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i-would-have-come-for-you · 3 years

Text

A Marriage of convenience

The art does not belong to me. All credits go to @cyantasim for the beautiful work.

Chapter 2

Hinata Hyuga was not stupid.

So when she came home to find Sasuke Uchiha in her house, talking to her father privately, she knew something was wrong.

Neji was also there, strangely. Hinata was anxious. She was pacing in the garden, waiting for their private meeting to be over so she could ask what the hell was Uchiha Sasuke doing in the Hyuga compounds?

“Lady Hinata, you must calm down. It is merely clan business.” Ko, her care taker since she was a child, advised her.

“I just-It’s unsuaul.” She stumbled for words to express what she thought. She did not stutter anymore. No. she’d outgrown that phase along with the shyness.

She’d expressed her feelings to Naruto and she’d been understanding when he’d told her he could only be friends. She was okay with the fact that he was engaged to Sakura Haruno, her close friend now.

Since the war, everyone wanted to rebuild. Together. That’s why people did not hesitate to celebrate small things and small mercies either.

The war had been cruel. But that was 3 years ago. Hinata was a 19 year old now, strong and ready to take over her clan as head.

She’d become Jonin and then ANBU along with a few of her old classmates. Naruto was training to become Hokage under Kakashi’s wing. Sakura was the head of the Konoha Hospital. Ino had decided to become a Jounin teacher along with managing her flower shop.

And Sasuke…he’d left Konoha for a journey as atonement of his sins. He’d come back a few months ago after 3 years. Hinata had been one to welcome him back along with his friends as she felt bad because everyone was wary of him.

He’d flashed her a look of intrigue before resuming his mask of cold indifference. She sighed. She’d drive herself crazy, over thinking this.

She decided to shower and change to calm herself. She showered and changed into comfortable clothing before deciding to read the mission report for her previous mission before presenting it to the Hokage today.

She knew it would be dinner time soon so she walked downstairs, clad in her T-shirt and yoga pants. As she reached the lower floor, she almost bumped into Uchiha Sasuke. She stopped herself just in time.

She looked up at his face which was weary but showed no hint of any emotion. Hinata just stared at him for a moment. “Uh-I’m sorry.” She told him softly.

He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply before walking off, not gracing her with a response. What the-?

She saw Neji, white as chalk come out of her father’s study. “Neji nii? What’s wrong?” she asked him carefully.

He looked at her and almost freaked out. “Nothing.” He breathed out heavily “Nothing at all. Please excuse me.”

He walked off. She wondered was wrong with him. Her father did not come out of the study at all. Hinata shrugged it off, determined to ask why Sasuke was here later.

For now, she had dinner to eat since she hadn’t eaten anything all day.

Hinata had just returned from presenting the Hokage her mission report. The Hokage had praised her good work.

She was still smiling from that, relishing the praise. She’d been happy with her performance on the mission. Her mind tracked back to when she was a young Genin. She’d been weak.

She remembered her father’s mission before most of her missions.

Try not to be a burden for anyone else.

That was always great encouragement, she thought bitterly. It was no use thinking back on that now. Once she was clan leader, she would surely change the ways of the Hyuga. She’d make sure there was no more resentment between the two branches.

She just finished taking off her shoes when the servant informed her that her father wanted to speak to her in his study.

It was something regarding Sasuke’s visit yesterday, Hinata was sure. She walked to her father’s study and knocked softly.

“Come in.” his voice rang out.

She entered and closed the door behind her. He stood besides the window in the room. As if anxious. Which was surely not possible.

“Good evening father.” She greeted.

“Good evening Hinata.” He said. She waited for him to say more.

“You called me here. What is the matter?” she got straight to the point as her father disliked beating around the bush.

“Hinata…I have some news for you and I hope you will take it well.”

Hinata’s heart beat faster. She had a feeling whatever the news was…it was not going to be very pleasant for her.

“What…?” she could not manage anymore words. Hiashi looked at her gravely, as if announcing her death.

“Uchiha Sasuke visited yesterday as I am sure you know. He presented me with a blood contract, sealing your engagement to him.”

Hinata’s breath was knocked out of her body as her father calmly informed her of this. “It was a marriage contract. Between you and Uchiha Sasuke.”

Hinata still could not grasp what he was saying. “The engagement was arranged by me and the Uchiha head Fugaku. It must be fulifilled.”

“No…” she breathed out.

“I’m afraid that is the arrangement. You will be married to Uchiha Sasuke with in the week.” He said it like he was not ripping her life apart right there and then. Like it was a good thing. Like it was routine. Maybe for him, ripping apart lives was not a big deal.

“You can’t do this to me.” She said angrily.

“It is for the best.” He told her.

“You can’t do this to me.” She said through gritted teeth this time. Hiashi sighed, like she was a child, stubbornly asking for a toy she could not have.

“I cannot break a blood contract. And besides, it is a beneficial match.” He said, eyeing her carefully. Her eyes burned with tears.

“You can’t rip my life apart just like that! What about my life? My ambitions. I don’t want to be a breeding mare for him!”

Hiashi flinched at this. He could not help but notice how alike she looked to her mother. It sent a pang through him. Clan before family, he reminded himself.

“Hinata…I expect you to understand.” He told her slowly.

“NO! You’re destroying my life and you expect me to UNDERSTAND?!” she said, raising her voice in front of him for the first time. Her tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Hinata…”

“NO! What about being clan head? I was trained for that all my life. I endured taunts from you, snide remarks from the elders, beatings from Neji only to become clan head and change this clan. What about that?!”

“Neji will be clan head.” He told her softly.

She stopped dead. Her breathing became very slow for a second. Neji. Clan head. Her mind wrapped around the fact that she was so replaceable.

“You…you think I’m so useless that you can replace me in a minute?” she whispered out. Hiashi’s head throbbed.

“It’s not like that. You need to understand…”

“That I’m going to be Uchiha’s breed mare, you’re selling me off, appointing Neji as the clan head and getting rid of me for good.”

“I trained all my life for naught. For this. Only to be married off. You never loved me, it hurt but it was okay. If it meant it would not happen to another under my watch, it was fine. This…death would be better than this.”

Her voice was chocked with tears and Hiashi felt something inside him break. He urged his demeanor not to break. He was clan head dammit.

“Yes.” He forced out.

She looked out and smiled without mirth. “I see.”

“You are expected to be married this week.” He informed her.

He looked at her, as she broke from the inside. He hated that he could do nothing about it. That he was the reason she was always hurting.

“After I’m sold to the Uchiha to be his whore” he flinched at her words for she was never one to use crude language “Do not expect me to visit. I will leave this compound, this clan and your lives forever. No coming back. If anyone tries to seal my Byakugan, I will kill them”

“And since you never played the role of a father anyways, what’s the use of the title alone? You are no father of mine Hyuga Hiashi. I hate you. You didn’t deserve my mother and you certainly don’t deserve me. Good bye.”

She walked outside, slamming the door shut, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Hiashi sat down on his chair, unable to support himself. He looked at the portrait of his wife, who looked as young as Hinata.

She’d always been like her mother, he mused. He’d lost Hana and now he’d lost Hinata for good too.

Hinata wiped her tears as she walked outside. She hated Hiashi. She hated him. She hated Uchiha Sasuke for barging into her life when it was finally becoming better.

She hated him. She walked to her room as her world collapsed around her.

________

“WHAT?!”

Hinata flinched at the volume of Ino and Sakura’s combined voices. She nodded wearily, not wanting to look at them.

“Your father is marrying you off to Sasuke?” Tenten asked, astonished as well.

“That’s what he told me.” She said bitterly.

“What about being clan head and changing the Hyuga?” Sakura asked softly, knowing it was her friend’s dream.

“Apparently marrying me off is better for me so Neji is going to be head while I will bear children for Uchiha Sasuke.” Hinata spat out.

Ino’s blue eyes filled with tears. “Hinata…I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.” She said, hugging her blue haifred friend.

“Ino…life is not fair. Who knows, maybe I even deserve being treated like nothing all my life.” Hinata shrugged sadly. At least her friends knew how she felt.

“Don’t say that.” Tenten scolded almost harshly “You deserve all the best things in life Hinata.”

Hinata chuckled bitterly. “That’s why I really am getting the best things.” Sakura had never seen her friend so down and it made her extremely mad at Hiashi.

“Hinata, I’ll go and kick your father’s ass if I have to. You won’t marry Sasuke if you don’t want to. You will become clan leader.” She said, taking Hinata’s hand.

Hinata shook her head. “He’s not my father anymore. I have cut ties with my clan and I will not force any bonds once I am married.”

“You’re actually accepting this ridiculousness?” Ino asked, angrily. Hinata shrugged.

“I am.”

“Hinata this is crazy.” Tenten said. Hinata did not say anything, staring ahead. She got up instead. “I should go tell the Hokage. I might need a few holidays for the preparations.”

“Hinata please-don’t. think about it. Don’t throw away your while life because of your asshole father.” Sakura urged her.

“Sakura, Ino, Tenten…it’s alright. Things will work out, I am sure.” She lied to them and herself “But more importantly…you’ll attend the wedding, right?”

Ino forced a smile and the others nodded glumly. “Of course.” Tenten said.

“You’ll regret coming to shop with us.” Ino said, grinning despite the fire burning in her heart for Hinata. Hinata let out a genuine smile.

“I am sure I will. I’ll see you tomorrow for shopping then. Good bye.”

She was gone in a flash, leaving her fuming friends who cursed Hiashi collectively, feeling bad for Hinata.

______

Sasuke was training by himself in a secluded area of the outskirts of Konoha when he felt Naruto’s chakra flash nearby. He stopped and looked around.

Naruto appeared in front of him in a flash. He grabbed Sasuke roughly by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the tree.

Sasuke could shake off his hold but he wanted to know what had caused Naruto to be frustrated this time. “What is it now Dobe? I told you I did not steal your ramen coupons.”

Naruto’s glare did not fade. “Sasuke…what is this rumor about you and Hinata getting married?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. That. He shook off Naruto’s hold and turned his back on him. “So you finally heard?”

Naruto growled. “Is it true?” he asked instead. Sasuke nodded.

“How could you, you bastard?!” Naruto yelled, lunging at him. Sasuke dodged his lunge and stood a distance away, an eyebrow arched perfectly.

“She wanted to be clan head! She had a life. How could you?!”

“Well her father did not really object. Plus the blood contract helped.” Sasuke shrugged. “What do you care?”

“I care because she’s my friend and Sakura told me she’s really messed up about this.”

“That is none of my concern.” Sasuke shrugged.

Naruto’s brows furrowed together as he aimed a punch at Sasuke. “Do you really want to go now?” Sasuke asked, grabbing his hand.

Naruto’s kick was the only answer. Sasuke sighed before the spar began.

____

And so Hinata got married to Sasuke by the end of the week. Sasuke offered her any room to sleep in. He noticed her surprise.

“Am I not your breeding mare Uchiha-san?” she asked, raising her eyebrows in a mocking gesture. He did not waver as he said.

“No. You are my wife, not a common whore. After all I did go through the trouble of marrying you.”

“You’re not going to bed me then?” he noticed there was a hint of relief in her voice which almost made him smirk at her fear of sharing a bed with him.

“I am not going to rape you, if that is what your indirect question means. If we sleep together, ever, it will be because we want to…not because of obligation.” He doubted it though. And he knew she did too.

He walked off, tired. She watched his retreating back with a slight admiration. But hate burned inside her. Why could he not be a complete demon to her so she’d hate him? Why did he say this? Why did he behave nicely?

She’d thought he was a sex-crazed, power hungry, obsessed and crazy bastard.

She cut the sex-crazed off the list.

As she lay in the unexpectedly soft bed in the room across from his, sleep engulfed her. She dreamt of demons, Uchihas and darkness.

________

Remember, sharing is caring. Reblog to spread the story :D

I'm going to be making a taglist for everyone who wants to be notified when I update the story so if you want to be added, please tell me.

#sasuhina fanfiction #SasuHina #Sasuke Uchiha #hinata hyuga #naruto shippuden #alternate universe #Married SasuHina #slow burn #enemies to lovers #Post war era

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madara-fate · 3 years

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(This is long and I’m not a native speaker so wanted to warn beforehand)

I don’t agree with most of what they wrote about the shipppuden part where they claimed madara, obito and nagato was right (although I don’t really agree with their motives I believe thay had %100 rights about being angry at the village and the system) But You cannot honestly deny that most of the part I in naruto and the flashbacks it’s always naruto that starts to lash out violently at sasuke (when he doesn’t get to show off or couldn’t manage to throw shurikens as good as sasuke does) and sasuke just doesn’t cara he doesn’t even fight back he just dodges and naruto feels even more humiliated because of sasuke, it’s not sasuke’s fault that he feels inferior also sasuke could’ve bolted from orochimaru in the forest of death it was clear that even if he fought he couldn’t have beaten him and backup was coming if they would have tried to run maybe sasuke wouldn’t have get bitten (I’m not sayin it could have worked but it was a more reasonable solution than let’s fight the creppy snake dude who wants sasuke’s magic sharingan eyes and his pretty body) but you see naruto thought his pride and the exam was more important than his comrades he gave some encouragement and then passed out leaving sasuke to fight such dangerous person and sakura called him a coward that naruto at least does something and she didn’teven do anything whatsoever just watched while the love of his life nearly got killed??? ( don’t get me wrong i like sakura and she did placed herself against gaara and sasuke was prepared to die for him and she got plenty better afterwards and I would never deny her growth that’s why she is my second favorite character but at the forest of death she did nothing and accuse someone who always does the most work of doing nothing) back to the point is i don’t understand why naruto feels it’s sasuke’s fault when he clearly is the one who starts the fights oh and don’t give me that ‘but naruto was 6 hes a child of course he gonna get jealous’ card kakashi was chunnin at that age which brings to another set of problems being that how can they send children to a war and such when they are so young and inexperienced

Look at it from that perceptive your father commits suicide because he saves his comrades instead of doing the mission wich if he was able to save his comrades that must mean they can’t have been that much of a large number (why send so little people to such a dangerous mission in the firs place even if it was a stealth mission and there was war going on why can’t you prioritize your ninjas lives over mission why can’t you have teams that can back them up now I understand sacrifice for the better good but to a village that always brags about teamwork and comrades it sounds too hypocritical to me) Sakumo feels shame not because he saved his comrades but because his status falled ridiculously so much and he was mocked despised for his decision (that was the reason he died because of people he couldn’t take it that was the said reason in cannon) but for some reason kakashi instead of feeling resentment to the village that took his family becomes their most loyal trusted asset I understand why people feel disappointed at his character that doesn’t mean he can’t be loyal to something but he never once doesn’t seem to question why the purpose to all of this loss (please don’t talk about children they send them to wars when it’s convenient to maintain the status quo cuz they have to show their power it wouldn’t stop once there’s peace if there’s any war they still would send them.The strongest village, I remember someone said about Konoha that it’s the biggest ninja village and have the most ninja population so there can’t be that much civilians and kids that aren’t ninja Konoha makes the most money from missions it’s a ninja village not an civilized village)

Now I myself like naruto and kakashi I just don’t like what they represent that you must be ready to sacrifice everything for the village and if someone you care about dies along the way you have no right to be angry at the village because ya know that’s treason I think that anon wasn’t especially angry at naruto himself more than his fans. His fans that doesn’t see a broken child born out of neglect that’s ready to do everything for acknowledgement,bonds,family and friends that he’s blind to what lays underneath but thay see this perfect being that could do no wrong who had it worse than everyone but now he is just an perfect hero no longer that lonely child

Our problem with naruto isn’t naruto himself but people who refuse to see his arrogance (that even itachi pointed out in the war) that they are too far gone they undermine all others pain and suffering to uplift naruto (their precious self-insert)

That’s what i think anyway i’m not trying to impose my opinion on anyone but I just wanted to hear your opinion on those matters but feel free to ignore it if you don’t have anything to say on those matters I understand that not everyone would want to delve that deep into fiction it’s for our enjoyment at the end of the day and everyone could interpret fiction in their own way some might not want to deal with them by saying it in a fictional world it doesn’t work like ours so children going to war is okay there because the narrative doesn’t make a big deal out of it but I don’t believe that I think every fiction mirrors our own world and problems somehow but I get that it’s an escapism and you want to keep that away from that fictional world that has no flaws,it’s different for everyone and i don’t mind honestly

So you created an account just to say this? *Sigh*, okay then.

I'll begin by saying how I have a lot less to say about your ask in comparison to the original Anon, because the original's was just filled to the brim with utter nonsense, while yours isn't. However there are still several things wrong here.

You cannot honestly deny that most of the part I in naruto and the flashbacks it’s always naruto that starts to lash out violently at sasuke (when he doesn’t get to show off or couldn’t manage to throw shurikens as good as sasuke does) and sasuke just doesn’t cara he doesn’t even fight back he just dodges and naruto feels even more humiliated because of sasuke, it’s not sasuke’s fault that he feels inferior

Yeah that's true, but do you think that makes Naruto a terrible person or something? Or a "detestable child" as the other Anon so eloquently put it? No one with a good head on their shoulders thinks that Naruto was a saint as a child. He was a troublemaker with a bad attitude who got up to no good, people know and acknowledge that. However, we also acknowledge the reasons he became that way, and don't form conclusions regarding his worth as a person based on his juvenile antics as a child who was starving for any form of attention.

but you see naruto thought his pride and the exam was more important than his comrades he gave some encouragement and then passed out leaving sasuke to fight such dangerous person

Explain to me how on earth you reached the conclusion that Naruto apparently thought that his pride and the exams were more important than his comrades from this? Please explain that to me. How does Naruto fighting back against Orochimaru, giving Sasuke a pep talk, and then passing out, somehow equate to him prioritising his pride and the exams above the lives of his comrades? That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Quite frankly, that is a preposterous conclusion to reach from that scenario. Opting to fight rather than flee does not automatically equate to caring more about your pride than the lives of your friends. I also love how you word it as Naruto "leaving" Sasuke to fight such a dangerous person, as if that was his intention - To get Orochimaru riled up, and then just leave Sasuke to deal with the consequences because he's just such a prick. Yeah that's not what happened.

and sakura called him a coward that naruto at least does something and she didn’t even do anything whatsoever just watched while the love of his life nearly got killed??? ( don’t get me wrong i like sakura and she did placed herself against gaara and sasuke was prepared to die for him and she got plenty better afterwards and I would never deny her growth that’s why she is my second favorite character but at the forest of death she did nothing and accuse someone who always does the most work of doing nothing)

This I agree with and I've made this point before - about how wrong it was for Sakura to have called Sasuke a coward in that situation, despite the fact that he was the one fighting while she was doing nothing. However, I've still always remained firm that Naruto had the right to label Sasuke as a coward in that situation (just as Sasuke had the right to label Naruto as a coward previously during the Land of waves). Naruto was right to do so, Sakura wasn't.

back to the point is i don’t understand why naruto feels it’s sasuke’s fault when he clearly is the one who starts the fights oh and don’t give me that ‘but naruto was 6 hes a child of course he gonna get jealous’ card kakashi was chunnin at that age which brings to another set of problems being that how can they send children to a war and such when they are so young and inexperienced

You don't understand why Naruto feels that what is Sasuke's fault? Naruto never once expressed the idea that Sasuke was at fault for any of their confrontations at the Academy. Furthermore, I can very much give you the "Naruto was just a child" card. You think using Kakashi's maturity at the same age justifies your assertion that people can't use that excuse? As if everyone was just like Kakashi when they were 6 years old? No it doesn't work that way. Naruto was behaving how you'd expect a 6 year old child with no parents to behave. Kakashi was the anomaly here, not the rule of behaviour.

I'm also not gonna get into the whole "child soldiers" debate because that's a whole other discussion and was never part of the original topic. The point of this was to address the original Anon's absurd claims regarding Naruto, and that's where we'll stay. So everything you said about the child soldiers was interesting, but is for another day. What I'll say regarding Kakashi and Sakumo though, is that Sakumo's treatment at the hands of the village following his mission's failure was never portrayed positively. You asked...

but for some reason kakashi instead of feeling resentment to the village that took his family becomes their most loyal trusted asset

Well I'll tell you why - It's for exactly the same reason why Sasuke eventually became one of Konoha's top protectors despite the ordeal with the Uchiha massacre. It's because the people who are currently residing in the village, are not the same people who wronged Kakashi's father. The current village has nothing to do with Sakumo's suicide, just like how the village itself was not responsible for the Uchiha massacre. The current village no longer abides by those outdated beliefs that the mission must be prioritised above all else. So why would Kakashi feel resentment towards those who had absolutely nothing to do with his father's suicide? There's something you can ask yourself. The village as it is now, is not the same village it was back then; people come and go, as do ideals.

That is not a view that has ever been highlighted in the series, so I really don't know where you got that one from. No one ever stated or indicated that you can't be angry or frustrated with the village hierarchy when a comrade dies during a mission because that would apparently be seen as treacherous. It's actually very ironic that you would say this in an ask criticising Naruto, because Naruto is actually the one who disproves your assertion in this case. If you recall, when Naruto was informed of Jiraiya's passing, he went on a tirade against Tsunade, saying that it was her fault he died, berating her for sending him to such a dangerous place alone etc.

Now during this entire ordeal, was Naruto ever depicted as the one in the wrong? No, he was portrayed as the sympathetic figure who was deeply grieving the loss of his beloved master. Everyone who saw Naruto as he was mourning, acknowledged that he had every right to feel that way, so of course no one was going to reprimand him for lashing out at Tsunade in the manner that he did.

I think that anon wasn’t especially angry at naruto himself more than his fans. His fans that doesn’t see a broken child born out of neglect that’s ready to do everything for acknowledgement, bonds, family and friends that he’s blind to what lays underneath but thay see this perfect being that could do no wrong who had it worse than everyone but now he is just an perfect hero no longer that lonely child

Well as I said before, those with a good head on their shoulders know that Naruto is far from a perfect being, but also know that everything the previous Anon was saying about him was bullshit, simple as that. That being said, I'd rather you didn't speak for that other Anon, because according to everything they said, they most definitely did have a major problem with Naruto himself.

That’s what i think anyway i’m not trying to impose my opinion on anyone but I just wanted to hear your opinion on those matters but feel free to ignore it if you don’t have anything to say on those matters I understand that not everyone would want to delve that deep into fiction it’s for our enjoyment at the end of the day and everyone could interpret fiction in their own way some might not want to deal with them by saying it in a fictional world it doesn’t work like ours so children going to war is okay there because the narrative doesn’t make a big deal out of it but I don’t believe that I think every fiction mirrors our own world and problems somehow but I get that it’s an escapism and you want to keep that away from that fictional world that has no flaws, it’s different for everyone and i don’t mind honestly.

I won't ignore what you said. I asked for someone to respond with their account and you did, so the least I can do is give credit where credit is due, and fulfil my end of the agreement. I had some things to say on the matter as well, but I'll reiterate that the child soldier stuff is far too big a topic to delve into here, and it would be going on a tangent that I'd like to avoid. All I wanted to do here was to see someone actually try to explain and justify the ridiculous accusations the initial Anon was throwing in Naruto's direction, but you didn't actually do that, you took a more understandable approach which I can appreciate, despite still finding issues with a lot of what you said.

#Naruto Uzumaki #Kakashi Hatake #Sasuke Uchiha

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noodelak · 3 years

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MY REALLY OLD ART A LONG ASS POST

So this first piece I found in a folder on my computer called “Old art organize later” within a folder called “ REALLY OLD ART” I drew this in 2006 and the jpeg was titled:

“My most awesome dragon evur”

Also noted was my attempt at signing my name in Japanesef saldkfjsdlf because i was 11 and anime was THEE coolest thing to me.

Okay the rest is going under a read more because this is gonna be LONG

here are some gems from 2007

yes this is a kk slider gijinka faksdjfalsdjf

next up we have my attempt to make super paper mario characters into handsome anime men

it was a this point i was a young baby on deviant art longing to do “digital” art because thats what all the really cool artists did, i didnt have a tablet and the photoshop-esque thing i had was a pirated copy of JASC Paintshop 7 (or maybe it was 8), so what did I make with newly unlocked DIGITAL ART POWERS??

and this charming thing which was my intepretation of what the The Thing Behind the Wall in Johnny the Homicidal Maniac looked like:

but these were only the beginning of my long and arduous journey as an artist, 2009 came and I entered highschool 13 years old and with nothing but the power of deviant art and being an outcast with 2 friends on my side so here are some of my favorites from that era of Noo art:

^^^ this is in fact EXACTLY what i looked like at 13

its kind of funny bc looking back you can absolutely tell id been drawing dragons/wolves since i was like able to hold a pencil but didnt start drawing humanoid characters until i was 12 afjlakfjs

ANYWAYS CARRYING ON BC THERES PLENTY MORE!! For example my Invader Zim/Naruto OCs

yes one of those aliens was kisame

every day knowing that I get to claim ownership over this is truly exhilarating the girl with the pigtails was my OC that was definitely not just me. Her name was Delainbow, she was Sasuke’s daughter and she is truly the epitome of everything that was good about my childhood

WHAT A LEGEND

this is genuinely what I wanted to be when i was 13 god I love it

oh fuck i missed this one from 2008

god GOd i love these all so much I WAS SO FREE I JUST DREW WHATEVER AND DIDNT CARE

ok just gonna put a few more without comment but these are all 2009 again

Moving on to 2010-2012 era art

shout out to teenage me for still being not the worst at drawing animals

the freaking EDGE

so there was some point here where i started trying to stop drawing “anime” bc i was tired of ppl making fun of me so I figured if I didnt draw anime ppl would take me more seriously when in reality those ppl just sucked and so did my highschool art teacher

like... YUCK???? what the fuck was i was I even accomplishing here aksdjfaskjfkasldjf

my wolves still were still way cooler then the rest of my art lol

alright carrying onto late highschool early college, its summer of 2012 im on tumblr, im a homestuck, and ive gotten a laptop and tablet as a gift for getting into art school (yeah I drew like aformentioned above and still got into art school) sadly i dont have any scans of the stuff i drew for that portfolio, it was mostly still lifes i drew like a boot and a skull haha

okay so here are the gems i made upon finally getting a computer of my own, photoshop and bamboo wacom tablet,

here she is my first attempt to paint in photoshop....s fjaskdjfaskljfklasd

the rest of these are all from like my first fall/winter semester of college when i actually started getting a real art education and not just shitty no budget rural hometown highschool art class

So that picture of zachary which is honestly NOT thaaaaaat bad was one of the first things I ever posted to break 500 notes, i think a fewwww of my homestuck drawings had come close after like months of being on the site but like that zachary was one of the first times id genuinely been a little succesful with sharing my art online and im still very grateful to everyone who liked and reblogged it ^u^

After that well, i do have a lot more bad art but its not quite as funny as my pre-college stuff from that point on you mostly just see me struggling to improve anatomy and struggling to get through school (which ultimately took me 8 years to get through bc art school is terrible on your mental health and i had to do the last 4 years as a half time student)

but thats kind of a sad note to end on so heres just a few more gems i think you all should see if you’ve taken the time to read this haha

Thank you if you took the time to scroll through all of this i hope you had a laugh and that if you’re ever feeling down about your art to remember that we all start at the bottom and you can only go up from there no matter how long it takes you! Don’t give up and honestly just draw your truth <3

#long post #talk tag #art retrospective #this was really fun to make hahah

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thatnaruhinaanon · 3 years

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[Part 3]

Naruto reread Sasuke’s message one last time before dropping his phone on his desk and leaning against the back of his chair, his brows furrowed. His friend’s behavior wasn’t exactly strange: Sasuke had always had very little consideration for anything that wasn’t himself or his family but, even for his standards, that was a pretty dick move. He sighed. Whatever. Naruto would pick up the most expensive items on a menu somewhere and just give him the bill to pay, then; that was the least his friend could do.

He casted a glance around him, his eyes quickly scanning their surroundings. This room, just like the rest of the building, was relatively new and nicely furnished. The hospital must have been less than five years old and Naruto had to admit that he had been quite impressed upon seeing it for the very first time a week ago. His previous hospital well might have been one of the country’s most prestigious health care facilities, the premises themselves were now quite dilapidated and could certainly not compete against the wonders of the multibillion Uchiha money machine, as proven by this office. How big was it, twenty square meters? And just for one man? Naruto wasn’t used to such luxury.

Guiltlessly putting off the tedious set-up of his computer to a later time, he gathered up his phone and wallet before getting up, his hand hesitating to grab the thick orange parka he had showed up with earlier this morning. Usually, Naruto never left the hospital with his white coat on: sure, he had always been a bit of a show-off, but walking around in such apparel was for the braggers and the half-wits, which wasn’t his case. However, with such a big private hospital in the neighborhood, medical staff and patients must have been regulars of the restaurants and takeaways of the vicinity, and visually signaling on his first time out that he belonged to Konoha may be the smarter thing to do in case he needed help or anything. Plus, it wasn’t that cold anyway today for the season, courtesy of global warming.

Once on the sidewalk in front of the building’s main entrance and slightly shivering under the stiff fabric of the lab coat, his short and spiky hair catching the shy rays of sun that made it through the late February clouds, the hunt could finally start. He could have probably just ordered their meal online or checked for a place with good ratings beforehand, but there was something inherently exciting in just slipping his smartphone in his back pocket and wandering around those unfamiliar streets, on the lookout for a place to catch his eye.

To be honest, Naruto had also never been good at taking advice from other people online and clearly prefered discovering and experiencing life by himself, at the risk of making mistakes and missing out on opportunities. He passed a Korean barbecue restaurant, located only two buildings away, as well as a burger place and a tiny ramen joint, but kept on walking -regretfully. Knowing himself, he would probably be trying that ramen place on the very next day and every other one of the week, so picking up something more to Sasuke’s liking for once was in order. Moreover, he didn’t want to eat like a horse on his first day of work, especially when he was to meet the Chief of surgery and the Head of General surgery right after. A lighter option would probably be more appropriate…

Naruto squinted as he carefully studied the different establishments in the busy business street he had just gotten in: around him, salarymen and women in suits and pencil skirts jostled around the crowded sidewalks, eagerly rushing inside their favorite lunch places to grab their takeaway. Hmm. All these small restaurants seemed like great options, but their lines were quite long, with some people even waiting outside sometimes, and he did not have this kind of time on his hands. He strolled a couple of meters, passing more food joints without making his mind. Hmm hmm. All things considered, ordering online may not have been such a terrible idea, afterall.

He checked the time on his phone, and his mouth let out a little annoyed noise. He really had to hurry up if he wanted to make it on time for Sasuke. Damn it. Should he simply head back to the hospital and get food delivered? Maybe…

A sigh of relief escaped him when, stuck between a fastfood and a sushi chain, the sight of a tiny takeaway restaurant with only three customers inside appeared to him, and he hurriedly stepped inside, so happy to have found a place with such a short line that he almost knocked down the person who was waiting right in front of him with the door.

“Wow, my bad, sorry about that!” He apologized as he cautiously closed the glass door behind him, embarrassed. The customer turned around and gave him a sheepish smile.

“It’s all good, don’t you worry” they assured him with their soft voice before turning back again, and Naruto curiously looked at the menu, displayed on big black slates hanging behind the cashier. His relieved smile vanished instantly.

He had entered some kind of salad place.

He may not have been a picky eater but vegetables were definitely not a food group that he willingly welcomed to his table on a daily basis, and salads were the most remotely thing from a meal possible in his eyes. Instinctively, he raised his hand up in the hair and scratched the back of his neck. No wonder why no one was eating here! What was he, a rabbit?

He was in a hard place. On one hand, he had no intention whatsoever to eat leafs and roots for lunch, but on the other side, time was running out and it was getting too late to get food anywhere else. He glanced around, looking for help… But nobody was coming to his rescue.

He took a few steps front.

“Hmm, excuse-me, Ms?” He dared asking in a whisper the woman he had almost smashed the door into. Her ethereal eyes looked up to him again, wide and surprised. “Do you know by any chance what’s good on the menu?” He added, shakily. “I’m grabbing lunch for a friend and I and this former isn’t big on vegetables”. His lips stretched, the smile he had intended as comforting and charming coming off straight awkward and creepy. The woman blinked.

“I believe your friend is going to get disappointed no matter what…” She blinked again. “Salad bars are not exactly renowned for their fish or meat.”

Well, duh. He knew that already, he wasn’t exactly stupid. Just really unlucky to have walked into the one healthy restaurant on the street.

“Alright”, he conceded nonchalantly, “I’ll have what you’re having, then.”

The blue-haired woman raised an eyebrow, the ghost of a sly baby grin crossing her face.

“Except you don’t know what I’m having”, she pointed out to him, visibly amused by the turn of events. Naruto innocently shrugged his shoulders.

“I’ll just listen really carefully to your order”, he sassed back. The woman chuckled.

“And what if I whisper it to the cashier?”

Pfff. Too easy. “Then, I would just ask for what the person before me had”, he answered, a false serious look on his face that made the female customer's cheeks redden as she bit her smile away. In front of them, the line moved.

“Next customer, please?” Called the woman behind the cash register, and Naruto’s lovely line companion promptly moved forwards.

“Oh ah, sorry”, she managed to get out, the words now weirdly jostling against one another in her mouth, “May I have two number six with green teas, please?”

“Make that four, please!” Loudly chimed in Naruto, blatantly ignoring the somewhat scandalized look from the light-eyes woman that his familiarity was earning him, “But forget the green teas for me. Let’s tone all that healthiness down with some cokes instead.”

And with his order done, he respectfully took a step back to give his neighbor all the privacy they needed to pay.

Perhaps having a salad for lunch wasn’t the worst thing. The little scene that had just played out had somewhat reboosted him, successfully convincing his brain to release a wave of endorphins that were much needed on this stressful first day of work, and that almost compensated for the disgustingly green food he was about to ingest. Perhaps should he get the woman something, like offering to pay for her teas? To thank her for this nice parenthesis.

“Are you working at the Konoha hospital?”

Pulling him out of his reflection, the crystal voice of the customer caught Naruto’s attention again and he almost imperceptibly shook his head to chase the fog that was clouding his brain. The blouse had been a good idea, in the end.

“As a matter of fact”, he answered with a boyish smile, “Today’s my first day there! How did you guess?” He added with a lopsided smirk as he stretched his arms wide open to highlight the white coat. He wondered for a second what his interlocutor did for a living: judging by her pair of black leggings under her long dark purple coat and her flats, she wasn’t working a desk job -unless there were some fancy young startups in the surrounding area he didn’t know about. Would it be okay to ask her about her own job?

He didn’t tergiversate for long though as, coming from behind the cash register, an employee was already bringing her up a big brown bag.

“Ma’am, your order!” Announced the employee, and Naruto found himself almost frustrated that they had been so effective and fast. He was enjoying this impromptu interaction.

In front of him, the woman kindly accepted her package and, upon turning around to leave the shop, bowed her head in Naruto’s direction.

“It was a pleasure waiting in line with you” she told him, her liquid pupils focused on the floor. “May you have a pleasant lunch with your friend.”

“Thanks, you t-” started Naruto, but she was already gone, her small legs carrying her as quickly as they could outside of the door. The blond surgeon contemplated the glass for a second, dumbfounded. She had run away so fast. Was she actually in a hurry? She had seemed so calm this entire time, he would have never guessed so.

“Sir, your menus!”

With a polite smile, he walked in turn to the cashier and got his wallet out of his coat’s pocket. “How much do I owe you?” He asked, already reaching for some crumpled bills that he had shoved inside with very little care. The employee shook their head, and emphatically handed them his bag.

“The lady before you paid already. She said it was a gift for your first day of work.”

Oh.

He should have definitely offered to pay for her teas.

[Part 5]

#Socmed AU #NaruHina Socmed AU #NaruHina #Naruto Uzumaki #Hinata Hyuga

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juseki-taisen · 3 years

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Questions about OC’s people make

I’m answering this by a separate post instead of your ask, since not everyone online is friendly, and I would never want to even have a smidge of risk fall onto anyone

Don’t worry, skip to TLDR for a summery

That kind of idea has been around for a long time. People like making OC’s so they can interact with canon characters, it’s part of the fun! It’s also not unusual for people to try and make their character the star of a series (you see this a lot with characters that tend to be labeled mary/gary stu).

Now I am a BIG LOVER of OC’s and fan characters, and I’ve seen a lot of good/bad/ugly/awesome ones. (I’m also gonna age myself a lot here, so excuse me for that)

This gonna be a long ride, I apologize

Lemme age myself for a moment

Fandoms have had a lot of self insert/or ocs that change the main story line for a long, long, time. A really good example of this is the Naruto fandom (the toxic beast, would not recommend time traveling to join this fandom in the early days they can and will hurt you, but they are better now from what understand). The biggest example of this is when the original series ended BEFORE the age up arc/shippuuden

A lot of people didn’t like that Sasuke (person A) left the village and never came back in the main series. So, a lot of people (a lot of people who had a crush on person A mainly) made their oc’s alter the timeline to where he stayed.

It doesn’t even have to be this extreme, it can be as easy as wanting to participate in an event that happened in canon and changing it so OC solves the problem and alters the timelines (say to keep a character they really enjoy from dying).

A lot of time this happens because an event happens in canon people don’t like when a character dies, storyline takes a turn no one cares for (LOOKING AT YOU BEASTARS!)). So their OC’s/Self Inserts adjust it to a storyline that the reader/creator enjoys.

Now the problem with this in most fandoms is that there is ONE main storyline.

Example again, Naruto (this fandom wont let me go HELP)

This series is very linear, and there’s not wiggle room implicating there could be more universes/aus.

An example of the opposite is BOTH Voltron (Netflix adaptation) and Dragon Ball

Both series have messing with alternate universes, and timelines. Dragon ball goes a bit extreme and implies in the Xenoverse games there can be infinite alternate realities whereas Voltron implied a butt ton (scientific measurement LOL) of alternate universes.

This is important because adding in big events NOT canon to the timeline is easier since there’s a lot of different universes this COULD have taken place, which leaves the main canon storyline alone and safe.

So if they added say...a sibling of person X or Y, there is the possibility in one of the MANY timelines/realities they could have existed.

This is a problem for MOST series because a lot of fandoms don’t have this, and so adding a character in can become a problem. So most of the times people have to imply it’s an AU character OR add them in anyway for the sake of a story/fanfic and just accept canon is dead and we have killed it (for good, better, or worse.).

NOW - To the Juuni Taisen

This series ALSO has a series to paths/alternate timelines people could work in for fan characters. The problem lies in the fact that it implies that despite there being multiple paths, Nezumi destroys those realities by not choosing those routes as his primary.

It’s actually a great tie in to the fact he loves video games.

If going down path A doesn’t work, he reloads the save and tries path B and so on. But if he decides that path J is the one he wants to continue playing on, then he can not both play J and A, B, C, D ect. He can only canonically play path J, since that is the canon path he has chosen.

When people make oc’s usually they want to be a part of the series or have a character interact with certain characters. Sometimes it’s to change the story line, and sometimes it’s to alter (intentional or not) the main storyline. To be honest, in this case, unless the character doesn’t interfere with the Juni Taisen it leaves a LOT of limited wiggle room for ocs in the series. Why? Well they all DIE, so if you do want to interact with the characters with an oc, it has to be before and not after, unless you have Nezumi. Everyone dies but him, so if you wanna smooch Usagi’s cute face or have your OC take Tora to therapy, you gotta have all it take place before or in an AU, OR alter the canon storyline.

Now back to the different paths, why not choose them? Again, it’s because of Nezumi (this boy is both blessed and cursed). He loads path J, making Au’s possible and other paths canon, but they canonically never actually happened because he CHOSE one path before the others.

So if you do want to say ‘my character was part of X path’ that’s great! But I think a lot of people may realize that those alternate paths got erased from existence when Nezumi chose a different path. Since he did that, there are specific ways around it, but it makes it hella hard.

Ways around it

1) Alter canon timeline via Nezumi, and have him bring them back

2) Have ocs before canon

3) Time travel (I use this for my own oc, which I would be happy to go in depth with should anyone ask)

4) Alter canon timeline

I’m really not surprised OC’s are made to interact with the canon story in this fandom, or the fact they drastically change it. No one really enjoys seeing a favorite die and stay dead, especially when there was a chance they could have come back (not that they should, I love you Usagi but ya need therapy).

AND that’s just part of it

Another big part is wish fulfillment.

If OC was part of series then when X happened oc would have been there to help. That changes the storyline, but it makes the person who created the OC happy.

Example:

Ending of Beastars (I’d recommend the series for older audiences but the ending sucks nuggets) was REALLY unsatisfying for me. I had already been doing a fan comic based on it, but since I didn’t like the ending I’m going to actually redo my comic and change the ending (I will put an AU disclaimer because, obviously) but it will fulfill MY WISH for an ending that is satisfying to me

But again, Beastars doesn’t have multiple timelines, so I have to change canon for my series to make sense within it.

Another subset of this is people who want to be part of the series due to escapism. They want a happy ending for a series they enjoy, and they want to be part of it (this gets in to more self insert territory). Sometimes life is shitting on them hardcore and so to have a little power back by their fan stories, it makes real life just a smidge more bearable.

LONG STORY SHORT

Any OC’s added to series is somewhat altering canon. Juuni Taisen is unique in that it has a lot of alternate timelines, but the problem is the timelines get cleared from existence the moment Nezumi chooses a different path.

Personally, I think it can be fun to work around the constraints of the series, but if you’re going to go in depth with OC’s in this fandom, you do have to alter a lot of the series in a lot of ways. It’s valid to ask ‘Why not just choose a different path? Or do an AU?’ but a lot of people want to be part of the series themselves or have an OC to make the series ok.

I used to be a stickler about the believability of OC’s when I was younger (I was especially critical when I was taking college level English courses in high school) but I’m not like that anymore. This is in part to, again, the Naruto fandom.

I’ve loved OC’s forever, but when I made one for that series people were awful. People would send me anons telling me to kill myself, how much my writing and art sucked, ect. At the time I was a really sensitive bean. I stopped writing, I stopped doing a lot of artwork, and I stopped creating. I took a lot of it super personally (thanks anxiety and depression). BUT then something terrible happened.

I don’t know if anyone here would remember when the series ended completely, but when it did the fandom went nuts. I don’t mean just whining Destial level, I mean NUTS. They threatened to kill the creator if he didn’t change the ending, they sent threats to his family, they got violent as HELL.

They went way to far. It was really kind of scary?

But it made me realize something. There will always be someone who doesn’t like what you create, and there will be always someone who will criticize the way you write, draw, express yourself creatively.

Don’t let it stop you

TLDR;

People make OC’s and alter storylines for a variety of reasons. That’s okay. No, you don’t have to enjoy all the content people make, and YES you can have your opinions about it. I don’t like every OC or fanfic I come across. Some OC’s are wonderful, and some I don’t like. It’s my opinion. It’s okay to have an opinion. You are allowed not to enjoy things. You are allowed to think critically.

However, I do think people have a right to enjoy themselves. They’re making content for them, not for me, and that’s okay. I don’t have to read it, I don’t have to look at it, and I don’t have to spend time going through content I don’t enjoy. If they wanna make a character who supermans and saves the everyone in the Juni Taisen and flies off to mars, I may not like it but I will 100% support their creativity and right to do it.

Take that cringe culture and throw it away. Do what makes you happy. It wont always makes sense in canon, or it may not be the most clever way to do something, but do it anyway. Life is hard, fandoms are meant to be fun. As long as you’re not hurting or attacking anyone, you can be be as cringe as you’d like.

You all can make OC’s however you want, anyway you want. We all deserve a little serotonin.

Either way, I am here to support you and all your creations.

#long post #this kinda turned into a big analysis of OC's in general and not just the Juni Taisen #I don't know if I answered this correctly #but if I missed something please send it in again #I kind of went on a little bit of a tangent

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justabrazilianwriter · 4 years

Text

The Party (SHIKATEMAWEEK 2020 - Day 4).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chouji laughed with pleasure.

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

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

Chouji shrugged and smiled warmly.

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

An indignant exclamation came from his lips.

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

"And look what happened".

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

It was very boring.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kankuro laughed and shrugged.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Right?

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

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

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

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

Holy fucking shit.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"In our house?".

"Yes".

"In the middle of the week?".

"Yes?".

"Without telling anyone?".

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

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

"Kankuro...?" Temari started saying.

"Yes?" he asked.

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

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

"This is not true. I have Gaara”.

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

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

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

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

"Yours?" she asked.

"Yes, I paid with my money".

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

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

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

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

"But I have some conditions."

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

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

"Deal," said Kankuro automatically.

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

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

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

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

"You are not funny, Tem" groaned Kankuro.

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

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

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

"No” she said. “You can continue."

And the party continued.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shikamaru's cheeks burned.

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

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

"Shikamaru" replied.

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

Shikamaru laughed, finishing his cigarette.

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

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

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

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

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

A loving smile broke out on her lips.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Spark” completed Shikamaru. Her eyes widened slightly.

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

"Boring".

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

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

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

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

And it was absolutely addictive.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I thought you would never ask."

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

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inrainprose · 4 years

Note

6, 17 and 18 :00

6. What’s the last thing you read that made you laugh?

I read this hilarious Guardian fic, The Dixing Lord's Virgin Captive. A Romance of Ancient Dixing, set to writing by A Gentleman of Noble Lineage, where someone is writing those awful erotic novels about Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei and it killed me, I was on the floor. The author’s sheer talent at writing terrible literature... masterful. And Shen Wei’s mortification (he stumbles upon some of his students reading it). Really this fanfic made my day.

An excerpt:

Horror stabbed deep within her as she felt the deep, instinctive yearning to yield rise into her breast – her natural feminine desire to surrender to a dominant man’s masterful, commanding touch. But no, she could not! However much this man’s overwhelming virility battered her untried defenses, she must not give in. She was the guardian of her people, and their fate depended upon her!

17. Describe a fic that is still in the ‘ideas’ stage.

Oooooh okay so I have no idea if I’ll actually write it but I’ve been playing with this idea where Sasuke’s Sharingan evolved to give him some time rewinding ability, Erased-style, meaning when something bad happens he goes back in time just enough to prevent it. And one day well after canon as he’s living the domestic life with Naruto, some kind of attacks occurs and they’re both killed (they were sleeping or something it’s very rude).

But when he’s sent back, he founds himself not just a few minutes before as usual but decades earlier, before the massacre of his clan. And he has to figure out what this has to do with anything and what he has to/is willing to change. There would be some back and forth between the past and the present, as long as he doesn’t solve it. The idea stemmed from the fact that in Groundhog Day scenario people usually figure out easily enough what would break them out of it, but here he would have no idea, and most importantly what he would need to change wouldn’t be what he wants to change.

And he would have to choose between what he wants to preserve and save, because if you’ve moved on, healed somehow from the pain you’ve been through and found some peace at last, what would you do if you got to erase it all anyway? Because Sasuke hasn’t suffered enough for my taste apparently.

Anyway it makes sense if you’ve seen Erased lol but yeah. A good old Angst Fest that I probably won’t write but like to think about.

18. Do you have a fic reading/writing routine?

I read fic on my phone in bed before going to sleep - I scroll a page on Ao3, usually a pairing tag, opening all the fics I’m intersted in in another tab and then I go throuhg them. My routine also includes checking the “Complete works only” box, filtering out A/B/O tags and sometimes set the max word count, usually at 50k words.

And I write all the time so there’s not much routing behind it haha.

Thank you for asking! You can ask more.

#solroja #ask #askinrain #ask meme #i know i know i should stop but i just like to talk about myself i guess #fanfiction #fic idea #maybe one day #rambling

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adulttrio-imagines · 5 years

Note

The other anon here! Just wanted to let you know it’s okay and don’t sweat it! I loved the one you posted too. Thank you for all the hard work 💕 Please get enough rest and stay hydrated~

Thank you so much! I just felt so bad messing it up since I did have a fun time writing the cooking part. You keep cool in this weather too

7. How’s their cooking?

Chrollo

Chrollo can have all the ingredients, he can have all the equipment, but a state of the art kitchen would not hide the fact that he is a terrible cook. He can try to mask this by serving you pre-made salads, and to give him credit, he does make pretty good salads, if mixed with some store-bought dressing that he masquerades as his own. But other than that, he cannot cook. It is just one skill he can never have, not that it really troubles him. While he isn’t to the level where he can only boil water, you would not trust him with anything more complicated than eggs and toast. He does have an eye for presentation and is great at it, just don’t let him near the stove. Food is just food, it all ends up inside you anyway and as long as it fills you up and keeps you going, does it really matter how it is prepared. He can try making more complicated dishes like stew, but it would end up burnt or taste funny or just downright inedible. Additionally, his pallet isn’t refined at all, despite how he acts, and I can see him having a soft spot for really bad junk food, like knock off versions of those cheese rings that dye your fingers orange. He has an image to keep up though, so he tries to limit those.

On a side note, he can appreciate a warm home cooked meal since he just did not have one growing up. It is one of the few small things in life not related to thievery that he appreciates, especially since he can’t just steal it.

Illumi

The way Captain Holt from B99 sees food is how I see Illumi going about with food. Just “flavorless beige smoothies that contain all nutrients required of the human animal”. He would want his meals to be easy, nutritious, and since he doesn’t really care for his taste buds, an entirely bland meal would not affect him at all. He is the type of guy who can eat/drink the same stuff every single day if it fulfils all his many dietary requirements. As long as it is nutritious, I can’t see him wanting to put in that much effort into a meal when he can spend his time doing more profitable things, especially if it’s for himself. Yes, a nice fancy dinner is delicious, but it is also a luxury that few can afford, and I can’t see him going out of his way to indulge in a good meal, much less spend time and money to prepare it. It just isn’t a priority to him.

On the other hand, have you seen that Naruto OVA of Itachi trying to cook the best sunny side up egg for Sasuke? I have a feeling Illumi would be like that, only amped up over a thousand times. There may be butlers catering to his every whim in the mansion, but I can see him being a perfectly capable cook when he wants to be, especially since he is so particular about what the people he cares about will eat. And I can bet that he is a very, very good cook since precision is a necessity. He might not have had the most practice, but in another life his talent could have brought him far. While he may not be the best at measuring out spices, he is good at heat control and maintaining a good texture/presentation. He would want only the best food for the people he cares about, and if he is the one preparing, you bet it would be perfect.

All in all, I would say that Illumi is a fantastic cook but just cannot be bothered to actually cook a decent meal.

13. How do they feel about physical contact by others?

Chrollo

In general, he doesn’t particularly like it. He is not a touchy person and would prefer if no one enters his personal space so much. I can’t see him enjoying things such as hugs since he would find it too constricting and uncomfortable. The funny thing is that he can give out nice hugs when he wants to, since he just seems to know where to put his arms and smells really nice. He just isn’t exactly a very nice person to cuddle or hold hands with for long periods of time since his body temperature is on the uncomfortable side of cool. He also has cold hands that can be very sweaty depending on the weather, which just adds to the discomfort. Despite this, he does like a good neck rub and can appreciate a massage of any kind. If you go at it long enough, he just might fall asleep, which is coincidentally the few times where he won’t pull away if you hold his hand and may even initiate by pulling you into his arms. It is one of the few times where he is genuine with you and is something he only does when he is really comfortable with a person.

I can see him tolerating some form of physical contact if it’s from a S/O that he is serious about, small things like pecks on the cheek or brief hugs, but don’t expect him to initiate because he feels like it. Any affection he shows is generally just another ploy to get you closer to him and trap you from ever wanting to leave, and by the time you realize it, it’s a little too late.

Illumi

It takes a special type of person to willingly initiate physical contact with Illumi. He can look intimidating when he wants to, and it is unknown how aware he is about this. He is after all, a strange mixture of being overtly aware to his surroundings yet disturbingly delusional about how he fits into it at the same time. So, if you are ready to get physical with him in the early parts of your relationship, you should be aware that he can take it in two very extreme ways, by being extremely nonchalant about it, or by brushing you off. His body is neither hot or cold, though he has cooler hands that border on icy, which isn’t exactly inviting either. It is not that he does not like being touched, but rather he doesn’t know how to react to it. I think he knows that such acts of intimacy signify affection, but he just cannot feel it since it is not something he has much experience in. When you first start getting to know him, I doubt he’ll appreciate physical affection of any kind, and can se him learning to tolerate it more if instructed by his parents. He may just barely accept your acts of affection, but if you start out small, like curling your fingers around his when you are both alone, before moving on to larger acts, he can learn to enjoy it. I can see him coming around to enjoy this moments, but knowing him, he may just warp their meaning into something else entirely.

On a side note, he is a very private person and would not appreciate you initiating PDA of any kind outside of when both of you are alone. Of course, he is allowed to display his affections, which can be possessive and almost rough, if only to ward of any lingering eyes that he deems a threat.

23. How well do they accept advice?

Chrollo

I see him to be a very open-minded person, and the general consensus is that if you have his respect, he will listen to your opinion and may even take your advice if it is good. Which is why he takes the thoughts of the Troupe members into consideration if they have anything to say. I don’t see him as being extremely prideful since he is willing to admit what he does not understand, so your additional thoughts may help him understand a side of himself he has yet to discover or figure out. He is after all, very open to learning. While what you say may not necessarily change his mind, he will hear you out as there is always a chance of him learning. The tricky thing is getting that respect. Generally, if he has taken an interest in you, or if you have shown a certain degree of intelligence, he will humor your thoughts. I like to believe that he will usually only hold conversations such as these with people who have already caught his eye, so this isn’t too big of a problem. If he finds your opinion uninformed, he may simply try to educate you, but if you insist on being irrational, he won’t argue but will just leave since you aren’t worth his time nor his respect.

Illumi

Don’t. Just don’t. Illumi does not like anyone questioning his actions, and the act of challenging him on his belief or methods is enough for you to end up with a couple needles to remind you of your place, especially if you act in righteous anger over something he did. He doesn’t take well to being treated as though he is inferior. If you really have to, the best way is to put him in a good mood beforehand and to put it out as a simple suggestion, read him carefully and play it off as a small concern if you feel it going south. I think this is because Illumi sees himself as being superior to most due to his Zoldyck upbringing and lineage, so in a sense questioning him is like questioning his family which he loves very much. At best, he’ll just laugh your advice off. At worst, he’ll deem it as a challenge and a personal insult.

#hunter x hunter #chrollo #illumi #chrollo headcanon #illumi headcanon #finally finished this #thanks for being so understanding!!#lets hope my brain doesnt derp out again #it was 75 degrees today tho #it was amazingg

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365daysofsasuhina · 5 years

Text

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Twenty-Five: A Great Discovery ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina, vulgarity ] [ Verse: Oil and Blood ] [ AO3 Link ]

Ah, the world of body modification. For years now, humans have blurred the line between man and machine, integrating their technology into their very beings. Whether it’s cosmetic mods to alter a person’s appearance, functionality mods like medical equipment, or convenience mods to enhance a person’s everyday life, there are few humans alive today who don’t have some kind of relationship with mods.

It was a great discovery, the ability to merge technology and biology.

But like every great discovery...it has its misuse.

All over the globe, black markets have sprung up for tech. Stolen mods are a hot commodity. People are often beaten or killed to pry the mods from their bodies to be resold and earn the killer a quick dollar. Even the tech itself is often mutilated: torn apart and put back together in ways to circumvent regulations and allow someone with enough cash to wield mods with illegal abilities. Military mods run rampant in gang wars and territorial disputes, as well as fighting over modification stock.

One such gang are those who run under the Uchiha banner. A crime syndicate in Japan that runs tech all over the island nation, and even internationally when they can. Mods aren’t their only business, of course - extortion, kidnapping, gambling, prostitution, and smuggling of anything else Japan considers ‘undesireable’.

Overall...not very morally-upstanding characters. But in the end, they’re suppliers. The world has needs, and they want to be the best at providing. Because that...is the key to making big money.

But of course, being affiliated with a yakuza - being someone the law considers a target for elimination - means having to keep a step ahead of said law...and avoiding many conveniences the typical law-abiding person doesn’t have to think twice about.

...unless you pay off the cops.

The Uchiha are one of the largest Yakuza Japan has to offer, alongside those like the Senju. Like any gang, they have territory - safe zones, so long as they in turn keep paying the right people, just like the ones they extort and earn from.

So when Sasuke decides to keep up his protections for one Hyūga Hinata, he’s glad she happens to fall within said territory. While he can’t completely let down his guard, and it’s still wise to keep his face hidden with a hood, he’s not in nearly as much danger as he would be otherwise walking about in broad daylight.

“...so...you’re still determined to do this?”

“I thought I made that pretty clear,” Sasuke replies, giving the little Hyūga a glance. He keeps forgetting how short she is… “You saved my life. And my attempt to repay you got interrupted by you getting kidnapped by the people who tried to kill me. Who are now going to likely keep fucking with you because they think you’re an Uchiha asset. I’m not out of debt with you yet. So yeah, you’re stuck with me, Hyūga. Or...you could give me something else to do. Up to you, really.”

Hinata heaves a sigh. “I really don’t w-want you to do this -”

“But you need me to. Look...your apartment and work happen to be in Uchiha territory. But that’s not a guarantee that you'll be safe. My father made up his mind: you’re not an asset, so he’s not going to spare anyone else to look after you. So if the Senju get ballsy enough, they wouldn’t have as many obstacles to come knocking. And given they know who you are, it’s a given they’ll know where you live, where you work...anything they want. So, you can keep complaining about having a bodyguard...but I’m probably the only thing keeping you from being scooped up by Tobirama again. And I don’t want that to happen, because I owe you. And letting you die isn’t exactly the way I like to settle my debts.”

She sighs, giving him a glance. “...I didn’t know y-yakuza were so...honorable.”

“We’re a business, in a lot of ways. If you don’t repay your debts, that’s bad form. We do shitty things. We kill people. We smuggle weapons. We steal. But we still know better than to betray someone who’s helped us...unless they betray us first. And I highly doubt you’re about to do that. So yeah, I’m here to help.” He gives her a look in return. “Or you could let me take care of your dad and his bullshit like I keep offering.”

That just earns another sigh, Hinata clearly fighting a weary smile. “Look...I appreciate your concern about how my f-father treats me. And maybe a part of you cares about how t-terrible his business is, morally. But I can’t put out a hit on my father -”

“Hey, I never said I’d kill him. I can be persuasive without it getting that ugly. Just get you your inheritance back. Make it so you don’t have to keep working in that shitty insurance office. Think about it.”

“I have,” she assures him dryly. “I can’t really help but do so given how o-often you bring it up. I don’t want or n-need that money. I...I’m doing okay. And that money comes from a rather shady practice -”

“Like the money you earn now isn’t shady as hell?”

She shoots him a look. “...my father’s company does a lot of good. It does it badly, but medical mods are still important. While I might not oppose a...change in leadership, or whatever, I don’t want the company to go under. They’ve made so many great discoveries in the medical mod field.”

“From what you told me, sounds to me like your cousin needs to be running the show. You and him might’ve had it rough when you were young, but he’s just as big a brain as your dad, if not better given what he accomplished. I bet he could do it,” Sasuke muses.

“...you’re probably right. But after my uncle died, and all the stock went to my father...he’s no longer an heir. My sister is still above him in line to inherit the company.”

“And what does she know about mods?”

“Not much...but she is shrewd. I just worry that our father has molded her into another copy of himself and his practices while I’ve been gone. Hanabi is a good person...but she’s always been our father’s favorite...and I worry what she might convince herself to do to k-keep his approval.”

Sasuke hums in reply. “...never thought I’d know someone with this kind of drama hanging over them.”

That makes her deadpan. “You’re just h-hearing about it...try living it.”

“No thanks. Being a syndicate leader’s son is bad enough. I’ll stick to what I know.”

After a pause, Hinata looks to him curiously. “...you don’t ever think about...doing something else?”

“Not sure I have any choice. Once you’re yakuza...there’s no really leaving it. And I don’t know anything else. Not sure I could ever do anything civilian. It’s just...not my style.”

“...I guess I understand.”

“Why’d you ask?”

“Oh, I don’t know...I guess I just know now how d-dangerous it all is. I’d hate for you to get hurt.”

He looks her over for a moment, expression unreadable. “...I’ve been hurt before. And I will be again. It’s just how things go. I made peace with it a long time ago. You don’t have to worry about me, Hyūga. Besides, you’ve already seen me half-dead.”

“That d-doesn’t mean I want to see it again!”

In spite of himself, Sasuke snickers. “You’re such a civi...it’s almost cute. The only women I’m really used to dealing with at all much are my mother and the doc...and neither of them are like you. It’s kinda...refreshing.”

Hinata’s cheeks puff a bit with a pout. “Do you want me to be like them?”

“Nah...you’re good the way you are, Hyūga. I love my mom, and the doc’s all right. But you’ve got your own charm. You’re a civi, and you should stay that way. Though I guess you’ve gotten a taste or two of yakuza life, haven’t you?”

“...guess I have…”

“...well, it won’t be happening again if I have anything to say about it. Remember, you’ve got priority on my comm mod. Anything happens, you just let me know, and I’ll be there.”

“...thank you, Sasuke-san. I know I g-give you a hard time, but...I really do appreciate what you’re doing for me. I just wish it wasn’t n-necessary.”

“Well...once we finish off the Senju - whenever that’ll be - then you won’t have to worry, right? Just hold tight until then.” Letting his HUD come to life, he glances to the time. “...well, I better report home for a bit to see if I’m needed for any jobs. Try to stay home and safe until then, all right?”

“Okay…”

“Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“I won’t…”

After a considering pause, he ruffles her hair, earning a sound of indignation. “Later, Hyūga.”

Doing her best to flatten her hair, Hinata watches him go. It’s so...odd. Just...talking to someone like him. Being aware of what he and people like him do. And yet...she enjoys his company. She…

...well, for now, she’d best huddle up at home until he gets back. Hinata’s always been a bit of a turtle, anyway...it’s not like she has many friends, or family to visit.

So for now...time to binge watch a show and get some takeout.

.oOo.

(This is a sequel to days 250, 254, 269, 300, 303, 309, and 313!) More cyberpunk AU cuz...I really like it =w= And it fit best with the prompt after struggling to think, lol - not much really...happened? But we got more interaction between them, and some commentary about their roles in their society. I'd say more, but I am WIPED and the next few days are going to be VERY busy, so...I'd best call it a night. Thanks for reading~

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #vulgarity //#oil and blood [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

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makeste · 5 years

Note

Do you think Bakugou is unusually divisive for a shounen rival? I haven't actually been an active member of a shounen fandom before, so I'm just trying to get some context. It seems like the rival tends to be a pretty popular character, and the popularity polls show that to be true for Bakugou as well, but there are a lot of people out there who flat out hate him. Is that just par for the course when it comes to these types of characters?

interesting question, anon! I would say no, surprisingly, because the very first character that came to mind was Sasuke, and let me tell you, he was divisive as fuck. he was also unfailingly the most popular character in every. single. poll, but he was loathed after he left Konoha, and I have vivid memories of heated debates over whether or not he would ever be redeemed, or deserved to be, etc.

and while it’s not actually an anime, Avatar: The Last Airbender had a show structure and fanbase virtually identical to your typical shounen anime, and I can also tell you that back in the day, Zuko was also as divisive as they come. particularly after the season 2 finale. people were calling for his head. even a lot of the people who were previously rooting for him felt betrayed after that episode, and were not afraid to let the world know it, lol. it was fairly evident that he was still going to be redeemed (more obvious than in Sasuke’s case for sure), but there were a lot of people saying that he shouldn’t be, that he had his chance and blew it, that they’d quit the show if it happened, etc.

so having experienced both of these fandoms in their heyday, I would say that Bakugou, while certainly a divisive character, isn’t unusually so. in fact if anything, he’s probably a lot more liked (or at least tolerated) than either of these characters were during their fandoms’ more turbulent days.

Bakugou is a bit of a different case though in that, unlike Sasuke or Zuko, he doesn’t start out neutral or fairly likable and then have a Crucial Moment of Dickishness later down the line that turns the fandom against him. instead, Bakugou reaches his Crowning Moment of Asshole in the very first chapter, and it’s all uphill from there. but the issue is that his Peak Asshole moment just so happens to be really bad. bullying the defenseless main character for no reason and then telling him to kill himself! yeahhhhh. and this is our introduction to him. we don’t get anything beforehand to establish his character as anything other than a selfish, cruel person. we don’t see him save a cat from being hit by a car, or be nice to literally anyone, or see any type of conflicted emotion in him when he does these terrible things. it’s just, “here’s Bakugou! oh, by the way, he’s a dick.�� and only much later on does Horikoshi actually start to give us any insights into his motivations, and even then, he never actually gives us any justification for what he did in the first chapter. because there is no way to justify it. Horikoshi wrote it that way; he was deliberately trying to make him as unlikable as possible, and has said as much in interviews and omakes. so yeah, for the people that don’t like him, I can’t really say you’re doing it wrong, because if anything, that’s the exact response the author intended you to have.

but he is my favorite! and many people’s favorite! and I can’t speak for anyone other than myself, but for me I think it’s the fact that when I see a character like that, my immediate instinct is to go “okay but why” and to try to find the humanity in that character, the vulnerability. and there is something painfully vulnerable about Bakugou’s character, something confused and insecure and rough and raw and struggling. he’s still very young still, and for all of his projected confidence, he has far less of a real grip on things than the protagonist. Deku knows how to be a hero, even if he doesn’t yet have the tools to become one. Bakugou, by contrast, has all the tools, but lacks the heart, at least at the start of things. and so he spends a good chunk of the first part of the series learning lesson after painful lesson and having reality hand his ass back to him. and it is rough, and it is not pretty. but it absolutely is human, and for me I empathize with him so much and want him to do better and can’t help but root for him. even when he’s an asshole. because it’s a process, and he is getting better. and this is redemption arcs 101, and redemption arcs always have and always will have a broad appeal, and so while Horikoshi may have been surprised by Bakugou’s popularity, in hindsight it’s not really all that unexpected.

so I think what it boils down to is How Weak You Are To Redemption Arcs, VS How Hard Of A Line You Draw When It Comes To People Telling Other People To Jump Off A Roof. because the latter is definitely something that a lot of people consider unforgivable and adopt a hardline nope-you’re-dead-to-me-now stance, which I can’t say I don’t understand. and then on top of that, even with all the growth he’s had since then, he’s still an asshole! it’s just that now he’s an asshole who cares, and tries to do the right thing, and whose good qualities have been brought to light and expanded on. he probably isn’t someone you’d want to know in real life. but in the story, for all of his flaws, he’s also intelligent and resourceful and perceptive and hard-working and exceptionally brave, and extraordinarily determined.

anyways, so this post got away from me somewhat, as Kacchan posts tend to do. but yeah, so I’d say that the fandom split on Bakugou is roughly par for the course as far as shounen rivals go. and who knows, it may well be that by the time the series ends, he’ll be as beloved as Zuko is now. or he could be as hated as Sasuke, lol. or somewhere in the middle still. like Vegeta. who knows?

#bnha #boku no hero academia #bakugou katsuki #bnha meta #essay #character rant #makeste reads bnha #anon asks #for the record zuko and sasuke are still my faves in their respective canons as well #in my mind naruto ends after the sasuke rescue arc #and the remainder of the canon is replaced with [insert your fave fix-it fic here]#if nothing else horikoshi willl have my neverending gratitude simply for avoiding that trope #bnha: where canon is the fix-it fic #god bless #bakugou meta

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isolavirtuosa · 4 years

Text

Starting Over (For Real?) 31-32

[fanfiction] NaruSasu

Read the previous parts here.

He closed his eyes and leaned into my hand. Then his eyes shot open. “Do you… have… horns…?”

“No,” I said with a frown. I’d checked this morning.

“Feels hard,” he said, pulling away and touching my temple with his fingers. “Uh, yeah, definitely hard.”

“Well they haven’t come in like yours,” I said. The press of his horns had been obvious against my skin.

“Oh, yeah, that reminds me,” he said, suddenly yanking his shirt off.

- 31 -

“I’m sorry, what is this?” I asked, trying not to stare at the very attractive half-naked man in front of me.

Naruto flopped his shortened arm at me.

I looked at it.

He flopped it again.

I looked some more. Then I felt my brow furrowing. His arm was almost to his… elbow… “That used to be shorter,” I observed.

“See, that’s what I thought,” he said, moving it around. “Then I thought I was just being paranoid, but… it’s definitely longer, yeah?”

“…yeah.”

“What does it mean?” he asked, looking nervous.

“I have no fucking idea,” I informed him. “But it’s… good… right? That’s… amazing…”

“You’re not reassuring me.”

“Why would anyone ever come to me for reassurance?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“’Cause you’re the only one who understands,” he said, his hand resting on my knee.

I looked at the hand. I looked into his eyes. I looked at the hand again.

He quickly removed it.

What was I doing? I reached out and took his hand, holding it in mine.

The look he gave me simultaneously lifted me up and made me feel like complete shit. How could me doing something so simple light him up like that? Why couldn’t I always make him look like that?

I really did need to grow up. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Okay,” he agreed, squeezing my hand.

“It’s a good thing,” I said, even though it felt like a lie. How could a lost limb rejuvenating be anything but good? And yet…

“Okay,” he agreed again, tugging me closer.

“We’re going to be on separate missions from now on, though,” I said, even as I was finding myself in his lap. How did this always happen? At least I was taller than him, and this vantage point made my height advantage even more obvious as I looked down at him. “And you basically dumped me yesterday,” I added, trying to keep things from devolving into the usual emotionally stunted hormonal nonsense.

“I did not!” he protested indignantly.

“You know what you said,” I frowned at him.

“You only listen to the bad parts,” he complained.

“So you admit there were bad parts.”

Naruto sighed. “Yeah, okay, there were bad parts.”

When had our faces gotten so close together? I tried to move back, but my body didn’t seem to want to respond to my brain’s commands. “The sooner I leave, the better.”

“You mean to go back to your room?” he asked, his eyes already going hazy like he was about to get some. “Or you mean like… to Water?”

“Both,” I asserted quickly.

“I’m gonna miss you,” he said, his hand sliding down my arm and curving at the elbow. “But maybe we’ll both… figure stuff out… before we see each other again.”

“You’re really not going to try and stop me?”

“No,” he said, and swallowed. Our faces had gotten really close again. “We’re on different paths right now, but our paths always meet up eventually.”

That sounded so stupid, but he made it seem cute. “Okay, stalker.”

“It’s not stalking if you want me to do it.”

“I definitely do not want or need another stalker,” I informed him.

He turned his face away, our mouths no longer sharing air. “Do I bother you?”

“Yes,” I said. “Could be more specific?”

“I mean like do you really feel like I’m stalking you?” he asked, and he seemed genuinely concerned.

I leaned in close to his ear. “I like your attention.”

He bit his lip. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Promise?”

I rolled my eyes, sitting up straight again.

“Promise me,” he repeated, eyes finally meeting mine again.

“That I like you stalking me?”

“Sasuke.”

“I honestly don’t get you.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said. “Sometimes I think you just tolerate me. Sometimes I think you might even… I think I do things you don’t like, but you don’t tell me.”

“When do I ever not tell you when I don’t like something about you?” I asked incredulously.

“When you feel insecure,” he said, blue eyes boring into mine. “When you feel like you’re not good enough. When you’re trying to keep me from leaving you.”

I looked away, trying to seem exasperated. “Like you would ever leave me,” I muttered.

“I don’t ever want to,” he agreed. “But you don’t have to… do things… to make sure I stay…”

Why did we ever have to bring up that stupid inn incident ever again? Why couldn’t Naruto pretend that it had never happened like a proper Uchiha? “I don’t do things I don’t want to do,” I said sharply.

“Yes, you do.”

“I do not.”

“Sasuke.”

“Naruto.”

“…did I rape you…?” he asked in the quietest voice possible.

I stared at him. Then I stared some more. “For fuck’s sake, Naruto.”

“You don’t like sex, but I constantly ask you for it and then you do stuff for me and I feel like I’m forcing you because I know you don’t like it but sometimes you act like you like it but I don’t know-”

“Naruto,” I said, catching his cheek in a pinch and pulling it tightly.

He stopped talking.

“Listen to me very carefully.”

He nodded slowly.

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

He frowned.

“I am just going to tell you one thing.”

He tilted his head to the side, waiting.

“I like sucking your dick.”

That was certainly not what he was expecting, and his whole face went red and confused.

“Okay?” I asked.

“You promise?” he whispered hoarsely.

I stared at him. “You want me to promise that I like sucking your dick?”

He nodded slowly.

I rolled my eyes. “I promise I like sucking your dick.”

He looked so relieved, and it was absolutely ridiculous.

“In fact,” I said, starting to feel relaxed and in control as I leaned in to whisper in his ear again, “I love sucking your dick.”

Naruto squirmed. “I don’t understand you!” he cried, shifting and trying to find somewhere in the room to look that wasn’t me.

I slid off his lap, settling back on the couch and feeling a lot better.

“Do you get off on doing this to me?!” he cried, grabbing a throw pillow and putting it over his lap.

“Kind of.”

“Sasukeeeee.”

I laced our fingers together and stared at the wall of his apartment. It was an unattractive beige color, and whoever had designed these apartments had very mundane taste. “It makes me feel good to be in control,” I said very quietly.

Naruto leaned in and kissed my cheek.

We looked at the wall together.

“You look ridiculous right now,” I finally had to tell him.

“What?! Why?!”

“You’re sitting here shirtless, trying to hide your dick with a pillow.”

“Maybe I’m just being a trendsetter,” he countered.

“You’re trying to set a trend of people walking around shirtless with obvious erections?”

“…yes…?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Fine,” he said, taking his hand back and pulling his shirt on.

“I have to go, anyway,” I said, standing up.

“Nuh uh,” Naruto said, standing up with me.

“I definitely do,” I said, trying not to stare at the bulge.

“You could stay the night,” he said, and it came out surprisingly innocent.

I opened my mouth to say no, and the next thing I knew Naruto had an extra toothbrush and we were brushing our teeth together.

I hated sharing sleeping space with Naruto. He was a cover-hog, a space-hog, a heavy breather, and a just all-around obnoxious person to sleep next to. He was also ridiculously warm as he curled into my chest, so I guess I didn’t need the blanket he was hogging anyway. It was hard to sleep. I stroked Naruto’s hair and looked around the sparse bedroom illuminated by moonlight filtering around the curtains.

I wondered if we could really be a couple. As annoying as everything he did was, it felt inescapably right to be here right now, holding him. Could he ever look at me and not find me lacking?

…could I ever be worthy of him?

My thoughts were starting to spiral into the shadows. I was a closeted, fratricidal, one-armed, impotent, pathetic piece of shit, and I was just as insecure as Naruto had assessed me to be.

Naruto mumbled something into my chest.

“Huh?” I said.

“I can feel you thinking,” he repeated.

“How does one feel someone thinking?” I asked incredulously.

“I dunno, you just have like this energy,” he said, smacking his lips and rubbing his cheek against me. “Come sleep.”

I felt his warmth seeping into me and my eyelids growing heavy. It was easy to fall asleep with him. In fact, it was easy to sleep half the day away.

“Why is it so bright?” he groaned.

“Because it’s… almost noon?” I said, rubbing my eyes.

“Ughhh,” he groaned.

“Good thing we don’t have jobs or responsibilities,” I said.

“Mm, good thing,” he agreed, nuzzling into my neck and doing very distracting things with his mouth.

“Stop that,” I said mildly.

“Mm,” he hummed, laying his cheek on my shoulder and gazing up at me. “I like waking up with you.”

I knew I was going to say something nasty, so I kept my mouth shut and kissed his forehead instead.

He beamed at me.

It made me soften.

“I could go with you,” he said quietly.

I didn’t let myself even consider it. “No. You’re needed here. Be your ridiculous self and win everyone over. Get the world back in order.”

“I thought you wanted to destroy the world order.”

“Of course I do, but not at the expense of everyone starving to death.”

“You do have a heart,” he said, grinning at me.

“Don’t go spreading rumors.”

“Heh,” he hummed, kissing my cheek. His lips moved down the hollow of cheek to the corner of my mouth. He paused.

I opened my mouth.

He had terrible morning breath.

We were both relaxed and warm and comfortable, so of course the world finally had to remember that it couldn’t keep on turning without us.

“Naruto! I can’t find Sasuke!” Sai cried as he pounded on the door.

Naruto frowned into our kisses.

“Ignore him,” I said. “He usually goes away when I do.”

“But he’s loud,” Naruto complained, even as he was getting distracted by my mouth.

“I know you’re both in there, I can track your chakra!” Karin yelled as the knocking got louder.

I growled.

Naruto laughed and gave me one last kiss before jumping out of bed.

“Were you still in bed?” Sai asked cheerfully. “Your hair is poorly maintained and your clothes are slovenly.”

“What have you been doing to my Sasuke, you naughty boy?” Karin asked, sounding far too cheerful.

“We were just sleeping,” Naruto said.

“Then why do your lips look all red and luscious?” Karin scoffed.

“I’m a red-lipped, luscious guy?” Naruto offered.

“Best friends Sasuke!” Sai cried, appearing in the bedroom doorway.

I glowered at him.

“The Sand Siblings have shared some disturbing intel about the peril of the Water ninjas,” he said, coming over and sitting on the bed.

My glower intensified.

“We need to prepare to leave for our mission as soon as possible.”

“Okay,” I said.

He continued to sit on the bed, smiling at me.

“Is that all?” I prodded.

“Oh, yes,” he said.

“Okay.”

He smiled.

“You can go now.”

Sai blinked. He tilted his head to the side. “Did you need to say goodbye to Naruto?”

I stared at him.

“I don’t mind waiting while you finish your intercourse.”

“Get out.”

“What? Why?”

“You’re being a creepy weirdo.”

“Oh, am I?” he asked, smiling pleasantly. “Okay, see you later, then.”

I pulled the blanket over my head as he left.

Footsteps padded up to the bed. “Karin said you guys are leaving tomorrow,” Naruto said glumly.

I pulled down the blanket enough to look at him.

“I’m coming with you,” he decided.

“What happened to your summit and taking care of the fifth?”

“I mean, what can I even do?” he said with a shrug.

“Naruto.”

He stuck his lower lip out at me.

“You can change the fucking world,” I said, sitting up and throwing the blanket off of me.

“I really don’t think I can,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t do anything, really-”

“You changed me,” I said, standing in front of him and looking him evenly in the eye.

“I didn-”

“You changed me, but this whimpering pathetic shadow of a man that you’ve become would never have changed me,” I agreed.

“Ouch,” he said.

“Please find yourself again,” I said, squishing his cheeks together.

He looked at me with his ridiculous fish-face and nodded his head solemnly.

It was a promise.

- 32 -

“So you knew you were gay from having wet dreams about Naruto,” Sai concluded, smiling happy.

Three months into our mission in Water, and he was still the most obtuse person I’d ever met. “I didn’t say they were wet dreams,” I snarled, crossing my arms over my chest. I could do that now that my left arm had grown to slightly past the elbow.

“What else could you possibly mean by ‘sexually confusing dreams’?” he scoffed, readjusting his binoculars.

“I meant as in confusing about my sexuality.”

“Okay, but what was confusing about them?”

“That Naruto was attractive.”

“Okay, but how was he attractive?”

“What do you mean, ‘how was he attractive’? I looked at him; he was attractive.”

“And then…?”

“Why does there have to be a ‘and then…’?”

“Because these dreams convinced you that not only were you homosexual, but you were attracted to the person you thought to be the stupidest ninja alive,” Sai hummed reasonably.

“Is there really nothing going on in the mansion?” I grumbled.

“Yes, there’s really nothing going on at the daimyo’s playboy mansion,” he said, handing me the binoculars. “And then…?”

I peered at the mansion where all remained dark, the guards standing boringly at their posts. “I thought there would be some action.”

“Oh, I see, you thought there would be action with Dream Naruto, but he rejected you.”

I very slowly lowered the binoculars. “Are you focused on this mission at all?”

“…no…?” he said, like that should be obvious. “We’ve been staking out this place for a week and we haven’t gotten any leads on where the mizukage is being held. So now I want to have interesting best friend conversations.”

“All we do all day every day is have conversations,” I said, rolling my eyes. We’d split off from the girls almost a week ago and weren’t scheduled to meet up with them again for another couple of days, so it was all Sai, all the time.

“Would you rather talk about me?” he suggested.

“God, no.”

“That’s what I thought,” he said cheerfully. “You’re very self-absorbed, and you love talking about your honey.”

“Naruto is not bee excrement,” I muttered.

“Honey is actually regurgitated, not excreted,” Sai pointed out. I appreciated his intelligence, but not when it undermined my cleverness.

“So, Sai, how is your life?” I asked irritably.

“I know you don’t really want to know,” he said. “But I’m going to tell you anyway. I have big news.”

“We’re together every minute of every day,” I said. “What big news could you possibly have.”

“We are not together on bathroom breaks, and you also refuse to bathe with me most of the time.”

“Because you stare at my dick the entire time and comment on how ‘slender’ it is!”

“It is very slender, though.”

“It is not! It is very normal thickness!”

“You’re getting very angry about this.”

“A man takes pride in his penis, Sai.”

Sai cracked up.

I ignored him.

“Come on, now, Sasuke, best friend,” he said. “You know your penis is magnificent.”

“I don’t want to hear that, either.”

“Why not? Men love to have their penises complimented rather than hear the truth about them.”

“Stop talking about penises!”

“I’m just saying that you seem a bit sens-”

“What was your big news, Sai?” I asked through gritted teeth.

“Oh!” he said, looked absolutely delighted. “I’ve decided I have a crush on Karin!”

“…okay…” I said.

“You sound like you don’t believe me.”

“Well, gee, Sai, you just told me last week that you thought you had a crush on me.”

He grinned. “Are you jealous?”

“Rather than jealous, I think you’re just very confused and trying to put labels on feelings that you don’t quite understand yet.”

“You’re so clever, Sasuke Best Friend,” he said, grinning at me. “See, I was confusing our deep, manly friendship with romantic feelings. But now I see the difference. And the difference is that true romantic love is reserved for those you find truly annoying.”

“Oh, boy,” I said. This might end up being even more ridiculous than Sai’s suggestion that we experiment sexually with one another, which I had promptly shot down. Was he going to make the same proposition to Karin? I wanted to watch it live. I needed popcorn.

“Do you think I’m wrong?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Sai, I have no idea what goes on in your head, and I certainly have no idea of what turns you on, so you carry on with your experiments however you like,” I said, handing him the binoculars. “What’s going on in that guest room?” I asked, nodding my head towards the only room with a light on in the mansion.

Sai studied the scene. “I think someone’s preparing to make an early exit.”

“Or someone’s arriving,” I said, turning my head around. I could feel the chakra approaching, sliding along my skin.

Sai pointed above us and we both slipped soundlessly higher up into the tree we’d been hiding in.

The chakra passed by us, heading straight for the mansion.

“Now why would a ninja be visiting the daimyo?” Sai whispered.

“Doesn’t seem like a suicide mission,” I said as we observed the guards opening the gate and letting said ninja in like he was expected.

Nothing happened for a while, then there were shadows moving around the lighted room. The clandestine meeting lasted thirty-two minutes before the light went out and the guards started bustling around again before finally letting the mystery ninja leave the grounds.

Sai made a signal before leaping from the tree in silent pursuit of the ninja. I followed behind, continuing to mask our chakra.

The chase continued for almost an hour before the ninja slipped into the forest and his destination became obvious.

Sai and I dropped back.

“An entire camp of ninjas,” Sai mused.

“Working for the daimyo,” I said with a frown.

“What do we do?” Sai asked, arching an eyebrow.

Of course, Sai knew that we were supposed to lie low and report anything we found to Kakashi.

The thing was, villages weren’t so much a thing now, and we certainly weren’t anyone’s subordinates.

“We pick off the low-lying fruit,” I said.

He nodded his agreement.

We hunkered back down for more long-term spying.

Dawn was approaching, and we were losing our window. Then the low-lying fruit appeared, wandering into the woods for a bathroom break.

The simplicity with which I caught him in my sharingan told me all I needed to know about this band of pathetic ninjas.

When we’d gotten far enough away, I released him.

The boy blinked slowly, confused about why he was no longer experiencing the longest pee of his life in the woods.

“What are you doing for the daimyou?” I asked, twirling a kunai around my finger.

“I… uh… we’re… wait… who are you?”

“I’m sorry, was the question not clear?” I asked. “What are you doing for the daimyou?”

The boy squirmed, realizing his arms and legs were bound.

“Now, now, Best Friend, can’t you see he’s a little confused?” Sai hummed. “Hey, there. I’m Big Easy, and this is my buddy Slender. We were fleeing the daimyo’s reign of terror, and couldn’t help but notice that you and your lot of ninjas seem to have some kind of peace treaty with the ninja-killer. How do we get in on that sweet, sweet, not-being-murdered-by-killer-trees action?”

“Why am I tied up?” the boy whispered, looking scared.

I sighed loudly. “Why are you wasting our time and not answering the question?”

“Don’t mind Slender, he’s just a bit ornery,” Sai said, still oozing charm and friendliness. “We just weren’t sure if we could trust you, is all. Can’t be too careful being a ninja in the Land of Water these days.”

“Can I go back to my camp?” the boy whimpered.

“Yeah, of course,” Sai said.

“Just as soon as you answer the damn question,” I said. “What are you doing for the daimyou?”

The boy swallowed. “We just… we just do what he says.”

“And what does he say?” I prodded, pointing my kunai at him.

“Now, Slender,” Sai scolded me, swatting the kunai away. “Just tell us what you know, okay?” he said to the boy.

“We stay in the camp,” the boy said, his lip trembling. He had to be at least fifteen, yet here he was about to cry. “We don’t leave without permission.”

“But we saw that man leave,” I said. “We saw him go to the daimyo’s mansion.”

“Ippei’s our representative,” he explained. “He meets with the daimyo to tell him what we’re doing. Sometimes the daimyo… sometimes he gives Ippei something to do. Ippei takes other ninjas. Strong ones. If they do the mission, then we can keep living in the camp.”

“So you’re basically in a prison camp, and your strongest members are forced to do the daimyo’s dirty work so you all can continue to live peacefully in your prison camp,” I summarized, rolling my eyes.

“Slender.”

“It’s fucking pathetic,” I said.

“Let the boy go,” Sai said, shaking his head.

“Whatever,” I said, raising my kunai.

The boy flinched.

I cut him free. “Run free. Well, run back to your cage.”

He looked between us nervously, then took off back towards the woods.

“Fucking idiot,” I muttered.

“Not everyone’s powerful enough to take care of themselves, you know,” Sai commented.

“They’re ninjas,” I said flatly. “What can non-ninja possibly do to a ninja?”

He shook his head at me.

“What?” I asked with a frown.

“For an orphan hated by your village, you’ve lived a very privileged life, Uchiha.”

“Okay…”

Sai actually looked sad.

I rolled my eyes and headed back towards our base. The sun was about to pop out over the horizon, and it was time for us to get some sleep.

Sai was quiet as he got ready for bed.

“You’re creeping me out,” I told him.

“Good,” he said with a fake smile.

“Stop that.”

The expression immediately dropped from his face. “I’m just thinking.”

“Please don’t.”

“Uchiha, we talked about your sarcasm.”

“We also talked about you not calling my dick ‘slender’ anymore…”

“I wasn’t calling your dick ‘slender’, I was calling you ‘Slender’.”

“Same fucking thing.”

“How so?” he asked, scratching his head.

“Never mind,” I said, knowing that this would just go around in circles. “What are you thinking so deeply and creepily about?”

He got into his sleeping bag in our makeshift shelter, pulling it up to his chin. “What was your dream world like?”

I got into my sleeping bag and didn’t even acknowledge his question.

“You were with Naruto, right?” he said.

I turned my back to him.

“Well, I was alone,” he said. “It’s supposed to be our brains creating our dream paradise, right? But my brain couldn’t think of anything but for me to continue being a nameless soldier in the Konoha army.”

Oh, god, we were going to have a serious conversation. I turned around to face him.

“My dream world was just missions,” he said, his voice flat. “Missions, and rising in the ranks. I finally became the hokage’s bodyguard. And I just had this one moment of looking at the hokage and his wife and his kids, and the new Konoha that they were building, and I just… I just wondered what the point was of what I was doing.”

“What woman did you marry Naruto off to?” I grumbled.

“Sakura,” he said, flashing me a grin.

“Sadistic,” I said.

“Truest love is born from truest hate.”

“Unhealthier words were never spoken.”

“You’re just jealous because you know they would be a cute couple.”

I didn’t say anything.

Sai snorted. “Are you actually worried?”

“No,” I said, and Sai let me leave it at that. Of course I worried about my on-a-break boyfriend leaving me for a baby factory. We didn’t need to verbalize such things, especially in the ridiculous case of even considering that Naruto might want to date his might-as-well-be-biological sister Sakura. “Aren’t we talking about you and your meaningless existence?”

“Oh, quite right,” he agreed. “Being a spy is the only thing I’m good at, and it’s completely pointless.”

“There’s no reason to be so down on such a time-honored profession,” I said. “You promote the agenda of greedy, power-hungry monsters, sure, but you look good doing it.”

“You’re such an optimistic person, Uchiha,” he said, and smiled at me softly. Sai never knew how to use facial expressions appropriately. “Don’t you ever feel trapped in a life that someone else decided for you?”

We looked at each other in the low light of the dawn.

“Sasuke?” Sai finally said, breaking the silence.

“Yes?”

“I wish I liked you.”

I snorted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I wish I liked you romantically,” he explained. “I look into your eyes and I see my reflection.”

I sighed loudly. “First of all, you are ridiculous.”

He nodded his agreement.

“And second of all, you don’t have to like someone romantically to have a deep bond with them.”

His eyes lit up at that. “Do we have a deep bond, Best Friend Sasuke?”

“No,” I growled, turning my back to him. “Go to sleep.”

“Heh, we all know your ‘no’ means ‘yes’,” he said, nestling into his sleeping bag.

I didn’t bother to correct him.

#narusasu #isola starting over #sasusaaaaaaai

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keepyourpantsongohan · 5 years

Text

Ayesha Liveblogs Naruto Shippuden S20 (Pt. 4)

Hashirama’s “:O” face at everything is so endearing

Hagoromo is now really the time for a family story there are three children and a sad old man in need

“It was a few thousand years ago” Zetsu just said it was 1,000 years ago how bad are you guys at telling time

I wonder how Hashirama feels about Madara being his Soulmate™

“I want make sure [the Tailed Beasts] don’t fight amongst each other, and that people don’t use their powers for evil” better 2 have tried and failed I guess

“That’s because a toad’s dream is destiny” weird flex but ok

“So then, will everything I do now be meaningless?” “Don’t waste your time worrying” Ffgkjhfgkjh damn I didn’t ask for a lecture on fatalism in my Naruto liveblog

Lmao @ this dude revealing his thievery scheme after talking to Hagoromo for 0.5 seconds what makes him think everyone will be on board with it

“I only want you to go away as soon as possible” ah looks like Hagoromo made a friend lmao

“If we make it too sturdy, you’ll break your bones when you try to destroy it” they actually did a really good job of making Hagoromo charming like consider me charmed I wanna hear abt ur ninja way

Hahahah I admire Futami for not bringing up the horns for the entire length of time it took them to build the bridge

Futami: Hagoromo-sensei gave me a high-five one time and it touched my heart so I formed a cult around him

Wait if Hagoromo only gave 8 disciples chakra are the nine of them together responsible for fathering all the shinobi world what kind of Gengis Khan fuckery

Minus the Hyuga, who, for some reason are moon aliens, I guess

“Throughout this long history men appeared, one after another, with the desire to use the tailed beasts for their own evil purposes. And that turned the tailed beasts against mankind. Anyway, back to my story.” Hahahaha did Hagoromo just go “(A/N: Fuck Obito and Madara lol)”

Unbelievable you’re telling me there was someone who wanted to get with this old man with horns and three eyes who leads a cult and you won’t show me WHO where is the justice

OH HEY FUTAMI HELPING RAISE THE KIDS I GUESS? WILD

Mmmm I love Ashura already 1000/10 endearing impulsive baby

Some filler storyboard artist who I respect beyond reason: But what if... we added.... a dog

“It might even be bigger than yours” please don’t tell me they fished Zetsu out of the river

"I didn’t realize you thought so deeply about [chakra being used as a weapon]” “Yeah, well” “But then again, what will be, will be” what kind of parenting is this Hagoromo kjhgkjhgkjhg

Indra, 10 years old: I am concerned about the ethical impact of my innovation

Hagoromo: YOLO, son ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“I’ll be watching you” Is that the voice of......... Pubescent Zetsu

LMAO IT IS

These kids are really emotionally unprepared for the boar considering they were following boar tracks into the woods

ARE YOU SHITTING ME THEY EVEN USED THE SAME FILLER DOG NAME LMAO WHO IS WRITING THIS

I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY KILLED THE DOG I’M SO MAD

Wow @ them having Indra invent chidori instead hkjhgkhg poor Kakashi

Indra awoke his sharingan over losing his dog I cannot believe this how are dogs the central plot device of multiple arcs

“Whatever is in this village belongs to everyone - that’s the law” wow along with fatalism this arc is also teaching us about the practical failings of communism

“The law is still the law” where’s the post that says Sasuke is ethnically a cop. Because that’s this arc

Not 2 be that gal again but Indra’s voice is also nice on the ears he has inherited his grandmother’s kekkei genkai of having an attractive voice and a terrible moral compass

...............kekkei grandma

“Looking into his eyes reminds me of my mother’s eyes” I was kind of joking about the kekkei grandma thing but fair

“At that moment I felt that I understood for the first time why heaven had blessed me with two sons” have you ever considered your eldest son is mean in part because you make comments like this

“What will the two of you do when you are out in the world alone” wow Hagoromo is giving his kids some kind of High-Stakes Bell Test

Hahaha I like Taizo I hope they don’t do anything to him but they probably will because he’s had so much screen time

HAHAHAHA I LOVE THIS SQUAD it’s the first ninja team and the boy is the healer!!!

Ashura: OH NO I’VE FORGOTTEN HOW TO GENJUTSU

Kanna and Taizo: WE GOT U BUDDY WE GOT BATS

I thought I was going bananas for a sec but the intro did change lol

Poor Tenzo I think he’s been officially discarded from OPs RIP

Side note: Having a Naruto blog has made me so wary of Kakashi and Sakura standing next to each other I don’t trust the ppl on this website to be normal for a second RIP x2

“They’ll suffer, sure, but everyone dies eventually” okay calm down Taizo

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s possible or not, because I’ve decided to do it” I admire Ashura’s blind optimism lmao

Not to poke too many holes but why would the water in the well not be affected by the Divine Tree

I take my comment about healing back ludicrously all the men get to display chakra natures and the women can only display glowing yin chakra hands booooo

Omg there is a Tenzo after all in an ED at least!! This is the first time I’ve seen all three members of the Naruto’s Dad Association in one place!!! Bless up

A shot of them standing all together!!!! My heart!!!!!!!!

SASUKE AND NARUTO’S GRINS AT EACH OTHER I WEEEP

[Hagoromo as Kakashi voice]: TEAMWORK!!

I was very much expecting Indra to go crazy and kill those two guys but wow that was a scene

“Enough to make you fall in love with him and follow him all the way here” At least Ashura gets like a real wife instead of Hagoromo’s ‘ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ she dead’

Hagoromo: Indra’s a dick because his eyes are red trust me it has nothing to do with my parenting I’m a chakra scientist

“Indra, just what is the meaning of this” it’s a temper tantrum lmao

Was it really necessary to kill both of those guys Indra one best friend death usually suffices for mangekyo my dude

Minato joining Kakashi in the club of Boyz Who Jutsu Was Plagiarized

Hagoromo really has absolutely zero hesitation to attack his son and you wonder why Indra has a complex

“THIS IS THE POWER OF OUR BOOOOOND” he said, as he punched his brother in the face with a thousand wooden hands (mood)

Indra’s Lightning Teleportation Jutsu is really doing The Most the Raikage is not nearly this dramatic about it

Can you... just.... declare that your soul will be reincarnated? Is that how that works?

Also. Who slept with Indra?! U made him out to be like. Very Not Okay. But he’s the forefather of the Uchiha?? WHERE ARE THESE CHILDREN COMING FROM TELL ME WHO IS BANGING THIS OUT OF CONTROL FAMILY

Hahahahaha I’M SO READY FOR THIS RIDICULOUS TEAM 7 TRYING TO UNMASK KAKASHI EPISODE BRING IT THE FUCK ON

I knew the Sukea voice would be different but omg I’m still thrown

“S-kay-a” is really not how I thought that would be pronounced wow

“If I’m able to capture this Kakashi guy without a mask on, it’ll be the biggest scoop since the Leaf was established” a little arrogant Kakashi but okay kjhgkjhgkjhgjhg

This is such an adorable and weird bonding exercise of Kakashi teaching his kids how to break into Konoha’s archives I’M WHEEZING

I would pay money to see Kakashi explain what he was doing to all those dudes in ANBU who probably thought he was intimidating as all fuck catching him a wig with three twelve-year-olds breaking into his own file

“Who cares what I look like anyway!” THIS IS SO DUMB I LOOOOVE IT

“I think that a woman might’ve drowned right over there on the river bank” HINATA!!!!! UR TOO NICE TO BE ENLISTED INTO THIS SCHEMING HAHAHA

Oh I remember seeing reference to this scene booooo do they really have to make it weird all the time

This concept is even MORE ridiculous in the show bc it expands beyond Team 7 to all the other Konoha rookies like Kakashi how much do u enjoy teasing the children that this is how you’re spending your day

HAHAHAH Kakashi is lucky that the person who knows him best has face blindness and can’t call him out for his schemes

Okay not to betray my own brand but ᵏᵏᵍᵃᶦ ᶜᵘᵗᵉ

They really designed a nicer apartment for Kakashi just so they could animate his silhouette in the shower STUDIO PIERROT PLEASE

Fhkjhkjfhkjhkf that last scene made me so uncomfortable I don’t really like seeing Kakashi’s mouth while he talks it’s weird

You know I spent a lot of this interlude chanting main arc main arc in my head but alas now that we have arrived I’ve remembered that the war arc climax is a mess

“If my chakra runs out, I’m done” seriously Obito.......... how are you here

Can you imagine if Naruto actually died.... what would that even mean for this series I can’t imagine

“I already marked this space, so I can hide out in my time-space” I want to know how Obito “marks a space” is it like a jutsu or does he just have to nod at it and go “my space now”

I would also pay money to see what Obito and Sakura talked about when they had to hang out in Kamui for a solid two minutes lmao

“So you’re friends with sensei huh?” “Yeah it’s complicated but I think we’re cool now” “Yeah, same with us and Sasuke” “Sorry about that” “I don’t forgive you but thanks”

“You alright?” define ‘alright’ but also Obito’s never been alright a day in his life, Sakura

Uh oh foreshadowing to the heavy gravity space where Obito d*es

Okay maybe this is the part of me that is still clings to their Part I friendship but Sasuke helping Sakura stand really brings out my inner soft bitch

“It would’ve been helpful if we could’ve received this advice a bit earlier” Tobirama’s bitter about sitting through five episodes of filler

Tobirama: Why haven’t u been helping this whole time

Hagoromo: It all comes down to Madara’s magic pelvis—

“This man lent me his power and that’s why we were able to get here” does Sakura not know Obito’s name either khgkjhgjkgh

How many times will we watch these same two flashbacks of Obito’s life

Looks like Kakashi brought a knife to a taijutsu fight LMAO

God Rin is such a good friend to Obito and he repays her by literally defacing her grave

“Am I powerless to do anything but sit here and watch” it’s not really your fault you can’t fly Kakashi tho u could try throwing some kunai or smth ur not a one sharingan pony

Ddkjhsdkjhd why does Obito get a line worrying about Naruto’s death but Kakashi doesn’t he’s spent the past two days trying to kill Naruto

I’m still emo abt Kakashi trying to die for Sasuke that’s his soooon

“Rin... this time, let’s spend some alone time together, just you and me” Why phrase it like that, Obito

"Why save someone useless like me” Kakashi get some therapy

“A fool full of only mistakes” it’s hard to disagree with Zetsu when they’re flashing back to every mistake Obito has ever made

Where’s the graphics set where Obito goes ‘admittedly I lost my cool here’ because that’s what that flashback was

Update: found it

“Don’t cry, Obito, you’ll just get laughed at” this fantasy is an indication that Obito has no real comprehension of how fucked up Kakashi was by Rin’s death

Can you believe that Rin still dies in Obito’s jonin AU like....what. It’s not even like “AU of what I want” it’s like “AU where I learn how to cope with trauma”

Also was this just an out for not designing an adult Rin bc he’s been thinking about Rin endlessly for like three episodes straight so..... what up with that

It’s still so fucking funny that Iruka’s in Obito’s jonin fantasy like when did they meet did he just absorb secondhand Iruka appreciation from Naruto

“But, if you screw up, I won’t hesitate to step up as a candidate for Hokage myself” yesssssssss let Kakashi be the playful menace he truly aspires to be

Gjghjkhgjhg Obito’s “euuuuuuuuehhhh” when the paperwork dropped was funny

Sasuke’s face when Sakura punched Naruto was also v funny

Honestly to be real for a second Obito imagining himself as buddies with Team 7 makes me mad u’ve done nothing but make these kids’ life TERRIBLE until today babysitting license REVOKED!!!!!!

Am I a hypocrite for enjoying AUs ft. Obito? Mayhaps!!!

“You told me that saving you was pretty much the same as saving the whole world, remember?” (Well.)

“I’d say, you did your best” You know that post that said it makes sense that Rin said this bc she’s a Scorpio. I’m still upset about it

You know... Naruto’s “the coolest guy” (“nothing but awesome”) comment about Obito is a direct parallel to “Bravest man I ever knew” in HP and that’s why, if I were to meet either adult man, I would dropkick both of them. In this essay I will—

“It’s kind of annoying seeing [Kakashi] all stiff and useless” u right Obito

Kishimoto pick up the phone I just want to talk about that rabbit bijuu design

“A Susano’o? But whose?” DAD’S HEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRE

Kakashi with Six Paths Power REALLY feeds into my theory that Kakashi is Hagoromo’s transmigrant

THAT’S MY TEAM READY TO SAVE THE WORLD TOGETHER!!!!!

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 KAKASHI GETS HER VULNERABLE AND THEN THE BOYS ATTACK WHILE KAKASHI GUARDS THEIR BACKS AND SAKURA FORCES HER INTO PLACE THIS IS WHOLEASS TEAMWORK

“I really love you guys” YEAH HE DOES 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Okay arc over haha right guys we’re good now RIGHT GUYS??

In part, Kakashi jumping around to save his students feels very much reminiscent of Part I’s “MY SENSEI SENSES ARE TINGLING” swoop and scoop that he and Gai loved to do

Lmao @ Kaguya spitting Madara out like he’s a bad-tasting vegetable

Coming up with an OP specifically for VOTE2 is so extra but I kind of love it the Diver parallels!!!!

Sasuke is SUCH a liar abt his attitude towards Team 7 - more specifically towards Sakura and Kakashi bc he has already granted that he cares for Naruto

Sasuke: Comrades? I don’t know her

Also Sasuke: Constantly urging Sakura and Kakashi to get to safety and actively intervening when they’re not

“Honestly at this point I don’t think anything could shock me anymore” Sakura really needs a hug and a nap

“I shall be sure to ask Obito tell me that tale in the afterworld” the real question is if Obito will still look 12 when he takes Hagoromo on the harrowing journey that is his life

Kakashi truly has endless love in his stupid ass heart Obito’s like, “Hmmm... whoops sorry 4 committing mass murder” and Kakashi’s like “Hehe, we all mess up sometimes :) See u in heaven”

Madara and Hashirama really did invent being in gay love huh

WOW I WAS NOT EXPECTING TO TEAR UP BUT KJHFKJHFKJH MY BABY BOY SAYING GOODBYE TO HIS DAD HE IS THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SWEETHEART

“You’ve now finally settled things with Madara” Tobirama has been waiting for like a hundred years for his brother to get over his ex

Hagoromo: Naruto’s your new conference room congrats kids

Mmmmm I don’t like aaaaannnnnny of this

“You’re suggesting that I enjoy a roooOoomance” why say it like that Sasuke

I genuinely think this is the maddest that Kakashi’s ever been at Sasuke that boy is very, very grounded

“I, too, had two children at one time” OMG KAKASHI OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED TEAM 7 DAD BY HAGOROMO (ur miscounting tho Kakashi actually has four (4) children)

“I think I shall let Naruto handle this” said Hagoromo, and everyone who encountered any problem in this series ever

I’m very distracted from Sasuke’s dictatorship speech by the fact he looks so much like an alien. What is UP with his eyes they never look like this???? Why are they so far apart and narrow and angled

“Your blood will be the last that I shed” what r u just gonna keep genjutsuing ppl Sasuke? Could just keep the Tsukuyomi on then, homie

It also plays into the Hagoromo and Kakashi are related (spiritually or literally) that Hagoromo is equally as useless with advice to him lmao

Kakashi: What should I be doing, sir?

Hagoromo: Sometimes I like to pray :)

Fjkkjgkjhgkjhk Sasuke claiming that Naruto is his only bond never ceases to amaze me like Sakura and Kakashi are RIGHT THERE ghkjhgkjhgkj u have been protecting them this whole time while they shout how much they care abt u. Just admit u have a crush on Naruto and go!!!

“I know your heart well by now. And you mine” Sasuke u unintentionally romantic dumbass

“Finally decided to kill me, huh,” said a thrilled Sasuke, taking a lesson from the Kakashi School of Very Much Needing Ninja Therapy

This entire fight is the Life or Death equivalent of this tweet:

Lmao one of these boys lost a tooth I want to know which of them has a dental implant

Omg............... Iruka what is going ON.... u are suddenly v pale and also I think ur VA might be different could they not get the same Iruka or has he just forgotten how Iruka sounds

It was real unclear until this fight that Sasuke had any of the same powers as Nagato

“Now I can finally be alone... farewell, my one and only... friend” again... Sasuke... u can be in love with Naruto and still have other friends!!!!!!! Ask Naruto he has tons of friends he’s not in love with*

*Disclaimer: they are all in love with him

The idea that everyone Naruto’s ever cared about is spiritually trying to help him kick Sasuke’s ass is p funny

“Sakura and Kakashi are still there, they’ll figure something out” cute that you have such an assload of faith in your loved ones in ur life-flashing-before-you moment Sasuke but with what jutsu lmao

“I began to see a shadow of my own family in Squad 7″ YEAH HE DID 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

I still can’t believe that Kishimoto really wrote that all it took for Sasuke to return to Konoha was Naruto explaining to him how love and empathy work

Omg Sasuke laughing...... I missed your laugh you precious boy

“Release the infinite Tsukuyomi once I’m dead by transplanting my left eye into Kakashi or someone else” Fhjfhkfh it detracts a little from the significance of Sasuke offering his eye to Kakashi to add the “someone else” but I guess they gotta make the syllables match up

Why is every Uchiha’s long-term plan just to die before they have to deal with the consequences of their actions

“I’m sorry” “Sorry? For what” “For everything” “You got that right” Sasuke I think u need to treat all of ur teammates to ramen

“It’s finally back to the way it was” Kakashi loooves his baaabies

TENZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Omg they included Guren from the filler arc in this crowd hahahaha

Gaara and Naruto enveloped in that same beam of light like Kakashi and Tenzo in the Tsukuyomi kghjghkgh SP said gentle gay rights

“I’m forbidden to talk about it” Team 7 would RIOT if Sasuke was locked up in a cell like that fuck you

Hahahaha I wish I could see the scene where Kakashi and Iruka decided to ambush Naruto with study materials

Okay this is definitely a different Iruka ahhhhh weird I don’t like it

Iruka bursting into tears whenever Naruto talks about his progress.... same

I 100% believe that the vast majority of the reason Kakashi became Hokage was to pardon Sasuke but also that prison scene still seems appalling to me STOP MAKING THINGS WORSE THAN THEY WERE SHOWN TO BE

"Maybe next time” is super funny in the context that he does take her on his next mission outside the village and comes back with one (1) whole baby

Sasuke’s introspection usually seems to amount to “Birth is a curse and existence is a prison... oh hey Naruto <3″

The moral of the story seems to be that the best way to show someone you love them in ninja language is by telling them you want to keep punching them for the rest of your life

#i have caught up to the 699 adaption i am freeee #liveblogging #long post #ayesha liveblogs nahruto shipduden #ayesha talks anime #naruto series

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realitachifacts · 5 years

Note

HCs about Itachi and his dreams, nightmares, sleeping habits and alternate states of consciousness. Does he get insomnia? Anything about parasomnia? Maybe a brief writing about it.

okay i just finished this and wtf it ended up being so long. i am not editing the story so if there are typos or anything sucks to suck for me.

headcanon time! i’m really excited for this one not gonna lie.

itachi has nightmares. many of them. this… makes sense, really, considering traumatic experiences induce vivid nightmares and, actually, blind people have more nightmares (though the difference is much slighter that that of the average person if you become blind later in life).

i’m gonna get into the blindness first before i get into the nightmares. some of this is probably going to be scientifically inaccurate, but i mean… this is an anime headcanon.

the more his blindness progressed, the less visual the dreams became, focusing more on sensory experiences; at the same time, the imagery incorporated became more “familiar territory”, by which i mean the elements involved show up in a way he’d been familiar with for a longer experience of time. i guess the best example would be, before the final showdown, he’d seen sasuke once, at around age thirteen. the last few times he was able to see even anything in dreams, one of the few visuals that remained was his family, at the age he killed them; despite not seeing them in years, playing solely off of the most prominent memories.

as he began to see less and less in general, before blacked-out dreams, the more the things less important to him would fade away, out of sight.

as far as dreams go, it’s likely he had very few positive ones while in the akatsuki. i’d imagine more of them came when he could no longer see, but it was still painful, to hear the voices of loved ones and not be able to look into their faces again in the only way you can, knowing you have only a few months left to live.

now onto the nightmares.

more or less as an interesting concept alone, but for the majority of his life, itachi never had nightmares. stress at night manifested solely through insomnia rather than having bad dreams. since he’s a ninja, i would imagine learning to remain composed is sort of an essential asset of the job, and he was probably taught how to do this, so he could at least force himself into sleep, even if he woke up several times or barely felt rested in the morning.

he’s had dreams though, but that’s never been something all that significant to him; i don’t think any of them have been super good dreams.

[ okay just note that i haven’t gotten to the shisui death scene yet i just know that it happens and that’s about it so i’m probably interpreting some stuff wrong ]

but when that happened he couldn’t sleep for 10 full days until he passed out from sleep deprivation.

the first time he had a nightmare was the first time he was able to sleep after killing his clan.

okay actually that’s cool i’m gonna write something with that. ugh OP… your mind…

obviously the nightmares were trauma-based. he had them up until his death, but the further away from the time the event occurred, the more abstract elements worked their way into the dream. he still had the dreams after he lost sight in his dreams, and he felt a bit guilty about it, but he was grateful he didn’t have to look at the eyes and faces of his clan members as he killed them.

for a while after the sasuke encounter during part I, sasuke played a more prominent part in his nightmares, for a good while.

the majority of the nightmares involve bad things happening to sasuke, or him killing his clan, or havoc in the leaf village, since i doubt anything harm that could come upon itachi scares him as much as the thought of those three things.

i imagine both dreams and nightmares are very vivid for itachi, being an observing/calculating/analytical individual he takes in more and has more to process.

as far as parasomnias go, dream-enacting behavior might’ve happened once or twice but i can’t imagine much beyond that.

as for sleeping habits, probably just mindfulness exercises before sleeping, because being someone introspective and having done/been through terrible things you feel guilty about that giving yourself time to think before you sleep is probably not the best of ideas ever.

with worsening depression/illness, itachi’s wanting to just sleep all the time probably amplified. it’s particularly hard, knowing that after closing your eyes the misery will continue or even worsen.

as for altered states of consciousness, i have a personal headcanon that using genjutsu efficiently requires a calm/collected/well cared for mind, otherwise you might not be able to control or even, worst case scenario when you’ve totally lost your marbles, get trapped in your own genjutsu. so i would assume something like meditation/mind training in some way would help you maintain that.

i think that covers everything?

now for a story.

Itachi Uchiha has never had a nightmare before in his life.

“Why?!”

He doesn’t need to.

“W-Why would you do this?!”

He’s living one.

Itachi talks about wanting to prove his vessel.

Doesn’t mean a single word of it.

… , …

He spends the rest of the night running, getting away and putting as much distance between himself and the Hidden Leaf Village as is completely possible, and in his head the moment plays over and over and over, but it doesn’t feel real, he’s existing in this dreamlike state, as if he’s repeatedly reading some page of a book because his eyes are blurred, unfocused.

He appears calm, at least, he thinks, as he stops running; the one area falling short of perfection in his academy exams was stamina, but a fighting style rooted primarily in genjutsu more than makes up for that missing proficiency. He has… a lot of emotions to process, really, it’s foreign territory when the majority of his emotional responses have a tendency towards being at least moderately underwhelming. This whole endeavor, every part of it, it’s been so stressful, so painful, deep hurt powerful enough that it manifests physically in his body, chest bleeding with.

Sadness.

Loss.

Loneliness.

Remorse.

He wonders if he should feel remorse, or at least, if remorse is logically applicable here. He was doing this to save the village, it would have happened either way, but at least this way Sasuke his safe, holding that sword with the metal drinking in and shining out the colors of moonlight, silver gleam broken by patches of slightly rusted crimson, red like roses lovers give to each other; blood of his ancestors and uncles and aunts and cousins and his parents and. And anyways. His little brother would’ve died, if it had been anyone but him. His clan was going to stage a coup, start a war, the death toll would’ve been worse, so many of the Uchihas would’ve died in it anyways, at least he put them out of their misery fast, and-

These are rationalizations.

Itachi knows this.

But he saved the village, he thinks.

It was going to happen anyways.

Sasuke will grow stronger, Itachi will ensure it, kill him and paint the clan name in new colors; clean off the bloodstained sins Itachi left on his blade. Sasuke will go back to the village a hero, Itachi thinks. Find happiness and acceptance, slaughterer of his criminal brother, sociopathic mass-murderer, heart and soul black as the eyes of crows.

Itachi is orchestrating his own divine justice. Playing as a deity in order to be purged by an angel of his own creation.

… , …

He’s sitting underneath a pine tree, long bark-wrinkled branches with needle fingers hang lazily from its sides. It’s still night, but in a few hours, it’ll be dawn, Itachi’s internal clock estimates. Still, the sky above him is as dark as a scorpion’s carapace, white stars speckled across like the shine on its shell. By now the world up above the deciduous forest is moonless, clouds consume it like parasites. It’s not that cold, or it could be colder, but maybe Itachi’s body is just numb from.

Everything.

Anyways, he’s exhausted. Doesn’t know where he’ll go from here. Thirteen-year-old self too life-drained to carry on much further. He lays down on a bed of pine needles, rough against his back, stinging in minutely; closes his eyes.

He thinks sleep won’t come easily.

He’s wrong.

But Itachi promises himself one thing before he fades down into unconsciousness.

If he can, he never wants to kill anyone, ever again.

… , …

Itachi is in the Uchiha compound, night’s almost fallen, the sky is painted indigo from the tail ends of dusk.

Many battles ensue.

Itachi wins all of them

His parents sit next to each other, in their room, side by side, execution style.

They talk about some things.

Itachi kills them.

Sasuke is crying.

If you want to defeat me, you need these eyes, Itachi says.

He’s already mentioned that he never cared about him, this whole time.

There’s nobody else in the world Itachi could ever care about more.

… , …

Itachi wakes up with tears heavy in his eyes, breathing hard, the milky pink of dawn has managed to claw its way into the sky and the first breaths of light whisper down between leaves and what was that.

Rationally, Itachi knows it’s a nightmare, but his heart is still fast and his breathing is a bit sped up and his eyes are wide, less characteristic emotional expression (though the normal tends to be majorly apathy, with any other responses muted partially).

He’s.

He’s never had one of these before.

It felt so real, and his dreams, they’ve always been vivid, mainly processing stressors or other events that provoked a more intense response from him; he’s never needed to analyze them, because his sleeping mind still holds hands with reality, and so now, this, this reliving it, as it happened, had to look into his relatives’ death-fearing eyes, had to act on notions antithetic to his moral code of pacifism, had to murder so many people.

Itachi shakes his head, tries not to dwell on it for too long.

He has a life he needs to figure out what to do with, until its preordained end.

… , …

He has that dream many, many more times.

It doesn’t get better, any of them.

… , …

Itachi is already halfway out of one of the two beds he’s rented at the inn, soft and luxurious and feather down mattress, as Kisame begins to speak. Asks Itachi if it’s another nightmare.

Itachi says nothing. The yes is unspoken.

Kisame asks Itachi if it’s the same one.

“Partially.” Itachi says. “Though devoid of all visual imagery.”

Kisame makes a jest, something along the lines of ‘finally, huh’? Itachi finds it non-offensive. He’s trying to be supportive, lighten the situation. Itachi doesn’t laugh at much anything, anymore. Kisame still tries.

“It’s been this way for some time, actually.” I just never wanted to talk about it.

He’s going to sit outside, take some space, as he does. This is a regular occurrence. Kisame tells him to come back soon.

… , …

Itachi comes back after around thirty minutes. Kisame is still awake, likely awaiting his safe return. It’s considerate.

He reminds Itachi that they’ll be at the Uchiha Hideout soon.

Itachi wouldn’t have forgotten ever. The scene of the final showdown, holy retribution, smite by the angelic.

… , …

This is Itachi’s last night alive.

He hopes the night is dreamless.

… , …

It isn’t.

But actually, in a good way.

… , …

Itachi is practicing shurikenjutsu, he’s around thirteen, sort of, leaps into the air in cat smooth motions, the throwing stars bounce off of each other and white shines across the metal. It’s warm and summery and the rare breaths of wind are hot, comforting almost. The trees are painted golden at the edges by sunlight, shuriken impale the targets on them, biting into their canvas skin.

Perfect score.

Sasuke is there, too, a child, around seven. He’s smiling and there are stars in his dark eyes and he’s looking at his older brother like Itachi is going to give him the world.

“Can you teach me that, too?” His voice just bleeds excitement and awe, he wants to be just like his older brother who is the Best Ninja Ever. Itachi extends his hand, moves his fingers in a ‘come here’ motion. There’s a half moon smile of white teeth suddenly there on Sasuke’s face, he runs towards his brother, and Itachi uses his index and middle finger, pokes in the middle of Sasuke’s forehead, who flinches back, makes a pouting face, knowing the next sentence by heart.

“I’m sorry Sasuke, maybe next time.”

“You always say that.”

Itachi smiles apologetically, then thinks about it. Is he really busy right now? He usually is; he planned to finish his training and help his father with some mission work. But… Well, considering the state of things, he might not have more opportunities like this.

So that can wait until another time.

“I think I may be free now, actually.” Itachi sees Sasuke’s whole being shine brighter and warmer than the sun.

Itachi teaches Sasuke the beginnings of shurikenjutsu. Sasuke learns quickly, and glows in every word of his older brother’s praise and encouragement.

At the end of it all, Sasuke grabs Itachi, hugs him tight.

“Thank you, older brother.”

And Itachi feels…

Happy.

… , …

Suddenly, things are different. His body hurts, all over, it’s cold around him, dark, Itachi’s vision is blurred and then he realizes where he is, remembers that this world, this is his reality. Kisame is already awake, it’s morning, they have to get ready for… what’s next, for Itachi.

Kisame tells Itachi that he should’ve woken him up earlier, but he didn’t.

“Why?”

Apparently he was smiling in his sleep. Kisame asks what he was dreaming about.

Itachi has to think for a while, before he finds the right thing to say.

… , …

“How things should have been.”

#ask #drabbles

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quirrrky · 5 years

Text

tanabata

secret lovers (tumblr thread | fanfiction.net)

Chronological One-Shots / Post-War / Pre-Last

After the Fourth Shinobi War, Naruto’ gradually falls in love Hinata and the whole village of Konoha knows it…Well, aside from him.

entry twelve

Prompt: He didn't know this kind of feeling he had for her and it somehow got even stronger.

/tanabata/ the meeting of two distant stars separated by the galaxy

The clouds passed by across the sky as the humid air blew her hair back. Hinata was silently admiring the beautiful flowers she grew over springtime. She watered them with love and shone her own kind of sun for them to grow strong and beautiful.

Out of all the flowers that grew in their garden this year, they were the ones that reminded her of him. Their color was the same as his blonde locks. They were quite puny, but there's some kind of brightness in them that made her smile. Their scent was that of honey and orange blossom—a sweet and sour kind, tangy and happy. Yellow Acacia.

Ever since Hinata knew that Naruto loved the flowers she was bringing him during his hospitalization, she promised him that she'll bring one of the flowers from their compound once they grew in perfect shape. Aside from that, she caught him admiring the greens and blossoms at the compound during their study sessions.

Softly, she picked a batch of the flowers and sighed heavily. In the coming two days would be the Tanabata Festival. The festival of the stars, the festival of lovers finally finding their path to each other and Hinata was planning to tell Naruto what she felt all these years.

Again, for the second time. However, this time, she would no longer expecting her death nor not hearing his response.

This time was for real.

She wanted to attend the festival with him; they would be writing their wishes of love on those colorful papers with hopes of them being together, they would play those games together and most importantly the fireworks—she would share it with him and him with her. And for her to achieve all that, she must power up and invite him now before he even planned on going anywhere else.

And if he rejected her…

Well, she had always prepared herself for that. She might just probably spend the festival inside her room, trying to piece her heart back together and trying to accept that there must be stars that were never really meant to meet.

"Hinata,"

"Otou-sama," She greeted back with a curt bow to which her father dismissed.

"Are you heading for a mission again, neechan?" Hanabi asked.

She nodded her head in refusal as her father followed-up, "Your recent mission has taken a toll on your byakugan. You should be more careful on using them now."

"Thank you for your concern, otou-sama, Hanabi." She bade as she exited her home very nervous to the bones.

With a very fond gentleness, she cradled the flowers in her hands. She really put her heart into them. In the duration of their growth, she became their mother. And to simply put it, the patience, care and love she poured on them was a covert message of unrequited love from her to him.

Konoha was already starting the preparation for the festival and this year was ought to be grand as this would be the year that they will be celebrating in pure peace. People, all from different nations and villages started to gather in order to witness the said event.

Hinata was nearing the Ichiraku Ramen stand when she was mentally practicing her confession, blush covering her cheeks.

Naruto-kun, all this time I've been watching you from afar, and I've always, always.

She pinched her eyes closed and scolded herself over and over. In her ear was his voice echoing…

Just a friend…Hinata, just a friend.

Although she told herself that being rejected by him would be okay, it wasn't going to be, because in her heart she was never sure if she could love another the way she loved him.

No! This shouldn't be. Her resolve was firm. Positivity might be too hard in her dire situation, but she never backs down.

I love you Naruto-kun!

In her head was his smile—that sweet smile he always had. With eyes full of admiration and sincerity, he would tell her…

Hinata, I love you…

Her face instantly reddened, but it didn't last long and she immediately paled. Her heart beat dropped in an uncanny way. She opened her eyes and found him loudly talking with the customers at the shop.

W-What if he indeed does?

Why was her heart scared? Why was she frightened that he might reciprocate the love she had for him?

Her foot stepped backward. This uncertainty…

It was true that when she professed her love for him during Pain's assault, she was not really expecting to see another day. It's true, what they say, that love casts out fears. But this time was different, it was not her fear of rejection that was causing her to be indecisive.

It was something else.

Seeing him with sheer naivety and lightheartedness was stopping her from confessing to him. And when he stood up and got out, plenty of girls started shouting his name and went towards his direction, seeking for his attention. A lot of people clung to him now, probably from different villages as well—judging from the symbols on their hitai-ate.

More of the crowd approached coming from her direction, one of them bumped into her causing the flowers in her hand to drop on the floor. She watched as some stepped on it.

Numb, she felt numb. Forget about the confession. Forget about the festival. She was dumbfounded and before she knew it, she stooped to pick the flowers up—droplets of water started falling on the flowers. She looked up to find the sun brightly shining, she touched her cheek, realizing that it was her crying.

Hinata never felt this way before. She had never seen such a big crowd circulated around Naruto either, but that very view, it made her feel like miles away from him.

She didn't want to stop him, to hinder him. That was his dream anyway. She was truly happy for him, but the uncertainty that nagged her earlier was a newfound emotion she never thought of ever.

What if he truly loves her? Why was the thought of it scaring her? Why did the picture of him with such crowd terrify her more?

"Hinata!" Immediately, she stood up, startled by the voice that called out her name.

"We have to hurry up now. Why? Because the hokage called after us for an urgent mission."

She wiped away the tears and faced her teammates. Perhaps, she needed this mission.

"Let's go!"

On this coming year, may my love reach you wherever you are. My heart has been yearning for you all this time. The next time we meet, I hope you're yearning mine.

The pink-haired girl gleamed as she wrote down her wish of love on a colored paper.

Sasuke-kun…

Although, he won't be able to attend the festival with her, Sakura could still hang her wish with hopes it may come true. She would just look up at the sky wishing that he was also seeing the same fireworks on the other side of the world. She turned up above the sky watching the bright sun make its way. Today's the festival.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Are you even listening?" Her blonde teammate asked that irked her at some point.

"Don't disturb me idiot! I'm in the middle of writing my wishes of love."

He downed his serving of ramen before replying in return, "Come on, and let me read it! I'm sure that's for me." She immediately hit his head.

"This is for Sasuke-kun not for you. I thought you know that already!"

"Fine! Fine! Why so serious dattebayo?"

"Pfft. You're just like that because you don't know how it feels to be separated from the one you love and you're just simply enjoying your clueless love."

The blonde's face fell, but he gulped the sadness away. "I don't even have a love life and why are we even talking about this stuff –ttebayo?" The blonde retorted preparing for an attack coming from Sakura as he noticed her frown, when their other teammate approached them in a hurry.

"Sakura!"

"Sai!" The two called out.

"There's an emergency at the hospital. You are badly needed." Sai informed her side-glancing at Naruto.

Sakura took it that it must be something that must be kept from the idiot, thus she abruptly laid her money to pay the bills of both their ramen.

"That's for yours and mine. Order another one and don't follow me. This must be critical." Sakura said, leaving hastily with Sai.

"Team 8 arrived just now. The other two were slightly wounded, but Hinata-san…"

Sakura doubled her pace. Hinata was in trouble. "Is that why-"

"I was informed that the last time Hinata-san was heavily wounded, Naruto threw a terrible fit."

The kunoichi recalled that event with Pain and how Naruto transformed—showing his six tails. She understood, she clearly did. She didn't know how her friend looked right now, but if she was in a bad condition, she didn't think that Naruto might see her right away.

Reaching the emergency room, she was greeted by Kiba and Shino. She glanced the one laid on the bed��it was her, she was covered in soot, but several wounds were blatant under it. Sakura immediately looked after her.

"This crazy one right over here. We told her to stand back, but she still went after that jar. That house was burning down, she almost burned with it." Kiba said with a heavy tone of frustration.

Shino sighed and explained, "Why? Because that jar contained all the money the old woman and her granddaughter saved. Hinata thought that they would be homeless because of the fire, so she couldn't let them be penniless at the very least."

"Even so! That was just mo-"

"Kiba, Hinata is a kunoichi. She did what she thought was good and I have no doubt that she will come back alive. It's just that this time her byakugan was overused. It is because she had been extensively using them these past few missions."

The Inuzuka scoffed in defiance, "Come on! She was out of her element this mission. Something must have happened between her and that stupid-faced Naruto!"

"Well, Naruto was surrounded by different kinds of people since the preparation for the festival started." Sai added, leaving Kiba all the more annoyed.

"She's fine. The wounds are not that critical. Her heart beat is also stable. But her Byakugan, as you say… She was strained. I remember this happened to her before and she was treated at her home." Sakura informed them to be followed by Kiba's protest.

"She told us to bring her here, when she was still conscious. I respect that so just let her stay here." Shino nodded in agreement.

"I understand." Sakura said with a frown, "Well, I'm afraid she had to stay here for several days and she won't be able to open her eyes yet."

"That means… the fireworks…" Shino muttered.

"Sadly, yes."

They all stood in silence for a while. Hinata must have been looking forward to see this festival. They remembered Neji saying that the fireworks display was her favorite. Too bad. It was just too bad that this happened to her at the same time again.

"Well, you two have to go now. She needed to rest. We'll prepare her room immediately so you guys don't have to worry. You can visit her later on if you want."

The two agreed as Sai escorted them outside the hospital discussing that the Hokage might need to see them afterwards.

Sakura looked at Hinata. She couldn't help but feel bad for her friend. They even set-up an intricate plan in order to get her and Naruto to watch the fireworks display without anyone's interruption, but this incident…

"Sakura-chan…" Hinata softly held her hand as she whispered her name.

"Please don't tell Naruto-kun."

Tanabata was an elaborate festival of love-filled with colorful montage. Lanterns were all set-up and displayed along the streets of Konoha as the people, couples to be specific, hung different colored papers with their wishes of love for the coming seasons ahead.

It was a well-celebrated event. After all, this was just once in a year when two lovers, separated from each other, would come and be united again.

Legends had it that the deity Orihime fell deeply in love with the deity Hikoboshi that the two wedded instantly and their conjugal bliss caused them to neglect their duties. This angered that bride's father and separated the two and was only allowed to meet once a year during a midsummer's night.

Two star-crossed lovers and a night when love prevails.

The Star Festival. Tanabata.

Her father and Hanabi visited her as soon as they reached the news. Her father even scolded her for insisting that she would prefer to stay at the hospital to avoid causing inconvenience to the clan, since everybody should be enjoying the festival.

Although Hanabi was strongly against the idea, she sensed that her sister wanted to be left alone.

As the day came to an end, she was trying to veer her head away from wrapping around the idea of what a wonderful night this would be.

Her flower, that tarnished Yellow Acacia, somehow she felt happy that she gave it to the little girl during their mission.

It was only the moon illuminated her dead silent hospital room, regardless as amidst it all she was not able to see.

Not that she was alone. Kiba and Shino paid her a visit. Asking her what exactly ran around her mind to risk her life for that jar or money. However, she apologized and told them that she needed some rest.

Crying, she felt the pain in her eyes amplified, but it could not outweigh the kind of pain her heart bore. Tonight was supposed to be fun. It was the festival after all. Their friends were gathered to enjoy the games, the program and, of course, the fireworks display. Sadly, she wouldn't be able to see any of it. The sting in her eyes prohibited her from opening them up.

If she'd only been careful, this wouldn't have happened.

But she knew it wasn't because of that. There was other reason that despirited her. Her mind wandered off to the thought before she went on that mission.

Naruto-kun you… you are no longer alone now.

He already got everybody, the village, their acknowledgment. And there she was, left in the fragments of his past - just the same girl hidden in the shadow, watching his back.

To say that her world only revolved around him, was untrue. Hinata knew with all her heart that Hanabi needed her, her team cared deeply for her and there were so many people, who truly held her dearly.

But why was this hurting her? Why was this ache even more powerful than Pain's rods pierced through her chest?

No, it was not the lack of confidence talking nor was it her fear. It was the realization that he now had everyone else, everything he could ask for.

Wasn't this the reason she'd been supporting him all along?

He already achieved it now. Her job was probably over. Soon, he'd become the Hokage, a fact that had been cemented since Kakashi-sensei accepted the mantle.

His future was now bright, clear and certain. And as his world was getting bigger, her space in it was getting narrower.

How was it possible to hope and not to hope at the same time?

Perhaps, she couldn't step behind that tree after all. And there with her heart, in his story, she'll forever remain-stuck in watching the little boy from afar.

But Hinata knew that she cannot remain as one in her own chapters.

She gripped the fabric of her clothes right above her chest.

She loved him.

But that was not the reason she was hurting.

She was hurting, because above it all she'd seen him conquer his dreams and she was left not knowing what to do. It's more than keeping up with him. It's more than her eagerness to stand and walk beside him. There was something more.

Somehow, the deafening silence of her hospital room voiced out her heart's burden. Knowing that she wasn't really ready to let him know how she truly felt all this time.

A few days ago, she was about to tell him how she felt. However, seeing him surrounded by a lot of people made her spirit to waver. And it wasn't her esteem taking the detour, it was uncertainty, the unpreparedness-the feeling that she might get lost. The feeling that, although she wanted to be with him, she still did not want to end up chasing after a daydream.

Chasing. Something salty got caught up in her throat. All her life Hinata believed she was never good enough and it was Naruto, who first believed that she was strong just as she was. She didn't want to become one of those people, who just admired him because he became the hero of the war.

She admired Naruto when he was nothing, when he was alone. That's a different thing.

Throughout the years, Hinata was not really expecting him to notice her. She was ready to accept that he didn't feel the same, she was ready to remain as his friend. She understood that the least she could do was to let him go.

She was ready for that. But she wasn't ready at the instance that he would tell her that he loves her. For she had prepared herself to be rejected by him all this time, that she wouldn't believe it if he would tell her that he feels the same way.

She didn't want him to love her just because she loved him. She wanted to be loved for who she truly was and because that was what he also felt, because that's what she deserved. What they both deserved.

Perhaps, this was what Kurenai-sensei was telling her. This was her message.

Hinata needed more time. They needed more time. To discover other parts of themselves that they still had to know yet.

She liked to believe him, when he'd tell her how he felt and she wanted Naruto to believe himself as well.

She needed him to discern the reality of his feelings-that if he loved her, it was not because she was the idea of the love he wanted to have, but because she was the one with whom he wanted to share the love he'd been saving for all his life.

A tear escaped her aching eye. She just hoped, she could only hope that when the time comes it would be her, that she would be the one.

Is this how love feels like?

Like a star, light glistening, dusting the night with its marvelous scar.

Like a star, million miles away, we're several aching light years afar.

When will we meet in this vast galaxy up high?

When can we conquer the solstice nightsky?

When can we cross this sweet distance apart?

When can I say that my feelings have truly reached your heart?

---

He was worried.

Naruto couldn't, for one second, appreciate the joy and the excitement in the festival.

Before the festivities started, people not just from Konoha but from different villages as well started to greet him. They asked to take a picture with him, to have his signature and other things he should be enjoying, but he simply couldn't bring himself to do so.

It was sad. All the prizes he saw in the carnival games reminded him of her. That cute little bunny stuffed toy, that toad plushie, that Oshiruko in a can. Most importantly, he wanted to spend the festival with her.

A lot of unfamiliar girls were asking to join him, but it was off. He decided to be with his team, but Sakura-chan's admonishments and Sai's bastardous remarks couldn't help to get his mind off the gutter. He was troubled deep inside. That familiar chakra, he couldn't feel it around and it was worrying him. A festival like this, she should be here. Lee, Tenten and Sakura kept on telling him how she loved the fireworks. But he couldn't grasp where she was.

Anxious. He was getting anxious as time stretched.

His anxiety doubled when he saw Kiba and Shino-straight sullenness plastered on their faces.

And where was she? She's not with them!

Something must have happened to her.

Dread befell him when they informed that she would be staying at the hospital.

God, they didn't even need to finish what, how and why. The details were never important. Naruto stormed action first before his head worked.

He wasn't fond of the idea that she was in trouble, in danger or anything. Just anything that will remind him how he almost lost her.

His quiet anguish drowned down the crowd, who sought his attention.

In that moment, they didn't matter.

She was not fine, she was in the hospital and for days, he was not seeing her.

Emotions stirred in him-that distasteful blend of apprehension, worry and anger.

Enabling Sage Mode, he ran searching for her.

He didn't know exactly why but he had been extra conscious of her well-being or her emotions or just basically her ever since that grim moment with Pain happened.

No! His anger reached his heart when he almost thought she died.

It must have been even before? But when?

It didn't really matter, the important thing was he should get to where she was and what?

Talk to her?

No, just the sight of her alive and doing well would be fine. Just that hope that she's okay.

Right there, as he trailed down the hallway of the floor on where he felt her residing, he paused.

An eerie feeling was beginning to grow on him.

Will she be alright?

Silently and almost tentatively, he opened the door to her room.

It was dim, with only the moonlight's gleam lampshading the darkness of the confine. It was only shadows he could see.

Until, he looked closer.

There, she saw her. Walking closely beside the wall with her hands trying to touch their way to her bed. Medical bandage was wrapped around her head covering her eyes.

He could only imagine what could have happened to her. He didn't miss the ruins evident on her hands the last time they met.

And the tears.

The dried-up tears that stained her cheeks.

Without a second thought, he went to her side-draping his only arm around her, guiding her to where she was aiming to go.

She flinched immediately.

Hinata knew it was him.

His warmth was embracing her and it felt so comfortable.

It was magical.

It was surreal.

She knew she must learn. Centimeter per aching centimeter, she must teach herself.

Because this feeling.

This suffocating feeling of loving someone when you know you were not yet ready.

"It's me Hinata. Don't worry. "

Naruto was expecting her to calm down, but she didn't. She inched away from him without a word and started to make her own way to her bed.

She almost tripped.

He caught her.

She removed his hand on her shoulder managing to get where she wanted to be all by herself.

All by herself. Yes, she must get through this all by herself.

She was avoiding him? This was so unlike her and it bothered him a lot. The fatigue evident on her face and that sorrowful expression were foreshadowing that she was not well.

She sat down-the sound of the bed's creaking filled-out the room.

Naruto didn't know what was happening. Her strange behavior was constricting his breathing in a very displeasing manner. He sat beside her on the bed and faced her. The light painted her face with a lonely shadow and he saw through the emotion it painted.

"Are you hungry? I can get some food foryou, you kn-"

"I'm okay, Naruto-kun. Y-you should be enjoying at the festival. I'm sorry. Please, you don't have to… "

"Hinata, what are you talking about? I'm here because I'm worried."

He held her hand.

She took it away.

"You… You don't have to feel obligated."

Along the corner of her eyes, pooled the tears she'd been trying to keep at bay. Her voice quiet and sounded muffled.

His eyes widened and throat dried-up. He wasn't angry. He wasn't insulted. He was hurt.

"Do you… Do you seriously think that way?"

"I don't want to keep holding you back. I don't want to hinder your happiness just because I am burdened. I don-"

"Enough, Hinata. Please…enough. You were never a burden. You were never stopping me. It was you, who was always pushing me up,"

He took her hand again. She was struggling to pull away, but the more she resisted, the harder he kept her.

"Hinata, it was you who stood by me during the times no one dared to. It was you and always you. Sometimes I wonder why. Why do you have to be… You just have no idea…You have no idea how much I keep it… How much it matters."

She felt selfish. It wasn't his fault that he didn't know how she really feels yet she felt like she took it out on him. She just didn't want him to bother just because he felt he was in debt.

"You don't owe me anything, Naruto-kun. You don't have to-"

"I don't have to repay you. I don't have to feel obligated. I don't have to do this because I owe you a lot. Is that what you're thinking?" His voice was low and almost choking. An apparent trace of anguish laced the question.

She softly sobbed, nodded in response and pleaded, "Yes, please. Go and have fun. It's okay. I'm going to be okay." Although sadness was crawling down her cheeks, Hinata still tried to give him an earnest smile.

"Is that what you really like?"

"..."

Naruto rested his chin above Hinata's shoulder and wrapped his arm around her frame. He sighed at the very instance he held her. She froze at his embrace.

For her, it was a mixture of her buzzing mind, panic and confusion. Why was he drawing so close to her when she just told him to leave?

For him, it was a comfort like no other.

"What if… I wanted to stay, Hinata? Can I… stay?"

"Huh?" She gasped out of disbelief and confusion.

"I can't really enjoy the festival at all. There's a lot of people swarming around me and I just can't really be myself. Besides, I really keep on worrying myself about you, so even if I go back, my mind will never leave this room."

She gently pulled away and said, "I'm sorry. I made you worry."

"You should be. I've been super worried about what happened to you then you're just going to be so stubborn and push me away! It kinda' hurts dattebayo."

Tears kept falling from her eyes and he ran his fingers, wiping them away. His hand then squeezed her cheek.

He chuckled grumbly and said softly, "Geez… I was just kidding -ttebayo! Shhh...Hinata. You don't have to be sorry. See, there. You're crying again. I don't really like seeing you cry. I feel that somehow it's my fault. Well, yeah, it was."

His husky yet calm voice was echoing lowly between them.

She was about to protest and say something but he covered her mouth with his hand.

"I know. I know, Hinata. You're going to say that it's not, but honestly, I was the one being such a big dummy here. So once and for all, Hinata, I am here, because I don't want you to be alone, for I know how it feels like. I am here because you are important to me, because I care about you. I want to stay here, because I wanted to and because, with you, right here, feels comfortable."

"So, can I stay here? With you?"

Her world stopped. The beating of her heart matched the drumming at the festival. It was ringing in her ear, overwhelming her. She gripped on the sheets of the hospital bed.

Nervous. Happy. Mixed-feeling.

She nodded without a word as he removed his hand from her lips and placed it atop her shoulder instead. Her face just a few inches away from his. He left a small distance, he could feel her breathing on his lips, the sound of it drawing him nearer.

That's when he felt it; the anxious throbbing of his heart.

Frightening. Overpowering. Unsettling.

A sweet stranger, a sweet ache building in his chest. That unfamiliar emotion. The one he always had with her. It was stronger than it was before.

"Hey, what's this Hinata?"

He breathed out. His words felt like a warm tickle of air on her lips.

The faint silhouette of two people with little distance apart painted the silence of the dim room.

"Whenever I am with you…

I get this intense feeling in my heart."

She froze. Those words…

"Naruto-kun…"

She paused.

A while ago she made a promise to herself. A promise she would keep. That's why Hinata knew better than interpret Naruto's words in the way she would. Because she could feel it. She could feel that he was a stranger to this kind of thing. She knew that he didn't know what that meant.

Heck, she didn't know how it really was for him either. She didn't know if what he said meant the same thing as what her mind and naive heart was telling her.

Right now, they were close, so close to each other. And even if it was just as a friend, the fact alone that he wanted to stay with her, made her happy. That's what mattered.

"I feel the same too."

Her voice, such a promising whisper, but to him it was powerful, it felt like a soothing song.

She feels the same too…

The exploding sound of the fireworks played a beautiful music.

He didn't know what to feel, but there was a big thump in his chest that was making him nervous and agitated. The sound of the fireworks outside was the same as the sound of a heartbeat. Or was it his heartbeat?

Like a candle, he was instantly lit up. He suddenly felt full of life, inspired and empowered.

How was it that she always do that to him?

He didn't get this stuff towards any other; neither from his other friends nor even Sakura-chan can make him feel that way.

It was a sweet kind of torture, it was just that he could not point a finger on to what exactly it was. It was something he couldn't understand. And at some point it was kinda' scaring him, this feeling of not knowing.

But it didn't matter, because whenever he was tired, troubled and unwell, she was the one who could keep him going.

And he loved it. He loved it about her.

Multi-colored madness casted a beautiful spectacle on the shadow of her features. His eyes searching her own under the bandage. How he wished he would see the sublime play of colors being reflected on her eyes.

That would be wonderful, he thought.

What would he say? He must say something. But he didn't know what it was. Hinata…

"I want you to put your head on my shoulder." He said recklessly. Flustered, he guided her head to rest atop his shoulder.

She was a bit shocked at his action and quite puzzled at their proximity.

"I-I mean you must be tired so…" He muttered in a panic. He inwardly scolded himself and chose to be silent instead.

Silence wrapped them, but he completely forgot about the fireworks and all as he surrendered in this warm kind of torturous feeling.

Although they were at the hospital, she never smelled like one. She was that sweet kind of scent as he nuzzled that fuzzy spot at the top of her head—his lips touching her hair and he liked how everything felt. His eyes involuntarily closed comfortably, satisfyingly.

So close, he didn't know what to feel, as the emotions blinded his eyes.

So far, he had his star in his arms, yet he failed to realize. When will the beating of his heart echo through the night?

When will he finally see the light?

'Til that snowy night in December,

when he had to fight to the moon and back for her.

#naruhina #naruto #hinata hyuga #fanfiction #blank period #naruhina fanfic #slquirkynovelist

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THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Hunts a Rogue Shinobi in Episodes 106-112!

Welcome to the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! I'm Paul Chapman, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered Episodes 99 - 105, where Tsunade faced the first challenge to her authority as Fifth Hokage and Team 7 took a mission to the Land of Tea. We continue this week with Episodes 106 – 122 and the conclusion to the Land of Tea arc, as well as some shocking shake-ups for the youth of Hidden Leaf Village.

This batch of episodes was an emotional roller coaster, and we witnessed Naruto and Sasuke's rivalry boil over into a deadly duel, Sasuke decide to abandon Hidden Leaf Village in order to seek power from the villainous Orochimaru, and Sakura confess her love in an effort to convince Sasuke to stay! (Also, some dude won a footrace in the Land of Filler.) It was a heck of a ride.

Now, let's see what the Crunchyroll Features team thought of this week's episodes!

How do you feel about the conclusion to the Land of Tea arc? Does the fact that the local daimyo was already gathering intelligence to dethrone the wicked Wagarashi Family downplay the accomplishments of Team 7 in their efforts to help Idate win the foot race?

Kevin: Hooray, it’s done! Now back to the actual plot. Honestly, I cared so little by the end of the arc that I barely even registered that the lord did anything beyond making a counter excuse to ensure the good guys won.

Joseph: The final episode of this was probably the best one, and not just because it marked the ending of a pretty dull arc. With that said, I’m with Kevin in that I clearly didn’t think deeply enough about the resolution and how it affected the efforts of Team 7!

David: I recognized that and it didn’t bother me at all. The reason being, this last episode had an unexpected payoff for me: we finally get to see the kids overcoming an enemy and achieving their mission without something going horrifically wrong requiring the older, stronger ninjas to step in. Silver linings.

Jared: I don’t think it takes away from what Team 7 does as they were still able to outsmart and defeat a powerful foe. The lord was just a stickler for the non-rules and had to make sure that a made up deal wasn’t enacted. Even without that, I don’t think what Team 7 had done would’ve dethroned that family anyways, so it makes sense to have the lord come in and kick them to the curb for good.

Danni: Honestly I just walked away from that arc thinking it was funny they had to make Sasuke get injured so that the next arc could still pick up with him in the hospital.

Noelle: I didn’t really feel it. I understand what the arc was trying to pull off, but I still didn’t have much of an investment in it to get an emotional reaction in the first place? It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t do too much for me.

Kara: I was kind of ambivalent about it. I didn’t hate it, but it didn’t get me as jazzed to watch each day as other episodes have. And now with Danni’s comment on re-injuring Sasuke, it’s just funny.

Carolyn: I’m of the camp that was just glad to see the arc end. It was a little odd to end the whole thing with a race, that felt almost anti-climactic.

The hospital roof confrontation between Naruto and Sasuke was pretty spectacular. Were there any specific details about the fight that you found especially thrilling? How do you feel about the fight’s resolution?

Kevin: The conclusion of the fight, specifically seeing the damage that Rasengan and Chidori did to the water towers is one of the images that I remember whenever I think about Naruto. As for the fight, I found that it was amazing on paper, and okay in practice. The choreography seemed a bit off, like trying to translate the manga panels to animation revealed some continuity errors or something, but when the fight was good, it was great.

Joseph: This is such a pivotal fight, and I loved all the raw emotion conveyed through it. Beyond the battle itself, that moment when Sasuke feels victorious only to see how the Rasengan would have basically torn his body asunder is *chef’s kiss*.

David: I agree with Kevin about the fight itself. Watching Sasuke somehow hold his own against a whole bunch of shadow clones is cool, and I’m always down for the hand-to-hand combat in this series, but the execution was messy. The conclusion, of course, is wonderful and incredibly important, and the good moments are great, so it’s not like I’m down on the whole thing.

Jared: The fight does a good job of showcasing just how much powerful both Sasuke and Naruto have gotten in the past 100 episodes, especially by the end. I think it also did a good job of showing Sasuke’s jealousy coming through fully as the fight continued. Having it be interrupted and leaving it unresolved isn’t bad, since you know they’ll have some huge fight sometime in the near future.

Danni: The visual execution left a little to be desired, but I liked seeing Sasuke’s taijutsu prowess up against Naruto’s barrage of shadow clones. The tension between the two was portrayed really well, and the conclusion with the water tower was the icing on the cake. I can’t wait to see these two have it out for real.

Noelle: I loved it. Overall, it’s pretty short, and it could’ve gone better, but I think that what it sets up was really, really good. The two of them may be friendly, but here they were completely out to destroy each other, and that meltdown was something I enjoyed.

Kara: I think the reasons behind the fight were what got me going even more than the fight itself. We had all this time of Naruto feeling like he was stuck in Sasuke’s shadow—like literal months of that, both in-show and in the show’s pacing. Then we flip the script and Sasuke gets a taste of that, and it’s interesting to see how he takes it. Granted, he’s got that paired with a long-standing vendetta, so there are mitigating factors as to how hard he takes it. But their very different reasons beyond wanting to fight were not lost on me.

Carolyn: I think my main quibble was with the way they prompted the fight in the first place. There didn’t seem to be much of a valid reason for Naruto and Sasuke to end up there. But once they got going, I thought it worked out fine.

In the past we've criticized how Kishimoto treats his lady characters, but it's worth exploring how the physical prowess of characters like Naruto and Sasuke is contrasted against Sakura's moral fortitude and emotional strength. How do you feel about Sakura's evolution from a selfish brat into the conscience of Team 7?

Kevin: Sakura easily has the most emotional development of the three, but I really wish that she was given more to work with. Basically keep everything the same, but have her be the one to directly intervene in the fight (like Kakashi did) instead of running herself into danger and all of the emotional weight is still there, but the audience also gets to see that she is on the boys’ level, just in a different way.

Joseph: Yeah, it might have been better to have her stop them rather than run out as a potential casualty of the fight, but I don’t think there was any way for anyone other than a character at Kakashi’s level to successfully intervene. Sakura’s emotional moments are some of the most powerful here, though, and I love the interaction between her and Naruto when he promises to get Sasuke back. There’s a mix of sorrow, gratitude, and frustration at the fact that she can’t do it herself.

David: The scene where Sakura tries one last time to stop Sasuke from leaving is still one of my favorites in any anime. She really has gained a lot from their misadventures together, and it’s soul crushing to watch her desperately attempt to keep their dysfunctional little family together. So I guess the answer is, yeah, I am pretty on board with Sakura’s arc so far. She’s changed a lot, for the better.

Jared: I was honestly expecting her to get hit at the end when Naruto and Sasuke were going at each other with their respective attacks as she ran to stop it. She definitely is trying to keep the group together, but there’s still so much more you could do with her character, but she gets constantly pushed to the sidelines.

Danni: I’m glad to see her grow emotionally, but really all it translates into is her crying and needing someone else to step in and do what she can’t. She deserves better than just being Team 7’s den mother.

Noelle: While I do appreciate the development that Sakura has, it still isn’t really enough. For one of the protagonists, it sets her up to be sidelined once again, to cry over the boys, and that’s a real shame! She has a lot of potential here, and it’s a huge emotional burden for her to take, but instead of exploring that, Kishimoto falls flat. Sakura really does deserve better than this!

Kara: It’s another version of what I call the Super Robot Wars Effect. Games I love very much, but that have a tendency (with exceptions like Gunbuster) to cast female-piloted units almost exclusively as healers. It falls to the woman to be the “healer” for the men, which is a very traditional storytelling mechanism and not inherently awful in and of itself—I have occasionally seen it done well. But Naruto as a whole kind of has this underlying idea of like. Boy ninjas are for these things, kunoichi are for those things, which only surfaces once you’ve forgotten that it was there the last time. I have no problem with Sakura being Team 7’s conscience, since God knows they need one, but I’d prefer a more “tough love” approach.

Carolyn: I wasn’t very happy with Sakura’s pleas to Sasuke, to be honest. It felt so desperate. She’s been pining over him the entire series and now she’s just outright begging a boy to stay with her. I understand this scene is bigger than just her crush, but it was pretty disheartening to see her cry and beg just for Sasuke to call her annoying … and then thank her! Kind of emotionally manipulative, that.

Charismatic villains such as Orochimaru and Itachi often sprinkle grains of truth in their evil schemes, and Sasuke's thirst for revenge does seem incompatible with the values of the Hidden Leaf Village. What are your thoughts on Sasuke's heel turn? Are you excited to see him take on an antagonistic role?

Kevin: Without spoiling anything: I really like how they set up Sasuke as a villain, and will have many things to talk about when we get much later in the Rewatch.

Joseph: This and the arc it kicks off is my favorite part of the 70 or so percent of Naruto I’ve read. Sasuke’s turn has been a long time coming, and it seems like the most logical step for the character. I can’t wait!

David: Considering literally everything he has said or done has essentially been setup for this, yeah, I’m excited for it to finally pay off.

Jared: It feels strange to think that we’re over 100 episodes in and I still kind of felt like it could’ve happened a bit later, but Sasuke turning heel was gonna happen eventually. I’m more curious to see just how he handles that new role and whether it’s just going to be him consumed with jealousy and revenge or with we start to see a new sinister side to him emerge.

Danni: I’ve been waiting for Sasuke to go full Vegeta, and am thrilled with where this is going. I especially liked that it wasn’t so much a full heel turn as it was a real conflict brewing inside him. It really did hurt him to leave Team 7 behind, I thought.

Noelle: No spoilers from me, but this had definitely been in the works for a while. It still is upsetting, but mm, it does have its payoffs.

Kara: This was absolutely coming. I came into this knowing minimal stuff about the series as a whole, but there was no way Sasuke was going to not go Dark Side on us. Heel turns are a personal fave of mine in stories (see also: Sailor Mercury in live-action Sailor Moon), so I’m excited.

Carolyn: I also love when good guys turn bad, even for a little bit. I feel like it’s somewhat more realistic than the perfect, never-faltering hero.

I was surprised when Shikamaru was the sole applicant elevated to Chunin status, but his actions as the head of the Sasuke retrieval squad demonstrate that his leadership and problem-solving skills are a cut above his peers. What qualities do you think separate the Chunin from the Genin, and who do you want to see promoted next?

Kevin: They actually touched on that back during the Chunin Exam. Shikamaru was better than everyone else because he was able to correctly evaluate the situation he was in, even during combat, and realized his own limitations. By that metric, probably Sakura or potentially Neji would be the next to be promoted.

Joseph: I suppose the exact qualities demonstrated during episode 112 are what separate the Chunin from the Genin. I love Shikamaru’s balance of extremely capable and extremely bothered to be doing anything, which in some cases is definitely a front.

David: Comparing Shikamaru to every other member of his ragtag Sasuke retrieval team, the difference in temperament and patience is very clear. I thought most of his choices when Tsunade asked him to put a squad together were bizarre and felt more like plot necessities, but when he explained their formation it went together so well I couldn’t complain. Later when they are stuck in the rock igloo, I found most of the episode to be kind of dull, then Neji explained how every action and order Shikamaru gave were part of a careful plan to figure out how to get out, and it ended up being incredibly satisfying. I remembered Shikamaru being the ‘smart tactics guy’, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to be reminded of stuff like Legend of the Galactic Heroes while watching him do his thing. As for promotions, Neji is definitely the strongest genin right now, but he can be hot-headed in his own way which is probably the main thing holding him back.

Jared: It really seems like having the ability to think under pressure is gonna separate your traditional Genin from a Chunin. Shikamaru clearly demonstrates that when the group gets trapped and also with how he’s able to come up with an opening strategy before they leave. I’m assuming at some point we’re gonna see Naruto get his promotion since he’s already done things that would put him on that kind of level in terms of fights.

Danni: Shikamaru’s level-headedness and intellect really seem to be his greatest assets as a Chunin. Obviously Chunin are in command of any Genin working underneath them, so the ability to lead and strategize is a must that few of the other Genin seem to share. I assume Naruto will be promoted next for plot reasons, but the most logical promotions I can think of are Shino and Neji.

Noelle: As you’ve said, strategy is definitely key. The exams were designed to test people on more than just combat, and Shikamaru seems to have been the only real choice that had qualifications beyond that. Leadership, for sure, but also analysis, being able to keep your cool in a drastic situation, and putting the needs of the mission over yourself. As my colleagues said, Neji seems like a good candidate, as long as he cools off a little.

Kara: Shikamaru knows what he’s doing and acts like he can’t be bothered, which is a downright diabolical combination. He had us fooled for the first several episodes, too! Along with what everyone else said, I think what he has going for him is that he’s (at least for now) the one with the least emotional baggage. Compared to people like Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara, who are all still motivated by personal issues, Shikamaru can focus up on the task at hand and isn’t bringing anything personal into the mission. That’s valuable for a leader.

Carolyn: I think part of the reason Shikamaru seems lazy and bored is simply that he’s thinking so far ahead of everyone else. He’s just sitting around waiting for everyone else to catch up with him. I think Sakura would make a great choice, given her own intellect. Naruto definitely deserves some recognition for his incredibly fast learning ability.

And finally, what are you personal high points and low points for this batch of episodes?

Kevin: High - Sasuke in the hospital. Admittedly, this high point is a bit more of a “what could have been,” but seeing Sasuke trying to come to terms with simply not being good enough, and comparing himself to Naruto, was honestly far more compelling than I thought it would be. In another world, the depression and inferiority he was feeling might’ve turned into character motivation and development later. Instead… we’ll get to that. Low - Lee’s recovery. Lee deciding whether to go into surgery or not was quite possibly the single heaviest emotional side plot in the show. Then, over the course of an episode or two, through two or three scenes, Lee says that he’ll take the chance, then next time we see him he’s with Neji, who’s congratulating him and talking about when he’ll get back to training. Welp, so much for that tension and emotional resolution.

Joseph: High - The resolution of the battle between Naruto and Sasuke and the moment Sasuke makes his own mind up to leave the village and acts upon it. Low - I don’t know, I guess the end of the Land of Tea story? Aside from that these episodes are all pretty spectacular.

David: As I said earlier, the scene between Sakura and Sasuke as he is leaving the village is one of my favorites in anything, so that’s definitely my high. I’ll also give an honorary mention to when Naruto assures a crying Sakura that everything will be OK, giving a thumbs up, which then reminds Lee of Guy, inspiring his trust indirectly as well. It’s one of those great scenes that show Naruto’s latent leadership abilities, and I didn’t get to bring it up elsewhere, so here it is. Low point is the first episode of this batch, not that it was actually bad or anything, but being the conclusion to a subpar arc just pales in comparison to everything else going on here.

Jared: High point would be finally getting see what Sasuke and Naruto could potentially do in a fight with the tease of what that fight will ultimately end up being. Sasuke’s heel turn was also good. Naruto putting on a brave face for Sakura and pushing away his own feelings was really well done. Low point was the non-surprise that Shikamaru makes his babyface team and it’s just dudes after his misogyny rant a few weeks back.

Danni: The low point for me was all the nonsense about the curse mark and its phases. The more logic and details they try to add for how it works the less sense it makes. The high point for me was most certainly Kakashi’s final words to Sasuke. I realized that we still know surprisingly little about Kakashi, despite him being one of the show’s most interesting characters. I’m looking forward to finally learning his backstory and what makes him tick. Runner up goes to Shikamaru’s encouragement of and faith in Choji. It’s nice seeing him get some respect for once. Runner runner up was Shikamaru standing up for all the curvy wife guys out there.

Noelle: High point, Naruto and Sasuke dropping the act and having a giant brawl. Short but sweet. The emotional breakdown in that portion was honestly so satisfying . Low point, I’d have to say the filler arc, because Sasuke leaving the village was really emotionally charged, and contrasted greatly from the filler.

Kara: High point is absolutely Sasuke’s Heel Turn. You know he’s all in when a bunch of strangers go, “Don’t worry, we won’t kill you, we’ll let you only kinda die, trust us, we work for Orochimaru,” and he’s like “Seems legit.” I’m excited to see where this goes. Low point was probably the Land of Tea resolution being this kind of comedy of errors thing. “Hey, that’s illegal! You’re disqualified!” “It’s not illegal, and also we knew you guys were up to no good!” Eh. Glad to see the end of the Land of Tea.

Carolyn: I mean, anything with Rock Lee is great. But Rock Lee overcoming adversity is especially sweet. I think my low point would have to be the Land of Tea conclusion or Sasuke’s reaction to Sakura trying to get him to stay.

COUNTERS:

Bowls of Ramen: 6 bowls

“I'm Gonna be Hokage!”: 0

Shadow Clones Created: 3 + 2 uncountable scenes

Total so far:

Bowls of Ramen: 42 bowls, 3 cups

“I'm Gonna be Hokage!”: 52

Shadow Clones Created: 343

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto! Watch Naruto today!

Here's our upcoming schedule:

- Next week, on May 10th, CAROLYN BURKE will give us the deets on the Sound Four.

- May 17th, we'll visit the Valley of the End with JARED CLEMONS.

- May 24th, NICOLE MEJIAS plays referee for Naruto vs. Sasuke, Round 2!

CATCH UP ON THE REWATCH!

Episodes 99-106: Trouble in the Land of Tea

Episodes 92-98: Clash of the Sannin

Episodes 85-91: A Life-Changing Decision

Episodes 78-84: The Fall of a Legend

Episodes 71-77: Sands of Sorrow

Episodes 64-70: Crashing the Chunin Exam

Episodes 57-63: Family Feud

Episodes 50-56: Rock Lee Rally

Episodes 43-49: The Gate

Episodes 36-42: Through the Woods

Episodes 29-35: Sakura Unleashed

Episodes 22-28: Chunin Exams Kickoff

Episodes 15-21: Leaving the Land of Waves

Episodes 8-14: Beginners' Battle

Episodes 1-7: I'm Gonna Be the Hokage!

Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!

Have anything to say about our thoughts on Episodes 106-112? Let us know in the comments! Don't forget, we're also accepting questions and comments for next week, so don't be shy and feel free to ask away!

-----

Paul Chapman is the host of The Greatest Movie EVER! Podcast and GME! Anime Fun Time.

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

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

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