@hatredcurse asked: “ why are you looking at me like that? ”

𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒

“—Because Sasuke kun’s expression is scary, nee nee. Have you been overworking yourself lately?” Adorned with pink bunny ears and a salty pretzel at hand. Kisame shook his head. Their zoo visit had become a hide-and-seek. So far, any animal as soon their gaze meets  with Sasuke, they would hide out of fear. Was their work so stressful that he forgot how to have fun? Nibbling on the pastry as he leaned another one for him, Kisame looked around with a lost gaze. “What kind of animal do you like, Sasuke kun. Maybe those won’t run from you.”

Knowledge is power

@hatredcurse

Messenger boy was a role Hatake Kakashi did not play often these days. Special circumstances required special actions though. Officially Rokudaime was retired. Unofficially he was not as much retired as everyone thought him to be. 

The information he carried was material and Sasuke had to be informed about it. It was written on a tiny, unremarkable scroll which they had retrieved by coincidence during an ANBU mission. 

Kakashi had reached the rendezvous point earlier than expected. He crouched on a thick tree branch, his face hidden behind his ANBU mask. Officially he had left ANBU. Unofficially not so much. Once the kids were gone it had been the logical thing to go back. Tsunade sure had not complained. The longest break from ANBU had been when he had served as Hokage. Being Hokage had sucked big time...as expected. He had dragged his feet quite a bit before even starting the position and sure had been glad once he was rid of it. It had never been his ambition and he never understood why anyone would want to be Hokage. 

Now at 38 he went on the occasional high class mission but also spend quite a bit of time in the Onsen or reading or both. Onsen would be good now, he thought when it started drizzling. Night was falling. If Sasuke was on time he still would have to wait a bit. That he did not start reading was a testament to the importance of the information.

@hatredcurse asked: [DEBATE] our muses are arguing because sender is worried and overprotective of receiver,  but when they get up in each other’s faces they end kissing and groping at each other.  — Sasuke to Chitose

Chitose walks through the manor halls with a threatening gait, the train of her dress fluttering behind. The nature of her chakra is disturbed, like a river’s current flowing violently downstream to its destruction, its choppy waters a battering force against rock and bends. There is a mind to unleash it, but the need to remain composed until they’ve reached her living quarters is stronger. Neither one of them could afford to make another scene today.

❝You had no right to eavesdrop on my conversation between my brother and I. Do you have any idea what your outburst back there could cost us? What were you thinking?❞ Chitose asks, her tone low.

❛⠀... an appointment ? ❜ she questions, her voice comes out more wary than she intends it to be.

behind the closed door of her office, sakura can hear the bustling of the hospital at work. they aren't too terribly busy these days, with shinobis having sent out mainly as diplomatic messengers or relief effort than a deployment for active combat since the last of the war fizzles out, and sasuke's trial, though long and tedious, takes precedent. sakura had taken the moment of what she considers to be downtime to catch up on any paperwork and research material she'd missed when the knock on the door came, and sasuke slipped inside.

sasuke-kun, she thinks around the large lump in her throat, still quite in disbelief that he's here. in person. alive, and roaming the konoha streets like he hadn't abandoned it for years. like he wasn't wanted, only a month ago, and were securely on his path to be everyone's mortal enemy. sakura feels trepidation crawls up her spine, her wariness growing sharp in his presence, but that's ridiculous, she chides herself. after all, this is ... this is sasuke-kun, and naruto's brought him back, and everything was going to be okay again. soon. one day. she's sure of it.

❛⠀right. to check your arm, right ? ❜ she finally snaps herself from the trance, swallowing cautiously before she stands, memories of her threatening sasuke and naruto a few weeks ago to come to her for the two-week check-up on the new arm returning to her like flood after a dam's been broken. growing a new limb, while miraculously, is still not often in the medical world. of course it's vital that she checks its strength and function, and whether it works perfectly at all. sakura gestures to the cot clinically. ❛⠀i'm surprised you didn't bring naruto along. remind him to visit me when you see the idiot, won't you ? ❜

normal, like they've been a normal genin team their whole lives. like he hadn't once tried to kill her, as she had tried to kill him.

@hatredcurse ♡ starter call !

Sasuke silently offers a very large moss ball floating around in a water-filled cylinder. " Take it. "

By reflex, Shino takes it. When he's offered something to hold by a comrade, he holds it without a word... It's after taking it that he suddenly questions it.

"What is it for?" This seems to be a decoration, it's pretty, but... Why?

Starter for @hatredcurse

"Shiro-sensei, why is this excise important again?" Daria wore a questioning, slightly annoyed expression to hide how anxious she actually felt about the mission in question they were supposed to be doing that day.

Not so much the mission, but what was involved in it.

The jounin in question simply turned and gave her students an encouraging smile as they walked along. "It's so you three can improve on you your comradery skills. Not just with yourselves, but with your comrades." She explained. "There are gonna be times were you're going to be paired up with others that you don't usually work with. So, us sensei's all got together and agreed that this mission might be a good opportunity for you lot." "Why this mission?" Kyosuke spoke up from beside the pink-haired kunoichi. Inosuke nodded along and made a questioning gesture. Deep down, Daria felt a little glad that they didn't so sure about the situation either. They'd had just properly started bonding as a team, and now weird to... not work as a team. "What better situation to throw you in to force you to put your trust in others." Shiro stated slightly morbidly. Smirking slightly at the disturbed/annoyed expressions on the young genins faces. "Ah. Speaking of which. Seems like everyone else is here already." Sure enough, the other teams were already gathered and waiting. Kyosuke's eyes brightened once he caught sight of his twin amongst the other genin and waved enthusiastically. Daria rolled her eyes, while Inosuke just smiled. "Alright. Go line up with the rest of the gremlins. Kakashi was tasked with pairing up the teams this time, so pray he made some good choices." Daria sighed. Hopefully, she'd get a good partner...

Sasuke's eyes go wide (just a little) for a second, because he recognizes it's an innuendo, and then he's a little puzzled by the implication. Eyebrows furrow. "I don't understand," he states. "Explain."

Somehow it's very important to him. For some reason, to understand Suigetsu. Is he flirting? Does he mean it?

♦: Our muses wrap presents together. — with Sasuke

THE ULTIMATE HOLIDAY THEMED ASK MEME

This late in the year, the sun's highest point was a shallow imitation of its summer self. Its mid-afternoon tendrils of warmth, a brief and pale respite, shriveled to frost the moment it dipped behind the mist of the eastern mountain peaks. Gaara had arrived wearing a coat resembling a polar bar both in color and in bulk, fur-trimmed boots in place of sandals, and a snakelike cowl which obscured his face from his chin to the bridge of his nose. His eyelashes and the tips of his hair had iced over during their three-day journey, and his fingertips had gone blue and had not fully thawed since. Upon arrival they discovered one of the window locks in their visitor's quarters had broken, leading to howling wind rattling the pane in its unsecured casing all night. This would have irritated Gaara more had he even attempted to sleep.

He would have to see their chunin attendant about getting that fixed, Gaara reminded himself the next evening as he made his way over to Naruto's. Naruto had invited him to what seemed intended to be a small holiday gathering, and he arrived early, all too willing to maximize time with a dear friend he saw at best once out of every four or five lunar cycles. Thus far, Sasuke was the only other guest.

Gaara's ruminations on Sasuke were frequent and complex for numerous reasons, some of which being each of their relationships with Naruto, the direct consequences of their multiple and extenuating attempts at his retrieval after his defection from Konoha, and more immediately, their respective withdrawn natures. Kneeling next to him on Naruto's living room rug, he could not shake the feeling that he was sitting next to an alternate version of himself.

Yet there they knelt, assisting with some neglected gift wrapping at the last possible moment while their mutual friend stepped out to pick up take-out ramen. Their folding and taping was unpracticed yet not imprecise, given both of their inclinations towards perfectionism in the absolute. The emptiness between them was not fully at ease. There was much unsaid, and Gaara, barely able to parse out social interactions of the more typical sort, grasped ineffectively at what that might be. There was much that was not his place to say, either.

They therefore spent their first few minutes alone in silence, not a hair louder than the snow now lightly dusting ground outside. The apartment was blessedly warm. He reached for a book on field medicine customs Naruto must have purchased on his recent mission to Iwagakure, he surmised based on the lettering and the style of bookbinding. It must be for Sakura.

"Naruto is relieved to have you home safe," Gaara said at last. There was no palpable awkwardness in his tone, but he spoke as if the words were an infrequently-practiced foreign tongue. "You've brought him a great deal of peace this past year."

Touch Starved || @hatredcurse 💪 - Pick my muse up - from Suigetsu

It had become routine for Sasuke to be on the road ever since he was released from prison. Sasuke, for his part, preferred it this way. He'd always been a free spirit, and being made to stay would have just been suffocating.

Over time, he had become accustomed to being solitary for most of his treks. It wasn't that he didn't miss anyone at all- he had people he'd loved strongly, and he'd yet again, found friendships where he'd least expected. Still, these feelings were something he never dared voice aloud.

So, when he he hit the road yet again, he'd least expected to run into an old friendly face. Suigetsu had invited himself to join him, and while Sasuke had made a comment or two about being hounded on work, he'd been happy to have the other accompany him.

It had been a couple weeks since then, and Suigetsu had become skilled in distracting Sasuke and getting him to unwind even just a little.

While Sasuke had been expecting him to pull some shenanigans soon, as he'd been well-behaved the past couple of days, he hadn't expected to be picked up.

After the initial shock of being caught off guard like this wore off, Sasuke glanced at his dangling legs, and then at the arms around him, holding him aloft.

"... and what prompted this?"

@hatredcurse asked:

❛ you want me to shut him up for you? ❜ from Sasuke

   Shikamaru didn’t lift his eyes from the large grass-grown circle he stood at. Not right at once, anyway. The very muffled screaming from underneath had trapped his main focus, even though he hated it. It was almost impossible to make out any words, but if you knew what lay underneath, you could hear it clearly.

   At least Shikamaru did. Maybe he was the only one. Maybe there was no screaming at all, only the strong memory playing over and over inside his head, causing auditory hallucinations.

   No. Sasuke heard him too. Why would he have said such a thing otherwise? Hidan is alive down there. He is buried alive. It’s been years... and he is still down there, unable to escape. Unable to die. 

   It must be the most... distressful prison. The grimmest and most inhumane place to be kept.

   And he put him there...

   “He won’t shut up.  ...He can’t.” He corrected himself before slightly turning his head enough to glance at Sasuke. “You’re not supposed to be here, or even know about this place. I’m surprised none of the– ” Just as he said it, a herd came through the trees, surrounding the two young men. Shikamaru raised a hand, giving a signal for the deer to back down.

   “You followed me? Or were you just curious about what these woods look like?”

NOTE :3c

send me  ‘ NOTE ‘  and i’ll tell you what my muse would write on a note left for yours. 

Sasuke finds a note right on the dinner's table.

@hatredcurse

Just a little longer, Sasuke. Bear with me just a little longer.

Just a little longer and the nightmare would end. Sasuke would have his revenge, would claim the eternal mangekyou, the clan name would be purged - and then he would finally be able to lead a life focused on actual life, rather than death. A life where the goal would be to cherish the good he had, rather than to mourn what had been lost. All according to plan.

Gods.

If only Itachi could make a dying wish, it would be for a chance to let his little brother know how proud he was of him. Sasuke had become astonishingly powerful, intelligent in his movements, with incredible reflexes and superb chakra control. He'd even been able to break through Tsukuyomi. What a colossal difference from the boy who would pout every time Itachi had no time to help with training after classes. Certainly, there were details that could be polished. The younger boy still offered too many openings for counters and allowed emotion to cloud his decision-making. Nonetheless, with Itachi's own body pushed well beyond its limits at present, keeping up with Sasuke was proving a decent challenge.

As if on purpose, the sudden urge to cough up yet another mouthful of blood distracted him enough that Sasuke's next barrage of shuriken actually grazed his leg. Nothing of importance but, by the sun and the stars, if his body decided to fail him before the planned moment Itachi was not going to be pleased. No way he would allow himself to die before settling the final, final issue: to completely cleanse his brother from Orochimaru's curse and influence. Patience... the chance would arise, sooner or later. All Itachi had to do was to stay alive long enough.

Something easier said than done, to be sure. Willpower could only carry him so far, and the pangs of ache in his chest were growing more intense with each passing minute. And, even with squeezing every bit that he could out of his mangekyou, blood tears running down the sides of his face, most of the world was becoming reduced to a conglomerate of dark shadows. Yes, no doubt, hurrying matters along would be in his best interest.

Thankfully, for all the progress he'd made, something that had not changed in Sasuke was how quick he was to anger and how easily he'd resort to drastic measures. The legendary Uchiha temper was strong in his little brother. Itachi made himself look at the sky above when prompted, and indeed found a massive storm brewing. What was the intention, however...? Was Sasuke truly capable of commanding an actual element, rather than to simply borrow its power for a technique? All the more impressive, and it might just be the cue Itachi had been waiting for. Surely, if he unleashed his Susanoo to counter, that parasite inside his brother would rear his head.

Just a little longer.

The next seconds passed in an absolute blur.

Lightening rained from above, Itachi let instinct guide him. His impenetrable shield began forming and the two masses of energy collided brutally, momentarily covering the whole surrounding area in impossibly bright light. And, somewhere amidst that light... Itachi felt something. He couldn't tell what. It wasn't pain, not really. Was his heart stopping...? No, not yet! Don't you dare, just a little longer!! Next thing he knew, some sort of ethereal impact shook his entire body and he was projected back, hitting the ground a few times like a bag of old rags before going completely still.

Sasuke mustered up the gall to knock on Itachi's doorframe a few times before letting himself in with a box in his hands. "Merry Christmas," he said, holding it out to him but looking some place else.

Itachi turns to see who's entered, visibly surprised to see his brother. "Sasuke?" He starts, glancing down and seeing box in his hands. A present. Obsidan eyes soften as a gentle smile comes across the older Uchiha's face. "Thank you, Sasuke."

❛ You are a strangely dislikeable person. But you do have your virtues. ❜ — Suigetsu to Kakashi or Sasuke

Was that a compliment or a insult? Probably both. Not like Sasuke cared. He'd interpret it whichever way he wanted. He smirked at Suigetsu, raising an eyebrow. "Thanks. Those virtues being?" he asked. // @hatredcurse

@hatredcurse

Aiko followed him with her eyes first, chin in her palm as she sat on a bench off the path in Konaha. She was happy to see him back in Konaha, and safe. Part of her wished to speak to him, offer friendship and kindness. But what could she say that someone else hadn’t already ? “Sorry for your family,” “I know how you feel.” “I’m here if you want to talk.” She’s certain he’s heard it all before. The idea of regurgitated condolences makes her cringe. He deserves better than rehearsed empty pity.

With a soft sigh, she peeled her eyes away from Sasuke and toward the sunset.

@hatredcurse Sasuke hovers a needle threateningly close.

"Sasuke, I swear to god, I will string you up by your toes--"