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theheirofthesharingan · 2 months

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Hi there. I am sending this probably silly question because you are one of the few fans of both Sasuke and Itachi that I know, and this has been bugging me since the first time I watched Naruto.

So, Itachi wants Sasuke to be stronger, to kill him and go back to the village as a hero that killed an alleged Konoha traitor. But why does he tell him to kill his closest friend? I understand Itachi wants Sasuke to get the Mangekyou to get stronger, but this would surely make him a criminal in the eyes of Konoha. Also, I think it is unnecessary, since Sasuke could have gotten the Mangekyou after killing Itachi (which didn't happen in the end, but it was a possibility). I understand Itachi wanting to be sure, but still... He was risking way to much here.

It also does not make sense for Edo Tensei Itachi to "scold" Sasuke for being a "criminal" (he was not really scolding, but you get what I mean...) when he himself urged him to commit a way worse crime. So he says "I turned you into a criminal" but, actually, Sasuke never did what Itachi asked. I understand Itachi feels guilty for way more things than he deserves, and indeed he might be responsible for Sasuke leaving the village and going to Orochimaru to gain power for revenge... But anything that happened after Itachi's death was actually Sasuke's own decisions (decisions that came as a result of legit rage against Konoha for committing a genocide, of course).

I know Itachi was a child, traumatised, isolated and under inhumane pressure at the time. In these conditions, it is understandable that he did not make the best decisions, that he was not acting completely logically or thinking totally straight. I am not judging him in the slightest, I just would love to read your views on this.

Thank you and lots of love!

The rules of the Shinobi world are vastly different from those of ours. In the Shinobi world conflict is endless and lives hold different values than they do in ours. You may not face a trial for taking a life, much like you might not get a medal for saving one. Sakumo Hatake, for example, saved the lives of his comrades and ended up being shunned by the village, including the people whose lives he'd saved.

Itachi, after he killed his own parents, was leaving Sasuke in a place that had made him murder his own parents. Hiruzen was a weak shield and Danzo still lived in the village. Itachi wanted Sasuke to get strong, not only to kill him, but also to be able to protect himself in case Danzo made a move against him. An Uchiha, even with a simple Sharigan, was seen with fear. An Uchiha, with Mangekyo, would be formidable. Thinking from Itachi's POV, he was leaving Sasuke in a very hostile place, known for its belligerence towards Uchiha. What was a defenseless child supposed to do in case Danzo's Root came for him and Hiruzen proved useless? It didn't happen, but how would itachi know it wouldn't happen at all? Especially when Danzo did send Sai to kill Sasuke instead of letting a troop also follow them so they could take down Orochimaru, who had actually attacked the village.

Itachi had a flawed perception that as long as Sasuke lived, everything else he went through would be worth it, including his best friend's death. To him, Sasuke's life mattered, not a stranger's who might become his best friend. I believe he changed his mind later on when he met Sasuke and Naruto at the inn. He saw Naruto risking his own life, fighting for Sasuke despite being horrified of Itachi moments ago. It's probably after this that he made his mind to include one more objective to their final battle.

He also understood Sasuke didn't hate him at all. When he says 'you don't have enough hate', it's the truth, because when Sasuke learned Itachi was back and was after Naruto, he rushed to warn Naruto, but all he thought about was Itachi, their final day together before everything went wrong. And then he charged on Itachi, unprepared. We've known Sasuke to be calculative and in control of his emotions almost all the time. He loses it the moment he sees Itachi. Even if itachi tried to ignore him he wouldn't sit back. This wasn't the response of someone who had hate in his heart, but too much of emotional investment.

Yes. Itachi was always risking a lot. Him taking up the mission to annihilating his clan, then leaving Sasuke, and basically everything that followed - all of it was a gamble. Things could go either way. Sasuke had to be safe, for which he had to be protected all the time; but for him to become strong, Sasuke would have to train and practice, maybe go on potentially life threatening missions as well if he wanted to be strong enough to kill Itachi. Itachi's plan was always a double-edged sword. It could go either way.

Itachi blames himself for Sasuke's actions because he controlled a large portion of Sasuke's life. He did it unwillingly, in tears, in guilt, yes, but he did do it. Like I said above, he thought as long as Sasuke was safe it would be worth it. Itachi was somewhat responsible for Sasuke leaving Konoha, but not entirely. After Sasuke wakes up in the hospital, he challenges Naruto, because Naruto had suddenly become so strong. Even then he couldn't defeat Itachi. Then Sasuke, who had lived his whole life for the purpose of killing Itachi, was still no match for him. After Kakashi's pep talk, Sasuke even considers dropping the idea of revenge or at least struggles with it, thinking about Naruto, Sakura, and their bonding. Then Sound Four attack him. The rest is history.

After Itachi's death, while everything that Sasuke does is his own call, his own decisions, they still stem from the life Itachi made him live, and him not finding any closure. Yes, Itachi didn't want Sasuke to know the truth because he knew it would destroy him emotionally, and it happened exactly that way.

Itachi didn't scold Sasuke, he merely accepted where his plans failed. Itachi and Sasuke are very rich characters in terms of psychological depth. I'm no psychology student, but I love to read stuff here and there, and one pattern I've seen in both the brothers is that of 'age regression.'

When trauma impairs your ability to develop full emotional maturity, this is known as arrested psychological development. Trauma can “freeze” your emotional response at the age you experienced it. When you feel or act emotionally younger than your actual age, this is known as age regression.

Taken from this article. There's more to it, but I lifted the important part to answer this ask.

It's very common in how both Itachi and Sasuke respond. Many people say 'Itachi always saw Sasuke as a child to protect instead of a grown up' and he himself says this as Edo Tensei to Sasuke later on. I believe it's because, emotionally, he too never grew up beyond 12-13 and in some ways beyond four. To him he was never above 12 and Sasuke was never older than 7. All of his reactions to his life, however bad and with disastrous outcomes, are out of unresolved PTSD. It's the same with Sasuke and how he responds to his surroundings. Both of them were emotionally 'frozen' in the age they were traumatized. At the age of 12, even though Sasuke is too mature for his age, there's still the longing for his family and he remembers every single detail of his moments with them. Then after learning Itachi's truth too. I believe while he's a grown up now in Boruto, there's a part of him that's frozen in that moment when he found out about Itachi. Since Itachi isn't mentioned in Boruto and Sasuke's feelings for his family aren't the matter of discussion, I don't think I can prove this.

When Itachi saw what he'd made Sasuke - not a criminal or a monster - but a lonely, broken kid, he felt ashamed of himself. He feels so guilty because of his conscience. It's also because he was free from any obligation towards anyone after his death and was very flexible in face of new information that he admitted his wrongs.

Itachi, in fact, never realized what haopened to him was wrong too. His actions weren't spontaneous. On the contrary, they were the outcome of what was done to him. But unlike Sasuke and Kakashi, for instance, he did do many things wrong. Sasuke felt guilty for not being able to save his family, his clan, and then Itachi. Kakashi felt guilty for not being able to save Obito, then Rin. Even if it wasn't their fault. Itachi did a lot of things that were entirely unforgivable and he knew it too. So, his guilt outweighed any desire he might have had to acknowledge his trauma. He defined himself by the horrible things he'd done. Objectively, there would be a lot of nuances that you could consider, but fictional characters can never be objective.

When Hashirama praised Itachi, Itachi would never agree with him. When Sasuke called him perfect, Itachi disagreed with him. When Kabuto called him a genius/exceptional Itachi disagreed with him too.

Itachi felt nothing but regret his entire life, which eventually defined him as a person.

#ask #uchiha itachi #anon #itachi #sasuke #itachi uchiha #uchiha brothers #i guess i rambled way too much so hoping it makes some sense #thanks for this ask because it was fun to answer

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wispforever · 1 month

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for the controversial naruto asks: 4, 11, and 13

4. Are the romantic undertones between Naruto and Sasuke intentional or accidental?

I've seen quite a lot of talk about this in the fandom already, done a little thinking myself. The answer to this question, of course, is that we'll never know unless Kishimoto comes out and says whether it was intentional or not. Even then, there's obviously more than a bit of motivation for him to say it wasn't intentional in order to protect himself and his interests from homophobic backlash. If he said it WAS intentional, I'd take him at his word for the very same reason. He'd have to be pretty brave to come out and let everybody know it was gay on purpose; no telling what could happen to him.

But I realize the question isn't about Kishimoto, it's about what I think personally. Personally? I'm torn. If you told me one way or another, I'd accept it either way. However, I do think the symbolism in Naruto, the thematic parallels, and illusions to romance, are a bit heavy-handed at times. I've wondered myself if it could even possibly BE an accident with the sheer amount of innuendo and subtext. Not just with Sasuke and Naruto either.

I suppose when someone who's not queer writes something in the name of platonic love, tries to send it home, tries to make it as sincere as possible, there will always be cases where love can be interpreted more than one way. I'm not someone who puts very strict labels on platonic and romantic love. I don't put one above the other. Devotion is something that exists in love in all of its forms. I can hold hands with my friends and my partner. I'd die for my mother and I'd die for a stranger. Emotional closeness, physical shows, sacrifice, etc. are not enough for me to say one way or another if someone is in romantic or platonic love with someone else. It's only enough to say that they are in love. They care for each other. They are important figures in each other's lives. For this reason, I don't think it's a very important question or one that can be answered by watching the show. Naruto and Sasuke are in love in whatever way you want them to be. I want them to be gay, so to me, the romance is real.

HOWEVER, given the context, Kishimoto I'm sure doesn't share my opinions on blurry love. Is it possible that by introducing the devotion, the sacrifice, the love that everyone in the show CONSISTENTLY treats as bizarre and out of pocket, he intended to create a subtext of romance which would not be accepted if it was written overtly? I would say it's possible, in fact, even probable. I won't examine it in detail, because I hesitate to say even acts like kissing are strictly indicative of romance, but that's just the kind of queer I am. But when you give your duel protags, which you've built an unbreakable bond between, wives who they don't want to be around and lives they hate, and their only reprieve is seeing each other? Well, I can see why the whole fucking fandom has to stop and think. Very curious.

11. Is Itachi a martyr, a victim, or a perpetrator?

I don't think Itachi's character can be broken down so easily. He's a lot of things. More thoughts here :)

13. Was Kakashi trying his best? Was he a "good" sensei?

Oh, this is a tough one for me, something I've thought about a lot. First, let's start by establishing what a "good" sensei is. In my opinion, I'd say a good sensei is someone who protects their students, plays to their strengths, offers encouragement and help when needed, and ultimately tries to make decisions in their students' best interest. Granted, I haven't watched the anime in some time, but I think, all things considered, Kakashi was a pretty good sensei. Definitely, I believe he tried to be better than Minato, and he at the very least succeeded in that.

There are times I was disappointed in Kakashi. When Naruto was grieving the loss of Sasuke or Jiraiya, feeling responsible, I believe he should have been there for him. However, it's also important to remember that Kakashi is a soldier- one of the strongest in the Leaf- he has responsibilities besides just his students, things that are expected of him to which he can't simply say no. This too is important to keep in mind if we're evaluating him on how good of a sensei he's been. It's up for debate, obviously, because the source material doesn't say where Kakashi is or what he's doing all the time, but I believe in the cases where Naruto, Sasuke, or Sakura needed him and he wasn't there, he would have liked to be and was unable. Given his conduct the rest of the time, I don't think that's a stretch (i.e. leaving vegetables for Naruto in his apartment, going after Sasuke even when he was assigned to a different mission, etc.)

I'd call him a good sensei, and if he wasn't, I'd still say he was trying his best. Always thinking back on Minato and his own squad, I think it was very important to Kakashi that he try to make up for what he saw as a failure to his last team, by protecting and teaching Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. He was willing from the very beginning to die in Zabuza's water prison if it meant the kids would live instead of dying trying to break him out- and at the very end, he stayed with them through the Obito, Madara, and then Kaguya fight, when he had no reason to believe he would make it out alive or even be of any help. The lives of his students seem to be in the forefront of Kakashi's mind consistently throughout the series, which I find commendable in a universe where child soldiers are born every minute and their deaths are treated as an unnavigable necessity. It speaks volumes to Kakashi's character that he is even willing to turn his back on this ideology that's pushed by all his elders in the series. I'd say he and Gai do it best. They've had enough of the killing; I believe they make an effort to overcome the cycle that's been perpetuated, even if it's only their respective group of three kids each.

Yes, even though Kakashi has made his share of mistakes, I think he tries his best, and I believe he is the best sensei he can be with all his flaws and baggage lol

Thanks for the ask :)

#this is wisp #controversial naruto asks #professional-gay-hermit #ask

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kytedevlin · 4 months

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The End

Playing with a new graphic. As for my opinion on the series. This is its only logical conclusion in my opinion. This isn't any hate for boruto as I have only seen parts, Though suffice to say it, im uninterested and have no plans on watching it either. To me the show ended after the infinite tsukiyomi, despite all of the growth that our favorite characters go through thats just something to powerful to not succumb to. The type of storyline created afterwards is very pleasing to the fanbase, to pleasing. It is literally everything a happy ending should be, atleast until borutos characters are revealed. But that is just it boruto is strange in that way, its world is oddly familiar yet completely ignorant of the fact that the ninja world is a world stricken with the turmoil from conflicting interests. It is the same world, nothing has changed, everyone is a bit friendlier but they will eventually be put at odds friends or not. As for the actual events of the infinite tsukuyomi, it happened, it cannot be undone, any remaining and logical enemies were already handled, rinnegan captured, byakugan eliminated, they literally ignored the byakugans power the entire series, the only thing stronger than sharingan, then captured the strongest doujutsu of them all. and then spliced the ultimate, pain and blood soaked path of the sharingan, with the deadly, strange, and self sacrificing, disease of a doujutsu. The Byakugan received no growth and all of its strong users killed making it virtually ineffective. Byakugan remains un weaponized throughout the entirety of the war. Despite all the hindered plans, the knowledge gained, and prophecy discovered. They just abandoned it entirely. Now that being said, its not that the characters didn't grow or finally get that reciprocation they needed but it ends once its tsukuyomi is activated, everything else is a delusion within a delusion only getting close enough to the lives they used to live, as they get closer to their bodies death, which my assumption would be by starvation. And possibly even turning them into another form of zetsu at best...or worst? The ninjas could never live in a world without chakra or violence, it is simply to alien. So they are given lives, just close enough, without any of the effects on the actual world to make them feel at ease. Boruto and his life are just the makings of someones fantasy, whose? Hinatas? Sakuras? Who knows. But it can't be someone who knows of Narutos Bloodlines. He is related to everyone down the line, the uzumakis being a precursor to many of the strongest bloodlines and kekkai genkai wielding users. None of his children remotely resemble their ancestors and are almost carbon copy naruto 2 and hinata 2. They completely forgoe all of narutos natural blood rites. And their possibilities. As the rest of the students formed of the relationships are also in some ways a means to an end. While sakura and sasuke end up together sasuke is always away because neither of the two will ever know him that well. Hinata never really did, and sakura also really has no idea who he is. Only Naruto, Orochimaru, juugo, karin, suigetsu, and kabuto know who he is. He has virtually no personality at all going forward. Liking sakura fine, marrying and having a kid with her? The fanbase raped his entire character. The person whose memory is being conceived can only be someone who knows basic information about him and his demeanor. Aside from me getting away from my point and poking holes in boruto, its probably not a bad series. But I also don't believe that naruto had to continue. How the prophecy was told, how it was stretched all the way to the end, how at every juncture it continued unimpeded, how it reached the absolute maxim of its potential. Only to be broken in a few moments? Not even in the same decade, at the minimum. A century in the making and not for a century less is all i can say. Try going to sleep for 2 minutes. Tell me how much time passes afterwards. Anyways thats the block limit. And hopefully i can let my piece rest. Feel free to take yours.

#infinite tsukuyomi #naruto fanart #naruto art #sharingan #naruto shippuden #uchiha clan #hyuuga clan #rinnegan

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the12thnightproject · 9 months

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Chapter 9: Night Work Katsu sneaks out to send a message to Sasuke, and in the process discovers what Yoshimoto sleeps in (nothing).

Mitsuhide x OC; Hideyoshi x MC (Mai)

All Chapters Archived on Ao3

Logline - With Mai, Hideyoshi, and Aki missing, Mitsuhide and Katsuko reluctantly team up. Disguised as a merchant and his concubine, can they outsmart the man known as the God of Deceit?

Plan A… Be casual. He doesn’t know for a fact that you-

Mitsuhide was at my side so fast I hadn’t even seen him walk. Perhaps he teleported. He tipped my face up to meet that implacable gaze. As he stared down into my eyes, apparently preferring to interrogate me at uber-close range, he asked, “Find anything worth stealing, Brat?”

Plan B… The best defense is a good offense, even if the opposition is a kitsune with a habit of teasing.

“You took my letter. I want it back.” Better to admit what I had been looking for, rather than let on that I had found it.

It seemed my half-truth was admission enough. “I consider that document a form of insurance for… good behavior. Unless… you have an interest in earning the letter back another way?” Mitsuhide didn’t alter the way he was touching me or make any move to suggest that he was insinuating horizontal currency. And yet I knew exactly what he meant. And that he was just teasing. Probably.

Plan C … Exit as gracefully as possible.

Doing my best to ignore the way my breathing had sped up, I backed away from his touch and strolled back to my room – slowly, so that he wouldn’t think I was intimidated by him. Casually, so that he wouldn’t think he could get away with trying to scare me.

I did not look back.

No, I wasn’t scared. I didn’t have an identification yet for whatever this uncomfortable feeling was, but it was not fear.

It was only after I had crawled under the warm blanket on my futon that I put a name to my feelings.

Intrigue.

There was a part of me that was curious…? No, that couldn’t possibly be true. He was using some kind of Jedi mind trick on me. Or weird psychology… or not even that. So much had happened over the past few days that my brain was just latching onto the thing in front of me – Mitsuhide – as a way to not think about anything else. Anything other than the fact that -

Aki is my father.

The man who had left my mother while she was pregnant… the man who had left his future child – children – in the care of an emotionally unstable woman… it had been Aki. How could I reconcile the man I had always resented, with Aki, the man who had saved me and had given me a purpose?

As a child, when I was feeling charitable, I would rationalize that my father hadn’t known my mother was pregnant when he left her. That if he had been aware that he’d left two children behind, he would have come back. He would have become part of our lives, even if he could not, or would not, be a part of my mother’s. I even used to fantasize that he had been taken prisoner by a Yokai and that when I was old enough, I would find him and save him. It had been my favorite daydream.

But now that I knew he had been here all along…

True, ‘flung back in time’ was a good excuse for ‘disappearing.’ Except, his letter had suggested that there was a way to return to the future, that there had always been a way to do so. And therefore, Aki had no excuse for abandoning us.

Had he brought Toshiie and I back in time on purpose?

Our time travel could not have been random, nor could his rescue of me. He must have known from the beginning I was his daughter. Unless it had truly been a coincidence… maybe he only figured it out after I had been here a while?

Why didn’t he tell me? I… might have been thrilled at the time.

Ugh! So many questions!

Would the answers make me never want to see him again?

Were the answers in the other half of the letter? I rolled myself into a tight, contained ball, feeling like any moment everything would snap and I would fly into a thousand pieces – damn Mitsuhide for taking the letter, leaving me only to speculate on the rest of its contents. Leaving me to wonder if there was an apology in it. If there was love. Or if there was only more mystery.

“Come on child.” My rescuer hurried to my side and wrapped me up in a warm cloak. “You’ll catch your death of cold.”

Aki saved my life – but not my brother’s. If he had brought me here on purpose, then why not be waiting at the spot where the wormhole opened up, and greet both Toshiie and I?

“What is it that you do?”

“I’m an information broker.” He moved the target about a meter further back.

“A spy.” That made sense of the vast amount of correspondence and the sheer number of messengers who came in and out of the manor. Although it didn’t explain why he hadn’t managed yet to find my brother. You’d think a spy would be better at finding lost people.

“Spies collect information. I know what to do with it. Then, I fix things.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that. It brought to mind the idea of mafia and assassins. “What do you mean?”

He picked up two stones from the ground and handed one to me. “You see that pear hanging off the tree? Try to knock it down.”

I flung the stone with all my strength to the pear – but it looked like I was a little off course.

CLINK!

Aki had thrown the other stone right after, hit mine, and diverted it back to the pear. The pear shuddered, and fell to the ground. Ok, that took mad skills, and I definitely wanted to learn how to do that.

“Impressive!” I retrieved the pear and offered it to him. He gestured for me to keep it. “I don’t understand though.” I took a bite of the pear, then wiped my chin on my sleeve when the juice attacked me.

“The rock you threw was on the wrong path. I fixed it,” Aki said. “In the same way, sometimes things need a little nudge to get on the correct path.”

Was I the second rock? Did Aki want me to fulfill some mysterious mission? Everything I had learned about Aki over the past seven years suggested as much. He could turn anything into a lesson, a learning experience, a puzzle. He’d treated me with gruff affection, but had he ever been fatherly? Had he ever acted like I mattered to him? Personally?

Muttering an oath under his breath, the monk picked me up in his arms – I was a sweaty smelly mess, with my hair matted around my face and tearstains on my cheeks. My breath was still coming out in panicked gasps. “Outside. Please, I need air.”

He carried me out into the street. It was all I could do to breathe, as he held my hair out of my face. I hadn’t realized it, but I was crying.

There was a shout from down the street, and I looked up to see Aki running toward us, looking more unsettled than I had ever seen him before.

“Katsuko.” His voice cracked when he saw me. “Thank the Gods.”

He cared… I had to hang onto that. For whatever reason he’d never been able to verbalize it… but Aki cared. Though he had missed the first nineteen years of my life – he had been everything to me for the past seven. I had to see this out. I would find him because of the past seven years… and then punch him in the face because of the first nineteen.

Temporarily giving up on sleep (granted, hadn’t been trying … but that was a nonstarter anyway) I started a mental ‘to do’ list. Read the rest of my letter, talk to Francisco… find Sasuke ‘Mikumo’. The letter was temporarily beyond my reach. No way in hell would I walk into Mitsuhide’s room while he was in there. Francisco, on the other hand – wasn’t going anywhere and could be found at any time. But… Sasuke was probably on the other side of the country. Contacting him would take time. It wasn’t like I could slide into his DMs. (Although knowing Sasuke, he probably had figured out how to keep a cell phone working by building a battery out of a potato).

Yoshimoto could get a message to Sasuke.

Eventually.

Yoshimoto just leaped to the top of my to do list. With a bullet. Er, figuratively, that was. I didn’t actually want to “do” Yoshimoto, even if he had offered to wrap me in jewel toned fabrics.

That decided, there was no time like the present. With my luck, Mitsuhide would demand all of ‘Kaya’s’ free time after sunrise again – not to mention that during the day, I also had the new maid to contend with. And technically, I had only promised Mitsuhide that I wouldn’t leave while he was gone. He was back now… and I had made that promise before reading Aki’s letter anyway, before realizing I needed to talk to Sasuke.

Therefore… I was going out the window again.

In less than twenty minutes after I made my decision, I was running across rooftops illuminated only by the light of the full moon. Sakai at night was a different creature. Below me, groups of sailors swaggered through the streets, laughing, yelling, even menacing the merchants and servants unlucky enough to be in their way. Somehow the air from the harbor seemed fresher, sharper. Without the sunlight, the Autumn air felt bracing. As always when freerunning, I was more alive, as if I were the wind itself.

It was the one part of me that had not changed from the girl I had been in modern Japan to whatever it was that I had become over the past seven years.

Even if Yoshimoto had not told me that was where he was staying, the honjin would have been the first place I looked. Every town had one chief Inn – the honjin, where high ranking travelers stayed. As the leader of the Imagawa, Yoshimoto, unless he was trying to be inconspicuous (and he clearly was not), would of course choose the honjin over the many other lesser inns scattered across town.

Given this status, the honjin would be likely to be housing any number of high-ranking samurai, so finding Yoshimoto’s room might involve a bit of trial and error… and a bit of logic. Even though the Imagawa clan had fallen on hard times (if an ignominious defeat and loss of territory to Nobunaga and his allies counted as “hard times”), they still had money and status. The name Imagawa carried prestige – I suppose that technically, Yoshimoto was a prince, and thus would have been assigned one of the nicest rooms – likely one on the top floor.

I carefully climbed into the window of a room facing the courtyard – Yoshimoto was likely to have asked for one overlooking the zen garden as opposed to one that faced the street. My logic proved correct; I found his room on the first try, for I recognized the kimono displayed on a rack near the wall as the one Yoshimoto had been wearing earlier that day.

A Yoshimoto shaped lump on the futon appeared to be asleep.

“Yoshimoto.” I stayed just at the window as I called his name. One of the major rules of Sengoku: never awaken a sleeping warlord. They startle easily and it tends to be the fastest way to become a human pincushion.

As the lump hadn’t moved, I raised my voice. “Psst! Yoshimoto!”

The second call was the charm and Yoshimoto, stirred, sat up, and grabbed a dagger from where it had been resting on the floor next to the mattress. He looked around and squinted through the darkness toward me. “What? Who are you?”

“Katsu – Sasuke’s friend.” I held still while I waited for him to wake up completely and access the memory of meeting me a few weeks ago. Or meeting me today, if he had actually recognized me at the warehouse.

He groped around until he found a lantern and lit it. Once the amber glow filled the room he lifted his arms, stretched and –

Ooops!

Yoshimoto sleeps in the nude.

Pretending a nonchalance that I didn’t feel, I grabbed a yukata that had been carefully draped over a screen and tossed it at him. “My deepest apologies for awakening you, Lord Yoshimoto”

“’Lord’ Yoshimoto? You were less formal a few moments ago when you woke me up.” He pulled the garment over his shoulders – which… didn’t cover the area in question.

Well, I possibly was trying to balance the informality of the naked with the formality of the title… but, details. I shrugged and made sure to keep my eyes on my feet when he secured the garment with a sash.

“I take it there’s a matter of some urgency for you to have climbed into my window. How were you even aware that I was in Sak-“ he broke off, tilted his head, and looked at me for a long moment. Then, he gave me a dangerous come-hither smile. “You wouldn’t, by any chance, have been disguised as a woman earlier today?”

Ok, I guess he hadn’t recognized me earlier, and the offer he made to ‘Kaya’ had been in earnest. As if he could read my thoughts, Yoshimoto beckoned for me nearer, patting the spot on the futon next to him. “Dare I hope that you’ve come to me to discuss a matter of jewel toned kimonos, and other… arrangements?”

“Er, I was in disguise, yes, that was me. Is me. But, no, I’m actually, looking at… FOR… I’m looking for… “ ARGH. I took a deep breath and started over. “Please could you, um.” My embarrassment would probably fill in the rest of the blank for him, but I wasn’t in the mood to get into the specifics of Katsu/Katsuko. I gestured to his naked area. As he fully donned the yukata, I hurried on. “I need to get an urgent message to Sasuke. Are you returning to Kasugayama soon?”

To his credit, Yoshimoto only looked slightly disappointed, and in response to the question, he nodded, held up one finger and exited the room.

I buried my face in my hands. Really, he was too attractive for his own good, and even though I hadn’t been tempted (much) … a naked Yoshimoto was very distracting.

Just as I had gotten my scattered thoughts corraled, Yoshimoto returned, leading a half-awake Sasuke. My ninja pal was not wearing his glasses and he bowed to the kimono on the rack. “Katsu?”

“Over here.” I waited for Sasuke to reorient himself. “What happened to your glasses?”

“They met their demise under Yoshimoto’s foot.” He flapped his hand in the general direction (very general) of Yoshimoto. “I have another pair in my pack, but it sounded urgent. I can listen without seeing you.”

“In my defense, if you had put your glasses on a shelf, they would not have ended up between my foot and the floor.” Yoshimoto added another kimono layer. “I’m off to see if any of the tea maids are awake, as I presume you wish to speak to Sasuke alone.” Once again, he glided out of the room.

“How does he do that?” Yoshimoto made me feel clumsy, and I am not a clumsy person.

“Er, Katsu, I am not able to see what he did.” Sasuke was still standing in the center of the room, arms outstretched like a zombie.

I walked him to a cushion and helped him sit. “Oh… it’s the way he moves, like he’s always wearing…” I automatically paused to censor myself, then realized that I no longer needed to do so with Sasuke. “Ice skates.

He went very still, no doubt trying to recall if ice skates had been invented yet (they haven’t, as far as I know). “Ice skates?”

“So that kind of leads me to what I needed to talk to you about. Not ice skating, of course, but… ok, wait, don’t say anything yet.” I rushed on because he clearly had questions (so did I, if it came to that). “I’m trying to figure out where to start, but it’s a long story and Yoshimoto will be back before I finish, if I don’t-“

“No, he won’t.” Sasuke flexed his fingers… as if he was making invisible calculations.

“He just said he was going to find tea.” I had clearly heard that. Maybe the loss of his glasses was affecting his ears.

“To be one hundred percent accurate, he expressed the intention to find a tea maid. He won’t return until after sunrise.” Sasuke sighed. “I wish I had my glasses. I would prefer to take notes as I suspect several ideas will present themselves while you talk.”

“My mentor – the man I’ve worked for these past seven years has disappeared. That’s why I’m here in Sakai. And his friend had one of those ‘in case of emergency break glass’ letters for me, in which, among other things, mentioned he knew you… that is, if your name is actually Mikumo?” I cleared my throat, wishing that Yoshimoto would be bringing tea after all. I was already getting thirsty and my story was not a short one.

“Yes… that’s my name in modern Japan. I took Sarutobi when I came here because he was allegedly fictional.” Sasuke pressed his finger to the bridge of his nose – it looked weird, even as I realized that was a habit from when he wore his glasses. “However, I have no knowledge of any other time travelers aside from myself – well, and Mai of course – but I know she could not be your mentor.”

The missing Mai was also a time traveler? Finally, a connection (of sorts) to Aki. “His name is Yamakoa Akihira-”

“Professor Yamakoa?” His face stayed neutral, but his voice went up an octave.

“Um, I don’t actually know what he does, or did, in modern Japan. Until I read his letter, I didn’t even know he was a time traveler.” We were getting off track, but since Sasuke likely wouldn’t be content unless he heard my origin story, I gave him a quick summary of how Toshiie and I had ended up here.

“There’s another wormhole? Holy crap on a cracker!” Sasuke muttered to himself for a bit, throwing out scientific theories that were far above my pay grade. I waited impatiently for him to find his way back to our present. “Hm, I suppose it could be the same wormhole… this is indeed fascinating.”

“Minutes after we landed?” Manifested? What exactly was the best term for wormhole travel disembarkation? “We were attacked by bandits –“

“The wormholes don’t seem to care what sort of chaos they anchor to. Mai ended up in Honno-ji during the fire. I arrived right in the middle of a battle in 1578.” He coughed. “In the middle of a battlefield. And, er, immediately created a temporal paradox by giving CPR to Kenshin.”

Ah, that explained why Kenshin had unexpectedly been running around on a battlefield a couple years ago. “Could be worse. Could have been dinosaurs.” I shrugged. Had there been dinosaurs in Japan?

I didn’t realize I had spoken out loud until Sasuke nodded. “Didn’t you ever go to the National Science Museum in Toyko? They have quite a nice Futabasaurus fossil.”

“Never been. Only went to Toyko once on a school trip and we focused on the art museums – well, that doesn’t matter.” Somehow, I imagined that Sasuke could speak as enthusiastically about dinosaurs as he could about everything else, and there wasn’t time for that. If I didn’t get back to Mitsuhide’s townhouse before he realized I was missing, the result wouldn’t be pleasant. Or maybe he’d employ his pleasure torture, whatever that was, and I wasn’t terribly interested in learning the details of that either. Not firsthand. “Anyway. Aki – your Professor Yamaoka – rescued me, trained me, and give me a job, and well, you more or less already knew the rest.”

“He was a friend of my parents, er, Professor Yamaoka, that is. I’ve never studied with him, though. I’m a grad student in theoretical physics at Kyoto University and he’s based at another Uni. Even so, he is the one who hinted me toward wormhole theory. It sounds like maybe he’s been keeping an eye on that, um, node at Togakushi to look out for accidental time travelers, like Mai.”

“That would be the simple explanation, if he had ever bothered to mention to me that he was also a time traveler.” The thought was making me angry all over again. “No, he writes it all down in that letter. That and an ‘oh by the way, you’re my biological daughter,’ which might have been the bigger shock to me.”

Sasuke’s face, which I’ve often mentally called “resting Spock face” finally showed a surprised expression. He massaged his cheekbones. “Fascinating. Apparently, what I need to overcome my weak facial muscles is shock. Ahem. Er, I take it your parentage was the surprise, rather than your gender identity.”

Oh. Right. I had neglected to mention that when I was telling him the how-I-got-isakei’d-into-this-time-period story. I’d gotten too used to being around Mitsuhide. “Yes. That. Can we slide past the yes, I’m really a girl, for a moment because Aki is missing.”

“Hm, you did mention that at the outset. My apologies – it is rather a big chunk of data to input.” He closed his eyes for a moment (not that that was necessary since he clearly couldn’t see anything anyway), took a deep cleansing breath. And then another. “As you undoubtedly have already concluded, I do not know where Professor Yamaoka is.”

“Well, it was kind of a longshot anyway.” Basically, this was a wasted trip, although sneaking out of Mitsuhide’s at night was an illicit thrill. The only new information I’d uncovered was the news that Mai was also a time traveler. Although… that meant that two of our three missing persons were time travelers. Was there a connection? Or was the connection the fact that all three had been in Sakai investigating imports?

“Katsu, you are being very quiet and as I cannot see your face, I am left to conclude that you are disappointed. Or… have you thought of something?” Sasuke again pushed the vestigial memory of his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.

“I did. Sort of. It could be a coincidence.” Was Sasuke even aware that Mai had disappeared? “Um, I didn’t even ask… what are you doing in Sakai?”

“I suspect that you already know that Mai and Hideyoshi have disappeared.” He frowned – his facial muscles really were working overtime for him tonight. “Although, if you didn’t know that, don’t tell any-“

“I know. I’m working with Mitsuhide to find them.” With, not for, though I’m sure Mitsuhide would have objections to my choice of preposition.

“And the shocks keep coming.” He reached for the bridge of his nose, then stopped himself at the last possible moment. “I wouldn’t have thought you two would work well together.”

Preaching to the choir, pal.

“We don’t… but that’s an even longer story.” I put the whole slavery thing into a ‘he doesn’t need to know that’ bucket. “Our separate investigations somewhat collided.”

“And I presume the ‘might be a coincidence’ that you referred to a few moments ago, is that Aki and Mai are both time travelers?” Sasuke once again twitched his fingers, and I was about ready to offer to hunt for his spare glasses, because I was starting to feel anxious for him.

I nodded, realized he wouldn’t have seen me nod, and said, “yeah.”

“It’s possible. But there’s been no wormhole activity since prior to their disappearance.” He rubbed his eyes. “However, I was not aware of the wormhole node at Togakushi. I suppose it’s not out of the realm of possibility that there’s another node here in Sakai.” His tone of voice, though, suggested he thought that unlikely.

“I was hoping that what you could tell me about time travel would help me figure out where to find him.” I fought the urge to throw myself on Yoshimoto’s bed and stare up at the ceiling, but figured Yoshimoto wouldn’t appreciate that (unless I stayed there until he returned). “All I can hope is that if you’re here to look for Mai, that if you also happen to run across Aki, you can tell him where I am.”

“The thing is.” Sasuke sighed. He sounded as conflicted as I had ever seen him (I’ve never seen him conflicted). “I planned to return to modern Japan when the Honno-ji wormhole opens in a couple weeks – I have a friend in desperate need of medical treatment. It was when I went to Azuchi to say goodbye to Mai, I discovered she was missing. I dislike the idea of leaving if she’s in danger, but…” He did that finger tapping thing again. “Now that you’ve opened the possibility of more wormholes, then theoretically, Mai, Hideyoshi, and Aki could be in the future. In modern Japan, I could use my resources in Kyoto to continue the search in case they are indeed in the future.”

Oh. Well. That was good, wasn’t it? Of course, there had been a part of me that had hoped that when I found Sasuke here in Sakai, everything would become clear, and would be neatly tied up in a bow, presented to me as mystery solved, and I could return to a non-Mitsuhide-infested life. Instead, I couldn’t help feeling that I had made matters worse for everyone.

Having learned my lesson yesterday, the sun had not yet risen when I climbed back into my room.

Not that it mattered.

“I believe I recall you saying you were going to stay put.” Once again, Mitsuhide’s voice came from the direction of my futon, where he again lay in that vampiric pose. “I would prefer not to have to lock you up to keep you from running off in the night.”

“What I said was that I had no plans to leave while you were gone.” And those plans had changed thanks to Aki’s letter.

“A rather dubious distinction.” Mitsuhide – well, if it were anyone else, I would say that he sighed – let out a huff of breath. “Apparently we are going to need to be far more precise when it comes to language.”

“We” need to stop referring to ourselves in the plural.

“I came back, didn’t I?” A decision I was already regretting. I detoured around the futon and stepped behind the screen. “Don’t you ever sleep?”

“I appear to sleep more than you do, unless-“ I heard a rustling that indicated he had gotten up, “you were sleeping in someone else’s bed. Yoshimoto’s perhaps?”

So, he had already known Yoshimoto’s identity when he asked earlier – and he’d known that my answer to his question had been a lie. Well. Lie adjacent. Had he followed me tonight? “Yoshimoto thinks I’m a young man.” Probably. Maybe. I hadn’t been, to use Mitsuhide’s words, exactly precise in my language when I told Yoshimoto that I had been in disguise.

Dammit, I’d left my night kimono in the main part of the – another rustle and it dangled over the top of the screen, falling on top of my head with Mitsuhide’s sarcasm. “I doubt that would make a difference to him.”

He was probably correct in that, but… “If he still believes I’m male, then it should be obvious that I wasn’t in his bed, giving him the opportunity to learn otherwise.”

When I emerged from the screen, I saw that Mitsuhide had turned down the blankets for me. “Mm. Perhaps. Perhaps not.” He patted the futon mattress. “Get some sleep, Brat. Sho will be here mid-morning to help you figure out what to do with your hair.”

Won’t that be fun.

I crawled under the blanket, then Mitsuhide tucked me in as if I were a child. However, once I was securely burrito’d in there, he leaned over me and fixed that intense amber glare upon me. “If you weren’t warming Yoshimoto’s bed, what were you doing?” He punctuated the question with a tap on my nose – almost a boop – sinister in its pseudo playfulness.

“I had something I wanted to look into, but it turned out to go nowhere.” I didn’t know if Mitsuhide was aware of Sasuke and Mai’s friendship, but it was not my secret to reveal.

“Care to elaborate?” The question was emphasized this time by a tap on my forehead.

Yeesh, what else is he going to tap on for future questions?

“I don’t really.” It really had been nothing and if I let him get the better of me now, then I was sure he’d continue to try and intimidate me this way again. Rolling onto my side, I turned my back on him. The blasé gesture was ruined by the fact that I had to tug the blanket free to do so.

“It pains me to have to repeat this, but if you determine you indeed have something to tell me, then you know where I’ll be.” He brushed his hand along the back of my neck, then finally left me alone.

If I thought that would be the end of the matter… it wasn’t.

@bestbryn @selenacosmic @tele86 @mllorei @akitsuneswife @lyds323

#10things #ten things i hate about mitsuhide #ikemen sengoku #fanfic #ikesen mitsuhide #mitsuhide akechi #ikesen yoshimoto #ikesen sasuke

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psychewritesbs · 7 months

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Hello, Gege's unpredictability aside (cause they might decide to just up and kill Megumi or Sukuna next chapter🥹) given the recent developments in jjk regarding Sukuna and Megumi, I'm curious as to what you think of the old theory that Sukuna might be grooming Megumi to be the next king of curses?

Cause tbh I can kinda see it but at the same time not. Sukuna's too elusive for me, and I'm confused whether it's just my interpretation clouding my judgment but in the earliest parts of the manga, Sukuna and Megumi's dynamic (though interactions happened sparingly) gives me a pseudo mentor/mentee vibe. And we see Megumi taking Sukuna's words as advice and even improves on his technique because of it. I find it esp. interesting that during Megumi's first deployment of Chimera Shadow Garden, despite the flashback to Gojo's training, it wasn't until he remembers Sukuna's words during their fight at the detention center that Megumi decided not to use Mahoraga. In a way, he kinda responds more to Sukuna's observations than Gojo's. So yeah I can see it.

But then we get to the current stuff in the manga and it seems that Sukuna's fixation with Megumi is a lot simpler than what I had in mind. Megumi had potential as a vessel but he is not a cage like Yuji, Megumi's 10 shadows is a good counter to Gojo and then there's Mahoraga. So maybe it's as simple as that.

But then there's Sukuna. He still remains a mystery to me. Idk how to perceive him. Gege, despite writing Sukuna with the typical one-note villain traits, it's flashbacks like Yorozu's that offers the possibility of there being something more to this 4-armed godly figure than what is initially presented to us. And I'm stuck between dismissing it as Yorozu's own wishful thinking or entertaining it as an intentional narrative hint from Gege. Cause if this turned out to be some sort of vague misdirect just to milk a reader's curiosity and tendency to look for meaning in everything then I'm up for another disappointment. This wouldn't be the first time Gege made an emotional or narrative build up towards something only to throw it to the side and proceed with the story as if nothing happened.

I guess, in the end, this theory relies heavily on whether or not we've seen all of Sukuna. But nonetheless I'm still interested on your thoughts cause I need someone to overthink things with 😅.

HOLA anon!

Well... regarding your comment about Gege's unpredictability and the possibility of him deciding to "just up and kill Megumi or Sukuna next chapter🥹"... considering you sent your ask before chapter 236 dropped, I gotta say your concern aged quite well 😂.

Anyways.

To be honest, I didn't know that such a theory existed! It makes so much sense that it does. I thought the theories regarding Sukuna and Megumi mostly revolved around Megumi getting eaten, which we all saw how that went.

But a theory about Sukuna grooming Megumi, as you say, does and doesn't make sense it actually pains me to say that it reminds me of Orochimaru/Sasuke. It is actually something I had speculated in private conversation with moots myself.

Let's taco'bout it and overthink the hell out of it further under the cut.

Why it doesn't make sense that Sukuna is grooming Megumi as the next King of Curses

I think Sukuna is far too selfish for that.

Not only that. The mindset that Heian sorcerers have around power is specifically based on their desire to come alive in the face of death. Like in Dragon Ball Z, Heian sorcerers take great joy and honor in battling stronger opponents.

Based on what we do know about Heian sorcerers and their desire to battle to the death, it would make more sense to think that Sukuna is grooming Megumi as a worthy opponent. Therefore, you could say it would be in Sukuna's best interest for Megumi to get stronger. This is actually what I mean when I say Sukuna is too selfish.

From my perspective, I don't necessarily think that Sukuna is selfish in the sense that he wouldn't want to hand over his title, but rather that Sukuna would want to fight someone who can challenge him and make him smile like only Sukuna can smile when he's enjoying himself in battle.

In other words, Sukuna would want to fight Megumi to death.

I also think at this point it's safe to say Sukuna's interest in Megumi was primarily 10s, more specifically because he saw an opening to take it by force.

As for Megumi, I wonder if more than seeing Sukuna as a mentor-like figure, he took his words (and Gojo's) as validation that his sense of self was limiting what he thought he could accomplish--the pinnacle of sorcery, Domain Expansion.

The way I see it, if this calamity, the King of Curses himself, told you that you have wasted your potential, it is sure to make you think twice about how you see yourself and what you can accomplish.

And here's the kicker...

So why does it make sense that Sukuna is grooming Megumi?

I wonder whether your intuition isn't picking up on one possible outcome for Megumi's fate.

I personally hope that Sukuna taking 10s from Megumi will backfire on him as it has likely given Megumi the opportunity to learn how to master the technique considering Sukuna is doing with it what Megumi had yet to accomplish.

In other words, Megumi is learning from Sukuna. It's not a formal mentor/mentee dynamic in the strictest sense of the word, but there may be an exchange of valuable learning happening regardless.

The thing is that Megumi and Sukuna share an inner domain, so we can assume Megumi is watching everything from inside the domain since Sukuna specifically killed Tsumiki with the express purpose of having Megumi witness her death at his own hands.

Anyways, that's my hc and specific hope for Megumi, as well as my interpretation to your question.

Sukuna, the one-note villain

I think we're in for a treat regarding his character. That's how I see it anyways since I am a Sukuna simp.

Also, part of the issue with Sukuna is that Gege has kept his symbolism and his philosophy rather tightly guarded. He only reveals bits and pieces about him, but it's always enough to make me want more.

I also have to admit I love that Yorozu's words just keep reverberating, so I'll probably write more about it for chapter 236.

Here's to us getting a payoff on "ultimate strength and the loneliness that it brings".

Thanks for reaching out overthinking-anon!

#ask the mental gymnastics anime girl

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tamelee · 5 months

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hiii tamelee <3 you said you were writing a script for sns, right? could you give us the vaguest idea what it's about or do you want it to be a surprise? i love your art btw its so pretty

Hiii! 💕 oh yes I'd love to!! Tysm for liking my art and your interest in it! Ah, yes! The script was pretty much finished and I planned on drawing it already... but I felt like I had to research something Kishimoto used as reference a bit better and then... I fell into the student/research rabbit-hole.. >.< I had to make a change and it's taking me a bit of time, but I'm getting there 🥹 ((I'm also not too sure about Kakashi as Hokage around that time, I can't really find much and I refuse to read more novels or watch that terrible movie -.- does anyone know?)) Hmm'~ It's an SNS-story, but the plot isn't focussed on romance. Doesn't mean there won't be any though...... ((Maybe unpopular opinion but I don't think either are ready to accept it at that point in their lives despite VotE2. Acknowledgement is one thing. Acceptance another. But taking the next vulnerable step when both are (secretly) terrified of loss and rejection? Oh man. Anyway, there'll be no (immediate) hand holding or skipping over happy rainbows, I'll say that much 👀)) There are things I want to say, but in essays my words fall short and so, I wanted to create a story with that purpose ^^ The plot isn't spread over a long time at all and starts around 2 years after the war when they're 19y- blank period. I may have to switch it to 18-20y because I'm not too sure about Kishimoto's timeline and I weaved in background info through the original. It may not be perfectly aligned, but I did my best >.< And so, the story itself starts much earlier- there are a few flash-backs. I entirely made up the conflict of course, but it is focussed around.... hm, I guess problems that we expected were going to be solved during that time but clearly never were? I'm not 'fixing' the future that is shown in the sequel, but I'm challenging the possibility of that outcome and consequences in my story anyway. Fair warning, there is quite a bit of satire.. Naruto and Sasuke not excluded 😬🤷🏻‍♀️ (It has purpose, I promise.) If anyone saw the design of an OC (I made changes already xD), then you probably saw that Amegakure will play a role as well. I guess you could see the story as some sort of filler-arc made by a dedicated fan, because those also have some characters you'd only see during that arc and then never again :') That's kinda how I approached it anyway. I asked myself 'If I could fill in the timeline here after Sasuke left Konoha and having the future in mind, how would I do that? 🤔' I tried thinking about things I can reveal already or things that will happen, but I feel like it's better to keep it as a surprise!!! 🫢 I haven't written a blurb either. (Why did no one tell us how hard it is to do that? Props to all authors, honestly.) I'll probably post some sketches soon, there are still a few things I have to design as well ^^ aaannndd... it will also come with cw/tw's... it definitely isn't suited for everyone but I can't wait to start the journey~

#asktamelee #story project

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senju-sekhmet · 1 year

Text

Time for something else (2/2)

Summary: Life as an ANBU captain has been eating at your very soul. You had been fortunate to have someone with you in what you first considered a privileged duty, but soon learned to be a perilous hell: Kakashi. The man you had looked up to since the beginning - and grew closer to, the more you learned about him. Yet the lurid schemes of a corrupt village elder might break you, as fighting in a system - for a system - that does nothing but throw bricks at you seems to be your undoing.

One final mission. Just one. Read part 1 here!

Length: 4,300 (part 2) Warnings! Graphic description of violence, body horror, (psychological) torture), suicidal thoughts/mindset (reader is not in a good place; at least in parts of this fic), very angsty but with a happy ending; pining, I mean it, pining, angst, happy ending. But. It gets dark first

My birthday gift to the bestiest, amazingiest, loveliest @kuramakakashi!! Once more all the best to you bestie, may this year just be great all around 💖💖💖

Read on AO3!

Excerpt below

And now… you were gone.

Gone after having lied to him about your farewell. He should have said something then. Perhaps he had deluded himself into not doing it - because he did not want to accept that.

Because he could not accept that. A world without you in it -

No.

He leaned against your doorframe. Crossing his arms, Kakashi allowed a familiar wave of despair - of helplessness - to wash over him, letting it carry him away.

He needed to find out. What, what had you been doing? You had mentioned visiting Itachi late - an uncommon event; he went to bed early to be around Sasuke as much as possible, usually.

His best lead therefore should be the Uchiha compound.

Kakashi pushed himself off to be on his way - only to find a huffing Tenzo in front of him, having shunshined there. The man reeked of anxiety. He frowned. "Tenzo?"

"Kakashi," he breathed. His eyes were wide. "Y/n, Shisui and Itachi, they-", he broke off, shaking his head.

"Be calm," Kakashi raised a hand, even if it was difficult to keep the urgency out of his voice. "What happened?"

"They found Danzo's Uchiha prison."

Kakashi's gaze widened.

The prison which both of you had suspected to be many things, but least of all a place to just hold the convicted Uchiha.

You, who had been breaking under the injustice of one individual such as Danzo running free while families had been torn apart by his politics.

You, served with a chance to get evidence for his crimes.

You - who had this blissful peace around you when you had hugged him.

The farewell.

A proverbial bucket of ice water had been emptied over Kakashi. He was drenched in cold sweat.

"Tenzo. Lead me there. Right now."

He could not bear the thought of losing you, indeed.

Kakashi Hatake would not be too late.

tag list: @ari-hatake15

#kakashi #kakashi hatake #kakashi x reader #kakashi hatake x reader #shisui #uchiha shisui #itachi #uchiha itachi #sekhmet writes

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dxkk1104 · 1 year

Text

A dry cough scratched her throat, and a runny nose poured from her nostrils. Sakura was sitting with a handkerchief in one hand and tea, made earlier by Sasuke, in the other.

She had caught a cold as they traversed the Land of Snow. She and Sasuke encountered the worst possible weather.

Sakura sneezed for the third time in five minutes. She hated being sick.

A warm blanket covered her entire figure, as shivers ran through her body from time to time, though Sakura felt the heat, but knew it was only an illusory feeling.

She took a sip of tea when Sasuke finally returned from the city. He was the one who experienced Sakura's illness more than she did. And as much as she loved receiving attention from him, because this side of Sasuke - caring and gentle - was pretty much only meant for her, Sakura was slowly starting to get fed up.

She would have recovered faster in peace and quiet, not with constant questions about how she was feeling; however, she couldn't say that Sasuke wasn't sweet. His small gestures were everything.

"How do you feel?"

"Better."

Sakura set her cup aside. Sasuke crouched in front of her, watching her face carefully to make sure she was telling the truth. As a doctor, Sakura cared about the health of others, but she often neglected her own.

"I brought medicine."

Five different packages of medicine fell out of the shopping bag. Sasuke pressed the top of his hand to Sakura's forehead, checking her temperature as she looked at his purchases in shock.

"I only asked for one."

"The lady in the store said these would work best and you would recover quickly,"

"Sasuke-kun, this - Ah, thank you," she said, concluding that there was no point in discussing it further.

Sakura leaned forward, taking one of the packages and removing two lozenges. Sasuke kept his eyes on her the whole time.

"I'm worried about you." he said unexpectedly. Sakura didn't respond, knowing that Sasuke wanted to say something else "I've never seen you sick, Sakura." he lowered his gaze, furrowing his brow. He opened up to her slowly, and Sakura gave him as much time as he needed. Patience was the most important thing in a relationship with Sasuke "I'm afraid something worse could happen to you and I... it's stupid."

"It's not stupid at all, Sasuke-kun. It's good to talk about your feelings."

He swallowed saliva loudly, taking a deep breath. Sakura placed her hand gently on his.

"You are too precious to me, Sakura, for me to lose you."

She had expected words that would surprise her; over the two months of travel, Sasuke had often said things she hadn't even dreamed of, but she hadn't expected this.

'Was that a confession?" she wanted to ask. Sakura, however, left that question deep in her heart, enjoying the moment and the vulnerable Sasuke.

Putting his hand to her face, she looked deeply into his eyes.

"I will stay with you forever, Sasuke-kun, you can stop being afraid."

#sakura haruno #sakura uchiha #sasuke x sakura #sasusaku #uchihasasuke #sssnippetaday #ss fic #blank period #blankperiodweek2023 #ssblankperiodweek2023 #ssbpday1

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spatio-rift · 3 months

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Hello! I wanted to ask your favourite ships and the ones that you don't really like and why

Hiiii thank you for asking i love to talk about stuff like that and procrastinating on work. i think in recent years ive been enjoying comedic dynamics the most ^_^ i love to laugh and the best kind of dynamics (romantic or otherwise) to me are ones that are funny first and foremost. and theyre best when theres something compelling about it but still a lot of room to play around.

a funny thing ive noticed also is that for most of the media i really really like i care about a platonic unit including the ship/at least one character more than the ship itself? like strky > imakasa, taka (oto) > suika, $quad > kubometo.... like the shipping is funny but the platonic unit is where i get the warm feelings from.

now to actually answer the question ^_^

my favorite ships are the ones cited above as i said mainly because theyre hilarious to me. but i also like that suika dont necessarily like eachother but grow to care deeply for eachother, and the plausible possibility of a history together in oto as kids from how much they know about each other despite being so hostile in early hebi. what happened there... its funny asf but It Could Be That Deep. and also i like the idea that they still hold a massive grudge against sasuke literally 15 years after he fucked them over even though the man doesnt care and probably doesnt even remember. ive always liked the idea that they could have bonded when they reunited during the war over both being mad at him for treating them like dirt but alas kishimoto decided karin still being into sasuke and beating the shit out of suigetsu was funnier.

kubometo and imakasa have a lot less going on, mostly i just find them absolutely hilarious. imayoshi in knb is mostly presented as weird menacing and creepy from seirins pov so imakasa (and strky) is a fun way to play around with his sillier traits, because in that unit hes not a scary opponent determined to do everything in his power to win, hes not an eccentric senpai that never says what hes thinking to his teammates... around kasamatsu and other dudes his age hes just a gay little freak. its refreshing!

i will not pretend kubometo has anything like this going on. its just really funny to me! so many things in saipsi are, but this one really scratches an itch for me. i would actually say that trying to make it deeper than it is and write about it seriously makes it a lot less interesting for me. well thats just my saipsi philosophy in general ^_^ if you start thinking too hard about it it becomes less funny, which is a capital mistake when enjoying a gag manga.

Erm ! for the ships i do not like.... there are so many but out of respect for some beloved followers i wont mention the ones that i really hate just because im biased as hell and no other reason (lol). lets just talk about a few that i have actual arguments for.

for saipsi i dont mind a lot of things as long as it is made funny by people who like it (otherwise i just do not care) but when it comes to saiko and kusuo im sorry we need to stop what is happening here. Out of every possible pairing in saipsi why these two. asou made saiko because financial power was the only thing he could think of at the time that was left to be a challenge to kusuos powers, and then he never really pitted them against each other because it was (offense number 1) already done (kusuos dynamic with kokomi and her divine beauty esp in earlier saipsi revolves around the exact same thing) and (offense number 2) literally not even funny.

their main reasons for interacting are 1) one sided rivalry because of kokomis crush on kusuo, which was abandoned Very Quickly and thank god for that because it wasnt funny at all and made saiko less likeable with each panel (and it encroached on makotos reason for existing in the work as well) 2) The Purge, except saiko never ever learns who that cyborg ciderman cosplayer that humiliated him was. kusuo barely registers in saikos mind past his introduction like he really doesnt care. the ones that consistently and meaningfully interact with him are always nendou, aren and kaidou, kusuos just always around so we actually witness it. it actually matters a lot to me that saiko is one of the only characters that are in the (extended) friendgroup not because of kusuo but mainly because of first kokomi and then nendou. so why make him and kusuo a thing?? theres nothing there! (heavy breathing) sorry if you like saisai i had to get it off my chest.

i think one other ship that i really do not like now for Actual Reasons is hanaima from knb. i used to be a Huge fan but as with a lot of things in this godforsaken fandom my enjoyment of it was really soured by people who just Did Not Get It. hanaima is the ship for people who want a ~Dark and Edgy~ dynamic in a highschool basketball manga. people who like it generally dont understand hanamiya and imayoshi as characters and the actual dynamic they have, they just want to write about abuse and poor little meow meow hanamiya and yandere sadist imayoshi and stuff like that. One! hanamiya is not scared of imayoshi he just hates him for being annoying and weird and not letting him do whatever he wants which is injure people and ruin their dreams! Two! imayoshi is kind of a freak but he is kind! whatever awful thing you think imayoshi did to hanamiya in middle school that explains why hanamiya doesnt want to do anything with him now is complete bullshit! its not about imayoshi being evil or an abuser or anything like that ITS ABOUT HANAMIYAS EGO! at most imayoshi is just annoying because messing w people hes fond of is his favorite past time!

ah well there are more things that people get wrong about their characters and dynamic but lets not increase my heart rate too much i wouldnt survive it. if i had to sum it up i think ships i do not like are either just offensively unfunny or like, the idea of the ship goes against established character so forcing it to happen makes them awfully ooc to the point of being near unrecognizable. like i know anything can happen in the mind of a fan but i like these characters for a reason, you know?! Erm well i dont know how to end this rant now so ill just say thank you for asking and sorry if its a boring read, just talking about myself and all ...!

#but to be honest even with the ships i do like... i only like the way *i* do it #because nobody really gets it the way i get it <- not to say im above everyone else but just we enjoy VERY different things about it #so i could make a similar rant about all the things i do not like about how people portray suika etc etc #its kind of hard to talk about stuff i dont like! ultimately its more like 'im neutral on this but people do it badly so i dont like it'#i dont want to ruffle feathers if i get really honest about the things i actually straight up do not and never will like

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sweetkakashihatake47 · 10 months

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https://www.tumblr.com/sweetkakashihatake47/718638846176280576/ok-i-honestly-dont-know-whether-to-ship-ss-or

Hello!

I read your post in the link above and I have totally your same thoughts. I would like to share with you something I’m thinking about recently. I really wanted Kakashi and Sakura end up together, but unfortunately I think that Kishi always had the sasusaku pair in his mind. I think he made this decision from page 1, I have never had any hope actually for narusaku too. It was too obvious from the start that the pairs would be Sasusaku and Naruhina. I’m not a teenager so for someone like me who have been watching anime for long time that was easily predictable. What Kishi didn’t expect is that Kakashi became more popular then the others maybe, and many of us are more interested in him than Sasuke for example. I don’t hate Sasuke at all. I can say that I’m indifferent to that character, he never catches my interest. I don’t know why. But let’s suppose even for a moment Kishi had in mind the Kakasaku otp, don’t you think it is quite sad to give Kakashi just an unrequited love after all he have been through? That’s why even if I would like a lot that Kakashi loves Sakura, canonically I think this could not be possible. Maybe Kishi wanted just showing us Kakashi trying his best to put together Sasuke and Sakura in order to help them to realize their love, the one he could not realize with Rin.

Of course this will not stop me to ship them because I really love them together, and actually I prefer that Kakashi remains single at this point, their bond is so special and nobody can take away this from me. In Boruto they are trying to give Sasusaku a happy end with romantic scenes. It doesn’t work with me but as lots of fun ship them it is working commercially. And I really hope they won’t marry Kakashi off for fan service. What do you think about my thoughts? Thank you.

Hi Anon,

thanks for your honest thoughts about this subject! And I love to answer to your question.

1.))The way Kakashi in the end "roots" for Sasuke and Sakura ..I have the very same thoughts as you have. Kakashi is happy ..if others around him are happy! Many believe that Kakashi did not love Rin back then .when they were young. Well...he never says to her such things ...instead ..he just says to her ..that he does not deserve her ..because he turned her down for the mission to complete. I rather have come to the conclusion ..that he might have had feelings for her ...but dumped it ..when he came to know of Obitos feelings towards Rin. The circumstances at that time were not the best for romantic relationships. Him "rooting" for Sasuke and Sakura ...is a clear sign for me personally ..that he compensates through their relationship ...what he ultimaterly never could have experienced. Its something like the obsession with Icha Icha ..its a compensating mechanism ...that Kakashi shows there. Sometimes I even think of ..that Kakashi just knows ..that for himself he chooses the single life ...because its in some way easier. We all know that he hates to take responsibility.And that he took the seat for the 6th Hokage is all thanks to Obito ..and that at that time there was no other candidate who would fit into that role. With the Hokage seat he took a huge amount of responsiblities. That is the canon version of it. For me ...it was never that clear from the beginning..that SasuSaku would ever happen. Sasuke always has seen Sakura as the female comrade. He was willing to team up with her and Naruto ..but thats that! He was always fine with ...being alone! Of course we see that he is highly traumatized ..and misses his parents ...and his whole clan ..but that is no surprise either. He has always chosen to be ..alone. That is also canon. It feels as if SasuSaku is a big fanservice! It feels incredible forced. In Boruto Sasuke still chooses loneliness over his family.If it were for him alone ..I feel he would never have wanted to be ...in a relationship. Did Sakura gain what she wished for? No. Its the opposite. Mostly ...she was alone ..all this years. still ...she is left alone in Boruto. I see no particular character growth when it comes to her. That is also canon. For me persoanlly they are not considered husband and wife....because they never had the officlal marriage contract. For me ...SasuSaku is the irony pairing ..because in my opinion ...as it seems to me Sakura is confusing fear for love. Of course she likes Sasuke ..because he is cool ..and so on. But ...its her fear of loosing him again ..him leaving her ...that draws her to him ..and fear is simply not love. You rather clamp on someone ...if you are afraid of loosing them again ..and that is what she does. The irony is ..that she gets what she feared the most. And its rather ironic ..and I am not that convinced at all ..that Kishi actually had this in mind with them both. I find it interesting ..that the Naruto verse is so ....realistic. A young girl who is clinging to that young cool good looking boy ...and he is rejecting her ...again and again and she is rather forcing herself unto him. To me ...SasuSaku pairing is the irony pairing ...and I feel that Kishi rather had mixed feelings about them both. He could have made their pairing successful from the start ..but ..they both seem not happy at all ..in my opinion. Its rather as if ...Kishi ..did the fanservice ...but its not that ..over all happy life for them both. In many aspects ...Kakashi sees himself in Sasuke....but ...they have chosen different ways to cope with their traumatic past. While Sasuke still ...prefers to be alone ...Kakashi always has sought the closeness to friends and comerades. We can see a little 5 year old Kakashi ...who plays with his comerades ...Rin and Obito and others ...street soccer ...and so on. Yes ...after loosing so many important people in his life ...Kakashi has also chosen ..the lonely path.

#kakashihatake

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azurelyy · 2 years

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Your Life with the Naruto Boys... As a Romcom!

This is probably my most crack fic idea ever and I don’t know if any of this will make any sense to someone who doesn’t have the displeasure of living in my brain...

But! I literally could not stop thinking of this, so I had to just do it. Enjoy!

Warnings: fluffy, such a crack idea, ow! minor heartache, comfort fic, spoilers for: When Harry Met Sally, The Proposal, and La La Land.

Mentions: Shikamaru, Kiba, and Sasuke

Shikamaru: When Harry Met Sally (f!reader)

Alright, listen up everyone. There are two things in life of which I am absolutely certain:

1. Shikamaru is a sweetheart.

2. He knows how to drive you FUCKING INSANE.

Like we’re talking so angry you throw things, kick and scream, and slam doors INSANE... Until, you get to know him.

Once that man lets you into his heart, you become his life. Suddenly, you’re all he can think about. Sometimes, he even forgets that he wants to smoke - because he is too busy thinking about what it would be like to kiss you, to hold you, to finally let someone get close to him.

There’s just one, tiny problem...

You are his best. fucking. friend.

I mean more than even Choji type of best friend. Yeah, you’re a girl. But so what? Shikamaru can tell you anything. He can get your advice on things. And he’d never admit it, but he sort of likes having a woman’s perspective on stuff (especially when it’s a woman who he respects).

You used to loathe him. For ten years, you hated him. Thought he was a misogynistic asshole who didn’t have any respect for women. But once you got to know him, that was when you discovered how much of a sweetheart he was. How charming he could be. How kind and caring he could be. You told him everything and he became your one constant in life.

And then, after two years of friendship, it just sort of... happened. One minute, he’s comforting you about your ex and the next he’s in-between your thighs, grinning up at you like the devil himself, whispering about how long he’s waited for this.

You never thought that Shikamaru would ignore you after that night - after the long nights of staying up on the phone together watching your favorite movie, after telling him your secrets and listening to his, after longing stares across the room while you each talked to your individual friends - but he did, he ignored you. For months. And it fucking hurt.

After weeks of trying to call you, to explain himself to you, to scream at you about why this was so hard for him... he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to tell you.

He ran to the New Years Eve party like a madman and went straight to you. He yelled at you, in his oddly soothing and so-very-Shikamaru yell that wasn’t actually loud at all.

“I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”

Kiba: The Proposal (f!reader)

Alright... so this was a weird day. First, he’s running super late and getting berated by his smoking hot boss. Then, not even three hours into his shift, he’s marrying her.

Look, he doesn’t like this either but a man’s gotta eat! If his boss gets deported, then Kiba’s out of a job and that is just not an option right now. So, that’s why he agreed to it and is now sitting with the woman who has made his life nothing but a living hell on an incredibly long flight back to his parent’s house.

You assure Kiba that this is only temporary, that you can file for a divorce after a year or two. In the meantime, he gets a huge promotion and gets the opportunity to open his own vet clinic after the divorce. It’s a win-win, really. He’d be an idiot not to do it... right?

***

He’s supposed to hate you, so why does this feel so shitty? After everything you’d admitted to him that weekend, after the kiss that caused sparks to ignite in his stomach and left him speechless, after telling him about your past, after going through with the whole thing, all the way up to the alter... Why are you confessing? Why here?

“I’m sorry to everyone, but...” You look at Kiba with tears in your eyes. “Kiba, I am especially sorry to you. You’re a good man.”

And then you ran away!

Kiba takes the next flight back to the office and barges through the doors right as you’re packing up your things to leave. You stare at him in complete bewilderment.

His chestnut hair is clinging to his sweaty forehead, his strong hands balled into fists on either side of his hips as he strides up to you. His chest is heaving and his eyes are wild.

“Kiba, why are you panting?”

“Because I’ve been running. I need to talk to you.”

“Yeah,” You say. “Well, I don’t have time to talk. I need to catch a 3:00 out of Japan.”

“STOP. TALKING.” Kiba shouted, finally approaching you. He stood just a few feet away. “Just listen to me.”

“Three days ago, I loathed you. I used to dream about you getting hit by a cab... or poisoned.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“I told you to stop talking. Then we had our little adventure together and things started to change. Things changed when we kissed, when you cried into my chest and told me about your past. They changed even when you checked me out when you saw me naked. When I realized I sort of liked it.” He grinned.

“Well, I didn’t see anything...”

“Yeah, you did. But I didn’t realize any of this until I was standing alone in a barn. Wifeless. Now, you can imagine my surprise when it suddenly dawned on me that the woman I love is about to be kicked out of the country. So,”

Kiba gets on one knee and says you name slowly, looking up at you with his mischievous eyes.

“Marry me, because I’d like to date you.”

Sasuke: La La Land (gn!reader)

“So, you agree?” He asked, striding over towards the bench.

“That’s right,” You replied.

“What a waste of a lovely night.”

The two of you spoke in unison, like you’d rehearsed this. As the sunset faded behind you and the town lit up beneath you like stars, you sat together and let the tension seep into your souls.

Sasuke held something over you; it was something dangerous and alluring, a string that connected you together. The closer you got to him, the more taut the string became.

He took you all around town. You fell in love despite yourself. Your careers were both demanding, pulling the two of you in opposite directions, but you stayed together as long as possible.

You cried into his shoulders, he gave himself to you fully in ways he had never done with anyone else; the time you spent together was haunting and beautiful and real, but in the end, the timing was wrong.

“Please,” Sasuke was outside of your apartment as you brought the bags to your car. He said your name like a sacred hymn, repeating it gently. “I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you.”

“You’re sorry...” You repeated, tears welling in your eyes. “You’re sorry.” You scoffed, letting your arms fall to your side as you leaned against your car.

He knew this show was important to you; he knew it was critical to your career that it be a success. He knew you wanted your boyfriend there: for support, for comradery, for a lifeline that only he could give... and he missed it.

He missed it for his own career gain, and that was what hurt the most. That he chose himself over you; that he chose his career over yours. He would never see you as equal. And this proved it.

“I’m sorry,” He agreed, stepping closer to you. “Let me make it up to you.”

“It’s over.” You were surprised at how naturally the worlds tumbled out of you, how easy it was to say. You felt tension lift from your shoulders as the air in your head cleared for the first time in months. “It’s over.”

Now, ten years later, you walk into a tiny club on a random date night with your husband. The children have a babysitter, and you two can just enjoy the evening together like you did years ago.

Sasuke sits at the piano, the spotlight illuminating his moonlight skin, as he plays the love song he wrote for you all those years ago. Memories flood over you, transporting you into a fairytale of “what if’s” and “if only’s” as he plays the familiar melody.

The world spins around you like a top when the song finally ends. Applause from the audience and your husband suck you back into reality, but your eyes are locked on Sasuke. He hasn’t seen you yet.

“Do you want to stay for another?” Your husband leans over, puts his hand on yours. It feels cold, your body is hot; pain in your veins, ringing in your ears.

“No,” You murmur. “We should go.”

You turn around before you leave the club, your eyes connecting onto Sasuke’s familiar dark gaze. You stare at each other for awhile. His face slowly lights up and his lips ghost upwards as your eyes smile at him.

He looks content and he gives you a small nod. The look you share says more than words ever could. I loved you then. I love you still. I’ll love you forever.

You feel hot tears well in your eyes as you give him a sad smile. Your eyes stay locked onto each other as his face falters and falls. The final look between you translates to: maybe in another life, my love.

Sasuke lets his gaze linger on you as you turn away from him. Maybe for the last time, maybe not. He smiles as he counts the band down for the next number, reflecting on his stroke of serendipity, as he starts playing his last song of the night.

The first note of the song hits your ears as you glance up to your husband at the top of the stairs. His lovely mouth is formed into his signature grin, his hand extended towards you. You smile as you take his hand in yours, not looking back.

#azurelyy writes #idk i doubt this makes sense #shikamaru x reader #kiba x reader #sasuke x reader #shikamaru x you #kiba x you #sasuke x you

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hana-akari · 3 months

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Sasuke rapped his knuckles on Sakura's door, waiting for her to answer. He wasn't the type to do this. In fact, he has never done this for along as he can remember. In spirit of the occasion, he figured this would be the best time of any to repay the kindness Sakura extended to him on Christmas. It may not have been sewn with the same amount of time, thoughtfulness, nor love as she did with her gift, but he wasn't gifted the time.

Whenever she would open the door, the Uchiha presented forward a black leather-bound painters book ( the pages swelling in the center from shrinkage, buckling the strap keeping it shut ) as well as a small box of assorted confectionaries. He didn't know what she liked, so that was a cliché pick.

"Happy Valentine's," he says," it's not food I promised before, but assume this is more timeless than that."

The book itself were various paintings, in acrylic and watercolor, Sasuke had made of religious sculptures, vast decorated buildings, and forest outlets of coloring Autumn trees from his recent trip.

Sakura actually had planned to go visit Sasuke that day. She knew it was a silly holiday but it was their first Valentine's day together! Ever since New Years they had been dating. That night was so unforgettable. She was finally able to let out the feelings that she was holding back for so long, and Sasuke was willing to give it a shot. They even kissed! Something she never imagined would ever happen. She knew Sasuke was still unsure of things and his own feelings. Which is why they were taking things slow. Though sometimes Sakura worried she went a little overboard with affection. But Sakura never pushed her away when she hugged or kissed him. Or even when she curled up against him while they were relaxing together.

One of her worries was he was just humoring her and secretly hated her touch but she had to remind herself that Sasuke was a blunt person. If he really didn’t like something, he would say so.

The knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts. Sakura was just finishing the last touches on a heart shaped cake she made for them. Wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world but she tried.

Moving away from the cake, she quickly made her way over to the door and opened it, surprised to see Sasuke standing there. Her plans were to surprise him but it turned out he surprised her. Before she could say anything, gifts were presented to her. Her cheeks blushed at the thoughtfulness of it. She was surprised he even remembered the holiday.

Carefully, she opened the book to look through the many paintings that were in it. They were all so beautiful. She didn’t know Sasuke was such an artist, “Oh Sasuke… I love it! Thank you!” Carefully closing the book she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, with a bright smile on her face,

“Come in! Come in! I have something for you too! I-i was going to surprise you at home but you beat me to it.” Sakura blushed again as she tugged him inside by his arm, shutting the door behind him. The house had a sweet scent to it from Sakura baking all morning. Her home was a lot more decorated than his. With different pictures on the walls, a comfortable living room with a couch, coffee table, and a tv. Behind the tv hung a massive ax that no normal person could possibly lift and carry besides her. It had the Haruno crest painted on the blade, and a dragon carved into the handle. In fact, there was a lot of dragon things in her house,

“I baked a cake for us, and planned to make dinner for the two of us. I… I might have gone a little overboard with your gift but this is our first Valentine's day together! I wanted it to be something nice.”

In fact, it was the first time ever she had a valentine to celebrate with. Not that she never had offers but no one caught her heart like Sasuke did.

“Wait here and let me get it. I also want to place your gift somewhere safe that I can look at whenever I want.”

She did walk over and place the candies he got her on the table before she trotted off to her room. Sakura’s home was small. It was just her living in it. There was a door next to the table holding the tv up that must have been the door to her room. To the right of that door, not too far away was another door that must have been the bathroom.

Sakura wasn’t gone long, she didn’t want to keep him waiting. She wished there was some way she could hold the gift behind her back to surprise him but it would look rather goofy trying to hide a whole sword behind her. There was a neatly tied red bow around the sheath,

“Tada!” Sakura grinned, presenting the sword, “While I was staying at your house, I noticed the sword you always carry around was pretty beat up and old. I know you’ve been using it for years. So… I got this one made for you! I had it made so you can easily pull it even with your weak arm! Tenten made the sword, but I painted on the details. I… I hope you like it. I figured even if you don’t use it, it would still look pretty as a decorative piece.”

The sheath and handle were all carved out of dark wood. Smoothly polished. The sheath had the Uchiha crest painted near the top of it, and the outlines of white flowers over the whole thing. Sakura wanted it to look both elegant and powerful. How she saw Sasuke. He was as beautiful as he was dangerous. Though he never paid much attention to his own looks. But to her, he was the most beautiful man in the world. In both spirit and looks,

“I suppose it’s a little strange to give a loved one a weapon for Valentine’s day but you like useful things, and this would be extra useful if we go out traveling like we talked about!”

#blooming lights: ic

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fighting-and-drawing · 1 year

Text

Heart of the Warrior Chapter 2: Inoshishi

Fandom: Cybird Ikemen Sengoku

Previous Chapter|Next Chapter

CW: Blood, cursing

Yukimura Sanada x Male!OC

Thai tightened the strap on his handbag, the tired man now dressed in a dull red kimono and a grey hakama. He fixed his collar before running his hand through his dark brown hair. His dark hazelnut eyes scanned his surroundings as he walked with slightly shaky knees through camp. He tried avoiding any and all eye contact with the dozens of samurai and ashigaru running around him.

It had been a few days since he got here, and now the word was it was time to head back to Echigo. Luckily, with the aid of his situational friend, Sasuke Sarutobi, his wounds were quickly bandaged and healed before Thai slept for two days. Now awake, he quickly headed towards where Sasuke asked him to meet, a large rectangular formation of curtains held up by poles resembling the walls of a building, a four-diamond emblem forming a narrow diamond on each curtain.

Thai stopped himself before approaching the guards right outside, turning around to make sure he looked presentable. From the size of the formation of the curtains, he could tell it wasn't just Sasuke he was going to meet with. Again, he hesitated, taking in a deep breath. His gut welled up inside of him, yet he urged his feet to turn him around and move him toward the guards. Quickly remembering he was dealing with actual samurai, he bowed to the guards, who opened one of the curtains to let him inside. Thai muttered an "arigatou" before stepping inside.

Immediately he recognized three people inside: the samurai he saved, Yukimura Sanada, his situational friend, Sasuke Sarutobi, and the gigante, Lord Shingen. From what Sasuke told him, apparently, Shingen Takeda was a samurai daimyo who was supposed to have died long before but was saved when Sasuke came to the Sengoku. From his stern, yet admittedly handsome look, Thai already presumed that Shingen was someone who commanded respect from his men and intimidation from his enemies. The large sword beside him that was nearly as tall as Thai further painted Shingen as someone to not anger.

Other than those three, there were a few guards stationed around the curtain walls, a few samurai clad in red armor behind both Yukimura and Shingen. Both Yukimura and Shingen, as well as Sasuke, looked over a table set up in the center of the makeshift room that held a large map. From the collective looks on their faces, Thai could tell that they weren't planning more than just falling back to Echigo.

Sasuke looked up, seeing Thai reluctantly approaching the three. He didn't smile, his stoic expression like a robot, but still said, "Thai-san. I'm glad to see you're doing well." All eyes turned to Thai, making him nearly stumble mid-step.

"Uh...yeah. So far, so good," Thai tiredly said. "Er, I think I came at a bad time, I'll come back."

"No worries," Sasuke said, approaching Thai. "We were just ending our discussion."

As Sasuke said the prior statement, the samurai behind Yukimura and Shingen started to break down the camp, several others aiding them. Thai scratched the back of his head, leaning in towards Sasuke. "So," Thai whispered. "What's the plan here?"

Sasuke nodded. "I introduced you as a foreigner who was accepted from the 'village I came from.' When I left, you decided to come to look for me."

Thai stood back up straight. "A...foreigner....who lives in a made-up village where you belonged to...sounds a little too on-the-nose. Has that ever happened before?"

"There are dealings with Portuguese Nanban traders, so anything may be possible," Sasuke explained. "But, considering your lack of Japanese, it was the best I could think of. I apologize."

"Nah," Thai waved off. "I-it's fine. I certainly ain't making things easy for you."

"Oi, Sasuke-kun," Yukimura called out, walking towards him. The two started to engage in conversation, Thai once again left out. He took a slight step back, waiting for someone to say something to him. Hopefully, if it was Yukimura, he would say something that Thai would understand, or Sasuke would jump in and translate. Finally, Yuki looked at Thai. "Kyō wa genkidesu,"Yukimura said.

"He said 'You look well,'"Sasuke translated.

"Y-yeah, I got that," Thai cheekily smirked. "I ain't that lost."

"Anata ga kegawosurudarou to watashi wa kakushin shite ita. Anata wa inoshishi no yō ni sorera subete o tatakatta," Yukimura continued to say, Thai's agape mouth and raising eyebrow evidence that he didn't understand.

"Um, he said that he was convinced you would have gotten hurt. You fought like...wild?" Sasuke said, the tone of his voice shifting upon saying the last word.

"Was that last part a question?" Thai asked suspiciously to Sasuke's last statement.

"Inoshishi," Yukimura said aloud. "Anata wa kare ni aubekidatta, Sasuke-kun. Kare wa kurutta inoshishi no yō ni jūden shite tatakatte ita."

Sasuke stayed silent, Thai chewing his lip. "Okay, so, I keep hearing him say, 'Inoshishi,'" Thai said to Sasuke. "What's that mean?"

Through Sasuke's visibly stoic expression, Thai could still sense he didn't want to say anything, yet, he explained, "It means 'wild boar.' He says you're like a wild boar."

"This man just called me a 'wild boar?'" Thai scoffed, shaking his head. However, he gave a self-nod of validity. "I guess that's one way of puttin' it. Don't really know how to respond to something like that, but I'll let it slide...I guess."

"Yori ōku no kunren to kiritsu de, inoshishide wanaku senshi no yō ni yori tatakau koto ga dekimasu,"Yukimura said. "Anata no shimei wa Sasuke o mitsukeru kotodeshita yo ne? Sate, kare wa watashitachi no tame ni hataraite irunode, onaji koto o shite mimasen ka?"

Even Thai knew from a few words and phrases alone that this was the hard sell. Sasuke's expression confirmed this. "Thai, he's saying that with more training, you can become a better warrior, but really he's asking for you to work for Lord Shingen."

"I figured....like you are?" Thai asked.

"Technically, I am a part of Lord Kenshin's Nokizaru," Sasuke said. "Probably, since your alias is that of a Nanban who was from the same village I was, this is Lord Shingen's attempt to hire someone worthy to train as one of his own ninja."

"And, Yukimura...sama, thinks 'I'm worthy,'" Thai asked, tapping his own sternum lightly with his fingers. "I...I thought I was supposed to, like, lay low in like a town or something?"

"That may have been the case, but since he saw you fight off seven samurai while essentially unarmed, he thinks you'll become a great warrior under his banner," Sasuke said.

"Great..."

Thai chewed the bottom of his lip, putting his hands on his hip as he looked around. As a Martial Artist himself, he was accustomed to being beaten up, fighting, and walking out of a street corner or ring with black eyes and bloodied noses. However, this was actual war and sabotage he was being coerced to accept. In war, there was no "tap out"—only death or severe dismemberment. During that fateful night, Thai was on nothing more than pure adrenaline and instinct going into that fight, but he didn't know that that would be the decision-maker for the person he saved.

"Dammit, I wish I was back in my 9-8," Thai muttered under his breath. Sasuke could tell Thai was visibly shaken, the latter pondering hard on what to say next. However, it was Yukimura who stepped over and placed a hand on Thai's shoulder.

Thai's eyes shot up to meet Yukimura's, the samurai smiling. "Watashi wa anata no nōryoku o shinjite imasu. Buki nashide wa dare mo sono yōna tatakai o suru koto wa dekimasen."

Thai gazed at Yukimura, feeling the warmth of his hand on his shoulder. He could barely look at him in the eyes, something about his soft smile easing the still-bewildered mandingueiro. He understood part of what he said, mainly about 'no one fighting like that unarmed.'

"He has faith in your abilities," Sasuke said.

"He does, huh?" Thai lightly smiled. "....okay." Thai forced himself to look Yukimura in the eyes, thinking it was either intimidation or humility that kept him from making eye contact. Knowing from what little he knew about samurai, he figured that this was a big deal for Thai to be suddenly asked to join a samurai clan. As much as he was scared, he figured it would be better to accept the offer, rather than embarrass himself any further. "Anou....," Thai said to Yukimura, trying to formulate the words in his head. "Boku wa...anata no tame ni hatarakimasuga...(anou)....aru jōken no shita de."

Yukimura's eyebrow raised, his hand leaving Thai's shoulder. Sasuke was also interested in hearing Thai's conditions for working for Yukimura, seeing as how he thought he would have to convince Thai more to become a warrior under Shingen. Thai pointed at Sasuke. "Boku wa kare ni nihongo no tetsudai o shite hoshī," Thai said to Yukimura. "Dōzo yoroshi ko."

Yukimura scoffed. "Mochiron."

"Great," Thai said. Yukimura excused himself, going over to Shingen as Thai and Sasuke moved closer to each other. "Did that sound...right?" Thai asked Sasuke, the latter nodding.

"I understood, albeit you were maybe a little too formal, but that's good," Sasuke said. "I didn't think you would accept the offer so easily. You looked ready to run."

Thai chuckled under his breath. "Well...I figured if you can do it, then why can't I? What did you train before all this?"

"Oh, I guess my only martial arts experience comes from trying to imitate moves I had seen on tv," Sasuke said. "It wasn't only until two years ago I started to train."

Thai nodded. "Even better! And, you look all right, so maybe I can leave this time unscathed. Hopefully..."

Sasuke started to lead Thai outside of the small curtained room, the guards opening the curtain flaps for them. "May I ask what you have trained in?"Sasuke asked. "Obviously you must have trained heavily in military-style arts if you could take out seven armed samurai."

Thai scoffed. "Uh...well actually I was more of a...rabble-rouser, I guess. Sou Malandro," he snickered as the two headed towards a tent. "Mainly I trained in Capoeira, but other times I trained in Eskrima and Panantukan. When I was young, I got into so many fistfights out of nothing but a few insults, so I kept training so no one would fuck with me."

"Interesting," Sasuke noted. "How long?"

"Sixteen years. But, when I moved to Japan, I didn't have time for any of that," Thai said. "I guess it felt a little validating knowing I could still put up a fight."

"Then, I could see how Yuki believes that you can become a great warrior, although, I have to warn you that what you will be facing is far more different than what you probably faced," Sasuke explained.

"I could tell. Can't just go 'Lateef Crowder' on 'em all," Thai said. "God....what did I just accept?"

"Don't worry," Sasuke said. "Most ninja operations are strictly no-contact. Fighting should be the last thing one would have to do."

"If only..."Thai muttered. "....I won't have to kill anyone, right?"

"I avoid it," Sasuke explained. "Much to the disappointment of—"

"SASUKE-SAN!!!"

A booming voice froze the camp, Sasuke's eyes widening as a gasp escaped his throat. The two turned around, seeing a blonde-haired man with heterochromatic eyes donned in armor with light blue, gold, white and black accents, white fur draped over his left shoulder over a blue garment. In his hand was a razor-sharp katana that shone in the sunlight, a murderous gleam in his eye. A sense of dread filled the two as they just stared as the man kept approaching them.

"Oh no...."Sasuke said. "(Akuma ni tsuite hanasu...)"

"W-w-who the hell is that?"Thai frantically coughed.

"Sasuke-san..." the mystery man said as he approached them with deft steps. "Shine...."

Sasuke pushed Thai away, the first thing Thai seeing as he fell was the blade of the katana where he and Sasuke were just at. Ignoring the felled Thai, the man quickly lunged at Sasuke with his katana, Sasuke avoiding every swipe and slash with both the grace of a dancer and the franticness of a crazed lunatic.

Thai jumped up to his feet, his hands shooting up to the side of his scalp. "Ah crap! He's gonna kill 'im!" his mind screamed at him.

Thai, in order to save his only chance at surviving the Sengoku, quickly ran towards the two as the man chased Sasuke around the camp. This man was faster with his sword than the men he had fought earlier, Thai wondering "what in the hell he was thinking running at the crazed swordsman?"

Nearly out of breath, he finally caught up with them, just as the swordsman cornered Sasuke against a few wooden shields, the ninja splayed against them. Thai bolted towards the swordsman, throwing caution to the wind. He quickly shot his foot towards the back of the swordsman's knee, kicking his knee in and directing the swordsman's murderous attention back towards Thai. Thai hopped back, barely evading a quick slash to his neck before spinning around to his right, his heel barely missing the side of the swordsman's head. Wasting no time as his heel landed on the ground, he quickly rolled away, ducking under another slash before hopping into a quick cartwheel and evading two more cuts.

As Thai got up, he pivoted to his left, evading the tip of the sword as the swordsman thrust it at his head. Thai ducked, swinging his left leg around that of the swordsman, using his other leg to quickly take down the swordsman with a scissor-kick tesoura. However, as they fell, the swordsman slashed at Thai again, Thai ducking under it in a low bridge before rolling away again, the swordsman gracefully getting back onto his feet.

Thai readied himself again as the swordsman raised his katana above his head, getting into a traditional stance as Thai tried maneuvering around him. The two were about to fight until they both heard Shingen calling out.

"Kenshin-sama!" Shingen called out. "Yamete!" Behind him were both Yukimura and another white-haired samurai Thai hadn't seen before.

The swordsman growled, lowering his sword. Thai, still keeping his guard, slowly lowered his hands, keeping his left hand plastered on his chest. Both Sasuke and Yukimura ran toward Thai, Thai catching his breath.

"Thai-san! Daijōbudesu ka?"Yukimura asked. "Uh..." Thai mumbled, "Da-Daijōbu. Arigatou." Thai turned to Sasuke. "What just happened?" Thai asked Sasuke.

The three looked towards the other three, who were seemingly arguing. "That," Sasuke said. "Is my current Master, Lord Kenshin."

"Your Lord?" Thai asked. "Are you sure? 'Cuz he just tried to murder you."

Sasuke sighed. "I call it a... 'reflex test.'"

"Sono otoko wa riyū mo naku tatakau no ga sukida,"Yukimura angrily said. "Kare ni kiwotsukero, Thai-san."

"Um...he said that 'Lord Kenshin likes to personally see if the samurai around him are skilled enough to react quickly to ambushes,'" Sasuke said. "He says to 'watch out for him.'"

Thai nodded. "I think he said 'he just likes to fight for no reason,'" Thai said.

"Yeah...that, too."

#ikemen sengoku #ikesen fanfic #fanfic #ikesen shingen #ikesen yukimura #ikesen kenshin #ikesen sasuke #ikesen #Heart of the Warrior

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