#wants to do and then. well. minato is like. he's ready to pass on (even if he's scared) and im like. OH MY GOD THIS TRIO GETS ME MESSED UP
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"Out of the Shadows"
Part 4
Guys, this might be the last one, if not then part 5 definitely wil be so, stick around for the next one :D
Tw: violence, injuries and (harsh?) transphobia. Not for the easily upset
Aizawa and Class 1a x ftm!bullied!reader
Before we start, I just wanted to say thank you all for the likes and follows, it may not seem like much but I really appreciate it. Thank you for supporting my work
And with that being said, let's do this
"I think you'll want to see this" It was strange for Katsuki to be quiet so something serious must of happened Aizawa thought so he walked outside and closed the door behind him.
He widened his eyes in shock.
"What...What happened?" He said, looking at your limping form on Izuku's shoulder.
"We're not sure. According to the nerd (Deku) one of Minato's friends, Kyou, called for him and me to go to the locker rooms and we found Y/n lying on the floor, nearly unconscious" Bakugo explained.
"It wasn't even that bad, it was just a little miscommunication that led into a fight. Im literally fine.-" You said but Bakugo shouted
"Well what the hell was all your lunch, stationary and other stuff doing all over the ground huh!!"
"Alright Bakugo and Midoriya, thank you. I would like to talk to him alone. Midoriya could you please hand out the worksheets to everyone? Do what you want just dont cause much trouble. Y/n can you walk?" Aizawa concluded.
"Yes, but I think my foot is injured" You said while Bakugo and Midoriya walked back into class, all your classmates asking them questions before they walked filly into the class.
"Alright, let's go to recovery girls office, she'll heal you." He said as he walked by your slightly limping figure.
Once you guys got to recovery girls office you sat down at one of the beds.
"Alright, please tell me what's going on. I need no lies at this moment forward" He said seriously, looking at your nervous eyes, waiting for some answers.
You sighed shakily but finally gave him the truth
"Well, these kids have been bullying me, since the day I saw them. They've been picking on me and hurting me. I know I've been keeping this a secret. I'm sorry" You say, tears starting to well in your eyes.
"It's ok, let it out I'm here" he said as he stands up to hug you, you grip onto his hero costume like its the last thing on earth and sob in his shirt until you calm down, sniffling and red-eyed.
"It's alright, I've got you. Recovery Girl will heal your foot, get some rest kid. You need it" He said after you calmed down,
"Y/n, we will get these kids expelled. For you. For all the victims"
You nodded and climed into one of the beds, you couldn't resist the cozy comfort of the bed and quickly fell asleep, in a matter of minutes.
You woke up and it was evening, you could see it through the big class windows which were shining through a yellowish orange glow inside.
"Good evening dear, your teacher left a note for you. Its just by your side" recovery Girl said as she noticed your were awake.
Your foot had been healed though you felt very tired, she handed you the note that read
"Hey kid, come to the dorms as soon as you can. Your classmates have something for you"
You sighed and got ready to leave, your bag and your belongings beside the bed you were in. You said your goodbyes to recovery girl and left the room, wondering hat your friends and classmates had done for you.
You were so drifted out of your thoughts that you never noticed Kyou who accidentally pushed passed you. "Sorry dud......" when you saw who it was you froze.
"I'm not gonna do anything to you, I need to go" he said rushing away in a hurry, you had so many questions for him that were unexplained but he just ran off so you saved it for the next time you saw him.
You were so lost in your thoughts, again that you didn't realise you ran into someone else, two people. When you tried to apologise, the only word your mind could conjure up was
"shit"
Minato and Haruki.
As soon as they saw it was you, Minato slammed you right into the wall. You really couldn't catch a break..
"What the fuck did I tell you, you fucking freak" Minato said as he opened the door to an empty classroom and threw you in there.
"You stand guard and get Riku to come with weapons. Im finishing this now" He said, eyes glinting with rage and malice, his true intent was to get rid of you.
Forever.
"Please man, I haven't done anything to you."
"Your existence alone is enough reason to make your life miserable." Minato said and Haruki added on from the side
"Pathetic. Trying to fit in won't change what you really are. A girl, A female. A woman"
Your heart shattered into a million broken pieces as the reality of what they said sank in. It was true, that's all you were. After years and years of trying to fit on and be a real man, just shattered over a few words.
He threw you at a table and desk and you slammed right into it, your body aching with pain. He lifted you up and slammed you back down on the ground, the nerves in your back shooting all the way to your brain.
He then towered over you.
You felt the cracking of bones and the gush of blood as the punches rained down upon you, your face becoming a grotesque battlefield of pain and blood.
The ringing in your ears just wouldn't stop.
Just then Riku, Asahi and Kyou walked in.
Riku's eyes glinted with mischief as he reached into his duffel bag and pulled out a collection of bats, one for each person. With a sly grin at you, he started handing them out, creating an unwatchable atmosphere in the room.
"I want him gone"
Ahhhh, cliff hanger. This is the 4th part.
I kind of got lazy with this one considering it's 3:18 in the morning so forgive me if any silly mistakes were made.
The final part is coming tomorrow, or today so stick around for that
And remember:
Always drink water and eat something, You deserve it :DD
#mha#my hero academia#sfw#aizawa sensei#aizawa shouta#aizawa x reader#bnha#bnha aizawa#bnha x male reader#bnha x reader#my hero acedamia#boko no hero academia#boku no hero academia#iida tenya#tenya lida#izuku midoriya#midoriya izuku#mha x male reader#mha shouta#shouta aizawa x reader#bnha shouta aizawa#shouta aizawa#oneshot#featuring#bnha izuku#mha tenya#comfort#angst#angst with a happy ending#mha x y/n
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Since I was having a bad day, this is completely self indulgent LOL
The li's comforting you while you're crying! I know I've done a post similar to this, but this one will be a little different.
Minato: The moment Minato sees you crying, he's panicking! He's so so worried about you. He wants to be there for you but also give you space if you need it, but he'll always be there to listen to you vent. If you decide to tell him what's wrong he'll listen, sometimes he'll ask questions about the situation to get a clear story. He'll feel a little guilty he couldn't stop whatever made you sad, but he knows now isn't the time for that, he can be there for you now, and he will.
Haruto: He'll confront you about it. He wants you to rely on him, to be open with him. He can tell you're upset, but not at him, so he'll wrap his arms around you and stroke your hair, trying to envelop you in his warmth, anything to make you feel less alone and comforted. He's really pissed when he finds out that someone upset you, but he needs to be here for you now. He won't leave your side, even after you fall asleep and he wants to get rid of the problem, he still sticks by your side because of what ifs. What if you wake up from a nightmare again? What if He's the only reason you were able to fall asleep and you wake up as soon as he leaves? He can get rid of the problem another day.
Jun: Jun instantly has you in her arms the second she sees tears fall down your face. She suggests going out to have some fun, something to take your mind off of what's upsetting you. She's knows it's not really useful and that those sad feeling will come back, but at least for an hour, she wants you to be happy, she wants to see that smile on your face. He understands 100% if you just want to spend the day inside, she's had days like that too. It may take her a while to realize that you just need to cry or talk about your feelings, she's so used to pushing her own down that she forgets other ways to deal with sadness. She'll be there to listen to you though, no interruptions. She'll help you in any way she can, just tell her what she needs to do.
Hoshi: Much like Minato, he's panicking. He's not really good at handling emotions. Still he wants to be there for you. A big majority of his help is just sitting there awkwardly, rubbing your shoulder stiffly. They'll wait until you're ready to talk. He listens and when you're done talking he starts trash talking the person who upset you, but like in a goofy wayplease cut him some slack, he's trying to help you with humor If you join in, he'll laugh and you two will continue talking shit for HOURS. Deep down Hoshi is pissed at the person for upsetting you and the more he hears about what happened and your side, the more pissed he gets, he won't act out on his anger though.
Habiki: He kinda freezes when he sees you crying, he hasn't seen you cry much and isn't really sure what to do when he does see you cry. He awkwardly places a hand on your shoulder, almost as a test to see if you're okay with hugging, and he wants to hug you but gets embarrassed. He gently pulls your head to his chest and lets you cry. Eventually he'll find a more comfortable spot for you, either the couch or the bed. He'll let you cry until you fall asleep. When you wake up he'll ask if you want to talk about it, he just listens really well, he doesn't have much to say though.
Kage: Panics, just like how they do with everything else(I'm sorry, I love teasing Kage sm, I love him tho) They'll shakily ask you what's wrong while reaching their trembling hands out towards you. If you hug them then it's probably one of the few times where you can touch them without them passing out, he knows you need him rn and that's what's keeping his heart from literally pounding out of his chest. He's a great listener, so that's what he'll do for you! Maybe even works up the courage to gently caress your head, give your forehead a lil smooch and offer some encouraging words.
Kei: Ah yes, perfect boyfriend Kei. He already knows what happened before he saw you crying. Kei has prepared desserts for you but they can wait, right now all you need to do is be in his arms. He'll pull you to bed and let you cry in his arms, gently running his fingers through your hair while he whispers sweet nothings to you, talking about how much he adores you and all the things he would do for you. When you've calmed down he'll ask if you want to talk about what happened over dessert. He'll listen despite knowing everything, it helps him to see your point of view on things, your thoughts, the inner workings of your mind.
Yani: Yani just, wouldn't let that happen. Whatever or whoever is about to make you upset? POOF! gone! No one yells at you or makes you upset and gets away with it. Of course that in itself might make you upset, to see Yani get rid of something or someone you care about, even if they upset you. it's kind of a lose-lose situation for Yani, but honestly, if they upset you Yani was just gonna get rid of them anyways, so might as well do it before it upsets you, Yani knows you'll forgive them in the end anyways. Still, if Yani let them yell at you or have something make you upset, Yani would be there to listen to you and offer you support in words and actions. Anything you need from her, she'll provide.
Aki: Aki really REALLY hates seeing you upset! You're her best friend and lover, she fully believes you two are soulmates, platonically or romantically. She'll hold you in her arms as you cry, even when you hold her so tight she can't breathe, she doesn't pull away. Even when your snot gets all over her favorite clothes, she doesn't pull away. You need her right now, and she here for you. Much like how you have helped her, she is there to help you. She listens to you rant and vent for hours if you need to, not once does she judge you or interrupt you, sometimes if there's a pause, she'll jump in and say something, mostly agreeing with you or being like "Why haven't they done this yet??"
#💝-minevn#visual novel#yandere vn#🐠-Minato#📙-Haruto#🎀-Jun#🍽️-Hoshi#🎻-Habiki#👤-Kage#💻-Kei#💕-Yani#🐍-Aki
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I need something to free Kakashi from the statement "he's one of the worst senseis", am I one of the few people who knows what a sensei is like or I don't understand the anime? I'm tired of always having to explain the same thing to the fandom. Sometimes I feel like I'm crazy or that I'm the only one who sees that it's not like that.
sorry about this😣
This fandom seriously has a problem understanding a Sensei’s job or even seeing things with a clear look tbh.
Like i’m not going to say Kakashi’s perfect as a Sensei, he’s not
But everything he did that people hatw, the other Sensei’s did
Kakashi entered his team into the chunin exams after only a year of training? So did Asuma and Kurenai. Sakura wasn’t prepared for the chunin exams? Neither were Hinata and Choji but their Sensei’s still put them in.
He also allowed his Students to ultimate choose if they wanted to do the exams, lying about the applications so Naruto and Sasuke didn’t pressure Sakura into doing something she wasn’t ready to do. Gai did the SAME with his team, but his team decided to wait a year. Team seven did not.
Kakashi also had two of the most difficult cases in the villages so he had a lot going on. He had Sasuke who was a ticking time bomb of anger and was being chased after by Orochimaru. He had Naruto, who was a ticking time bomb of energy and needed attention because he had a sever lack of it, and Kakashi couldn’t always provide that attention because of Sasuke’s situation.
He didn’t speak perfectly to Sasuke when trying to get him to stop fighting his teammates and calm down, but he was also trying to be a Sensei a a Konoha shinobi who was being sent away on a mission asap
He didn’t train Sakura enough but tbh that’s also a writer’s issue and Sakura issue. Writers issue because Kishi just didn’t care to give her the story she should have had, Sakura’s cuz she never reached out for more training like Naruto did. Kakashi trained her where he could, recognized her talents, and talked her up to Tsunade to a point where Tsunade happily became her new master
He also didn’t ignore any of his students. While Gai was so hyper focused on Lee after his fight against Gaara that he forgot to train Neji for his chunin exam finals, Kakashi trained Sasuke while also finding a Sensei for Naruto who could help him with his weakest point (chakra control) and that teacher was only replaced cuz Jiraiya knocked him out for calling him out on being a creep (Ebisu is a perv, but he never stepped over the line into creep territory)
Kakashi is the main Sensei we see so he gets the main brunt of crap, largely cuz it was the main character’s he was the sensei to, but his job was never to teach them
Minato didn’t pass on any of his skills to his students. From what Kakashi says he learned Rasangan on his own. If anything Minato probably told him how to learn it (which we see Kakashi say to Naruto as well) and Kakashi took off with that training on his own
Kurenai didn’t teach her students any of her jutsu’s/moves
Asuma didn’t teach his students his
Gai did admittedly try to teach Neji and Tenten his, but this is a perfect example of how a Sensei is supposed to be more of a lead. Both Kakashi and Gai had one student they taught their moves to (Lee and Sasuke) while supporting their other students in their seperate aims/goals (Naruto, Sakura, Tenten and Neji). So to shit on Kakashi for ‘not teaching his students is 1) wrong (he taught them his ‘ninja way’ aka Friends over mission which they took to heart (at least Naruto did and Sasuke did until he dove head first into darkness. He also taught Sasuke chidori, helped Naruto create his own jutsu and taught Sakura Qi release when she was a genin (it’s a jonin rank jutsu)) 2) not his job.
There’s also the fact that Kakashi is often viewed as lazy because when we see him train his students he’s hands off (laying on a bench while naruto trains, teaching the kids chakra control for tree climbing and then allowing them to practice) but that’s what a sensei is supposed to do. He shouldn’t be holding their hands every step of the way.
He’s also effective. Naruto created a whole new jutsu in DAYS because Kakashi taught him how to use his shadow clones to his advantage in a way no one else could. Sasuke improved his speed to such extreams he was on par with Lee without his weights, and Gai recognized that as being the result of Kakashi’s training. He also learned chidori in that same month, which is a difficult jutsu
Kakashi was actually a really good Sensei, he just had the world stacked against him in keeping his team together, and because we see more of his mistakes people make him seem worse than he actually is rather than… just recognizing his faults and success’. Like i’m sorry to anyone who thinks another Sensei could have done better, they would not have
Gai couldn’t have stopped Sasuke from leaving the village
Yamato would be equally hands off because of how he was raised/trained
Asuma is more likely to highlight their faults than their success’ (probably a result of being the hokage’s son and having a shit ton of expectations placed on his shoulders growing up)
Minato wouldn’t have taught them anything
Jiraiya was EVEN MORE HANDS OFF AND SPENT HIS STUDENTS MONEY ON WOMEN AND BOOSE WHILE ALSO TELLING HIS STUDENT TO STAY IN HIS SEXY NO JUTSU FORM
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The Shinobi Rules
Silirt
Chapter 12: Exam Cram
Chapter Text
After their first Genin mission, the next year was an absolute snooze-fest. There was even one where he had to read bedtime stories to a bunch of kids, and that was after they had been led to believe that they would be protecting the kids from an active threat, but that job fell to some older Chunin. The three Genin there were only around to convince the kids at the orphanage that everything was going to be all right, which was harder than it sounded because they could not explain what exactly was being handled. It had never been explained to them why someone was targeting the orphanage.
“How have you been?” he asked, taking the opportunity to catch up with Rin. Oddly enough, Kakashi was doing a good job of entertaining the kids, and she was staring off into space. He had a thought that she was probably making them even more worried, if they were paying attention.
“It hasn’t been easy,” she said. That much he already knew. After her uncle was arrested, their family’s reputation was ruined. They lost their representation on the council of elders, because he was their only elder, and people gave her father a hard time at his job. It did not help that her mother contracted an illness shortly after she was born.
What he had not expected was that the worst thing for her was that it was spreading to the rest of the team. The White Fang was already a blight on his family, and the Uchiha clan was well known for keeping to itself, even if Obito’s immediate family had not really done anything as far as he knew. More and more, the name ‘the Delinquent Cell’ was catching on, and it was even hurting Minato.
“People are just so unfair,” she said after a while. “We don’t know whether not my uncle even did anything, and he’s my uncle- my daddy can’t do anything about what he does.” She looked away. “What am I saying? You must have been dealing with this your whole life.”
“Most of what the Uchiha get is self-inflicted,” he said. “The clan doesn’t act like it’s fully part of Konoha. Everyone knows that the patriarchs have agreed to help defend the town and follow its laws. No one pretends like we’re supposed to be just like anyone else.”
“Do you ever wish you could be?”
“No,” he said almost immediately.
“Is it because of the Sharingan?”
“Well, kinda,” he said after a while. “I thought about it and I kinda don’t want to be like everyone else. I’m just not. Sooner or later, my eyes will awaken. Then everyone will know that I’m not like everyone else.” A part of him had always wondered how people were supposed to treat him like he was the same if he had never been the same, and he had no answer for that. It was part of why he did not really mind the way the Uchiha were regarded. It was cold, but everyone knew where everyone stood.
“They said that we’re going to get recommended to the next Chunin exam,” Rin said as they were coming back from the mission. It had been in a far off town, but still in the fire country.
“What?” he asked, not ready to believe it. “We just started as Genin... we all practically just turned six. Even Kakashi...”
His teammate might have shrugged if she did not have her hands occupied. She had forgotten to bring some of her own survival gear for the mission and Minato gave her a hard time about it briefly. As a punishment, she had to carry Obito’s pack, even though he had not minded sharing his things with her.
“I can’t explain why they think we’re ready,” she said after a moment. “We might have to take more courses at the academy if we fail, though.”
“Is it going to be here this year?” he asked after a moment longer.
“Yeah. The other guys had a place picked out, but I think it got burned down.”
There was basically no way they were going to pass and he could not see how it was their fault at all. Even though he was excited to face new challenges, they were simply too young to become Chunin. It was completely unheard of for kids their age to even graduate the academy. At this point, he was starting to get an idea that some corners had been cut here and there.
“Were we ever handed our graduation forms?” he asked. “Aren’t we supposed to have academy graduation forms?” He could have sworn he had seen the ones that belonged to his parents.
“You know, I think you might be right. Why wouldn’t we have them?”
He thought back, oddly enough, to what Asuma had said shortly before their first mission, how he was loudly complaining that there were some missions easy enough for academy students to do themselves. It occurred to him that the Sarutobi heir might not have been the first to have that exact sentiment. He caught up to Minato.
“Hey, did we ever officially graduate?” he asked. “Are we really Genin?”
“You have the headband, don’t you?” he asked. “Don’t worry about it. You three are advanced for your age.” His expression changed after seeing that Obito’s did not. “Well, think of it this way. What if one question does not answer the other?”
He decided there was no point to trying to figure out what that meant, not when he could be preparing for the Chunin exams with his teammates. It was not slated to be for months, from what he knew, but there was no time like the present when it came to training. He had an idea.
“Hey, can we have a mission that can train us up for the Chunin exams?”
“I don’t know what the exams entail this year,” Minato said. “Most likely, they’re going to be very different from when I was a kid.”
“Well, yeah; that was a long time ago. What happened back then?”
“The first thing was a test of our academic knowledge, but it kind of didn’t work because there were people from other villages who said the questions were wrong. To be honest, I’m not sure if they were right or not, but that wasn’t the real test anyway, so it didn’t matter,” his teacher said, scowling a little. Obito was not paying much attention to his expression, though; he was lost in thought.
Of course, it was not going to be as direct as anyone thought going in. Even the bell test, which was to pass them as Genin, had not been direct; they had been misled into thinking that only two of them could pass. At one level, he liked the idea, because it made them think about what their test might be, and it had worked out well for them so far, but it was easy to see how it could work out poorly and how a good young ninja could easily be misled. He had heard that there were some people who took the exams multiple times, though, so that probably allowed people who guessed wrong to guess again at the very least.
“What’s the point if you can’t know what’s going to be the test?” he asked. “How are you supposed to study?”
“Well, it’s a true standard,” Minato said after a moment. “There’s no answer to that question.”
“Huh?”
“Think of it this way. There is a way for you to pass the ninja academy. If students weren’t passing, we would know we were doing something wrong, because the whole point is that the students eventually pass. So, basically, you can give another kid a list of instructions on how to pass the academy. The ninja ranks aren’t like that. The people in charge of the tests don’t care whether or not there are a lot of Genin or Chunin or Jonin or anything else. They’re not supposed to care. They’re supposed to uphold the standard. If one kid is good enough, they pass the one kid.”
“Weren’t we saying a while back that there weren’t enough Genin in Konoha, though?” Obito asked.
“The Hokage is concerned for our village, so his priorities are different from the international committee that determines Chunin promotion. I’m surprised you noticed, but yeah, a few years back, the way things were going, we were concerned that we might not have enough Genin, and it wasn’t just to get all the D-Rank missions done, it’s because you guys are going to come up and replace the older ninja when they’re dead.”
He kept with the strangely serene, almost indifferent attitude when he said that, even though he was kind of talking about himself. There was no objective reason he should not have accepted it, though; death was the reality for those in their line of work. Shinobi knew that death was the greatest among them, striking the young and old, sick and well, always without warning and always without trace.
“Yeah, or when they move up,” Obito said, trying to look on the bright side. He was starting to understand, though. A relative lack of Genin was a problem for the village and its leadership, not the international committee, and there were things that the village could do to try to correct the problem, like trying to put more kids through the academy, but what would certainly not fix the problem was lowering the standards.
Looking back, it was strange that it occurred to him at such an early age, as if it was meant to serve as a warning, so he could never complain he did not see it coming later. Lowering the standards would not only not make them stronger, it would probably not even make them look stronger, but rather, weaker. There were contexts in which looking weak was just as bad as being weak, if not worse.
“How was the mission?” one of the elders asked when they returned. He only ever looked at their instructor, which was fine; the boys had both accepted that adults were going to treat them like walking curses and the girl at least seemed to have stopped blaming herself. It was not as if she regretted catching her uncle and getting him arrested, not any more than the former official who had her family’s reputation ruined as a result; she just wished that the reputation-ruining system could be more reasonable.
“Do you think a lot about your family?” he asked her during a break in their training that evening. They were sparring in close quarters and though he was stronger and they had about the same chakra control she was giving it her all and they would eventually tire each other out, since he had no desire to actually score points on her.
“I do now,” she said, breathing heavily and staring up at the sky through the trees. “Do you know my older sister?”
“No. Is she a ninja?”
“No. My family is on good terms with some of the Uchiha, and they actually want to marry her to one of them.”
“Marry her?” he asked. It was not as if he had some expectation that every young person would be the sole decision maker in his or her own wedding; he had just been behind on the goings-on in the Nohara clan.
“Do you ever wonder why the academy is mostly boys?” she asked.
“Well...” It was hard for him to say, even then. “Isn’t physical energy half the battle?” he asked. “The teachers said you can’t make up for it with spiritual energy; they have to work together. “
“That’s part of it,” she said. He would later learn that it was the main reason that kunoichi were really only commonly compared to each other, not to the boys. “I don’t know everything about it. My parents say I’m too young. I just hear about it when they're talking about my older sister.”
“What kind of things do they say?”
“Well, you know how you guys kind of... keep to yourselves?” she prompted. It was the most obvious thing a shinobi had ever said. Almost all the Uchiha lived within the compound, the neighborhood where everything was distinct from the rest of Kohonhagakure. “If they ever marry someone from another clan, it’s someone who isn’t into being a ninja,” she said.
“That makes sense. I heard about that from my grandmother. She was always an Uchiha, but, you know...” It certainly explained how no kekkei genkai apart from the Sharingan ever appeared in young ninja with black hair and eyes. “So, there’s a powerful ninja who wants to marry your sister?”
“It’s not that he wants to marry her. I never even met the guy. He’s always on missions because he’s a new Jonin and it’s a good way of paying his family’s debts and earning money for the Uchiha in general.”
Though he would not realize it for years, it was because of ninja like that and their efforts that he and his grandmother were able to enjoy a comfortable life without an income. There had been a death benefit after his parents were killed on a mission, but that was about it; they had never been wealthy and there were many other Uchiha families that the community fund was supporting.
“So, he.... well, his family just wants to pass on the Sharingan,” he said after a while. “It’d be a waste if he didn’t, I guess...”
“I think he actually likes a girl from another family,” Rin said. “He has a flower design cut into his hitai-ate, so maybe her name is Hana or Sakura. His family would never allow it, though, and even if his mother and father supported him, there’s the rest of the clan. They don’t want the bloodline mixing with another bloodline, or the new Uchiha kids would... I don’t know, not think of themselves as Uchiha.”
Obito did not know all the details, but he knew that a kid had to have a mother and father before birth. He knew that a kid came out of his or her mother, and he knew that the father had to have something to do with it, or ladies would be coming out with kids all the time. It stood to reason that the physical similarities children shared with their parents were not coincidental.
“That doesn’t sound like a good situation,” he said. ”Does your family only want to do it now because of your uncle?”
“Maybe,” she said. “I don’t know everything. I think that guy who wanted to marry my sister doesn’t want anything to do with us anymore. I don’t know if she liked him.”
They would not have another conversation about that kind of thing for years. At the time, Obito had really only been thinking about how her family’s reputation was suffering, but there were so many other things he could have asked; there were so many implications. He only wished he had known it all then. That, however, was before he really had any interest in girls, so it was hard to blame himself in retrospect.
“Do you think there have ever been Chunin our age?” he asked.
“No. My parents think we don’t have a shot. It’ll just make Minato look bad for passing us.”
“But... he only passed us a year ago. What if we’re ready to be Genin, but not go on past that just yet?” he asked. He wondered what Kakashi would have said on the subject, but he was training with their teacher somewhere.
The sky was getting darker and darker.
“That would make sense,” she said. “The things people say don’t have to make sense, though. You can just say whatever you want.”
“Do you think we should go in?”
“I think we could get in one last fight,” Rin said. “What do you say?”
He rolled to his feet.
“Let’s go at it. No weapons. We don’t want to hurt each other by accident.”
“Maybe I should learn medical ninjutsu,” she said. ”Then we could go harder.”
“Maybe,” he said. He felt like she would have the aptitude for it. “The first to get knocked out loses.”
“Okay. If I knock you out, though, I’m not carrying you home.”
He could not see it, but he was sure she was smiling.
Without another word, they were at it. He dodged her spirited kicks. She was correcting for his somewhat greater height by using kicks for range and he could oppose that by using all four of his limbs as opposed to just his arms. Should he do that, though? Would she learn anything? Surely, she knew that he could beat her. Would she really be pushed more if he went all out, though? Would it push her in a way that would make her stronger in the long run?
He was only thinking about her, though. Was it good for him to only train with his arms? What if there came a time that his legs were trapped? Then again, what if there came a time that he could not use his arms and had to use his legs? Should not Rin train against someone who was not allowing her to match range? What if she had to fight a grown man who had greater range no matter what she did?
On one of their missions, they had to fight a regular man, which was supposed to be easy because they had no chakra control training, but they were still so young and small that when this one man got a hold of Kakashi, he threw the boy onto a nearby roof, which looked painful, though he did not end up badly hurt.
Obito fought harder. Punch, kick, leg sweep, elbow, punch- these sequences had been drilled into him from childhood, and he was still a child. He hit Rin, but he kept going. To stop early was to treat her as less than a shinobi. They had already said that they were going to the knockout. She kicked him in the head with what felt like the rest of her strength, and that was no small amount; he blinked himself back into lucidity as he ducked under her next blow, then caught it and knocked her out.
She looked peaceful when she was unconscious. He knew her chakra was consumed, her physical and spiritual energy was exhausted. More than anything, though, she looked like the little girl that she was. It was so strange, how few years they had lived and how much they had already experienced. On a Genin mission, they ran into a normal person, a woman who found it very strange that they were even capable of being ninja.
“I have kids who are older than you and they could never handle your missions,” she said. “How is it possible you even passed your ninja school?”
“You know about the ninja academy?” Kakashi asked.
“Well, no, I just sort of presumed that... how is it possible? You three are really five and you’re carrying weapons and sneaking around on official missions for your village?”
“I can’t explain it,” he lied. Even if he could, he was never going to tell her. He would not be surprised at all if there were bloodlines among ninja that developed more quickly than among normal people. It would have been an unnamed, commonly possessed kekkei genkai, if that was really the explanation, though, and there had never been any evidence of it.
Their mission over, and his wager with Rin won, or perhaps lost, since he had to carry her home, he found the Nohara residence in the dark. The primary bloodline owned the house and maintained the reputation, but it was nothing like the case of the Hyuuga or his own clan, and that was probably because they had no noticeable bloodline limits.
The girl’s mother met him at the door.
“Oh, thank you, Obito, you’re such a sweet boy,” she said. In the dark, with a voice that sounded just like her daughter’s, his heart skipped. “You probably want to go straight home, though.” It was true that he was exhausted, but there was something more than simple curiosity that held him there.
“Hey, uh, I just had a question. Rin never said anything about it, but... what does the Nohara family do best?” he asked. It seemed weird to ask it any other way, but it was still weird as it was.
“Oh, well, you won’t have to worry about it,” she said. “There was a Nohara fifty years ago who was a... something very special, so he must have had excellent chakra control and vast capacity for chakra, but I don’t know of anything else. We’re not like the Uchiha.”
“Well, I guessed that, but... I just didn’t know how. I didn’t know how you guys were different.”
“You don’t need to be worrying about that kind of thing yet,” Rin’s mother said. Even as she was being dismissive and sending him back home so he could go to bed, he could still tell that she was acting out of her kind, caring nature. If her daughter inherited anything, it was that. It was too dark to see, but he knew that there were worry lines on her face and dark circles under her eyes. The family had been under a lot of pressure, and he was just imposing out of his personal curiosity. Her father had even fallen asleep on the couch for some reason.
Whether that was because of marital difficulties or because he was that tired, Obito would not find out for years, but as he walked home alone, or trudged, rather, he wondered how he could even see that there was someone on the couch. After that, he wondered how the woman who met him at the door could even recognize him. Though he had seen her once or twice, and he was sure that Rin had mentioned him, it was dark and he was about the same height as Kakashi. Surely, the girl had not said anything along the lines of ‘if someone carries me home, it will be Obito’.
Though it was only one possible answer to the question, the thought that his teammate might have told stories about him raised his sprits all the way back to the compound. There was a young man walking with a young woman, and he happened to know their names were Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, and they were both Jonin of the clan. They were not so closely related that they were forbidden to marry, and from everything that he had heard, their relationship was encouraged, not that it was necessary. They only had eyes for each other, red and slowly spinning, or seeming to; perhaps the tomoe were going around their pupils.
He looked away when they kissed in the dark, the black curtains of their hair coming together to close the scene for anyone who would keep watching. It had become custom for him to look away, though he no longer shrank, he no longer regarded it as gross. Perhaps he had picked that behavior up from other kids in the first place; he never understood it.
As he opened the door to his grandmother’s home, he wished he could have seen his father kiss his mother, if only once. He felt like it would not be hard to endure the awkwardness of it if he never had to do it again.
The Shinobi Rules
Silirt
Chapter 13: Advantages
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Good day, Obito.” The voice belonged to an older Uchiha who had never spoken to him before. “I hope I’m not getting in the way of anything.” He was actually on his way out to train for the Chunin exams that would start the following day. “I just wanted to exchange a few words, if at all possible.”
No one in his clan had ever really taken an interest in him, and that was at least kind of understandable, even if he had always wished it could have been different. Who was even interested in such a little kid? Some might have even thought it was dishonorable that he was promoted to Genin so early.
“Uh... sure, sir” he said. It was strange for an elder to want to do something for him, because usually he had been the one doing nice things for his elder, but then, he did not know what exactly the old man wanted.
“My name is Dramada. I never really had the aptitude to be a ninja, but there were plenty of other things that I could do for our clan.” He was as old as some of the elders of the village, but no Uchiha had ever had an official position within Konohagakure, not after Madara. “I couldn’t help but notice that you were our only Genin.”
“Oh, well, yeah, I guess so,” he said. There were some older, and some younger, but no one was the same age in the compound. He supposed that sort of thing happened every so often. “Do you need something done?” Every so often, the clan would have missions that needed completing and rather than paying for a contract, a young ninja with glowing red eyes would take it for free, especially if there were opportunities for advancement.
“No, no, nothing like that,” the older man said. “I have, though, heard good things about your team.” That much was enough to remind him that as many cold shoulders as he got around the village, his own clan would have only been paying attention to his accomplishments. “How is Namikaze Minato as a leader?”
“I’ve never had any other leader,” he said. “I had some other teachers, before, but, well, he’s the first Jonin I really got to know.”
“I think that’s unfortunate. Even if you have nothing bad to say about him, perhaps you would awaken your Sharingan with a role model from your own clan. I’ve never heard of it happening in one so young as you, but I suppose it could. Have you ever run into Kagami?”
“No, I haven’t,” he said. “He worked under the Nidaime, right?”
“Quite the achievement, yes- relevantly, he was able to use incredible dojutsu during his years of service. He might be just the mentor you need.”
“Okay, thanks, sir. I have to be going, though!”
He ran off without a second thought, making it just in time to register for the Chunin exams with his teammates. They asked him where he had been and he gave them a short explanation, not that he expected it would do him any good. At their current reputation, the three of them had basically given up on getting people around town to like them. Even in Kakashi’s case, it was like everything he had done for the village was irrelevant just because he was on a team with ‘that Nohara girl’ and the ‘red-eyed boy’. He hoped, though, that they would understand that his clan was different.
“Some of the others have already arrived in the village, be sure to put on a good show. We’re all representing Konoha,” Minato reminded them. Obito was about to say that they were in low regard in the village, but he knew that and their reputation was not going to matter when there were guests. The village was going to put up a front of everyone being friends; perhaps even his own clan would feign a sense of unity with the rest of Konoha.
“Who else is here?” he asked as he signed the form. It seemed his teammates already had.
“There are Rock and Wind ninja here, as well as some from Tea and Hot Water.” Though the latter two were small nations, they were both good friends of the fire country after the extensive efforts of the first Hokage. He could only hope that they were not just on the same team out of fear.
“Figures the Sand wouldn’t be here,” Kakashi said.
“Sandaime is trying to repair relations with them after the conflict, but there is much that was broken between our two countries,” Minato said. “We still think that we have a better chance of getting along with them than with Rock and Water, but-” It was not going to be easy. That was the unspoken message.
“If we don’t like the rocks either, why are they here?” Obito asked after the Chunin took their paperwork and processed it.
“Well, don’t let any of them hear this, but in that case, the rule is ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’. If there’s war between us and Iwa, we don’t want them to see it coming. I doubt that they have no idea, but we really have to keep up appearances. If we invite them to the exams that we hold with our allies, then it will also influence the way a potential war would be perceived internationally.”
That much was correct, as he would later learn. Though Konoha had started more than its fair share of wars, it was very good at playing with perceptions, especially among people who knew nothing of ninja and their ways. As a Genin, he would run into a few clients who had no idea that their country had started the Second Shinobi World War, and then won rather than breaking even.
“I didn’t know that Tea and Hot Water had ninja,” Rin said after a moment. Minato had walked off to see Might Duy. Apparently, his own team had entered as well. “I also get them mixed up sometimes.”
“Well, you can thank the Uchiha, I guess,” he said. “Madara wanted to be on good terms with them, so he sent a few friends over that way and apparently they trained people.”
“Konoha has been picking up weak allies for a long time,” Kakashi said. “It’s easy to ingratiate them and they’re unlikely to betray you.”
They went outside to see a fight unfolding, but it was broken up quickly without anyone being harmed. The local Jonin were interested in seeing the jutsu that the foreign ninja were bringing to the table, but fighting was not permitted until the competition started, and they did not exactly want the other ninja to know what those on their own side could use.
“Is it going to be rigged in favor of us?” Obito had asked their instructor.
“When you’re older, you might know not to ask questions like that,” Minato had said. “I wasn’t informed of a lot of the changes this year. I can tell you things that I can extrapolate from what I already know, though. I think in our line of work, that’s always fair game.”
“What do we know about the events?” Rin asked, bringing him back to the present.
“Only what we can guess from past events. The middle one, they like to keep mostly the same, because there are enough complications with it already. Basically, the instructors have to watch us fight through a natural setting and we try to work our way to the middle or something.”
“That should challenge our stealth and strategy, then,” Kakashi said.
“Yeah, and teamwork. The first one’s academic, so we might not be able to take it as a team.”
“We’ll be helping each other out on that,” his teammate said, not elaborating further. “This Chunin exam is important for the entire fire country. If we demonstrate that we can make the rank at six years old, we’ll be regarded as the prodigy team.”
Obito could only imagine how the other countries would respond to such an unprecedented achievement. Would they start training their own kids younger? Would they see Konoha differently? It was already an open secret that they were the strongest and therefore an obvious target. Everyone wanted to knock them off the top spot. At what point, however, would they just be too powerful to take down? Already, the smaller countries were doing their best to get on their good side. He really wished he would have known, back then, that the other great nations would use those connections against them.
When they were assembled outside the school, they were told that they each had to track down their own exams. They were free to work as individuals or in teams, but each team had to turn in three completed exams. He took it to mean that the exam papers were hidden somewhere in the village. The nature of the challenge gave the Konohagakure kids a significant advantage, but he supposed that when the Chunin exams were held somewhere else, the other teams would have the same advantage.
“You will not be given any time to strategize,” the instructor continued. His accent made him sound like he was from the tea country. “As you should assume, any wrong answers that you turn in on any of your three forms will result in a failure.”
“They’re trying to get us to coordinate our answers,” Rin said. “Even though they said we could take it as individuals, we really don’t have much of a choice, do we?”
“We’d better get started,” Kakashi said. “They didn’t even say that there were enough papers to go around. We split up at the beginning. Find as many as you can and meet in ten minutes under the Hokage monument.”
The complexities of the plan did not dawn on him until he saw a hot water ninja steal a paper right in front of him; it had been sitting under a bowl of soba of all places. It occurred to him that skilled ninja could hide things even without the notice of the villagers. Sprinting off to the Uchiha compound, he got an idea that if he found more tests than expected, all the better, because for all he knew his teammates would have terrible luck, or worse, get attacked. They only had an hour to work on the tests, so it would be foolish to focus on attacking other Chunin candidates, but there were those who were a lot stronger than they were and it stood to reason that some would not find their own tests and have no other choice but to try to fight for a completed test.
He saw Dramada almost as soon as he came into the neighborhood. Since he was not a ninja, it was a wonder if it was even cheating when the older man handed him a pair of tests, explaining that they were both in his house and he could hardly be faulted for wanting to get rid of them before any snot-nosed kids ran through the place.
“Thanks, sir,” he said.
“Truly, think nothing of it. You should get back to your teammates.”
He was sure that some other Uchiha had told the community leader about the challenge shortly after it started and he had already known about Obito’s entry in the exam. It would have been easy to find the two tests, even if he lied about where he found them. With a few more minutes to be had, he looked around in the compound, but found nothing more. He ran up to the monument to find Kakashi and Rin sitting there with four tests.
“Where did you find all those?”
“Rin found her three on the edge of town, where she thought probably no one would look. I found mine half-completed.”
“You took it from someone who was working on it?”
“If someone was working on it, he took a strange approach. It was sitting on the top of a water tower with no one around it. I took it without anyone seeing me.”
“Do you think the instructors could have left some of them around like that? What’s the point? Aren’t we supposed to be able to answer these?”
“Obito, I’ve been looking at these questions and there’s no way I can answer them,” Rin said after a moment. None of them were slackers in school, but when he looked over the questions himself, he knew what she meant. He had expected something slightly unfair like questions about Konoha’s history or questions about the fire release, but he could not even understand most of them. “On each test, though, there’s at least one that’s already been answered.”
He looked over his own tests and saw that it was the same.
“How many do we have left, then?” he asked. “We have six in total and one had-”
“We need to answer two of the questions ourselves. We can’t just look for tests with these answers on them; if they exist, the chance of finding them is astronomical. I need you two to look out in all directions while I work on this.”
Could they trust the answers that were already written? He supposed Kakashi might have decided that they should because the answers were consistent, but they didn’t have much of a choice one way or another; they only had an hour. Fortunately, he was far and away the best of the three of them academically.
“Over there,” Rin said after a few minutes. From the north, where she was watching, it seemed they were being observed by a team from the land of hot water. There was an instructor there who was known for being a bad influence, so even if they were allies, the ninja from Konoha were advised to be cautious about the genin from Yu.
“You spotted us quickly,” a girl said. By the looks of it, she was about fourteen and she carried a sword, though it was nothing like the legendary swordsmen. Most of the time shinobi were said to be carrying swords, they were lighter and more easily hidden.
“We’d almost be worried,” her teammate said, a boy with some strange apparatus on his back. There were tubes going everywhere and he looked like he would be slow and make noise, but he was moving quickly enough.
“Yeah, almost.” The boy who was agreeing carried no weapon, but that did not mean he presented no threat. They were all dressed in light colors, as was customary, as Obito would learn years later. “Call me En. Hand over two of those tests and we’ll call it a day.”
“I only have a few of the questions answered,” Kakashi said, seeming to work on two tests at once. What was he trying to accomplish? If he knew all the answers, the other two were plenty capable of copying; he did not have to write them all out himself. “You can have two of the blank ones, though.”
“I almost think we’re better off,” the unarmed boy said. “I think these three aren’t even ten.”
“No, on the test I have, several of the answers were already filled in,” the sword girl said. “It’s a test of our ability to gather information. He probably just copied over the answers that were already given.”
“How about this?” Rin asked. “You can have two of the tests, and you can help us fend off the others. If all six of us are just sitting here working, no one’s likely to attack us.” She looked around. “This is an event that everyone with a test can pass. We’re allowed to work together.”
It was like what Minato had said- keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Was that the true purpose of the first trial? The ninja from Yu agreed to the deal, seeing that they still had a few more, and the three locals would probably be open to negotiating help from the other ninja as well. They took the two that Kakashi provided for them without complaint and looked over them.
Sure enough, another team came after them, this time one from the land of tea, and they only needed one test, and as a result, came ready to negotiate. They knew they were outnumbered and probably realized that some teams had collected more tests than strictly necessary. Offering to add their numbers to the six that were already working, they took the spare test Kakashi provided.
“We just have three left,” Rin said. “We can’t give out any more. You pass or fail as a group. Is this group really going to protect us?”
“No,” Obito said. “They’ll turn us over as soon as they get their own work done. They don’t want to have to worry about us in the next test. Why are you getting up?” he asked.
“I’m done,” Kakashi said. “We should all go ahead and hand in our tests. We know our way around the village better than everyone else; they won’t be able to follow us.”
Right as they finished talking, they all sprang up and closed the distance between them and the nearest bar that was always abandoned, going in through one window and out another, landing in an alleyway. Without having to say anything, they bolted through the back way rather than dealing with the old man who yelled at everyone like clockwork. The final stretch was in the open, but no one would be trying to stop them if no one expected them. At least, that had been the hope.
“There!”
The voice came from above them and they all knew what it meant. Creating shadow clones, they obscured their true selves as they crossed the distance and avoided flying rocks. Rolling under a rather large one heaved at him right as he reached the examiner, Obito handed in his test and saw his teammates do the same moments later. The rocks stopped, probably because there was no more point trying to hit them, not when it would do little more than antagonize the instructors.
“Excellent. You all passed,” the instructor said after taking a few minutes to look over them. He was pretty sure the woman’s name was Hoshimitsu, and she had handled a lot of the paperwork for D-Rank missions.
“How could you tell right away?” he asked. “Did you know all the answers?”
“No. Your friend had a remarkable way of solving them that we knew going in was perfectly acceptable. They’re all blank.”
“What?” he asked, turning to Kakashi.
“They said we all had to turn in a test, but we couldn’t turn one in with any wrong answers. I was just erasing the answers that were already there.” Rin held up a bottle of white ink she must have taken the time to get out of her own house.
“You were in on this?”
“We didn’t have the chance to tell you. I just ran to get this as soon as I was asked.”
“What was all that you wrote, then?” he asked. “Wrong answers?”
“I figured it would be better than just destroying the spares. I can write a wrong answer so that you can’t tell it’s wrong at first glance.” He was right, as Obito would later realize. In later years he would even develop a way of talking that did not say anything at all. “The other teams didn’t go after us when we took off because they expected that going in.”
A few minutes later, Might Guy’s team turned in their tests without answering any of the questions, though it could not be said whether or not they knew that was the correct approach. The young Uchiha had never exchanged words with his teammates before, but he knew them in passing and their names were Genma and Ebisu. If he had them figured, they both had the same moderate distaste for his clan, and the same passing respect for the prodigy of their age.
“Well, well, well,” Genma started. “The other team of squirts passed.”
“There really aren’t a lot of other teams from Konoha,” Rin said. “I don’t like it, but it kind of lends credence to the idea that we were pushed along to replenish the ranks of the Genin... and now the Chunin.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter as long as we pass!” Guy shouted. “You, Kakashi! I will defeat you in the next round.”
“We’ll see about that.”
They said nothing more until the rest of the teams showed up, though some were already setting off on the long journey home. He supposed that as long as there were not enough tests to go around, then it stood to reason that some would already know they would not pass that year. The instructors surprised everyone by saying that only three teams passed.
“What?” he asked. “Who else was it?” He caught a glimpse of the hot water team that they met earlier and they were looking remarkably proud of themselves for a team that had been fed a bunch of false answers by a kid.
“They must have decided to eliminate their answers,” Kakashi decided. “With enough steam, the ink would come right off.”
“How’d they know?”
“Remember how they said they already had a test before we gave them two of theirs. I couldn’t guess whether or not their test had answers on it, or which ones would be filled in.”
That made sense, at least. His teammate had accidentally contradicted an answer that appeared to be right. Either they realized he was tricking them at the last minute, or they realized the main point of the test. The way he would have put it years later was that it had been a lesson about information gathering, but not in the way they had thought.
There was a moment of confusion among the examiners. Some elders were called in to make the decisions and it occurred to him that they had not been expecting so few to pass the first round. If they knocked out everyone else in the second, then there would be nothing they could show off in the third; maybe some would still make Chunin, but part of the point of the third round was to invite the officials from various countries to see what the new talent was like. Justifying their budget as a village was dependent on how many contracts they could get, and shinobi were known for hiding their strengths; the exams were basically the only demonstration.
“What are they going to do now?” he asked after a moment.
“I don’t know,” Kakashi said. “I’ve got a feeling that it worked out just the way they wanted it, though. Did you see how many teams there were at the beginning?”
“Yeah. There were two from Iwa that were both older than we are.”
“Now neither of them have a chance to pass,” Rin said. “I guess that works out for Konoha, maybe, but... how did they rig it for us without getting caught?”
“I don’t know,” their teammate repeated. “I would think that any result that limited the amount of teams getting on to the second round would be good for us, though. You’ll notice we only have two this year.”
“The fact that both of them got past is just icing on the cake, then,” Obito said, thinking about it. “Do you think Guy’s group had any help?”
“No, most likely they just knew the village and knew where to go to find test forms.” He looked around. “There’s going to be some grumbling about this. We’ll have to win in the second round to prove we earned it. It’s good that some of them have already left. We don’t want the other teams thinking that we had help.”
He decided not to mention that an older Uchiha had handed him two, wherever he had found them.
Notes:
I mentioned a different written section of the Chunin exams in a memory earlier; as you might expect that was from a different time that Obito and company took them. I like to think the exams are somewhat different every time, but you always have the written test, some natural setting where you have a survival objective, and a tournament.
The Shinobi Rules
Silirt
Chapter 14: The Best Defense
Chapter Text
Obito was with his teammates through the entire explanation of the next event. It was mostly a formality, or that was the way it seemed. It was almost guaranteed that all three of the teams would pass; the examiners had already promised the guests a show, and no other Chunin exam would have insisted on eliminating everyone before the third round could even take place.
As a result, they had the simple task of taking two scrolls to the center of the Forest of Death, and they were welcome to try to prevent each other from getting there. The next few minutes went by in a blur, and then they were hiding in the trees. He turned to his team.
“Isn’t this too easy?” he asked.
“It is,” Kakashi said. “None of us are going to make rank because of our performance in this round. The Yu team isn’t even going to bother. No one’s watching.”
“They could prevent us from getting to the next round,” Rin said.
“That’s correct. They’re not going to, though. If they attacked us it would look like a lack of confidence, not a demonstration of their abilities. You can’t demonstrate your abilities with no one watching.”
“That makes sense,” Obito said after a while. “So, what are we going to do?”
“It works out the best for us to wait for other teams to reach the tower. There should be some sign when they get there.”
“Then, what, we just go in at a leisurely pace?”
“Yeah. I know it’s simple, but it’s the best plan we have. We’ll get close to listen for any indication.”
They moved silently through the trees. Almost certainly, Guy’s team was going to take a more ostentatious approach, and when they made it to the center, everyone else would know about it. It also made perfect sense for the foreign team to go there as quickly as possible. It was ridiculous that they had a whole day.
“What’s this like normally?” he asked as they waited in the dark, closer to the center.
“Harder,” Rin said. “I don’t know if they’ve ever handed out two scrolls at the very beginning before.”
He had forgotten that she had some friends and relatives who had gone through the Chunin exam, but he was not kicking himself for that. Really, he was just kicking himself because he had never asked the other Uchiha for any pointers. So far, being with them had been easy. Unlike some shinobi he could name, they simply accepted him for who, or rather, what, he was. His grandmother had taken care of him and she had been a font of wisdom for all his life so far, but having not been a ninja, there was so much that he could really only learn from the others.
Nothing happened. If he had been hoping something would make the task harder, he would have been disappointed for the first half hour, because for better or worse, nothing happened. There was no sign of the other teams even being in the forest. He had another idea.
“Well, if this isn’t how we’re getting promoted, and the real test is coming up, what are we doing for that?” he asked. “Do we know anything about the next round?” Kakashi looked up. Most of his face was obscured, as always, but he had a strange look in his eyes.
“The third match is always a round of fights. Sometimes it’s a tournament, sometimes it’s just a bunch of single matches. You get promoted based off points you earn in each fight, so even if you only fight in one, you can still get enough points to make rank. Something people have picked up over the last few years is that someone always gets promoted.”
“I thought no one had to get promoted.”
“Whoever said that was- at least somewhat idealistic.” He seemed to have dialed himself down from calling his instructor a retard or something. “No one has to get promoted, it’s just that almost always, someone does. Unless it’s agreed by everyone there that the entire crop of candidates was useless, then at least one gets the rank.”
“So, we just have to win?”
“We have to demonstrate substantially more prowess than everyone else. That’s it.” They all heard the voices at the same time, though they were still distant. “I just thought of a way of making this easier on ourselves.”
“What?” He asked, but he did not really want to hear the answer.
“Do you remember how we decided it was unlikely we would ever get attacked?”
“Oh, no,” Rin said.
“What?”
“The other teams would have done the same. The Yu team is probably thinking we ran for it right out of the gates. Now shut up; the voices are coming closer.”
They said nothing more, even as desperately as Obito wanted to tell him it was a terrible idea to keep up with what they were doing. To make it to the third round was impressive beyond belief for their age. Anything more, and they risked accusations of cheating. All the same, the two scrolls were pressed upon him and he wondered if they could even win by a single team member taking the scrolls to the tower. He ran off without a second thought.
“My teammates are going to join me in just a second,” he said. “They’re just looking out for the other teams,” he said to the examiner as soon as he arrived.
“I’m afraid we can only pass or fail you as a group. You’ll have to get your teammates here in order to turn in the scrolls.” He looked over and saw Guy’s team standing around. One waved.
“Can I leave them here?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it. You’re not supposed to get assistance from the other teams in any way. It could definitely get in the way of getting promoted.”
“Okay, thanks, sir- I'll be back.” He ran off again, this time careful not to run into whatever trap his teammates were laying for the other three ninja. Going up into the canopy of the trees, he avoided whatever was likely to happen to someone who was walking below them. Gulping, he really hoped that Kakashi did not intend to turn it into a fight to the death.
Though he would find out more later, he already knew that the Chunin exams were incredibly dangerous. Shinobi were, in no uncertain terms, training to be assassins and could not be expected to restrain their techniques, especially not in an uncontrolled environment like the one they were currently facing. As a result, as much as killing was discouraged in the third round, even senseless deaths were allowed in the second, because the examiners could not be expected to watch them and determine if there was any point to killing the other candidates or not.
He caught sight of a smoke signal from Rin, which he would later learn was an illusion; it was a basic academy-level trick that made a puff or stream of smoke appear, and disappear just as quickly. It had limited applications, because hardly anyone wanted to advertise his or her presence, but the teachers said it was suitable for long-distance communication when there was no other readily available option.
Rather than asking for an update, he took stock of the situation. The three visiting shinobi were looking around, seeming to have seen or heard something suspicious. They had no reason to try to take out the other groups, not when they had a good chance in the third round, but Team Minato could take advantage of the greater complexity of the situation and eke out an advantage for round three. Kakashi glanced over at him and then indicated the teenage boy with the strange apparatus on his back. Obito nodded.
Crawling through the canopy, he took out a shuriken, needing to simulate a low angle. He knew that it should work if he could hit a rock first, but there was not a convenient rock lying around. Throwing it with a vertical spin as quickly as he could, he embedded it into a tree that was closer to his target than it was to the others. Vertical, there was no telling that it was thrown from above or below. The visiting ninja turned to the direction straight out from where the shuriken hit. Switching branches only when the target moved, he jumped down a few seconds later, figuring the same trick would not work a second time. Using a Katon in the air, he saw his surprise mostly failed.
Not only did the enemy avoid his attack, it seemed the others noticed. From the apparatus came a jet of hot water that the other Genin was manipulating like it was his own body, and it was all Obito could do to avoid it. The opponent shouted to the others to explain his situation and there was a shadow clone of Kakashi falling on his position right away. The other two ninja sprinted over and a sense of despair filled the young Uchiha.
It was not just that he was going to lose the second challenge for his team, there was a good chance that they were just going to kill him and be done with it. Even if his teammates jumped into action, sacrificing their cover, they would probably not be able to beat the older ninja in a straight fight; that was the whole point of trying to attack them in the forest. Surprisingly, however, the enemy reinforcements disappeared into a puff of steam right as he lashed out with a pair of shuriken, hitting accurately beyond his own belief.
Before he had time to wonder about that, however, he was nearly scalded with the hot water. The enemy had entirely too much ability to manipulate it in the air for him to keep avoiding it. He was in pain, he was mostly running, and he had no idea why his teammates had left the scrolls with him. As he got back up to the canopy, however, he saw another smoke signal. Not knowing what else to do, he went toward it, and he saw his teammate with one of their opponents tied up. She might have knocked him over the head a few times, but he was going to wake up before long and as soon as she saw him, she moved their hostage and made him follow.
“What are we doing?” he asked as they reached another tree further away from the enemy. Rin only shushed him and apologized under her breath. She turned to their captive as he struggled against the rope that she had gotten out of her pack. Helping to restrain him, Obito was annoyed about being left out of the plan a second time, but there was a chance that Kakashi might not have known the full nature of the plan before jumping in and putting it into action.
“We need to stay close behind them,” Rin whispered as soon as their captive was knocked out. He went along with what she was saying, finding three figures they were following, one with a serious limp.
“This was a real pain,” the girl with the sword said, bracing herself with the sword in its scabbard to keep the weight off her leg. She had been stabbed in the hip.
“What was their plan?” one of them asked. The boy with the apparatus shrugged.
“One of them seemed like the brains of the operation, but that wasn’t the one that attacked me. He’s an emotional Uchiha; the fact that we even know about their bloodline is mostly because they’re known for acting impulsively. I’m betting he screwed it up and they were supposed to attack us all at once or something.”
“That wouldn’t have worked,” the girl said. The other one seemed to be lost in thought.
“Well, maybe not, but they might’ve thought they’d have a better chance attacking us now than in the next round. We thought one of the kid teams might have done this going in.” He looked around and Obito ducked behind a trunk.
“Yeah. It’s really their only chance.”
“He must’ve seen me put the scrolls in my bag. That’s why they were trying to get me on my own.”
They said nothing more until they reached the tower, where the boy with the hot water apparatus offered the examiner their scrolls. He looked between the three of them before sighing.
“I suppose I could credit you on an unconventional strategy, but it won’t work. You need to have all of your teammates here to move on to the next round.” They both looked at the one who had not said anything, instantly realizing they had been played, and he turned into Kakashi with a puff, joined by his own teammates mere moments later as they dropped from nearby trees.
“Here you are, sir,” Rin said, shooing Obito to the front. “We have our scrolls.”
“Excellent.” Right as the injured kunoichi was about to bring her blade down on her, the examiner stepped forward and punched her in the face, though it was like he had not stepped forward at all. It was like he had crossed a much greater distance in a single step, based on the way his feet were arranged, but they had not seen him take it. “Fighting is not permitted in the tower. This team has already passed the challenge.”
The Yu shinobi looked like they were about to loudly protest, but their embarrassment was only going to worsen if they did not complete the challenge. The boy insisted on looking for their teammate and was saying something about how he could not have gone far.
“He went to the other world,” Kakashi said, not a trace of insincerity in his voice. “You will never complete this challenge, not without your full team.”
“You little bastard!” the kunoichi with the sword shouted, rising from the ground with a black eye. “You invite allies to your village and then kill them?! What the hell is your problem?!”
It was such a sudden accusation that it caught Obito off-guard and he realized that he had spent the whole time just acting on orders without thinking about what they were doing. It was not that his moral calculus had allowed for the death, which he reminded himself was only a deception; it was that he had never once considered it. He still remembered the question that crossed his mind at the time. Would he have killed the other ninja just to get a leg up in the Chunin exams?
The examiner seemed to buy the explanation as well and informed the other team that the body would be collected in minutes; there were ranked shinobi of Konoha who were meant to look through the forest. He promised that the moment they found the body, they would be informed along with their Jonin teacher.
“Our village doesn’t even have that many Jonin,” the boy with the apparatus on his back growled. “You bastards wonder why we’re behind in everything, and then you take sides like this-”
“How young Kakashi killed your teammate without your notice is beyond me,” the examiner said. “If he did, however, he’s earned the rank of Chunin already.”
“White hair? Is he the heir of Senju Tobirama-”
The Jonin laughed. He collected himself quickly, but the smile did not leave his eyes.
“Do you imagine that he’s the favorite son of the village and we showed favoritism to him? Is that what weak people like yourselves say so that you can sleep at night? This boy’s father was a disgrace! I don’t think it was ever justified, the way they treated him because of it, but my father and many of his friends were forced to return home after the Tsuchikage retracted our contract-” He shook his head. “Everything this boy will ever have will be earned. You can be sure of that.”
The other ninja left without another word. Whether they were looking for the body or whether they were going to return to their own villages was not possible to determine. The examiner was joined by another Leaf shinobi of the same rank.
“Do you think they’re looking for revenge?”
“It’s always revenge with them,” he said. “We’re the only ones who’ve ever forgave anyone.”
The statement did not, even at the time, quiet the moral qualms in Obito’s heart. It was something he was glad to hear, but more for the fact that the higher ranks actually cared about that sort of thing. The fact that they had an argument meant that they held themselves to some standard, whatever it was. Even if Konoha was not really bound by any of the principles that its components believed, it was always better that they believed them.
“You three passed?” one of the guys on Guy’s team said as soon as the two Jonin disappeared somewhere. Most likely, they were going to follow the Yu ninja to make sure they refrained from stupidity. “My name’s Genma. Who’s the chick?”
“I’m Rin. You wouldn’t have paid much attention to me in the academy.” She neglected to mention that was because she was six; he seemed to be at least a few years older.
“So, you’re fresh out?” She nodded. “We haven’t been out that long either. Long enough, and Guy here is going to get restless. He can’t sit still for five minutes without going on about the springtime of youth.”
Obito and Kakashi needed no introduction, the prior because it was presumed that all Uchiha were the same and the latter because of the skill he displayed, only matched by the adversity he had suffered. Most likely, he was thinking that he could avoid looking like he was gathering information on the enemy, which he only just realized they were. There was no way they were all going to make Chunin.
“It’s a pity the Hyuga are not here,” Guy’s other teammate said. “Tokuma, Iroha, and even young Ko would have made an interesting team.”
“Their taijutsu would have been legendary,” the green-clad ninja agreed. Obito thought that having everyone with the same kekkei genkai would be a weakness, but he supposed that at least they would trust each other. At least they would understand each other.
“They might be on a mission,” Rin said. “I haven’t seen them since the academy.”
That much was true. The Hyuga were not nearly as withdrawn as the Uchiha, but they had every right to be, with their dojutsu and taijutsu techniques. As a result, much of the training that the kids learned came from other people in their clan.
Obito was mostly not listening as the examiners were explaining the next round; he had already figured it out. With six Genin making it in, there was no way to do a bracket; everyone would fight in a single exhibition match and try to score as many points as possible. To make things interesting and to avoid conflicts of interest, each of the competitors would be on different teams. To add an element of strategy, they would be allowed to choose their opponents.
“Who is the strongest member of your team?” Guy demanded.
“That’s Kakashi,” Rin said without the slightest hesitation. No one would have disagreed.
“Then I shall fight the White Fang’s son!” he announced. “I, the son of Might Duy-”
“We get it,” the challenged shinobi said. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll be sure to make you regret picking me.”
No one said anything in response to that, not right away. The words themselves were predictable, but the way he said them sounded strange. Wanting to move things along, Rin picked the teammate who had asked her identity, since he might well know the least about her, though he doubted the other one knew more. It appeared he would be stuck with Ebisu.
“When is the match taking place?” he asked.
“It’s in one month from now, as is custom,” an examiner said. He remembered thinking that it made sense, because it would give them some time to train after they had been exposed to the opponent, but really the reason was to send out invitations. Cha and Yu did not have Kage, but they had elders in charge of their village like everyone else, and would probably be interested in the shinobi coming out of Konoha. One of the advantages of an alliance was that they did not have to worry about hiring leaves to do their jobs for them, because every benefit to the Hokage was a benefit to them as well.
“We should get back to Minato,” Obito decided as soon as the team had a moment alone. He remembered how the Jonin’s reputation was on the line, and he might have some recommendations for how they would train, given their opponents. Because it was starting to look like there was a serious chance that he would make Chunin, he really hoped that Ebisu turned out to be nothing special.
They were allowed out of the Forest and they took the chance to return to their teacher, who was proud of them for making it as far as they did. He seemed to take everything with a gentle, unreserved smile, and the fact that his students were one step closer to making Chunin was no exception. The entire time they told him what happened, he did not seem the least bit concerned that his name could be ruined by their failure to perform. Even if they did not make rank at the end, they would really have to fight hard to not embarrass him and the village.
Looking back, he only wished it could have been as simple as that.
“What should we do, sir?” Rin asked. She was always polite like that, especially at that age.
“Well, what you learned in the academy will help, but it won’t give you the edge you need to beat your opponents. They’re all at least decent at taijutsu, and Guy is a little monster. In your case, I really think you need to specialize in something. You have to be a jack of all trades in the field, because your teammates might not always be there, but I think your opponent is a few years older, so you’re not going to win by being better all around.”
“I think I understand.”
“Is there anything you feel like you want to do?” he asked. It was strange that he just let her pick. Other Jonin had a tendency to just pick something based on an early aptitude, which sometimes turned out to be a poor decision.
“Well, it’s... I have an idea of what I want to do, but I don’t know how it will help me win,” she said after a moment. “Do we have to win as a team?”
“No, and you don’t technically have to win either; there have been times where one competitor refused to fight by hiding the whole time and the other one was declared the winner just by putting on a better show. To be honest, the only thing I can recommend is that you do the best you can no matter what. Even if it looks like the other guy is winning, don’t hold back. If you’re in danger, though, go ahead and get out of there. The examiners should stop matches before anyone dies, but sometimes right up until someone dies, the match could have gone either way.”
“Are they really hoping for a show this year?” he asked. Though Kakashi was supposed to be a prodigy, he really doubted anyone else would be showing off Chunin-level techniques. I guess they have as much time to prepare as we do, though.
“ Well, let’s do our best with it and maybe they’ll be pleasantly surprised,” Minato said after a moment of thought. “I know you guys are still young, but think of it this way: if one of you can execute a cool elemental manipulation, what’ll you be able to do in another few years? I think they’ll be able to see your potential.”
The Shinobi Rules
Silirt
Chapter 15: The Untrained Eye
Chapter Text
Training for the final round had been short and brutal. Obito tried various weapons, but even though he could use them competently, none of them felt natural in his hands. Standard ninja tools worked just fine for him, and he had never wanted something with greater reach; it seemed pointless when he had projectiles.
Once again, he and Rin were looking up at the sky, out of breath after fighting. They had gone at it as hard as they could, without holding back anything. Each of the three of them had one-on-one training with a teacher of their choosing, and the results were showing. He had picked Kagami from his own clan, who was retired and apparently taught some of the kids from the compound how to use various dojutsu and other techniques. She had picked Sarutobi Biwako, who agreed to teach her medical ninjutsu, or as much as she could learn at her age.
“What’s the old guy from your clan teaching you?” she asked, breaking the silence.
“I haven’t awakened the Sharingan. He says it’s fine, because he’s never heard of anyone my age activating it. We’re focusing on fire techniques and breaking genjutsu.”
“Are either of the other guys going to be using genjutsu?”
“No, but I don’t get to pick what we study and train.”
“I feel like if Kakashi were here, he would say that Shinobi Rule No 02 is that a ninja must see through deception, so I guess that at least he would approve of your training.”
They both laughed a little, as much as they could until their chests hurt, but they both knew why their teammate was not with them. He was training with Minato himself, who was teaching him elemental manipulation. They had both been assured it was not a matter of favoritism, and even in the present he believed that.
“Let’s go see him,” he suggested, doubting his friend had any more chakra with which to heal or fight. “I forgot to ask. How is the Hokage’s wife as a teacher?” They were on their way.
“She’s still grateful to us for getting her kids out of a lot of trouble,” she said. Perhaps later he would have recognized her tone of voice, but he would have to hear it again to know for sure. “Oh, did you know that she trained one of the legendary Sannin?”
“No, which one?”
“She trained Tsunade.”
Though he asked, the name meant little to him. He had only heard so much about the last war; apparently the Nidaime died and that was what was most important, other than the fact that Konoha ended up winning. They found their teammate lying down on the ground in training field three, and immediately felt a pang of sympathy.
“You know what’s at stake, Sensei,” he was saying, his breath ragged. “Rin might have a chance of impressing the elders, but-”
“It looks like your friends are here.”
“We’ve come to see how far you’ve come,” Obito said, looking away. They knew that Kakashi had just been talking about them, but neither of them had really expected to make rank. “Do you think you could beat Guy?”
“That’s a difficult question to answer. For better or worse, it makes no difference now. Tomorrow is the day we have to go back.”
“Really?” He could still feel every bruise he had earned, even after they were healed, but it did not feel like nearly enough time had passed. There was still so much he wanted to go over with Kagami, but it seemed the older man was not so invested in whether or not he won the fight against his opponent in the Chunin exams. “What are we going to do?”
“There’s nothing left that you need to do,” Minato said. “Any additional training now would just limit the chakra you could put out when you need to fight. I think you three should spend the rest of today just casually hanging out together, and then go home and get a good night’s sleep. Don’t worry about getting another mission. I arranged for you to have a C-Rank right after the exams are over, whether you pass or not.”
“Was it approved by-”
“Yes, it was.” All missions above D-Rank had to be approved by an older member of the Uchiha clan if he went on it. He would later learn that it was easier for the contractor to accomplish than he would have thought.
“Where is it?”
“Worry about that mission when it comes up,” his instructor said, smiling. Perhaps one could say that he was living into everyone’s idea that he was a carefree soul, but in this case it made perfect sense. If they needed to focus on anything in the near future, it was the following day.
As suggested, the three of them went around town looking for things to do. They talked to some people they had met in the academy, some still taking classes. He guessed that all the village really needed to do to prove they could drum up more Chunin on short notice was to have a single team make the rank at the age of six.
“Hi, Uzuki Ro,” he said, waving at a young woman he knew. Due to the toddler she was leading around, she had mostly retired and trained young students in kenjutsu. She was not a permanent teacher at the academy, but they brought her in for certain classes. “Remember me?”
“How could I forget you, Obito,” she said, responding with an amused smile. “I didn’t think I was old enough for you to be interested in helping me out, though.”
“You’re not old,” he said, smiling back. ”I didn’t know you had a kid.”
“Her name is Yugao. It will be about two years before she can start at the academy, if they still take them at four.” It seemed they shared a lot of features, from the purple hair to the blank expression in her brown eyes.
“I don’t know,” Rin said. “It depends on whether or not there’s a war with Iwa.”
“Yes, it does,” Ro said, her mouth a thin line. “Well, either way, we have always been a family of shinobi. No matter what the assignment is, we’ll do it.”
Kakashi nodded with approval, but said nothing. The part time instructor made an excuse and kept moving, though she probably really had to go somewhere. Again, they were left without anything to discuss and it crossed his mind that something might come up over dinner, though they were not meant to be talking about the exams. They were just supposed to bond as friends.
Standing outside the Nohara home, they knocked at the door to see if all three of them could be accommodated. As good of a cook as his grandmother was, she would probably not appreciate it if he brought two guests out of nowhere, and even with advance notice it would be difficult for her. Two of them smiled when the door opened, though their teammate could be excused, wearing a mask and all.
“How is my favorite team doing?” Rin’s mom asked. They filled her in on a few details as they sat down for supper, which, as it turned out, the father would not be able to attend, so there was plenty for everyone. The elder sister joined them halfway in and no one said anything as she wolfed down her food before going back upstairs.
Obito elected not to say anything about that, because when he thought about it, if he said anything, it would reveal that Rin had told them, which might not be well-regarded. Instead, he wondered about the other Uchiha she was supposed to be marrying. Had he been around lately? What rank was he again?
The conversation was about as light and friendly as it could have been, looking back on it. The food was good and the hostess was gracious; she even knew how to speak about topics that were interesting for young ninja. He supposed she had plenty of practice with Rin.
“Darling, you never said you had such polite teammates,” she said at the end of the meal.
“Well, they’re only like this around adults,” she said.
“Oh, are they not polite to you?”
“No, they’re fine; It's just that they’re not as polite as they are with adults.”
“Shinobi Rule No. 09 is that a shinobi must always follow a commander’s orders,” Kakashi said. “The attendant respect is implied.”
“I see,” the hostess said. ”It’s good that we all have reasons for our manners.”
If she was being sarcastic, the bait sat there, untaken. After the supper was over, they all split up to go to bed. More than enough times already, they had slept in random places at the expense of comfort, and they were going to have plenty more chances at that. What they were going to miss was sleeping in a bed.
Needless to say, he was not yet at an age where he wanted to sleep next to anyone.
Everything was ready the following morning. Even though he had no context as he looked around the arena, it seemed that the crowd was thin. There were not that many elders and other representatives there, and at least from his best guess, it seemed like almost all of them were from Konoha. Was that to be expected, just from the location of the Chunin exam?
“Our first match is between Shiranui Genma and Nohara Rin,” the announcer revealed. He seemed to be speaking normally, but everyone could hear him. Was it a sound technique?
“Right. I might as well get to it,” his teammate said, steeling herself. If she wanted to look confident and ready, she was doing a reasonably good job, and he doubted the people in the stands would see any hesitation from such a distance.
She took a fighting stance directly across from her opponent, who was practically slouching. He said something the spectators could not hear and her eyes narrowed in annoyance. She charged, but she was kept at a range; the opponent was faster. Despite looking like he was not taking the fight seriously, he must have been training hard. When she threw a shuriken at him, he dodged it effortlessly and spat a senbon from his mouth, which surprised him as much as it did his opponent, who took it in the neck.
Refusing to give up, she removed it from her neck and healed herself, fortunate that it had only stuck itself in the side, not piercing her spinal column. Genma made a shadow clone to get around her, but she saw through it and charged through another senbon to hit the true target in the face. It was a good hit, but the target was not particularly damaged and she had to remove the projectile and heal herself again. Slinging a shuriken, she seemed to be trying to turn it into a ranged fight with the basic thought being that if she could heal herself, she would bleed him out sooner or later, but the enemy took the moment to use a wind jutsu to deflect the spinning star and punch her. It appeared that he did not particularly relish hitting her, especially not in the face, but he did so a few more times in spite of her attempts to heal herself and back away. Obito frowned, but there was nothing to do but accept it. As surely as she could realize her advantage was at a range, he could realize his advantage was up close, where it was no contest. He was a boy with a few years on her at least; it was over before it began.
“The match is decided,” an examiner said after a few more punches that Rin was barely managing to heal and recover after suffering. With so little time between each blow and no way of getting out of his range, it was amazing she even managed to complete the technique.
“Are you okay?” he asked as soon as Rin managed to stagger back.
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m just out of chakra for the most part. Try not to get too banged up, okay?” That she had concern for him was strangely flattering, or something.
Ebisu was as confident as his teammate had been. He made several hand signs, at least three, but he was interrupted by a kunai forcing him to move. When he started over again, he got the same treatment. He looked moderately perturbed, but decided it was time to charge forward. Obito’s experience and training was countering his taijutsu, but no more. Retrospectively, he supposed he could blame the fact that his opponent got to train against Guy and he was training against Rin, but that was never going to be an excuse in the field.
They traded blows and seemed to have about equal strength, or at least ability to project force. Using a genjutsu of his own, he forced the enemy to dodge straight into a real punch. It was one of the principles that Kagami had taught him; barely anyone could see through even a quickly crafted illusion without any time to think about it. Closing in, he threw another punch right before the opponent could react. Though certain clans were intensively trained in specific styles of martial arts, in the academy it was much simpler and more practical and never had that been clearer, not to him. Obito countered the attempt to use a grab with a fast side kick to the chest, then another to the groin. His opponent was forced into a calculated surrender, and he thought nothing less of Ebisu because of it; he doubted it was the second time he had seen any of the specific techniques on display and he had been bleeding chakra after having his attempts at ninjutsu canceled.
The young Uchiha walked away frustrated. He had used just about all the techniques he knew, and yet he still felt like the fight was lacking. Should he have allowed his opponent to use whatever jutsu he was about to use? Would that have allowed him to demonstrate improvisation? He shook his head. When he forcibly canceled the techniques, he was doing the obvious thing, and he knew he would have had points knocked off if he had even been singed by a burst of flame. In the month that he had to train, he had really only learned one thing about Ebisu, and that was that he could use fire release. Even his other name remained a mystery.
“Why do you think he always dresses in black like that?” he asked when he got back to Rin. “I thought dark colors were our thing.”
“Your clan can’t just claim all dark colors,” she said. “I don’t know, though. Different clans have passed down different traditions about what they wear, but I’ve really only paid attention to what we do in the Nohara clan. I think the Hyuga look pretty good, though.”
“Is that why you and your parents have purple tattoos?”
“The color is just what part of the family you are. I think when a man leaves home, he picks a color that at least hasn’t been used in a while. It’s funny; I’ve taken it for granted so long that I never really thought about it.”
They more or less dropped the subject and focused on the fight between Guy and Kakashi, which was only just starting. The difference in their skill in taijutsu was clear. Not only was the first forcing the second to dodge over and over, it was only after a visibly brilliant series of dodges that he had the space to sink into the earth.
“That’s his element?” Rin asked. “I never would have guessed.”
“I thought it was an illusion for a second,” Obito admitted. “I don’t think so, though. He would never have had the space to go under those next few attacks if he just made himself invisible somehow. He’s really underground.”
“That’s a really good ability,” his teammate continued as they watched Guy practically shadowboxing. It seemed he was, understandably, at a loss as to how to respond. “Imagine if at any time, the guy you’re chasing can just go underground.”
“I don’t know if it would work against a water technique. You’d have to know where he was, though. I think the big question is whether or not he can move around under there or if he has to come back up in the same place.”
The question was answered almost instantly. Kakashi wanted to give himself space and prove that he could apply the technique effectively and came up on the very edge of the stadium, when he had disappeared from close to the center. To his credit, Guy noticed almost immediately, but he failed to avoid getting hit by the first shuriken, which was lodged in his ribs. Closing the distance quickly, it seemed to Obito that his teammate had already calculated the time he would need to go under again, because he used the elemental ninjutsu the moment before his opponent caught him.
“He’s really putting on a show,” Rin said.
“What?”
“Well, it’s that he’s dodging the punches by a hair’s breadth when that’s not really practical. In the academy they warned us about people who spend the tiniest amount of chakra on a genjutsu to disguise the positions of their arms and legs.”
He nodded, having just used one himself. As he watched Guy get hit by a few more shuriken, though, it seemed like he was not one for illusions, so his teammate’s confidence was probably warranted. The more they fought, the more it seemed like the White Fang’s son was going up against a one-trick-pony that was not capable of adapting to someone with an admittedly quite rare ability for one so young. Though Obito had every reason to suspect that he had trained a lot, he had no way of knowing that his opponent would be sinking into the ground, so he had brought with him no way of countering it.
Kakashi came up, probably exhausted of chakra, even if he had a little fight left in him. His opponent’s eyes gleamed and he sprinted over, noticeably slower than before. Rin mouthed ‘blood loss’ as if to herself, her own expression enraptured. What followed was a short, fierce bout of taijutsu, at the end of which his teammate was the one left standing, probably because he was careful to punch where he had hit with shuriken. Really, it was impressive that Guy had not already passed out from the pain.
“That was on another level,” Obito said. “I guess we should’ve figured that the two best candidates from both teams would have a good fight, though.”
There were murmurs all through the crowd, sparse though it was. He was standing close enough to hear a few of them.
“What an impressive display. Perhaps these two were truly evenly matched.”
“I heard the instructors spent most of their time on these two. Fair enough, I say.”
“Yes, better to have one good show than none at all.”
“Who is that boy, exactly? He looks a little familiar, and yet...”
It was like they had entirely forgotten there were two matches that had come before. He knew that the fight that had just happened was more impressive; even to him it was, but the difference was not nearly so extreme as they were making it out to be. Even the fact that Rin had lost and he won due to a tactical surrender seemed totally irrelevant. Minato came to get them around the time Kakashi returned.
“How long are they going to be deliberating?” he asked.
“Not long.” He shook his head sadly. “I want you to see something.”
The four of them went to one of the cameras they used to record matches for educational purposes. The cameraman was writing something down absentmindedly.
“Excuse me, would it be too much trouble if we went back over the footage here?”
“Sure,” he said. “It’ll be going to the ninja academies allied with Konoha in a couple weeks. It’s all the same to the conference.”
“Thank you,” Minato said, turning on a nearby display and rewinding until he got to the start of Obito’s fight. “I want you to tell me what’s going on here. Be aware that not everyone watching understands chakra control as well as you do.”
Somehow it was just the difference in the perspective that did it. Even without the way his teacher prefaced it, the first exchange just looked like one idiot failing to use ninjutsu and the other idiot using basic attacks. When he used an illusion to disguise the position of his fist, it looked like Ebisu was just so incompetent as to fail to dodge a punch coming straight at him. He then gave up, after failing to demonstrate anything beyond academy level taijutsu.
“Nothing,” Obito said after a moment, hanging his head. “Nothing’s going on.”
“What happened was you took the fight seriously, and so did your opponent. Neither of you saw any need to exhaust or injure yourselves. In the field, the behavior is commendable.”
“Rin demonstrated medical ninjutsu,” he said.
“Don’t go back over it,” she said, hanging her head as well. “I already get it. It’s just going to look like a larger boy somehow failing to beat up a girl, and then the match got called when no one could watch it anymore.” It looked like she was about ready to cry, but was simultaneously determined to hang on, or at least not be the first.
“Aren’t the examiners supposed to get it?” he asked. “Isn’t that why we have them?”
“They’re able to analyze fights, yes, but for the most part no one consults them. They’re almost always from the hosting village.” He sighed. “This time, it was only candidates from Konoha competing, but the elders and other interested parties from here can’t just monopolize the available information. The next time we have an exam, it’s going to be in Cha, and the examiners will almost all be from there.”
Obito did not need any further explanation. He was actually confused as to why he was so disappointed, having gone in with no expectation of making rank. It had not been long since he had been promoted to Genin; he had heard of some people taking years to advance, and he was probably already among the youngest to ever compete in the exams. Why was he on the verge of tears just because he failed to impress someone who failed to understand what was going on?
“I don’t get it,” he said after a moment. “Why can’t we be evaluated by other ninja?”
“Ninja don’t hire each other, for the most part. Don’t worry about it, Obito; there’ll be another chance. I just want you to think really hard about why you became a shinobi, because, well, that’s how you need to learn to respond to disappointments like this.”
He could not say that he wished he would have known that a greater disappointment was coming, or whether or not his teacher should have warned him. After years of future disappointments, he knew that Minato had seen it coming. As he walked to the deliberation room, though, where he knew that he elders were gathered, he really just wanted to get started on his next mission, whatever it was. He had no idea how long it would last, or how hard it would test his reason to be a shinobi.
The Shinobi Rules
Silirt
Chapter 16: Selective Reporting
Chapter Text
“Namikaze Minato; these are your students?”
“Yes.”
“I suppose we may as well have it done with them first.” The elder who was speaking was from Yu; it was a wonder he had made the trip. Despite Obito’s knowledge of names and faces, the only people he could recognize were those around him. A Konoha elder produced a sheet of paper and handed it to the elder who seemed to be presiding.
“These are the academy records for the Hatake kid.”
“Thank you. Kakashi; you have made the rank of Chunin. There are, however, extenuating circumstances that will be explained along with this promotion. It has been decided that no greater honor will be bestowed upon you until a few key discrepancies are resolved.”
It was like watching a train wreck, only he was in the train as he parsed the verbose sentence that in his memory seemed to be in love with the specific terms used.
“For Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin, we have no record of your graduation from the academy in Konohagakure. In a letter from one of the teachers there, it seems that the notary on one of their forms was the girl’s disgraced uncle. Without a valid transcript, any graduation would have to be declared illegitimate.”
“That was before he was arrested,” he said, not able to keep himself from speaking. “We were the ones who caught him, and that was after we made Genin-”
“It may have been that he was only caught after you made rank, but he was a corrupt official before that. That was why he was arrested,” the Yu elder continued. Rin’s fists were balled and embedded in her side in the brief moment that he looked over at her. “At any rate, it is the decision of this council that you two were middling academy students, and someone, either you or the Hatake kid, decided that he needed teammates to enter these exams, and so some strings had to be pulled. You figured that Nohara was the perfect patsy.”
Obito did not even remember getting his transcript notarized; it was just one of the pointless tasks that went along with graduation. He knew why it was a necessary step, of course; there were plenty of shinobi who were excellent at forgery, even at a young age, so some publicly accountable individual had to at least have seen it for a document to be valid.
“We never...” He could not have said how he would have finished the sentence. For one thing, he had never wanted to graduate so early; it had just happened. All his teachers seemed to agree that he was ready and at the time, he never questioned it. He certainly had never known that Rin’s uncle was going to be arrested for corruption, or that they were going to be the ones to do it.
“Most likely, you turned on him after you made Genin, deciding it was better to make it look like you would oppose corrupt officials, even if they were family. The crime was one that might have been committed by a single offender, and there were other suspicious circumstances.” He looked over at Minato. “Have these three passed your test?”
“They have.”
“Then this conference can say nothing about that particular promotion. It will stand, even without the prerequisite graduation. Are you aware of any certification of your students?”
“Obito recently told me that he does not have certification from the academy.”
“Were you aware of any discrepancy or any irregularity before promoting them to Genin?”
“No.”
“In their time at their current rank, have they shown any lack of ability?”
“No. Their performance has been admirable.”
“I am to understand that all of their missions so far have been D-Rank?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then I believe we understand what has happened here. The White Fang’s son was saddled with much of his ability and a need to redeem his family name. A genuine prodigy who studied and worked hard every day in the academy, he carried the hangers-on up to this point.”
Somehow that one turn of phrase was enough to make Rin lose her challenge of holding her tears back. Even in his memories it had never been clearer that as hard as they tried, they were only children. His own eyes watered, but his tears were angry.
“I hate you,” he muttered. No one could hear him. He could hardly hear himself; he could hardly think straight.
“I have, however, a word of criticism,” the Yu elder continued, undeterred. “If you knew anything about how you graduated, but your teammates had not, then you put them in inestimable danger by pitting them against Chunin candidates from the other villages.”
“We mopped the floor with the overgrown Genin from yours,” Obito said. “We could’ve killed them. You can ask them.” He tried to keep his voice calm, but there was only rage. The situation he was facing was completely unlike what he would have needed to awaken the Sharingan, as it would turn out. Was he simply too much of a child at the time, even as much as he had worked on his concentration and stress management?
They received their correction in the form of shouting from all directions. Rin wiped her tears and ran out of the room and he went out as well, in the guise of going after her. He would later learn that Kakashi followed at a leisurely pace when he realized very little of the opprobrium was directed at him specifically, and that his promotion had been decided before too many people remembered his family, or worse, because of it.
Minato joined them after a few minutes, offering to take them all to his house. Obito remembered not being in the mood for supper, or whatever was supposed to take place there.
“What’s going to happen now?” he asked. “We’re still going on that mission, right?”
“That was why I arranged it in advance,” his teacher said, sighing a little. “I realized their game shortly after you told me that you and Rin never had certification. Basically, it would have been great if they could have seen three impressive matches, but it was just as good if they saw one, and then there were two ninja clever enough to fool their teacher.”
Something came crashing down, but at least at the time, he could not tell what.
“What about the other team? Do they get promoted?”
“No, probably not, and they might even have a similar trick planned. It’s not my responsibility.” He shook his head. “When I was giving you the bell test, I knew you two were going to be worried about catching up to Kakashi. I never told you this, but... I passed the test on my own.”
“What?”
“Jiraiya was kind of at a loss. It was supposed to be an exercise in teamwork, but I managed to take the bells from him without relying on my teammates. It wasn’t that he was bad- maybe he wasn’t expecting it, but basically I was the once in a generation prodigy and I lived up to it. I was a few years older than you were, but I was the only student who had ever been given the bell test to pass it independently.”
“You didn’t want us to make the same mistake.”
“That’s right. I saw something of myself in your friend, and I had to make the test harder. I didn’t object to taking you three in at such a young age because I was thinking about where Kakashi might be in two or three years from now. If I’d insisted on letting him grow up more, he might have never learned the value of teamwork.”
“How did you learn?”
“It’s not that- well, it was more like I was one of those kids who would pay lip service to it, but then not really demonstrate that I cared about it. I had a reputation for being easy-going and unreliable, and I’m sure some people still think of me like that, but it’s because I was always confident in my skills and I hadn’t really learned about responsibility and integrity until I started caring about more than just myself.”
It was a remarkably honest confession, from everything that Obito knew, even with the benefit of retrospection. The story made him feel worse for his teacher, but he wanted to do right by him even more. It looked like his teammates had different things on their minds.
“Are you going to come with us on this mission?”
“I wouldn’t be earning enough for the village,” he said. “I’m overqualified for it. It’s also going to last for three years. There’s too much I could be doing during that time.”
“Then, it’s grunt work,” Kakashi guessed. “It’s effectively a demotion.”
“There’s a saying that it’s worse to be moved to a lower table than it is to seat yourself there, and it’s better to be raised to a higher table than to seat yourself there.”
“I heard the nail that sticks up the highest gets hammered down first.”
“Well, I heard that one too, but I thought it would send the wrong message for you. You’re capable of recognizing what your teammates were doing in their fights and I know you didn’t beat that hot water team all by yourself. I think you know you’re ahead of them, but not as high as I was above my teammates; not by a whole rank.”
That was the last they said on the subject. Obito’s heart burning over the injustice had cooled quickly, like a red-hot iron being tossed in the snow, and all there was to do was to sit there and think about it. Even at the time he knew that he would have plenty of time to think about it on the three-year mission.
“I’ve never been on a mission that long,” Rin obviated. “That’s... half my life so far. How do they know how long it’s going to take us?”
“It’s a matter of due diligence,” he said. “This is a mission that will take a good while, and you have to be there a while in order to certify that you’re done. I can’t give you all the details yet, but think of it like putting out a forest fire. You can’t just spray water on it until the flames die down and call it good.”
Obito nodded, still numb, but listening. Konoha had a lot of forests and a lot of fires, and to prevent some of those from meeting the wrong way, there were always D-Rank controlled burns. He was familiar with how threatening forest fires were to the country’s economy; it wasn’t really a matter of people’s lives; they could be evacuated, but the properties, everything in which they had invested, would be destroyed. Whenever they had to put out a fire, they had to make sure every last ember was suffocated.
“Is it in Konoha?”
“It’s in the east, but still technically our territory; we picked it up in an exchange with Yu about twenty years ago.”
He had not heard of it at a time, but basically the two allied countries had exchanged small slivers of territory to make the border look more even. There had only been two small villages to be effected by the change at all, and the one that ended up with Konoha was on the east coast, facing what used to be the land of whirlpools. It was a mark of intense shame, more so than any of the victims they left behind in the land of rain; those with the will of fire had less sympathy for the children of enemies than those they failed to protect.
“Can I just go home?” Rin asked after a moment. “We leave tomorrow, right?”
“That’s right. I had been prepared for you not to want to go home.”
“Well... I kind of don’t, but... I want to see my parents again before we leave, even if it’s going to be... bad.”
Obito had not thought about how the Nohara family might have been hoping that Rin’s performance might redeem them. Even if they never would have said anything, because it was way too much pressure on something that was a long shot going in, he was sure that it was going to be unbearable for her when she went back home. There was nothing he could do about it except keep being a good friend to her. Though the experience definitely soured him on being a shinobi of the leaf, to say the least, he would keep at it as long as she did.
On his way out, he ran into one of the examiners, who took off his mask to reveal his face, or rather, his red eyes.
“You’re one of us,” he said almost immediately, drawing back.
“You’re a clever boy,” the man said. When he had a moment to look at him properly, he saw that it was none other than Fugaku. “I hear that Dramada has spoken to you.”
“That’s correct, sir.”
“This may be something of an odd question,” he prefaced as they started to go back to the village together. “Did you never associate with the other Uchiha children?”
“Uh, well, I knew some of them, but... there was so much more to the village and... well, I’d either be hanging out with just them or everyone else,” he said. There was a girl his age named Sagara and she would give him disdainful looks as far back as the academy. They always seemed to say ‘you made your choice’ even before he knew what that choice was.
“I see. We were just a little concerned that you might be feeling... lost.”
He stopped. Though he had felt a lot of different things, placelessness was not something he recognized. Could that be it, though? Would his problems with other people be easier to solve if he could hang out with people who understood him?
“I don’t know, maybe,” he said after a moment, walking again.
“I don’t want you to end up like the White Fang’s son.” Perhaps it was time to put things more bluntly after the initial implication failed to land.
“Why, isn’t he really special?” he asked, annoyed. “Isn’t he the pride and joy of his family?”
Fugaku made a half-frown, like he was trying to be polite.
“Skill and technical knowledge aren’t everything. The kid’s obsessed with the Shinobi rules. Even we know about it. My niece, Sagara, ranted about him every day when they were in the academy together.”
“The teachers said she was just jealous.”
“Her dojutsu will awaken and the gap will close. Uchiha are born in the field.”
“I know,” he said after a moment. He sighed. “I don’t want you to think I was disagreeing about Kakashi, though. I think what his father did was respectable. I wouldn’t be able to put the mission above my friends either.”
“I agree. We all do. Never in our compound will you hear the name of Hatake Sakumo slandered. It was a travesty the way the village drove him to suicide.” He shook his head.
That was something that challenged the way Obito saw things at that age. To be sure, the ninja had done the right thing in refusing to abandon his comrades, but had he not abandoned his family by taking his own life? He knew it had to have been a difficult decision and tried to have some sympathy for that, but it still seemed like he failed his family.
“Sir, are friends kind of like family?” he asked after a moment of contemplation. “There are a lot of people who seem to think so, but then some people who think they’re nothing alike.”
“Well, you might love them both, and that’s important, but what puts family above friends, even if just by a bit, is that you can never change your family. No matter what happens, your parents will always be your parents. The same is true for them; they can never change the fact that they had you.”
“What about when you get married?”
“If you get married to someone outside the clan, you end up with divided loyalties, which breeds strife. It gives you a reason to betray one or the other, and we’ve always tried to avoid that. Fortunately, we have people like Dramada who work to arrange marriages and do all other kinds of tasks that we can’t because we’re too busy on missions.”
They were at Obito’s door.
“Thanks for telling me all that, sir,” he said. “I think maybe I can spend more time with the other Uchiha kids, but only after I get back from this mission, and it’s going to be a long one. I’ll see you when I get back.”
There were a lot of things that had happened that day, and he felt like he needed to decompress. His grandmother asked him nothing about the Chunin exams; she seemed remarkably perceptive in terms of when he wanted to talk about something and when he would not appreciate the opportunity. They ate supper quietly and he wondered where his teammate was, who had not mentioned anything about where he would be going that evening. Were things difficult between him and his mother? They had nothing left of their family except each other.
As he finished supper after exchanging only a few words with his grandmother about how he was probably going to be regarded even worse outside the compound, and his inability to put on an impressive display was probably going to spread it to his teacher, he decided he was still mad, but there was nothing he could do. If his teammates still wanted to be shinobi of the leaf, then he could not just abandon them. He wanted revenge against the officials who had apparently betrayed him, but with all the talk and thoughts of treason, he was confused about how to feel about it. Did they betray him and Rin, or did they simply maintain their loyalty to the village? Was that how it was always going to be; choosing between one loyalty and another? Was that why the Uchiha seemed to want to make things easier, and only have one loyalty?
The following morning brought with it disbelief, of all things.
As famous of a shinobi as Minato could never be regarded negatively just because there was an irregularity with his students. Was anything bad going to happen to him, or was he just going to keep doing A and B rank missions all the time, hoping that eventually people would overlook the manufactured controversy? He met up with his teammates and they seemed to be avoiding each other’s eyes.
“When do we get our mission details? Did Sensei tell you anything?” he asked.
“In a few minutes,” Kakashi said. “He said it was technically a lower C-Rank mission, so that’s at least within our range.”
That was something else that bugged him, and he had just not had any time to think about how much he wished it could have been some other way. Though his teammate was a Chunin, they were not going to get harder missions, but at least he loved following orders and completing missions exactly as specified. He really hoped, though, that it was not a mission that was going to help the land of hot water, even though they were going to former Yu territory.
“There you are.” They turned to see their teacher approaching. “I’m glad to see you all here today.” They all looked away for a moment before looking back. “I know that you haven’t run into a lot of disappointments so far, because it’s so early in your careers, but you’re learning the hard way.”
“I’m not worried, sir. One of these days, I’ll make it to Hokage,” he announced, though it had been a while since he had said anything like that. Everything else seemed to have a way of keeping him busy, and keeping his mind on other things.
“That’s a good goal to have. The scroll should explain everything, unless your contact in the village has some new information for you. I just want to get a few things across before you go. Yesterday... it wasn’t planned, but you definitely saw how things might not go your way.”
That was putting it mildly, especially the day after, but no one said anything in response. Obito remembered thinking that it was looking more and more like the mission was going to be disappointing. He had brought a few scrolls with him so that he would have something to read, but he had really been hoping for a mission in which he could show off his skills, or one where he could pick up new skills, not even to get to Chunin, but just to establish that he and Rin actually helped Kakashi get there.
Their instructor was a busy man, and said nothing more before disappearing. His teammates were already going over the scroll while he was standing there wondering how Minato got so fast. The lone kunoichi made a face while looking over it.
“Is it grunt work?” he asked.
“Well, parts of it are, but...” she trailed off. “I’ve never been so... never mind.”
All of a sudden, he wondered how she was feeling after getting chewed out the previous day, and then having to go home to her parents who were going to figure out quickly enough that the team did not make rank. Maybe, by some extension, since the Hatake family had been partially redeemed, or at least since the son had distinguished himself from his father, the team looked a little better, but that hardly did anything for the Nohara family.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “Didn’t you always want to be a shinobi?”
“I did,” she said. “I... well, I have a lot of reasons, it’s just that they’re... being tested.” She looked like she was about to cry again. “I always wanted to be on a team and go on cool adventures. It sounds so stupid now.”
“It’s a little early to be having a mid-life crisis,” Kakashi said. “Then again, we have a pretty good chance of dropping dead before we’re twelve.”
“I’m seven now,” she said. “Last night was my birthday.”
“There’s an even better chance of dying by fourteen.”
“That’s not the point,” Obito said. “We can still go on adventures. We have our whole lives ahead of us. That’s what my grandmother always says. That’s what every old person in the village says.”
“I know, it’s just... what if we get stuck doing the wrong thing because we decided so early?” she asked. “What if we picked before we knew anything and... and we’re not cut out for this at all?”
“We’re totally cut out for this. Kakashi is the youngest Chunin ever and we helped. They just... they were just covering for themselves and making us look bad. We’re actually good for our age. We’re incredible for our age.”
“It’s not a Shinobi Rule, but no one in the field cares how old you are,” their teammate said.
“We know; you’ve said it.” He took the contract scroll and looked over it himself. “How bad can this be, anyway?” There was less written in the mission details than he would have expected, but each word hit him like a kunai in the chest.
Suppress the rebellion in the village of bubbles. Leave no rebellious element alive.
The Shinobi Rules
Silirt
Chapter 17: Bubbles
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Awa no Mura, the traditional name for the village of bubbles, was the perfect place for Kirigakure to foment rebellion against Konoha. With the ruin of the land of whirlpools in sight, it would be easy enough to convince the loyalists there that the leaves could not protect them. They also had long-running family ties to Yu, which might be an ally, but would not be protected first, not before the hidden village. Obito understood all of that perfectly fine, but he was having a hard time wrapping his head around their mission, even as he was being deployed on it.
“I don’t get it,” he said for what felt like the thousandth time. “Why would they betray us?”
“I can only speculate,” Kakashi said. “We’ll find out when we get there.”
His teammates were being patient with him again, which annoyed him a little. He was probably the most outspoken on the team, and quite possibly the most outspoken out of any young shinobi, when he looked at the other kids who had been in the academy with them, but that did not mean people had to treat him like an opinion box. It was worth considering, though, the chance that his teammate was right, and it was better to save his questions for when the answers could be easily determined.
They arrived in the village about two days after they left, which was travelling hard for them. Though there were not that many natural barriers, they were out of chakra quickly and had to sleep to recover, and when they were going into a potentially dangerous setting, it was a good idea not to run themselves out completely. The village was mostly made of bamboo, with some newer wooden houses here and there.
“Are you three the shinobi we requested?” an old man asked.
“Yes,” Kakashi said, bowing slightly. “We are quite capable.”
0 notes
Note
Can I ask you to do all the questions from SHIP QUESTIONS for NaruHina? 👉👈
This is EVIL, Chloe. Evil. 😑
But yes. 😘
(I'm assuming this is all modern AU, btw.)
And tagging @ellaroundpanda because she sent in an ask too! 💟
SHIP QUESTIONS
PRE-RELATIONSHIP
How did they first meet?
Through mutual friends! But even though they don't run in the same social circles, they probably would have ended up meeting because of Sakura or Neji.
2. What was their first impression of each other?
Love at first sight!! 😭😭💓💓 You know how NH can be with each other's eyes lol.
3. Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?
All of the above. Sure, the first rant or two is fun to watch but after the millionth time of hearing Naruto pining even Neji wanted them to get together.
4. Who felt romantic feelings first?
Probably Hinata. She heard his laugh for the first time and she just fell. (Plus Naruto's really hot skskschkkgcgh)
5. Did either of them try to resist their feelings?
Naruto did. At first! But that's because Hinata deserves the best and he doesn't consider himself the best. 😭😭💔💔
Then all his friends called him stupid for thinking that and then started hyping him up. 😌
6. If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think?
Naruto would think that I was lying lol. Then he'd go on a rant about the type of person that (he thinks) Hinata deserves.
Hinata would be really happy!! (But even if this wasn't the case, she only wants Naruto to be happy. As long as Naruto's happy, she's happy. <3) But she'd probably think it was a lie at first, too.
7. What would their lives be like if they had never met?
What kind of question is this. 💔 I'm not sure.... but hopefully they would end up meeting in another lifetime...
GENERAL
Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go?
Naruto finally got the courage to ask Hina out!!! 😆😆 (while everyone simultaneously said Amen!!) but then Hina passed out.... :/ but she said yes!!!
2. Did they have an official first date? If so, what was it like?
Duh! Naruto wanted to make sure that it was all fancy so he could sweep Hinata off her feet! 💗💗💗💗
Everything goes wrong tho. They're late to the restaurant, the movie they wanted to watch was sold out, etc, etc.
3. What was their first kiss like?
It was in the rain... 😬
They loved it.
4. Were they each other’s first anything (kiss, relationship, etc.)?
Yes. 😌
5. What’s their height difference? Age difference?
HELL YEAH. HEIGHT DIFFERENCES MY BELOVED!!!! Tall and Smol, of course. 😌
Naruto's taller but Hina's older. (Not even by that much but Naruto still says he's dating a MILF 💀)
6. What’s their relationship with each other’s families?
Kushina and Minato love Hinata like she's their daughter. Karin wishes she met her first bc THEY would be a cuter couple but that's all in good fun.
Naruto and Hanabi are menaces, duh. And argue over Hinata 24/7. Neji threatens Nart all the time as well but he loves how happy he makes her, though he won't say it.
7. Who takes the lead in social situations?
Extrovert Naruto Uzumaki, of course. But he always makes sure to find little ways to change the subject of conversation so Hinata talks too.
8. Who gets jealous easier?
Naruto! Because even though he knows Hinata loves him, he still gets scared she'll leave him. 😭 (but she makes sure to tell him that they'll be together forever all the time. 😌💗)
9. Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear?
Naruto mostly. But sometimes Hinata will whisper some things when Naruto has to go back to the office. As motivation, ya know. 😉
LOVE
Who said “I love you” first?
Naruto. He has no brain to mouth filter so (even though he was ready to say it, he wasn't necessarily ready to tell her to her face, just in case) he accidentally blurted it out. After a second or two of just staring at each other, he was extremely (but very happily) surprised that she said it back.
2. What are their primary love languages?
They both have the same ones! They both love to show affections through their actions and through spending time with each other. 💘
3. Who uses cheesy pick-up lines?
Naruto. And Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Temari, and Hanabi are extremely embarrassed (and a little ashamed) when they work on Hina.
4. How often do they cuddle/engage in PDA?
Naruto Kitty Cat Uzumaki loves cuddles so he's always by Hina's side or holding her hand in someway.
5. Who initiates kisses?
Naruto loves giving Hinata surprise kisses but definitely enjoys it more when she surprises him.
6. Who’s the big and little spoon?
Naruto's the little spoon (the reasons in your bio! 😘) but sometimes they switch.
7. What are their favorite things to do together?
Hinata taught Naruto how to knit! So sometimes they knit together.
And you know I'm a mess with the thought them gardening together!!! 😩😩😩😩 yeah. They garden...
8. Who’s better at comforting the other?
Hinata. She just has a way with words, ya know?
9. Who’s more protective?
Hinata. Naruto used to get picked on so she's VERY protective of who can talk to him. She glares like an angry cat if someone even looks at Naruto the wrong way.
10. Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?
Physical when they're with friends and verbal when they're alone. (Hand holding is always a must tho.)
11. What are some songs that apply to their relationship, in-universe or otherwise?
Idk if you guys knew this already but Ariana Grande is a confirmed NaruHina stan. I'm joking about how else is she able to write them in song form??? 😕
First song that comes to mind would have to be Moonlight. 🌙
12. What kind of nicknames do they call each other?
Naruto loves when Hinata calls him Naruto-kun and gets kinda grumpy when she doesn't. (She didn't call him that for one day and was extremely pouty the rest of the day.)
Hinata is really embarrassed about nicknames because Naruto comes up a new one everyday till he finds one he likes best. (He called her honey one time and then got kicked out of the house because Hina was so flustered.)
13. Who remembers the little things?
Hinata. Naruto literally forgot his father-in-law's birthday in canon, it's Hinata.
DOMESTIC LIFE
1. If they get married, who proposes?
I'm seeing a double proposal, tbh. NH is extremely in sync all the time so I think when one feels like it's time so would the other.
2. What’s the wedding like? Who attends?
They have two weddings actually. They had rushed to get married shortly after they were engaged (bc Nart wanted Hina to move in) but were practically forced to have an actual wedding when Kushina found out.
3. How many kids do they have, if any? What are they like?
Ummmm... they already have kids lmao. But perfect. Their kids are perfect. (And if you think I'm leaving Kawaki out, think again. Because that is their oldest, thank you very much. 😤😌)
4. Do they have any pets?
Millions of em. The sunshine siblings have absolutely no control and neither do their parents.
5. Who’s the stricter parent?
Hinata because Naruto thinks his kids won't like him if he's strict (which is not the case). Hinata has to reassure him all the time by saying that she "doesn't know what she's doing but they're figuring it out together so they have to be a united front."
6. Who worries the most?
Both of them. They're scared they have no idea what they're doing. But they take it one step at a time! Together. 😩💕💕💕
7. Who kills the bugs in the house?
You guys already know it's Hinata. 😂😂😂
8. How do they celebrate holidays?
Depends. Sometimes they go out and sometimes they stay in. (Before the kids, their birthdays were mostly spent in.)
9. Who’s more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning?
Naruto 1000%. He is extremely pervasive. (Take this as you will. 😉)
10. Who’s the better cook?
Hinata, duh. Unless we're talking about a chef!Naruto AU, Naruto sucks at cooking. 😂 but he gets an A for effort! 😂💘
11. Who likes to dance?
Hinata! Naruto loves watching her because she's so graceful and it's like she's walking on air and (even though he's not the best at it) sometimes he'll join her. 💞💞💞
Done! 😤😤😤 Hope you enjoyed girls! 💟💟💟
#this took forever#but was extremely fun 😂#thank you for the asks! 💘💘💘#again the Ariana thing was joke pls don't take it seriously.#unless it's true lol#naruhina#ask game#naruhina headcannons#chloelapomme#ellaroundpanda
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Summer of Whump Day 15: Sleep Deprived
Fandom: Naruto
Rating: G
Pairing: Hatake Kakashi & Umino Iruka; Umino Iruka & Uzumaki Naruto
WC: ~3320
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Notes: AU backstory for the purposes of I Wanted To.
A/N: This is just. I don't even know guys. I started writing and then it got bigger and bigger and I couldn't stop. It's just. A Lot.
~
Kakashi has not been able to take care of his sensei’s child the way he should, the way the boy admittedly deserves; and yes, absolutely, he takes that fault personally but also doesn’t do anything about it because really… what can he provide for this child besides instability? He’s hardly in the village anymore, though Sandaime has hinted that, if Kakashi asked, he could be assigned missions closer to home. Instead, Kakashi does what he can without bothering Naruto or letting the boy realize that he even exists. He ensures the bills are paid up in six-month increments, and has the utility companies know to charge to his personal account anything he misses due to being out on mission. He provides non-perishable groceries, placed in the pantry late at night every month or so: oats, rice, dried or tinned meats, beans and legumes. He’ll bring a small selection of vegetables with him at the same time, (no more than three or four items, so they don’t rot before Naruto feels obligated to eat them) usually pilfered from Gai’s garden so he knows they’re not poisoned.
And whenever he’s in the village, he makes a stop at Naruto’s apartment at least once to check in on the wards wrapped into the walls and window frames.
This is how he learns about Umino Iruka and the interest he’s taken in the village jinchūriki.
~
The wards when he gets to Minato’s son’s apartment this time are different. Odd. Not… well, actually, they might be stronger; Kakashi glances at the walls with the sharingan and finds himself mildly impressed. Whoever placed these wards knew about the ones Kakashi put up, and modified their own to augment and strengthen Kakashi’s.
Kakashi says modified because he’s seen these styles of wards before, but never used like this. The key in the front door jingles a bit, like the person unlocking the door knows Kakashi’s in here and is giving him time to leave. Kakashi takes the out for what it is and slips out the window, closing it quietly behind him. He stays plastered against the wall beside the window for a moment, however, wanting to get a glimpse of who’s taking care of his sensei’s kid in Kakashi’s stead.
The door opens and Naruto—gods, how old is he, seven? Eight?—barrels by the figure in the doorway with a grin and shoots straight for the pantry.
“Naruto-kun, take your sandals off first. I mopped for you just earlier this week, I’m not doing it again so soon.”
One arm balancing a paper bag of fresh groceries, a leather school bag over the same shoulder; hitai-ate and vest both neat, but his sleeves and pants legs are scuffed; and his fingers carry the faint dusting of chalk that hours of holding ingrains and a quick wash won’t wipe away. A teacher.
“Iruka-sensei, I can mop later; I’m hungry now!”
“I won’t ask you twice.” The man—this Iruka-sensei—walks barefoot through the apartment and sets the grocery bag down on the kitchen table. Naruto hangs his head and goes back to the door, and once he’s out of the room, Iruka looks at the window Kakashi is peeking in, scowling initially. The scowl lessens when he sees the Konoha ANBU mask, and he nods, but makes a slight shoo gesture.
“What’re we making tonight, sensei?” Naruto bounds back into the room, barefoot as his sensei.
“I’m thinking of teaching you breakfast for dinner,” Iruka says. “Miso soup, tamagoyaki, steamed salmon; how’s that sound?”
“Sounds great!”
“And if we make enough, you’ll have enough for the morning, too,” Iruka ruffles Naruto’s hair. “Go grab out the rice and we’ll get started, okay?”
Kakashi leaves. Iruka-sensei seems to have only good intentions.
~
Iruka is a new teacher, one that (if the very quiet rumors are to be believed) didn’t initially want to be the jinchūriki’s homeroom teacher. Something changed his mind, clearly, and now he’s spending every moment outside of class with the kid.
Every. Moment.
Kakashi notices the third time he’s in the village after meeting Iruka—notices how tired the man seems. He follows the teacher from just before dawn when he wakes up and heads out to Naruto’s apartment and fixes him breakfast. Kakashi watches Iruka herd Naruto around the apartment, brushing teeth, getting changed, gods Naruto where’s your homework I told you to put it right back in your bag last night after I helped you with it. Then they’re out the door and one of them locks the deadbolt while the other activates the wards (Iruka always double-checks the wards if Naruto does them) and they walk to the Academy together.
Iruka spends the day in the Academy staunchly refusing to play favorites. If Kakashi didn’t know that the man had made Naruto eat breakfast while searching for a clean shirt for the child to wear, he’d swear Naruto was Iruka’s least favorite student—based solely on the amount of yelling.
But the two of them have lunch together, talk and hang out during recess unless Iruka shoos him away to play, and then they walk together to either Iruka’s or Naruto’s apartment after school. Sometimes they’ll go out for ramen, or to one of the training grounds to work on a technique they started in class which Naruto needs more time to fully grasp. Iruka is a patient teacher, especially one-on-one, and even though Minato-sensei’s son doesn’t perform well on the tests in school he learns the techniques after class and gains the appropriate muscle memory.
Which is admittedly much more important than the grades Naruto earns. Iruka won’t say as much, but it’s obvious that he agrees when his teaching style puts emphasis on practicals rather than paper tests. Kakashi approves.
After a day of minding twenty-five ankle-biters, an afternoon of extra training for the village jinchūriki, and an evening of making sure Naruto is fed and happy and his homework is completed to the best of his ability, Iruka then helps Naruto get ready for bed. Against the kid’s token protests, they’ll read a story together (Kakashi suspects Iruka does this because Naruto’s reading skills are lacking, but he could also very well just be doing it because he enjoys it—the man’s motives are enigma to him) and Iruka will tuck Naruto in. He stays at the apartment until he knows Naruto is asleep, tidying up here and there or even just leaning in the bedroom doorway watching the jinchūriki’s chest rise and fall.
Only when Naruto’s asleep will Iruka leave, activating the wards and locking up after himself.
It took only two times of Kakashi watching these kinds of days go by before he realized that Iruka knew he had been watched all day. As he passes the tree outside of Naruto’s building, the only one that reaches high enough to afford a glance into his apartment, Iruka looks right up into the limbs where Kakashi is crouched, waves, and continues back to his own home.
(He had been underestimating Umino Iruka’s awareness. He’s intrigued.)
(But anyway.)
Once he’s home, Iruka rushes through grading and lesson plans and adjustments. He makes lunch for himself and Naruto for tomorrow. Cleans, if he remembers; showers, if he has any energy left. Then, Umino-sensei crashes hard around one or two in the morning.
All to start over again at five-thirty the next morning.
It can’t be sustainable. Kakashi is morbidly interested in how long Iruka planned to keep up this kind of schedule.
~
It starts out with checking out during lunch. Kakashi is lounging in the trees on the Academy grounds, pretending to read but listening intently to Naruto ramble on about some new topping Ichiraku is introducing on Friday and please Iruka-sensei can we go? Then the soft click of dropped chopsticks against a bento box made Kakashi look down to the pair sitting at the base of his tree.
“Iruka-sensei? Are you—?”
“Oh, I’m. I’m alright.” Iruka laughs it off, fumbling for his chopsticks. “I was just thinking too hard there.”
“You shouldn’t do that!”
“Hu—?”
“You tell me not to think too hard all the time,” Naruto pouts. “That I’ll hurt myself.”
Iruka’s laugh crinkles his eyes and he tips his head back. “Gods, Naruto, I’m sorry—no, not—um. Listen, forget it, okay? Ramen, on Friday, right?”
“YES!”
And it was forgotten. Except, Iruka is unconsciously rubbing his fingers together beside his hip and Kakashi can see it. Something happened to force the drop—likely, he lost feeling in his hand briefly.
~
Kakashi’s out of the village as it gets worse, but he hears all about it from Shikaku and Inoichi when he gets back. They’re in the hallway outside the Hokage’s office, talking in low tones like they were discussing an attack on the village.
“What could cause such a serious mood shift?”
“Genjutsu; one of the other teachers sabotaging him; another student practicing poorly.”
“Iruka-sensei?” Kakashi asks.
Both men look at him as he approaches. He’s still in his ANBU armor, but the mask is in his locker. It’s an open secret he’s in ANBU; only his codename is high-clearance.
Shikaku nods. “Shikamaru’s complaining about the man’s temper being shorter than usual.”
“My Ino confirmed this behavior shift. We’re understandably worried, if someone if trying to use an Academy teacher to attack the kids—”
Kakashi shakes his head. “It’s not that.”
“And you would know?” Shikaku prompts.
“He’s taking care of Naruto,” Kakashi shrugs. “It’s probably catching up with him, finally.”
“What is?” Inoichi looks honestly confused.
Kakashi tilts his head and then realizes. “Ah. That’s right. You’re both married. You have a way to share the responsibilities.”
Sakumo hadn’t ever been irate with him, but Kakashi can remember him being tired. He lifts his hand and walks away. “I’ll see if I can’t have a talk with Iruka-sensei,” he says, as though he speaks with the man on a regular basis instead of just waving back from his shadowed space in the tree at night when Iruka leaves Naruto.
~
He doesn’t get a chance to talk to Iruka for weeks. When he gets back, it finally comes to a head.
Kakashi is perched outside Iruka’s apartment where he and Naruto are preparing their dinner. Naruto, still talking a mile a minute, hardly notices that Iruka is dazed at the counter, his hands going through the motions of peeling carrots and separating pieces of broccoli without being fully cognizant. He’s much paler than the last time Kakashi peeked in on them—all except for the bags under his eyes; those couldn’t get much darker if they were black.
He flinches forward as Iruka drifts to the side. Naruto catches his teacher before Kakashi can take a step, and the clang of a knife hitting the floor is more than a little startling. Together, they stick Iruka’s hand under running water from the tap, and then Naruto disappears further into the apartment and returns a few seconds later with a first aid kit.
“What was that about, Iruka-sensei?”
Iruka takes a bit to answer. “I haven’t been sleeping well,” he says. “I’m a bit tired, that’s all. Sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize,” Naruto says. He finishes caring for his sensei and then says, “How about I go get some take-out, and then we can clean up and you can go to bed?”
Iruka smiles tiredly. “We can bring the take-out to your place, okay? I’ll clean up when I come back home.”
“But—”
“It’s okay, Naruto,” Iruka puts his unbandaged hand in Naruto’s hair. “I’d rather make sure you’re fed and well-rested for school tomorrow. That’s what's important.”
“You’re important, too, sensei,” Naruto says.
Kakashi can’t help but agree.
“Let’s go get some ramen, and we can argue about this later.”
Kakashi flashes away to Ichiraku to put in their order and pay. It’s the least he can do, right?
Later that night, Iruka leaves Naruto’s apartment and like always, lifts his head to wave up at Kakashi in the tree. Only, his eyes roll back with the movement of lifting his head and his knees collapse under him and Kakashi makes it just in time to keep the sensei’s head from hitting the ground. He catches Iruka with one hand under his back and the other cupped behind his head and eases him down against his raised knee.
As soon as Iruka is horizontal, his eyes flutter back open. “Oh, ANBU-san,” he mutters. He’s dazed and foggy, but tries to stand up on his own anyway.
“Sensei, are you well?” Kakashi asks, knowing the answer but needing Iruka to admit it.
Iruka waves him away. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a little tired.”
It’s more than that if you’re slipping into micro-sleep, Kakashi thinks, but lets the man stubbornly stand up. He’s still holding his hands out, ready to catch him again, when after five paces Iruka tips sideways and falls again. Kakashi keeps him upright this time, arms tight around his waist and back.
Iruka stays under for a few seconds this time, and when he wakes he leans more heavily into Kakashi’s armor and groans. “What’s happening?” he murmurs.
Normally, he would stay and look after Naruto all night, but this seems more important. “Umino-sensei, I’m going to see you to the hospital now,” he says.
“But… Naruto?”
Because of course Iruka figured out that Kakashi—his ANBU persona at least—stays close to Naruto at all times. “Together, our wards are top-notch, sensei,” Kakashi says. “He’ll be okay for a night.” He slips Iruka onto his back, pulling his arms over his shoulders. Iruka’s light breath huffs past his ear as he says, “Hold on.” Then, they’re gone.
~
Iruka wakes up much later, Naruto tipped against his hospital bed, snoring. He feels so much better after however many hours of sleep he’s gotten. He wonders briefly why he’s here, and where the ANBU that brought him here is. If Naruto is here, that ANBU is likely closeby. Iruka lets out a jaw-cracking yawn and settles back down on the pillow to sleep some more.
When he wakes up the second time, it’s because he has to pee so bad oh gods. It’s night time and Naruto is gone—Iruka tries not to feel disappointed. His legs shake under him when he tries to stand to get to the restroom; whatever’s wrong with him, it’s making him weak as a newborn but he will not embarrass himself by not making it to the toilet. He pushes chakra through his legs, and, finally, blissfully, makes it.
He gets a good look at himself in the mirror as he’s washing his hands. His eyes are puffy and red, but he has some color back in his skin. His hair could use a wash and some heavy conditioning—he hadn’t had time for that in awhile. All in all, it’s not bad; but he’s still wondering why he’s here.
Iruka leaves the restroom and is halfway across the room to his bed when his chakra flares unexpectedly. He stumbles, collapses, and feels his eyes blur and begin to roll back.
Before his head can hit the tile, he’s caught and cushioned by Naruto’s ANBU. The ANBU gently picks him up, one arm under his knees and the other around his back, and it’s like Iruka weighs nothing as the ANBU stands and carries him back to bed.
“Thank-you, ANBU-san,” Iruka says, flushed. “I promise I’m not usually so weak.”
The ANBU fusses with the blanket and covers Iruka back up. He (Iruka assumes they’re a he, the voice and height lead him to believe it but he’s been wrong before) seems frustrated, in the way that ANBU show frustration: by being busy, and then by being absolutely still. He’ll make sure the water pitcher is full, and then stand silently by the window for a few seconds. Pace the width of the room from window to door and back, and then stand at the end of the bed.
“What’s going on, ANBU-san? Is Naruto—?”
“Uzumaki-kun is safe, healthy, and well-cared for,” the ANBU says, cutting him off. “You are a godsend to this village, if only to care for the uncared for.”
Iruka glowers. “Someone had to do it. He’s seven years old and living alone and has lived alone his entire life. I couldn’t—”
“I’m aware,” the ANBU holds up a hand to stop his rant. “Believe me, if I could have done more, I would have. But an ANBU is no role model, especially not me. I’m glad he’s had you. That said.” The ANBU somehow matched Iruka’s glower through the mask; he was suddenly glad for all the time spent in Sandaime’s office around the ANBU that he can pick up on these micro-aggressions for what they are.
Iruka folds his arms and waits for the ANBU to continue.
After a heavy sigh, the ANBU says, “Sleep deprivation.”
“I—what?”
“What you’re here for. You’ve been running yourself into the ground, sensei. You slept for twenty-two hours, and you’re still not fully recovered. The medics say it could take up to a week of proper sleep for you to feel normal again.”
Iruka flushes and ducks his head. “I… But, that doesn’t…”
“How much sleep have you been getting? Three, Four hours a night? And then you’re exhausting yourself all day looking after pre-genin and then Naruto.” The ANBU folds his arms. “This isn’t sustainable.”
“I know that. I just.” Iruka groans. “I don’t have time for—” He scrubs both hands across his eyes. Now that he’s actually gotten some sleep he’s really tired. “No one else takes care of him, not the way he needs it; he’s just a kid! It bothers me enough that he lives by himself—”
“Your immune system was compromised when you arrived, sensei.” The ANBU snapped, quieting Iruka’s tirade. “Who’s going to take care of Naruto the way he deserves if you’re stuck on your back with a perfectly, normally treatable form of the flu? What will happen to him if you critically injure yourself due to a micro-sleep at an inopportune time and find yourself off-roster for weeks? What then, sensei?”
The silence is heavy. Iruka picks at a stray thread in the blanket on his lap.
“I don’t know,” he answers, his voice small. “I didn’t… I wasn’t thinking that far ahead, I guess.”
The ANBU nods. “At least you’re aware now.”
There’s a long, awkward pause as Iruka wonders what else there is to say.
“You have a spare room in your apartment, yes?” the ANBU breaks the silence.
Iruka nods, slowly, not sure where this is going.
“Maybe…” the ANBU continues slowly, “maybe changes in Naruto’s living arrangements can be made. If Naruto were living with you, could you agree to a better sleep schedule—one with which you can better take care of yourself and Naruto?”
Iruka could kiss this man.
“Yes! Yes, please, I’ll—yes! I’ll take him, even if it means I have to lose him as a student, I’d take him as a foster.”
The ANBU chuckles. “I’ll speak with the Hokage. If he says no, well… There’s nothing saying that Naruto himself can’t choose where he lives, is there?” Then his micro-aggression is back, leaning over the foot of the bed with his arms wide. “My only stipulation is that you take better care of yourself. A sick guardian can’t very well keep up with any child, let alone a jinchūriki.”
Iruka nods. “Deal.” He covers a yawn with his palm and asks, “Can this taking care of myself clause start now, with me asking you to leave so I can go back to sleep?”
“I’m not leaving,” the ANBU says, standing back up straight. “If you’re to be the guardian of our jinchūriki, you’ll need to get used to the ANBU guard, sensei. But please, get some sleep.” He chuckles lightly, “I think I’ve caught you enough in the last thirty-six hours, don’t you?”
#summerofwhump#summerofwhump15#sleep deprived#fanfic#hatake kakashi#umino iruka#uzumaki naruto#my writing
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Can I request persona leaders comforting an s/o dealing with toxic parents? My parents have kind of been destroying mental health recently.
S/o with Toxic Parents [Persona Leaders]
Characters Included: Akira Kurusu, Yu Narukami, Minato Arisato & Minako Arisato
Note: I’m so sorry to hear that 😞 If you need someone to talk to, I’m here. Hope you’ll like this!
Reader’s Gender: Neutral
Warnings: Mentions of toxic parents, verbal and physical abuse.
Akira Kurusu
— Akira would be so furious when he finds out that you have that kind of parents. He might not have the same hatred as Ryuji when it comes to adults, but he hates that kind of people who degrades other people, especially their children.
— Akira will help you, no doubt about it. He might also change their heart (whether you know it or not)! When your parents get arrested, he will beg Sojiro (I forgot this dude’s name and had to google it LMAO) to make you stay with him. Sojiro relents (with a condition of course, no nasty things 😒).
— Even though you don’t want to, Akira would force you to live with him. When you two started living together, he’ll spoil you with affection and love. He isn’t ashamed in declaring his love for you.
— Akira would have a sad and angry look on his eyes whenever you flinch. Sad that throughout your life, your parents have been abusing you. And angry that he should’ve been here earlier to save you.
— Akira might not be a therapist but he can try to be one. Just tell him everything and he won’t judge. When you start to cry, he’ll pull you in for a hug.
“Shh.. it’s okay. I’m here.” The warmth and cozy feeling of Akira’s embrace is enough to send another wave of tears. You tightly clench the back of his shirt as you sob in his chest. The moon was out as some of the light pass through the attic’s window.
Akira didn’t mind that you were staining his shirt at all. He wants you to let it all out. His brows knitted together once more when his thoughts went to your parents. Oh how he wanted to make them pay for what they’ve done to you.
“That’s it.. let it all out.” How your agony cries make his heart twist painfully in his chest. Like a knife repeatedly stabbing him. He wants to clear all of your awful thoughts. To get rid of the pain your parents brought to you. But he couldn’t. All he could do now is hold you in his embrace as he waits for you to stop.
Yu Narukami
— Yu is actually shock when he finds out about your background, then his face morph into a deadly murderous glare. Which makes the whole Investigation Team afraid of him. This is afterall their first time seeing Yu angry— no, furious.
—“P-Partner! Calm down—!” “Where are they?” “Meep—“
— Yu would immediately bring you into a warm hug when he finds you. He craddles your head behind the back as he whispers sweet nothings in your ears.
— Yu would immediately tell Dojima about what’s happening in your family. Even though you don’t want to, Yu couldn’t bear to see you suffer anymore. After they get arrested, Yu would also ask Dojima if you can move in with them. (Dojima saying yes bc he pities you too)
— Yu would immediately worry if you disappeared, his mind would be fill with endless worry because of the fact that your shadow counterpart can appear in the TV world. If it’s not, then Yu would be so grateful and pamper you with love. But if it is, Yu is already ready to take on your Shadow.
— Yu would do everything to cheer you up. When I mean by everything, everything. This boi would move heaven and earth for you. All he wants is to get rid of your painful thoughts.
“Hey, darling. Where are you?” You can hear Yu calling for you downstairs, but you couldn’t answer. You hiccup pathetically as you press your hand harder to cover your mouth, muffling your cries. You could hear your parents words still, as if they were still here. Still taunting you about how pathetic you are.
“You pathetic, good-for-nothing child! Why the hell are you crying?!” Tears were still pouring out of your eyes as the voice of your mother ring in your ears. “You’re just a bitch, why did we receive such a useless child.” Your whimper grew louder when the laughter of your father resonated through your head.
Your eyes snapped open when you felt someone near you. You bit your lower lip as you closed your eye, anticipating for the abuse. You flinch when you felt someone removing the duvet you’re under and touching you. The person quickly withdrew their hand.
You didn’t dare to open your eyes, fearing that both of your parents came back to get you. The fear crawling through your veins as you whimper a bit. You felt someone tenderly running a hand through your hair. “Shh.. it’s okay.”
You recognized the voice. You slowly opened your eyes to meet your boyfriend’s gentle and reassuring face. He was sitting on the side with his hand running through your hair. No words needed, you quickly crawl towards him, seeking his comfort. Yu immediately welcome you to his embrace.
He pets your head as you sob in his neck. His eyes glazed with tears as well as his hug tighten. “It’s okay.. their not coming back. I promise.”
Minato Arisato
— This would be the first time that the group will ever see their leader showing his emotion. Minato’s emotion is actually spiralling, he doesn’t know what to feel when he heard about your.. condition at home. His face contorts quickly from shock, angry, sad, concern and worry.
— Minato doesn’t immediately pull you into a hug, but he does open his arms for you. He’ll hug you tightly when you rush to his embrace. He doesn’t need to say anything as he nuzzle his face to your neck.
— Even though Minato doesn’t want you to be there anymore, he doesn’t have a choice. If the police takes away your parents, then where will you go? Will you also have a similar fate to him? He doesn’t want you to be an orphan just like him.
— But, even though Minato can’t bring justice to your parents just yet (lol. wrong game), he would make you move in to the Dormitory. So that he can take care of you and make sure you are far away from your toxic parents.
— Minato would glare at anyone who’ll make mean comments (Yukari 😒) or make you uncomfortable (Junpei 😒). Everyone by now knows not to mess with their leader’s s/o.
— Minato might not be affectionate but he’ll try. But, one thing is sure, he’ll always have time for you. Even though he’s tired from Tartarus, school, and Confidant rising, he’ll make time for you.
— Minato will also dote on you like the rest of the leaders. He will give you small gifts and trinkets, give you food and share his earphones with you. Even though he can’t erase all of the traumatic experience your parents gave to you, he’ll be damned that he’s trying his best.
— Minato understands if you need some alone time. And he would be so surprised whenever you flinch. He doesn’t bring it up but you can see the pain in his eyes whenever he sees you flinch.
“Can.. I come in?” Minato’s voice rang through the room. You didn’t have the energy to move from your bed, nor can you find your voice to call to him. You just feel.. nothing. Useless just like what your parents say.
You’ve already shed all of your tears, nothing is left anymore to shed as you laid motionless. Your eyes never left the ceiling, even when the door opened and closed. You could hear him walking towards you. Your eyes flickered to him before returning to the ceiling.
“Move.” Minato said, more like commanded, but he said that quietly and so gentle. You did what you were told as you roll to the side. You could feel your bed dipping slightly when Minato sat and laid down.
He made you face him as you stare at his blue-oceanic eyes. His eyes were usually cold and emotionless, but now, they were filled with admiration and sadness. He carefully place an arm around you, probably testing if you’re gonna push him away or not.
You didn’t do anything, so he took this as a sign to hug you. Your face was on the crook of his neck as you could feel his fingers running through your hair. Even though Minato isn’t talking, you could feel your eyes prickling with tears again.
Minato only held you close as you cried in his neck. He doesn’t need words afterall to express his concern to you..
Minako Arisato
— Minako might already have an idea on what’s going on with you. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s very sad about the fact that you have that kind of parents. She might be angry, yes. But she’s more concern and worry about you than them.
— Minako would hold your hands first before hugging you. She wants to make sure you’re okay first before hugging you. Afterall, you’re wellbeing is much more important than hers.
— Like Minato, she doesn’t have any power against your parents. As much as she wants them gone (believe me, she does), she doesn’t want you to be an orphan just like her. So she makes you move in with her in the Dormitory.
— As much as Minako wants to share a room with you, she respects your privacy. But she will make sure that you’re room is next to hers so that when you need her, she’ll be immediately be there.
— Minako would dote on you like usual, except with much more love. But she wouldn’t overwhelm you! She extremely loves you and doesn’t like seeing you unhappy.
— Even though Minako can’t change what happened, she can change what happens in the future. She would make sure that nothing bad would happen to you again. Even if it means escaping the country so that you wouldn’t go back to your family.
— Whenever you flinch when she tries to hold you, she quickly retracts her hand and ask you if you’re okay.
“Thank you so much, Minako..” Minako hums as you two cuddle in bed. It was already the late of night, and you had a nightmare. Minako immediately came to your room and calmed you down. “Why’re you thank me for?”
“You know,, for.. helping me escape from my parents.” She knew that you were having a hard time coping ever since you move in with them in the Dormitory. Especially since your parents practically drill all those nasty things about you in your head. Minako just embraces you tighter and nuzzle her head on top of your head.
“What’re partners for?” She giggles as you weakly chuckle. Minako might not know what the future will hold, but if she has to choice, she’ll spend the rest of her life with you. Trying to make you happy and make up for the unhappy times.
[x] Main Page || [x] Persona 5 Page || [x] Persona 4 Page || [x] Persona 3 Page
#persona#persona x reader#p3#p3 x reader#p4 x reader#p4#p5#p5 x reader#persona headcanons#p3 headcanons#p4 headcanons#p5 headcanons#minato arisato x reader#akira kurusu x reader#yu narukami x reader#minako arisato x reader#minako arisato#minato arisato#akira kurusu#yu narukami#im so sorry if some of this is so short#if you need some comforting ones#please request again#hshshs#req ans❣️
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Itachi x Reader: AU
A wonderful commission! If you’re interested in commissioning me, just shoot me a message!
Plot: AU where the Uchiha’s were never massacred, Minato never died and remained Hokage, and Itachi isn’t miserable. Pure unadulterated fluff.
You were skeptical, that much was certain. Itachi had confided in you for years, even before his time in the Anbu, so when he came to you distraught at just thirteen it was hard to believe. He was quiet now, sitting in your family garden with you. The moon was nearly full, only a few more days before it’d create that beautiful full glow that he loved to come share with you. If something didn’t change, you’d never see a full moon again with him.
“Itachi?” You finally spoke up. Itachi slowly turned his head to face you. He looked completely calm, something about it felt unreal. He should have been freaking out more, you thought.
“Hmm?” His little hum of acknowledgement always brought comfort to you. The warm tone he possessed even now at a young age was something else about him that you knew you wanted to hear for the rest of your life.
“What if Shisui’s plan doesn’t work and… What if you have to…” You couldn’t bring yourself to finish your sentences despite the urgency you felt. His eyes looked sad for only a moment. It disappeared quicker than the flash of lightening before the following crack of thunder hits.
He said nothing. Instead he simply laid his head on your shoulder. His hair tickled your neck slightly, but you enjoyed the feeling of his dark strands on your skin. “Let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s enjoy this evening.”
You figured he needed the silent company more than anything. He had only a few days left of this if nothing changed and it hurt deep inside of you. The ache in your heart you felt for Itachi would only grow if the worse happened. You would be fine, you knew that. Your family had no relation to the Uchiha’s; in fact, you lived on the other side of the village since they were forced to the outskirts. For once in your life you prayed for help. You prayed that Shisui would handle this and you could keep Itachi in your life for as long as possible.
--
The day it was supposed to happen you felt ill. You knew you were not sick, but how could you not feel anxiously sick waiting to find out if anything tragic happened to the boy you had loved since you first met him in the academy? You sat at your desk for most of that day, staring out the window. How lucky is it that your window happened to be in the direction of the Uchiha clan?
All day you sat, waiting. You never heard or saw anything out of the ordinary. That night your mother called for you to come downstairs. Your legs ached from the position you’d sat in so long, but you eventually made it down the stairs.
Itachi’s black eyes met yours and you ran towards him jumping into his arms.
--
10 Years later
The day started as normal. You woke up and did your few steps to get ready for your shift in Konohagakure at the gates. Since becoming a Jonin you expected more intense missions, but since there were fewer children becoming Ninja you had yet been assigned a squad to lead. So, you were left doing the job of a Chunin, but it was not too bad. Honestly, it gave you lots of time to relax or train on your own.
Ever since the Ordinance of Peace passed due to the Fourth Hokage, Minato, and the elders who had secretly conspired against the Uchiha had been banished there was rarely a need for intensive missions. The missions that were more dangerous were left to the elite, and sadly for you, that meant Itachi was gone a lot. This morning was no exception. However, as you were making your lunch you noticed a few things were out of place. He must have come home early this morning then left again.
Since moving to the Uchiha clan’s sector of the village your walks were long but pleasant. On the way to the front gates you passed many of the friends you made in the academy and beyond. You laughed as a group of young Genin ran in front of you while chasing a cat. They must be on a mission; you think watching them go. Memories of chasing after Shisui and Itachi flood your mind making you miss your husband even more. If he was back in the village, he should at least have let you know.
“-----!” Sai’s familiar voice and figure comes towards you from the guard station. One of his animated drawings disappears as he approaches you closer. You knew Sai vaguely, mostly through Itachi’s younger brother.
“What is it?” You ask stopping. You cross your arms in front of you, the lunch you carried dangles to your side.
“Sasuke said he was looking for you, I just wanted to let you know.” He says matter-of-factly.
“I have a shift… I can’t just run around trying to find him.” You tell him.
“He asked me to cover for you, it’s fine. He was at Lord Fourths office the last I saw him.” He tells you pointing in the general direction.
“Thank you, Sai. Here, you can have this!” You uncross your arms and toss him the bento box. He thanks you after catching it. He waves at you as you turn to run off towards the office. Luckily not many people are out and about yet since it’s still rather early into the afternoon.
You make it to outside the office, looking around the building you don’t see Sasuke anywhere, so you go back up the stairs. The hallways are also empty, making you feel uneasy. It’s rare that the Hokage’s building would be this empty.
“-----!” Your name being called from your brother in law. How was everyone seeing you before you saw them?
“Hey, Sasuke,” you greet him politely. “Sai said you needed me. What’s this about?”
“Yeah. Here,” Sasuke hands you a small letter then turns to leave.
“What is this about?” You call after him.
“I don’t know. He told me to give it to you.” With that he disappears quickly. You peel open the seal on the letter and find a few lines.
-----,
Meet me where I proposed. I have big news for us.
Itachi
You smile down at the note as you reread it a few times. Itachi propped outside the village, just a few kilometers south at this gorgeous lake. You know it will take some time to get there, so you head out quickly. You shove the note into your pocket then jump out from one of the building windows to start your journey outside the village. Each time your foot pushes off another tree you feel your heart beat faster with anticipation.
The wind hitting your cheeks adds to your flush as you near the location. You can see the trees starting to clear so you instinctively slow down. As you jump down from a tree you take notice of your surroundings. A few feet from where the lake ends you see a blanket spread out with a few pillows atop the blanket. No one seems to be around though, which confuses you as you sit down on the blanket.
As you begin to remove your gear so that you’re more comfortable you notice a flash of black hair and a green Jonin outfit. Itachi.
“Why are you hiding from me?” You call out. You can sense him near you, but placing his exact location is difficult. Within a few seconds he’s by your side.
“Hi, darling. I missed you.” His hand slowly caresses your face before his lips meet yours. His lips are soft. They move against yours as if they were made just for you to kiss. Emotion overwhelms you as you melt into his kiss. It had been days since you as much as caught a glimpse of your husband, but now he was here in your arms.
You break away from the kiss, just a few millimeters from his lips. “I missed you too,” you tell him before kissing his lips once more. He smiles down at you when you break away. You notice the dark circles under his eyes look deeper than normal. He’s clearly tired.
“Do you like this?” He asks gesturing to the picnic blanket he has places. At that moment you notice the picnic basket holding one corner of the blanket down.
“I love it,” you smile leaning into him. Your head rests against his shoulder and his head softly rests against yours. “Have you been sleeping while you’re gone?”
“Some. When I can,” he tells you. You move from his shoulders, so you are facing him. You frown dramatically to show your displeasure.
“You need to sleep more.”
“-----, baby, I try. Without you it’s harder,” he moves your hair from your forehead and kisses it softly.
“Being sweet won’t get you out of this!” You point at him continuing to furrow your brows. He laughs looking at your expression. A genuinely happy chuckle that you can feel radiate the warmth of the sun from him. You can’t help but laugh along with him. “Why did you ask me to meet you here? I had to skip out on work. I really hope Lord Fourth doesn’t hear about this…” you continue to babble on, and he just listens with a sweet gently smile.
“I doubt Minato will mind.” He says casually before lying on his back to face the sky.
“You really shouldn’t address him so casually,” you tell him laying down on his chest. You use one elbow to prop yourself up beside him. Your hair falls around your shoulder enveloping you both in it.
“I don’t think he minds.” He tells you closing his eyes. “Besides, rumor has it he will be passing on the Kage position to someone new. Apparently, he wants to spend time with his grandchildren.” You think of the fourth’s family.
You knew Naruto pretty well considering he’s considerably outgoing. He has two children, both quite adorable. You wouldn’t want to miss out on their growing up either if you were in that position. However, you did find it quite funny that you were older than them and you and Itachi hadn’t discussed children yet. One day, but for now all you wanted was to take up as much as Itachi’s attention as possible.
“Oh, where did you hear this rumor?” You lean closer to Itachi. He opens his eyes and you see a glean of a childish nature flash through them. Itachi is incredibly strong, soon he has you pinned to the ground, gently of course, to keep you under him. His hair has come undone from his low ponytail, so it tickles your face. You’ve never gotten over how soft his hair always feels against your skin.
“Who wants to know?” He teases. “How do I know you’re not a spy for another village? Hmmm?” The tone he uses is stern, but the silly smile he has from above you contradict his every word.
“You caught me! I’m truly a spy for the village hidden in the soft black hair.” You use what little movement you have from below him to pull him down to kiss your lips. “It’s a wonderful village, not a split-end to be found.”
He chuckles at your joke before freeing you. He lays out the basket he had packed this morning before you awoke. Itachi was a surprisingly great cook, and he always prepared good lunches for you when you had the time to eat together.
“So, tell me… Who is going to be the next Hokage?” You ask before taking a bite from your rice ball.
“Why are you so intrigued?” He asks with a mischievous smile.
“Maybe because I want to know who’s ugly face, I’ll have to see each morning I walk through the village?” You joke and he laughs.
“That’s a real shame since it’ll be my face. You’ll suffer inside and outside our home apparently…” the smile on his lips suddenly lacks the mischievous look and is sincere and soft. “I’ll be the Fifth.”
#commisionwork#commission#commissions#itachi uchiha#itachi x reader#itachi uchiha x reader#naruto headcanons#naruto requests
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Well hello! Can i request akihiko x Yukari’s brother!male!reader? Mb coming out to sees as gay couple?
A/N: Ah, this was a lot of fun to write. I can imagine that coming out is a scary thing especially to family or friends. Hope you enjoyed!
Word Count: 958
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A Bit of Courage
Akihiko Sanada x Yukari’s Brother! Male! Reader
Akihiko never ceased to amaze you. Somewhat stubborn at times, but passionate about whatever he put his mind to. Whether it was boxing or SEES, he always put his best foot forward. Even with you, he always tried his best, he was not the most affectionate person but eventually warmed up to hugs and small kisses.
The worst part of this however, was the hiding. It wasn’t that you thought your sister and the rest of SEES wouldn’t accept the relationship that you and Akihiko had. Yukari always told you that she wanted you to be happy, no matter what. That went for the rest of the group as well. It was just you and your own anxieties. No matter how many times you would persuade yourself that everything would work out just fine if the both of you came out, deep inside that pit of anxiety always held you back.
“You know,” Yukari said to you one day, “You seem to be spending a lot of time with Akihiko-senpai lately.”
“Oh, um, yeah. He’s been teaching me a few boxing things. It’s supposed to help me move faster in Tartarus.”
“Really? That’s nice of him. Well, you have been getting hurt more often. I guess I’ll have to thank him for looking out for you.”
You had let out a small sigh of relief. You weren’t exactly lying about Akihiko teaching you about boxing. Although most of your lessons turned into impromptu study dates.
“But don’t forget about me okay?” Yukari said with a small chuckle, snapping you out of your thoughts. “Hang out with your sister more. I feel like you’re a stranger sometimes.”
You gave her a small smile, “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.”
The truth was that you could feel yourself slipping away from Yukari. You never realized it before, but now that you did, it only scared you more.
----------------------------------------
It was lunchtime at school and you and Akihiko were lying on the ground of the school’s roof, just looking up at the sky.
“Y/N.”
“Yeah, Aki?”
“I’ve been thinking...”
You wriggle out Akihiko’s grasp so the both of you can sit up. “What is it?”
“I think we should tell Yukari and the team about us.”
“You... you want to come out?”
He takes your hands in his. “We’ve been dating for a few months now. I just think that its time that we tell them.”
“But-”
“I know, you’re scared right?”
You nod, “Yeah.”
Akihiko chuckles, “Yeah, you’re not the only one.”
“You’re scared too?”
“Of course I am. But, if we do it together, I think I’ll be alright. What do you think?”
Your gaze meets Akihiko’s, he’s staring at you lovingly.
“As long as you’re there then... but, what if this drives Yukari further away from me? I haven’t spent much time with her as is.”
“It won’t. I promise. Yukari loves you, you’re her brother, she will always be there for you. In my opinion, us coming out would bring you two closer. And I would hope she can do what I couldn’t.” Akihiko says with a weak smile.
Letting go of Akihiko’s hands, you embrace him tightly. “Don’t say that, Aki. You were a great older brother to Miki.”
“Thank you, Y/N. Heh, you always seem to give me that bit of courage.”
“Right back at you.”
--------------------------------
Your heart was beating like crazy. Within a few minutes, you and Akihiko were about to tell the team that you were dating. There was nothing wrong with that right?
Suddenly, the image of Yukari flashed through your mind. She was the only one you were truly worried about. Would she be okay with this? Would she support you? Would-
“Y/N? Are you okay? You look pale.”
Akihiko’s voice brings you back to reality as you give him a small smile. “Just nervous.”
“You can say that again. But it’ll be just fine, I can feel it.”
You nod in agreement. If anyone could give you just a bit of courage, it was Akihiko. Everything would be okay.
“Hey, everyone’s gathered downstairs. Minato said you guys had something to tell us?” Yukari asks popping her head into the stairway.
“Yeah, we’ll be right down.” You say as she gives a nod of acknowledgement and heads back downstairs. “You ready, Aki?”
“I’ve been waiting for this.”
The two of you walk downstairs, seeing everyone seated in the living room of the dorm.
“So, what did you want to tell us?” Mitsuru asks.
Everyone looks at you and Akihiko expectedly, waiting for the news you had to tell them.
You glance at Akihiko and he holds your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. You look back at the group, taking a deep breath in before speaking. “Akihiko and I...are dating.”
A few seconds of silence pass as you and Akihiko wait for a response. And suddenly the silence breaks when your friends laugh and chuckle.
Mitsuru smiles when she sees the confusion on your faces, “My apologies. It’s just, we’ve all known that you were dating.”
“You knew?” Akihiko asks.
“Hell yeah we knew! You don’t think we saw the way you two looked at each other?” Junpei adds with a grin.
Fuuka and Ken smile sheepishly and Minato who usually had a blank expression, was smiling lightly.
“Congratulations.” Aigis says, a small smile on her face with her arms raised in the air as if to show excitement.
“You’re okay with this?” You ask Yukari as she walks up to you.
“Of course I am. I want you to be happy, no matter what. And besides, Akihiko-san is a good guy. I trust him.”
Tears well up in your eyes and you quickly wipe them away smiling. “Thank you, Yukari.”
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Beast Tamers
Ch.1 | Ch.2 | Ch.3 | Ch.4(1) | Ch.4(2) | Ch.5(1) | Ch.5(2) | Ch.5(3) | Ch.5(4) | Ch.6(1) | Ch.6(2) | Ch.6(3) | Ch.7(1) |
Ch.7: Of burdens and duties (2)
Naruto is sitting at his desk when Hinata wakes. She just rustles and turns until she can see him from where she is and then stares. His back is curled and he’s reading some documents with his eyebrows furrowed and Hinata waits.
She waits till he looks at her. A glance, his eyes passing over her out of habit and then catching her eyes looking at him.
“Good morning,” he smiles and Hinata rises immediately. Walks over him on her knees, grabbing the bedclothes around her naked body.
Naruto receives her with open arms, his hands slide through her waist to her back and he brings her closer to him. “Slept good?”
She rests her head on his shoulder as she nods. Naruto is soft with her, moves her hair out of the way and lays kisses along her jaw. Hinata accommodates herself in between his legs and Naruto keeps on moving papers in front of him. He brings one out for her to read.
“We’ll be going to this one in a month,” he shares. Hinata looks at the document and nods in understanding.
“The s-summit.”
“Ever gone there?”
“No… Neither has f-father. He thought it w-was…”
Naruto chuckles, “Yeah, well, it’s more or less the Beast Tamers putting up a show to check on each other.”
Hinata reads the names written in there, guards and servants and an itinerary. She doesn’t really know how to feel. She is excited to go there and actually see one of the biggest festivals the Beast Tamers have to offer, but now she is part of them and it means…
Naruto moves his hand up and down her body, presses her skin to catch her attention, "I can't wait for us to get there. I want you to meet Gaara."
Hinata stills a second, remembers her classes with Lord Minato before saying, "The One-t-tail."
"The one and only," Naruto chuckles.
"Lord Minato d-didn't tell me you two were f-friends."
Naruto shrugs, steals a kiss from her lips, "Dad usually doesn't say much unless necessary or asked." He lets the papers fall on his desk and buries his face on Hinata's neck. She squeaks and Naruto finds it endearing, "We've known each other since I was like 12."
Hinata opens her eyes in surprise and tries to bring Naruto up to her, "I didn't… I didn't know that."
"It was a point in time where I was super rebellious and my dad thought I needed a friend who was actually going through the same thing as me," he has a smile in place still, "he's a year older than me and now is super aloof and mellow, but at the time he was even more annoying than me." He gives a loud laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. "We fought and I got pretty roughed up but I won," he gives her a smirk, pride in his eyes.
And Hinata is still trying to grasp the story, "Why d-did you fight?"
"I… actually don't remember," he squints his eyes in effort, but gives up soon after. "At that time…"
He pauses, gulps down out of nervousness, but Hinata stares at him with nothing but open interest, and Naruto talks, this time softer, this time quieter, "I was just starting to see the outside world. I grew up sheltered and followed my dad everywhere. I didn't know what being a Beast Tamer entailed, I didn't remember anything regarding the sealing so when I had to go under the reinforcement… I started to feel pretty resentful, you know? I wanted to be normal... Whatever that means. And I started to act out. My father, bless his soul, did his best and then thought it would be a good idea to put us two together for a while. Gaara's dad accepted under the condition of my dad checking his seal and so they came here." Naruto looks down at her, kisses her temple, "Two kids who hated themselves and everything around them, I don't remember exactly why we fought but it must have been the dumbest of reasons. We were just ready to fuck everything up at a moment's notice. So we did."
"How… you s-said you are friends."
"Oh, for sure." He laughs again, shakes his head as if remembering what he wanted to say, "we ended up roughed up and all but by the end we were friends. In the fight… I guess I ended up lifting him up? He felt worse than me, that's for sure, and I guess I ended up telling him that we could lick each other's wound, being the same and all. That I understood… what he was going through."
Naruto looks lost in thought again, and Hinata raises her hand to cup his cheek. He nestles into it.
"I-I'm glad you two became f-friends."
Naruto locks eyes with her and Hinata can't remember ever seeing him so melancholic. His childhood must have been… different. She opens her mouth to say something, anything to help him feel better, but Naruto opens his arms and hugs her again, buries his face on her body.
Hinata squeals in surprise and Naruto laughs. Laughs and kisses her and although Hinata doesn't want to let this topic go, Naruto doesn't go back to it. They talk dates and guards and servants and Naruto doesn't let himself fall back into that lost look he had before.
⁂⁂⁂
Kiba finds her one afternoon. He looks around her before getting closer and Hinata knows he's trying not to meet Sai.
"My lady," he greets. Looking to the two servants behind her, "may I take over and guard you where you are going?"
Hinata smiles at him and dismisses the servants with a polite nod. Kiba may be brash and bold to an absurd level, but he has been nothing but civilized and nice with her and even though his sense of humor might be crass, she has come to enjoy his open-mouthed laughs.
“Has the lady been able to check the name of the guards tasked with protecting you at the Summit?”
Hinata nods, knows where he’s going with this.
“And the lady is all right with them?”
Another nod, and Kiba looks at her like she has just told him she hates dogs.
“Because you can totally tell me that you don’t want them guarding you, you know?”
When it’s the two of them, when it’s them and Naruto or the people close to him, Kiba lets go of the way he addresses her normally. It’s a breath of fresh air. He made sure to check with her if she was comfortable and the moment she shared she rather enjoyed it he had smiled like a child.
Naruto had thought she was doing it because she didn’t want to bother him, but Hinata really enjoyed his company and his conversations. Naruto had chuckled, and told her that she was really something. Preferring Sai’s or Kiba’s company over a polite servant.
But she’s sure Naruto would understand if he stayed in the Hyuga compound for a while, where loud laughs like Kiba’s or the honesty of Sai are never heard. She’s sure anyone would understand if her only source of entertainment came from what people told her. She loved hearing Kiba’s boisterous voice narrating the most mundane of activities as if they were big adventures. Or Sai’s overly meticulous explanations that almost fell into comedy at times.
“I mean, Sai you already know and like, don’t ask me why,” Kiba walks with a gait that makes him look ferocious. His unkempt hair and the coat with fur lining over his hood only adding to the look. “but I’m here to vouch for Shino, all right.”
Hinata smiles, because both of them know Hinata wouldn’t turn down Shino either way. Quiet and somber, but polite and nice always. Almost always near Kiba, as their techniques are most suitable for surveillance, and almost always making Kiba groan in frustration. Very much like Sai.
“Gloomy, sure, weird, also sure, but he’s good, ok?”
Hinata giggles as Kiba’s lackluster defense of Shino continues. He will stay, as the clan still needs to be protected and his mother asked for him to work with her. His sister, Hana, is away on a mission and his mother, as the chief, refused to let him go. Their master may be away and watchful eyes may go from the compound to wherever he goes, but still, the clan must stay protected.
Kiba leaves her inside her room, with guards outside and servants at the ready. Hinata looks around the room, moves towards the garden and sits right next to the window. She’s nervous and excited and although she worries about a list of things she tries to forget, she can’t help the giddy feeling that surfaces inside her.
A trip like she had never had before.
⁂⁂⁂
Naruto comes late into the night and does his best to remain silent. But like many other times before, Hinata stirs awake and stands to help him undress.
He has told her time and time again that she doesn’t need to, doesn’t have to, that she should sleep without worrying when he’s late, and she has evaded his pleas with smiles and kisses he can’t resist.
He worries, because he wonders if she feels she has to wait for him. He worries, because her hands always travel places that make him feel on edge and whenever he answers those advances she’s eager to accept. He worries, because there’s been hardly a day in which he hasn’t spilled his seed inside of her and…
Her body is soft and plump and Naruto never tires of grabbing and dragging her to him. His passion is never-ending and seeing her eyes fill with longing and lust is everything to him. Because if those eyes ever fill with worry…
Naruto feels his stomach tightening, and Hinata clamps around him making him gasp for air. She huffs and puffs and her hands search for his face and Naruto kisses her palms, searches immediately for her eyes. Craving and hunger. He sighs in relief, brings himself down to her and kisses her. Lets his tongue move lazily against hers.
When his hips move away from her, Hinata crosses her legs around his waist, shakes her head no. “Don’t p-pull out,” she breathes, and Naruto can already fill his thirst for her washing over his body. “M-more.”
Naruto takes his time. Touches and teases, drinks her, breaths her. Naruto takes his time because this is not a chore now, and will not become a chore later. The moment his mind wanders to unwanted thoughts he buries his face on her body, concentrates on her breath and the way her hands drag over his body, the way she squirms under him and presses to him whenever possible.
He looks at her eyes, feels himself hardening at her rosy lips, her hair splayed out, his hands never quite able to hold her breasts on them. Her moans…
Naruto comes inside her and he grabs hold of the legs over his shoulders. Hinata shivers under him and drags her nails over his thighs, making Naruto gasp in pleasure brought by the sharp feeling.
The pop of his penis exiting her fills his ears and he cleans between her legs with care before giving a fast wipe over himself. He brings her to him, searches for her hand to hold. He has stopped watching his seed fall out of her in fear of giving her the wrong idea. He has stopped caressing her flat stomach after sex in fear of making her fall to the wrong conclusions.
He’s not worried. He’s not in a hurry, either, but it pains him to think she is troubled. Makes him want to bring her closer to him and whisper in her ear that there is nothing to worry about.
But he can’t. So he kisses her goodnight, nuzzles his face on the back of her head and sleeps with her body close to his.
And he worries… for her.
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Team Minato week day one is Teaching/found family, right? If so then I have an idea of Obito tried to learn rasengan but he wanted to surpass kakashi so he doesn't want to use the balloon method (because Kakashi doesn't use it when he learned Rasengan). Rin can make Rasengan because of her excellent chakra control, but only can make tiny Rasengan since her reserve is small. Kakashi already mastered the Rasengan and tried to combine it with lightning nature, but it makes the rasengan vanished instead (Vanishing Rasengan foreshadow). Then Minato said that he actually managed to combine rasengan with his wind nature and invite his students to see it closely, but the rasengan blow up on their face instead, while Minato laughed at their shocked face (he pranked them). I think that scenario was suitable for both prompt, since passing jutsu is what family do in Narutoverse.
Disclaimer: Done really quick on my phone so there will be mistakes. I apologize.
@teamminatoweek
Sensei said that he wanted to show them his ultimate new jutsu. He’d gushed about finally figuring out how to infuse his wind nature into the Rasangan, improving the jutsu in ways he never could before.
Naturally, all three of his students gathered around him without question. Rin with her wide excited eyes, ready to see this epic new Jutsu. Obito with a little more skepticism, but still with that sense of wonder and excitement that Rin hand.
Kakashi was there, but he was the elast excited of them all. If anything, he looked downright annoyed.
Obito didn’t need to be a genius to figure out why.
“You’re upset,” he prodded Kakashi’s side, grinning when he was met with a glare. “You wanted to succeded at creating a new jutsu from the rasangan before Sensei, but you failed.”
“Shut up,” Kakashi huffed. “Like you have any right to speak. You haven’t even mastered the Rasangan yet.”
Kakashi’s words hit right at Obito’s pride. It was trye he had ‘t mastered the rasangan yet, even after months of trying. Kakashi had gotten it in a few weeks, and Rin has succeded in creating her first rasangan after three months of trying.
Obito was the only one on his team who hadn’t managed it yet.
“Well, that’s because i’m doing it the hard way,” he insisted, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly. “You and Rin both used the ballon method. I’m learning Rasangan without it.”
Kakashi rilled his eyes. “Making your training more difficult for an ego boost is stupid,” he scolded Obito. “If you would just learn properly you could have mastered it already and started working on infusing it with your fire style.”
Back handed advice. It seemed to be Kakashi’s go to way of speaking to Obito these days and the Uchiha hated it.
“I’m going to master it,” he insisted. “And when I do I’ll figure out how to add my fire style to it and turn it into the most poster fire attack you’ll ever see, just you wait!”
Unphased by Obito’s spirit, Kakashi turned his attention back to their Sensei. “Are you going to show us your new jutsu, Sensei?”
“Right,” kneeling down, Minato waved towards himself. Signaling for them to move in closer. “Come on, it’s really cool I promise.”
Obito was the first one there, with bright eyes and enough excitement to run the entire village for a week, waiting to see how their Sensei had improved his jutsu.
Kakashi slid in beside him, bumping his shoulder slightly and sighing when Obito glared back at him. He was about to scold his teammate for being too obviouse with his emotions when Rin suddenly squeezed between them.
Her arms looped around both of theirs and pulled them in tight. As if she was afraid they’d walk away if she didn’t cement them into their spot using her own body.
“Show us, Sensei.” she insisted.
“Alright, alright,” leaning in close Minato held out a hand and concentrated. Forming the rasangan was simple enough, with chakra swirling into his hand and gathering together into a little ball.
“See, Obito?” kakashi pointed at their Sensei’s rasangan. “That should be too hard to do, even for you.”
Reaching an arm behind Rin, Obito smacked Kakashi in the back. “Shut it.”
“Never.”
“Pay attention,” Rin yanked on both of their arms just as Minato began to focus his wind style into the rasangan. “Oh, Sensei!”
“That’s actually pre-“
Bang
Kakashi, Rin and Obito stood there for a second. None of them knowing what to do after their Sensei’s jutsu had exploded directly into their faces.
There was no damage to their bodies, but Their hair had been blown back so it was sticking out behind them, and Obito could hesr a slight ringing in his ears due to the small explosion.
“Ih!” Minato laughed so hard he fell back onto his butt. “I didn’t think- that wad perfect!”
“A prank?” Obito Blinked.
“A prank.” Kakashi confirmed, extracting his arm from Rin’s grasp and reaching up to fix his hair. “And we fell for it like idiots.”
The three of them stood there for a moment just watching their sensei. For two minutes he laid there in front of them, laughing so hard he couldn’t get up.
At the three minute mark, the three of them looked at each other.
“Kakashi?”
Rin and Obito nodded at the same time, silently agreeing with whatever plan Kakashi could come up with.
Not wanting to waste a moment, Kakashi sliced his thumb on the sharpened button on his weapons pouch and weaved his hands together swiftly.
“Summoning jutsu!” He slammed his hands against the ground and watched as a giant puff of smoke erupted in front of him. “Bull, get him!”
“Whoe, wait!” Their Sensei tried to move, but the laughter was so strong he couldn’t focus on his teleportation jutsu, leaving him stranded on the ground as the giant bull dog flopped down against him. “No! Bull you- you’re too heavy!”
He squirmed under bull, but there was no hope.
Bow that the hound had captured him he was a sitting duck.
“Tickle attack!” Rin jumped forward, catching her sensei under the arm and tickling.
“No! Rin!” Minato laughed even louder and tried to squirm away, but to no avail.
“Attack!” Obito jumped in after her and went for the back of his knees.
With two kids tickling him and a bull dog sitting on his chest, Minato was helpless. There was no escape even for the Jonin level sensei.
“If only training was this easy.” Kakashi sighed, watching as his teammates assaulted their sensei.
#Team Minato Week#I don’t know if it’s day one or two#but i like this idea so#here we go XD#team bonding#found family#kakashi’s so done with everyone#he was a brat and i love him
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18 from the prompt list for our sucide maniac?💗💗💗
dazai + dépaysement (french, n.) the feeling one gets of not being in one’s own country, of being a foreigner; disorientation, being lost in something you don’t understand.
➽─{hehe great choice… heads up, this fic assumes you don’t hail from japan. feel free to pick another country if you do}─❥
warning(s): angst parading as fluff
Dazai took to your home country surprisingly well. In fact, you were shocked when he made the decision to join you so readily. But your beloved didn’t care if it was a job offer or family business or mere homesickness that brought you back—all he cared about was that someone or something was trying to take you away from him. There was no debate; he would leave with you. Wherever you went, he decided he would go, too.
Having lived in Yokohama city for most of his life, Dazai was quickly engrossed by the wonders of your country, the flow (or lack thereof) of your seasons, the little quirks and idiosyncrasies of your region. It was as if he up and forgot about Yokohama Cosmoworld and Minato Mirai 21 and the port to Tokyo Bay. In their stead, he learned everything he could about the place you grew up. It delighted you to no end. Who wouldn’t want such a devoted boyfriend, one who wished for nothing more than to stay by your side?
You were downright spoiled, if truth be told.
One of your favorite moments of the day was waking up in the morning. Every time you opened your eyes to peek at Dazai, he would─without fail─be up and admiring your sleepy face already. His fingers would often dance a safe distance around your head, restraining themselves from tracing the curves of your face. It was the drowsy yet proud smile he wore that made your heart swell several sizes.
Some mornings you giggled at the sight of his pantomime, often against your own will. Even in his silence, you could hear him loud and clear: “I can barely keep my hands off of you.”
Some mornings he’d have to work for your laughter. On the occasion you awoke with closed eyelids, you knew better than to let the opportunity go to waste. Pretending you were still asleep, you peered at Dazai through snake slit slivers, hoping to observe him observing you in secret. But your efforts were for naught; he knew you all too well. Dazai would center himself in your limited line of sight and pull the silliest faces, determined to get a reaction out of you. Of course, you’d end up laughing all the same.
Some mornings you rolled right into him and asked what he was thinking about. He’d reply with a sappy sweet little nothing like how lucky he was to have you or how the sun didn’t hold a candle to your beauty. You’d laugh it off, shooting back something about how you were even luckier, or how you and the sun looked like itsy bitsy fireflies compared to his light. And every time, no matter what novel new counter you came up with, he’d tell you to drop the self slander.
“Oh, darling,” he’d say, leaning into you. “Don’t talk about things you don’t understand. I promise I most definitely love you more.” Sealing his vows with a firm forehead kiss, he made you fall for him again and again, over and over and over.
You were blind to the amount of hurt that lurked behind those words... just as you were unaware of Dazai’s true nighttime habits. They were nothing salacious, god no─but learning of them might still break your heart. Because all the nights you thought he was sleeping in bed next to you, he was actually wide awake.
As the moonlight shone upon your eyelids, Dazai would spend his nights looking out the window, wondering what the Yokohama sky looked like. Was it a peachy white? A baby blue? A dusty mauve? Even as the moon passed out of sight, he would obsess over this one idea for hours on end.
An ocean blue? A twilight purple? An amber set aflame, as it was the exact moment he found Oda’s bleeding body?
There was no relief from the thought of Oda once it entered his mind. Dazai would try to distract himself, wondering if he was missed by those he left behind. After all, Kunikida might be getting rather lonely without his inventive pranks.
Oh, who else might miss him? Atsushi, whom he was supposed to mentor? Akutagawa, whom he already mentored? But eventually, Dazai’s thoughts would travel in full circle.
Odasaku, whose grave he used to pay regular visits to?
It was always at the most ungodly of hours that his vividest memories of Yokohama came flooding back: the physical fights, the psychological battles. The taking of life and the saving of it. Dazai had blood on his hands: the blood of his enemies, the blood of his friends. He owned hands that he believed were only good for committing and solving crimes, hands that served little purpose but to cuddle and coddle you now.
Every facility that Dazai had come to know as home was stripped away from him the moment he agreed to move with you. There was no such thing as a Port Mafia or an Armed Detective Agency in your area, no place he could feel like he truly belonged in. The streets looked different, the buildings unfamiliar. The path he should take was indiscernible. Any which way he could turn, he was met with something alien. Any way but your direction.
That’s what it all came down to: you or Yokohama. Yokohama or you. But the one other close confidant he had in the city laid six feet under for years, and Dazai knew better than most that the dead did not rise from the ground, did not crawl from their deathbeds and upheave their tombstones. His last chance at companionship seemed to be you and you alone.
So Dazai played his sleepless nights off as if he was always waking up before you, ready to welcome you to a new day. As time wore on he would continue his cycle of all-nighter after all-nighter, fueled only by the happiness his performance seemed to bring you. Without a hint of homesickness he ate the strange foods you fed him and the foreign clothes you provided him with. Not a single complaint ever escaped his lips; in fact, anything he said about your country was likely the exact opposite of how he truly felt. It was all he could do to hold tight to this handcrafted facade, showering you with his affections so you might never notice how disoriented and estranged he really felt.
Like a lovesick puppy, Dazai clung to your reciprocations and doted on your every move. He faked, he feigned, he falsified. He did it for years.
Absolutely anything if it meant holding on to you.
--
source(s):
link i
link ii
#bsd#bsd x reader#dazai x reader#dazai imagine#bungou stray dogs#dazai oneshot#bsd oneshot#dazai osamu#dazai bsd#500 followers event
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The NaruSaku post
@perfectkidalienpatrol asked me a two questions a couple weeks ago one about restructuring Kingdom Hearts DDD and 3 to be more emotional which you find right here < [it took time, please read. Also leave a reply on this one because it also took way too much time. Thank you 😅]
The second question is about how I would write NaruSaku, which is this post. [I rewatched 60 percent of Naruto Shippuden for this. I’m not playing games here.]
I’m gonna follow the same rules I did for KH more or less. I’m not changing 90% of any major events just certain people surrounding it and I’ll add stuff that’s not unreasonable. Most of the things I’m about to say is gonna be from Sakura’s perspective since Naruto is already in love with her and have a good of his feelings towards her. I’d also like to take a moment and say I’m a person who doesn’t believe Sakura is weak or useless, but she’s sorely underused. What makes this bad is her screen time is almost always to make others around her have more of an effect or her doing something stupid because plot. Okay, let’s get the big stuff out of the way first that lays the ground work.
Part 1 of Naruto is unchanged. (Rip Sakura, she’s still of no use here.)
The start of Shippuden, all the way up to Pain is basically the same. The thing about NaruSaku is there’s plenty of ground work in the show. The series definitely shows Sakura warming up and caring about Naruto in a variety of ways. The entire blueprint is there, Kishimoto just decided to go with Hinata.
During the Rasenshuriken training, Kakashi grabs the food pill basket from Sakura and tells her stay. Since Naruto’s training is more trial by fire and repetition, Kakashi uses his free time to train Sakura. Combat, a little ninjitsu, even tricks about genjutsu and things he’s learned about sharingan. (You know, sensei stuff)
Neji will live for obvious reasons.
Okay, so my whole thought process really starts at the point in the show where Sakura falsely tells Naruto that she loves him. At this point, the show has given tons of scenes of Sakura healing Naruto, defending the way he is, acknowledged his growth, and has him as a strong motivator do whatever she can whenever she can. All while being emotionally torn because of her love for Saskue and being faced with the reality that Naruto has been in love with her forever. The scene plays out the same with Naruto not believing her and the Saskue murder team leaving. Sakura doesn’t let it show she is deeply conflicted about telling that lie. Was it a lie? It certainly wasn’t completely truthfully. Her thoughts and feelings on Naruto had been rapidly changing and confusing her little by little since he returned to the village. All she was certain of was that Naruto was a person that had become very important to her and she didn’t want to cause him any more suffering.
Fast forwarding to Sakura encountering Saskue, the encounter is only different by Sakura confessing her honest feelings to him right on the iron bridge, telling him how she’ll join his side if he can’t find it in himself to stop being a criminal. She’s unknowingly under a genjutsu that’s letting Sakura see him in front of her, pretending to care about this conversation while he’s actually about to chidori her from behind. Sakura catches on to the trick a bit too late but was fortunately saved by Kakashi. Naruto eventually shows up, the fight happens, and we get the scene where Naruto tells Saskue that they well both die the next time they fight. Two very important things come out of this entire event. The first is Sakura’s feelings for Saskue are now shattered after he tried to kill her twice, while the other thing is Sakura’s fear of Naruto’s prediction coming true.
We get back to the village and everyone starts going their separate ways except for Naruto and Sakura, because she tells him to stay back for a moment. She takes this moment to apologize to him for what she said. The guilt about the entire thing builds more and more as she continues her apology until Sakura gets so frustrated with her own actions, or lack of action. Naruto interrupts her apology before she got too far gone into self loathing and sorrow and tells her that it’s okay. Yes, his promise is a big reason for motivating him but Naruto is also in it for himself and tries to lift some of the guilt Sakura has for all of this. In the process he ends up mentioning just how much she actually does for everyone, especially him; which only makes her feel more conflicted about everything since all of his feelings are on the table clearly for her. Sakura mentally decides she having such a kind person like him always supporting her was something she wasn’t close to being worthy of, so she would strive to be that person. Sakura decides to do one more selfish act though, she asks Naruto to stay alive through all of this. Naruto simply looks at the girl that is clearly concerned about all of this and says yes, despite not knowing just how sure he can keep this promise.
At this point in the anime there’s a lot of war preparations. In one scene there’s Sakura looking at photos of the gruesome tragedies that she should expect to see as a medical ninja. A head nurse also explains how sometimes you have to prioritize who to save. Sakura then thinks to herself in a crazy circumstance where both Naruto and Saskue are fatally wounded, who would she rush to? I’m keeping this scene but giving it new context. This thought plagues her mind not because of love, but because desire. Sakura hates to admit it but she still very much hates the idea of Saskue dying. Like Naruto, she very much wants him to come back, regardless of the heartache she feels whenever she thinks about the boy who barely gave a damn. But Sakura also has made the goal to do all she can to support Naruto the right way and the thought of leaving him to die is ludicrous. Sakura shakes off the crazy thought and focuses on the task at hand. None of those ideas matter if she can’t get stronger. I like the idea of her hitting a rut someone like Ino or Shizune coming to her aid since Tsunade is busy. One of the women reinvigorates her drive by telling Sakura how Naruto is probably pushing himself to the limit as they speak. [Nine tails is beating him up] Not just for his friends, but for the world. Sakura takes that to heart, protecting everyone is the bar, not just Naruto and her friends. Sakura decides now would be a good time and take a step back, going off to train by herself until it was actually time to head into war. Kakashi would personally be the one to get her when that time came, surprised to see a very specific part of their previous training had gotten much better along with her chakra control.
On the Naruto side of things, all the same events happen. The only thing I would add for my own personal amusement would be Naruto mentioning Sakura to his mom and how they’re similar, but Sakura has no interest in him. Kushina laughs and tells him if Sakura really is anything like herself then Naruto can’t be too sure of anything until it happens. He doesn’t understand that all but nods anyways.
War starts! All the cool fights happen and the filler. All of this is same obviously because so much is going on, including injuries. Naruto eventually joins the war and sends his clones to help everywhere. The location where Sakura is stationed is under severe condition, to the point it’s about to fall apart. Injured ninja and attacks have relentlessly assaulted the place in one form or another and the medics are running on fumes. Sakura herself is barely hanging on as another wave of injured people are in desperate need of healing. Supplies are diminished to almost nothing, staff has gotten hurt, and more white zetsu were said to be headed their way. Sakura took a moment to look at the chaos of war. The overwhelming feeling of it, the pain, how everything just kept going until something gave out. She was about to give out. Her body exhausted from being up for days treating people was finally catching up with her mind in thinking about shutting down, until she thought about Naruto. She wasn’t sure why she did, but he popped into her head, as well as the numerous times he’s pushed passed the breaking point to the finish line. Then she remembered his praise about her and her vow to catch up with him. Not yet, she couldn’t be done yet. Not while there was still everyone to protect. Sakura rallied the people she could to both attack and defend what they had left. Somehow, through all the madness, the injured had been treated and another wave was taken out. More had to be done and all who were able to move were more than willing to help the ninja that had saved their life. Unfortunately, a zetsu had snuck into the ranks and was heading right for Sakura who was far to tired to defend herself from the attack she saw coming. If she got hurt then it was game over for this unit and her, now that they had basically nothing. Sakura should’ve died on the spot but a Naruto clone had finally arrived in the nick of time, beating the zetsu in an instant. Sakura couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her body gives out and Naruto catches her in a similar way Minato catches Kushina. Naruto tells everyone how awesome it was that they held out so long and they rightfully give Sakura a majority of the credit. Naruto starts to tell her how amazing that is but she passes out. He simply chuckles and tells all of them to follow her lead. He’ll step in now and let them rest. It’s his turn to protect everyone.
The next time the show cuts back to this location is when reports of Naruto clones suddenly vanishing after many tremors and explosions have happened, giving Sakura an uneasy feeling. Minutes later word reaches them that the real Naruto is fighting the masked man and Madara. Many ninja from everywhere go ready to race off to this final battle. Sakura’s had the chance to rest and is ready to give her all in any way she can, along with so many others.
[Cool shit happens! The allied shinobi force appears!]
Neji gets injured protecting Hinata and Naruto, bringing him right to deaths door and nobody is around to help him. Naruto looks around to see all the death and destruction that leads to Obito into giving his speech. So basically I just changed this scene from Neji being dead, to Neji dying and having to be left there; causing everyone to simply accept that they have to press on and that Neji isn’t going to make it. We still get the moment of Hinata snapping Naruto out of despair and Kakashi’s elaboratetion on his meaning behind the statement “I will not allow my comrades to die.” That way we still get Kurama motivating Naruto, causing Naruto to snap Lee out of his despair and then outcome plays out like it usually does; the people rallying to attack the ten tails again with the Nine Tails Power given to them. Naruto spends up all his chakra protecting everyone and gets badly injured. I had forgotten Sakura literally gave a speech to motivate ninja to do their best protecting him while she healed him, so that was nice to see.
The Hokage show up. People are hyped. Minato asks Naruto if that’s his girlfriend, to which Naruto says yes like the goofy fool he is. Sakura still hits him for it, but blushes. Minato clearly sees a lot of Kushina in Sakura, but says vocally, instead of in his head. Naruto thinks about his conversation with his mom. Sakura just tries to stay focus.
Tiny Rant-I can’t wrap my head around why this scene actually exists. This happens after Neji’s death, a cornerstone event that pushes NaruHina greatly. Why would Kishimoto almost immediately swing back in the exact opposite direction! It paints the picture that while Naruto is extremely grateful for Hinata’s actions, Sakura is still the only girl he is interested in! Neji died for NaruHina like five minutes ago!
Saskue shows up like a cool guy. We get the moment of Naruto telling Sakura to stay back after he’s fully healed; to which Sakura tells both of them how that’s not gonna happen. Team 7 is back! Another moment I don’t have to change because the show flat out shows how happy Sakura is to be standing next to the two most important men her life. She’s by their side and fighting, they don’t feel out of reach. Sakura has her team back for once and is protecting everyone thanks to Tsunade’s training. Finally, things feet right. Until they don’t.
The battle progresses naturally. Eventually the Kagoshima show up, Obito becomes a Jinjuriki, Madara is being terrible, etc. Things are spiraling out of hand pretty quickly but everyone keeps pushing as hard as they can. Then the worst happens, the crazy scenario Sakura didn’t think was possible has suddenly became reality. She feels both Naruto and Saskue’s chakra fade away, they’re down. Madara has taken both of them down. However, now isn’t time to despair on that fact. Every second matters. Two people, fatally injured, only enough time save one. The one she promised to protect to protect, or the one she desired to come back home. Time feels like it’s come to a stand still. Sakura didn’t want to imagine a world without either of them, then it hits her instantly. Sakura has been living in a world without Saskue for years now, but Naruto, the agony of a world without him gives her an immense sorrow in her heart she refused to ever feel again. It was the same sorrow she felt when Saskue left that night years ago. The sorrow of the one you love leaving you. Sakura realizes that she does in fact love Naruto, and she isn’t about to let it fade. She will keep her promise. Sakura rushes to go save him, fearing she’s wasted enough time as it is. In actually, Sakura had made that decision in less than second. She had been running his way the moment his chakra stopped.
With the help of Gaara and Minato, Sakura is managed to save Naruto. Minato has been watching the worry the girl tried to hide and stared again how much she was like Kushina. He then thanks her for looking after his son. Sakura corrects him, giving Minato thanks for bringing someone who cares so much about her and support her into this world, despite the many slip ups and pain she has inflicted on Naruto. Minato tells her that he didn’t have to be around long to know his son must feel same sentiment towards her, if not greater. They get informed that Saskue has been recovered and receiving medical aid. Sakura feels a weight lift from her shoulders. Both of them, she still in a world with both of them.
[More craziness happens! Night Guy!!!!!! All the hype stuff!]
Naruto and Saskue are back in action! Naruto save Guy, then he gives Kakashi an eye. Everyone is impressed, but not as impressed as the moment he senses that Neji isn’t dead yet and heals him to the point he’ll live; Neji is still completely out of commission though, but it’ll be quite the surprise for Hinata, her father, and Team Guy.
More of the same stuff happens all the way up and through Kaguya. Sakura gets a little bit of emotional whiplash by Saskues actions. One minute he’s looking out for himself, the next he’s actually saves her from a threat. It’s a very confusing couple of minutes. It’s welcomed though, it’s like old times. Things just might get back to some since of it in Sakura’s eyes.
[He is so rude! Still love him though.]
Now we’re gonna skip to after Kaguya is beaten. Team 7 has saved the world. Now they just have to release the people, except Saskue is still on his nonsense. Naruto confronts Saskue about his plan to kill the Kage. Sakura could feel her heart sink. They were going to fight again. If that happened then Naruto’s prediction might come true, they would die. Naruto would die. Sakura couldn’t stand still and ran in between the two unexpectedly. Sakura pleaded to Saskue to just stop for once in his life. That if he ever cared about her and Naruto in any form, then the fighting would stop here; reminding him of what Naruto said about dying. Saskue takes a step closer and Sakura’s tearfully eyes hardened. This wasn’t going to be like last time. Sakura wasn’t going to hesitate to use force and Saskue could tell. “You really are annoying.” He says before activating a genjutsu, but it doesn’t work on her. This was it, the exact thing her training with Kakashi and by herself had been about. Constant days of intense chakra control and being trapped in various visual genjutsu that Sakura had to learn resist/breakout of. Saskue had made his answer clear, but Sakura refused to let him dismiss her like that and charged at him. She knew she was outmatched. She knew that there was only so much she could actually do against him, but that wasn’t going to stop her from trying. Sakura was going to stand up properly to Saskue and give everything she had to prevent an unavoidable fight. The fire in her was immense, but the fight was over in no time, ending with Saskue knocking her out from behind like when he first left her behind. Naruto was pissed and Kakashi rushed to her. All that effort and pleading from someone who wanted nothing more than to be by her comrades, tossed to the side like a leaf in the wind. The final confrontation had begun. Naruto vs Saskue.
[One exceptional fight 10/10 fight later]
Sakura has woken up and is racing to the Final Valley in absolute terror, along with Kakashi behind her. He didn’t show it but he was fearing the worst as well. He could see tears fly off of Sakura as she took off. Her mind was flooding and rejecting thoughts all at once the whole way there. All she wanted was the reality of the outcome. Whatever it was, she’d have to face it. What she faced was a miracle. The ability to save both of her friends who were definitely battered and broken, but alive. The fighting was finally over. Saskue apologized to her, noticing just how angry she stil was through her tearfully relieved expression. Sakura told him to shut up. The emotional rollercoaster she was dealing with was crazy enough as it is.
Fast forward to Team 7 at the Hidden Leaf Gate to see Saskue leave. Instead of Sakura asking to join, she walks up to him with confidence, giving both a playful and serious attitude. She holds her fist out and taps his chest. “Get into trouble and I’ll stand in your way again to knock the sense back into you.” Naruto’s jaw drops hearing that. Saskue smile then flicks her forehead. “Still annoying, thank you.” Sakura can’t help but smile back. Naruto gives Saskue his old headband and then the man sets off.
Naruto lets out a huge sigh as he walks back into the village with Sakura. He feels exhausted from the whole legal experience but there was more things to be done, but first, he was starving. He started waving goodbye to Sakura until she asks to go too, offering to pay. Naruto was shocked. His ears had to be playing tricks. He turned back around to see Sakura not directly looking at his face but she clearly talking to him. He could tell her face was a little pink too. “You know, like a date...” Sakura said, walking past him. Naruto stood motionless for a couple of seconds before catching up with her. “How about we go halfies?” Naruto asked. He had asked this same question when he asked her on a ramen date so long ago. Sakura remembers this and can’t help but giggle. The fact that she had rejected such a gesture before was embarrassing to say the least, now it was too her benefit and it was still dumb. The more things change, the more they stay the same. “It’s a date.”
The the tail end of the show where time skips gives us how they continued to grow closer and do these little dates until the moment Sakura tells Naruto that she loves him one moonlit night by the training field or academy swing. This time those words are real, and Naruto gets emotional because he finally gets to say those words back, their promises fulfilled. The final episode is their marriage. The start of their new and strongest promise to each other.
There, I’m done. In summary, what if Sakura stopped liking a person because they tried killing her and everyone she cared about. You know, sane people stuff. She’s a smart girl with critical thinking skills and able to blossom in many areas in her life, and yet the series didn’t let her fully exlpore or evolve it in the one area that arguably mattered the most. How her relationships with Naruto and Saskue. They left it one note even though many scenes and articles point into the direction of her affection towards Naruto was growing. They even paralleled her with Kushina. It’s so weird to lay all that ground if that isn’t the route. Those moments of romantic growth could’ve gone to Hinata, the one with nearly zero interaction throughout the series. I can only think of four scenes, two of them being in part 1 of Naruto. It’s weird.
Side note:If anyone is having a hard time believing Sakura could learn a way to resist genjutsu, Deidara did it with one of his eyes to deal with Itachi, and also didn’t fall of Saskue’s. You can not convince me Sakura wouldn’t learn a way, someone with far more control and an affinity for that kind of thing. Especially with the help of Kakashi. Also it’s just very thematic that the two people Saskue wanted to push away the most, could see right through him and render one of his major things useless.
#naruto uzumaki#naruto ships#naruto shippuden#narusaku#naruto talk#ask me stuff#anime#sakura haruno#saskue uchiha#naruto
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Tagged by @altraes (thank you, it was fun to do this~)
List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!
*
(I wrote the first paragraphs because my first lines alone don’t make much sense lol)
1- ACQUIESCENCE
(Minato/Itachi) my first fic ever. darkish but just a little, angsty. I’m proud of it cause another author wrote a sequel to it.
to ac·qui·esce: to accept, agree, or allow something to happen by staying silent or by not arguing.
A flurry of leaves, swept away by the autumn wind, caught the Hokage's attention while he took off his large hat. That time of the year should have been warmer.
2- THE WILL OF FIRE
(Shiita, Danzo/Shisui, Danzo/Itachi) This was dark and shiita fans didn’t like it lol.
Just like his owner, Danzo's studio was dark and dusty. The man didn't look as old as Hiruzen, but he was twice as scary; thus would think a boy of Itachi's age. Not him. He was not allowed to be afraid.
3- WHAT HE WANTED
(Itasasu) Even tho I rewrote it cause I didn’t like how I initially characterized them and their dynamics this is my most popular fic. Maybe because it’s a post-ending, canon divergent, fix-it kind of story. Maybe because it’s Itasasu and I put so much love into writing their dynamics and, also, in giving Sasuke a good ending since canon didn’t do him justice.
Sasuke is where everybody wants him to be: in Konoha. With the battle and the arm he also lost the urge to fight. He's had enough of traveling. He's tired of chasing and being chased. So tired that even if he meant every word about starting a revolution, being the Hokage and build a new era, he had wondered, though only for a moment, if he would be able to really accomplish such tasks all by himself.
4- IN POWER WE ENTRUST THE LOVE ADVOCATED
(Itasasu) THis is my second most popular fic. This one too was written after the ending and tried to give Sasuke justice. I planned to write a sequel but I got busy with other projects and lost interest in it.
The gates open, letting the shinobi in after a successfully completed mission. Being on duty the following day Sasuke declines his team mates' proposal to have dinner together, the reddish sunset light forcing him to squint as he walks towards the Hokage's office.
5- PRESSURE
(Itasasu) Taken from In Power that can be read as a standalone oneshot.
Itachi wakes up to the sound of pouring water.
6- IN DREAMS
(Itasasu, Izuna/Sasuke, DARKFIC). This is one of the darkest things I wrote. The Izuna/Sasuke crackpair was for @admiral-izusasu. The plot, the dynamics, everything has a double, or triple reading, plot related and metaphorical for other, real-life issues such as knowing people online, and emotional abuse from narcissistic people. I wrote it when I was fighting against one of these psychos, on tumblr itself, so this fic has a personal meaning for me. But also the plot and the canon divergent ending thing is cool, I think it’s one of my best fics, even though I coulnd’t care less about izuna.
They say that nature will always find a way. After the end of the war flowers keep blooming like nothing happened even if the light is fainter, filtered from the tall branches of the Shinju tree, now grown into a forest spread all over the world.
7- SOMBER CREATION PALE DESTRUCTION
(Madara/Sasuke dom/sub-ish). Darkish? Who knows, I write darkfish stuff all the time. I was (and am) very proud of this fic, the canon divergent turn it took (who am I kidding, it’s really cool lol) and the weird relationship/dynamics these 2 created. So I didn’t update it anymore, because doing so would break their thin balance. Ssssh, don’t tell me it doesn’t make sense, I don’t believe you xD
History teaches that Madara Uchiha died at the hands of Hashirama Senju. Their statues were erected in the Valley Of The End where their battle was fought, where the shinobi god ended his best friend's life in order to protect the village they founded together. No one knows that Madara didn't die there.
8- IN THE DARK
(kakashi/Sasuke, mob/Sasuke noncon). This is a very dark oneshot that I’m proud of, cause it ‘explains’ canon Sasuke personality in Shinden and later, and that I use as prequel for many fics, like WHW but also OFAF and Broken Things (see later for both).
Things never went as Sasuke wanted. After the war it's no different, although everything seems fine at first, Team 7 finally at peace with each other, the war ended and the village that Itachi protected, even as a dead man, safe. Nevertheless he is arrested when he's still in the hospital.
9- VICTIMS OF PEACE
(Shisui/Sasuke dom/sub-ish) I am so proud of this fic, of its non massacre universe, of the dark-ish slow burn relationship between Shisui and Sasuke I wrote, tentatively at first cause no one did it or thought much about it, and because that non massacre filler was bad, but still it was inspiration. I know shiita fans hated me even more for this cause shisui is only paired with itachi, and also itachi/itasasu fans were disappointed but still. This is maybe the fic I’m most proud of.
If a traveler arrived from a random village in the Fire Country he would certainly notice how different Konoha was. He would not be able to pinpoint exactly why at first, because the buildings, houses and shops are similar, just like their gardens, fields and animals. Only after some thought he would understand that the difference is in their people: other villagers are relaxed and casual, even loud. Children run around the streets, chasing each other, playing tag or hide-and-seek. Their fathers bring them presents and their mothers buy them new clothes.
10- OF FEATHERS AND FANGS
(DARK Narusasu) I received a lot of hate for this one, which makes me proud of it even more. so many naruto stans were butthurt by my characterization of him as a possessive not sunshine selfless boy and their dynamics as crazy.
Jiraiya used to complain that the first sign of getting old was waking up at night for no reason and not being able to fall back asleep. For Naruto, this only happened after the war.
11- BLACK ROSES
(Itasasu, dom/sub-ish) Smutty Bloody Darky Hokage Itachi/Anbu Sasuke oneshot
Because of his farsighted politics, his loyalty towards his allies as well as his iron fist against his enemies, Itachi quickly became one of the most respected leaders in the shinobi world, and because of his unequaled diplomatic skills, along with his vast culture, impeccable manners and refined appearance, he became popular among nobles, including the Daimyo, whose official visits increased since the Uchiha rose to power.
12- NELL’IPOTESI GRANDE (=IN THE BIG HYPOTHESIS)
(MetaMoro, not Naruto) I’m very proud of this one cause it’s a psycho-pass inspired longfic set in a retrofuturistic Italy with a totalitarian consumeristic regime. But that fandom is so shitty and they all hate me cause I called them homophobic fascists so no one cares. The excerpt is translated too.
He’s reminded of Pirandello’s* words as he’s riding the automatic taxi across the city, exiting the center towards EUR. COmpared to Milan with its skyscrapers, multilevel streets, automatic cars and incessant novelties, the capital is basically the same as it was portrayed in old illustrations: renaissance and 20th century buildings, seagulls, pines among the Roman ruins, sycamore trees on the Lungotevere, that was probably already busy with traffic when people travelled on horse carriages.
(*an Italian writer)
13- DA UOMO A UOMO, MANO NELLA MANO (from man to man, hand in hand)
(Metamoro) lol I was hated a lot for this one too. tbh the hate I received in the Naruto fandom is nothing compared to this other shitty fandom
For an artist like Fabrizio, mainly focused on expressing what he has inside, public relations are the hardest part of his job, especially when it’s about events where, instead of fans, of whom he perceives the sincere affection, other artists and professionals are invited. His experience taught him that most of them are hypocrites ready to jump on the winner’s bandwagon as quickly as to throw mud at the loser.
14- STRENGTH THROUGH WOUNDING (wip)
(Obito/Sasuke, Obito/Itachi, dark.-ish)
There is something nostalgic in the eerie way the boy's screams resonate through the dark cavern-like hideout, their pain bouncing from one curved wall to another, their anguish filling their crevices. It’s like hearing his past self from an external perspective, like Madara did. Which is fitting, for Obito is Madara now.
15- WORDS UNSAID (wip)
(Kakashi/Sasuke)
A black flame that cannot be extinguished: they had been warned about Amaterasu by Jiraiya, but seeing it was impressive nevertheless. The whole area was surrounded by black flames and the rain pouring hard could nothing against it. They found Sasuke there, surrounded, imprisoned by black flames that were extinguishing themselves, so they found a breach.
16- BLEEDING ME
(Metamoro vampire/priest darkfic) No one can understand this in the Naruto fandom but it’s an AU interpretation of the Da UOMO A UOMO character dynamics where one is an emotional vampire-like person. I’m very proud of this fic tbh.
According to folk stories the forest was so big and full of dangers that God himself put a church where it ended, so that its priest would protect the people living nearby. It was a small, white building that didn’t match the typical stones and wood brownish ones of that region, with no stained glass windows or fancy columns, spires or gargoyles, only crosses with skulls and bones, and an engraving in an unknown language.
17- WILD CHILD
(Metamoro cop/drug dealer AU). At this point I hate that fandom so much but I like my ideas and I write only for my girl whom I met in that very shitty fandom.
Everything seems bigger in children’s eyes. Like the playground in the courtyard of the church, with its slides and swings that for Ermal’s siblings were the setting of countless imaginary adventures which they told him in detail, enthusiastically interrupting each other, when he picked them up after school.
18- TRUE COLORS
(Itasasu, dark, dom/sub) By now I’m only interested in writing dark IS and I enjoyed writing this one lol
"I knew you had it in you. You're a sadistic control freak. Even more than me."
Orochimaru's voice resounded in Itachi's ears. Again.
19- OF FEATHERS AND FANGS 2: TO REPAIR WITH GOLD
(Dark Narusasu). Cause I didn’t piss off NS fans enough I guess? lol this is ongoing and I like this idea so much
It's a rainy day in Konoha but no one seems to notice. Everyone is focused on the Hokage delivering his eulogy.
20- BROKEN THINGS
(Shisui/Sasuke) My latest creation, I’m so proud of it cause it’s Shisasu again, my rarepair! and it was supposed to be a oneshot but it got longer because they have such a cool dynamic that things just happen and get longer.
In the Land of Water summers were hot and damp, autumn and spring were damp for the frequent rains and winter was no less, with its cold temperature and ubiquitous dampness. It wasn't a problem for Sasuke though.
*
Tagging: @renamon15 and all the other authors I can’t remember right now and who want to do this, tag me back so I can read your first lines lol
#I'm not reading nar fics so xD#I'm actually back into reading my old favourite bleach fics cause I used to be into bleach so much before naruto#ask meme/tag game#my writing#fics & art recs#lol for some reason the pressure first line seems funny out of context
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On The Run
Summary: Staying in one place was never a good idea. It was risky and only caused more problems for you. However, an exception was made for Minato—a city under Shinsou’s watch.
Author’s Note: Hello everyone! I’m happy to share my sixth story for @bnhabookclub‘s Hero Camp Bingo event. This story is by far the longest fic I’ve ever wrote. The bingo prompt I used was “Pro Hero AU”. This story is also part of the club’s Weekly SFW Prompt and the prompt used was: “I think I’m in love with you, and that terrifies me.”
This story wiped me out. I think it’s because of the sheer length and the action scenes. However, I am very happy with this story. Hopefully you all enjoy it as well!
Please note that the reader is a villain and there is an itty-bit of angst...
Word Count: 4.6K+
“Well, well, well…”
You were slammed against the brick wall, letting out a painful groan. Unfortunately, it was drowned out by the rowdy bar filled with boisterous drunk men. A large shadow loomed over your hunched figure, the raggedy boots stomping closer to you. One hand seized your jaw and forcibly made you look up.
“If it ain’t Vanisher herself,” he sneered, his mouth reeking of low-quality vodka. You almost hurled when his nasty breath hit your nose. The wretched stench of someone’s vomit flowing from the dumpster smelled better. Two of his buddies stayed behind him, their snickers echoing down the dirty alleyway. “You’re a pain in the ass to find, y’know that?”
“What the hell do you want, Takeshi?”
“Don’t play dumb with me!” His grip tightened, and you yelped; that’s going to leave a bruise. Takeshi’s face inched closer as you glared at the disgusting henchman. “Our boss wants all the money you stole from him. Down to the very last yen.”
“Aw! Is the old fella still holding a grudge on me?” You clicked your tongue like a disapproving parent. A playful glint flashed across your eyes. “I won that money fair and square. Not my fault he’s a sore loser.”
“You swindled him with those rigged poker cards!”
“A gal’s gotta survive in this world, my friend,” your voice was sickly sweet, but also dangerously cold. Takeshi growled as you cackled at his annoyed expression. “If that means playing a little dirty with suckers like him, then so be it. Now, if we’re done here—”
The air escaped from Takeshi’s lungs when your right knee landed a harsh blow in his groin. Without stopping, you snatched the arm holding you and twisted it with brute force; he howled, not seeing the swift kick that knocked him off balance. You needed to flee quick. As you dodged the other goons’ attacks, you immediately had a place in mind and extended your palm.
A golden circle started opening in the distance. Your legs were on fire like Ingenium, and your lips nearly tasted sweet freedom when a long, slimy tongue smacked your neck. You collapsed on the pavement, the bright circle fizzling away. An unsettling feeling brewed inside your head when you couldn’t move at all. Every muscle was numb despite your brain sending SOS signals to get up.
Fuck! I forgot about his paralyzing quirk.
Heavy footsteps shook the ground. You were rolled onto your back and panicked when Takeshi’s wild eyes shamelessly raked along your body. He dared to plop himself down, his sandbag like weight crushing you with no remorse. His chapped mouth stopped near your ear and snarled, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere. I know the boss wants ya’, but he’s just gonna have to wait until I have my way with you first.”
“Aye yo, Takeshi, guess what!”
“What?” He snapped his neck over his shoulder, annoyed at being interrupted. A dazed sensation overcame him, and he stayed motionless. You cursed to yourself when you realized who was responsible for this—Shinsou Hitoshi, aka Persona Hero: Mindjack.
“Get off her and walk toward me.”
Yup, it was definitely him. You tried wiggling your fingers or toes, but to no avail; you were deadweight and glared at the dark sky. If there was anything you hated more in the world, it was being a hopeless damsel in distress. A few minutes passed until you hear Shinsou’s light footsteps approach your pitiful state.
“Well, isn’t this a sight,” he snorted at your heated face.
“If I could flip you off, I would.”
“This is the thanks I get for saving your ass?” You averted your eyes, begrudgingly waving the imaginary white flag. Shinsou bit back a grin as he kneeled beside you, checking for any injuries. “But seriously, are you okay?”
“Why do you care?”
“I'm a hero. I make sure people are not hurt,” Shinsou answered sincerely. His hand lingered above your shoulder as violet eyes stared at you. The corner of his lips curved ever so slightly when he said, “Even if the person happens to be a villain like yourself, Vanisher.”
“Well, I’m fine. Just paralyzed.” Your muscles were still frozen. Shinsou hummed as he glanced at the three men sitting obediently by the dumpster. Their hands and feet were tied, Takeshi being the only one still in a daze. The other two guys were knocked out thanks to Shinsou’s precise attacks. You let out a relenting sigh, “Thanks for…saving me. Damn pig hit a new low for pulling that shit on me.”
“He’s a coward.” You were taken aback by the venom in Shinsou’s voice. Coincidently, your fingers and toes twitched, a small sign that you were regaining control again. “It seems that he’s done it before. I’ll make sure assholes like him are off the streets permanently.”
“For once, I actually support your heroic actions,” you grinned, your entire body waking up from the not-so-peaceful slumber. Pushing yourself off the floor, you rubbed the back of your neck and felt the tiny lump where Takeshi hit you. Shinsou offered his hand, and you suspiciously glanced at him. The underground hero gave you an exasperated look. Rolling your eyes, you grabbed it and Shinsou helped you stand up.
He turned away and reached for his phone. “I’m calling the police. You should get out of here.”
“Wait,” you stepped forward, a bit confused, “You’re not turning me in?”
“You were being attacked and used self-defense,” Shinsou shrugged as he made the call. A minute later, he hung up and went to tighten the knots on the ropes. You were skeptical, wondering if this was all a trap. When you didn’t leave, Shinsou sighed and peeked over his scarf. “Look, you had a rough night. Just this once, I’m giving you a pass. Don’t be an idiot by staying here until the cops come.”
“Hmph, fine.” You opened a portal behind you. The golden sparks lit up the dreary alleyway, and one leg stepped on the other side. You paused, staring at Shinsou and murmured, “I owe you one.”
Shinsou nodded.
You disappeared just as the police sirens rang down the streets.
༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛
Staying in one place was never a good idea. It was risky and only caused more problems for you based on past experiences. From a young age, you’ve learned to fend for yourself while on the streets. Sure it was exhausting looking over your shoulders, feet ready to bounce if the scene got too chaotic. But you sucked it up if it meant avoiding jail or facing Mr. Death himself.
Neither of them was in your deck of cards called life. And your life was undoubtedly precious, so why waste it away in a rotten jail cell or cramped coffin?
You arrived at Minato City roughly eight months ago, and it was the longest time you ever stayed in one spot. Usually, you dipped by the second month, but that wasn’t the case for Minato—a city under Shinsou’s watch.
The first time you crossed paths with him, it was ironically in a back alley nestled in between two rundown buildings. You preyed on a rich salaryman with an unmistakable narcissistic attitude; he was an easy target, and it didn’t take long to get him stumbling over his feet. After knocking him out cold, you rummaged through his belongings until you sensed a shadow lurking in the darkness.
Your eyes landed on the stranger’s bizarre getup. An air of mystery surrounded him thanks to his unruly scarf and metal mouth-mask. Stranger danger indeed, you mused while taking a step back; your survival instincts urged you to leave. The man quirked an eyebrow when he asked a question, and you foolishly answered it.
You walked forward despite your inner protests; it was as if you were under some weird spell—his quirk perhaps?—and you couldn’t break free. The stranger placed handcuffs on you and checked on the unconscious man. All your escape plans were useless until a miracle happened: an ashtray fell on your head. The glass shattered on the floor, and you let out an annoyed groan; you realized the mysterious spell was broken. Not wasting another second, you summoned a portal behind you.
“Neat trick, but I’m not a big fan of being someone else’s puppet!”
You disappeared before his scarf could capture you. The next day, you did some research on the guy and learned he was a pro hero named Mindjack, his actual name Shinsou Hitoshi. You blamed yourself for not brushing up on this information before arriving at Minato City, a rookie mistake indeed. He was trouble, and you barely escaped his grasp last night, yet you were intrigued by him. His quirk was unique, almost villain-like if he wasn’t such a goodie-two-shoes.
Since then, you had some run-ins with said hero, whether intentional or not.
At first, you kept your guard up around him. Shinsou taunted you to speak, but you hilariously whipped out a mini dry erase board in return; it amused him. He heard about you, an infamous thief named Vanisher who frequents the underground scene.
After two months of playing the cat-and-mouse game, you settled on befriending him; he grew on you with his deadpanned statements. One night you found Shinsou crouched on the roof’s edge, yawning as if he hadn’t slept in days. You smacked an energy bar on his head and shoved a black coffee in his hand with a perky smile. Shinsou was thrown off by your gesture, but threw a curt “thanks” your way.
It was an odd dynamic brewing between you both. Some nights Shinsou shared a quick bite with you, and other nights he tried, for the billionth time, to rein you in. For Shinsou, you weren’t a huge threat in his city, just an annoying thorn. He disapproved of your nightly shenanigans with a dry, “Stop stealing stuff from unconscious men.”
“Oh please, he’ll survive without his precious Rolex watch!”
You enjoyed the friendly banter, and you knew he did to by the mischievous glint in his eyes. Even his tone sounded playful, betraying the serious facade during his patrols. Of course, you trod the tightrope carefully with the lone hero. A small slip and you’ll fall. However, it was a risk you took every night for the last eight months. Besides, Shinsou was extraordinarily handsome, and the whole dark aura vibe suited him well.
He was the first reason why you decided to prolong your short stay in Minato City. The second reason was well—
“Hmmm,” you savored the gin cocktail, soaking in all the information with deep thought. The room was cramped and had poor ventilation. Your nose inhaled the musty odor lingering in the air, the stench making you silently groan. A single lightbulb hung above the round table and barely illuminated the man’s wrinkled face, partially hiding in the shadows.
“So…what do you say?” Mamba’s guttural voice broke the silence. Two grimy nails tapped the table as he watched your throat bob. You caught his tongue hungrily licking his lips. “Think you’re up for it?”
“A heist, huh?” You lowered your drink, and casually swung your arm behind the chair. “You sure your guys scoped out the place?”
“Down to the smallest detail.”
“Hmm…I want forty-five percent of the cut.”
He smirked, “As you wish. After all, you are valuable to us.”
“Well, don’t you know how to charm a lady,” you teased, crossing a leg over the other. “I’m in. I’ve been meaning to spruce up my dull routine. Conning rich suckers might be fun and all, but this heist sounds ten times better.”
Mamba signaled for his drink. Your glass cups clinked as the deal was officially closed. He shifted in his seat and drawled, “A pleasure having you on board, Vanisher. You’ll be in good hands with my men. I give you my word.”
“I’m sure I will.”
༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛
“Ready to go?” Voltage gruffed from behind you. He was an enormous man who stood as tall as an electric tower. Tiny sparks bounced in his yellow eyes. The stoic man was the driver, and he lead you to the back of the van parked outside.
The plan was simple. Voltage will drive the van to an alley that was close enough to the bank. Someone from squad B would shut off the entire security system to avoid alerting the police. You will then summon a portal that connects to the vault. From there, two men will slip through and break the metal door. They’ll pack approximately 100 million yen in large duffle bags, throwing them back through the portal.
It sounded easy enough…after all, that was the plan for today.
“Really?” You huffed, annoyed at the henchman man-spreading on your right. His twin sat across from both of you with an unreadable expression. Voltage and his partner, Benzo, ignored your complaints. Casting a glare at your ‘teammate,’ you snapped your head to focus on the road. That’s when you noticed something strange.
Benzo discreetly pushed aside his coat to take out his gun. It was common knowledge for criminals like Mamba’s soldiers to arm themselves despite having quirks. However, why did Benzo have a tight grip on his weapon now? You narrowed your eyes when Voltage took a left turn instead of right, fueling your suspicions even more.
“The GPS broken, Voltage?”
Silence.
And then…an attack.
You dodged a crystal dagger that came from your right. Only his hand was crystallized and you twisted his arm, the henchman howling like an injured wolf. His twin lunged forward with the speed of a bullet train. Your back slammed against the van at the guy’s sheer force. With wide eyes, you felt his vice-like grip crush your throat. The air was being sucked right our your lungs, and your fingers frantically scratched his skin.
Not giving up, you delivered three harsh blows to his groin. He stumbled back, but refused to let go of you. A growl escaped your lips when you kicked his ribs; with his grip gone, you charged at him, striking a pressure point by his neck—he was out like a light.
Out of the blue, Man-spreader caught you in a chokehold. He was noticeably weaker due to the injured right arm, and you took advantage of this. Benzo, however, shifted his body in his seat while snarling, “Keep her still! I’m gonna knock her out with this sleeping bullet! Viper wants her alive!”
Viper?! Damn it!
You elbowed man-spreader’s chest without stopping; an intense head-butt was your final move. Hearing the gun click, you swiftly used the unconscious stone block as your human shield to avoid the bullet. Tossing the guy toward the front, you activated your portal and rolled down the street. There was no time to think of a safe place, just that you needed to get out that hellish van.
A few scratches marked your cheek. The sound of wheels screeching against the concrete forced you to leap on your feet and run. You didn’t have enough energy to summon another portal, the fight draining almost everything in your system. But you still had some power left, and you’ll use it as your last resort.
For now, you settled on running the hell out of the van’s sight. Voltage and Benzo were hunters who wouldn’t rest until you’re captured. But there was no way in hell you were facing Viper again. Damn old geezer was still holding onto a deep grudge with that poker game. You gritted your teeth, the metallic taste of blood overwhelming your mouth. This might be a problem you couldn’t easily vanish away from…but it didn’t hurt to try.
All the buildings blurred as your feet pounded against the pavement. You skidded around the corner, the van right on your tail. A shot rang from a distance and you hissed; the bullet grazed your thigh. When you glanced up, your mouth dropped as a blue truck pulled out into the street.
Your only warning was: “Get out of the way!”
The driver, plus his companions, scurried like frighten mice when they noticed the white van dashing down the road. You slipped underneath the vehicle, but wasted no time staying on the floor. A loud crash roared from behind. You never looked back and arrived at a busy pedestrian street, bulldozing through the crowd.
Where’s a good place to hide?!
A piercing shriek ruined the city’s peaceful scenery. You peeked over your shoulder and screamed when an electric whip hit the lamp-post. The sudden attack made you lose your footing. More people yelled and rushed away from the danger, ignoring you in the process.
“I had it with this stupid chase, Vanisher!” Another whip crushed the window from a residential building. Voltage charged up his arm, the electric sparks spazzing out of control. He had you in his sight. “You’re coming with me, dead or alive!”
“Oh yeah? How are you gonna do that?” That wasn’t me…
“Why you little—”
Shinsou grunted as he lashed out his binding cloth to ensnare his target. Voltage’s power weakened once in a trance state, and the pro hero tugged the villain to the broken road. Shinsou kept the man tied up with his scarf, realizing it was the only thing strong enough to keep him immobile. You struggled to sit up. Shinsou demanded someone to call the police as he rushed toward your injured body.
“Hey, don’t move,” Shinsou gently held you in place. There was a purple bruise forming around your neck and a little bit of blood trickling down your chin. Shinsou frowned at what he saw. “What the hell happened?”
“Just got some bad blood with a sore loser,” you flashed him a crooked grin, the pain finally settling in. A cry for help interrupted your conversation, and Shinsou’s head snapped up. The building was on fire; Shinsou let out a curse. He couldn’t wait for other pro heroes or the fire department to show up. With no choice, he carried you away from the danger zone. “H-hey, what are you doing?”
“Stay here!”
Shinsou ran into the flaming pits of hell. You slowly rose to your feet, swaying back and forth on the sidewalk. Right now was the perfect opportunity to flee the scene. There were no cops or other pro heroes around, and Voltage was brainwashed. Yet, the deadly flames bursting through the shattered window paralyzed you. The only thing on your mind was Shinosu risking his life to save those people without any backup.
Damnit! Ugh…just this once!
You summoned a portal and stepped inside. The black smoke clogged the apartment, making everything harder to see or breathe. You covered your lower face and searched for anyone in this furnace. You stepped into another room, and your eyes spotted four figures huddled in the corner. Shinsou stood in front and tried thinking of a way out.
“Hey!”
“I told you to stay put!”
“Not gonna happen,” you shouted, opening a weak portal by the family. “Run toward it now! I can’t hold it for too long!”
The family escaped unscathed. However, Shinsou refused to leave without you. Always the hero, you huffed at his stupidity. Through your blurred vision, you watched as he trudged forward. Unlike you, Shinsou had his mask, which acted as an impromptu breathing apparatus. But it hardly kept the thick smoke from invading his lungs. You extended your hand, and Shinsou’s fingers stretched as if his life depended on it.
A cracking noise skittered across the ceiling with a piece falling on Shinsou. You screamed, jumping over a line of fire to rescue him. Your throbbing arms lifted the broken piece off the hero’s back. His pulse was dangerously low, and you slung his limping arm over your shoulders. The flames kept growing, consuming everything that stood in its path. If you didn’t act quick, it would eat you and Shinsou too.
Your hand created a portal close enough to where you both stood. The distorted golden ring fizzled, a sign that your body was at its limit. But you wouldn’t give up. Fives steps were all you need to get the heck out of here. The fire roared in the background, furious at your disobedience for trying to escape the madness. Except when did you ever listen?
You dragged Shinsou through the portal and collapsed on the sturdy sidewalk. The ring closed in seconds. Your lungs inhaled the delicious air with immense gratitude. You ripped off Shinsou’s mask and repeatedly slapped his stubble cheek. “C’mon, c’mon! Wake up!”
A cough made you relax. Shinsou’s eyelids were barely opened when he croaked, “W-why?”
“I owe you one, remember?”
The corner of Shinsou’s mouth curled, a gurgled chuckle greeting your ears. You stifled a laugh and rolled on your back, staying put until the emergency response team arrived.
You remained in Minato City for eight months. Another couple of days wouldn’t hurt.
༛༛ ༛ ༛༺༻༛ ༛ ༛༛
Minato City’s nightlife was buzzing with excitement, and there were no signs of stopping. People flocked to their favorite bars, hoping to let loose after a stressful week at work. Salarymen drowned themselves in alcohol and cigarettes without a care in the world. It was the perfect recipe for you to con another unfortunate victim, but you decided to sit this night out.
You gazed at the city’s beautiful skyline. The lights twinkled like precious diamonds on display at a high-end jewelry store. However, you admired the sight from afar since tonight was the last time you’ll see it. By tomorrow, you’ll be in another city to lay low for a while. Keeping yourself off the grid was the best option to throw off your scent from Viper’s nose.
A pebble rolled beside your boot.
“Surprised you’re not down at the bars preying on your next money target.”
“Not really feeling it tonight,” you yawned, sparing a glance at Shinsou. He was wearing his usual hero attire, the mask resting underneath his chin. It gave you a perfect view of his chiseled jawline. You returned your sights on the bright streets and ignored the fluttering feeling in your heart. You coolly remarked, “I see you’re looking well.”
“Injuries weren’t so bad; I experienced worse ones before.”
“I don’t know about you, but it sounds like you’re trying to impress me.”
A deep chuckle was his only response. You raised an eyebrow when Shinsou stood beside you, almost too close than the previous encounters. Your hand clenched inside your coat pocket. Tonight’s weather forecast called for temperatures hovering just above the freezing point. Yet, your skin was feeling hot, and it wasn’t because of the black wool keeping you warm.
“The police interrogated the guy who attacked you,” Shinsou shared, making you still for a second before relaxing. “Heard his name is Voltage with connections to the underground crime lord called Mamba. So far, he’s not giving anything up.”
“And he won’t,” you sighed, watching a drunk guy whistle at a woman who passed by. “Viper and Mamba: they’re brothers who control the drug trade in their respective territories. I guess someone tipped Mamba off that I was in Minato City, and he lured me in with a false heist scheme.”
You leaned against the roof’s edge. “If I didn’t think so quick on my feet, I probably would have been in Viper’s clutches by now.”
“You should speak with the police,” Shinsou ignored your loud snort and pressed forward, “If you cooperate with the investigation, they’ll help you. Maybe place you in a witness protection program—”
“Don’t be so stupid, Shinsou. This is a highly organized crime ring we’re talking about!”
“The police can protect you!”
“No, they can’t.” You raised a finger at the hero, wagging it as you predicted his next response. “And neither can you. Besides, I don’t need someone protecting me. I’ve lived my entire life fending for myself, and I know what I’m doing.”
“And how has that worked out for you, huh?”
“Pretty fine until I made the stupid mistake of staying here!” You jabbed his chest before growling away. Two hands raked through your hair as you paced back and forth. You stopped, shooting daggers at Shinsou. “Like I said, I got bad blood with a few people. I’ve done shit I’m not too proud of, but that’s just life on the streets. You do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means constantly being on the run.”
You spun away from Shinsou, your back straight as a rule and body visibly closed off. Puffs of white smoke slipped through your lips. The wind chill was not very merciful tonight as it froze your poor ears. You closed your eyes and heard Shinsou shuffle closer, his presence growing stronger by the second. His hand was gentle on your shoulder, almost as if he didn’t want to frighten you with the sudden touch.
Your mouth clamped shut when he whispered your name into the brisk night. You clenched your hand tighter when he pleaded, “You don’t have to keep running.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then why did you stay here?” You bristled at the question, and Shinsou noticed. “Why didn’t you run away like before?”
“Because of you.” Shinsou’s hand twitched at the answer. Releasing a shaky breath, you turned around with conflicted eyes. For the first time in your life, your walls were crumbling down—the same ones that shielded you from the cruel world since childhood. It was too late to take back what you said, so you choked out, “I didn’t leave because I think I’m in love with you…and that terrifies me.”
A feathery thumb brushed your cheek. You gazed into his violet eyes; they were striking, yet carried a sense of fondness you’ve never seen before. He never said a word, but you were under his spell. Shinsou’s warm breath caused your entire face to flush once you realized how dangerously close he was in your bubble.
He admitted, with a raspy voice, “I feel the same way about you, except I’m not scared.”
“You’re stupid to think that way.”
“So be it.”
Time slowed as Shinsou lowered his lips and pressed them against yours. The kiss was sweet. Gentle. Innocent. You forgot about everything that was stressing your mind out. All your focus was on his lips—they were incredibly warm and soft and moved in a tender pace. You reciprocated the kiss with a tiny smile, your left hand clinging on his scarf. Shinsou grinned at your impatient tug; you were always so demanding.
However, after months of inhaling his rich scent, you were eager to taste him. You weren’t disappointed when you caught the sweet blend of dark cherry and black raspberry sprinkled along his mouth. A fresh jolt of excitement traveled down your spine. Shinsou’s arm wrapped around your waist, securing you in place. For a moment, you did not want him to let go—you didn’t want to run away from this safe haven.
If only the circumstances were different.
“You know I can’t stay…”
Shinsou didn’t say anything. His eyes, however, spoke volumes of how he felt about your decision. As much as it pained him to do so, he loosen his grasp on you. A portal opened not too far from where you both stood. You squeezed Shinsou’s hand and gave him a sad smile, the corners of your lips barely reaching your eyes.
The golden sparks lit up the dark rooftop, and one leg stepped on the other side. You paused, staring at Shinsou one last time, whispering, “Goodbye.”
Shinsou nodded mutely.
You disappeared into the portal, going on the run once again.
Sixth prompt is crossed off. Which one will be next? Stay tune! Thank you for reading!
Previous prompt: Boy Next Door
Hero Camp Bingo Masterlist
#shinsou hitoshi x reader#shinsou x reader#bnha imagines#shinsou hitoshi#bnha x reader#bnha shinsou#bnhabookclub#hero camp bingo#pro hero au
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Long Lost to the Present
This is Part One of my gift for the Naruto/Boruto exchange! Part Two is about half done, I just wanted to get the bulk out before our deadline. Happy Holidays! @whynoteswhispered
Sasuke mentally checked through his belongings a final time before letting out a small sigh, his mother had been tight lipped about where exactly they would be taking their winter family vacation so if he needed anything, he would just buy it. Truthfully, he was prepared for pretty much any weather they would encounter over the two weeks. The youngest Uchiha zipped the suitcase and set it on the ground, clicking the button to release the handle and grabbing his backpack with his laptop and other electronics to swing over one shoulder. A final glance determined Sasuke had everything he would need and with a barely contained sigh, he made his way down stairs where everyone would meet before loading up and leaving.
"Sasuke! Are you ready dear?" Mikoto asked, passing off her luggage to her husband. "Oh, I can't wait till we get there!"
"I'm ready." Sasuke nodded to his father and brother, taking his turn to load his suitcase into the SUV they rented. "Now if only you would tell us where we are going…"
“So, I was talking with Kushina," dread settled instantly into his stomach at the mention of the redhead, "and we agreed that it has been sometime since we last shared a holiday together and we will be spending our first week with them at Jiraiya’s house in the mountains then continue to our cabin for the other week."
"It has been a while since we’ve seen Minato and Kushina… I wonder if she ever got better at cooking." Fugaku said gruffly, a tiny sliver of humor shone through that statement.
"Hopefully we can see Naruto too, no one is sure what he’s been up to these days." Itachi chimed in, staring none too discreetly at Sasuke.
That statement didn't seem like the Naruto Sasuke knew and for a moment he had to remind himself that they had parted ways years ago. While the blond always said Sasuke was his best friend, the raven was unsure until he changed schools what exactly Naruto meant to him. That first year apart had been hell, every time a notification came through or a phone would ring set him on edge so badly, he withdrew into nothing but music only from his iPod.
"I wouldn't have the slightest idea."
"Ah, that's right." Itachi words caused the younger's feathers to ruffle but before the boy could engage in their passive aggressive argument their mother stepped between them.
"Seven days boys, I do hope I will be bringing home two sons and not leaving any to be adopted by the Namikazes." The warning was very real under her cheerful tone and both of her children backed down, following her and their father out to the car.
Sasuke was dreading this trip now, his dread easily outweighed any excitement he had previously. What was supposed to be a simple holiday trip with his family, including his ever-busy father, was now turning into a nightmare from hell. The raven was sure his elder brother had to have some hand in it. The first family trip in a handful of years and now Sasuke would have to suffer the distracting presence of one Naruto Uzumaki or risk upsetting his mother.
"You don't look excited like I thought you would…" Itachi spoke casually, face showing nothing of his amusement unless you knew how to find the slight look in his eyes.
"What am I supposed to be excited for exactly?”
“Aw, you’re hurting his feelings and we haven’t even left yet. How cruel little brother.”
“Itachi, be nice! Sasuke is finally home and I know while he loves me,” Mikoto smiled brightly and pulled her younger son into a hug, “you being mean is exactly why we cut this from two weeks to just one.”
Sasuke lingered in a half hug from his mother, a feeling of warmth that always accompanied the action sank into his tense form and relaxed the harsh lines. Identical eyes locked into a staring contest for a long moment before their father snorted and drew their attention.
"The drive is a long one, if you can't handle it then you can stay and keep the office in order." He advised, making his point with a glare before entering the car.
"Truce little brother?"
"Hn." This ride was going to be a long one indeed.
The weather seemed suspended, the snow twinkling as the sun was reflected off it and the air mild for this time of year in the mountains. Sasuke tried to remember if he had ever been to Jiraiya’s cabin before but was coming up with nothing but bits of when Naruto had shared his summer adventures.
"Sasuke! How was your summer? I bet it wasn't cooler than mine! Peavy sage and I found this pond and there's these Sakura trees and in the water there's a bunch of tadpoles! We had to keep cleaning out the petals, I feel like my back has aged twenty years."
He had to rouse himself from memory lane as they pulled up the long drive. The logs were well kept and the cabin seemed quite spacious, hopefully it would be easier to avoid a certain blond. There were various trees in bloom or dormancy, nothing like the well-kept grounds of the Uchiha main house. Sasuke could certainly see the frog motif with the at times gaudy decor and after hearing stories for years, it wasn't as bad as he was expecting.
"Looks like he did get a key after all." Itachi mused quietly, almost quiet enough for his younger brother to miss it. At the look of inquiry, he continued lightly, "Jiraiya has been having some… Extra responsibilities as of late and wasn't sure he would be here when we arrived. The good news is the house has been cleaned and aired out for us already."
"Do you remember which room is yours Sasuke?"
"It's the one to the left of the gar-" he had to pause, that was Naruto's usual room and he no longer was welcome to share like they had always planned. The silence was heavy for a moment, never had Sasuke wished things had turned out differently more than at that particular moment. "No, I do not."
"It's next to mine, we have a wonderful view of the mountains." Itachi offered, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving a light squeeze for reassurance.
"I'm fine." The younger shook off the hand and climbed out of the car, pulling his phone out as an excuse to ignore his family.
The sliding door opened, the wooden panels that made up the shade clattering angrily. A large box made its way out first then the blond holding it, carefully stepping out to the deck and nearly dropping the box with a curse. With a deep all body sigh, Naruto stood up straight and raised his face to the sun, the natural light highlighting his figure. Sasuke stated for a long moment, trying to blend the young gangly knucklehead he remembered with this adult version complete with an attractive solid build.
"Oh my, is that really my little sunflower?! Naruto, I did not give you permission to grow up without me!" Mikoto called out, leaving Fugaku to grab the bags as she hurried to the deck. Blue eyes found once familiar black orbs first before breaking their gaze and a shy smile breaking out on the tanned face.
"Ah well ya know sunflowers are, just sprout up when no one's watching." Naruto accepted the hug stiffly until she whispered in his ear that caused him to melt into the long hug.
"Keep that in mind or I will negotiate with your mother on swapping you for Sasuke."
"Aha, not the best idea Mrs. Uchiha." A long look complete with a delicate eyebrow raise had the blond sputtering with a red face. "Fine fine, I'm sorry Mimi. Please don't look at me like that." And he still pouted the same and no it wasn't cute.
"Like what sunflower?" Her tone was playful and the quick fingers to slide through his golden mop were painfully familiar.
"Mother, we've been here less than ten minutes and you're already terrorizing the poor boy."
"Oi! I am a man now, I know Teme takes after the beauty in the family but if he can pass for a man then you shouldn't have any issues seeing I am too."
"I'm not the Uchiha that likes to check you out when you're not looking." Itachi commented as he passed Naruto, leaving him blushing and splattering again.
"Naruto." The reaction was instant, gone was the blush and sputtering, spine perfectly straight complete with a respectful but curious gaze. It was rare that the eldest Uchiha addressed the blond and it had been forever since Naruto had been comfortable around the dark-haired family. "I do hope you are not causing your parents trouble."
"Of course not, I did manage to grow up in my time away. Hurt like hell to leave for almost three years and have only Jiraiya as company but it was worth all the long phone calls from ma." Yet another mystery and by the look in the azure eyes, a big piece to explain the inner calm where there used to be boundless energy.
"I forgot to ask, did Kushina get the recipe I sent her?"
"I think so but you'll have to ask her Mimi. They got delayed helping granny with her uh situation."
"Same rooms as last time?"
"Yup, I think the only one that doesn't have the sheets put on is Teme's. I can do that real quick if you want?" The question was directed at Sasuke but Naruto's gaze was looking somewhere over his shoulder before returning to his father. He was expecting things to be awkward but not painful like this.
"I'm sure Sasuke can manage, don't let us keep from whatever it was you were doing son."
"Ah, cleaning up everything, I knew I would need to get here a few days early but I didn't know it was this bad. Steer clear of the kitchen for now, there's a lot of manuscripts lying about and I haven't had time to clean it yet. I figured the rooms were the priority since you always go for a family dinner first thing." Naruto smiled brightly before stepping through a different door that led outside. It made Sasuke recall another memory where the blond had gushed about the house.
"Oh my God, why do I always get lost?"
"Maybe because you're a Dobe?"
"Shut it Teme! I spent all summer with Peavy Sage and like his house has more doors than walls I swear! He says it's because he doesn't want to break his creative pacing so he likes having tons of options to get out of the house."
"Sounds like more options to break into the house."
"Oi! Shut up you're such a bastard."
"You know my father."
"Ugh, add prissy to the list too."
Suddenly it felt like he didn't belong here and the young photographer couldn't stay a moment longer. Leaving his luggage halfway to the door and taking only his back pack he left to the woods. Pulling on every memory he had of Naruto describing the surrounding foliage, Sasuke actually found the waterfall that fed the lake the hyper boy always spoke of. The waterfall was loud in a soothing way, the water pure and clear in a way that couldn't be found anywhere but in nature. Lush green grass filled out the banks that lined the sides of the small lake and the pine trees slightly weighed with the melting snow. This place brought peace to Sasuke's troubled mind and immediately pulled at his artistic brain. Even though he had to keep the photos for his private portfolio, this beauty didn't deserve to be disturbed without reason.
With a smooth but careful move, Sasuke slipped his arm through the strap and unzipped his pack. From the top he retrieved his camera case and withdrew his camera. Quickly the raven secured the strap around his neck and zipped up his backpack. Checking the settings and with a few test shots, the photographer was fully in control as he captured the serene surroundings. As always, Sasuke lost himself in the beauty around him and it took spotting a sliver of blond hair to break him free. Pretending to check the photo he had taken, the young photographer carefully aimed and zoomed in on the blond. The picture Naruto made took away Sasuke’s breath as he clicked the shutter button.
“Don’t you know it’s rude to stare Dobe?”
“Hey I’m not the one who left his luggage for everyone else to take care of or ran out of the house instead of going out to dinner.”
“Are you going?” His voice was neutral, a complete contrast to his inner feelings. On one hand, the raven had no idea how close the blond was with the family anymore and yet it was both disappointing and relieving if the Uzumaki were to join the Uchiha dinner.
“I can’t, Pervy Sage needs my help. I might not be here when you guys get back so the spare key is-”
“‘Under the ‘speak no evil’ toad by the huge ass sliding door’ I remember.” Dutifully Sasuke kept checking his camera and carefully packing it away while ignoring the piercing blue eyes.
“Uh yeah… Cool. I’ll uh be back later. Uh if you, I mean my memory isn’t as good as yours but yanno if you and Mimi still like super spicy curry there’s a place about twenty minutes out. It’s a little hole in the wall but authentic and good portions. Don’t stay out much longer and freeze your heart any more than it is Teme.”
Left alone by the waterfall, he finally packed everything up properly and followed the footprints back, thankful the snow hadn’t melted yet. If only the same could be said about his heart, seeing the blond should not throw his emotions back in time when Sasuke wanted nothing more than to cross lines that they never would. Thankfully he only had a week, right? Maybe then he could finally let go.
Naruto was trying his hardest to not just steal the car keys and drive far far away from Tsunade as the gas tank would allow. He was already exhausted mentally due to seeing Sasuke and boy was he a sight to see. The youngest Uchiha had always favored his mother’s looks and his father in personality, after all this time though Sasuke just seemed like so much more somehow and the blond was really trying to keep his heart in his chest this time. At the very least it was only for maybe a week so he could play it safe and be fine! Totally. As if he didn’t have a hard enough time the last time, denial really suited him then and now. Absently the blond wondered where they went for dinner.
"Fine! As if I care, I'll go just to shut you up and then I can drink in peace!" Tsunade announced loudly as she emerged from her front door.
"Oi granny, tis the season and all that but we need to get a move on so I can finish cleaning the house for the Uchihas."
"Oh, is that why you really broke up with your boyfriend? I didn't know you were talking to the Uchiha brat again." Fucking hell, Naruto hoped she would be able to control her mouth when they were actually around Sasuke's family or this would be a very bad vacation.
"I'm not the one who invited them, Pervy sage started it by deciding to invite us to his cabin and mom got the bright idea to invite Mikoto which includes the whole Uchiha family. Now hurry the fuck up before I leave you, I have shit to do and I need to leave before mom makes it here." Naruto pushed himself off the car and opened the door, sliding in the driver's seat and starting the car with the slam of the door.
"Jeez give the kid a break Tsunade, this isn't anyone's ideal vacation setup. Naruto had no idea that Sasuke was coming and by what Kushina and Mikoto were loudly discussing the Uchiha boy had no clue either after being guilty in going on the vacation in the first place." Jiraiya sighed after his explanation and got in the car, leaving Tsunade to follow suit.
“Tis the season so I'll behave but you still need to give me all the details just so we're clear.” Her tone left no room for argument as she buckled in and immediately cranked the radio. Naruto took it for what it was worth and reversed the car, secretly hoping he would be able to actually talk to Sasuke when everyone returned to the cabin. Naruto really hoped no one had looked through the gift he had brought yet, the impulsive decision to bring the gift for Sasuke was starting to seem like a bad one. Shaking off the feeling, he drove his godparents back to Jiraiya’s cabin.
#narutosecretsanta2020#sasunaru#narusasu#who put angst in my coffee#these idiots#mutual pining#part one#they all live#modern au#Fen's Plunny Corner
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