimes they show things that never happen) had a shot of naruto fighting itachi, and i think that tipped me over the edge, lmao, because you know what? enough!!!!! naruto can’t be the one who gets to do EVERYTHING! some stories are not about him! there are other characters who have relationships that are not about naruto. there are places where other characters should be able to accomplish things naruto can’t do. the other main characters should be allowed to complete their personal arcs, separate from (not just secondary to) naruto’s journey.
like - just - this is how i feel: this show started out as a story about a group of four people, and the root theme was “teamwork is everything.” i don’t like how the show has slowly started to mutate into a story about naruto’s “solitary” quest to save sasuke, when we have seen MANY TIMES that:
a) sakura was the first of the kids who even knew that something was wrong with sasuke, while naruto remained utterly oblivious all the way through shonen jump (and partway into shippuden, tbh)
b) kakashi in the past has connected with sasuke in ways that NEITHER of the two kids have been able to achieve
i just don’t like it. i don’t like how S10 had sakura say the line “naruto...you were the first one to ever see the darkness in sasuke...” when she’s reflecting on their fight on top of the hospital, because that is a LIE. it’s a blatant retcon. of the kids, sakura was the one who knew from the very beginning that something was wrong with sasuke. she was the one who was with him when he had that semi-dissociative episode during the bells test. she was the one who was with him during all the curse mark stuff in the forest of death. she was the one who knew something was off when he challenged naruto to a fight - naruto was just psyched that sasuke wanted to “spar” with him! and SHE was the one who suspected that sasuke might do something as drastic as leave the village - naruto explicitly told her not to worry; that sasuke was totally fine; he would never ever do something like that!
like - the show already barely gives sakura anything for herself; now they try to take this away from her, too? and give it to naruto? to hammer in a kind of connection between naruto and sasuke that demonstrably did not exist?? (i’m not saying that naruto and sasuke don’t have their own important relationship! but it is just provably untrue that naruto was the person who understood sasuke best. shonen jump goes out of its way to demonstrate how clueless naruto is about what sasuke is really like and what he’s going through. naruto is SHOCKED that sasuke would go to orochimaru. he doesn’t realize that their fight on top of the hospital is anything more than their usual rivalry business. when sasuke pops out of the coffin behind kimimaro, naruto waves and starts laughing, because he thinks sasuke is still on their side and is going to run right home! and even in shippuden, when naruto hears that orochimaru is dead, he gets all excited and goes “so sasuke must be on his way back to the leaf village!!! :D” like. he just doesn’t get it.)
and i won’t really get into kakashi’s side of things here, because i would end up writing too much, but suffice to say that i am just...wary of the way it feels like recent parts of the show are trying to minimize or...push aside the real, textually-documented connections that kakashi and sakura had with sasuke in favor of “Only Naruto Can Help!” it frustrates me. kakashi made inroads with sasuke that neither of the kids ever achieved. sasuke talks to kakashi in a more honest way than he ever does with either of his peers, even when he’s out of his head with rage. and i would prefer to see this show taking the angle that all three of sasuke’s team members are going to be indispensable for saving him.
you know. like teamwork.
#anyway#it's important to note that this is all preemptive grousing#it's based on how i'm feeling right now#but i still have so much to watch#the show could easily prove me wrong and handle things in a way that i feel better about#but i was feeling annoyed enough that i wanted to type this all up anyway#naruto#pan watches naruto
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The Blacksmith’s Daughter
Title: The Blacksmith’s Daughter
Author: gaarasgoddess
Rating: T
Word Count: 2,906 words
Summary: What happens when a fallen daughter meets a rising son? What happens when they discover that fate had more in store for them than the lives they’d planned? Japan’s medieval, Edo Period is the background as Gaara and Sakura miss each other in a series of missed connections only to fall into each other hard.
Warnings: Mentions of blood and murder.
Author’s Note(s): Definition from google: “Medieval Japan is characterised by a decentralised government, warfare, and the rise of a powerful warrior class. Fighting was a way of life for the men and women and politics was as changing as a fire’s breath.”
Trope: Medieval Japan AU
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Her parentage was never in question. Sakura was the fifteenth daughter born to the Emperor of Japan. She was the only daughter of a noblewoman who had been sold to the Emperor when her father couldn’t pay his debt. A woman who had failed to produce any more offspring since.
It was a fact. That was who she was. Who she was told never to forget.
And so she believed for eighteen years of being prepped for a marriage to some unknown man, whichever suitor her father decided brought him the most money or power. She learned her kanji, her cursive, her history, her airs and pomp, and her manners. Anything that would be needed to attract a high placed family to want to welcome her into theirs, was taught to her.
She said “yes” to a stranger. To a man she would spend her life with. A man that refused to meet her until then. But she would do her duty. She would wait for him.
In the meantime, her father saw fit to send her to the allied camps to learn to heal. To learn to take care of people. She already knew how to serve her future husband and what to expect when she moved to his land to begin her new life. For now her present was spent tending to the injuries of soldiers who fought and died to keep her father’s control of this land in his own hands. She got a taste of what life was supposed to be about.
With war and death rampant in the country, the shoguns fought over who had dominion where and who deserved to. The Emperor was just a figure head but he was an important one. He spent his days in meetings and adding this pomp and stature in the eyes of the lowly, commoners, and his nights whoring - with whores and wives. Sakura had so many siblings she didn’t think it meant anything who she was, really. Or him. The father who didn’t care about appearances.
And who had no control over what was coming.
.x.
He was the son of a whore. The devil didn’t care about gender. His father was a whore. It didn’t matter that he carried the title of shogun. It didn’t matter that he was well respected. It only mattered that the man deserved to die.
Gaara caught him fucking the servant girls on a weekly basis and a noblewoman’s daughter - or two - every other week. Rasa didn’t bother to hide it anymore. His wife was expected to not care. But his children hated him for it.
Gaara grew up respecting this man; he wanted to be just like him and signed up to become a samurai, as his father had done in his youth, without a second thought. He wanted to get married once he turned eighteen, like his father did, and carry on the tradition of moving into politics and teaching everything he’d learnt to his children. He wanted to matter.
But on the eve of his sixteenth birthday he’d had enough. Gaara packed his bags and enlisted with the regular army and didn’t look back. His father didn’t bother trying to stop him but said he had to return to marry some rich man’s wife in two years.
Not happening.
He never bothered to ask what the girl’s name was. Nor to attend the meetings that had been organised between them. He should get to know her, his mother said, and he almost yelled back “like father is getting to know the servants?”. Almost. She was to be pitied and he did. His father was a whore and a cunt.
But he couldn’t bare to watch her suffer Rasa’s indiscretions. So he left and didn’t look back. His siblings went their own way too, also disgusted.
That was a decision he’d never regretted. Until the day he met the blacksmith’s daughter and decided fate was indeed a fickle bitch.
.x.
Sakura wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before standing and stretching. The last group of soldiers had been hit by enemy arrows in a final attempt to rule the battlefield and were full of holes for their troubles. She’d been on her feet all night.
After years of tutelage, she was almost ready to be allowed to return home. She enjoyed healing people and was not looking forward to returning to the noble court. Her mother’s latest letter had her afraid of what awaited her. She wasn’t ill but talked as though her days were numbered. It made her want to rush to her side but it also left her fearful for her own well being.
Mebuki spoke of assassination attempts and having betrayed her Emperor. That she was going to hell for what she’d done. The raving comments also told Sakura that she was in danger.
‘Don’t come here.’ She wrote. But it made no sense.
“Lady Sakura?”
She started before smiling at her newest patient. Sakura smiled widely at him. “Lord Kankuro, you need to rest.”
He scoffed, failing to sit up in his cot. “I’m fine.”
“Your arm was infected and you’ve been unconscious for days,“ she said, fussing over his bandages.
“You sound like my mother,” he mummbled. And she tutted at him. “Are you busy after this?”
“Huh?” She frowned at him, confused.
“Uh,” he rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not coming onto you, I promise. It’s just, I asked out a cute nurse and she turned me down but if she thought it was a group thing... never mind forget I asked.”
Sakura glanced at the nurse in question when Kankuro looked over at her. She was one of the new recruits who barely knew anything about medicine. Called Matsuri, or something. Sakura also knew that Matsuri was crushing on some other soldier who apparently refused to give her the time of day and had transferred out of this med-tent when the brunette girl wouldn’t stop following him around. Kankuro might be just what she needed, since the rejection from the other soldier had affected her performance in surgery.
Sakura sighed. “I’ll get her in the mess tent and you can bump into us.”
“Thanks, Saku-chan.” He grinned.
She shook her head. “And don’t call me that.”
“Okay, Saks.”
She poked him.
“Okay, okay.”
.x.
Gaara left the tent for two reasons. One: that Matsuri chick was getting on his nerves. Two: the flush of embarrassment he felt when he spotted his brother. He was talking to some pink haired physician and the brothers had not spoken for years. He knew Kankuro had enlisted but didn’t give it much thought, since he kept to himself and took on the more dangerous missions. And he remembered his brother as hating conflict. But so much seemed to have changed.
Pink hair.
Something stirred in his memory but he brushed it aside.
“We’re heading out.” Baki, his commanding officer, hollered at him.
Gaara took a last look at the laughing man he’d once called brother (his eyes drifting over the pretty physician) before following Baki. The redhead had risen in the ranks so fast because of his power and prowess that even the General had stood to attention. The strange man that had connections to nobles and warriors alike.
The Emperor’s favoured mass killer.
.x.
A month of blood stuck to his skin. Gaara didn’t wash except to trek through streams. He smelled like the country side. It made for decent cover as he slinked into the shadows and pounced from bushes and hovels to kill his targets.
He’d become an assassin. After Baki’s death and word spreading of the decimation of his entire platoon, he was reassigned to the darker, specialised killers. He wasn’t a ninja. He wasn’t one of them. But he drew as much blood as they did. He killed like he’d been born to it. Gone were the concerns over the brother and sister he’d left behind. The mother who had passed to illness in the last winter.
Six months ago he’d avoided Kankuro in a medical tent and now he stood, face-to-face with the man, unable to hide his true intentions. He’d been sent here to assist with a platoon that was trying to take out a rival shogun’s family. They needed this family dead. They needed someone who could disappear into the shoin-zukuri in shadow and slit those throats without raising any alarms.
His father needed to appear to have clean hands in their deaths.
Times were changing and the old man was losing control. These enemies needed to die. And so they did. Gaara emerged from their home, covered in blood. He faced down his brother - the man who greeted him and thanked him for his service as though they hadn’t once occupied the same womb.
Gaara’s grip on his sword was tenuous even as he gripped it tighter. How he wanted to just charge the stranger in front of him. To show him who it was that deserved to be in the light and put the dark behind him. But then a mousy girl came out of the tent behind Kankuro.
His wife.
Matsuri had given into him after all. And her belly was full of his brother’s child. She watched on at the silent exchange as though she had never followed Gaara around hoping to be the one to carry his children.
Who cares?
But it made him wonder if someone could. If the monster he’d become could have that. So his hand slacked and he lowered his weapon. This was not worth the aching in his heart. It was time to choose his fate and he refused to die here.
Gaara turned and fled back to the dark. Back into the pain of his life.
.x.
Her return home had not been the horror story Sakura had feared. Though she wished she’d not returned at all. She’d stood at the walls and contemplated fleeing her future. The man who’d been her betrothed had been killed in battle, she said. He was a stain on the memory of her family, so she was to pretend he’d never existed.
But she’d also heard rumours he’d simply defected. A runaway and potentially a traitor. The son rose high and she’d been falling from herself so far. Sakura could not climb the wall in front of her. So she let the guards usher her inside. To see her mother’s corpse. The accident had been tragic they said. The poor woman died so suddenly they claimed. How sad.
Sakura did not spend much time in the presence of the body but even she had seen how only poison could make those pink lips turn so blood red. But what was she to do? She questioned the mortician. She asked to see the autopsy report. But nothing came of it. At last, her father sent an official to inform her she was being sent out again.
Where you’ll cause less fuss.
And this was how she descended into infamy.
.x.
Sakura did not correspond with Kankuro and Matsuri after that first time they’d spent together. She helped him woo the girl and got out of there. Apparently, the man the brunette had liked was determined to ignore her and had gained a reputation for being blood thirsty, which was unbecoming of his noble status. No good was going to come of it.
She wasn’t even invited to the wedding.
But she didn’t care. Sakura returned to the medical tents and threw herself into the work. But she knew she couldn’t keep this up for long. Soldiers would give her strange looks. Shogun under her knife would not call her Lady anymore when she visited them in recovery. And every night she sensed the hidden follower when she returned to her tent. Someone had decided she was trouble. What she could have done, other than question the healers back home, she didn’t know.
But time was getting short as she started to get called into the med tent less and less. She was not as needed as before. She was getting a bad feeling. Rumours of how the war was turning away from her Shogun had her worried. Perhaps the children of the Emperor were being watched more closely? But nobody here should know who she was. She was just supposed to be another noble, not royalty.
Her surgery talents were being wasted.
After overhearing her superior talking to a soldier about transferring her to the front line to get rid of her, Sakura had had enough. She decided to take things into her own hands.
.x.
He followed the girl as she began packing and making her excuses to the soldiers that she was going for a run to get rid of hospital scrubs. He watched as she stole a horse and rode away as though the devil were on her tail. He was tempted to follow. So desperately so, that Gaara didn’t bother questioning that urge. He took his horse and rode into the darkness of the night that surrounded the camp.
Pink hair.
She was the same healer who had helped his brother. The one who’d given Kankuro his happy ending with Matsuri. It had to mean something that he’d been assigned to watch her, and kill her if she tried to flee.
.x.
They did not get far. Sakura and the horse she’d dubbed Shugo. A dark brown pedigree that she’d pushed to its limits in the span of the night. The devil was on her tail. But a day had passed and already she had to sell it for supplies. She needed to go incognito and figure out her next move. Sakura had no idea how to live as a peasant but she’d dealt with harsh circumstances before. Living as a physician in the middle of a war was not the lap of luxury of her former home of course.
And still she felt the weight of eyes on her like that shadow from the camp would not leave her alone. Something or someone was following her and she needed to get out of the open. Dyeing her hair and offering her services as a weaver seemed the sensible thing to do. Nobody noticed the dark haired girl walking among a crowd of similarly dark haired girls.
A month later she was still being hounded by the darkness of her shadow and no amount of companionship from those she met and dallied with could throw off her feeling of being hunted. But the hunter did nothing. And she was letting everything go.
One day, her lowered guard would be the best of her.
.x.
He enjoyed watching her. She was his target but her desire to run from the same life he abhorred kept his knife in its sheathe. It kept his eyes feasting on her flesh instead of tearing into it with a weapon that he still wanted to use.
Gaara did not need to kill to survive. He was beginning to realise that. So he decided to take her lead and ingratiate himself into this new world. He found a dwelling and scrubbed the smell of the land from his body. It seemed to take months to finally be free of the blood. But nobody knew how much was still on him more than he did. It would be there forever.
But he finally looked like he belonged the day he purposefully, accidentally ran into her, knocking her groceries to the ground.
This was how the woman came to know him. She had been going by the name Amaya but introduced herself as Sakura the moment he asked. They both looked surprised at this and she realised who he was the moment he smirked, his canines almost looking like they were dripping in blood.
Her heart beat raced. Her palms were sweaty. Her eyes were wide.
But all he did was bow to her and offer his help in picking up her dropped supplies. All he did was ask her to allow him to pay for her dinner. All he did was touch her softly, carefully, to make sure she knew what he wanted from her.
And Sakura had no idea why she gave it to him. Waves of blinding light and rocking motions and crashing against each other; humming and moaning and joining and she was his. They came together in so many perfect ways. She didn’t question why her shadow decided to love her instead of kill her. She was lost to the pleasure and the touches that gave her reason to let go.
To just let go.
.x.
News of her father’s death and his father’s brutal murder did nothing to stir them.
Sakura just smiled as the local gossip spread the news and the official reports came in. As though she were just another citizen. A dark haired girl who used to be pink.
Gaara helped her to her feet and they wandered out of the temple where they’d finally made their life official. Nothing else mattered. Their pasts were fake and they had their eyes on the future, instead.
That’s how he became just some random farmer travelling into the area with his pregnant wife. And that’s how she became the Blacksmith’s Daughter travelling into the new area, pregnant and looking to start a fresh life with her new husband.
.x.
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My Review of O Maidens in Your Savage Season
How did I get into this anime? This time, I didn’t rely on the randomizer to pick out a random anime licensed by Sentai Filmworks. I wanted to choose a small-sized anime with not that many episodes to its name. Probably because I spent a good year and a half on Rinne that all of these Sentai picks have been short series! So I went with one that came out not too long ago.
Kazusa Onodera belongs to the literature club at her school. Seems decent enough, right? These girls read heavily, sexualized books. And as high schoolers, the word sex is taboo and intriguing all at the same time. Each of the girls in the literature club have their own view on the subject, mostly border-lining on wanting to know more and experiencing it soon. Aside from that, Kazusa is noticing that her childhood friend, Izumi Norimoto has changed since they were kids and other girls are noticing him. This, putting Kazusa in an awkward position of avoiding him when he’s around other girls! Half of it is because jealous bitches glare at her if she gets too close to Izumi. The other half is due to the fact that Kazusa is starting to notice her friend as maybe something more.
One day, the girls in the club get word of one of their favorite authors writing a new book. This one about someone writing a bucket list due to dying! One of the girls (Niina Sugawara) suggests sex. Ever since then, all of the other girls are noticing so many new things in their world. Certain words sound dirty, certain objects can be considered phallic, and boys are starting to look fuckable. And our girl Kazusa gets a heavy dose of reality when she gives her neighbor Izumi some dinner.
She walks upstairs to find Izumi jerking off to some hardcore porn on his computer.
So yeah, coming of age story up in here!
But it isn’t just Kazusa learning about the trials of love and sex. Momoko deals with her own troubles involving sexuality. Sugawara is torn between a past love and a new love. Rika is discovering love for the first time in her life. And Hongo wants to learn more about sex in order to become a great author. All five of these girls deal with that difficult time of adolescence with first love and the curiosity of “ess eee ex”.
BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: This is licensed by Sentai Filmworks. As of this date and time, an English cast has been announced, but by the looks of things, nothing has been dubbed yet. I am a little excited to hear several new voices in the cast and a few familiar ones including Brittney Karbowski and Natalie Rial. Many of the Japanese voice actors have been around for a while and I’m kinda familiar with. It’s just that I haven’t spent a great deal hearing them in my day-to-day rotations. But I can’t complain with the cast! Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.
JAPANESE CAST:
*Kazusa is played by Hiyori Kouno (known for Phil on The Promised Neverland)
*Momoko is played by Momo Asakura (known for Ayumi on Charlotte, Iroha on Magia Record, Sumi on Sakura Trick, Manako on Monster Musume, Nagisa on Kaguya-sama, and Lamy on Fairy Tail)
*Rika is played by Sumire Uesaka (known for Dekomori on Chuunibyo, Nanase on In/Spectre, and Anastasia on Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls)
*Hongo is played by Tomoyo Kurosawa (known for Miria on Idolm@ster: Cinderella Girls)
*Sugawara is played by Chika Anzai (known for Mina on Attack on Titan, Nana on My Roommate is a Cat, Maki on Sakura Quest, and Young Kamui on Gintama)
ENGLISH CAST:
*Kazusa is played by Brittney Karbowski (known for Selim/Pride on FMA: Brotherhood, Misaka on Railgun/Index, Black Star on Soul Eater, Wendy on Fairy Tail, Dekomori on Chuunibyo, and Hisako on Food Wars)
*Momoko is played by Juliet Simmons (known for Yukika on My Love Story and Mayumi on Food Wars)
*Rika is played by Avery Smithhart
*Hongo is played by Elissa Cuellar
*Sugawara is played by Natalie Rial (known for Rui on Domestic Girlfriend)
THIS NEEDS TO PLAY ON REPEAT: Can we watch Creepy McPedofuck get socked in the face on loop?
Yes!
It goes without saying that I hated this fucker. I heavily enjoyed him getting knocked the fuck out. And I will go in further detail with the shipping category.
SHIPPING: As this is a coming of age anime with girls in high school just discovering love, lust, sex, and all that good shit, we’ve got some stuff to cover in this category.
*Kazusa x Izumi: The childhood friend scenario! Yeah, these two were quite inseparable as children, but as they grew older, Izumi started to grow somewhat of a popularity streak with the girls at school and as a result, Kazusa found herself inferior compared to these catty bitches. That and these girls are jealous if they see Kazusa even speaking to Izumi.
Throughout the series, Kazusa had to deal with jealous bitches telling her to back off and Kazusa’s friend Sugawara having growing feelings for Izumi every time she’s with him. It seemed like not a big deal in the earlier episodes. But once we see what Sugawara is getting back at, it gets downright love-triangle-ish. It got so crazy that both girls proclaimed their love for Izumi in an open setting during a school festival at the same time. I know Izumi wasn’t going to reciprocate Sugawara’s feelings, but when he started saying things that are friend-zone material, I got worried. I mean, Kazusa and Izumi were childhood friends and there’s been a strain in that due to hormonal changes. I don’t want to bring out the tired old excuse of Izumi being a boy and he’s a dumbass, but I kinda have to. Yes dude likes Kazusa, but he also likes Sugawara and both for different reasons. And when it comes to Sugawara, it’s a sexual attraction. Boy, you are not going to get your cake and pie here.
Now I’ve been in Kazusa’s position before of wanting to be in a relationship with a best friend. A lot of the time, it does not go well and can strain the friendship you once had making it hard to go back if there’s a crap-up. By the looks of things at the end of the anime, these two seem to be on a sure-footing in their relationship.
*Rika x Shun: Rika has always been seen as an outsider to many of the main cliques of school. But it wasn’t until Shun’s kind words in class one day that changed something inside of Rika. But it doesn’t stop there with this boy! He writes fifty pages of “I Love Yous”, he insists on wanting to be with Rika in any class activity, and goes out of his way to ask her out (which she eventually accepts). And Rika with these new feelings doesn’t really know how to handle it as this is the first time she’s experienced these feelings outside of reading them in a novel. But I gotta say, their confession in front of the school was just downright too cute for words. It definitely deserves a round of applause.
*Hongo x Milo-sensei: Oh dear God, not this again! I don’t know whether to think Hongo is just using this guy for her novel or if she’s really developing something for her teacher. Milo-sensei seems to have a thing for his teaching colleague. But does this fool have a side-thing for one of his students as well? I’m getting Marmalade Boy and Domestic Girlfriend vibes here. These two go beyond a lot of boundaries throughout the series including panty flashes and a spontaneous trip to a motel. This ship I’m not fully on board with! But this is still leaps and bound ahead of what I’m about to discuss next.
*Sugawara x Saegusa: Oh for fuck’s sake! Everything about this sounds so wrong, Domestic Girlfriend is demanding an apology for all the bad things said about that. Even Izumi finds this guy pedophilish. An old acting coach has a thing for little girls and finds Sugawara pure when she’s at a young age and Sugawara eventually grows to like him. It’s just that when she figured it out, she’s a young teenager in high school and according to Saegusa, she’s too old.
Too old?! Fool! You are clearly in your late 40s at the earliest. And Sugawara is at least 14 and SHE’S TOO OLD?! I’m about to slap the glasses off your dumbass-face and call Chris Hansen because this is too much. Sugawara, please for the love of all that’s cream pie, stop going after this creep and making him jealous with trying to get with Izumi! You CAN do better! And also, you’re really fucking with the Izumi x Kazusa ship. But more importantly, you CAN DO BETTER THAN THIS CREEPY FUCK!
…
And now it’s time to talk about Momoko. I thought that this anime was going to be all about these girls falling in love with different boys. At first, it looked like that with a boy named Satoshi coming in the picture saying he remembers Momoko when they were kids. But then, we get a surprise from Momoko when she finds girls more attractive (particularly Sugawara). Okay, I didn’t see that coming. And frankly, I’d prefer that or just about anything else to that old-ass actor with a little girl complex. But with Momoko, I feel like she’s going to be the one character that doesn’t get to be with someone in the end. Kazusa gets Izumi, Rika gets Shun, and Hongo gets Milo-sensei. Momoko does come out to Sugawara, but I’m unsure if this is one-sided or if Sugawara ends up together with her.
ENDING: All five girls are learning that love and sex come with a mixed bag of everything. Sometimes everything works out, sometimes things fall apart, sometimes actions have consequences, and sometimes a dick comes in and ruins everything.
Because of the blooming relationship of Kazusa and Izumi, Sugawara got jealous and did some risqué things on a train with Izumi. Hongo takes things to another level when she goes to a cheap hotel with Milo-sensei and she was ready to take the bull by the horns. Yeah, she was doing most of this for her novel, but this escalated into full-blown infatuation of her teacher. And Rika was feeling pretty good around school now that she has a boyfriend and is on speaking terms with one of the popular girls. Too bad Rika’s friend is never coming back to school because she’s knocked up! See, consequences!
The high school administration was upset by some recent incidents including a student getting pregnant. But what set them over the edge were reports of Rika and Shun outside of a love hotel. But as we all know, they did no act of sex. They were spying on Hongo and Milo-sensei. But you can’t tell these prudes that. They made an example of Rika and Shun by expelling them and putting out an updated P.D.A. rule at school. Not even Milo-sensei confessing to being at the love hotel could calm this storm with the heads of the school. So the girls of the literature club decide to take drastic measures.
They shut the school down, hold Milo-sensei hostage, and demand that Rika and Shun are reinstated at school. I wasn’t expecting this anime to go down the route of The Simpson’s classic episode Grade School Confidential, but here we are.
Yeah, the principal and vice principal had a Groundskeeper Willie attitude to their fight and left them to cool down for the night. This night in the school things kinda went a little crazy, particularly when Shun and Izumi came inside. Especially when you have Izumi admit that he likes Kazusa, but is sexually attracted to Sugawara. Then, you have Momoko irritated that all Sugawara is interested in is Izumi and she’s got this huge crush on her. Add to the thick layer we got already, Shun opens is dumbass mouth to mention he has kissed girls before Rika. Oh, dude. Shut up! But the girls found a way to fix things…sorta! A few episodes back, the girls had a pillow fight to let out their frustration. So, they’re going to play a simple game where there seems to be a happy conclusion for all involved. Rika and Shun share a cute forehead kiss and Shun admits his love for Rika once more. Momoko and Sugawara share a moment. As for Izumi and Kazusa, they both admitted to feeling anxious and uncomfortable jumping from friends to boyfriend/girlfriend. So it looks like they’re going to stay together. Sure looks like it in the epilogue. But we’ll get there soon enough.
After a full night of revelations, the principal and vice principal return to school the following morning to the entire building covered in protest paper to reinstate Rika and Shun and to get rid of the P.D.A. ban. I guess things worked out since a lot of students saw this and the principal is about as useless as a Band-Aid on a toothache.
At the end of the episode, we see the cast from what looks to be one year later as Rika and Shun are in college now. Rika’s friend and former classmate had her baby. Milo-sensei and Hongo are holding down the literature club with a few new members. It also looks as though they’re still in a relationship (possibly getting married later). I am unsure if Momoko and Sugawara ended up together or not. But at least they’re still friends. And it seems as though Izumi and Kazusa made it through that awkward time of adolescence and they seemed to have stayed together.
This was a fun romp! I think we all remember a time in high school where we were young and naïve about the concept of love and even sex. I can’t say there was one particular character I connected to in this series. I think I’ve been in all of the girl’s positions at one point or another. I’ve been friend-zoned like Kazusa. There was a boy I wasn’t into that wouldn’t leave me alone like Momoko. I was curious to a point where it did affect my own writing like Hongo. I had jealous fits over a friend’s boyfriend much like Sugawara. And once I got in a relationship, I felt as awkward as Rika. See, I’ve been all five at one point.
It’s a confusing time being an adolescent. Along with the changes in your body, there’s that gnawing pressure of noticing blossoming feelings for some person. And you’re not sure if you should talk to them, kiss them, or rip off their clothes in the heat of passion. Not sure if everything from the manga was covered. I’d like to assume it was due to the fact that both the anime series and manga were short. And I think all viewers can agree that…Can we see that gross dude get punched again?
Oh yeah, that’s so delicious.
So if you’re ready to re-watch possible flashbacks of your awkward high school moments again, check out this anime.
If you would like to watch O Maidens in Your Savage Season, all 12 episodes are available to watch on HI-DIVE.
Okay, what’s my next Sentai Filmworks anime?
*gasps*
In association with Pony Canyon & TBS!
What the…?! THEY ALL LOOK LIKE THEY’RE FROM K-ON!
#anime review#o maidens in your savage season#kazusa onodera#rika sonezaki#niina sugawara#araburu kisetsu no otomedomo yo#momoko sudou#hitoha hongo
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Infamous
This story is dedicated to Oiwa. Thank you for allowing me to share your story, may you one day find peace.
Pairing: Kayako Saeki x WOC Reader
The Grudge fanfic
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WARNING!!!: ALL THE WARNINGS! Abuse, attempted sexual assault. It doesn’t go into great detail, but if you’re sensitive to this stuff, please don’t read. WARNING!!!
Thank you @mlmdarkfiction and @doodleferp for your indispensable encouragement, your ideas, and for allowing me to ramble to you whenever. I appreciate you, thank you.
The Saeki house looms over you, an evil prophet to what you’re about to endure. This move had been in the making for several months now, and you had dreaded every moment. The stories around this house scared you, but your husband was undeterred. “Well?” He growls, snapping you out of your terrified daze, “Don’t just stand there stupid, help me move some of this shit in.”
“Yes,” You say, “Of course.” You strap your baby girl into her position on your back and rush to the small couch. Lifting it, on three, you two manage to maneuver the thing inside. The moving people had refused to enter the house, as had everyone else, even the realtor that sold it to you at a ridiculously low price, according to your husband. “It’s a stupid house,” He’d say, “Why everyone is afraid of a bunch of coincidences is beyond me.”
Your husband was the famous Haru Kubo, a paranormal investigator known worldwide for his exploits. You’ve lived in haunted castles, deserted mansions, and everything in between. All of them had scared you to live in. The thought of coming face to face with a real ghost was definitely your top three fears. But you loved Haru, so you tagged along with him on his adventures…until now.
Ever since you’d gotten pregnant, you’d been bugging Haru about settling down somewhere so your child could grow up with some semblance of normalcy. For the longest he’d resisted the idea, but since his mother started in on the badgering, he’d conceded to your wishes. You knew that he’d settle you somewhere gruesome, you just wish it hadn’t been this house.
It had all be Haru’s idea. He loved the thought of settling into the most haunted place in Japan. It would kick off his new book with a bang. Returning to his native country of Japan, he was going to explore all it had to offer, debunking one haunting after another. He was going to start with the biggest and juiciest of them all. The Infamous Saeki House.
Because you often helped Haru with his research, you’d done your fair share of work on this house. A tragic case of murder-suicide, your heart went out to the lonely Kayako and her son Toshio. From what you understood, a terrible curse had been put on the house, so that anyone that entered it would die a horrible death. You didn’t like the thought of living in such a house, but so far, every haunted place you’d been in had remained…well not haunted. You hoped moving into this house would follow the pattern thus far, but…there had been a staggering number of deaths attributed to this place. Too many for you, personally, to consider it a coincidence.
After everything heavy was moved in, Haru set his workstation up and immediately began working, leaving you to unpack the rest of the things. You jumped at every creak and groan the house gave you. You couldn’t help it, coupled with the feeling of being watched, and the knowledge of what had happened so long ago, it really creeped you out.
Luckily, because of your nomadic lifestyle, you didn’t have much to put up. So that left your afternoon to clean up and play with Sakura. At around two, she began to get fussy, and you put her down for a nap. “Woman!” Haru called, just as you finished tucking Sakura in. You wince, pausing in case Sakura woke up. When nothing happened you walked downstairs, wondering what on earth could be so urgent? “Yes, dear?” You ask, standing behind your husband. “Food.” He says, not bothering to look up from his computer screen. “Of course, dear.” You say, shuffling over. You don’t really have anything, not having had the opportunity to shop for groceries. So, you settle for peanut butter sandwiches and milk for him, and soup for you. You had to watch your figure, considering you just had a baby.
You place the plate down next to him. He barely registers you, just begins to eat. Frowning, he looks at his plate. “Really?” He finally looks up at you, irritated at his meal. “It’s all we have dear,” You say. “Mother would’ve gone out to get something before we started moving in.” He pointed out. You swallow the lump in your throat. Of course, why hadn’t you thought of that? He rolls his eyes. “Whatever,” He mumbles, “Make sure you go out tonight. I want a big breakfast in the morning.” You repress a sigh. “Of course,” You say.
*
Wandering through the isles late in the evening, you thank the gods that Haru had taken the time to teach you Japanese. You may be a slow reader, but you were at the very least fluent. You took your time in the little grocery store, wondering at some of the strange ingredients. You thought about buying some of them, after all you were in Japan now, Haru expected you to learn how to cook like the Japanese. You contemplate getting something wild and new, but ultimately decide not to, not for the first night anyway. Haru would be disappointed in you, but you could take it.
You don’t take long in the store, not wanting to cook a feast for two tonight. You’re tired, and quite frankly, you just want to get home and go to sleep. Moving halfway across the world takes its toll on you, and man were you tired.
You hum as you put the groceries in your car, finally done with the shopping. You stop when you notice people watching you. Little grandma’s hurry along once they notice you noticing them, some mothers scold their children and tell them not to stare, that its rude. You sigh. You might have to get used to that. Not only are you an American living in Japan, but you’re not white either. This is probably the first time any of these people have seen someone with a skin color like yours.
You buckle Sakura in her seat safely, making faces at her as you do so. She giggles and grabs for you. You can’t help but place a kiss on her cheek. Ever since you knew you were pregnant, she’s become you’re entire world. Haru whined about it every once and a while, but he had books to write, and TV interviews to keep him busy. Besides, you’d been living in his world for the longest time, now you had things to keep you busy on the long stretches of nights he was too busy for you.
Pulling into the driveway you notice some of the neighbors stare at you in horror. You ignore them, after all, its to be expected. You live in one of the most haunted houses in all of Japan, people are going to stare. You wave at them, flashing them the brightest smile you could, before gathering your daughter and the few groceries you’d gotten. You shuffle into the house as quickly as possible, shutting the door soundly behind you.
“Haru?” You call into the house, taking off your shoes before entering further. “Haru, I’m home!” You look over to his work area, he isn’t there. Maybe the move tired him and he’s in the bedroom. You resume humming as you put Sakura in her play pen. “I’ll be right back sweetie.” You tell her, kissing her forehead.
You’d just finished putting the groceries away when the smell of alcohol hits you. You’re just registering that its Haru when he wraps his arms around you, nibbling at your neck. “You look cute,” He slurs. You were sure he meant it as a way to get in your pants, seeing as that’s the line he picked you up with years ago, and subsequently the line that always let you know he was in the mood.
“Not now, Haru,” You say, trying to shrug him off. His grip on you tightens. Pressing his erection in your back he begins to whine, “Why not baby? It’s been so long since we did it.” You feel irritation flood your system. You’d done it two days ago, you wanted to snap. Besides, he always got so childish when you didn’t fuck him when he wanted. You had a baby you take care of; you didn’t have the luxury of just opening your legs whenever you wanted to.
“Come on, Haru,” You say, managing to turn around in his arms at least. “Later tonight, I promise.” His next whine falls on deaf ears. Over his shoulder, something white moves across your field of vision. “What was that?”
“What?” Haru says, looking behind him. When he sees nothing, he looks back at you. “Seeing things again? He teases. You glare at him. It’s not your fault that they’re living in the most haunted house in Japan, is it? Haru buries his face in your neck, trying his best to grind on you in his drunken state. “C’mon, give my big finger a tug or two.” He laughs at his own lame joke. “Haru, no.” You say, pushing him back, he stumbles. You see the fire in his eyes, but don’t pay any heed to it. “Now listen you,” He starts, but Sakura begins to cry. “The baby!” You gasp, rushing to get to her.
Haru stops you with a tight grip on your wrist. “Don’t fucking ignore me!” He snarls. You yank yourself away from him, trying to break his grip. “Let go!” You whimper, “You’re hurting me.”
“Listen, bitch,” Haru snarls. His words get you to stop. Haru had called you many names in your relationship, but never bitch. What the hell was this? “Haru, you’re scaring me.” You whisper. “You’ve ignored me for that brat long enough,”
“That’s your daughter!” Haru then does something he’s never done before, he raises his hand to you, punching you in the lip. Your head snaps back, you slip, landing hard on your ass, teeth clicking together. Haru throws himself on top of you. Before you can fully register what’s happening, he’s tearing at your shirt, grumbling about how he was going to take what was his. “Haru, Haru stop!” You scream. He back hands you this time, “Shut up!” He bellows. “Shut the fuck up! I’m tired of your mouth. You American women are always talking back.” Another back hand. By now you’re crying, wonder what the hell has come over him.
He’s always been a beast, a voice in your head says. You knew this day would come; you just ignored the signs so you could continue playing pretend. “I’m going to show you how to be a good wife. A quiet one.”
Haru wraps his hands around your throat, squeezing as tightly as he can. You immediately begin to gasp and claw at his hands, trying to get a breath. Your thoughts are on your daughter. Who will protect her from him if you can’t? You kick and struggle, trying with all your might to throw Haru off you.
It’s then you hear a faint clicking sound. Like someone pausing and thinking aloud with a long, low ‘uh’. Something black and white appears over Haru’s shoulder. A woman, the only other woman that’s lived in this house besides you. Kayako Saeki. She looks between you and your husband, wondering who to take first. You reach out to her, managing to choke out a small little “Please,” She looks at you, dead eyed, but intent. “I said shut up! You fucking American whore!” Haru yells, squeezing tighter. The edges of your vision begin to go black; you begin to struggle less. “Please,” You mouth. With all your might you try to send your thoughts to Kayako. Your daughter, please save your daughter.
Kayako’s characteristic groan grows louder, able to be heard over the cries of your child. This distracts Haru, his grip lessening so that you can gulp a lung full of precious air. With renewed strength you begin to struggle again. “Stop moving!” Haru snarls. He’s about to redouble his efforts in killing you when a white blur tackles him to the ground. You cough and splutter for a moment, your lungs burning. Without really thinking you crawl towards the living room, instinctually wanting to soothe your crying child.
You make it to her play pen, the moment she sees you, she settles somewhat. With some effort, you manage to take her out of her play pen and hold her close. You scoot yourself back against the arm of the couch, terrified. You’re going to die now, you and your daughter.
Your throat is in searing pain, you begin to tremble and cry. Kayako, done with your husband, comes crawling towards you. Her eyes wide, mouth closed. “Please,” You croak, tears flowing freely now. You give your now quiet daughter a kiss. “Please, be quick.” You beg, “Please, have mercy. P-please-” Whether or not it’s from terror or from exhaustion you feel yourself succumb to darkness, the edges of your vision going black once more. One last plea for mercy following you into a deep sleep.
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Smoke and Ash - ShiSaku
A/N: This is part of this AU where Tsunade and Sakura in a non-mass setting make an active attempt to take out Danzo. Sakura goes undercover in ROOT.
It’s also connected to this snippet.
//
Shisui never really knew his grandfather. He’d heard stories of him from his father, who’d barely known him. His grandfather, he heard, disappeared one night. There was no body.
He never returned.
His grandfather’s death haunted his father till his dying day, and Shisui had never quite taken well to people in his life disappearing without a trace. Wandering. Least of all, her.
“Imagine,” Shisui remembered his father say. “Imagine standing at that door, and he’d reach down to pat your head and tell you that he’s going to teach you how to throw shuriken at the board, and the next thing you know… he’s gone.”
Shisui never really understood the feeling until he was sitting on the couch of the Hokage’s office, waiting for the Hokage to return, waiting for any any confirmation of Sakura’s whereabouts or something. A sign. Anything.
He ran his hand through his hair.
If he’d been a brasher and bolder ninja, he’d be out the door before anyone or everyone could stop him. He’d be out trying to find her.
But the sinking feeling of her potential betrayal was weighing his feet down on that couch. What was she doing with ROOT shinobi? Could she have been that woman who saved Kabuto? Whose side was she on? The Hokage said that she had answers. She asked him to wait.
He buried his face in his hands.
She had always been such a wanderer, hadn’t she? He thought.
She was a little girl of three when he first met her. She’d leave her mother’s hand to go chase a butterfly. Through the crowds, and through the set of legs and busy carts and end up lost all the time.
He was only ten, and he was sharper.
“Hey.” He crouched. “Where are you going?”
She’d scrunch up her face.
“Butterfry,” she’d say. With a mind of her own, she’d walk past him, while he’d grab her by the collar. There was a woman missing her kid somewhere, he thought. He had to get her back home to that woman who’d be crying for her child.
“Oi!”
For most of his life, Shisui spent it in being a silent watcher over the village. Over her. Sakura, on the other hand, when she returned from her trip, was vibrant breath of energy. She couldn’t help but attract attention to herself with her caring personality.
She was the Godaime’s second coming. She flitted in and out of the rooms of the hospital.
She stopped being a child long ago, and she had grown to become unimpeachable.
It took him perhaps eighteen years to realize that this was just one face of Haruno Sakura.
The door to the Hokage office was pushed open, and it pulled him out of his thoughts.
“Shisui?” He looked up to see Sasuke. “Is it…true?”
“What do you mean?” Shisui asked carefully. Tsunade ordered him not to keep it brief with anyone—more specifically an Uchiha and Kushina’s brat—and tell them half-truths.
“Is she dead?” Sasuke asked. Sasuke eyes were wide, his sharingan was on, and he was clenching his fingers. “Please… tell me she isn’t.”
This was cruel, Shisui thought.
“She’s not dead,” Naruto was saying. He was pacing circles on the carpet floor. “She’s not dead. Sakura-chan is too stubborn to die! Maybe… we’re just reading it all wrong. She’s…missing.”
“Where did you hear this?” he asked carefully.
Sasuke was staring at him strangely. It was calculative, and at the same time, it was blank. His blazing sharingan was the only reminder that Sasuke would break down any moment. He was trying to figure him out.
“Sasuke,” he said slowly. “Where did you hear this?”
“I—” He held out a crunched letter between his hands. “Her mother found what seems to be a suicide note… in her diary… The ANBU stormed her room for her items. They informed her she was on official business, and well, I was on patrol at the time. I—”
Shisui calmly took out the note, and he felt his blood ringing in his ears. Suicide note kept playing like a broken recorder as he read.
“It finally comes to an end,” she said. “My five years of hard work. The trap is placed. The rat will be flushed out. Here comes the wave of retribution. If I don’t survive this, please let it be known that I lived and loved and didn’t regret. I’m ready to die in hopes that the rat will meet his executioner.”
His breath caught in his throat.
“That’s… not a suicide note,” Naruto said.
“How do you know, Naruto?” Sasuke had a frantic edge to his barb. “You’re a fucking moron.”
“Sasuke!” Naruto snapped. “Now’s not the time for this—”
“The hell it isn’t. She’s fucking missing. There’s ANBU flying around. Kakashi’s not in his apartment—” Sasuke gripped Naruto by the shirt front. Naruto didn’t flinch. “Your optimism is not helping.”
“Optimism?” Naruto repeated. His eyes burned blue. “Optimism?” He laughed uneasily. “Why aren’t we out trying to find her? She can’t have gone far.”
“This is not a suicide note, Sasuke,” Shisui said quietly. Both of them turned to look at Shisui. He glanced back at the letter.
“Why did I do this? Because I’m duty bound to avenge honest Konoha Shinobi who gave their lives in service. But apart from that,” he continued to read through the ringing silence. “I do have some selfish intentions. He will attack the man I love.” His mouth went dry. “I am willing to die in hopes that he lives.”
“She’s not dead,” Shisui continued quietly. He lowered the letter and stared down at the floor. “She can’t be.” His voice cracked. “I won’t…fucking believe it.”
No body. She was just gone. Not her. Not her. This was some cruel twist of fate—
“When you gentlemen are done,” he heard a cool voice at the doorway. Tsunade stood there. She leaned against the door-frame. “We have news.” All three of them perked up their heads. She strode past them towards her desk.
Behind her was Kakashi—who casually strolled in after Tsunade—and he had an eerie smile on his face. Kakashi smiling would not have been so eerie, if it wasn’t covered in blood.
“Sasuke, Naruto,” he said. “I would have been expecting you. Not this soon.”
“Kakashi,” Sasuke snapped. “Now’s no time for your jokes. Where the hell were you? We’ve been trying to find you for an hour now.”
“Are you bleeding, Kakashi?” Naruto interrupted. “What the hell is happening?”
“Oh.” Kakashi brushed his thumb against his cheek. “This isn’t my blood, Naruto.”
“What happened to Sakura?”
“Calm down,” Kakashi sighed.
“Calm down?” Sasuke repeated.
“Yes,” Kakashi said. “Take a seat. We have to talk, don’t we, Hokage-sama?”
There was glint in Kakashi’s eye—one which Shisui had rarely seen. He was always a mysterious ANBU who preferred his privacy and Jiraiya’s Icha Icha novels. He was hard to read, and hard to identify. The thing is, Shisui respected Kakashi and his Hokage.
That was the only thing stopping him from lunging at them for answers to his questions.
“Let’s confirm one thing,” he said quietly. “Is she alive?”
Tsunade glanced at him.
“She’s alive, yes. She just contacted me. She’s heading towards Suna—”
Naruto rose up, but Tsunade held out a hand. He froze. “—she’s headed towards a potential ally. That was her last message to me nearly fifteen minutes ago through Katsuyu, who’s currently the only source of communication between us.”
He felt his breath ease in. “There were…” he paused. “There were so many ROOT shinobi. How did she manage to escape?”
Tsunade smirked. “Are you seriously doubting my apprentice?”
Kakashi had a crinkle in his eye. “I’m sure Shisui respects Sakura’s capabilities as does everyone else in this room, Hokage-sama. He’s sincerely however baffled—”
“Enough, Kakashi,” Tsunade snapped. “Have you not listened to anything I said? She’s just singlehandedly dismantled one of Konoha’s bloodiest factions, and she’s managed to incriminate a man who ought to have been imprisoned, but he’s consistently hidden evidence. Why do you think he left the village?” Tsunade said. “He’s compromised.”
“And he’s going after her!” Kakashi snarled. Naruto and Sasuke glanced wordlessly between their Hokage and Kakashi. “Help us all if she’s not dead in a few days.”
Tsunade sighed. She rubbed her head.
“We have work to do. Naruto. I’ll be blunt. Sakura’s uncovered your father’s killer,” she glanced at Shisui. “And your grandfather.”
Thick silence followed.
“And that man is Shimura Danzo, long story short,” Tsunade said. “If we’re not careful, this could actually turn into a war. So Kakashi was ordered to capture him.”
“—and unfortunately,” Kakashi said. “I ran into some traps. He knew.”
No one questioned Kakashi on what the traps were.
“Again,” Kakashi said in response to Sasuke’s uneasy look. “Not my blood.”
“Which means,” Tsunade said. “Sakura’s currently isolated. She’s running from him to allies in Suna. She says she’ll lay low. Her only point of contact is me through Katsuyu.”
“Right,” Sasuke said. “Which means we leave soon?” Naruto glanced uneasily at Kakashi.
“No,” Tsunade said. “People leaving in and out of the village right now are likely being trailed. Two of my ANBU reported being followed.”
Shisui sighed.
“Which means, Danzo knows that we’re going to aid her. His goal is her death. She knows something about him, he’s realized. Something which could very well lead to his death. No,” she said. “Wait until we—” she glanced at Kakashi “—dismantle all traps.”
“Noted,” Kakashi said coolly.
“And despite your strong feelings about her incompetence, please note that she’s not the same doe-eyed genin that you took under your wing—”
“Doe-eyed.” Kakashi repeated. “You’ve got to be kidding me—”
She cut him off.
“The point is,” Tsunade snapped. “Your bloody job for the next few days—all of you—is to make sure Sakura’s blood, sweat and tears doesn’t go to hell by your rash chivalry. Danzo’s roots run deep in this bloody village, and they are lying in wait for an opportunity. He’s been here for a long time.”
“What’s that mean?” Naruto asked.
“The village could be compromised,” Sasuke answered for him. “Internal security could be compromised.”
//
“Kakashi,” Shisui said. “You need to listen to the Godaime. She’s right. We need you. You can’t be angry about this forever.”
He wasn’t angry, he was just tired. He was tired of all the secrets. All the lies.
Kakashi looked up at him slowly.
“I’m not angry at Hokage-sama,” he said. “I’m angry at myself, mostly.” There was something in his tone. He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Sakura’s mission was supposed to be mine, but Minato refused to let me take it. It would be too dangerous, he said.”
He sighed heavily again.
“So when I see her… When I see the Godaime trusting her with this, it makes me wonder if Minato-sama thought I was incompetent… what makes Sakura more resilient to the darkness of the world?”
You attacked the man I love.
Shisui looked away as the letters burned themselves in his mind.
“I don’t think that’s a question of resilience.”
#Sakura Haruno#Shisui Uchiha#ShiSaku#Non-mass AU#Kakashi Hatake#Team 7#Naruto Uzumaki#multisaku#Ficlet#Naruto#fanfiction
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The Blacksmith’s Daughter
What happens when a fallen daughter meets a rising son? What happens when they discover that fate had more in store for them than the lives they’d planned? Japan’s medieval, Edo Period is the background as Gaara and Sakura miss each other in a series of missed connections only to fall into each other hard.
Notes: Definition from google: “Medieval Japan is characterised by a decentralised government, warfare, and the rise of a powerful warrior class. Fighting was a way of life for the men and women and politics was as changing as a fire’s breath.”
Her parentage was never in question. Sakura was the fifteenth daughter born to the Emperor of Japan. She was the only daughter of a noblewoman who had been sold to the Emperor when her father couldn’t pay his debt. A woman who had failed to produce any more offspring since.
It was a fact. That was who she was. Who she was told never to forget.
And so she believed for eighteen years of being prepped for a marriage to some unknown man, whichever suitor her father decided brought him the most money or power. She learned her kanji, her cursive, her history, her airs and pomp, and her manners. Anything that would be needed to attract a high placed family to want to welcome her into theirs, was taught to her.
She said “yes” to a stranger. To a man she would spend her life with. A man that refused to meet her until then. But she would do her duty. She would wait for him.
In the meantime, her father saw fit to send her to the allied camps to learn to heal. To learn to take care of people. She already knew how to serve her future husband and what to expect when she moved to his land to begin her new life. For now her present was spent tending to the injuries of soldiers who fought and died to keep her father’s control of this land in his own hands. She got a taste of what life was supposed to be about.
With war and death rampant in the country, the shoguns fought over who had dominion where and who deserved to. The Emperor was just a figure head but he was an important one. He spent his days in meetings and adding this pomp and stature in the eyes of the lowly, commoners, and his nights whoring - with whores and wives. Sakura had so many siblings she didn’t think it meant anything who she was, really. Or him. The father who didn’t care about appearances.
And who had no control over what was coming.
.x.
He was the son of a whore. The devil didn’t care about gender. His father was a whore. It didn’t matter that he carried the title of shogun. It didn’t matter that he was well respected. It only mattered that the man deserved to die.
Gaara caught him fucking the servant girls on a weekly basis and a noblewoman’s daughter - or two - every other week. Rasa didn’t bother to hide it anymore. His wife was expected to not care. But his children hated him for it.
Gaara grew up respecting this man; he wanted to be just like him and signed up to become a samurai, as his father had done in his youth, without a second thought. He wanted to get married once he turned eighteen, like his father did, and carry on the tradition of moving into politics and teaching everything he’d learnt to his children. He wanted to matter.
But on the eve of his sixteenth birthday he’d had enough. Gaara packed his bags and enlisted with the regular army and didn’t look back. His father didn’t bother trying to stop him but said he had to return to marry some rich man’s wife in two years.
Not happening.
He never bothered to ask what the girl’s name was. Nor to attend the meetings that had been organised between them. He should get to know her, his mother said, and he almost yelled back “like father is getting to know the servants?”. Almost. She was to be pitied and he did. His father was a whore and a cunt.
But he couldn’t bare to watch her suffer Rasa’s indiscretions. So he left and didn’t look back. His siblings went their own way too, also disgusted.
That was a decision he’d never regretted. Until the day he met the blacksmith’s daughter and decided fate was indeed a fickle bitch.
.x.
Sakura wiped her forehead with the back of her hand before standing and stretching. The last group of soldiers had been hit by enemy arrows in a final attempt to rule the battlefield and were full of holes for their troubles. She’d been on her feet all night.
After years of tutelage, she was almost ready to be allowed to return home. She enjoyed healing people and was not looking forward to returning to the noble court. Her mother’s latest letter had her afraid of what awaited her. She wasn’t ill but talked as though her days were numbered. It made her want to rush to her side but it also left her fearful for her own well being.
Mebuki spoke of assassination attempts and having betrayed her Emperor. That she was going to hell for what she’d done. The raving comments also told Sakura that she was in danger.
‘Don’t come here.’ She wrote. But it made no sense.
“Lady Sakura?”
She started before smiling at her newest patient. Sakura smiled widely at him. “Lord Kankuro, you need to rest.”
He scoffed, failing to sit up in his cot. “I’m fine.”
“Your arm was infected and you’ve been unconscious for days,“ she said, fussing over his bandages.
“You sound like my mother,” he mummbled. And she tutted at him. “Are you busy after this?”
“Huh?” She frowned at him, confused.
“Uh,” he rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not coming onto you, I promise. It’s just, I asked out a cute nurse and she turned me down but if she thought it was a group thing… never mind forget I asked.”
Sakura glanced at the nurse in question when Kankuro looked over at her. She was one of the new recruits who barely knew anything about medicine. Called Matsuri, or something. Sakura also knew that Matsuri was crushing on some other soldier who apparently refused to give her the time of day and had transferred out of this med-tent when the brunette girl wouldn’t stop following him around. Kankuro might be just what she needed, since the rejection from the other soldier had affected her performance in surgery.
Sakura sighed. “I’ll get her in the mess tent and you can bump into us.”
“Thanks, Saku-chan.” He grinned.
She shook her head. “And don’t call me that.”
“Okay, Saks.”
She poked him.
“Okay, okay.”
.x.
Gaara left the tent for two reasons. One: that Matsuri chick was getting on his nerves. Two: the flush of embarrassment he felt when he spotted his brother. He was talking to some pink haired physician and the brothers had not spoken for years. He knew Kankuro had enlisted but didn’t give it much thought, since he kept to himself and took on the more dangerous missions. And he remembered his brother as hating conflict. But so much seemed to have changed.
Pink hair.
Something stirred in his memory but he brushed it aside.
“We’re heading out.” Baki, his commanding officer, hollered at him.
Gaara took a last look at the laughing man he’d once called brother (his eyes drifting over the pretty physician) before following Baki. The redhead had risen in the ranks so fast because of his power and prowess that even the General had stood to attention. The strange man that had connections to nobles and warriors alike.
The Emperor’s favoured mass killer.
.x.
A month of blood stuck to his skin. Gaara didn’t wash except to trek through streams. He smelled like the country side. It made for decent cover as he slinked into the shadows and pounced from bushes and hovels to kill his targets.
He’d become an assassin. After Baki’s death and word spreading of the decimation of his entire platoon, he was reassigned to the darker, specialised killers. He wasn’t a ninja. He wasn’t one of them. But he drew as much blood as they did. He killed like he’d been born to it. Gone were the concerns over the brother and sister he’d left behind. The mother who had passed to illness in the last winter.
Six months ago he’d avoided Kankuro in a medical tent and now he stood, face-to-face with the man, unable to hide his true intentions. He’d been sent here to assist with a platoon that was trying to take out a rival shogun’s family. They needed this family dead. They needed someone who could disappear into the shoin-zukuri in shadow and slit those throats without raising any alarms.
His father needed to appear to have clean hands in their deaths.
Times were changing and the old man was losing control. These enemies needed to die. And so they did. Gaara emerged from their home, covered in blood. He faced down his brother - the man who greeted him and thanked him for his service as though they hadn’t once occupied the same womb.
Gaara’s grip on his sword was tenuous even as he gripped it tighter. How he wanted to just charge the stranger in front of him. To show him who it was that deserved to be in the light and put the dark behind him. But then a mousy girl came out of the tent behind Kankuro.
His wife.
Matsuri had given into him after all. And her belly was full of his brother’s child. She watched on at the silent exchange as though she had never followed Gaara around hoping to be the one to carry his children.
Who cares?
But it made him wonder if someone could. If the monster he’d become could have that. So his hand slacked and he lowered his weapon. This was not worth the aching in his heart. It was time to choose his fate and he refused to die here.
Gaara turned and fled back to the dark. Back into the pain of his life.
.x.
Her return home had not been the horror story Sakura had feared. Though she wished she’d not returned at all. She’d stood at the walls and contemplated fleeing her future. The man who’d been her betrothed had been killed in battle, she said. He was a stain on the memory of her family, so she was to pretend he’d never existed.
But she’d also heard rumours he’d simply defected. A runaway and potentially a traitor. The son rose high and she’d been falling from herself so far. Sakura could not climb the wall in front of her. So she let the guards usher her inside. To see her mother’s corpse. The accident had been tragic they said. The poor woman died so suddenly they claimed. How sad.
Sakura did not spend much time in the presence of the body but even she had seen how only poison could make those pink lips turn so blood red. But what was she to do? She questioned the mortician. She asked to see the autopsy report. But nothing came of it. At last, her father sent an official to inform her she was being sent out again.
Where you’ll cause less fuss.
And this was how she descended into infamy.
.x.
Sakura did not correspond with Kankuro and Matsuri after that first time they’d spent together. She helped him woo the girl and got out of there. Apparently, the man the brunette had liked was determined to ignore her and had gained a reputation for being blood thirsty, which was unbecoming of his noble status. No good was going to come of it.
She wasn’t even invited to the wedding.
But she didn’t care. Sakura returned to the medical tents and threw herself into the work. But she knew she couldn’t keep this up for long. Soldiers would give her strange looks. Shogun under her knife would not call her Lady anymore when she visited them in recovery. And every night she sensed the hidden follower when she returned to her tent. Someone had decided she was trouble. What she could have done, other than question the healers back home, she didn’t know.
But time was getting short as she started to get called into the med tent less and less. She was not as needed as before. She was getting a bad feeling. Rumours of how the war was turning away from her Shogun had her worried. Perhaps the children of the Emperor were being watched more closely? But nobody here should know who she was. She was just supposed to be another noble, not royalty.
Her surgery talents were being wasted.
After overhearing her superior talking to a soldier about transferring her to the front line to get rid of her, Sakura had had enough. She decided to take things into her own hands.
.x.
He followed the girl as she began packing and making her excuses to the soldiers that she was going for a run to get rid of hospital scrubs. He watched as she stole a horse and rode away as though the devil were on her tail. He was tempted to follow. So desperately so, that Gaara didn’t bother questioning that urge. He took his horse and rode into the darkness of the night that surrounded the camp.
Pink hair.
She was the same healer who had helped his brother. The one who’d given Kankuro his happy ending with Matsuri. It had to mean something that he’d been assigned to watch her, and kill her if she tried to flee.
.x.
They did not get far. Sakura and the horse she’d dubbed Shugo. A dark brown pedigree that she’d pushed to its limits in the span of the night. The devil was on her tail. But a day had passed and already she had to sell it for supplies. She needed to go incognito and figure out her next move. Sakura had no idea how to live as a peasant but she’d dealt with harsh circumstances before. Living as a physician in the middle of a war was not the lap of luxury of her former home of course.
And still she felt the weight of eyes on her like that shadow from the camp would not leave her alone. Something or someone was following her and she needed to get out of the open. Dyeing her hair and offering her services as a weaver seemed the sensible thing to do. Nobody noticed the dark haired girl walking among a crowd of similarly dark haired girls.
A month later she was still being hounded by the darkness of her shadow and no amount of companionship from those she met and dallied with could throw off her feeling of being hunted. But the hunter did nothing. And she was letting everything go.
One day, her lowered guard would be the best of her.
.x.
He enjoyed watching her. She was his target but her desire to run from the same life he abhorred kept his knife in its sheathe. It kept his eyes feasting on her flesh instead of tearing into it with a weapon that he still wanted to use.
Gaara did not need to kill to survive. He was beginning to realise that. So he decided to take her lead and ingratiate himself into this new world. He found a dwelling and scrubbed the smell of the land from his body. It seemed to take months to finally be free of the blood. But nobody knew how much was still on him more than he did. It would be there forever.
But he finally looked like he belonged the day he purposefully, accidentally ran into her, knocking her groceries to the ground.
This was how the woman came to know him. She had been going by the name Amaya but introduced herself as Sakura the moment he asked. They both looked surprised at this and she realised who he was the moment he smirked, his canines almost looking like they were dripping in blood.
Her heart beat raced. Her palms were sweaty. Her eyes were wide.
But all he did was bow to her and offer his help in picking up her dropped supplies. All he did was ask her to allow him to pay for her dinner. All he did was touch her softly, carefully, to make sure she knew what he wanted from her.
And Sakura had no idea why she gave it to him. Waves of blinding light and rocking motions and crashing against each other; humming and moaning and joining and she was his. They came together in so many perfect ways. She didn’t question why her shadow decided to love her instead of kill her. She was lost to the pleasure and the touches that gave her reason to let go.
To just let go.
.x.
News of her father’s death and his father’s brutal murder did nothing to stir them.
Sakura just smiled as the local gossip spread the news and the official reports came in. As though she were just another citizen. A dark haired girl who used to be pink.
Gaara helped her to her feet and they wandered out of the temple where they’d finally made their life official. Nothing else mattered. Their pasts were fake and they had their eyes on the future, instead.
That’s how he became just some random farmer travelling into the area with his pregnant wife. And that’s how she became the Blacksmith’s Daughter travelling into the new area, pregnant and looking to start a fresh life with her new husband.
.x.
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Headcanons pt.4
Middle school and early high school
I know American class but also Japanese class schedules. I don’t know if I want either or a hybrid.
Based off this post (If i can find it)
Naruto-band
Shikamaru has a knack for playing the drums, but he's never serious about it. He plays the drums because the systematic rhythm helps him think of strategies for shoji.
Has been asked multiple times to join the jazz band in Spring. He refuses everytime because it cuts his time in shoji, but once he gets his own cubie in the band hall he sets up his shoji board and plays it when he has free time.
Hinata has played the violin but hates the way her fingers hurt after being forced to play for long hours.
So she seeks asylum in the band hall, and has secretly taken lessons how to play the saxophone. It's her favorite of all the wind instruments.
She has been asked to join the spring jazz band, despite not being an actual member. She easily took the first chair when they were evaluating their skills.
Choji has been following a senior that's been teaching him the guitar, he's in the brass section playing the tuba. Has been asked to replace the senior when he gets older and wants to.
Naruto is in the brass section with Kiba but only Kiba is the trumpet player. Naruto is a trombone player and tells dad jokes. He didn’t fit the mold of a trumpet player but he still loves it regardless.
But his energy is definitely on par, if not greater than the rest. He will always cheer up everyone around him and is a part of the cheerleading squad.
Hates that there aren't anyone other guys. He just wants to flip off someone's shoulders. Damnit!
He's flipped off Sasuke's and Shikamaru's shoulders before. In Sasuke's case, it was during elementary/primary. They were on the playground and this was Naruto’s second ever attempt to land a backflip. They couldn’t do it because the teacher caught them when a group started forming and they started betting their snacks from lunch to see if Naruto failed or not.
They continued their promise after school and Naruto broke his arm, but he did do it right after. He ate like a King the next day. It was great for him.
The first time Naruto did it was completely by accident and because he was so excited that he got a trampoline.
He’s never taken gymnasium classes before and has not seen a backflip before. But he somehow did it. It still shocks his parent’s to this day. Sasuke and him are neighbors and he came over to see what Naruto was so happy about.
Sasuke came just in time to see him do it. It was the greatest moment of his life because then Naruto tried to do it again and fell flat on his face.
In shikamaru’s case it was during middle school and they were next to the pool. They were at Sasuke’s house for the day because he had a cool deck and pool.
Naruto wanted to jump off his shoulders into the pool. Shikamaru agreed because he didn’t think Naruto could actually do it. He realized his mistake when Naruto beamed in total confidence and Sasuke moved away from the pair.
Naruto didn’t do his back flip because Shikamaru moved the second Naruto decided to jump, without warning.
Needless to say, Shikamaru didn’t support his legs enough and Naruto accidently kicked him in the chin. Naruto ended up on the pool, back first, and Shikamaru fell on his ass.
Naruto swims up to the edge of the pool and looks at Sasuke, trying so hard not to laugh.
Naruto: Did I do it?!
Sasuke, trying to reclaim his composer: No, not at all.
Shikamaru, on the ground rubbing his chin: How did you even hit me!?
Naruto: Again!
Shikamaru: No!
Sasuke, running inside to get a camera or phone to record it: Yes!
Naruto is sometimes very confused as to why he is going to a house, when he has an apartment and his milk is about to expire! Also, his stash of untouched ramen!
Kushina: Naruto, sweetie. Where are you going?
Naruto: My apartment!
Minato: Naruto, we have a house.
Naruto: What’s that? Is it edible?
Kushina: Sometimes. During winter.
Naruto: Why winter?
Kushina: There are houses made of cookies.
Naruto: Really?!
Kushina, nodding along: Yup!
Anyway after High school they sometimes played together. Naruto had to buy a new entire trumpet because he rented from the school. Hinata bought her saxophone and has kept it under maintenance.
Shikamaru’s parents bought him his drum set and he learned how to play on his own. Choji does keep up with his guitar lessons but he did save up alot to get his electric guitar and a bass.
Card games
Hinata, Sasuke, and Shikamaru cannot play competitive and strategic card/board games. Scrabble, poker, 21, War, Bullshit is off the list. A Lot of decks, mostly up to 3 at a time and they are very distinguished between all of them.
Sakura refuses to play but does rude commentary to any group she is overseeing. Usually magic, because of Sasuke.
Choji doesn’t play anything but he does place bets on who would win with his snacks.
Magic the gathering.
Sasuke, Itachi played. Black Commander Deck
Sai, again his older brother. Green and Black Commander Deck.
Tenten; She found it and didn’t want something that Lee and Neji enjoy. Standard White and Blue Deck.
Yu-gi-oh.
Hinata; only because Neji played. Silent Magician Deck
Neji; because Lee played. He didn’t want to seem stupid. Hero elemental deck
Lee, he just likes the anime. But does have Yusei’s deck
Ino, she likes the pictures on Toon town and they let her do whatever but to some extent.
Both.
Kiba; Rarely, Magic first. Green and Red Commander. Gear deck
Naruto; Rarely, yugioh first Odd-eyes deck and Black and White Standard Deck.
Kiba, dissing on Yugioh.
Naruto: Shut up, your mother buys you mega blocks instead of legos.
Hinata and Sasuke are both petty about each other’s card games. They each have respective sleeves and taunt each other, constantly.
Neji and Lee look at Tenten on the magic side and hate that she betrayed them. She’s just glad that they don't harp on her in her card game.
Pokemon.
Shikamaru, because no one knows how to fucking play.
Shino only collects the cards.
Shino showing Shikamaru his deck.
Hinata: Oh, are you playing?
Shino: You can play it?
Shikamaru has tried to teach Shino. Shino doesn’t sleeve his cards and when they take damage, he puts some non wet, non greasy food on his card.
Once the pokemon dies, Shino eats the snack. There are crumbs everywhere and Shikamaru’s pet peeve is being messy. Shikamaru appreciates Hinata’s and Sasuke’s sleeves.
Shows
Ino loves Reality TV and other things. But hates the Kardasians. Loves Rupaul drag race.
Sai is often encouraged by Ino to watch anime around her and he also finds anime that she thinks he hasn’t seen.
Sai has brought up Keeping up with the Kardasians and it was a mistake, he thought she would like it.
Ino: The Kardaisians are garbage and Kyle Jenner is a fake as hoe!
Sakura, from another room, hearing Ino rant: Did someone bring up the Kardasians?
Sai: Yeah.
Ino: Never do that again dear.
Sai: Got it sweetheart.
Ino has never actually called any other of her partners by a pet name but she does with Sai and they act like a married couple sometimes. They never talked about it. I mean they have shared stuff about each other that no one else knows. Coming out to each other, learning together because they both feel safe and comfortable with each other. Trust each other a lot.
Elementary bus crew.
Morning
Konoha 12 except Hinata
Naruto was so used to being independent that he has left his house on his own for school. It has freaked his parents more than once but they just watch over him as he goes to school.
Naruto always spots a red haired kid on the opposite of his bus stop with two older people that he holds their hands. Naruto always waves at him and waits until the day he waves back.
Gaara is very affected by his past life, like he was carving the kanji for love when his mom walked in because Temari tried to stop it but couldn’t take the blade away from him. She got slashed on her arm as a result.
Karura walks in and gasps softly.
Karura: Gaara sweetie.
Gaara: Mama, you're alive?
Karura: Of course. Please put the knife down.
Gaara: Knife?
Gaara completes carving in perfect kanji and stops once he completes it. Then the pain registrator for him
Choji is allergic to mustard, he found out in elementary and by accident. Shikamaru went to the teacher and Hinata stayed with Choji because he was rubbing his face and making his hives worse.
Afternoon
Rest of the Konoha 12 except (Hinata Neji and Shikamaru) No Sai yet.
Middle school. Bus Crew
Morning
Konoha 12 except Hinata, Ino, and Sakura
Afternoon
Konoha 12 Except Hinata, Tenten, Neji and Sasuke
High school bus crew.
Morning
Hinata was too scared to do it on her own in elementary, she tried in middle school and failed, but she succeeded in high school. She has to wake up an extra hour and walk to her stop but she doesn’t after freshman year. She got used to it
Afternoon
Everyone unless they have clubs, even then there is an after after school bus.
Hinata and Neji are on the richer side of town and everyone in middle school often joked about how they are on the west side while everyone else is on the east side.
They all meet on sports day. The other schools were pitted against each other east versus west.
Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto were in a group together and were mocking Neji from a distance.
Naruto: Ew, is that a West sider?!
Sakura: Is that a boy or girl?
Naruto: It doesn’t matter! It’s a west sider!
Hinata from behind them, joins in.
Hinata: Ew a west sider.
Naruto, turning around: You got that r-
Hinata a carbon copy of the guy they were mocking.
Naruto: AH!!! They got us from behind!
Hinata blushes: Naruto-kun
Naruto: Oh, it’s just you Hinata.
They don’t know each other at this point, Sasuke and Sakura look bamboozled at their interaction.
Hinata is going to therapy for this because her parents are worried and she just wants a break from the whole past life stuff.
Hinata sighs to herself: Not again
Hinata walks off towards where Neji is and leaves Naruto in her wake.
Naruto’s motto: We are here to cause some ruckus, then DIP!!!
#This is for the laughs#I love writing this#Naruhina#hinata hyuga#naruto uzumaki#Naruto#sasuke uchiha#sakura haruno#ino yamanaka#shikamaru nara#gaara#Ahhh#rock lee#neji hyuga#Tenten#Sai#choji akimichi#shino aburame#kiba inuzuka#Sorry if somethings dont make sense
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Like the Sun and the Moon
Chapter 3: An Unexpected Meeting
Chapter Index
My dearest Makoto,
Although I still can’t comprehend why you’re so insistent on being a demon slayer, I’m relieved that you survived Final Selection. Having said that, if the next time I see you and you are missing a limb just like Old Man Shiro, I will personally wring BOTH of you by the ears.
Life over here has not changed much from last we wrote. The village is as peaceful as ever, but it’s a little lonely without you here.
The elders often ask about you. They miss you and wish you good health. Grandma Ayame especially so. She often brags to me about how talented you were with the shakuhachi and wants to know if you’ve been practicing. She says that when you come back, that she’s expecting a performance.
Honestly, I’m a little jealous of how much the old folks love you, but that’s to be expected I suppose.
Grandpa Kenji still wants you to marry Soma as well. He often gets into fights with Grandpa Takehiko whenever it comes to that. Saying Soma would be a better husband for you than Yori. Haha, aren’t you lucky having so many suitors?
All jokes aside, they worry about you, so make sure to keep in touch. Don’t forget that this is your home too. I’m sure everyone would be excited to see you again, even if you’re just dropping by, so come visit soon.
Yours truly, Yuuki Nakano
Smiling down at the letter, a warm feeling swelled in Makoto’s chest. Her eyes softened as she read the words over and over again. Giggling at the doodles Yuuki had made at the bottom of the paper, she couldn’t help but feel nostalgic.
The memories of Grandmother Ayame teaching her the shakuhachi and playing with her father were heartwarming. Or when the men of the village would sing and dance all night long during the summer festival, only to be scolded by their wives the next morning.
Mokoto recalled how Soma would cry whenever he saw a spider, or when she spent the day playing with origami paper with Yori and his mother.
She remembered the giant sakura tree at the edge of town…
Picking up the ink brush, Makoto’s strokes were delicate as she made her replay. Assuring that she was fine and that she too wished for everyone’s well being. Subtly skipping over the suitors, Makoto promised to stay in touch before signing off.
Letting the ink dry before rolling it up, Makoto slipped it into the metal tube that sat atop of Shiro’s crow. Opening the window, she wished him well before he flew off.
Turning around, she greeted Shiro with a smile as he opened her bedroom door.
“Did Yuuki respond?” he asked, not really caring for the answer as he spotted the open letter.
“Yes, I just sent Sora to deliver my response. I do hope you don’t mind,” she affirmed laughing slightly at his eye roll of the nickname for his bird. He really saw no need for it, but she had insisted.
Turning around, he called over his shoulder, “Come, your sword has arrived.”
Sliding open the living room door, Makoto entered the lightly decorated room. A man with a hyottoko mask sat by the table in the middle of the room, sipping his tea. Sitting down across from him, Makoto greeted him, bowing politely.
“Ah, you must be Makoto,” he smiled, placing his cup down.
Adjusting the mask back on his face, he turned to open the wooden box next to him.
“I am Yuudai Yoshioka, the swordsmith who crafted your blade. You know Makoto, your sword was quite a challenge to make. Never before have I made a sword quite like this one, it was quite a fun challenge indeed,” Yuudai beamed, handing the blade over.
Examining it, it felt no heavier than a normal katana. The pale blue and white sheath reminded Makoto of the sky and the cloud-shaped handguard only strengthened this thought.
“Well? Aren’t you going to open it? I’m sure you know what these katanas can do,” Yuudai asked, eagerly waiting.
Softly laughing, Makoto unsheathed the blade, holding it up as the three waited with bated breath.
Makoto stared at it in awe of the craftsmanship. There was clearly a lot of effort put into the 12 toothed sword, each tooth separated by a small indent. She only found it more beautiful as a lovely shade of purple crept up from the base of the sword. Tinting the once black and silver blade lavender.
“Lavender, huh?” Shiro mumbled, a little disappointed it wasn’t green like his own.
“Thank you so much, Yoshioka, this is exactly what I wanted,” Makoto beamed, the corner of her eyes crinkling.
“A beautiful sword for a beautiful person. I hope it leads you well in combat, and if anything happens, I’ll be happy to make another blade for you,” he chuckled, proud of the joy he brought.
Flying through the opened doors leading to the garden, Makoto’s crow suddenly swooped in.
“Makoto Sasaki, southwest! South-Southwest! You must head southwest!” he kawed, flapping his wings in the doorway.
“Asuka!” Makoto said, startled.
“So you’ve already named this one too huh?” Shiro sighed, hiding his amused smile.
“Yes, but that’s beside the point right now,” Makoto retorted before turning back to Asuka.
“What’s southwest?” she inquired.
Settling down on her outstretched arm, he kawed, “This is your first mission! Beware, the village down southwest sits next to a lake! People have been going missing! Daughters! Brothers! All gone!”
Makoto frowned, about to speak when Asuka suddenly continued.
“Children… Children… Children under ten… are coming up dead in the lake!” he kawed, causing Makoto’s stomach to drop.
“All… under ten…?”
Gathering her equipment in her room, Makoto prepared for the journey ahead.
Slipping her sword into the white belt around her waist, Makoto adjusted the sleeveless uniform jacket on her shoulders. Leaving it mostly unbuttoned, it exposed her bound chest. Needing to let her skin breathe, she kept the bottoms of her hakama pants untied as well, unlike most Corps members.
After slipping into her crane patterned haori, Makoto picked up an old, wooden hairpin. The pale pink paint had already started to chip off the crudely carved sakura blossom, and the jewel that once sat in the middle had fallen out.
Staring at it longingly, Makoto’s fingers were light as she traced its petals.
“Makoto,” Shiro announced, entering her room.
“Yes,” she sighed.
Taking in a deep breath, she placed the hairpin onto the side of her head before turning to look back at Shiro.
“I’m ready.”
After waving goodbye and promising to write, Makoto followed Asuka’s lead. Walking down the path, she spotted a familiar figure up ahead. He was leaning against a tree, and she could already feel the frown on his face.
“Good morning Shin-san. Lovely weather we’re having don’t you think?” Makoto smiled, mentally preparing herself as he scowled at her nickname.
“Don’t fuck with me. Didn’t I tell you, you weren’t fit to be a demon slayer!?” Sanemi snapped, cutting straight to the chase.
Rolling her eyes, Makoto rubbed the top of Asuka’s head as she hummed. Clearly not really thinking about his question.
“I heard about what you did during Final Selection. Don’t think other demons are just going to let you kill them so easily, especially with blood like ours,” he growled, stepping away from the tree.
“I don’t expect them too,” she sighed, finally looking up at him.
“You’re too soft Sasaki. You’ll never make it. Just go back to taking care of the old man,” he demanded, watching how her eyes darted away.
Humming softly to acknowledge she heard him, she changed the subject.
“Hey Shin-san, do you have a younger brother?” she asked, noticing how his face seemed to twitch at her question.
“Don’t change the subject,” he warned, but Makoto ignored him.
“But do you? There was a boy who reminded me a lot of you while we were choosing our ore,” she laughed, paying no mind to the way he glared at her.
“Your eyes are even shittier than I thought. Just ‘cause someone reminds you of me, don’t fucking mean we’re related,” he snarled, reluctantly answering her.
“Hmm, that’s true,” she hummed, folding her hands behind her back.
But before Sanemi could continue their conversation, she spoke up first.
“Oh! By the way, I was curious. How do I look?” she eagerly asked, twirling a little.
“Is that really something you should be concerned about?” Sanemi snapped, trying to ignore the smell of lavender she just wafted in his direction.
He could already feel his muscles relax just the slightest bit because of it, which only pissed him off more.
“I was wondering if you could tell my inspiration is all,” Makoto chuckled, not so subtly pointing to her open top.
Sanemi didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to. Makoto could tell just by glancing at his face that he didn’t find her flattery very amusing.
“Stop messing around and just go back already,” Sanemi growled, trying to stay civil with her.
“I’m sorry Shinuzugawa, but you know I can’t do that,” Makoto sighed, voice flat.
“I’m able to do Breathing Techniques, I attract demons, I was able to change the color of my Nichirin Sword. If I have the ability to make a difference, to change something for the better, shouldn’t I do it?” she inquired, turning to meet his eyes.
“Isn’t that why you became a demon slayer as well?”
Makoto’s little speech was getting on Sanemi’s nerves, but her last words had left him speechless. His voice trapped in his throat as a slew of emotions bubbled up inside him.
“Anyway,” she coughed, not letting him respond.
“It was sweet of you to see me off. I’ll be going now,” she smiled, slipping past him.
“Stay in touch, won’t you?” she laughed, waving goodbye.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sanemi cursed as he watched Makoto’s back. He could stop her right now, force her to turn back, but what she had said struck a nerve with him. Heavily sighing, his frustration with her only grew.
“Sasaki!” he called, causing her to turn to him.
“If you’re leaving, don’t expect me to give you any more favors!” he shouted, fist clenched.
Studying his form from afar, Sanemi’s frown only deepened at the small smile she gave him. Her eyes were soft, swimming with knowing melancholy.
“I know��” she said, before turning around and leaving.
Walking down the country road, Asuka sat on Makoto’s shoulder as they traveled. The sun was above them, warming up the sleepy earth beneath her bare feet.
Taking a deep breath, Makoto did her best to calm her nerves, the grip she had on the hilt of her katana doing nothing to help.
This was it, she was finally a demon slayer! Her first mission was just up ahead and people needed her help! And yet, Makoto was unable to steady herself, Sanemi’s words echoing in her mind.
Stopping in her tracks, Makoto’s breathing grew unsteady as she stared at the ground. She hadn’t even made it to town yet and she was trembling with fear. Could she do this? Was she doing the right thing? Maybe Senami was right. Would she be able to kill a demon?
Tilting his head at her, Asuka cooed softly, worried.
The slight feeling of the ground rumbling underneath her snapped Makoto out of her thoughts. Spinning around she only found the dirt road and the horizon behind her. She stood there for a second, before moving to the side of the road.
The rumbling earth only grew more violent as the sound of a scream grew clearer. As it drew closer, Makoto recognized that raspy voice as the person came into view.
“GET BACK HERE YA STUPID BIRD!” he cried, swinging his chipped swords violently.
The Kasugai Crow that he was chasing flew headfirst into Makoto, huddling close to her chest as she held it in confusion. It was panting heavily and exhausted, panicking as the cloud of dust quickly grew larger in front of them.
Covering her face with an arm, Asuka and the other crow’s wings brushed against her face in their escape. Coughing as the cloud of dust around them settled, Makoto slowly opened her eyes to find two, large, unblinking blue ones staring back at her.
Makoto’s face was unreadably straight as she stared back, a puff of steam from its nose, blowing the hair out of her face.
“Inosuke, I’m glad to see you well,” she finally spoke, smiling at the slightly taller boy.
“Where is it?” he asked, his calm voice causing Makoto’s head to tilt to the side.
“Where’s what?” she blinked.
“The crow! That stupid bird flew over here!” he suddenly shouted, not noticing the birds above them.
“Oh…!” she jumped, eyes darting to the sky for a split second.
Following her gaze, more steam blew out of the mask’s nose as a cackle rumbled from deep within his chest.
“Found you…!” he snarled with glee, using Makoto as a spring to jump higher, causing her to stumble back.
A soft tsk could be heard from under his mask as he swung his swords at the two crows, only for them to dodge. Falling onto his back, Inosuke howled curses at the birds. Having completed its job, Inosuke’s crow flew off, leaving behind an extremely peeved Asuka.
Swooping down and pecking at him, Asuka cursed Inosuke for not only attacking him but for stepping on Makoto as well.
“Hey- hey, what are you two doing! I’m fine, so please stop fighting!” Makoto wearily shouted.
Begrudgingly flying back to her, Asuka sat on her shoulder, turning away from the two.
Growling, Inosuke jumped back up onto his feet, “I’ll kill ‘em!”
Holding the large bird back from attacking again, Makoto bowed, furiously apologizing.
After having calmed the two down, Makoto fed Asuka some seeds she had in an attempt to keep him tame as she talked with Inosuke.
“I’m so sorry about Asuka,” she apologized once more, only gaining a huff in response.
“Whatever!” Inosuke turned his head, crossing his arms.
Makoto couldn’t help but compare him to a pouting child. From this and the last time they met, he almost seemed to act like a rambunctious toddler. Then again, maybe she was being a little too harsh.
“Um, Inosuke, did you pass the Final Selection?” Makoto asked.
Her eyes moved to the battered swords that sat on either side of his hips. They were horribly chipped, but their indigo-gray hue was all she needed to tell they were Nichirin Swords.
“Of course! That was nothing for the great Inosuke! I’ve battled bears stronger than those puny demons! They were nothing compared to some of the animals on the mountain,” he boasted, puffing his chest out.
“I see, you’re quite strong then,” Makoto smiled, just happy he was alive.
Her comment seemed to only boost his ego, however. He was praising himself and showing off. Proving just how great he was by bending back until his head was in between his legs. Laughing softly, Makoto couldn’t help but find it amusing how a little bit of praise caused him to react.
Lightly pinching at her cheek, Asuka snapped her back to her senses, reminding her of her mission.
“Ah! My apologies, but I have to get going,” Makoto bowed towards Inosuke, only for Asuka to mumble something.
“What? I’m sorry Asuka, but can you repeat-”
“Inosuke Hashibira has to come!” he loudly kawed, making Makoto jump.
“Inosuke Hashibira has to come! This is a joint mission, a joint mission!” he begrudgingly kawed, flying off Makoto’s shoulder.
“The fuck’s his deal?” Inosuke grumbled confused, eyeing the black bird.
Taking a second to process Asuka’s words, Makoto could help but breathe out a sigh. The fear in the pit of her stomach settled a bit at this news. Turning to the boy with a board head, she smiled gratefully at him.
“Well, I suppose we should get going. I look forward to working with you,” she bowed, only confusing the poor boy more.
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#demon slayer#kimestu no yaiba#demon slayer fanfic#kimestsu no yaiba fanfic#oc/canon#oc x canon#Inosuke/oc#Inosuke x oc#fluff#angst#slow burn#Like the Sun and the Moon#manga spoilers
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